WAM Theatre, the Western Massachusetts-based “theatre for everyone that benefits women and girls” has, in short order, put the region on the national theatre map for innovative programming, leadership, and philanthropy. The brain-child of Canadian-born theatre director Kristen van Ginhoven, who co-founded WAM in the Berkshires in 2010, WAM has become known for quality theatre productions, many written by, directed by, designed by, and starring women. These productions share a women’s point of view.

But, they’re theatre for everyone, and WAM productions, from Lauren Gunderson’s Emilie: La Marquise Du Chatelet Defends Her Life Tonight  and Winter Miller’s In Darfur to Kate Cayley’s The Bakelite Masterpiece, receive rave reviews. WAM’s Fresh Take Series of staged readings of new plays showcase promising playwrights with something to say. In 2016, Fresh Take produced a reading of Kate Hennig’s The Last Wife, a modern take on Katherine Parr’s marriage to Henry VIII. This past fall WAM presented a fully-staged production of the play at the Elayne P. Bernstein Theatre on the Shakespeare & Company campus in Lenox, Massachusetts.

What distinguishes WAM from other theaters and brings the theatre international attention is its philanthropic mission. A portion of the proceeds of the box-office receipts goes to a non-profit organization, chosen by the WAM team, that directly benefits women and girls. The Soldier On Women’s Program, a national initiative to help women veterans returning from active duty to reclaim their lives, was the recipient of proceeds from The Last Wife. WAM was honored as the Outstanding Philanthropic Corporation by the National Philanthropy Day Committee of the Western Massachusetts Chapter of the Association of Fundraising Professionals.

Van Ginhoven entered professional theatre with a degree in theatre performance from Dalhousie University in Halifax, NS. As an actor, she performed at Shakespeare-By-The-Sea, in Belgian productions of David Auburn’s Proof, and Arthur Miller’s A View From The Bridge. She has worked at the renowned Stratford Festival in Canada, The Capital Repertory Theatre in Albany, and most recently staged Lauren Gunderson’s I and You as the season opener of The Chester Theatre Company. As a theatre educator, she has trained the next generation of theatre artists.

“WAM’s greatest success in all ways is being a philanthropic professional theatre company. We pay everyone who works with us a equitable rate that is in line with the other companies in our area, plus we donate 25 percent of the box offices from our main stage productions to our beneficiaries,” van Ginhoven says. “It’s amazing. If we can do it, everyone can. We are growing slowly and conservatively. We aren’t doing ‘pie in the sky’ projects. We are making plans, very, very detailed plans, for every single project we undertake. Next year is the first year we are really leaping with our budget.”

2014: Christina Gordon, Sipiwe Moyo, and Shannon Harris in “In Darfur” by Winter Miller. Photo by Enrico Spada.

Van Ginhoven attributes WAM’s success to its programs and people. “People love that their support of WAM does two things — a double WAMmy, at least — that their ticket price or donation, not only provides jobs but also creates opportunity for women and girls, locally or globally. They love the social entrepreneurship aspect of WAM. We also live in an area that is culturally rich, with lots of engaged global citizens so our work really speaks to the people in this region.”

WAM is unique as a model in the non-profit theatre industry, so networking with like business models is challenging. “Like in anything, it’s about finding like-minded people and being resourceful in connecting- joining committees, boards, organizations and saying ‘yes’ to any opportunity in order to build your community,”, says van Ginhoven.

WAM and Van Ginhhoven have been working to build better networks with women leaders in theatre and the non-profits. To that end, WAM co-hosted the first Berkshire Leadership Summit on October 28-29 on the Shakespeare and Company campus in Lenox, Massachusetts. The program was based on research that San Francisco’s American Conservatory Theater commissioned from the Wellesley Centers for Women. The two-day event, which sold out, was for women in artistic or administrative leadership positions in the non-profit theatre and those who aspire to be.

“When I stood up at a microphone at American Conservatory Theater’s Women’s Leadership Conference in 2016 and said WAM Theatre would host a summit as a next step in the national conversation around gender parity in the theatre, never, ever did I think it would result in this sort of response,” Van Ginhoven explained. “The desire for this sort of event is SO clear. In early August we informed 75 people (from around 30 different U.S. states and five Canadian provinces) that they were accepted into the Berkshire Leadership Summit. Seventy-five percent of them received some sort of financial aid, thanks to our sponsors and the donors of the GoFundMe campaign.”

Kristen van Ginhoven, founder, WAM Theatre
BERKSHIRES, Massachusetts
Website

Top image: 2016: David Adkins and Corinna May in The Bakelite Masterpiece by Kate Cayley. Photo by Emma K. Rothberg-Ware.

