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…
Once again, the remarkable Berkshires theatre scene was replete with variety, excellence, and creativity. Writing in December, as I look back on a season that stretched from October 2024 to October 2025, there were successes and a few productions that were not yet ready for prime time. However, this reviewer…
LENOX, Mass. – Shakespeare & Company returns to August Wilson’s American Century Cycle with The Piano Lesson, July 25 through August 24 at the Elayne P. Bernstein Theatre, presented in collaboration with Actors’ Shakespeare Project (ASP). Set against the backdrop of 1936 Pittsburgh during the Great Depression, Wilson’s Pulitzer Prize and Tony…
by Beverly Dane August Wilson’s “Fences” at the Majestic Theater is a joy. Some of the subject matter is difficult to comprehend because times have changed since Wilson wrote his masterpiece in the early ’80s. For example, the “N” word is used liberally, and the first time it is uttered…
Lenox, Mass. – Shakespeare & Company has announced that auditions are now open for its 48th season, offering opportunities for actors to join a diverse lineup of productions. Season 2025 will include LORT D and SPT contracts, with productions set to take place at Shakespeare & Company venues in Lenox, Mass.,…
West Springfield, MA (1/29/25) – West Springfield’s Majestic Theater will present Fences, the Tony Award and 1987 Pulitzer Prize Winning Drama by August Wilson onstage February 27 through April 6. Set in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, the play focuses on Troy, a 53-year-old working class head of the household who struggles with providing for…
by Mark G. Auerbach Special to Berkshire on Stage August Wilson was a prolific playwright who wrote about the 20th century African American experience. His works, several of which, including Two Trains Running premiered at the Yale Repertory Theatre, were important plays on Broadway and translated into powerful films. He’s best known…
West Springfield, MA (1/29/25) – West Springfield’s Majestic Theater will present Fences, the Tony Award and 1987 Pulitzer Prize Winning Drama by August Wilson onstage February 27 through April 6. Set in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, the play focuses on Troy, a 53-year-old working class head of the household who struggles with providing for his…
