Best of the Berkshires for August 3 - 17
A Detailed Guide to Arts & Entertainment
By: Larry Murray - Aug 02, 2009
August 3 - 17
Barrington Stage Company
Main Stage 30 Union Street, Pittsfield
Stage II 36 Linden Street, Pittsfield
Box Office 413.236.8888
Online http://www.barringtonstageco.org/
A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE: August 6 - 29 on the Main Stage. Julianne Boyd directs Tennessee Williams' greatest drama with Marin Mazzie as the sexually charged Blanche DuBois and Christopher Innvar as the explosive Stanley Kowalski.
The plot is a classic: the emotionally fragile Blanche DuBois arrives in steamy New Orleans to stay with her sister Stella where she is confronted by Stella's brutish working class husband Stanley Kowalski. Sparks fly and passions boil over, interrupting the delicate balance in Stella and Stanley's marriage and sending Blanche's life out of control. This darkly beautiful and hauntingly poetic Pulitzer Prize winning play is not to be missed. But be forewarned: once you experience this riveting drama, just about everything on commercial television will see even more vacuous.
HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL 2: Now - August 16 at St. Joseph High School in Pittsfield, presented by Barrington Stage's Youth Theatre. Feature Story Here With a cast of 15 of the most talented teenagers from the Berkshires and beyond, this sequel reunites audiences with East High Wildcats, Troy , Gabriella and friends as they land summer jobs at a country club, where drama heats up after Troy agrees to sing with notorious mean girl Sharpay in the club's annual talent show. This musical is fun, family-friendly and appropriate for children of all ages.
THE LONGING AND THE SHORT OF IT - SONGS BY DANIEL MATE: August 7-8 on BSC Stage 2. Maté's songs are a contemporary hybrid of influences ranging from jazz and rock to off-Broadway style, both heartfelt and humorous. He makes dazzlingly audacious choices in his lyrics, often topical, sometimes truly offbeat. A songwriter on the rise, he is quite a gem albeit with some rough edges in need of polish, but the genuine article nevertheless. Maté will be joined by Heath Calvert (last seen at BSC in "My Scary Girl"), Jason "SweetTooth" Williams (a veteran of Joe Iconis's musical projects), and Marie-France Arcilla (who recently starred in "Working" at the Old Globe in San Diego), as well as a three-piece band (piano, bass, drums). Not to be missed.
FREUD'S LAST SESSION: August 14 - 30 at BSC Stage 2. A return of the popular play which made its world premiere earlier this summer. Earlier Review Here Written by Mark St. Germain, the play stars Mark H. Dold and Martin Rayner as C.S. Lewis and Sigmund Freud in a meeting between the two on the day Britain enters WWII. Freud, a staunch atheist, quizzes Lewis, a former atheist who converted to Christianity, about his views on God and more personal matters.
Berkshire Fringe Festival
Daniel's Arts Center
Bard College at Simon's Rock
84 Alford Road
Great Barrington, MA
Information: 413.320.4175
Online http://www.berkshirefringe.org
It's time for the The Berkshire Fringe (Advance Story Here) , a 21 day summer festival presenting dynamic new works of theater, dance and music by emerging artists from across the United States—as well as those right from our own backyard. Held on the campus of Bard College at Simon's Rock in Great Barrington, there are dozens of groundbreaking original performances, special events, community workshops and music.
CIRCUMFERENCE: August 5-9. Written and performed by Amy Salloway. The Ghosts of Gym Teachers Past haunt the Fear of Fitness Centers Present and the Obsession with Weight Loss Future in this new, mostly-true solo comedy about size, sweat and exercisingÂ… your demons. Circumference is largely based on the year Salloway spent trying to get insurance approval for gastric bypass surgery. Flashbacks take us to her 7th grade gym class where she flunks her Presidential Physical Fitness Test worse than anyone in the history of Cheese Creek Junior High and where Amy is forced into constant, daily interactions with the uncooperative body she insists she long ago "got a divorce from."