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Kevin Rhodes may be known in Massachusetts as the maestro of the Springfield Symphony Orchestra and Pro Arte Chamber Orchestra in Boston, but his baton reaches far beyond the state’s borders. Rhodes also conducts the Traverse Symphony Orchestra in Michigan and regularly flies across the pond where he’s well known for his conducting in Norway, Paris, and beyond.

Rhodes has conducted in the major musical capitals of Europe for over two decades, leading major productions at the Paris Opera, Vienna State Opera, Berlin State Opera, Milan’s Teatro alla Scala, Dutch National Ballet, Verona Ballet, and Stuttgart Ballet. Last season, he made his Norwegian National Ballet debut conducting Don Quixote, after conducting an all-Balanchine program, an homage to the late New York City Ballet dancer Violette Verdy at The Paris Opera, and Nureyev’s production of Raymonda in Vienna. Rhodes added a Romeo and Juliet in Stuttgart to the mix, alongside his annual appearance as conductor for the Rudolf Nureyev Gala at Vienna State Opera Ballet. The upcoming season is equally frenetic with a return to Raymonda and a mixed-bill in Vienna and Swan Lake in Stuttgart, as well as plans to conduct the Nureyev Gala on what would have been the late dancer’s 80th birthday.

All that world travel aside, New England remains culturally exciting to Rhodes. “The close proximity of so many instrumental artists, which allow us to have this wonderful orchestra in Springfield of a quality completely out of proportion to our region’s population size, is a gift from which we all benefit,” he says. “While it’s part of the cultural life per se, the incredible beauty of New England certainly adds dramatically to the joy of creating art here.”

KevinRhodes after Stuttgart performance of Romeo and Juliet. Photo courtesy of Kevin Rhodes.

For the Indiana-born conductor, who began his professional conducting career at the age of 16 in his hometown, the road to New England took a transatlantic detour. After receiving his bachelor of music in piano performance from Michigan State University, he subsequently earned his master of music in orchestra conducting from the University of Illinois. He moved to Switzerland to become a house conductor at Basel’s Stadttheater, before moving to the larger Deutsche Oper am Rhein in Dusseldorf, where he led hundreds of performances of the operatic repertoire, from Die Zauberflöte to Der Rosenkavalier, while simultaneously serving as the principal ballet conductor at the Vienna State Opera. During his time in Europe, Rhodes led repertoire ranging from the operas of Strauss, Verdi, Puccini, Massenet, Mozart, and Smetana to the major ballets of Prokofiev, Stravinsky, and Tchaikovsky.

It’s not all classical music for Rhodes. In 2015, he conducted the Springfield Symphony Orchestra at the nationally-televised season opener of the New England Patriots at Gillette Stadium with rapper T-Pain. He’ll take on the Star Wars and Star Trek Sci-Fi Spectacular for a Springfield Symphony Pops.

Photo by John RobertWilliams

Rhodes is excited about his performances in Springfield this year. “Our season grand finale with legendary pianist Misha Dichter in an all-Rachmaninoff program is, for sure, among those I can’t wait to perform, as well as combining our choruses with the University of Massachusetts choruses for the Verdi Requiem. There’s a super cool concerto for trombone and orchestra by Japanese composer Yoshimatsu, played by our own principal trombone Brian Diehl;  a new cello concerto by American composer Lowell Liebermann played by star cellist Julian Schwartz, and well, every concert has something I’m really looking forward to, as it turns out.”

Kevin Rhodes–conductor, Springfield Symphony Orchestra
Westfield, Massachusetts
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Top image: Kevin Rhodes. Photo by Anne Deniau

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​​The new opera My Lai, with music by Jonathan Berger and libretto by Connecticut author Harriet Scott Chessman, opens the 2017 Next Wave Festival at Brooklyn Academy of Music. It won’t be the first time that the horrors of the Vietnam War have made their way into the American cultural vision. The musical Hair captured the pain of the era, and the musical Miss Saigon transported the Madama Butterfly story from turn-of-the-century Japan to 1975 Saigon. Playwright David Rabe’s Vietnam War Trilogy—The Basic Training of Pavlo Hummel, Sticks and Bones, and Streamers—explored the pain of the period, as did Terrence McNally’s Bringing it All Back Home. My Lai, however, may be the first opera to deal with the Vietnam war to be funded by The National Endowment For The Arts, and commissioned and performed by the Kronos Quartet.

Chessman has spent most of her career writing fiction. Her five novels have made the San Francisco Chronicle’s Best Books list, and her work has been featured nationally. Writing an opera libretto was not on her radar—until she met Berger.

