Art & Performance

By E.M. Marcus

Winter is coming, and with a seemingly endless merry-go-round of global events keeping us glued to the 24-hour news cycle, there has perhaps never been more to gain from culture and the arts. This season, unplug from the mayhem and lean into the sustaining nourishment of the Berkshires’ world-class museums, galleries, theaters, music venues, cinemas, and dance studios.

At The Norman Rockwell Museum, revisit your youth through March 12th, with Eloise and More: The Life and Art of Hilary Knight, a seminal retrospective of children’s book illustrator Knight’s highly influential work that focuses on his depictions of Eloise, the little girl who lives at the Plaza Hotel as described in the beloved books by Kay Thompson. Featured in the exhibition are Knight’s early advertising assignments, magazine illustrations, Eloise merchandising sketches, concept art and posters for Broadway musicals, painted fashion designs, personal photographs, sketches, concept art, and final work for several books he illustrated and some that he wrote, as well as a folding screen inspired by Eloise.

At MASS MoCA, pay homage to the queen—no, not Elizabeth II but Lady Pink, who began her iconic, Banksy-esque, pseudonymical existence writing graffiti on the subway cars, neighborhood buildings, and industrial ruins of 1979 New York. She has a show on view through November featuring collaborative works created with artist Jenny Holzer, famous for her use of pasted posters and applied stickers. The iconoclastic pair met in the late 70s and early 80s, both having “infiltrated public spaces in New York with their respective artworks,” and are gloriously reunited in this show, which closes at the end of November.

Deep Water, on view through summer of next year, continues a rolling exhibition of personal and archival photography bearing witness to the lives and artistic feats of jazz and blues signature contributors throughout the 50s and 60s‚ Miles Davis, Duke Ellington, Ella Fitzgerald, Thelonious Monk, Billy Holiday, and more. The show examines how political and cultural leaders like Malcom X

Opposite left: Hilary Knight, Eloise in Paris, 1957. From left: Amy Hauft, 7000,00:1 | Terra + Luna + Sol; George Rowe, The Malvern hills from the summit ot the Worcestershire Beacon, color lithograph on paper is part of the On the Horizon exhibit.

and James Baldwin drew inspiration from such artistic freedom and unbridled individual spirit to help fuel and evolve their activism.

In Amy Yoes: Hot Corners, the site-specific extravaganza repurposes the 142-foot space in MASS MoCA’s Building 6 into a multi-chamber matrix of immersion to explore the idea of adaptability. The installation’s five rooms act as “shifting set pieces for a variety of functions including artmaking, socializing, reflection, and performance.” and cross-pollinate Yoes’ passion for architecture, period interiors, design, and decorative arts.

Amy Hauft’s large-scale installations, titled 700,000:1 | Terra + Luna + Sol, transport the viewer into cosmically reoriented spaces, inspiring us to consider our physical and spatial relationship with other planetary bodies as well as our own celestial home. Accompanying 700,000:1 will be a new installation commissioned by MASS MoCA and created in residency at the museum about the “unfathomability and allure of the moon.”

At The Clark, Haitian-born artist Tomm El-Saieh’s largeformat abstract works are on display through January 8th in his show Imaginary City. El-Saieh’s shifting, improvisational canvases, without any preparatory studies or outlines, test the boundaries of our senses and our preconceptions about the nature of abstraction. The artist, a native of Port-au-Prince, has been unable to revisit his homeland due to the political instability there, and boldly confronts his experience of displacement in these works.

At the nearby Williams College Museum of Art, the very same Mr. El-Saieh, is guest curator for a show of works by fellow Haitian artist Frantz Zéphirin, whose richly detailed and stylistically exuberant paintings offer viewers “a window into the deeply mystical and spiritual nature of Haiti, the land of many mountains.” Zéphirin’s zoological-metaphysical cocktail of themes includes the contrast between Vodou vs Christian rituals, as well as an “ever-expanding cosmology of the spiritual world,” a key to understanding the inner life of Haitians and the kaleidoscopic array of flora and fauna which surrounds them.

