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Shake Your Booty

By Bess Hochstein

One of the best things about these parties is the chance to take your own private tour of the museum; this was our first look at the Clark’s new acquisitions of drawings by Claude Lorrain – and they are spectacular, particularly when viewed with no one else around.

K and I took the Clark party as an excuse for a mini-Berkshire getaway, booking a room at Jae’s Inn, North Adams, and making sure Duffy & Hobbes were comfortable there, then enjoying dinner at Café Latino and catching Terry Allen’s Ghost Ship Rodez work-in-progress at MASS MoCA before heading to the Clark. (I missed one of my favorite artists, David Byrne, at MoCA; according to his blog, he saw Allen’s show on Saturday night, and also stopped in at the Norman Rockwell Museum to see the LitGraphic exhibition.) In the morning we had breakfast at brewhaha!, and quickly discovered why this congenial café is a North County favorite.

Some people look for any excuse to throw a party, and Spice owner Joyce Bernstein may be of that ilk. As if all the musical acts playing in the Lounge are not enough, last weekend she threw a “Groundhog Day” dance party. (What’s next: a Leap-Year Day dance on the 29^th?) There are those who make words dance, such as Edna St. Vincent Millay, whose love poetry will be the subject of a free talk and reading at the Berkshire Athenaeum on 2/7, a week ahead of Valentine’s Day.

Then again, there’s always dance of the viewing kind, such as Chapel/Chapter by Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane, which will be on stage at the Williams College ’62 Center for Theatre and Dance Friday 2/9, and restaged at Jacob’s Pillow this summer. I’ll next strap on my own dancing shoes for MASS MoCA’s Bollywood Disco dance party that night, 2/9, though I can’t imagine where to find a sari. The shop at Kripalu may have something appropriate – and even if I don’t find anything for a costume, at least I can replenish my supply of well-worn yoga clothes, though the Prime Outlets at Lee is also a good source for yoga togs.

Whatever costume I come up with will need to be versatile, as February 9 is one busy night! Before heading to MoCA, K & I plan to hit the opening reception for two new shows at Ferrin Gallery featuring local artists: Motion Pictures, photography by Vaal London Kane; and Firing Partners, the first in a series of work by potters who share wood-fueled kilns. Then we’ll stroll down North Street for the opening reception of Word Up! at Storefront Artist Project, an exhibit of artwork by members of the organization’s board. These Pittsfield events will prevent us from taking advantage of MoCA’s free day, when admission is waived and the museum is hopping with lectures, music, and even bhangra dance performances in the galleries.

All this dance madness is prelude to the best party of the season, Rock the Opera, this year’s rockin’ fundraiser for IS183 Art School of the Berkshires, on March 1at Pittsfield’s Masonic Temple. Tickets to the pre-party dinners, in private homes, restaurants such as Allium, Prime, Spice, and Burger, and other venues such as Ferrin Gallery and the barn at Stonover Farm, are already on sale. I’m having a tough time deciding which dinner to attend – they all sound like so much fun – but I’ll have to choose soon as they quickly sell out every year.

It’s not all about the dancing; after our Bollywood night, K & I will spend a comedic afternoon at the Mahaiwe with the Flying Karamazov Brothers on 2/10. The next night, 2/11, we’ll be at Monument Mountain school for the lecture by cognitive scientist and linguist Steven Pinker, part of the Dowmel lecture series. Then Valentine’s Day is upon us, and I have not yet made any plans. My story in the current issue of Berkshire Living on French chefs and their American wives who run restaurants together supplies a few good ideas; any of the four restaurants I profiled, such as Chez Nous in Lee and Baroods in Lenox, would make for a fine romantic evening.

But while almost anything French does signify love, I’ve also been looking for an excuse to try the new Spanish restaurant, ViVa, in Glendale, and it may be good timing because they’ve got a special Valentine’s Day four-course menu including champagne. Perhaps there’s something about the Mediterranean; Aegean Breeze is also marking Valentine’s Day with a special menu and complimentary chocolate-covered strawberries for everyone.

Spice has guitarist Jason Ennis, a mainstay on Wednesdays in the Lounge, setting a romantic mood for Valentines in the dining room. Meanwhile, The Colonial is marking the date with two showings of the film Chocolat, starring Juliette Binoche and Johnny Depp, as part of its new film series, which continues with Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead on 12/17 and a collection of Oscar-nominated “Shorts!” on 2/17.

The Mahaiwe is getting a jump on Valentine’s Day, screening romantic comedy classic It Happened One Night on 2/9, with free roses for women and chocolates for everyone, plus music in the lobby before the show. Then it’s back to dance, with Trinity Irish Dance Company on 2/16 before political satire in song holds sway when the Capitol Steps take the stage on 2/17.

Speaking of stages, the curtain continues to rise on the Berkshire summer season. In late January we heard from Berkshire Opera, which unveiled Uncharted Territory: The Pioneering 2008 Season, kicking off with two compilations -- Women on the Verge, a selection of highlights from some of opera’s finest female characters, and Secrets of the Sky & Sea, featuring songs from classical to contemporary, from musicals to Motown, that explore the universal appeal of water and the heavens. The summer concludes with a run of Mozart’s Le Nozze di Figaro at The Colonial. In addition to a young new director, Berkshire Opera has a new name and website; more surprises are in store, and tickets go on sale February 18.

Just last week Berkshire Theatre Festival announced its 80^th anniversary season. It’s a roster of classics: Pinter’s The Caretaker, Albee’s Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (starring BTF favorites Richard Chamberlain and Jan Maxwell), Shaw’s Candida, the first play ever produced at what was then known as the Berkshire Playhouse, Beckett’s Waiting for Godot (featuring another star turn by heart-throb Randy Harrison), and the Tony-Award-wining Best Play of 1962, A Man for All Seasons by Robert Bolt. It’s also a season of contemporary comedies: The Book Club Play by Karen Zacarias, and the world premiere of Pageant Play by Mark Wilkas and Mark Setlock.

Extending the season into the fall is Eleanor: Her Secret Journey by Rhonda Lerman, about first-lady Eleanor Roosevelt, which runs through election season in November. BTF’s Theatre for Young Audiences presents Hercules, Around the World in 80 Days, and Oliver!, which will include not only children but adult community members in its cast, and Dickens’ A Christmas Carol returns for its third annual production. BTF is throwing its 80^th Birthday Party on June 21, and a Community Festival Day on August 15; I don’t want to miss the costume-shop tag sale – I could probably find a great outfit for next year’s dance parties! 

About Bess Hochstein

Bess J.M. Hochstein came to the Berkshires as a second-homeowner before deciding to move here full time. Previously a communications executive, she's now a freelance writer living in Tyringham with her corgis Duffy and Hobbs and K. She writes for several publications, including Berkshire Living, the Boston Globe, New England Wine Gazette, and Healing Lifestyles & Spas magazine.