Chessman met Berger, co-director of the Stanford University Arts Initiative, through her husband. “The idea was Jonathan’s,” says Chessman of writing the libretto. “He had been drawn to the figure of Hugh Thompson (the helicopter pilot who intervened in the My Lai massacre) for many years. Jonathan knew he wanted the opera to have one singer (Thompson), and to take place in a bare room in the VA Hospital in the South, where Hugh lived his last days, sick with cancer. He knew he wanted the opera to be about Thompson’s memory of that morning in South Vietnam.”

They began their collaboration on what became My Lai in 2013. First Chessman wrote the libretto, her first attempt at opera. “Jonathan responded to various drafts of the libretto, for a year and a half, before he started to compose the music,” she says. “Of course, I had Jonathan’s other music, two chamber operas, Theotokia and The War Reporter, in my head as I wrote. I understood the tone and the resonance, the meaning he was going for.”

Chessman and Berger have tweaked My Lai after initial performances at Stanford and Chicago in 2015. “Essentially, though,” says Chessman, “the primary way My Lai is changing is through the beautiful, sharp direction of Mark DeChiazzo, who is also the creator of the videography, and through the growth of the character Hugh Thompson, in Rinde Eckert’s superb performances.”

After the performances September 27-30, The Kronos Quartet will tour My Lai internationally. Chessman, meanwhile, will get to work on a new libretto and a book of short stories.

Chessman and Berger have collaborated on a second work, Death by Drowning, a piece for chamber group and tenor inspired by a Yiddish folk tale. It premieres at Stanford on October 26th, at the Daniel Pearl World Music Days Concert.

Chessman evolved into a New Englander. “Each summer in my childhood we lived in New Hampshire for two months, and the rich, peaceful beauty of that area has always felt like a touchstone for me,” she says, noting she attended school in New England at Northfield Mount Hermon, Wellesley College, and Yale University before settling in Connecticut for almost 30 years. Then, she had a stint in California, but admits she always “felt that New England was home.”

“The peacefulness of the Connecticut shoreline, and the whole landscape of New England: water, meadows, woods, hills, cities, villages inspires me,” she says. “Our house  is in the woods, next to the Guilford Conservation Land Trust, and this spot is rich in the quiet I need for writing. This is home.”

Harriett Scott Chessman
Guilford, Connecticut
Website

Top image: Performance of My Lai, photo by Zoran Orlic.

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Hartford’s TheaterWorks is a crown jewel in New England’s cultural scene, known for over 30 years as a theatre company that showcases non-traditional plays and new works that are far from mainstream. At TheaterWorks this past season, Richard Dreyfuss starred in Relativity, a new Mark St. Germain play about Albert Einstein; food chef Rossi was profiled in Jacques Lamarre’s deliciously funny Raging Skillet; and audiences were treated to a sensitive production of the award-winning musical Next to Normal, a poignant story of a family’s dealing with bipolar disorders. Even the holidays get a different twist with the annual Christmas On The Rocks, a series of playlets that turn traditional Christmas tales into hysterically funny non-traditional laughs.

Rob Ruggiero, the visionary producing director of TheaterWorks since 2012, and a member of the theater’s artistic leadership for 24 years, has put the intimate downtown Hartford theater on the national map. He’s directed over 50 productions for TheaterWorks, and stewards the theater’s other plays and musicals.

The road to TheaterWorks began in Milford, Massachusetts, where Ruggiero grew up. He attended Stonehill College. After school, he started as an actor, but held a variety of jobs, from running a frame shop to working at a nursing home, to starting a non-professional theatre. But, he wanted to direct, so he went to Rutgers. He was teaching at Rutgers and directing in regional theatres, building a solid free-lance career, when he met TheaterWorks’ founder, Steve Campo. He was invited to Hartford. He kept coming back, until he moved to Hartford in 2010.

Rob Ruggiero on the set of Next to Normal, photo by Lanny Nagler.

Ruggiero’s artistry extends beyond Hartford. His Broadway credits include Looped (starring Valerie Harper in a Tony-nominated performance) and High (starring Kathleen Turner). Off-Broadway, he conceived and directed the original musical revue Make Me a Song: The Music of William Finn. Ruggiero conceived and directed the world premiere musical portrait of Ella Fitzgerald entitled Ella, which has been seen on more than 24 regional theater stages nationally. His production of Stephen Sondheim’s landmark musical Follies won awards in St. Louis this year.