ELEPHANTS AND GOLD: August 6-10. Created by Eliza Ladd and Little Big Tree Productions and inspired by the New York Times Magazine article Are We Driving Elephants Crazy? Elephants and Gold is an ensemble driven physical theater piece that drags, digs, buries, crawls and plunges into an archeological excavation of human identity. The cast blends song, movement and dreamlike vignettes to chronicle human migration, ritual and inter-species dynamics. The performers transform into early humans, elephants, Victorian explorers, lost men and poachers, within a landscape of metal buckets, heavy stones, iron hooks and strands of rope.
PHI ALPHA GAMMA: August 12-16. Written and Performed by Dan Bernitt, the Lambda Award nominated Phi Alpha Gamma is a haunting portrait of brotherhood, masculinity, love and fear embedded in American culture. Two years after two young men perpetrate a gay-bashing that scars their fraternity's reputation, another member of the fraternity comes out of the closet. Phi Alpha Gamma focuses a compassionate eye on young men searching for a deeper connection with each other. The story weaves together the voices of four fraternity brothers as they each grapple with the remnants of the hate crime and this new revelation.
GRAVEYARD SHIFT: August 13-17. Written by Gabriel Patel, Directed by John Hadden. With themes straight from Greek tragedy and language from the skate park, Graveyard Shift paints an unflinching picture of young, lower-middle class life in rural America. Creating a vibrant, poetic and contemporary theater of place, the play chronicles the lives of Alice, a tumultuous, fast talking heroine, and Murdoch, a troubled late night convenience store clerk. Amidst the backdrop of youthful angst and harrowing family drama, the two strike up an unlikely friendship that awakens a deep current of love and mutual respect. This world premiere by Berkshire-based writer Gabriel W. Patel features an ensemble of local performers under the direction of John L. Hadden. Contains strong language and adult themes.
Check their website for many other events and presentations.
Berkshire Theatre Festival
Main Stage Main Street (Route 102), Stockbridge
Unicorn Theatre Route 7, Stockbridge
Box Office 413.298.5576
Online http://www.berkshiretheatre.org/
CANDIDE: Now - August 15 in the Unicorn Theatre. Leonard Bernstein's popular operetta-musical (Reviewed Here) about "the best of all possible worlds". Ralph Petillo will direct the piece, based on the novella by Voltaire, and featuring a book by Hugh Wheeler. It tells the story of a young man's journey of self-discovery as he tries to find his place in a world that appears to be growing increasingly hostile. BTF has recently introduced special pricing for students with valid ID of $15 a ticket for most performances, Saturday evenings excepted.
THE PRISONER OF SECOND AVENUE: Now - August 9 on the Main Stage. (Reviewed here.) Mel and Edna Edison, a middle-aged couple living in New York, find their luck is quickly deteriorating during a terrible heat wave and a garbage strike. When Mel cracks under the pressure, his family intervenes in an attempt to nurse him back to his old self, with predictably unpredictable results. World renowned playwright Neil Simon presents a comical, and sometimes poignant, look at the pressures placed upon a working class family that ripples with his trademark crisp dialogue and quirky, hysterically memorable characters.
GHOSTS: August 12 to 29 on the Main Stage. One of the most anticipated offerings of the summer, this classic of the stage by Henrik Ibsen is being presented in a new adaptation by Anders Cato and James Leverett. Cato also directs a superb cast which includes David Adkins as Manders, Mia Dillon as Mrs. Alving, Jonathan Epstein as Engstrand, Tara Franklin as Regina Engstrand and Randy Harrison as Oswald.
A woman struggles to keep several terrible family secrets, the implication of which are only worsened by a puritanical Pastor, a lascivious son, and her own guilt-ridden, well hidden past. Full of dark symbols, Ghosts exemplifies Henrik Ibsen's uncanny ability to overturn Victorian social values by using them as the damning elements in his work.
