People
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High School Musical 2 at Barrington Stage Company
Meet Music Director Brian Usifer, Young Artist on the Rise
By: - Jul 23rd, 2009Each summer, the Youth Theater at Barrington Stage presents a polished musical for some 40+ performances. These productions never fail to amaze and delight sold out audiences. They are full of energy and vitality that are a credit to both director Christine O'Grady and her young performers, and to Music Director Brian Usifer who is at the helm each night setting the tempo and intense pace that are their trademark.
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Picks and Previews for July 21 to August 3
The Berkshires' Best Review of the Arts
By: - Jul 17th, 2009Summer's abundance is all around us, and so is the Berkshire's annual bounty of music, theatre and dance choices. Here's another of our detailed guides to help you choose.
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Tony Simotes of Shakespeare & Company
Hitting the Ground Running as Artistic Director
By: - Jul 13th, 2009Tina Packer, after 32 years as Founding Dirctor of the Lenox based, Shakespeare & Company has stepped down. It was planned that Tony Simotes, now in his first season as Artistic Director, would be handed the reins of debt free company with a $10 million new facility including a second stage, The Elayne P. Bernstein Theatre, and the start on an endowment. Then the economy fell off a cliff.
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John Douglas Thompson at Shakespeare & Company
Redefining Othello As a Love Story
By: - Jul 11th, 2009Last summer John Douglas Thompson received rave reviews, including Ben Brantley in the New York Times, for his performance in "Othello" at Shakespeare & Company. He earned an Obie Award for its Off Broadway production. He returns to Lenox with "Othello" as well as "The Dreamer Examines His Pillow" through September 6. There is a strong possibility he will perform "The Emperor Jones" Off Broadway this season.
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Brooks Ashmanskas Broadway Bound in Coward's Present Laughter
Premiere of Sherman's Knickerbocker at Williamstown Theatre Festival
By: - Jul 07th, 2009The Tony and Drama Desk nominated (2007) actor, Brooks Ashmanskas, will be back on Broadway in January with Noel Coward's "Present Laughter" starring Victor Garber and directed by Nicholas Martin. Ashmanskas is currently starring in Martin's production of Jonathan Marc Sherman's "Knickerbocker" which premieres at Williamstown Theatre Festival. It brings together several Bennington College alumni.
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Bebe Neuwirth Comes Home to the Berkshires
July 11 Mahaiwe Show a Rare Local Appearance
By: - Jul 06th, 2009Bebe Neuwirth takes to the Mahaiwe stage Saturday for an evening of songs and remembrances, but will she have time to check out the Berkshire antique shops she loves so dearly?
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Shirley Jones - A Life in the Arts
Her Planned Barrington Stage Appearance Cancelled
By: - Jun 26th, 2009Nevertheless, BFA talks to Shirley Jones about posing nude for Playboy, why Frank Sinatra wasn't in Carousel, and what had been planned for the July 6 Pittsfield concert that never happened. A funny, heartwarming interview with one of the greats of stage, screen and tv.
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Nicholas Martin's Second Season at Williamstown Theatre Festival
Directing Coward's Present Laughter on Broadway in January
By: - Jun 25th, 2009Just a week before the start of the Williamstown Theatre Festival, which opens on July 1 and runs through August 23, the artistic director, Nicholas Martin, took time from rehearsals to discuss his second season in the Berkshires, cutbacks in the face of a tough economy, and an ongoing personal struggle to recover from a stroke he suffered in September.
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Light Designer and Artist Julie Seitel's Practicals
Illuminati at The Eclipse Mill Gallery
By: - Jun 23rd, 2009In addition to working on a Tanglewood production of the opera "Don Giovanni" this summer the North Adams based artist and lighting designer, Julie Seitel, is also creating a series of light sculptures she refers to with the theatrical term "Practicals." They will be seen in a group show "Illuminati: Working in Light" which she is curating for the Eclipse Mill Gallery. She is a graduate of Williams College where she works for its 62 Center.
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Shop Talk With Artist Richard Criddle
Behind the Scenes at Mass MoCA
By: - Jun 22nd, 2009As part of the Tenth Anniversary celebrations the artist, Richard Criddle, who has been in charge of installations and fabrication for Mass MoCA gave a power point presentation of some of his most interesting and challenging collaborations with artists. The slide lecture was followed by a guided tour of the museum's efficient workshops. But Criddle's dog Winston had the day off.
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BSO On the Run
Cross State Relay to Mark Launch of Tanglewood
By: - Jun 16th, 2009To mark the launch of the 2009 Tanglewood Season the BSO is organizing a 150 mile cross state relay run starting at Symphony Hall on June 29 and ending at the Lenox campus, hopefully, a day later in time for the first rehearsal on July 1. Literally the season will be off and running.
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Behind the Scenes With Peter Schickele and PDQ Bach
Is the Colonial Theatre Ready for His Jeckyll and Hyde Tour?
