Times Union

The virtual screening of Rites of Passage: 20/20 Vision- a walk-through installation performance celebrating the lives of Women of Color will premier on November 5th at 8pm. Set inside a historic Women’s Club mansion in Pittsfield MA, each of the 21 rooms represented a stage or theme of initiation in the lives of Black, Indigenous and Immigrant Women of Color.

During conferences of American Theatre Critics Association the Rochester based critic, Herbert Simpson, was a raconteur and noble presence. Rooted in the classics he had little patience for current foibles. His opinions were always crusty, witty, scholarly, loquacious and well crafted. As a correspondent we were honored to repost his reviews.

Nederlands Dans Theater was founded in 1959 and with some 600 works in its portfolio has been one of the most influential global companies. In 1978 a younger second company was formed and this is its first week in Becket since 2007.

Dance Theatre of Harlem, led by Artistic Director Virginia Johnson, performs Donald Byrd’s smooth yet power-packed contemporary ballet Contested Space, which features a plethora of solos and duets. past-carry-forward, created for DTH by Tanya Wideman-Davis and Thaddeus Davis, conveys the spirit and significance of the Harlem Renaissance.

There has been considerable risk taking in the 2013 season programmed by Shakespeare & Company artistic director Tony Simotes. It has combined rarely produced Shakespeare plays as well as tough works by Stoppard and Brecht. The season ends on September 15 with arguably the most controversial play of the Berkshire season Martin McDonagh's brutal dark comedy The Beauty Queen of Leenane. This is part two of a discussion with its cast members Tina Packer, Elizabeth Aspenlieder, David Sedgwick and Edmund Donovan.

The Irish playwright Martin McDonagh is a brutal bastard to actors and the suffering audience. The Beauty Queen of Leenane at Shakespeare & Company is an evening of pure misery. But if you love great theatre don't miss four truly magnificent performances. It is also the first time that a national treasure, Tina Packer, has shared a stage with the phenomenal Elizabeth Aspenlieder.

It is that time of year when we look back at the highlights and insights of the past season. Take a deep breath and anticipate what lays ahead for 2012. There is much to remember as well as look forward to.

There is no question that the first season of artistic director Jenny Gersten has done well at the box office. In a release WTF announces that its sales for August are double what they were in August last year. Overall they are stating attendance at some 44,000. According to the wildly uneven reviews, however, Williamstown Theatre Company has slipped from its once dominant position among the four major Berkshire theatre companies.

The production of Ten Cents a Dance based on a reworking of Rodgers and Hart by John Doyle is provoking a firestorm of controversy. The musical in which five women sing and play instruments with a male piano player is inspiring praise and scorn from audiences and critics. Everyone emerges from Williamstown Theatre Festival with an opinion. Here are links to positive and negative reviews. Don't miss the chance to wade in on this. See it while you can.

This week the Williamstown Theatre Festival will start to build the first of seven sets. There is the opening of Streetcar Named Desire on the Nikos Stage opening on June 22. That's just three weeks from now. With tech rehearsals on June 21 and 22 which means the set has to be installed on the 18th and 19th. That's the norm for WTF. But right now a crew of 15 is frantically building the set shops to build the sets. On February 11 the roof collapsed at the Delftree Mill which housed the former props and set workshops.

Celebrity chef, best-selling author and successful restaurateur Lidia Bastianich will highlight the 2010 Saratoga Wine & Food and Fall Ferrari Festival presented by the Italian Trade Commission, September 10 â€" 12. Bastianich joins world-class Italian auto designer Andrea Zagato and Presenting Sponsor, the Italian Trade Commission, in headlining the festival, a series of events over three days celebrating Italy’s excellence in wine, food and automobiles. Proceeds from the event will benefit Saratoga Performing Arts Center’s educational programs.

For Berkshire residents the Saratoga Performing Arts Center is not that far away, and offers a completely different menu of performances to choose from. Their season had just begun when we visited. The New York City Ballet is in residence through July 18.

The volunteers, the deficits, the sniping from the sidelines: You have to expect it when you are biggest target. The BSO's Berkshire summer of 2007 lends itself to parody, speculation and reminiscences.