Berkshire on Stage

Although about Edison, Ford and President Warren G. Harding, this play could have been written last night with lines from the past week’s newscasts.

Working with only two actors, director Kristen van Ginhoven creates fascinating stage pictures, especially with the creative lighting design by Lily Fossner. Juliana Von Haubrich’s set is fittingly grimy and spare placing the play’s focus on the artist’s easel and paints.

After a terrific season of beautifully acted provocative plays, Shakespeare & Co. ends their summer season on a different note.

New musicals are the most difficult for Berkshire theatres to put together successfully for the simple reason that there are twice as many creative voices to be heard and not much more time for hashing it all out than for a simple play. Just scan the credits in the program…

Billy never learned to sign: his parents were against it. But into his life comes Sylvia, who is trying to learn as her hearing fades, and everything comes into question.

With nonstop singing, dancing and kung-fu action spread across a modest sized stage by twelve hyper-active performers, Broadway Bounty Hunter is new, different and utterly delightful.

Tom Holloway’s deeply emotional play employs both sensitive direction and superb acting to draw its audience into the question of terminal illness and unassisted suicide.

Bei-Bei Guan sang the title role superbly, in this tragic opera where a Navy captain who leaves his “wife” and child behind after a fraudulent marriage returns at last.