Also at The Clark, starting November 19th and running through February 12th, is On the Horizon: Art and Atmosphere in the 19th Century. Rather than focusing on landscapes and seascapes, this show focuses on artists whose subject was more fleeting: the very air around us. Inspired by scientific advances of their moment, these painters sought the challenge and poetry of representing that most ephemeral of the elements. On the Horizon features artworks by Joseph Mallord, William Turner, John Constable, Honoré Daumier, Charles Meryon, James McNeill Whistler, and Auguste Louis Lepère, among others.

From left: Anne-Louis Girodet, Italian Sketchbook, chalks, graphite, pen and ink, sepia wash is part of the Promenades on Paper exhibit; David Gil Turns 100.

Opening December 17th and running through March 12th,

Bibliothèque nationale de France will display many of the secret and precious possessions of the Gallic nation’s collection, whose vast and unfathomable libraries remain largely unexplored. The Clark is organizing this first exhibition of the library’s 18thcentury French drawings; the selection features 86 studies, architectural plans, albums, sketchbooks, prints, and optical devices “spanning the domains of natural history, current events, theater design, landscape, and portraiture.”

Also, consider paying a visit to The Clark’s exquisite permanent collection, which remains a reason to drop in time and again, and peruse its website for lectures and events.

In southern Vermont, The Bennington Museum continues to present its definitive collection of paintings by local hero and global icon Grandma Moses, and through December 31st David Gil Turns 100 will feature works by the ceramicist and potter who founded Bennington Potters in 1948. The exhibition celebrates what would have been Gil’s 100th birthday. Though best known for his line of functional dinnerware, in the 1970s Gil created a run of decorative platters and sculptural faces that he referred to as “Artware,” drawing inspiration from his artist friends who were active at Bennington College in the 60s and 70s, including Helen Frankenthaler, Kenneth Noland, and Jules Olitski.

Through December 31st, explore the role of map-making in community life with Perspectives: The Story of Bennington Through Maps, a collection presenting the changing role of cartography throughout the history of the town, from the maps produced by European colonists showcasing their American conquests to later documents celebrating civic progress and marking historic events.

From left: Taylor Mac & Matt Ray, Deer Tick.

Not content merely to dazzle your visual senses, MASS MoCA continues its commitment to multi-disciplinary artistic expression in the form of ongoing music events: On November 19th, Taylor Mac & Matt Ray in Conversation and Song offers a dynamic dialogue and preview of theater artist Mac’s new project, The Bark of Millions, featuring original music celebrating queer luminaries throughout history. On December 3rd J. Hoard, who recently won a Grammy award for his songwriting contribution to Chance the Rapper’s hit “No Problem,” displays a panoply of musical ability across a shifting spectrum of genres, compositions, and arrangements that fuses “the core of the Black church with the allure of Broadway.”

On November 13th, The Clark will hold its Performing Artists in Residence Concert, featuring its resident musicians Jeewon Park (piano) and Edward Arron (cello), who will be joined by “an exceptional trio of musical collaborators in presenting an inspirational afternoon of great music” featuring works by Schubert and Dvořák.

The Colonial Theatre offers a rich assortment of musical delights throughout the winter, starting on November 12th with A Tribute to Bon Jovi as performed by BonJourneyNY, a dedicated tribute band that has twice sold out the capacious halls of the venerated Pittsfield institution. On November 18th, join Rev Tor and Friends for One Last, Last Waltz. After 10 years spent performing The Last Waltz LIVE in venues and festivals across the U.S., Tor and his coterie will roll into Pittsfield for their final performance, back where they began their journey at the Colonial a decade ago.

The Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center, always reliable for a marquee event, has a full slate of concerts to keep you humming all winter long. On December 9th, Deer Tick comes to town; the modern rock quartet offers this whimsically terse self-description: “Deer Tick is a band. They are from Providence . . . Deer Tick likes to rock out. Listen to Deer Tick.”

