Holiday greetings from all of us at Berkshire on Stage! This is your Webmaster (Webmistress??), Gail M. Burns (and my dog, Sylvie). I asked my excellent team of theatre critics to write a little something about their favorite experiences of 2025. I gave them no instructions as to length or…
A (very) few of my favorite things Admittedly, I was somewhat distracted during my summer theater season this year, being preoccupied with some unexpected personal health issues. Nevertheless,several of the performances I did attend admirably managed to distract me from myself, and I am grateful for the opportunity live theatre…
by Lisa Jarisch This confession may very well get me drummed out of the musical theater corps of critics and aficionados alike, but in all fairness, it has to be said. I do not like Sondheim. I have never liked Sondheim. I KNOW Sondheim will never make it to my…
by Lisa Jarisch At first glance, it almost seemed a cruel joke on the part of the Mac-Haydn Theatre management—choosing as the last show of the season The Marvelous Wonderettes, another jukebox musical, with “nothing” but a four-person all-female cast, following hard on the heels of the marvelous and wonderous…
by Lisa Jarisch I lied. I do confess it, and I beg forgiveness in the name of famed Broadway critic Walter Kerr, and perhaps with the indulgence of Saint Genesius, the patron saint of theater. My last review predicted that Godspell would be the stellar highlight of the Mac-Haydn Theatre‘s…
by Lisa Jarisch I have been waiting not-so-patiently many a year for the Mac-Haydn Theatre to take on this show, one of my absolute personal favorites. Without shame or embarrassment, I confess that Godspell holds a special place in my heart as the only show I have ever “graced” with…
by Lisa Jarisch With the Mac-Haydn Theatre season’s 3rd offering, director John Saunders adds another gem to the collection of jewels in his directorial crown, as The Sound of Music fills the house of the theater, and the hills of Chatham, with a glorious production of this 60 year-old, multi…
by Lisa Jarisch Is there a better way to celebrate the first full day of summer than an evening spent at a theater putting on a show about putting on a show? Surely not, and in classic Judy Garland/Mickey Rooney “ Here’s a barn. Let’s put on a show!” fashion—complete…
