Theatre
-
Mikado Sings at Lyric Stage Company
Gilbert and Sullivan's Classic Brilliantly Contemporized
By: - Sep 16th, 2012When it was first produced in 1885, the Mikado brilliantly resurrected the careers of Gilbert and Sullivan. It brought the recently unveiled exotic far away Japan to a very understandably human level. It is universally considered Gilbert & Sullivan’s most beloved work. With a contemporary twist, wonderfully and energetically staged by Spiro Veloudos, this is a witty musical satire of social mores and politics that is as contemporary today as it was 125 years ago. In great voice, the cast sings mischievous and clever 2012 American-election-year rhyming patter and lyrics.
-
Terry Teachout Part Five
New Haven and Long Wharf Theatre Then
By: - Sep 12th, 2012In this fifth and final installment of a dialogue with Terry Teachout we discussed plans for the production of his first play Satchmo at the Waldorf which moves from Shakespeare & Company to Long Wharf Theatre in New Haven. So far it has been seen by a number of artistic directors of regional companies and New York producers are expected to attend the production in New Haven. What happens next for Satchmo will become clear after opening night in New Haven. As teachout puts it "The word is out on this play."
-
Terry Teachout Part Four
Taking Satchmo to the Next Level
By: - Sep 10th, 2012After opening night the Shakespeare & Company production of Terry Teachout's new play Satchmo at the Waldorf was "frozen." Teachout attended a number of performances and took notes for revisions working with director, Gordon Edelstein, and the actor, John Douglas Thompson, for the next production which opens at Long Wharf Theatre in New Haven in October. For this installment Teachout discusses the primary sources researched for the harsh language of Louis Armstrong and his gangster manager Joe Glaser.
-
Terry Teachout Part Three
Mood Indigo a Duke Ellington Bio in Progress
By: - Sep 08th, 2012Wall Street Journal drama critic Terry Teachout has written and produced an opera The Letter and a play Satchmo at the Waldorf. He has written two plays and another libretto since then but refuses to reveal details. We discussed his next music bio Mood Indigo, about Duke Ellington, which he hopes to finish in January. He did admit that he had a multi character idea for a play that would not include Ellington.
-
Terry Teachout Two
Refining Satchmo at the Waldorf
By: - Sep 06th, 2012The production of Terry Teachout's new play"Satchmo at the Waldorf" starring John Douglas Thompson was "frozen" after opening night at Shakespeare & Company. He defended against critical remarks about the strong language of rhe play and the development of a third character Miles Davis in addition to Louis Armstrong and his manager Joe Glaser. The changes will be a part of the Long Wharf Theatre production in October which will be reviewed by the national media.
-
The Old Mezzo by Susan Dworkin
WAM Premiere Oct. 12-28 at Berkshire Museum
By: - Sep 04th, 2012WAM Theatre’s October 12-28 World Premiere production of The Old Mezzo by Berkshire based playwright Susan Dworkin will feature professional actors from Berkshire County and the Pioneer Valley in Western Massachusetts, the Capital Region of Upstate NY and beyond. It will be presented at the Berkshire Museum.
-
Terry Teachout America's Drama Critic
On the Road for the Wall Street Journal
By: - Sep 04th, 2012Terry Teachout of the Wall Street Journal is the only critic for a national publication covering both New York and regional theatre. During the American Theatre Critics Association meeting in Chicago, last June, we heard his keynote address on the state of criticism. Taking a break from working on his new play "Satchmo at the Waldorf" at Shakespeare & Company in Lenox, Mass. we followed up on issues he raised for assembled ATCA members. It concerns him to be America's Drama Critic. There should be a dozen others like him on the road. This is part one of an in depth dialogue.
-
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time,
Live in HD at the Clark September 6
By: - Aug 30th, 2012On Thursday, September 6, at 2:00 pm, the Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute presents The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, captured live in HD from London’s National Theatre. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, based on the novel of the same title by Mark Haddon and adapted by Simon Stephens, opens with Christopher, fifteen years old, standing beside Mrs. Shears’s dead dog, Wellington, at seven minutes after midnight.
