Weekend Cultural Highlights, June 12-14, 2009

by Seth Rogovoy

 

For years I have somewhat facetiously been arguing that theater ensemble Shakespeare & Company in Lenox would be so much more appealing if they ditched the Bard of Avon in favor of the Bard of middle-class London circa 1965, meaning Harold Pinter. I’ve even gone so far as to call upon the organization to change its name to Pinter & Company and devote itself exclusively to performing plays by Pinter, promising I’d be it’s biggest fan were they to take that step.

 

As I said, I was obviously being somewhat facetious – although Pinter is much more to my liking than Shakespeare – and I take no credit for the fact that finally, beginning this weekend, Shakespeare & Company will be presenting an evening of Harold Pinter’s works. Which is why you can be sure that I’ll be on the aisle tomorrow night at Shakespeare & Company for the opening night of Pinter’s Mirror, an evening of three darkly comic one-act plays by the late Nobel Prize winner best known for his clipped, witty dialogue and pregnant pauses disguising the utter contempt and cruelty many of his characters exhibit toward each other.

 

In Pinter -- as in life -- it's often what isn't said that matters most.

 

 

According to a spokesman for the Lenox theater troupe, in A Slight Ache (1961), a married couple have their teatime disturbed by a mysterious visitor, one who silently prompts the husband to exhume his long-buried fears about the reality of his identity and the threat posed by the unknown. In Family Voices (1981), a mother, father and son (one of whom is deceased) communicate through letters in an attempt to make sense of their unusual relationship. In Victoria Station (1982), filled with dark charm and growing menace, a London taxicab dispatcher and a driver strike up a surprising relationship over their radio, as the gaps of loneliness, confusion and earnest longing filling their lives surge to the forefront of their minds.

 

The Bernstein Theatre, where the Pinter one-acts will be performed, is air-conditioned and wheelchair accessible.  Performances in the evenings run at 8:30 and in the afternoons at 3. Tickets range from $12 to $48. For a complete listing of productions and schedules, to inquire about student, senior, Berkshire resident and rush tickets, or to receive a brochure, visit www.shakespeare.org or call the box office at (413) 637-3353. 

 

The production is complemented by Looking Into Pinter’s Mirror, a special event on June 28 at 5:30, featuring a dramatic illustration of Pinter’s impact on contemporary theater (for example, without England’s Harold Pinter, there would be no David Mamet in America). Tickets are $20 or $10 for patrons under age 25. 

 

 

Mark St. Germain's new play, Freud’s Last Session, makes its world premiere at Barrington Stage in Pittsfield this weekend, kicking off tonight and running through June 28 at the company’s Stage 2 theater ( at 36 Linden Street). Presented last summer as a staged reading, Freud’s Last Session centers on legendary psychiatrist Sigmund Freud, who in the playwright’s imagination invites a young, little known professor named C.S. Lewis to his home in London.  On the day England enters World War II, the two clash on the existence of God, love, sex and the meaning of life - only two weeks before Freud chooses to take his own.  

 

Performances for Freud’s Last Session are Tuesday through Friday at 7:30, Saturdays at 4 and 8, Sundays at 7:30 at BSC Stage 2 (36 Linden Street ). For ticket information, call 413-236-8888. Tickets are $25 and $30. Preview tickets for June 10 and 11 are $15.  Pay What You Can Night for Freud’s Last Session is Friday, June 12 at 7:30pm, minimum $5 cash at door.  As part of its 15th Anniversary Season, BSC will have 15 tickets available for every performance at $15.  Tickets can be purchased ahead at the box office or by calling 413-236-8888.

 

Broadway songman Mandy Patinkin brings his critically acclaimed cabaret act, Dress Casual, to the Colonial Theatre in Pittsfield on Saturday night at 8. Tony and Emmy Award-winner Patinkin’s extensive list of award-winning performances include a Tony Award for his 1980 Broadway debut as Che in Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Evita and his 1984 starring role in Stephen Sondheim’s Pulitzer Prize-winning musical, Sunday in the Park with George.  Patinkin’s other solo concerts, Celebrating Sondheim and Mamaloshen, his tribute to Yiddish theater and song, have been presented on Broadway, Off-Broadway and have toured the United States. 

 

Tickets for the performance are $75-$45 and can be purchased in person at the Colonial Ticket Office at 111 South Street Monday-Friday 10-5; performance Saturdays 10-2, by calling (413) 997-4444 or online at www.TheColonialTheatre.org

 

  

 

 

On Saturday night, Brooklyn’s Cajun & honky-tonk troubadours the Doc Marshalls are at Club Helsinki in Great Barrington. Led by Texas-raised Cajun Nick Beaudoing, the Docs have quickly forged a reputation for their energetic live shows.  Their gritty honky-tonk sound and unique Louisiana grooves have kept dance floors packed in Texas dancehalls and Louisiana roadhouses, as well as in alternative venues like Club Helsinki (284 Main St. Great Barrington, Mass, 413-528-3394)

COVER: $10

 

 

The Berkshire’s own Meg Hutchinson, a singer-songwriter in the vein of Shawn Colvin and other kindred spirits, returns to her home territory headlining the Guthrie Center in Great Barrington on Saturday, June 13, at 8.

 

 

The Actors Rehearse the Story of Charlotte Salomon continues its run at Shakespeare & Company in Lenox through Sunday, June 14.

 

           

Faith Healer continues its run in the Unicorn Theatre at Berkshire Theatre Festival in Stockbridge through July 4.  Tickets may be purchased by calling the box office at (413) 298-5576 x33 or online at berkshiretheatre.org.

 

 

Seth Rogovoy is Berkshire Living's award-winning editor-in-chief and critic-at-large.