New York Times

Highlights of the 2010 Festival include the U.S. debut of The Göteborg Ballet of Sweden; three world premieres co-commissioned by Jacob's Pillow from diverse young choreographers Kyle Abraham, Monica Bill Barnes, and Camille A. Brown; U.S. premieres from Spain, India, Thailand, and Israel; and celebrated favorites including contemporary ballet company Trey McIntyre Project, the men-on-pointe offerings of Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo, and the ever-popular Hubbard Street Dance Chicago.

Last year, for the first time, Shakespeare & Company mounted a winter production. The one woman show "Bad Dates" was a hit for Elizabeth Aspenlieder which won her Boston's Norton Award when she the took the show to Lowell. She is now in rehearsal, directed by Tina Packer, as the lead in "Les Liaisons Dangereuses" which opens January 29 and runs through March 21. We dropped by for a rehearsal and to catch up on S&Co.'s ongoing efforts to pay down a $10 million debt.

The Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center in Great Barrington announces a schedule of events and performances from now through August. Highlights include the sold out Live in HD broadcasts from the Met. Tony winner, Patti LuPone, jazz masters McCoy Tyner and Bucky Pizzarelli are among the highlights. As well as appearances by the Paul Taylor and Alvin Ailey dance companies.

Edge, Method Machine's production of a play about Sylvia Plath, Wednesday, January 27, at 7:30 p.m. at Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts' Gallery 51 at 51 Main Street, North Adams. Under the direction of David Henderson, Edge features Marcy J. Savastano in the role of Sylvia Plath, the poet and author most famous for the novel The Bell Jar.

Obie winner John Douglas Thompson will return this summer to star as "Richard III" at Shakespeare & Company. Tina Packer will direct "The Taster" a new play by Joan Ackerman. And Elizabeth Aspenlieder will star in "A Winter's Tale."

While on a tight deadline to complete the installation of "Gravity Is a Force to Be Reckoned With" in the vast Building Five at Mass MoCA Inigo Manglano-Ovalle took a break to discuss his work. He will simultaneously show "Juggernaut" at the Williams College Museum of Art. A Williams alumnus class of '83 in 2005 he received the college's Bicentennial Medal.

David Esbjornson was Arthur Miller's director of choice late in life, staging the premieres of his last two plays. He will bring Miller's classic "All My Sons" to the Huntington Theatre Company in Boston through February 7.

Imagine the Great Gatsby deconstructed as Gatz by Elevator Repair Service. This itchy glitchy production will be directed by John Collins opening at American Repertory Theater in Cambridge runs through February 7.

As reliable as Black Friday and White Christmas, holiday offerings in the Berkshires once again take center stage. From "A Christmas Carol" at the Berkshire Theatre Festival to "The Nutcracker" at the Colonial Theatre, with a Christmas Oratorio and British Panto tucked away here and there, the holidays are upon us.

The publisher, Alfred A. Knopf, of the controversial book "Open" by Andre Agassi, as told to and in collaboration with J. R. Moehringer, claims that it is not about tennis. Instead it is being hyped on 60 Minutes and in the media as "A Book for the Ages." Really? Perhaps it will one day be placed in the drawers of motel rooms along with that Other inspirational book. Or not.

The American Repertory Theatre will present Best of Both Worlds. written by Randy Weiner, music by Diedre Murray, and directed by A.R.T. Artistic Director Diane Paulus. Bursting with the sounds of R&B and gospel, Best of Both Worlds is a soulful re-envisioning of The Winter's Tale, Shakespeare's timeless story of heartbreak and redemption. Clap your hands, jump out of your seat, and feel the power of love with this holiday treat for all ages. It runs from November 21 through January 3.

Although there were funds to continue the non profit, Inkberry, which was founded in 2001, it could not afford to pay for staff to run its programs. That fell to a small group that no longer are able to maintain the organization. It is a significant loss for the Berkshire community.

The overall Tanglewood attendance was up some 20,000 last summer. But subtract the 61,198 for the five day sellout of James Taylor and Friends and Tanglewood would have been down some 40,000 with an overall loss even greater than the $3 to 4 million reported by the Berkshire Eagle. Will there be any surprises when the coming season is announced on November 20?

John Douglas Thompson is familiar to Berkshire audience for his sensational performances in Othello and the Dreamer Examines His Pillow this past season at Shakespeare & Company. His portrayal of The Emperor Jones has been met with rave reviews and sold out shows at New York's Irish Repertory Theater. The hit show has moved to the larger Soho Playhouse through January 31.

The old line print media, The Berkshire Eagle, the North Adams Transcript, and the Boston Globe were dead wrong in their unflinching support of Mayor John Barrett. At 26 years he was the longest running mayor in the history of the Commonwealth. Yesterday some 60% of the 52% of registered voters in North Adams supported Mayor Elect Dick Alcombright.

Monica Bill Barnes will be in residence October 18-25, Kyle Abraham arrives November 15-21, and Camille A. Brown in the spring of 2010, April 18-25. Each Creative Development Residency includes housing and unlimited studio use for the artists and their dancers, and concludes with an invitation-only, work-in-progress showing during which artists receive valuable creative feedback from audience members.

To quote Winston Churchill during the Battle of Britain "Is this the beginning of the end or the end of the beginning?" In the coming months artistic director Tony Simotes will be charged with getting Shakespeare & Company back on track and out from under a stagering debt of $10 million.

Although Tina Packer is in the midst of a controversial production of "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf" at Boston's Publick Theatre she attended the important press conference of Shakespeare & Company convened to discuss the current fiscal crisis. It was a chance to catch up with Packer and share her insights as founding artistic director of the company.

Tom Jones and Harvey Schmidt opened their musical "The Fantasticks" in 1960. It closed in 2002 and has had more than 20,000 global productions since then. Jones dropped by after a matinee to discuss the longest running musical with Barrington's artistic director, Julianne Boyd. The Pittsfield production may be the shortest running ever of the beloved musical.

Here's an advance peek at the wild and wooly romp that takes one of the most popular Sherlock Holmes tales and ruins it—umm, we mean, turns it inside out—stuffing it with endless laughs as it barrels forward at a breakneck pace, all the while daring the audience to hold on tight with both hands.

The annual Toronto International Film Festival has become the largest and most diverse film festival in the world. It allows filmlovers to taste, savor, reject and enjoy films from around the globe including general Hollywood big budget movies, independently produced smaller films, documentaries, family entertainments and midnight madness blood and guts horror films.

Shorter days bring brighter nighttime events. With a cornucopia of choices, Fall 2009 promises to be the most entertaining in years. Check over our picks and previews which cover events from now until late November, and you're sure to find something to spice up your cider.

This summer John Douglas Thompson thrilled audiences at Shakespeare & Company as the lead in "Othello." He also worked with two other actors in a riveting production of John Patrick Shanley's "The Dreamer Examines His Pillow." This fall he moves to New York's Irish Repertory Theatre in Eugene O'Neill's rarely produced, 1920 play, "The Emperor Jones." NY Times calls production "magical."

With Jack Levine and Karl Zerbe the artist Hyman Bloom, who was born in Latvia in 1913, was a founding member of the Boston Expressionists. He recently passed away at 96. Yeshiva University a memorial exhibition, through January 24, 2010, is traveling from the Danforth Museum curated by Katherine French.

At the age of 78, Olympia Dukakis could easily retire having earned the title of legendary actress and a mantle full of Oscars, Obies, Gabbys and Golden Globes. Instead the busiest actor of her generation makes a surprising decision - to return to Shakespeare & Company and work with her old friend and favorite student, Tony Simotes.