Author Archives: L. Beck

The Game

A Barrington Stage Company presentation of a musical in two acts

Book and lyrics by Amy Powers and David Topchik; music by Megan Cavallari

Directed by Julianne Boyd

Music direction by Darren Cohen

Choreography by Daniel Pelzig

Cast in order of appearance:

Sarah Stevens as Cecile

Christianne Tisdale as Madame de Volanges

Rachel York as Marquise de Merteuil

Graham Rowat as Vicomte de Valmont

Amy Decker as Madame de Tourvel

Chris Peluso as Danceny

Joy Franz as Madame de Rosemonde

Taylor Anderson, Michael Hewitt, Stephen Horst, Analisa Leaming, Hannah Richter, Amanda Salvatore, and Michael Wessels as Ensemble

Reviewed by Lesley Ann Beck

The Game, a musical based on the eighteenth-century epistolary novel Les Liaisons Dangereuses, is a rich, elegant evocation of the excesses rife in the French aristocracy in the years before the French Revolution: the Marquise de Merteuil and her former lover the Vicomte de Valmont plot, manipulate, and scheme, but do it in sumptuous surroundings, within the framework of courtly etiquette, however duplicitous. Barrington Stage Company first presented the world premiere of The Game in 2003, and this summer’s gorgeously appointed, fascinating new production, skillfully directed by Julianne Boyd, does not disappoint.
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The Best of Enemies

By Mark St. Germain

Directed by Julianne Boyd

Cast: John Bedford Lloyd as C.P. Ellis; Aisha Hinds as Ann Atwater; Clifton Duncan as Bill Riddick; and Susan Wands as Mary Ellis

Reviewed by Lesley Ann Beck

[Pittsfield, Mass.]—In 1971, when C.P. Ellis, a Ku Klux Klan member, and Ann Atwater, an African-American community activist, were asked to work together to help integrate the Durham, North Carolina, public schools, it was doubtful the two could be civil to each other, but in an extraordinary turn of events, they became lifelong friends. Mark St. Germain’s riveting new play, at the Barrington Stage Company Mainstage now through August 6, tells the true story of this remarkable relationship in an excellent production notable for the superb performances of Aisha Hinds and John Bedford Lloyd as Atwater and Ellis, under the creative and insightful direction of Julianne Boyd.
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The Hound of the Baskervilles

By Steven Canny and John Nicholson

Directed by Tony Simotes

Cast: Jonathan Croy, Josh Aaron McCabe, Ryan Winkles

Reviewed by Lesley Ann Beck

[Lenox, Mass.]—The new Shakespeare & Company production of The Hound of the Baskervilles, a wacky adaptation by Steven Canny and John Nicholson of the classic Sherlock Holmes story, is laugh-out-loud funny from beginning to end. A deft directing job by Tony Simotes and terrific performances from Jonathan Croy, Josh Aaron McCabe, and Ryan Winkles had the audience howling with laughter. The Hound of the Baskervilles plays in Founders’ Theatre through September 4.

The three actors—aided and abetted by clever costumes, inventive props, an assortment of accents, and an amazing amount of energy—play sixteen roles in the side-splittingly funny production.
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Sylvia

By A.R. Gurney

Directed by Anders Cato

Cast: David Adkins as Greg; Walter Hudson as Tom/Phyllis/Leslie; Jurian Hughes as Kate; and Rachel Bay Jones as Sylvia

Reviewed by Lesley Ann Beck

[STOCKBRIDGE, Mass.]—In Sylvia, A. R. Gurney’s very funny play, Greg, a middle-aged businessman disenchanted with his job and somewhat adrift in life, finds a stray dog in the park—a dog named Sylvia who absolutely adores him, much to the consternation of his rather rigid wife Kate. The skilled cast, with spot-on direction by Anders Cato, tells the story of this unique threesome in an absolutely delightful production on the Main Stage at Berkshire Theatre Festival in Stockbridge; the show runs through July 30.
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pride@prejudice

By Daniel Elihu Kramer

Directed by Ron Bashford

Cast: Aubrey Saverino, Jay Stratton, Gisela Chipe, Colin Ryan, and Michele Tauber

Reviewed by Lesley Ann Beck

Jane Austen’s beloved novel Pride and Prejudice is given a number of twenty-first century twists in pride@prejudice by Daniel Elihu Kramer, now delightfully on stage at the Chester Theatre Company through July 17. Five accomplished and appealing actors play more than thirty roles: most of the characters are familiar from the novel, but this version also has bloggers, scholars, commentators, and Jane Austen herself appearing from time to time.

Die-hard Austen fans will not be disappointed; this new play includes all the twists and turns of her original storyline, and newcomers to the plot will easily follow the romantic adventures of the Bennett sisters, helped by the witty asides and notes on the book delivered throughout the play.
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