Goodspeed Musicals
6 Main Street
East Haddam, CT
Box Office: 860.873.8668
Online http://www.goodspeed.org/
CAMELOT: Now - September 19. It's bit of a drive, but Goodspeed Musicals, the only two-time Tony Award winning theatre company in the country is always worth the effort. Their new production of Camelot, with the music of Lerner and Loewe is to die for. Directed by Rob Ruggiero, once a Berkshires regular at Barrington Stage, this show gets the full scale production with live orchestra and lavish sets that makes Goodspeed productions so special. Tickets are tough to secure on the weekends, so plan ahead.
Shakespeare & Company
Founders Theatre, Rose Footprint, Bernstein Theatre
70 Kemble Street, Lenox
Box Office 413.637.3353
Online http://www.shakespeare.org/
HAMLET: Now through August 28. (Reviewed Here). Shakespeare's uncontested masterpiece (Interview with Director) played to packed houses at Shakespeare & Company in 2006, and returns for a limited run. With Jason Asprey as Hamlet, Tina Packer as Gertrude, Dennis Krausnick as Polonius and Nigel Gore as Claudius. Founder's Theatre.
OTHELLO: Now through September 6. Mainstage in the Founder's Theatre. Back for a second year, this gut-wrenching story of love, racism and betrayal is as startling, relevant and timely today as when it first performed over 400 years ago. Directed by Tony Simotes (Interviewed Here) . John Douglas Thompson (Interviewed Here) gives a powerful performance as The Moor of Venice, and which was cited last year as the best of the season by BFA.
MEASURE FOR MEASURE: Now - September 5. Performed in the Elayne Bernstein Theatre as part of the new Lunch Box Shakespeare Series. (Reviewed here) Performances are at 12:45 PM with a boxed lunch before the performance. This Shakespeare shortie is directed by Dave Demke and tells the story of Isabella who must choose an awful choice - the death of her condemned brother or surrendering her virginity to a corrupt politician who can commute the sentence. Written as a thinly veiled comedy about hypocrisy, corruption and sex for trade in high places, it's a story as contemporary as today's cable news coverage.
TWELFTH NIGHT: Now - September 5 in the Founders' Theatre. Some comedies are born great. Some achieve greatness. Some have greatness thrust upon them. The laughs are back-to-back, tipsy-turvy and echo all through the house in Shakespeare's festive holiday of misrule, madness, switched identities, gender bending and comic fantasy.
DEVIL'S ADVOCATE: Now - August 16 in the Elayne P. Bernstein Theatre. Presented by Shakespeare & Company in association with the Mercury Theatre Company UK. On Christmas Eve, 1989, Panamanian strongman Manuel Noriega took refuge from American troops in the Vatican embassy. From that night comes a boiling political dialogue about the shadowy history of the American Empire. With Dennis Krausnick and Ignatius Anthony.
THE DREAMER EXAMINES HIS PILLOW: August 7 - September 6 in the Elayne P. Bernstein Theatre. This play by John Patrick Shanley and Directed by Tod Randolph is rarely performed and a personal favorite. Biting, comic, and totally today, this unusually revealing voyage into the puzzling nature of relationships and the clash of heart and mind reveals a truth that is too often hidden.
OTHER EVENTS AT THE BANKSIDE FESTIVAL: Shakespeare's Wordplay is free (but tickets are required from the Box Office) and begins August 13 (through September 6) on Tuesdays at 12:30 and Sundays at 12:30 and 5:30. Wordplay is a whirlwind of humor, filled with historically accurate color, and includes scenes from Richard III, Romeo and Juliet, Taming of the Shrew, The Tempest, Henry IV, Much Ado About Nothing, and The Comedy of Errors.
There's also the two-part "Toad of Toad Hall" presented free during the afternoons which is adapted from The Wind in the Willows by A.A. Milne at the Rose Footprint Theatre and Bankside. Then there are daily Preludes which are sort outdoor performances. All are free. Check their website for specifics.
