by Barbara Waldinger For the past four years, Bridge Street Theatre has laudably dared to present challenging plays with highly controversial central characters.  Following up on last year’s depiction, in The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the Moon Marigolds, of a mother whose verbal and emotional abuse threatens to destroy…

A Snapshot of the Weimar Republic by Barbara Waldinger The classic Kander and Ebb musical CABARET portrays sexual depravity as a metaphor for the decadence of 1931 Germany, where the Nazis were poised on the cusp of power.  At least that was director Sam Mendes’s concept when he reimagined the…

The four critics who review for BerkshireOnStage.com – Gail M. Burns, Roseann Cane, Macey Levin, and Barbara Waldinger – have each listed their favorite regional theatre productions of the past calendar year. Because for the most part we all see and review different shows, there was no sense trying to…

Weathering Family Storms by Barbara Waldinger The 2017 season underlines Williamstown Theatre Festival’s commitment to new work.  Six of the seven plays at the Festival are new or world premiere plays.   Artistic Director Mandy Greenfield, who connects playwrights with directors, actors and designers, invited established playwright Harrison David Rivers to…