On the 17th of December, Strings Attached with John Pizzarelli & Jessica Molaskey presents the world-renowned, multi-talented duo in a musical evening of standards performed by a “Django Reinhardt-esque” group comprising guitar, violin, and bass, offering audiences a Proustian head-trip to yesteryear’s smoke-filled jazz clubs of Paris’ Latin Quarter.

On March 17th, Scott Bradlee’s Postmodern Jukebox: Life in the Fast Lane Tour will make a stop at the Mahaiwe to celebrate the greatest 20th-century musical genres, accompanied by jubilant renditions of recognizable hits from our own era, brought to life by a cast replete with the most exciting vocalists, instrumentalists, and tap dancers of our day.

Close Encounters With Music continues its season of world-class classical and chamber concerts on December 11th at

the Mahaiwe with Grand Piano Trios—Beethoven’s “Ghost” and “Archduke,” and then on February 18th at Saint James Place with Town & Country— Mendelssohn and Dvořák, showcasing the technical mastery of the German Romantic composer and the rich Slavic folk tradition of his Czech counterpart. Back at the Mahaiwe on March 26th, “Pictures at an Exhibition”—A Gallery Stroll features Mussorgsky’s 10-part work as well as a collection of pieces by Granados, Liszt and Debussy. Then, on April 23rd, witness a “mellifluous blend of vigorous intensity and dramatic import” at From Bach Brandenburg to Appalachian Spring with Manhattan Chamber Players, a virtuoso, tour-de-force performance by a group that has become widely and deservedly known for its jaw-dropping musical prowess. Three more events round out the season: the annual Luncheon Musicale benefit concert at a private club in Lenox on May 7th; The Escher String Quartet‚ Tchaikovsky, Ravel, Ruth Crawford Seeger at the Mahaiwe on May 21st; and the June 11th Gala Concert: Schubert “Trout” and Schumann Piano Quintet, also at the Mahaiwe.

The Bennington Museum will hold a free concert on November 12th entitled Music at the Museum presents Michael Wimberly, an evening of music with accompaniment by cellist Nathaniel Parke and pianist Yoshiko Sato as Wimberly takes the audience on a rhythmical journey showcasing his range as a percussionist, composer and improviser.

And check web sites for the steady stream of musical events at Dewey Hall in Sheffield and The Egremont Barn in South Egremont, where you’ll find hoe-downs, open mic nights, touring indie bands, and karaoke extravaganzas.

The local music scene has been revitalized with the reincarnation of two new hot spots in Lenox—Apple Tree Inn and Gateways Inn—where you’ll find great music in intimate settings. And music is back, along with a new menu, at the renovated, relaunched but still comfortably informal Lion’s Den at the Red Lion Inn in Stockbridge

Clockwise from left: The Egremont Barn, Much Ado About Nothing, Champion.

Shakespeare & Company continues its tradition of gathering 500 students from 10 local area high schools to create and perform 10 individual, full-length productions of Shakespeare’s plays, known as the Fall Festival of Shakespeare. The ribcrushing attendance and exultant audience enthusiasm of this innovative educational odyssey will be storming the Tina Packer Playhouse again this year from November 17th to 20th; advance reservations are recommended.

Then, On December 3rd, Shakespeare & Company and the Berkshire Mountain Comedy Arts Festival present Kevin Bartini & Friends, an evening of comedy featuring Bartini as Master of Ceremonies and two other headlining acts: comedians Jim Mendrinos and Carole Montgomery—good reason to smile as winter tightens its icy grip.

At Berkshire Museum’s The Little Cinema, National Theatre Live will once again be keeping us entertained and intellectually stimulated through the winter, broadcasting from the South Bank in London with Game of Thrones alumna Emilia Clarke as Nina in Anton Chekov’s The Seagull, screening in Pittsfield from the 18th to the 20th of November; The Guardian described it as a “radical, stripped-back, strangely gripping production.”

