Miss Bennet: Christmas at Pemberley

To add to the festivities of the holiday season, Shakespeare and Company is presenting a costumed staged reading of Miss Bennet: Christmas at Pemberley.  With many of our favorite books, we imagine  life going on  after we close the book. The romance of Pride and Prejudice continues in this delightful play by Lauren Gunderson and Margot Melcon. Jane Austen would be pleased to see her characters live   once again.

However, this reading has a short run from December 15 to 17. If you miss  the  performances,  Shakespeare and Company has  other presentations during the winter season which will please you. There will be a Winter Studio Festival of Plays January 13 – 14, 2018. Five plays will be read over the two days.

February 17-18, 2018  Lovers’ Spat Round Two will offer scenes from Shakespeare and other playwrights showing that  the course of true love never did run smooth.

Click on the link below as Bob and I discuss this.

Discussion of Christmas at Pemberley and other things

Then click on Shakespeare and Company’s website for further information.

Shakespeare and Company

The Last Wife

The Last Wife runs until November 5 at the Elayne Bernstein Theatre at Shakespeare and Company in Lenox, MA. This is a production of WAM Theatre. The play runs Friday through Sunday. Tickets are purchased through the Shakespeare and Company box office.

The play is about Henry VIII’s last wife, Katherine Parr, and her influence on a future king and  two queens of England, specifically Edward VI, Mary I and Elizabeth I. This is history as it should be experienced. Not only is the language contemporary, but the issues that the play raises about the political power of women are relevant  today.  Not just history, the play is a delightful theatrical experience.

Click below to hear Bob and I discuss the play

Discussion of The Last Wife

Then go to The WAM Theatre website

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Gaslight

 

The psychological thriller, Gaslight, runs until October 22 at Barringon Stage’s Boyd-Quinson Theatre. This play gave a name to psychological manipulation which is on display in this production as skillfully depicted by Mark Dold and Kim Stauffer. You don’t want to miss any moment of this story as it unfolds. It is a play that keeps the audience absorbed in the action each moment.

Bob and I were fortunate to interview four of the five cast members of this excellent recreation of a complicated relationship. Kim Stauffer, Mark Dold, Kevin O’Rourke and Peggy Pharr Wilson shared their thoughts about the play and how they approached their roles.

Listen to what they have to say, by clicking on the link below.

Interview with Gaslight cast

Then click below on the theatre’s website to buy tickets

Barrington Stage website

God of Carnage

God of Carnage engages its audience on many levels.  A  comedy of manners,  it raises many issues as comedies often do. Two civilized, middle-class couples meet to  deal with the problem of a fight between their sons which has resulted in the loss of teeth of the son of the host couple.  We sense a great deal about these four people from their posture, their clothing and the space between them. That is before they even start talking. When they do, we are in for quite a ride.

The play runs until October 8 at Shakespeare and Company in Lenox, MA. There is an additional performance on Thursday, October 5 to benefit the survivors of Hurricanes Erma and Maria.

To listen to what we have to say about the production, click on the link below

God of Carnage

To order tickets click on the theatre’s website below

Shakespeare and Company website

 

 

 

 

Long Day’s Journey Into Night

Long Day’s Journey Into Night runs at the Weston Playhouse until September 3.  This the the third in  Weston’s Celebrating the  Classics series.  Bob and I saw the original production of Long Day’s Journey…  on Broadway and have seen several productions since. However, as with Weston’s production last year of All My Sons, we gained new insight and appreciation of this masterwork by Eugene O’Neil.  No one should think because they once saw a play, that they don’t have to  see a different production of it. Each cast and director brings a fresh approach to the work, particularly if it is a play of the quality of this one. There will be a week of matinee performances for students who will be lucky  for their first encounter with this play to be with this cast.

Bob and I were fortunate enough to interview Derek Smith who plays James Tyrone, the father of this tormented family. Derek generously saw us between the matinee and evening performances. Listen to our talk with him by clicking below.

Interview with Derek Smith

Then go to the Weston Playhouse website to order tickets.

Weston Playhouse website

 

Click below on Weston 101 for more background information about the play and an interview with the director.

