by Mark G. Auerbach
Family and Friends
Kate Baldwin
Married Duo Kate Baldwin and Graham Rowat Find Romance in Berkshire Theatre Group’s “Constellations”
Graham Rowat
When Berkshire Theatre Group cast married actors Kate Baldwin and Graham Rowat as the Count and Countess in A Little Night Music, audiences applauded their performances. So, Berkshire Theatre Group brought them back last season as the romantic leads in Bells Are Ringing, a great move for the show and its audiences. This season, Baldwin and Rowat are back, in Nick Payne’s Tony Award-nominated Constellations, playing at the Berkshire Theatre Group’s Unicorn Theatre on the Stockbridge campus through August 27.
This heartfelt and poignant two-character drama follows Marianne, played by Baldwin, a quirky quantum physicist, and Roland, played by Rowat, a beekeeper. Their first encounter is seemingly ordinary—crossing paths at a mutual friend’s barbeque. Exploring the endless possibilities of their budding romance, the characters create their own universe to see how their relationship would play out if they had chosen fate over chance.
Gregg Edelman is the director and Tony Award-nominated actor from Broadway’s City of Angels, 1776, and Into The Woods , who starred in Berkshire Theatre Group’s A Little Night Music and Deathtrap. Baldwin starred in the revival of Finian’s Rainbow on Broadway, and Rowat is an alum of Mamma Mia and LoveMusik in The Big Apple.
For details: 413-997-4444 or www.berkshiretheatregroup.org
James Barry
Married Duo Tara Franklin and James Barry Play Husband and Wife in Chester Theatre’s “Sister Play”
Tara Franklin
If you saw Tara Franklin’s tour-de-force performance last Fall in the Berkshire Theatre Group’s riveting production of Pinter’s The Homecoming, you know that it’s well worth a trip to see Franklin perform in anything. She and offstage husband James Barry headline the cast of John Kolvenbach’s Sister Play, running at The Chester Theatre in Chester, MA through August 14. Chester Theatre’s Artistic Director Daniel Elihu Kramer stages this regional premiere about two sisters who meet a mysterious stranger at a cabin on Cape Cod. Sister Play premiered at Wellfleet’s Harbor Theatre last summer.
James Barry and Tara Franklin are playing spouses for the first time. James has previously appeared in Chester in Wittenberg and Arms on Fire. His stage credits include the national tours of Million Dollar Quartet, Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson (The Public Theatre and on Broadway), Next to Normal as well as work with Connecticut Repertory Theatre, and Berkshire Theatre Group’s The Caretaker, Tommy, A Dream Play and This Is Our Youth.
Tara Franklin’s numerous regional appearances include roles in The Lion In Winter, Birthday Boy, The Guardsman, Ghosts, A Man For All Seasons, Educating Rita, Amadeus, Equus, and The Misanthrope at Berkshire Theatre Group. She appeared Off-Broadway in Sleep No More at Punchdrunk @ The McKittrick Hotel, and at the Nebraska Shakespeare Festival in Henry V, Love’s Labors Lost, King Lear, Much Ado About Nothing, Hamlet, and A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Other credits include Translations, The Trojan Women, Red Noses, and Misalliance at Connecticut Repertory Theatre.
For details: 413.354.7771 or .http://chestertheatre.org/
Sevenars Summer Season Finale: Jerry Noble and Friends
Smith College Music Faculty
©2013 Jon Crispin
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
Sevenars Music Festival wraps its summer season in Worthington, MA with Jerry Noble and Friends as its 49th season’s final concert: It’s an eclectic mix of classics and jazz with Noble on piano, Bob Sparkman on clarinet, Joel Pitchon playing violin, and cellisrs Volcy Pelletier and Christopher James.
Clifton “Jerry” Noble, Jr., wears several hats, thrilling both classical and jazz lovers as composer and pianist. He’s also an arts reporter for the Springfield Republican. Noble is one of the busiest composers today, working to meet an unbroken stream of commissions. He has produced original works and arrangements for a wide range of vocal and instrumental ensembles and soloists, and his music has been performed by acclaimed artists throughout the United States and internationally. His music may be heard on Gasparo Records, Albany Records, and more.
Opening the program will be Sevenars’ own cellist Christopher James, in collaboration with Mr. Noble at the piano in the Nocturne and Scherzo of Debussy. The program will progress to some of Noble’s own exciting new compositions, including “Fiddle in the City” – a thriller for violin and piano, performed with violinist Joel Pitchon. The program includes Noble’s 1984 Piano Trio, with Noble, Pitchon, and his wife, cellist Volcy Pelletier. Noble will perform his highly popular jazz improvisations with clarinet wizard Bob Sparkman.
Capping off the program will be Sweet Suite (Sweet Georgia Brown, Sweet Sue, Sweet Lorraine, and more) with a quartet of Noble, Sparkman, Pitchon, and Pelletier.
For details: [email protected]
Of Note
WAM Theatre has announced the beneficiaries who will get a portion of the theatre’s box-office receipts this season. The Berkshire Immigrant Center welcomes new immigrants and refugees and provides them with the tools and services needed to integrate into the fabric of their new community. BIC serves 800 immigrants and their families each year. For details: http://berkshireic.com/ Suzi Banks Baum is a writer, artist, actor, teacher, and community organizer. She is editor and publisher of An Anthology of Babes: 36 Women Give Motherhood a Voice. She lives in Great Barrington and produces Out of the Mouths of Babes: An Evening of Mothers Reading to Others for the Berkshire Festival of Women Writers. For details: http://www.suzibanksbaum.com/
Keep in Mind
The Two Gentlemen of Verona, Shakespeare’s comedy, joins the Shakespeare and Company repertory in Lenox through September 4. Jonathan Croy directs. Ryan Winkles heads the cast as Valentine. Winkles has been prioviding fight choroegraphy for several area productions of late. For details: 413-637-3353 or www.shakespeare.org.
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Mark G. Auerbach studied theatre at American University and the Yale School of Drama. He’s worked for arts organizations and reported on theatre for newspapers and radio.