-
Broadway Opening Night Schedule
Season Starts September 10 with Chaplin
By: - Aug 30th, 2012It's time to mark your calendars and order tickets. We have the list of Broadway openings from Chaplin on September 10 through Jekyll and Hyde in April. Fasten your seat belts its bound to be a bumpy ride.
-
Les 7 doigts de la main at ArtsEmerson
Returns Sept. 27 to Oct. 7 at Cutler Majestic Theatre
By: - Aug 30th, 2012The third season of acclaimed international theatre programming by ArtsEmerson: The World On Stage continues with what is quickly becoming a beloved Boston tradition - the return of Montreal-based high-energy movement artists Les 7 doigts de la main, with the Boston premiere of their newest show, Sequence 8.
-
The King Stag at the Mount
Main Street Stage Production Sept. 23
By: - Aug 30th, 2012A performance of The King Stag by Main Street Stage will be held at The Mount in Lenox on Sunday September 23rd at 11 a.m. The show is free and open to the public.
-
American Theatre Wing Announces Awards
2012 National Theatre Company Grants
By: - Aug 29th, 2012The American Theatre Wing has announced the recipients of its 2012 National Theatre Company Grants. This year’s recipients are: Actors’ Shakespeare Project (Somerville, Massachusetts), ArtsWest (Seattle, Washington), Know Theatre of Cincinnati (Cincinnati, Ohio), NC Stage Company (Asheville, North Carolina), The New Jersey Repertory Company (Long Branch, New Jersey), CityRep (Oklahoma City, Oklahoma), The Rogue Theatre (Tucson, Arizona), The Play Company (New York City, New York), The Theatre @ Boston Court (Pasadena, California), and Upstream Theater (St. Louis, Missouri).
-
John Douglas Thompson on Eugene O’Neill: Two
Reflecting on Playing Brutus Jones and Joe Mott
By: - Aug 28th, 2012Currently John Douglas Thompson is performing a one man show with three characters Satchmo at the Waldorf a work in progress by playwright Terry Teachout. On a Monday break, following a weekend of five performances at Shakespeare & Company, we met to edit the second and final part of a dialogue about performing roles in the plays of Eugene O'Neill. In June we saw him play Joe Mott in the Chicago production of Iceman Cometh at the Goodman Theatre. Some time back we saw him play The Emperor Jones in New York.
-
Satchmo at the Waldorf at Shakespeare & Company
John Douglas Thompson Solos in Terry Teachout Play
By: - Aug 25th, 2012In 1964 Louis Armstrong knocked the Beatles off the top of the charts with the hit "Hello Dolly." It was a compelling answer to a New York Times critic who pronounced him washed up. The bug eyed, grimacing, clowning, handkerchief waving Satchmo relaunched a career as the first super star in jazz. . The superb Terry Teachout play, Satchmo at the Waldorf, starring John Douglas Thompson, catches him after the gig in his dressing room just months before he died in 1971.
-
39 Steps at Shakespeare & Company
Hichcock Inspired Drama Sept. 22 to Nov. 4
By: - Aug 24th, 2012An ingenious thriller, the ultimate murder mystery, The 39 Steps has it all. Shakespeare & Company opens the 2012-2013 Fall & Winter season with this hilarious adaptation of John Buchan’s novel, which also draws inspiration from Alfred Hitchcock’s classic film. Featuring a seasoned ensemble including Elizabeth Aspenlieder (Bad Dates), Jason Asprey (Parasite Drag), David Joseph (The Tempest), and Josh Aaron McCabe (Hound of the Baskervilles), The 39 Steps offers an intriguing, sidesplitting evening or afternoon at the theatre. The 39 Steps runs from September 22 through November 4 in S&Co.’s Elayne P. Bernstein Theatre.
-
Homer’s Illiad at La Jolla Playhouse
A Spellbinding Triumph!