Further south, the Mahaiwe also offers London National Theater in HD, with The Seagull showing there on November 19th, followed by Much Ado About Nothing starring Katherine Parkinson of The IT Crowd and John Heffernan of Dracula, on December 3rd, which you can also catch at The Clark along with London’s National Theatre Live’s production of Jack Absolute Flies Again, a new comedy by Richard Bean and Oliver Chris adapted from Sheridan’s The Rivals. This “spectacularly entertaining” show features a rollicking WWII narrative in which, after an aerial dog fight, Pilot Officer Jack Absolute flies home to win the heart of his old flame. Opera fans are in luck: Both the Mahaiwe and The Clark offer Met Opera Live in HD performances all season long. On November 5th, Verdi’s La Traviata is sure to shake the very foundations of the theater, and a decidedly robust series follows it with Kevin Puts’ The Hours starring Renée Fleming on December 10th, Gordiano’s Fedora on January 14th, Wagner’s Lohengrin on March 18th, Verdi’s Falstaff on April 1st, Strauss’ Der Rosenkavalier on April 15th, and finally Terrence Blanchard’s Champion on April 29th. Opera fans have much to look forward to.

The Colonial Theatre will host a dynamic dive into the world of mentalism on Saturday March 25th, as Colin Mochrie presents HYPROV (with Master Hypnotist Asad Mecci),

From left: Miracle on 34th Street, Faye Driscoll.

a mind-bending, participatory experience in which 20 randomly selected volunteers from the audience will be placed under hypnosis, their inhibitions banished, and their minds rendered a master manipulator’s plaything.

Though Jacob’s Pillow’s main season has concluded, if you are a member at the $500 level or would like to become one, consider signing up for Pillow Lab: 2022-2023, a year-round incubator of new work hosting ten artist residencies this fall, winter, and spring. A rich lineup of events will delight you through the doldrums of winter with cutting edge performers like Michael Sakamoto, Sonya Tayeh, Jennifer Freeman, Mythili Prakash, Faye Driscoll, Camille A. Brown, Aakash Odera, André Zachary, Larissa Velez-Jackson (Yackez), and Miguel Gutierrez. When it comes to film, the Mahaiwe continues to lead the charge for specialty cinema in South County, with a nostalgic rollout of screenings throughout the season: take a trip down yellow-brick-memory-lane with timeless favorite The Wizard of Oz on November 26th, and holiday institution Miracle on 34th Street jerking tears and pulling heartstrings on December 16th. Keep checking in at the Mahaiwe website throughout the season to catch more screenings, lectures, and special events.

In the North County, The Clark will show free films throughout November: on the 10th, multidisciplinary artist Agnes Varda’s “kaleidoscopic” documentary Film and Art: Mur Murs looks at Los Angeles’ many thousands of murals in this eccentric and sincere investigation into the purpose and necessity of public art.

And, of course, don’t forget the area’s other cinemas when you’re looking for first-run entertainment beyond your TV screen or streaming device: The Triplex Cinema in Great Barrington, the Beacon Cinema (offering heated recliners) in Pittsfield, The Moviehouse in Millerton, the Crandell Theatre in Chatham, and Time and Space Limited in Hudson all showcase diverse and engaging lineups from obscure and fascinating documentaries to the latest Hollywood franchise bonanzas.

Berkshire Theatre Group’s The Colonial Theatre isn’t holding back any festive cheer: The Wizards of Winter whiz into Pittsfield on December 3rd for a rip-roaring rock-and-roll holiday spectacular, featuring former members of The Trans-Siberian Orchestra, Def Leppard, Rainbow, Alice Cooper, Blue Oyster Cult, as well as veteran Broadway and theater performers. This 11-member ensemble “boasts soaring vocal harmonies, precision string instrumentation, powerful percussion and stunning keyboard work” in a nostalgic yuletide barnburner for all ages.

