by Mark G. Auerbach
Rob Ruggiero, Artistic Director of TheaterWorks Hartford, is planning the theatre’s 40th anniversary season. Meanwhile, he stages Dear Evan Hansen at St. Louis Muny, July 28-August 3, and the 50oth anniversary production of A Chorus Line at Goodspeed which runs September 5-October 28.. For tickets to the latter: www.goodspeed.org.
Ben Scranton, the Springfield-based playwright who had been an actor with the now defunct StageWest, will see the Maine premiere of his play The Back Porch Gang, May 15-18, at the Levi Stewart Community Theatre in Corinna, ME. For details: https://lsct.cattailpress.com/
David Kidwell, Maestro of The Holyoke Civic Symphony, is all over the map. He conducts their The Best Is Yet To Come on May 4; after working as Music Director and Conductor for Hartt School’s Guys and Dolls on May 1-3. In between, he did music preparation for the vocalists in the Springfield Chamber Players’ Broadway With Strings Attached in Springfield on April 26. After that, he heads to Goodspeed to be Associate Music Director and keyboardist for their 50th anniversary production of A Chorus Line. For details: https://www.davidkidwell.net/
Fred Sokol, Springfield-based theatre reporter for Talkin’ Broadway, and theatre educator and playwright, directed his play Back Story with the East Longmeadow Pleasant View Players, April 25-26. The play is inspired by WMass author Joan Ackermann’s novel. The Reminder’s Debbie Gardner previewed the production. https://thereminder.com/local-news/hampden-county/east-longmeadow/pleasant-view-players-to-perform-back-story-april-25-26/
William Finn, the Broadway composer and lyricist, has passed away. He’s best known for Falsettos and The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, the latter of which premiered at Barrington Stage Company, which has a theatre space named for him. Finn grew up in Natick and went to Williams College. He later lived in Williamstown. Falsettos, the musical which combined two of his works, premiered at Hartford Stage. For details: https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/general-news/william-finn-obit-falsettos-composer-1236184638/
Hartford Stage announced the promotion of Director of Development Jennifer Levine to the newly-formed role of Director of External Relations. This restructure is aimed at advancing the theater’s strategic plan to rebuild audiences, grow revenue, and deepen community engagement.
Berkshire Film & Media Collaborative (BFMC) hosts a spring networking event on Tuesday, May 13th, from 5:30–8:00 p.m. at the historic Ventfort Hall in Lenox, MABFMC’s networking events bring together filmmakers, editors, technicians, educators, and media professionals from across the region to share ideas, find collaborators, and spark new creative projects. Admission to the networking event is free, but space is limited to 100 guests. RSVP required by May 12th: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/berkshire-film-and-media-collaborative-networking-events-are-back-tickets-1319507234659?aff=oddtdtcreator
Mark G. Auerbach studied theatre at American University and The Yale School of Drama. He has worked for arts organizations nationwide, and reported on the arts for print and broadcast. Mark produces and hosts ArtsBeat, Survivor Stories and On The Mark for WCPC15 and 89.5fm/WSKB. He’s a regular contributor to Berkshire onstage and a member of the Berkshire Theatre Critics Association.