By: - Aug 22nd, 2012The La Jolla Playhouse (LJP) was founded in 1947 by Gregory Peck, Dorothy McGuire, and Mel Ferrer. A remarkable play based on Homer’s ancient epic “The Illiad†has just opened. The Playhouse has created twenty-two productions over the years that have transferred to Broadway, earning thirty-five Tony Awards in the process. In the last few years their transfer productions have captured four Best Musical or Best Play Tony Awards; the last in 2008 with “Memphis.â€
-
Williamstown Theatre Festival Drew 41,000
58Th Season Closes for Renowned Festival
By: - Aug 20th, 2012Williamstown Theatre Festival supported the Berkshires community by bringing nearly 41,000 audience members from 44 states and 6 countries while they attended the work of 401 members of the WTF Company including staff, apprentices, and artists!
-
Cause of Failure at NY Fringe Festival
FullStop Collective Production
By: - Aug 20th, 2012"Cause of Failure" which ends this week at the New York Fringe Festival provides a multifaceted exploration of the impact of a woman's long term battle with congestive heart failure on those around her seen through the eye's of her daughter
-
Brace Yourself by David Epstein
World Premiere for Berkshire Theatre Group
By: - Aug 19th, 2012The Berkshire Theatre Group is presenting the world premiere of Brace Yourself a family comedy set on Fire Island by David Epstein. In the face of an approaching hurricane Sunny (Jill Eikenberry) is planning the mega wedding that her daughter Nina (Tara Franklin) really doesn't want. While the comedy delighted the audience I found it as breezy as that storm that rode out to sea.
-
Bradley Cooper's Elephant Man
Broadway for the Fall 2014
By: - Aug 17th, 2012During a film premiere in Bradley Cooper was heard to say “We’re going to try to do it on Broadway next fall. We’re going to try to nail it down and do a limited run.†That was told to someone who told someone. It went viral on Facebook. That was originally slated for 2013. Now it has been moved forward to Fall 2014. The play was produced by Williamstown Theatre Festival under artistic director Jenny Gersten who has resigned but has programmed the 2014 season.
-
Alfred Molina in Red at Mark Taper Forum
Tony Winning Play Transfers to LA
By: - Aug 16th, 2012We welcome California based theatre critic, Jack Lyons, as a contributor to Berkshire Fine Arts. He reposts this report from Desert Local News on Alfred Molina who initiated the role of Mark Rothko in "Red" on Broadway. The play won a Tony Award and has been widely staged by regional theaters. This production at Mark Taper Forum in Los Angeles is notable for featuring the phenomenal Molina in a stunning performance.
-
God of Carnage at San Diego's Old Globe
Yasmina Reza Comedy in Hilarious Production
By: - Aug 16th, 2012Our California based theatre correspondent, Jack Lyons, compares the mid career Yasmina Reza to the master Neil Simon. Her Broadway hit is having a successful production at The Old Globe. He writes that " This quartette of performers doesn’t have to take a back seat to any ensemble that has previously performed the play."
-
Shakespeare & Company Reports Boffo Box Office
Sales Up 23% From This Time Last Year
By: - Aug 14th, 2012As Shakespeare & Company continues to celebrate its 35th Season of "Rebellion and Revolution" in the Berkshires, Artistic Director Tony Simotes and Managing Director Nicholas J. Puma, Jr. are pleased to announce that on Monday, August 6, the Company surpassed $1 million in ticket sales for the 2012-2013 performance season, the earliest date the Company has reached that figure in its 35 year history. This feat also puts the Company 22.5% ahead of its box office totals from last year’s performance season at this time.
-
See How They Run at Barrington Stage Company
Vintage British Farce by Philip King
By: - Aug 13th, 2012Barrington Stage ends the Mainstage summer season with a vintage, 1943, British farce See How They Run. From beginning to hilarious end we never stopped laughing. This is a delightfully silly evening of theatre.
-
Paris Commune at ArtsEmerson
Season Open Septrember 20
By: - Aug 13th, 2012ArtsEmerson: The World On Stage opens with the world premiere of The Civilians’ Paris Commune, a musical play that centers on a two month period in France during the Industrial Revolution, when workers take control of Paris in a popular uprising. Performances take place September 20 – 23, 2013 at The Paramount Center Mainstage (559 Washington Street in Boston’s Theatre District).
<< Previous Next >>