Another Normal: Ultra Running in the Valley

by | Nov 21, 2014 | Free Sport

Amy Rusiecki laces up her running shoes one foot at a time, just like us mortals. She makes her way to the trailhead, then heads off at a gentle gait. And I follow. We’re at the Notch Visitor’s Center on Route 116 in the Holyoke Range. The autumn leaves,...
Stagestruck: An Unforgettable Separation

Stagestruck: An Unforgettable Separation

by | Nov 5, 2014 | Stage

“My parents’ love for each other was forged, in part, by their separation during the Korean War,” writes Susan Thompson in her playwright’s note to Unforgettable: Letters from Korea. “So were essential elements of who they became. During...
Stagestruck: A Curious Constellation

Stagestruck: A Curious Constellation

by | Nov 5, 2014 | Stage

I don’t know if it’s the fact that this year is his 450th birthday, or if some “enforced obedience of planetary influence,” as one of his villains says, caused this constellation, but this weekend and next, four of the Five Colleges are staging...
Grimly Comic

Grimly Comic

by | Nov 12, 2014 | Stage

The plots that W.S. Gilbert contrived for the comic operas he wrote with Arthur Sullivan often turned on what he called “topsy-turvy” situations, where normal reality is upended and absurdity reigns. The Yeomen of the Guard is the duo’s most striking...