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1 week ago | 
theberkshireedge.com | J. Peter Bergman
WorkingGhent Playhouse in Ghent, N.Y.Book by Studs TerkelAdapted by Stephen Schwartz and Nina Faso with additional contributions from Gordon GreenbergDirected by Michael McDermott and Michael MenschingMusical direction by Joanne MenschingSix performers play 32 characters in this musical revue about people who work for a living, and don’t we all do just that.
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3 weeks ago | 
theberkshireedge.com | J. Peter Bergman
Funny GirlProctors Theatre in Schenectady, N.Y.Book by Isobel Lennart, revised by Harvey FeldsteinLyrics by Bob Merrill, music by Jule StyneDirected by Michael Mayer“Who taught her everything she knows?”Fanny Brice was a major star on Broadway from 1910 through the mid-1930s.
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1 month ago | 
theberkshireedge.com | J. Peter Bergman
ShuckedProctors Theatre in Schenectady, N.Y.Book by Robert HornMusic and lyrics by Brandy Clark and Shane McNallyDirected by Jack O’Brien“Suddenly the plot, like the whiskey, thickened.”A truly funny show is something rare, and this one is very well done. More than half of the spoken lines are laugh lines. The country-inflected songs are still very Broadway in their form, but they are the singable type that work so well in their country/western inflections.
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1 month ago | 
theberkshireedge.com | J. Peter Bergman
2025 10×10 New Play FestivalBarrington Stage Company in Pittsfield10 10-minute plays by 10 playwrightsDirected by Alan Paul and Matthew Penn“The Friendship Dynamic”The object of a 10-minute play is to present a concept, characters, and a situation that can be explored and responded to in a short amount of time and still satisfy an audience’s need for completion, answers, and response.
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2 months ago | 
theberkshireedge.com | J. Peter Bergman
Life of PiProctors Theatre in Schenectady, N.Y.Based on the best-selling novel by Yann MartelAdapted for stage by Lolita ChakrabartiDirected by Max Webster“I went to three churches…”Good theater is great storytelling. Pi, the protagonist of this story, tells his own stories about his life and his survival of a shipwreck in the Pacific Ocean.
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2 months ago | 
theberkshireedge.com | J. Peter Bergman
Lend Me a TenorGhent Playhouse in Ghent, N.Y.Written by Mark Ludwig, directed by Ed Dignum“Nice… is living!”A good comedy is the perfect antidote to a cold winter’s eve. ”Lend Me a Tenor,” the current show at the Ghent Playhouse, is a prime example.
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Jan 23, 2025 | 
theberkshireedge.com | J. Peter Bergman
Incident at Our Lady of Perpetual HelpMajestic Theater in West Springfield, Mass. Written by Katie Forgette, directed by Rand Foerster“A 40 year relationship with my calendar.”In this genteel family sitcom, a “memory play,” we are told far too often by the narrator, Linda O’Shea (played by Jenna Burns), that the laughs are genuine and the situation, though ordinary, is of interest to an audience that remembers the 1970s.
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Jan 16, 2025 | 
theberkshireedge.com | J. Peter Bergman
Parade Proctors Theatre in Schenectady, N.Y. Book by Alfred Uhry Music and lyrics by Jason Robert Brown Directed by Michael Arden “And you don’t know this man.” Prejudice runs rampant in Alfred Uhry and Jason Robert Brown’s superb musical, “Parade,” now on stage at Proctors Theatre in Schenectady, N.Y. Based on the facts of a 1913 murder in the National Pencil Factory in Atlanta, Ga., racism clearly plays a major role in the trial of Jewish-American supervisor Leo Max Frank (born in Texas,...
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Dec 17, 2024 | 
theberkshireedge.com | J. Peter Bergman
Scrooge in RougeBennington Theater in Bennington, Vt.Created by Ricky Graham, Jeffery Robinson, and Yvette HargisMusic by Jefferson TurnerDirected by John Lugar“A very merry Christmas to you, Uncle E.”An irreverent tone takes the stage at Bennington Theater as their edition of Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol” plays out its whimsical variation on this theme.
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Dec 5, 2024 | 
theberkshireedge.com | J. Peter Bergman
MJProctors Theatre in Schenectady, N.Y.Book by Lynn Nottage, directed by Christopher Wheldon“Just call my name and I’ll be there.”Michael Jackson is a true icon. He was an icon from childhood on through today. This show celebrates that reality in the best way possible: through his music and his physical presentation of that music. The national tour, now playing at Proctors in Schenectady, N.Y., stars Jamaal Fields-Green.
