Weston Playhouse Theatre Company

Theatre celebrities, from critics to thespians, will gather at 5 pm on Sunday, November 13, 2016 at Mr. Finn’s Cabaret in Pittsfield. With a champagne toast they will celebrate the first, annual Berkshire Theatre Awards AKA 'The Berkies." The 25 winners in a range of categories, many of whom plan to attend, have previously been announced. The suspense will focus on the winner of the Larry Murray humanitarian award named for the critic and founder of the awards.

There has been extensive media coverage of the First Annual Berkshire Theatre Awards. The winners of The Berkies have been announced. There will be an awards celebration 5 pm on November 13 at Mr. Finn’s Cabaret in Pittsfield. In this first round of awards Barrington Stage Company and Shakespeare & Company dominated in most categories. The smash hit Pirates of Penzance ran the table. The Larry Murray Award, named for the founder, will be the only suprise of the gathering of critics, media and theater mavens.

For the first annual Berkshire Theatre Awards seven shows received more than five nominations each including 11 for The Pirates of Penzance and eight for Broadway Bounty Hunter, both produced by Barrington Stage Company. Seven nominations were received for Or, and six for The Merchant of Venice at Shakespeare & Company. Also popular with five nominations each are The Rose Tattoo (Williamstown Theatre Festival), Little Shop of Horrors (Berkshire Theatre Group), and American Son (Barrington Stage).

Chekhov strove to make his works "just as complicated and just as simple as ... in real life," He wrote, "People are sitting at a table having dinner, that's all, but at the same time their happiness is being created, or their lives are being torn apart." This production of Uncle Vanya shares Chekhov’s intentions and brings his work to life much as he must have envisioned.

For pure, unadulterated entertainment the juke box musical The Marvelous Wonderettes: Caps & Gowns can’t be beat. It’s polished and professional while retaining the freshness of youth and good-natured fun. It is basically a family-friendly burlesque, a humorous exaggeration of the teen years and loves of four young women.

Innovative when it was developed in 1975, time has stolen some of the sizzle from this intimate dance-centered musical. The dance and music are still entertaining and the heart and passion of the young characters carry the show. Weston’s production is solid and professional with a talented cast.

A modern comedy mirroring the structure and themes of the master playwright Anton Chekov, Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike finds humor in the regrets and disappointments of life as they are confronted during two days in the family home by three siblings in their middle age. This play wll run through July 26 at Vermont's Weston Playhouse.

The workshop production of This Blessed Plot will evolve throughout its two-week run which ends on September 1. Not yet in its final form, this play is not being reviewed, but offered as an opportunity to participate in the development of this dynamic one-man work-in-progress. The project is a part of the New Works Program of The Weston Theatre in Vermont.

As part of its New Works Programs, Vermont's Weston Playhouse is offering its audiences a dynamic new experience—the opportunity to witness and be part of a step in the development of two new plays.

Updated in 2003, Educating Rita continues to be relevant and delightfully entertaining. What a pleasure it is to see a world-class production of this play in the intimate Weston Playhouse, a gem of a theater in the small, bucolic town of Weston, Vermont.

Vermont's Weston Theatre's season kicks off with a "Terribly" charming children's "Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day." This winsome musical was adapted by Judith Viorst in 1998 from her award-winning book by the same name that was first published in 1972 with illustrations by Ray Cruz.

Death of A Salesman is the American classic award-winning tragedy by Arthur Miller. The recent wonderful production starring distinguished character actor Christopher Lloyd at Roxbury Latin School (founded 1645) was a broadway quality show. This is the beginning of a major artistic direction for the prep school, Culture with a capital "C."