Ventfort Hall
104 Walker Street
Lenox, MA 01240
Box Office: 413.637.3206
Online http://www.gildedage.org/
PARIS 1890 - UNLACED! Now to September 6. A wonderful show that provides a humorous, slightly risqué and poignant glimpse into Parisian society of the Gilded Age and its controversial "Grand Horizontal" ladies. The play was commissioned by Ventfort Hall from playwright Juliane Hiam and stars Anne Undeland in a one-woman adventure into the past. Sarah Taylor, formerly of Shakespeare & Company, directs. A delightful way to spend an hour and fifteen minutes with the courtesans of the past.
Williamstown Theater Festival
'62 Center for Theatre and Dance
1000 Main Street (Route 2), Williamstown
Box Office: 413.597.3400
Online http://www.wtfestival.org/
THE TORCH BEARERS: July 29 - August 9 on the Main Stage. Tony-nominated stage and screen actor Dylan Baker Interviewed Here directs this side-splitting 1920s farce in which a troupe of amateur actors rehearse and perform a show-stopping new play—or try to with all their might. Reviewed Here Their stage is riddled with comedic drama, suspense, and good old-fashioned witty mayhem, similar to both Noises Off and Boeing Boeing.
CAROLINE IN JERSEY: August 5-16 on the Nikos Stage. The world premiere of a new play by Melinda Lopez and directed by Amanda Charlton features Lea Thompson as Caroline. who is down and out in New Jersey. She's having a nervous breakdown, her career as an actress is tragically dwindling, and a peculiar stranger has made his presence known in her new apartment. Can she find a way to conquer it all? This funny and touching new play follows one woman's whole-hearted attempt to accept the past and take hold of the future, despite the many surprises that might pop up along the way. Also in the cast are Will LeBow, Matt McGrath, and Brenda Wehle.
QUARTERMAINE'S TERMS: August 12-23. Tony-nominated director Maria Aitken directs this charming and heart-felt 1960s comedy by Simon Gray about an endearingly eccentric group of English teachers in Cambridge whose insatiable quest for knowledge has masked their secret longings for passion, romance, and true happiness. The cast includes Jeremy Beck, Ann Dowd, Morgan Hallett, John Horton, Simon Jones, Stephen Kunken and Jefferson Mays.
Tanglewood
Performances at Koussevitzky Shed, Ozawa Hall, Gould Auditorium, Theatre
297 West Street, Lenox
413.637.1600
Online http://www.bso.org/
The exciting summer of clasical music offerings concludes at America's premiere music venue. Later this month James Taylor arrives on August 30 , as does the Tanglewood Jazz Festival for the Labor Day Weekend.
All-Stravinsky Program
August 3, at 8:00
Mark Morris Dance Group
August 5-6, at 8:00
Boston Pops Orchestra with Chris Botti
August 7, at 8:00
Perle, Shostakovich, Fauré and Bizet
August 9 at 2:30
Festival of Contemporary Music
August 10-11
Saratoga NY Performing Arts Center (SPAC)
109 Avenue of the Pines
Saratoga Springs, NY 12866
Box Office 518.584.9330
Online http://www.spac.org/
The Philadelphia Orchestra is in residence at SPAC from August 5 to 22 with a wide ranging program of classic and popular favorites under conductor Charles Dutoit. Among the highlights are:
Opening Night August 5 features Copland's A Lincoln Portrait narrated by Alec Baldwin and Yefim Bronfman playing the Brahms Piano Cto No. 2. Pictures at an Exhibition will close the evening.
JOSHUA BELL - The Maestro and The Maverick on August 8 features the violinist for the Mendelssohn Violin Concerto, plus Dvorak's Symphony No. 9.
A CELLO EXTRAVAGANZA on August 12 with Yo Yo Ma playinig the Schumann and Lalo Cello Concertos, plus the Saratoga Overture by Ranjbaran and the Ravel Suite No. 2 from Daphnis and Chloe.
AN EVENING WITH DEGAS AND THE PHILADELPHIA ORCHESTRA: August 15 Dance is music, dance as art. One of the most exciting evenings this summer will be The Philadelphia Orchestra's "Evening with Degas." Local artists will be working on the lawn beginning at 6 pm. This collaborative program developed on behalf of the Hyde Collection's groundbreaking Degas & Music exhibit, will explore the connection between this great French Impressionist artist and the music that informed and inspired his work.
