Monthly Archives: June 2011

Going to St. Ives

By Lee Blessing

Directed by Tyler Marchant

Cast: Gretchen Egolf as Dr. Cora Gage and Myra Lucretia Taylor as May N’Kame

Reviewed by Lesley Ann Beck

[PITTSFIELD, Mass.]—Lee Blessing’s gripping psychological drama Going to St. Ives is being given a passionate, powerful production, skillfully directed by Tyler Marchant, at Barrington Stage Company’s Stage 2, now through July 9. Gretchen Egolf and Myra Lucretia Taylor deliver compelling performances as two women who would seem to have little in common but find themselves sharing a shocking secret.
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The Memory of Water

By Shelagh Stephenson

Directed by Kevin Coleman

CAST: Elizabeth Aspenlieder as Catherine; Jason Asprey as Frank; Nigel Gore as Mike; Corinna May as Mary; Annette Miller as Vi; and Kristin Wold as Teresa

Reviewed by Lesley Ann Beck

[LENOX, Mass.] – A bitterly comic, heartbreakingly funny production of The Memory of Water by Shelagh Stephenson, notable for outstanding performances from the fine ensemble cast, is running at Shakespeare & Company in the Elayne P. Bernstein Theatre through September 4.

Three sisters—Teresa, Mary, and Catherine—have gathered for the funeral of their mother, Vi, at their family home in the north of England. These characters have quite a history together, and watching this ensemble of gifted actresses, Corinna May, Kristin Wold, and Elizabeth Aspenlieder, share the family stories, the family arguments, the family tragedies is eerily reminiscent of spending time with one’s own difficult, albeit beloved, relatives.
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Reviewed by Lesley Ann Beck

[PITTSFIELD, Mass.]—Mythic mid-century New York, as envisioned by Damon Runyon, bursts onstage with exuberance in the spectacular new production, directed by John Rando, of the iconic American musical Guys and Dolls on the Mainstage at Barrington Stage Company, now through July 16. The outstanding cast of accomplished singers, actors, and dancers delivers this classic show with a fresh sense of fun and joy.
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By Lesley Ann Beck

[PITTSFIELD, Mass.] — Tony Award-winner John Rando promises “a funny, wonderful, moving, heartfelt night in the theater,” when Guys and Dolls, the iconic Broadway musical he’s directing at Barrington Stage Company, opens this week. Rando is a huge fan of the show, one he agrees is “one of the great American musicals.” Now in previews, Guys and Dolls opens on Sunday, June 19, and runs through July 16.

“The piece is really well-crafted. … The book is one of the funniest books I’ve worked with,” Rando said in a recent phone interview. “Much of the storytelling, much of the romance, is in the music. The playwriting is so firm.” That the show is so well-written makes the director’s job easier. “It’s a well-executed show and it’s a comfort that it’s all there on the page and in the score.”
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Reviewed by Lesley Ann Beck

[LENOX, Mass.]—The absolutely riveting Tina Packer plays Petruchio’s Kate, Joan of Arc, Cleopatra, Beatrice, Margaret of Anjou, and Juliet, among many, many others, in Women of Will, The Complete Journey: Parts I-V, her extraordinary master class in the works of William Shakespeare, running now through July 10 in the Elayne P. Bernstein Theatre at Shakespeare & Company. Part performance, part lecture, part debate, part exposition, Women of Will, written by Packer and performed by Packer and actor Nigel Gore, is based on her decades-long immersion, as actor and director, in the works of the Bard.
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