By: - Jun 13th, 2009Peter Schickele, a modern American composer, and PDQ Bach are the two personalities living inside one person. On June 30 he brings his Jeckyll and Hyde Tour to the Colonial Theatre. We asked the Professor what nonsense he has planned this time.
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Transforming Great Barrington: Beryl Jolly and the Mahaiwe
The Arts Bring a Community Together
By: - Jun 10th, 2009It takes a community to make something like the Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center succeed, and in Great Barrington this local theatre is a success in every sense of the word. Executive Director Beryl Jolly tells us why.
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Megan Whilden Director of Cultural Development for Pittsfield
Making the Arts a Focus for Economic Recovery
By: - May 20th, 2009When General Electric moved out in the late 1980s, with 10,000 lost jobs, Pittsfield fell on hard times. The recovery started in 2003 when the new Mayor, James M. Ruberto, mandated that arts and culture would be a focus for economic development. Megan Whilden disussed how she joined the team in 2005 and the remarkable progress since then that has reshaped the city as a cultural destination.
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Potter Phil Sellers; Beer and Burgers
Chair of North Adams Open Studios for 2009
By: - May 08th, 2009Over a Beer and Burger we learned a lot about the artist, Phil Sellers, who with his wife Gail runs River Hill Pottery in the Eclipse Mill. This year he is chairing the annual North Adams Open Studios slated for October 17 and 18.
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Alain Didot la Recherche du temps perdu
Thoughts During a Patti Smith Film at Mass MoCA
By: - Apr 20th, 2009During the two hour Patti Smith film at Mass MoCA she mentioned lost loved ones quite often and visited graves of dead poets. Drifting off I thought of my friend Alain Didot who looked like Alain Delon and reminded me of Belmondo in Breathless.
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Kate Maguire of the Berkshire Theatre Festival
Dramatic Changes for Nation's Third Oldest Company
By: - Apr 11th, 2009Despite a drastic 20% budget cut Kate Maguire, the artistic director and CEO of Berkshire Theatre Festival is excitied about the coming season and the return of Randy Harrison in Ibsen's "Ghosts." During an upbeat interview she stated that "I'm not a director. I love directors. I'm married to one (Eric Hill). I love directing directors and I wanted to build a director's theatre."
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Fools Festival Marks End of the Clown Wars in Pittsfield
Fear of Clowns and Mimes Still Linger, However
By: - Apr 01st, 2009Today marks the 33rd anniversary of the Greasepaint Treaty of 1976, signed in Pittsfield, which marked the end of the Clown Wars, the catastrophic conflict between clowns and mimes that began in the 1960s. A multi-faceted Fools Festival will be held April 1-5 throughout Pittsfield to mark the event.
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Ole at the Clark
An Evening of Dance, Tapas, and Sangria
By: - Feb 21st, 2009Given a bad case of Berkshire Cabin Fever, as well as a recent wicked flu, we were thrilled by yet another Clark After Dark, this time with a Flamenco theme. Ole.
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Henry Schwartz 1927 to 2009
Remembering a Second Generation Boston Expressionist
By: - Feb 20th, 2009Henry Schwartz, a student of the Boston Expressionist, Karl Zerbe, was a connecting link to the current generation of figurative and expressionist artists. After a long illness and confinement since 1991, Schwartz passed away on February 16 at the age of 81. His work will be shown at the Danforth Museum this fall.
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Clark After Dark: Viva Flamenco
Ole To Winter Gloom
By: - Feb 05th, 2009During the dead of winter in the Berkshires we always enjoy the fabulous series of parties The Clark After Dark. There is always an evocative theme and this time it is a night to click your heels and clap your hands for Viva Flamenco. Expect tapas and sangria for an affordable fun evening in Williamstown on Friday, February 20.
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Cornelius Clarkson Vermeule III at 83
Former Curator of Classical Art at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
By: - Dec 03rd, 2008For some 40 years Cornelius Vermeule was the Curator of Classical Art of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. In addition to being a distinguised scholar he was a renowned wit and merry prankster.
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Yankee Stadium A Fan's Farewell
A Final Visit to The House That Ruth Built
By: - Sep 12th, 2008A native of the Bronx returns there to see his last game at Yankee Stadium before the legendary home of the New York Yankees since 1923 is torn down to make way for a new $1.3 billion stadium. With photos by Steve.
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10th Annual Eagle Street Beach Party
For Founder Eric Rudd Life Is a Beach
By: - Jul 17th, 2008It was the kind of hot summer day when folks head for the beach. But for the tenth annual occasion the North Adams based artist, Eric Rudd, brought the beach to Eagle Street downtown.
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Carnival Had Better Luck in Pittsfield
Singing in the Rain in North Adams
By: - May 20th, 2008It rained on the parade as the North Adams Carnival was a washout last weekend. We dropped by to capture the dampened spirits. But the sun came out over Memorial Day in Pittsfield.
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