Reviewed by Gail M. Burns, May 2009 In April of 1921 popular author Elizabeth von Arnim*, then 55, widowed from her first marriage, divorced from her second, and being wooed by a handsome young man 30 years her junior, rented a medieval castello at Portofino, Italy with two other women.…
by Gail M. Burns, October 2008 You know that saying: “Old age is not for sissies”? Well that applies to theatre companies as well as people. Late in its ninth decade of existence, the Town Players of Pittsfield, the second oldest community theatre group in the nation, has appeared to…
by Gail M. Burns, June 2007 Ah, The Mikado. That wholesome, fun-filled family show about decapitation… You know, even though I know every note and every word of it and have directed it twice I still can’t tell you the plot off the top of my head. That is because a)…
Visiting Mr. Green has come home to the Berkshires.Jeff Baron’s two-man play received its world premiere at the Berkshire Theatre Festival in the summer of 1996 with Eli Wallach in the title role. Since then it has literally been around the world, having been translated in 23 languages. Now Town Players has brought…
by Gail M. Burns, April 2007 Many, many years ago, I purchased tickets to a rare U.S. performance by a British youth theatre troupe. I was very excited to see this group perform. The audience was seated on bleachers on either side of the basketball court where the action took…