Ruggiero is also a familiar face at Goodspeed Musicals, down river from Hartford in East Haddam, Connecticut, where he’s staged La Cage Aux Folles, Fiddler on The Roof, The Most Happy Fella, Carousel, and Showboat. He received Connecticut Critics Circle Awards and Broadway World Awards for those musicals. The Rodgers and Hammerstein Organization now licenses his version of Showboat for regional theater productions.

The cast of Goodspeed’s The Most Happy Fella, directed by Rob Ruggiero. Photo by Diane Sobolewski.,

Currently, Ruggiero is working on his 10th production at Goodspeed, a revival of Rags, the famous musical flop of 1986. Featuring a book by Joseph Stein, who wrote Fiddler On The Roof, music by Charles Strouse of Bye Bye, Birdie fame, and lyrics by Wicked’s Stephen Schwartz, Rags told the story of European Jews trying to make a new life in America, after arriving on Ellis Island. The musical starred Teresa Stratas, an acclaimed Metropolitan Opera star making her Broadway debut, alongside veteran Broadway actor Larry Kert, and up-and-coming star Terrence Mann, who’s now Artistic Director of Connecticut Repertory Theatre’s Nutmeg Summer Series. Rags closed after a handful of performances, but a cast recording was made. The musical developed a cult following because of its exquisite score, and Goodspeed, masters of reviving musicals that deserve a second chance, are reworking Rags, with Ruggiero at the helm.

“We are completely revisiting Rags, with Stephen Schwartz and Charles Strouse actively involved in the process. David Thompson is revising the script penned by the late Joseph Stein. We’ve refocused the role of the leading lady, dropped some characters, rewritten or added others,” says Ruggiero, who added that Goodspeed, known for giving neglected musicals a second chance, has been working on it for months. Rags runs October 6 through December 10.

Rob Ruggiero–Artistic Director, TheaterWorks
Hartford, Connecticut
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Goodspeed Musicals
Haddam, Connecticut
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Top image: Christiane Noll and David Harris from Ruggiero’s production of Next to Normal, photo by Lanny Nagler

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Many impressive visitors have walked The Yellow Brick Road to Oz and Broadway from The Wiz to Wicked. The Wizard of Oz’s fabled movie’s star Judy Garland has been a character in The Boy From Oz to End of The Rainbow. Goodspeed Musicals’ new musical, “Chasing Rainbows: The Road To Oz” tells the story of Judy Garland before she became the international legend in movies like A Star is Born, and Meet Me in St. Louis, and in concert.

Conceived by Tina Marie Casamento Libby, with book by Marc Acito, and period music adapted by David Libby, “Chasing Rainbows” tells about Garland’s early days appearing in vaudeville as a family act, before being discovered by MGM as a teen, and paired in two dozen films, including nine with Mickey Rooney, before playing Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz at age 19. In Acito’s script, a conception of Tina Marie Casamento Libby, Garland is portrayed as the girl-next-door with the big voice, captivating and ready for stardom. There are also hints of the Garland-to-be, with the low self-esteem and the victim of studio manipulation, where she’s given diet pills to slenderize her and energy pills to keep her on her toes.

Acito’s book is solid, and the period music adapted by David Libby, beautifully orchestrated by Dan DeLange, uses some period music to great effect, from the expected “Over The Rainbow” to an unexpected version of “If I Only Had A Brain”. Michael O’Flaherty’s music direction is terrific, and some of the old chestnuts sound vibrantly fresh. Tyne Rafeali’s staging is fast-paced, and Chris Bailey’s choreography.just swings with style, particularly in the first act’s “All Ma’s Children” and the second act’s rousing “Swing Mister Mendelssohn”.

Ruby Rakos as Judy Garland, Michael Wartella as Mickey Rooney, and Berklea Going as Lana Turner in “Chasing Rainbows: The Road to Oz.” | Photo by Diane Sobolewski

Ruby Rakos is an astounding Judy Garland, with a huge voice. Ella Briggs was delightful as a very young Garland. The cast is a mix of veterans, like Karen Mason as L.B. Mayer’s secretary, and Michael McCormack as Mayer and some up-and-coming talents like Kevin Earley as Garland’s father, a troubled man, who turns the song “Chasing Rainbows” into one of the show’s several tour de force moments. I liked all of the performances and the smooth moves of the ensemble.

Michael Wartella, as Mickey Rooney, gave one of the best musical theater performances I’ve seen this year. He’s a nimble dancer, smooth singer, and total charm. He’s also a Western Massachusetts guy who learned his craft in area theaters, which made his first class performance even more special to watch.

Kristen Robinson’s sets are simple, and they slide about the tiny Goodspeed stage effortlessly. Elizabeth Caitlin Ward’s costumes shine, and Ken Billington’s lighting was great.