THE TCHAIKOVSKY SPECTACULAR ON August 21, featuring the Polonaise from Eugene Onegin, his Violin Concerto, the Rococo Variations for cello and the 1812 Overture. Fireworks after the live cannon display. Free ice cream.
Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival
358 George Carter Road, Becket
Box Office 413.243.0745
Online http://www.jacobspillow.org/
RENNIE HARRIS PURE MOVEMENT: August 5-9 in the Ted Shawn Theatre. "A performance by Rennie Harris Pure Movement is an exciting experience, and those who are unfamiliar with the art form of hip-hop or have pre-conceived notions about it should not miss these performances," says Ella Baff, Executive Director of Jacob's Pillow. "Rennie Harris has influenced contemporary dance. He has brought hip-hop to the concert stage and expanded the public's perception of what the form is about – its history, evolution, vitality, and its astonishing virtuosity, which speaks to all people."
JACINTA VLACH/ LIBERATION DANCE THEATER: August 5-9 in the Doris Duke Theatre. Provocative territory and powerful dancing are the signatures of this bold company from San Francisco. Jacinta Vlach, a former dancer with Nathan Trice/RITUALS, Robert Moses' Kin Dance Company and Philadanco, stirs a melting pot of modern dance and urban movement styles in her choreographic commentaries on race, culture and identity. Her powerful dancers super-charge the message in a program of works that includes Abjection in America, set to a score of Latin fusion music and excerpts from comedians Richard Pryor and John Leguizamo (contains strong language).
DOUG VARONE AND DANCERS: August 12-16 in the Ted Shawn Theatre. New York choreographer Doug Varone is acclaimed for intelligent and strongly kinetic movement that appeals to both the mind and the heart. His work surges with magnetic energy and feeling, drawing audiences into a thrilling and beautiful world of dance. Founded in 1986, Varone and his company perform a varied program including Lux, set to Philip Glass' The Light and described by The Washington Post as "the kind of dancing I might dream about, loose and sweeping in a spirit of exultation."
RUBBERBANDANCE: August 12-16 in the Doris Duke Theatre. In dancer/choreographer Victor Quijada's newest work Punto Ciego (Blind Spot), Rubberbandance takes movement to new heights in a work charged with ballet, contemporary, hip-hop, spoken word and video. The company interacts with audiences through multimedia technology and subtle storytelling, drawing them into a humorous, poignant world of six characters that break boundaries, mix realities and entertain. Rubberbandance, led by Quijada and co-artistic director Anne Plamondon, has toured throughout Europe, North America and Japan and made its sold-out Pillow debut in 2006.
FREE PILLOW TALKS in Blake's Barn: Jules Feiffer's Explainers, Wednesday, August 5, at 5 pm. A new book by the legendary cartoonist/writer/illustrator Jules Feiffer comprises hundreds of strips from The Village Voice, including his iconic soloist in her "Dance to Spring" and other social commentaries. As a complement to the current Pillow exhibition of his dance work, Feiffer speaks and signs books. On Saturday, August 8, at 4 pm, Rachel Maddow, the wildly popular American television host, radio personality, and political commentator, discusses what role the arts can play in our lives and in society as a whole in Rachel Maddow Talks Dance?
FREE INSIDE OUT performances at 6:30pm: Wednesday, August 5, erica essner performance co-Op performs Erica Essner's newest work, Moon Uprising, accompanied by live mbira (African thumb piano). Moon Uprising highlights Essner's fluid and organic phrasing to investigate the language of the body through physical narrative and partnering.
Thursday, August 6, CONTRA-TIEMPO, a Los Angeles-based performance ensemble founded by choreographer Ana María Alvarez, blends salsa, Afro-Cuban, West African, hip hop and dance-theatre movement styles with dancers who are also teachers, activists and organizers.
