2025 was an exciting and innovative season—a mix of new plays and classics, chock full of exceptional performances, directors and designers.
Barbara Waldinger’s Top Ten Plays
For first rate ensemble performances:
Other Desert Cities by Jon Robin Baitz, directed by Robert Egan. Dorset Theatre Festival
The Piano Lesson by August Wilson, directed by Christopher V. Edwards. Shakespeare & Company
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Metamorphoses, written and originally directed by Mary Zimmerman, based on the myths of Ovid, directed by Isadora Wolfe. Berkshire Theatre Group.
Beautifully choreographed by Wolfe, with actors often immersed in water, (astonishing pool design by Jason Simms), led by two virtuoso performers: David Adkins and Gregg Edelman.
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Solo Show:
Out of Character by Ari’el Stachel, directed by Tony Taccone. Berkshire Theatre Group (played off-Broadway at the Greenwich House Theater this fall, entitled “Other”)
Ninety minutes of non-stop action by Stachel, a Tony award-winning Arab/Israeli actor with an anxiety disorder who plays himself and over 40 characters he meets in his young life—a brilliant, sweat-inducing, performance.
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Two-handers:
A Case for the Existence of God by Samuel D. Hunter, directed by Daniel Kramer. Chester Theatre Company.
Two single fathers in the small, claustrophobic office of a mortgage broker (Kayode Soyemi) as he tries to help a farmer with a loan (a stellar Steven Lee Johnson)—sensitive direction and profound performances as the characters face similar challenges in their personal lives.
King James by Rajiv Joseph, directed by Rob Ruggiero. Barrington Stage Company in partnership with Round House Theatre and TheatreWorks Hartford.
Two fans of the great basketball player LeBron James form a friendship over four scenes and several years—the play combines skillful writing, intricately detailed sets (Luke Cantarella), and masterful acting from Blake Morris and Gregory Perri.
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On Golden Pond by Ernest Thompson, directed by John Sowle. Bridge Street Theatre.
A character- driven mood piece, with actors Lora Lee Ecobelli and Steven Patterson rising to the challenge of supplanting the memory of Hepburn and Fonda in the film.
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The Elephant Man by Bernard Pomerance, directed by Eric Hill. Berkshire Theatre Group.
Pomerance’s classic play, expertly directed and acted in a cast led by Michael Wartella (Merrick) and Harry Smith (Treves), that resonates today, similar to Stachel’s piece, in our treatment of “the other.”
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Camelot by Lerner and Lowe, directed by Alan Paul. Barrington Stage Company.
Led by the powerful performances of Ken Wulf Clark as King Arthur and Dakin Matthews as Merlin, who teaches him what it means to be King, surrounded by a strong cast of actor/singers.
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fuzzy by Jeff Talbott and Will Van Dyke, directed by Ellie Heyman. Barrington Stage Company.
A moving, surprisingly creative, simply staged musical, fueled by the master puppeteer Teddy Yudain as he brings to life the characters narrated by John Cariani.
Other Notable Productions:
Verdi’s La Traviata, directed by Jonathan Loy, conducted by Brian Garman. Berkshire Opera Festival.
The Mousetrap by Agatha Christie, directed by Gerry McIntyre. Berkshire Theatre Group.
N/A by Mario Correa, directed by Katie Birenboim. Barrington Stage Company.
Lend Me a Tenor by Ken Ludwig, directed by Ed Dignum, Ghent Playhouse.
How to Not Save the World with Mr. Bezos by Maggie Kearnan, directed by Clay Hopper. Great Barrington Public Theater.
Shake It Up: A Shakespeare Cabaret, created by Allyn Burrows and Jacob Ming Trent. Shakespeare & Company.