Goodspeed Musicals and the creators of “Chasing Rainbows” have high hopes that this production will move on to other theaters, with Broadway in sight. It has a future, especially if Ruby Rakos, Michael Wartella, and Kevin Earley stay with the production. Those three could keep the lights of Broadway shining brightly for a long time.

Ruby Rakos as Judy Garland and Michael Wartella as Mickey Rooney in “Chasing Rainbows: The Road to Oz.” | Photo by Diane Sobolewski.

Goodspeed Musicals presents “Chasing Rainbows: The Road to Oz.” Book by Marc Acito. Through November 27. Goodspeed Opera House, East Haddam, CT. For tickets: 860-873-8668 or goodspeed.org.

This review originally ran in the Westfield News Group

Top photo (left to right) Claire Griffin, Ella Briggs, Kevin Earley, and Piper Birney as The Gumm Family in “Chasing Rainbows: The Road to Oz.” | Photo by Diane Sobolewski

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Berkshire Theatre Group, one of the foundations of quality theater in Western Massachusetts, has partnered with the ambitious upstart, WAM Theatre to produce the American premiere of the Canadian play, Kate Cayley’s The Bakelite Masterpiece at Berkshire Theatre Group’s intimate Unicorn Theatre in Stockbridge. It’s a partnership of note.

David Adkins and Corinna May in The Bakelite Masterpiece | Photo by Emma Rothenberg-Ware

WAM, under the leadership of Kristen van Ginhoven, calls itself “Theater for everyone that benefits women and girls”. It’s known for employing women as playwrights, directors, actors, and production people. It donates a percentage of its box-office proceeds to non-profits that provide programs and services to women and girls.

Van Ginhoven, Canadian-born director, is bringing one of the best representatives of contemporary Canadian theater to the Berkshires. The subject matter of The Bakelite Masterpiece, set in Holland, resonates with Van Ginhoven, since her family survived World War II in The Netherlands.

In this taut 90-minute drama, punctuated by solid writing, thoughtful staging, and two outstanding performances by David Adkins as an artist and Corinna May as an investigator working to repatriate Holland’s art masterpieces which had been looted by the Nazis, there is a fascinating story told to perfection. At the close of World War II, an artist is about to be prosecuted–and ultimately executed for selling a priceless Vermeer to a Nazi officer. The investigator, an art student, may have witnessed the sale, but the artist claimed that he’d copied Vermeer and created a fraud. She basically says “If you did, recreate another Vermeer that can’t be told apart from an original.” Kate Cayley’s play combines strong characters with elements of a thriller, and director Kristen Van Ginhoven fuses the performances and production values with satisfying results.

David Adkins and Corinna May in The Bakelite Masterpiece | Photo by Emma Rothenberg-Ware

David Adkins and Corinna May are much-respected actors on the Berkshire theater scene. They work together in synch, and both deliver superb performances. There are sequences in which Adkins takes center stage with no dialogue to render breathtaking artistry. May has subtle transitions in her performance that are equally splendid.

Juliana Von Haubrich’s Dutch prison set is effective, and it’s well-lit by Lily Fossner. Brad Berridge’s sound design is top quality, as are Deborah A. Brothers’ costumes.

The Bakelite Masterpiece is one of the best plays and productions that I’ve seen this season, and seeing WAM and Berkshire Theatre Group in collaboration is a partnership that I hope continues in years to come. Add the polished performances of David Adkins and Corinna May to the mix, and The Bakelite Masterpiece is a great reason to savor some good theater on a frosty Berkshires autumn night.

The Berkshire Theatre Group and WAM present The Bakelite Masterpiece by Kate Cayley. Directed by Kristen van Ginhoven. Scenic design by Juliana Von Haubrich. Costume Design by Deborah A. Brothers. Lighting design by Lily Fossner. Sound Design by Brad Berridge. Cast: David Adkins as Han Van Meergeren and Corinna May as Geert Piller.

Through October 23
The Berkshire Theatre Group’s Unicorn Theatre
Stockbridge MA.
For tickets: 413-997-4444 or berkshiretheatregroup.org

This review originally ran in the Westfield News Group

Top image: David Adkins and Corinna May in The Bakelite Masterpiece | Photo by Emma Rothenberg-Ware

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Western New England has enjoyed a wealth of theatrical world premieres, both plays and musicals this year. All of the shows featured top-notch performances, staging, and production values. Some of them were propelled by stars. Some won’t seem to have future lives. Some of the plays, like Hartford Stage’s The Body of An American and Barrington Stage’s American Son, are so intense, vital and fascinating, that I’ve thought about them in depth long since their performance runs ended.