Friday, August 7, xodus dance collective fuses extreme movement into one unified voice. Established in 2006 and led by artistic director Karen Gayle, a faculty member at Steps on Broadway and Ballet Hispanico, the company employs her "slice of life" choreography technique to explore common and unique perspectives among people.
Saturday, August 8, students of The School of Jacob's Pillow—Jazz/Musical Theatre conclude their first week of intensive study at the Pillow with a showing of new work created by program director Chet Walker, co-conceiver of Fosse, and guest choreographer Spence Ford.
August 12: Kyle Abraham/Abraham,in.Motion.
August 13: Solas An Lae Dance Company.
August 14: VIA Dance Collaborative.
August 15: The School at the Pillow: Jazz/Musical Theatre Dance.
ONGOING FREE EXHIBITS: In Blake's Barn, A Dance to Jules Feiffer, an exclusive exhibition created for and debuting at Jacob's Pillow that focuses on the dance imagery of renowned cartoonist and Pulitzer Prize-winner Jules Feiffer and Alvin Ailey: Anniversary Salute which celebrates the 50th anniversary season of Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater with rare photographs by John Lindquist and John Van Lund. In the Ted Shawn Theatre lobby, The Art of Merce Cunningham, a tribute to Cunningham's 90th birthday that documents his collaborations with distinctive visual artists with costumes, sketches, posters, and other artifacts from the Merce Cunningham Dance Foundation Archives. Outsiders, a selection of open-air images of dance at the Pillow including classics by John Lindquist and John Van Lund, in Bakalar Studio, and Tap!, a photography exhibit featuring acclaimed artists such as Jimmy Slyde, Gregory Hines, Savion Glover, Dianne Walker, and others, in the Doris Duke Theatre Lobby.
Colonial Theatre
111 South Street, Pittsfield
Box Office 413.997.4444
Online http://www.thecolonialtheatre.org/
STEVE ROSS - LIVE AT THE ALGONQUIN: August 4. Steve Ross performs classic songs from Dietz & Schwartz, Kurt Weill and Cole Porter, with more recent evergreens by Jim Croce and Stephen Sondheim. The San Francisco Inquirer raves, "attending a Ross performance is like opening a treasure chest of great, often rare, songs. No one performing today is his equal."
ASSUME THE POSITION WITH MR. WUHL: August 8. Robert Wuhl, best known from his long running series,Arli$$ on HBO, delivers an imaginative, irreverent, hysterical take on history that ingeniously examines some of the facts, myths, and myths-that-became-facts that have permeated American history. Robert Wuhl is the history teacher you never had—but wished you did!
YOUNG AT HEART: August 15. A benefit concert for Elder Services of Berkshire County's Meals on Wheels program. Young @ Heart™ has become infamous for its defiant and emotionally moving performances. As its name suggests, age is integral to this company. Slaughtering any good-natured sympathy by using age as an ironic weapon.
ANDREA MARCOVICCI - SONGS OF WWII: August 17. Through songs, stories and poetry, legendary cararet artist Andrea Marcovicci takes the audience on a journey through America's dramatic era of 1939–1945, when every song became irrevocably intertwined with precious memories. Highlights include "Skylark," "Sentimental Journey" and "The White Cliffs of Dover."
Mahaiwe Peforming Arts Center
14 Castle Street, Great Barrington
Box Office 413.528.0100
Online http://www.mahaiwe.org/
DON McLEAN: August 8. Inaugurated into the Songwriters' Hall of Fame in 2004, Don McLean's superstar status is always attributed to his remarkable song, "American Pie" which, in 2000, once again topped the charts worldwide, (re-recorded by Madonna). Between the heady years of 1971 and 2000, Don McLean released over 20 albums and scored major chart successes.