Weston 101

American Buffalo

American Buffalo plays at the Dorset Theatre Festival until September 2. This production stars Treat Williams who has appeared in many films and television programs as well as on stage. The play by David Mamet had its Broadway production in 1977 and was made into a film starring Dustin Hoffman. Besides writing plays and books. Mamet has also written for film and television, producing some of his own films. He has lived in Vermont for many years. His plays primarily focus on urban life and are known for their distinct language.

David Mamet

Bob and I had an opportunity to talk with Matt Kirby who is a  Dramaturg  at the Dorset Theatre Festival and Assistant Stage Manager Abby Schneck about this production.

Click below to hear the interview

American Buffalo Interview Part 1

American Buffalo Interview Part 2

To contact the Dorset Theatre festival to order tickets, click on website below.

Dorset Theatre Festival website 

 

Click on picture below to hear director John Gould talk about American Buffalo

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Folk

Folk runs at the Chester Theatre Company until August 27. This is the fourth play in this company’s fine season . Folk is a  three character play staged in the round in the intimate space of the Chester Theatre.  Having seen this Town Hall converted into a proscenium and then  an arena stage shows the flexibility and imagination of the company.

Over the course of the season at Chester, Bob and I have enjoyed meeting a variety of characters in the different plays. Here we encounter three people brought together through music and acceptance of each other even though each is quite different. We come to know a  middle-aged working man, a beer drinking nun and a troubled fifteen year old girl  as they share songs and lives.

Listen to our discussion of the play, by clicking below.

Folk Discussion

For tickets and information about playing times, click on the website below

Chester Theatre Company website

Michele Tauber as Sister Winnie

Emery Henderson as Kayleigh

Micheal Sean McGuiness as Stephen

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Buyer & Cellar

 Buyer & Cellar plays at the Rod and Gun Club of the Weston Playhouse until September 3. This one man show is well worth seeing. Five characters come vividly to life through the skilled interpretation of Kyle Branzel. Bob and I were first impressed by this young actor in last year’s Weston Playhouse production of Murder for Two.  This year we  interviewed Kyle a few hours before opening night. We then had the pleasure of watching him perform in the intimate setting of the Rod and Gun Club where we have enjoyed many Weston productions.

Listen to the interview by clicking on the link below. Kyle not only gives a fine introduction to the play, but  also offers interesting insights into the actor’s life.

Interview with Kyle Branzel  Buyer & Cellar Part 1

Interview with Kyle Branzel  Buyer & Cellar Part 2

 

 

Click below on the Weston Playhouse website for tickets and further information.

Weston Playhoue website

Click to see a short video

Buyer & Cellar video

In the Weston 101 video, director Steve Stettler talks about the play

Buyer & Cellar Weston 101   

For more about Kyle Branzel click on the link to his website.

Kyle Branzel website

The Tempest

The Tempest is always filled with magic. Part of the magic in Shakespeare & Company’s  production is the setting, out of doors in the Shakespeare Garden. Watching it in the early evening was enchanting. The other magic is the actors and Shakespeare. This play has everything, treachery, love and the most hilarious clowns ever.

Bob and I interviewed Allyn Burrows, the director, during rehearsals.  After the interview, he invited us into the garden to watch a rehearsal. That was fun, but seeing the play with the wonderful costumes and Ariel in the trees was even better.

Listen to the interview by clicking on the link to the interview. Then click on the Shakespeare and Company website. Don’t worry if it rains. The play will be under the tent in the Rose Footprint just down the path.

Interview with Allyn Burrows

Shakespeare and Company website

 

 

 

 

This

This plays at Barrington Stage’s St. Germain Theatre until August  27.  This should not be missed. The audience drops in on a group of old friends who like to play games. That is what they are doing when the play opens. In some ways this is a metaphor for their relationships throughout the rest of the play. An outsider enters the picture and provides some perspective. What looks like an episode of  Friends morphs into something quite different.

Bob and I had the pleasure of interviewing the entire cast. Their discussion of their work and the actor’s life is worth sharing. To hear it, click on the links below

This Part 1

This Part 2

For tickets and information about the rest of Barrington Stage’s season, click on their website below

Barrington Stage

Erika Dorfler, Paris Remillard, Eddie Boroevich and Mark Dold

 

Mark Dold and Julia Coffey