Hartford Stage’s season opener, Queens For A Year joins the list for its provocative subject matter, exceptional writing, polished performances, staging and production values, and subject matter that will keep you thinking about the drama long after the curtain falls.

T.D. Mitchell has written about a group of women, all Marines, some currently in service and some veterans. As Mitchell’s play unfolds in a Virginia farmhouse in 2007, with tours of duty in Iraq and Camp Lejeune, we learn the stories of why the women joined the Marines–some because of family tradition, the desire to see the world, the desire to get an education, and how they were treated by a heterosexual male institution in transition, hesitant to give women in the military equal rights, and unequipped to treat women soldiers’ post-traumatic stress disorders, their sexual objectification, harassment, and rape. Mitchell explores some really difficult themes, although she’s written some great characters, and snippets of military life and occasional bits of humor to balance the material.

Vanessa R. Butler | Photo by T. Charles Erickson

Most of the creative team involved with this production are making their Hartford Stage debuts. Lucie Tiberghien’s direction is taut, and working with an exceptionally well-designed set by Daniel Conway and lighting design by Robert Perry, she’s able to give the play an almost cinematic pacing. Victoria Deiorio’s sound design and Beth Goldenberg’s costume design are spot on. The production elements pull together explosively during Queens for A Year’s cataclysmic finale.

The cast of eight offer a great ensemble performance. Vanessa R. Butler, who will be familiar to Hartford audiences for her performances with HartBeat Ensemble and Capital Classics, was a stand-out for me in a challenging role of being an officer trying to uphold the Marine code of ethics, while feeling real compassion for a woman in her command. Sarah Nicole Deaver masterfully played a private who had been assaulted and is in need of help. Alice Cannon, who was a Broadway musical theater ingenue in the 1960s and 1970s, was the right spot of humor as a grandmotherly vet.

Hartford Stage began the year with a premiere, The Body of An American, about the effects of war on a photojournalist covering these events. Barrington Stage’s American Son asked difficult questions about race in America. Queens For A Year reveals tough realities about women in the military and about our misunderstandings of veterans’ needs. These are not “date night” theater events for those looking for a little light fare. Good theater can tell a strong story, can plant the seeds for discourse and debate, and bring an intensity that movies and TV just can’t. I’ll be thinking about Queens For A Year for quite a long time.

This review originally ran in the Westfield News Group.

Charlotte Maier | Photo by T. Charles Erickson

Hartford Stage presents Queens for A Year by T.D. Mitchell. Directed by Lucie Tiberchien. Scenic design by Daniel Conway. Video and Projection Design by Aaron Rhyne. Costume design by Beth Goldenberg. Lighting design by Robert Perry. Sound design by Victoria Deiorio.
Cast: Heidi Armbruster, Mary Bacon, Vanessa R. Butler, Alice Cannon, Sarah Nicole Deaver, Mat Hostetler, Charlotte Maier, Jamie Rezanour.

Through October 2nd
Hartford Stage
Hartford CT
For tickets: 860-527-5151 or hartfordstage.org

Top image Jamie Rezanour, Sarah Nicole Deaver | Photo by T. Charles Erickson

The post Review: “Queens For A Year” Premiere @ Hartford Stage appeared first on Take Magazine.

The Berkshire Theatre Group, in association with Darlene Kaplan Entertainment and Brierpatch Productions, is presenting the world premiere of Shem Bitterman’s The Stone Witch. Wrapped up in an exquisite set design by Yael Pardess with projections by Rasean Davonte Johnson (using Pardess’ imaginative illustrations), and rich with an equally exquisite music score by Roger Bellon and Bellchant Music, a writer’s studio in the country becomes a fantasy playground for a famed children’s book writer/illustrator (Judd Hirsch), his editor (Kristin Griffith), and an up-and-coming writer (Rupak Ginn).

Judd Hirsch | Photo by Emma by Emma Rothenberg-Ware

Hirsch as Simon Grindberg, is internationally renowned for his work, but in Shem Bitterman’s comedic drama, he hasn’t produced any new work in twelve years, and his editor, Claire, needs one more best-seller to keep his brand alive. So, she sends an aspiring author and illustrator and fan, Peter, to keep Simon on track. Simon is eccentric, but he’s fascinated by one of Peter’s characters, the “Stone Witch”. Simon at first rejects Peter’s help, but later, the two of them bond in unconventional and tempestuous ways, as the play moves rapidly towards a conclusion with several plot surprises, along with some unanswered questions, that kept me replaying some scenes in my head. Bitterman’s writing is contemporary in language, but at times, hints of poetic come to the surface. He has written good characters. Zuckerman’s staging is crisp.

