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1 week ago | 
theberkshireedge.com | J. Peter Bergman
Twelve Angry JurorsBennington Theater in Bennington, Vt.Based on the 1954 teleplay by Reginald RoseDirected by David Dubov-Flinn“I don’t presume it’s as simple as A-B-C.”A guard opens a jury deliberation room and escorts in 12 nervous people who have just sat through a six-week murder trial. They are to deliberate, vote, and come up with a verdict—the right verdict. An initial vote brings them 11 in favor of conviction and one opposed.
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2 weeks ago | 
theberkshireedge.com | J. Peter Bergman
Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet StreetFor Salem Theater in Salem, N.Y.Book by Hugh WheelerMusic and lyrics by Steven SondheimDirected by James Alexander“Nothing’s gonna harm you. Not while I’m around.”Three love stories and sexual misconduct dominate the Stephen Sondheim musical “Sweeney Todd,” now on stage at Fort Salem Theater in upstate New York.
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3 weeks ago | 
theberkshireedge.com | J. Peter Bergman
Polishing ShakespeareBridge Street Theatre in Catskill, N.Y.Written by Bryan Dykstra, directed by John Sowle“Why not make the best damn plays accessible to even us?”On stage at Bridge Street Theatre, Bryan Dykstra’s play “Polishing Shakespeare” is presenting an argument for reconstruction. Or is it an argument against such an action? The play’s rapid-fire delivery of its iambic pentameter-ish lines makes it hard to tell.
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1 month 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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1 month 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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2 months 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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Feb 10, 2025 | 
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.
