WMass plans summer of theater

from Weekend - May 25, 2023

Quadrangle

From Shakespeare to ‘Cabaret’, there is a play for everyone

By K eith O ’C onnor Special to The Republican

THE SUMMER THEater season has arrived with an array of musicals, dramas, love stories, Shakespeare, and world premieres. Summer theater, presented both indoors and in open air, offers immersion for adults and children into a world of storytelling and performance that brings them to another place and time.

Among the many theaters bringing plays and other performances to life on stage this summer that are worth checking out are:

• The Barrington Stage Co., located in downtown Pittsfield, has several stage locations where theater-goers will find such entertainment on their Boyd-Quinson Mainstage beginning June 14-July 8 with “Cabaret,” featuring music composed by John Kander and Fred Ebb and directed by Alan Paul; as well as “Blues for An Alabama Sky,” July 18Aug. 5, by Pearl Cleage and directed by Candis C. Jones; the musical “A New Brain,” Aug. 16-Sept. 9, music and lyrics by William Finn, book by William Finn and James Lapine and directed by Joe Calarco, presented in association with Williamstown Theatre Festival; and “English,” Sept. 27-Oct.

15, by Sanaz Toossi. The St. Germain Stage at the Sydelle and Lee Blatt Performing Arts Center will play host to the world premiere of “The Happiest Man on Earth” starring Kenneth Tigar, May 24-June 17, by Mark St. Germain and directed by Ron Lagomarsino; the world premiere with Chautauqua Theater Company of “Tiny Father,” June 25-July 22; by Mike Lew and directed by Moritz Von Stuelpnagel and “Faith Healer,” Aug. 1-27, by Brian Friel and directed by Julianne Boyd.

For more information, visit barringtonstageco.org.

• The Berkshire Theatre Group was created in 2010 by the merger of two of Berk shire County’s oldest cultural organizations, Berkshire Theatre Festival founded in 1928 in Stockbridge and The Colonial Theatre, built in 1903 in Pittsfield. Based in Stockbridge, they oversee