It’s nice to see Judd Hirsch return to the stage. He’s achieved so many accolades in his film and TV work, but Hirsch also has a legendary career and two Tony Awards for his work in live theater. He’s solid as the eccentric writer and well-directed by Steve Zuckerman. Kristin Griffith is excellent as his editor, caught between a real concern for the Hirsch character while trying to balance protecting the brand of the writer’s work and encouraging a holiday season best-seller. Rupak Ginn as Peter, the young author intent on keeping the older writer on track, gives the most nuanced and balanced performance. Hirsch’s character is world-weary, while Ginn’s is youthful and optimistic. Playwright Bitterman has made Ginn’s character a perfect foil for Hirsch’s theatrics, and Ginn delivers.

Rupak Ginn and Kristin Griffith | Photo by Emma by Emma Rothenberg-Ware

Mimi Maxman’s costumes and Shawn E. Boyle’s lighting design enhance the productions, and Christopher Cronin’s sound design is well-balanced.

Berkshire Theatre Group and its co-producers have high hopes for The Stone Witch and anticipate a New York run in the future. Theater-goers may be urged by the idea of seeing Judd Hirsch onstage, as they should, but they will likely leave the theater wanting to see more from Rupak Ginn. Berkshire Theatre Group’s Kate Maguire should be commended for programming new works as part of the season line-up; it’s certainly an artistic, and financial, risk for any theater to showcase fresh voices, and the opening night audience seemed more than willing to go along for the ride.

This review originally appeared in the Westfield News Group.

The Berkshire Theatre Group presents “The Stone Witch” by Shem Bitterman.
Directed by Steve Zuckerman. Scenic design and projection art content by Yael Pardess. Costume Design by  Mimi Maxman. Lighting design by Shawn E. Boyle. Sound Design by Christopher Cronin. Projections design by Rasean Davonte Johnson. Music by Roger Bellon and Bellchant Music. Produced in association with Darlene Kaplan Entertainment and Brierpatch Productions.
Through August 20th
The Berkshire Theatre Group’s Fitzpatrick Main Stage
Stockbridge, MA
For tickets: 413-997-4444 or berkshiretheatregroup.org.

Top photo by Emma by Emma Rothenberg-Ware

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A cool evening and a full moon added to the ambiance of a summer theater night in The Berkshires.

It’s hard to remember a political campaign or an election cycle, where candidates actually had solid platforms, well-thought out solutions, ethics, and integrity. Fiorello, the award-winning portrait of New York Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia, and his rise to political power during and after World War I, deserves the accolades. It’s one of only nine musicals to win a Pulitzer for drama, and one of a trio of winners with political themes, joining The Gershwins’ Of Thee I Sing, and Hamilton for the well-deserved accolades.

The composer/lyricist duo, Jerry Bock and Sheldon Harnick provided Fiorello with a group of pop standards, as they did with later hits She Loves Me and Fiddler on The Roof (both of which are playing on Broadway in well-received revivals). When Fiorello opened in 1959, many theater-goers remembered LaGuardia (who died in 1947). He was the mayor who read the funny papers on the radio when the newspapers were on strike. He was the mayor whose plane ticket said “New York” (even though there was no commercial airport in the Big Apple and flights went to Newark) who got the airport built which bears his name open.

Over the years, the musical Fiorello fell into the museum-piece category, rarely revived. Encores produced a concert version in New York in 1994, and again for its 20th anniversary (which co-starred Kate Baldwin, a musical actress who’s a regular at Berkshire Theatre Group. The Jerome Weidman and George Abbott book is well-crafted, and the Bock and Harnick score is classic.

Bob Moss’ direction serves the production well, and Evan Zavada’s music direction brings out the best of the score. Zavada is also on keyboards, accompanied by a violinist, which made me wish for fuller orchestrations and a larger pit band. Michael Callahan’s choreography, particularly for “I Love A Cop”(beautifully performed by Chelsea Groen as Dora and Dan Cassin as her cop) and the political hacks in “A Little Tin Box” was entrancing. Fiorello’s big razzle-dazzle number, “Gentleman Jimmy”, although well sung by Amy Welch, was flat on the footwork.

Carl Sprague’s set, which represented The Big Apple from 1915-1933, was simple and clever–a good match for the intimate Unicorn stage. David Murin’s period costumes were stunning, and Matthew E. Adelson’s lighting designs and Brendan F. Doyle’s sound designs enhanced the production. Adelson does a lot of work with the Five Colleges dance department, and he has a great way of lighting movement.

