By Jarice Hanson
For the Valley Advocate
While the Berkshire Theatre Critics’ Association will be doling out the “Berkies” for outstanding performances and productions early next month, three of the major Berkshire theater anchors are concluding the 2025 summer season with a diverse group of shows, each a winner in its own right. With work by established playwrights and new ones, and extraordinary stagecraft to bring ancient stories to life, the season closers have brought some of the most creative shows of the season to eager audiences. Williamstown Theatre Festival, a long-standing destination spot for theater mavens, has been redesigning their festival this year and asked not to be considered for any awards or reviews during this transitional year.
Theaters eligible to be considered for a Berkie are those within Berkshire County and within a 50-mile radius of Pittsfield, the center of the county. This range includes some, but not all theaters in the Pioneer Valley, southern Vermont, northern Connecticut and eastern New York State, which encompass only a part of The Advocate’s area of distribution, so if you’ve seen something you thought was outstanding and you wonder why it didn’t get a Berkie, don’t despair. There are fantastic productions all year long throughout our extended region.
Berkshire Theatre Group’s final production of the summer is the outstanding play, “Metamorphosis,” originally directed by Mary Zimmerman for the Lookingglass Theatre Company in Chicago. When the play moved to Broadway, in 2011, Zimmerman won a Tony for her direction. This show demonstrates that when we know change is certain, we transform into something else through love, and we are destined to go through many metamorphoses. The message is a hopeful one that resonates with the fear many people feel today, but the show gives us hope.
A scene from “Metamorphosis,” performed by Shakespeare & Company. / Photo by Tucker Bair
When “Metamorphosis” debuted, it was lauded as an extraordinary telling of the history of the world through Greek mythology in the epic poem by Ovid. Featuring a pool (think swimming pool or pond) on stage, actors emerge from water and play scenes in water for emphasis. This is a show with such visual power, it must be seen to be believed.
The intimate Unicorn Theatre is the venue for this show, which is running through Oct. 26. Superbly directed by Isadora Wolfe, with a cast of 11, all of whom play at least three characters, with lighting by Matthew E. Adelson, set design by Jason Simms and costumes by Amanda Roberge, this production is breathtaking in its beauty and meaning. You don’t have to be up on your Greek mythology to understand it, but it is a marvel of athletics, stagecraft and storytelling.
At Shakespeare and Company’s Elayne Bernstein stage, the moving “Mother Play: a play in five evictions,” which closed Oct. 5, gave a very adult look at a dysfunctional family savaged by low-income, alcohol, the sexual revolution and AIDS. This semi-autobiographical story of award-winning playwright Paula Vogel’s own family is tender, disturbing and full of grace and forgiveness. Is there any family who couldn’t benefit from coming to terms with how to forgive those closest to us who don’t live up to our expectations? How long has it been since you’ve seen a play in which the audience was so moved by a play’s ending, they had to take time to compose themselves before leaving the theater?
A scene from “Mother Play: an act in five evictions,” performed by Shakespeare & Company. / Courtesy of Nile Scott Studios
Vogel has made a name for herself with her deeply personal stories reflecting a certain time in history — in this case, 40 years in America spanning 1962 through the 1990s. “Mother Play” balances humor with truth, and what made this show stand out was the total commitment of the three actors; Tamara Hickey, Zoya Martin and Eddie Shields. Delicately directed by Ariel Bock, “Mother Play” continues the rich tapestry of Vogel’s work, and shows why she has become one of the most lauded living playwrights.
The final show at Barrington Stage Company this summer was the world premiere of a new play, “The Weekend: A Stockbridge Story,” by first-time playwright, Ben Diskant. Though name-dropping local places and familiar local situations in the Berkshires, the plot is essentially a love story, though much of the humor emerged from naming local places and invoking popular customs.
What makes “The Weekend” interesting is the structure Diskant employs to tell the story. Actors sometimes use third-person dialogue as they speak to the audience and then switch to first-person interaction with other actors. Though it took some time for my ears to adjust to this style, it ultimately serves its purpose well, since one of the characters is trying to write about a specific weekend he had that resulted in the type self discovery that changes the direction of one’s life. Past desires and present realities ground each character as they examine who they have become.
Making this a Stockbridge story may be a device that brings in local audiences, but the play is rich enough to stand on its own, rather than capitalizing on situational humor. I wouldn’t be surprised to see this play move to other locations with local foibles inserted in certain places, but more importantly, it does show the creativity of Diskant, a strong new millennial voice.
Other notable plays and performances
As the summer season comes to a close in the Berkshires, great theater continues with smaller companies bringing thoughtful, innovative productions to the region. Two performances, which benefit The Literacy Project in Greenfield, focus on the originality of local voices.
In “The Belle of Amherst” at the Amherst Woman’s Club, Louise Krieger seemingly channeled Emily Dickinson. Krieger’s command of the poetry and the sorrow and seductiveness of Dickinson shows audiences how fascinating and humorous one of the Valley’s most famous authors actually was.
“The Belle of Amherst,” Louise Krieger as Emily Dickinson. / Photo by Russ Ekstrom
The original 1971 script by William Luce was performed on Broadway in 1976, and heralded as one of the most interesting one-woman shows in decades. Using Dickinson’s own work, diaries and letters as material, the play has a distinctively local appeal as the character talks about her family, her poetry and life in Amherst. Set in the opulent Amherst Woman’s Club, the audience was made to feel that they were having tea with the authoress, and had been transported to Dickinson’s era. If you’ve missed Krieger’s earlier performances and couldn’t make it to this one, watch for her work. She is among the Valley’s very best.
Coming up, the Valley Players will be showcasing six readings of 10-minute plays written by local playwrights at the Black Birch Vineyard, 108 Straits Rd., North Hatfield, Oct. 25 and 26. These plays were competitively selected out of 30 submissions and directed by six directors working with 14 actors. Tickets may be scarce, but you can look for the at valleyplayers.org.
K and E Theater Group recently performed the challenging Stephen Sondheim’s (possibly) most challenging show, “Sunday in the Park with George” at the Center for the Arts (Oct. 10-12 and 16-18). The inspiration for the show is the pointillist painting, “A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte,” by Georges Seurat. As always, K and E featured exceptionally fine voices directed and choreographed by Eddie Zitka, making “Sunday” an unforgettable production.
