Stage

Theater Matters with Jarice Hanson: The best of the Berkshires: Two plays with two different styles give audiences Broadway-quality productions, plus what’s on stage for spooky season

Theater Matters with Jarice Hanson: The best of the Berkshires: Two plays with two different styles give audiences Broadway-quality productions, plus what’s on stage for spooky season

By JARICE HANSON For the Advocate With the summer season winding down and “transition time” — both in terms of the seasons and the local theater offerings —  ramping up, two plays stand out as “the best of the best.” Donald Margulies’ newest (and perhaps his best)...
Time to swing: Jazz drummer and South Hadley native Joe Farnsworth returns to the Valley for a concert honoring his idol, Max Roach

Time to swing: Jazz drummer and South Hadley native Joe Farnsworth returns to the Valley for a concert honoring his idol, Max Roach

By STEVE PFARRER Staff Writer Joe Farnsworth was 10 or 11 when he got the chance to meet a drumming legend: Max Roach. It was at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, in 1979, where Roach taught. Farnsworth, who grew up in South Hadley, remembers how one of his...