Austin Lombardi as Fiorello LaGuardia. Photo by Emma Rothenberg-Ware

Fiorello showcases graduates of Berkshire Theatre Group’s Apprentice programs and community theater productions, along with some recently graduated theater majors. Austin Lombardi as Fiorello was a strong lead, and his second act reprise of “The Name’s LaGuardia” bordered on being a showstopper. Katie Birenboim as Marie, Rebecca Brudner as Thea, and Chelsea Groen were all solid in their solos. Rylan Morsbach, who gave a stand-out performance in last season’s production of The Homecoming, was a charmer. The ensemble made the Harnick and Bock songs, particularly the musical’s most famous waltz, “Til Tomorrow” a beautiful rendering.

Fiorello evokes an era when politicos cared about their constituents, and a time when Broadway scores had melodies that were melodic. The Berkshire Theatre Group production of Fiorello, low on special effects, is true to its script and score, and never feels dated. The performances of Austin Lombardi and Chelsea Groen ought to bring multiple smiles on a summer night.

The ensemble of Fiorello. Photo by Emma Rothenberg-Ware

*This review first appeared in the Westfield News Group*

The Berkshire Theatre Group presents “Fiorello”.
Book by Jerome Weidman and George Abbott. Music by Jerry Bock. Lyrics by Sheldon Harnick. Directed by Bob Moss. Music direction by Evan Zavada. Choreography by Michael Callahan. Scenic design by  Carl Sprague. Costume Design by David Murin. Lighting design by Matthew E. Adelson. Sound Design by Brendan F. Doyle.
Through July 23
The Berkshire Theatre Group’s Unicorn Theatre
Stockbridge, MA.
For tickets: 413-997-4444 or www.berkshiretheatregroup.org

The post Review: “Fiorello” at Berkshire Theatre Group appeared first on Take Magazine.

Opera can be a tough sell even in an urban setting. Put it in a New Hampshire town with a population of 13,000 and some might think that very ill-advised indeed.

But Opera North, located in Lebanon, New Hampshire, has been defying the opera odds for years. And now with a new director, the multi-talented Evans Haile, who joins Artistic Director Louis G. Burkot (who’s been at Opera North since 1987), the venue’s future is looking even brighter. This summer’s season features a trio of musical theater offerings: Mozart’s comic The Abduction from the Seraglio; Copland’s coming-of-age-in-the-Great-Depression opera The Tender Land, and Bernstein’s West Side Story, a musical equally at home on the Broadway and opera stages.

Evans Haile | Photo courtesy of Opera North

Before joining Opera North this spring, Haile was the producing artistic director of The Cape Playhouse from 1999 through last season. His credits include a similar stint at the North Shore Music Theatre in Beverly, Massachusetts. A Juilliard-trained pianist and conductor, he’s been music director of the Gainesville Orchestra in Florida since 2000, and dramaturg for Florida Grand Opera.

Haile was attracted to Opera North because it’s a professional company that has attracted the best young opera singers such as Nathan Gunn. “We’re an American opera company committed to producing American operas like The Tender Land [and] American musicals like West Side Story alongside the classics,” Haile says in our phone chat. He was in Cincinnati previewing Ricky Ian Gordon’s new opera Morning Star, which Haile would like to produce at Opera North.

Opera North has a budget of a little over $1 million. Haile would like to double that. “Last year, over 6,000 people came to see our three shows, and our performance schedule is structured so people can see three different productions over a weekend,” he says.

Evan Pappas | Photo courtesy of Opera North

Evan Pappas, the Broadway musical theater star best known for his performances in A Chorus Line, My Favorite Year, Parade, and the London production of Follies, makes his Opera North directorial debut with West Side Story. Several years ago, the much-sought-after actor turned to directing when an auto accident sidelined him for a year. He’s directed West Side Story before, and he and Haile collaborated when Pappas was directing in Florida. “My Tony and Maria come from the opera world, my Bernardo and Anita come from Broadway, and my cast comes from musical theater,” says Pappas. “This is Opera North’s first collaboration with the Boston Conservatory and choreographer Cathy Young, the conservatory’s director of dance, who has turned the chorus of singers into dancers.”

Opera North had its beginnings as the Light Opera of Norwich, which started performing operetta as an adjunct to a community theater. Founder David Strohmier joined forces with Burkot, a voice teacher at Dartmouth, to begin producing opera with musical theater. By 1988, it was a full-fledged opera company. Opera North performs at the 800-seat Lebanon Opera House, built in 1924 and renovated in 2001. It features the largest proscenium theater in the Upper Connecticut River Valley.

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