by Mark G. Auerbach
Folk: An American Premiere at Chester Theatre
Chester Theatre Company presents the American Premiere of Tom Wells’s Folk through August 27, at the Chester MA Town Hall. James Warwick directs, staging his eighth production for Chester. Folk was first produced by Birmingham Repertory Theatre in England. .
For Winnie, a Guinness-hoisting nun, and Stephen, a shy maintenance worker, Friday nights are for playing and singing. Until fifteen-year-old Kayleigh lobs a brick through Winnie’s window. These three band together into the unlikeliest of folk trios, and an equally unexpected family. Dappled with humor and melody, this charming play asks whether we may have more in common than our apparent differences suggest.
For details: 413.354.7771 or www.chestertheatre.org
Required Reading for Theatre Trivia Buffs
You’re On
I was intrigued to get a recent email from a former supervisor of mine during my Texas days. Jim Bernhard was the manager of Houston’s Society for The Performing Arts, a presenting organization that lured me away from a job at Wolf Trap in Washington, DC to organize the Houston Ticket Center. We stayed in touch over the years. He played The Bushnell in a touring production of Mame with Juliet Prowse in 1990. He was always Mr. Theatre Trivia. So, he’s got a book coming out…
Do you know the original title of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Oklahoma!—and why it was changed? How many plays can you name in which God is a character? What character said “Gin was mother’s milk to her?” These and more than 1,700 other theatre trivia questions are posed in You’re On! The Theatre Quiz Book, Bernhard’s new book, due in book stores in next month from Skyhorse Publishing. It’s also available now for pre-order at Amazon.com and Barnesandnoble.com
As Bernhard, an actor, playwright, arts manager, and crossword puzzle constructor, explains: “Whether you’re an old theatre pro or an enthusiastic member of the audience, this book will provide you with lots of challenges to your knowledge—and plenty of fun. Subjects range from Broadway shows to theatres throughout the United States, from ancient Greece to the contemporary avant-garde, and from Shakespeare and Shaw to Shaffer and Shepard.”
For details: http://skyhorsepublishing.com/titles/13020-9781510723009-youre-on
Of Note
Marisa Michelson, the Amherst native, and Jason Grote have written a new musical, One Thousand Nights and One Day, which opens in New York April 2-29, under the auspices of The Prospect Theatre Company. Michelson, is a recipient of the Jonathan Larson Award, and writes experimental musicals, choral works, and interdisciplinary music-based pieces. Her last musical, Tamar of the River, was highly praised by national critics. For details: http://www.prospecttheater.org/
Michael Wartella
Michael Wartella, the Berkshires native currently appearing in Broadway’s Charlie and the Chocolate Factory will debut as a solo cabaret singer August 25 at Feinstein’s/54 Below cabaret in New York City. Wartella, an alum of Broadway’s Wicked and Tuck Everlasting, created the role of Mickey Rooney in Goodspeed’s musical Chasing Rainbows. For details: 54Below.com
Summer Additions
Berkshire Theatre Group’s No Boundaries in Art presents free readings and discussions of relevant plays on its Stockbridge, MA campus. On August 18, the troupe presents David Hare’s and Howard Benton’s Pravda,a powerful and provocative play by master playwrights exploring the role of journalism in society. On August 25, they perform Clifford Odet’s Awake and Sing, a portrait of how generational poverty impacts our humanity and society itself. Dan Dwyer directs. There’s a limit of four tickets per order. For details: www.berkshiretheatregroup.org.
Elizabeth Aspenlieder
Shakespeare & Company presents a special August event series, Storytellers and Songwriters. Each event will explore various characters through solo performances by veteran Company artists, many including live music and original compositions from acclaimed musicians and songwriters, On August 19, Tod Randolph and musical guest Kris Delmhorst perform Joan Alderman’s In Light of Jane. Elizabeth Aspenlieder performs Theresa Rebeck’s Bad Dates on August 20. Tina Packer performs her Women of Will on August 25. John Hadden performs his Travels with
Hershey Felder
the Masked Man on August 26. For details:413-637-3353 or www. shakespeare.org
Keep in Mind…
Arts Beat Radio talks with Hershey Felder, star of Hartford Stage’s Our Great Tchaikovsky, on Friday, August 18 at 8AM on 89.5FM/WSKB. Tune in live on the airwaves, on Comcast ch. 15, www.wskb.org or at www.westfieldtv.org
A Perfect Pair of Wharton Comedies, based on short stories by lengendary Berkshires writer Edith Wharton, plays Shakespeare and Company in Lenoix, MA through September 10. Dennis Krausnick, a founding member of the theatre company, adapted Wharton’s Roman Fever and The Fullness of Life. Corinna May, who starred opposite David Adkins in last year’s WAM production of The Bakelight Masterpiece, stars. Normi Noel directs.For details: 413-637-3353 or www.shakespeare.org.
Corinna May
An Editorial and A Request.
An almost perfect night at the theatre was diminshed recently. We’re sitting in a dark theatre watching Berkshire Theatre Group’s At Home At The Zoo, an Edward Albee play that requires intense concentration. A few seats to my right, someone’s texting, despite the theatre CEO’s pre-show speech asking people to turn off their phones. It broke my concentration. It was intrusive to the relationship forming between me and the actors onstage and Albee’s words. I’d wanted to chastise the guy at intermission.
Lesson learned. Next time you go to theatre, be respectful of your fellow audience members, and the actors onstage working to give you an unforgettable performance experience. Arrive at the show ontime. Turn off the electronic devices. You can live for two hours unplugged. Applaud the actors at the end. Don’t turn your back to them and walk out, because your next destination is more important.
The arts create community. The creatives make a performance. They present it. We in the audience respond. When the going’s good, it’s an envelooping experience. When you step away and take other people with you, that community experience is ruined for many.
Please turn off the cellphones!
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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. Mark produces and hosts ArtsBeat Radio on 89.5fm/WSKB Radio.