On December 11th, attend The Doo Wop Project Holiday Show, featuring stars from Broadway hits Jersey Boys, Motown: The Musical, and A Bronx Tale. After honing their style on the Great White Way, The Doo Wop Project works to adorn 21stcentury hits in five-part harmony and return doo wop favorites to the American stage, resuscitating old-school holiday classics

At The Clark: On November 15th, Bennington College fixture Jordan Reznick will explore Indigenous Ecological Science and Photographic Technologies in the West, particularly how the “intergenerational manipulation of plant communities practiced by Indigenous peoples shaped the technological and aesthetic makeup of the photographic medium during the decades following the American invasion of California.”

On December 6th, Jeremy Milius of the University of Oxford will explore the visual and moral content of John Ruskin’s beloved and renowned watercolors in Ruskin Unpossessed. In Hilton Als on Diane Arbus in Manhattan on December 8th, lauded writer and art critic Hilton Als will delve into a particular aspect of the haunting, iconic work of Diane Arbus, namely the isle of Manhattan, which became a key collaborator in her work and where so many of her underseen, marginalized subjects called home.

In Conversations with Artists on February 4th, renowned furniture designer Jomo Tariku discusses his design process and his relationship to the history of design itself. In the lecture Like Trees on February 7th, Jonathan Flatley discusses “liking” trees, as opposed to “loving” them. As people “like” they also “become like,” posits Flatley, as he explores his theories through others’ work: Richard Powers’ 2018 novel The Overstory and Zoe Leonard’s signature photographs of trees.

On November 20th, The Bennington Museum will host The Shaftsbury Quilt: A Bennington Historical Society Presentation. Carol Corey-Dziubek will display and discuss the nature and history of this remarkable quilt, which has been in her family since 1888, and which contains the names of 96 people and their genealogical information. Corey-Dziubek will conduct an overview of quilt types, the construction of this particular quilt, and investigate the lives of several individuals featured on the quilt, as well as the nature of the political climate of Vermont circa 1888. Twinkle, twinkle: Winterlights at Naumkeag has quickly become a holiday tradition (and was named a “Top Ten Public Holiday Light Display” by USA Today). On weekend evenings from November 23rd through January 7th, three of the Gilded Age estate’s gardens sparkle with thousands of shimmering, artfully designed lights creating a magical spectacle for the whole family, complete with hot chocolate or cider and other refreshments.

And The Mount presents Nightwood, running from November 11th to January 1st, an innovative and immersive sound-and-light experience set against the backdrop of Edith Wharton’s historic home and gardens. Wander along the illuminated three-quarter-mile route through the woods and gardens for “an ethereal experience that evokes wonder and awakens the imagination.” like The Drifters’ “White Christmas”, The Temptations’ “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer”, and Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons’ “Santa Claus is Coming to Town.” Don’t worry, they won’t be able to resist throwing in a few recent hits—“This Christmas” and “Last Christmas” may well make their increasingly obligatory and celebrated appearances.

On December 18th, Come Home for the Holidays: A Colonial Family Concert will showcase performances by some of the area’s most revered musical artists, featuring the dulcet tones and winning spirit of Berkshire Theatre Group’s in-house BTG Youth Chorus, who are also hosting the event. The concert is in support of BTG educational programs and will present appearances by Gina Coleman, Kathy Jo Grover, Beth Maturevich, Wanda Houston, Billy Keane, Diego Mongue, Ed Moran, Rev Tor and Jack Waldheim with The Shire Mountain Holiday Band featuring Dan Broad, Dave Brown, Benny Kohn, and Conor Meehan.

On the same day, Hershey Felder Presents: A Musical Surprise for Holiday Time blurs the lines between music, film, and audience participation in the online premiere of this innovative piece by Hershey Felder.

On December 17th at Saint James Place in Great Barrington, the Aston Magna Music Festival will mark the 30-year tenure of Daniel Stepner as Artistic Director at A Baroque Holiday Celebration. The program will feature the iconic crystalline beauty of Vivaldi’s Winter with soloist Edson Scheid, as well as Bach’s Brandenburg Concertos Nos. 3 and 6, and Corelli’s Christmas Concerto.

And on December 31st, Berkshire Bach is back at the Mahaiwe, to ring out the old year with the Brandenburg Concertos.