BERKSHIRE PLAYWRIGHT'S LAB: August 12. BPL Co-Founder Jim Fragione will direct a staged reading workshop of As Is - No Warrenty by Jaene Leonard. As Is. The play concerns a character named Mac, who is a used car manager at Bristol Buick. The playwright describes Mac as “a ‘car dog’ through and through, a man who always gets what he wants. Right about now, he's sittin' pretty—with a strong sales team, excellent numbers, and a real shot at getting his own dealership. He's also got Heather: a honey who sells as good as she... looks.” The play poses the question: Can Mac, who loves the thrill ride, keep it together long enough to get what's coming to him? Jim Frangione just returned from the American Repertory Theater, where he directed Seriously Funny, a collection of short plays by David Mamet, Shel Silverstein, and Harold Pinter. The cast for the reading of As Is - No Warranty includes Bob Jaffe, Amy Van Nostrand, and seven additional actors.
FRANCINE SEGAN - LIKE WATER FOR CHOCOLATE: August 16. Inaugurated into the Songwriters' Hall of Fame in 2004, Don McLean's superstar status is always attributed to his remarkable song, "American Pie" which, in 2000, once again topped the charts worldwide, (re-recorded by Madonna). Between the heady years of 1971 and 2000, Don McLean released over 20 albums and scored major chart successes. A showing of the film Like Water for Chocolate (Como Agua Para Chocolate) will follow the tasting.(1992 - Spanish with English Subtitles) Rated R
Mass MoCA
1040 Mass MoCA Way, North Adams
Information: 413.662.2111
Online http://www.massmoca.org/
IRON MULE SHORT COMEDY FILM FESTIVAL: August 6. This series has brought together a collective of filmmakers and film lovers to celebrate the finest in short comedy. They head north with a "best of" repertoire, determined to make you laugh til your sides hurt. Courtyard Pavilion or indoors in case of rain.
JUST SO STORIES: August 6. Full of color and humor, Castle Hill Theater Company's "Out-of-the-Box" Players present Rudyard Kipling's Just So Stories -- fanciful explanations of why the world is the way it is – how the elephant got his trunk, the leopard his spots, and the frog learned to leap.
JULIA GREENBERG SINGS DORY PREVIN: August 8. Julia Greenberg sings the uncompromisingly neurotic, surreal, sexual and hauntingly honest songs of Dory Previn, an Oscar- and Emmy-winning lyricist who released seven critically acclaimed albums after the age of 40.
PURPLE RAIN SING-A-LONG: August 13. While His Purpleness' magnum opus is possibly the most over the top and unintentionally funny rock movie ever made, it is also the vehicle for one of history's greatest pop albums. The record is perfect. The film, in some ways, is even better. You know this is rated R, right?
MASS MoCA FEST WITH JOSH RITTER, BEN KEWLLER, ELVIS PERKINS, SAMANTHA CRANE AND KAKI KING: August 15. A mini-Woodstock day and night of outdoor music featuring a spectacular lineup of bands, food and drink, galleries and more. Festival happens rain or shine. Open galleries included in the ticket price.
Images Cinema
50 Spring Street, Williamstown
Movie Line: 413.458.5612
Online http://www.imagescinema.org/
July 31 - August 6 Food, Inc. (PG)
August 7 - Student Independent Film Festival.
Little Cinema at the Berkshire Museum
39 South Street
Pittsfield, MA
413.443.7171
Online http://www.berkshiremuseum.org
Now - August 6. Cheri. (R) This period piece, set in turn-of-the-20th-century Paris, stars Michelle Pfeiffer as an upper-class Parisian woman.
Route 20
Pittsfield, MA
413.443.0188
Online http://www.hancockshakervillage.org
GATHERING OF BLACKSMSITHS. August 15-16. Blacksmiths, representing Berkshire, Connecticut, Capital District, and New England Blacksmith Guilds, will showcase their art and artisanship with both historical and contemporary demonstrations. Ironwork craftsmanship dating from the 17th to the 21st century, Japanese hardware, tool making, engraving, and Viking and Shaker forging are just a few of the techniques and styles that will be showcased. Beautiful hand -wrought items from the participating blacksmiths will also be available for purchase.
Hancock Shaker Village President and CEO Ellen Spear believes "Blacksmithing is an integral part of the Shaker history. The Age of Iron Weekend is wonderfully fun and an excellent educational experience for the whole family."