|
|
|
|
Check out our what to do section for a complete list of Berkshire cultural attractions.
Don’t mind the calendar; Summer’s here
By Bess Hochstein
May 2008
 Even though the calendar says I’m a month off, I know that summer’s here. First off, we’ve already been dancin’ in the streets. As a matter of fact there were at least two incidences of dancing in the streets on one night -- both to the same band! It started in Pittsfield on May 15, when the city kicked off its first 3rd Thursday event of the season. The Brazilian beats of Berkshire Batteria set the tone for the evening’s theme – South of the Border. Then the band headed south for its second gig of the evening in Great Barrington, to celebrate opening night of the Berkshire International Film Festival, which began with festive cocktails and light dinner at Pearl’s.  As the movie-goers dispersed after the kick-off screening of Man on Wire at the Mahaiwe, they were greeted by a dance-happy crowd bopping to the Batteria on Railroad Street, which was closed for the festivities. Festival founder Kelley Vickery ducked into Allium for a late repast with the award-winning documentary’s wire-walking daredevil subject, Phillippe Petit, and his entourage as the band reconfigured inside Pearl’s. I was too tired to stay around for the band’s second street set, but friends tell me that they were definitely dancing in the street past midnight!
 More scenes from the festival: sold out shows at The Triplex; a packed party onstage at the Mahaiwe, creatively catered by Castle Street Café, before the tribute to Kevin Bacon; local legislators Benjamin Downing and Smitty Pignatelli mingling with the crowd; managing to get a seat at Bizen after taking in epic adventure movie Mongol; chatting in the light rain outside of Pearl’s with the incredibly  delightful film star Peter Regiert and local comedienne Elizabeth Aspenlieder, of Shakespeare & Company; a nearly full house on hand for local FX wizard Doug Trumbull’s talk about the magic he performed on Bladerunner before the screening of the new, definitive director’s cut of the film at the equally lovingly restored Mahaiwe; toasting, Vickery, la femme du fete, on her most successful event yet.
Beyond the dancing in the streets, there are a few more ways that I know that summer’s here:
1.  Decisions. We are already facing those tough choices of summer. For example, next weekend K & I must choose which plays to attend, and when. Opening night May 24 at Berkshire Theatre Festival with The Caretaker by Pinter? The Ladies Man, a retooled Feydeau farce starting on May 23 at Shakespeare & Company? Or Barrington Stage Company, which is going so far as to bedevil us with two options on Memorial Day Weekend: I Am My Own Wife, the one-man hit of NYC a few years back; and a staged reading of Watt!?!, a new musical by David Javerbaum, the composer who brought Cry Baby to Broadway. Watt!?! is a definite, given that it’s only happening for two days, and the casting is as wonderful as the concept: a musical comedy about James Watt, Ronald Reagan’s controversial Secretary of the Interior, who famously suggested that environmentalists should be shot and also told the Senate that preservation was a waste of effort because the apocalypse was coming soon. (His story’s in good hands with Javerbaum, who has won several Emmy Awards as a writer on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart.) We’ll probably get to everything else by the end of May, front-loading our theatrical experiences so we don’t have to play catch-up later
2. The Storefront Artist Project Benefit: This annual event, on Saturday May 31, is becoming as much as a harbinger of the season as BIFF.  This year’s gala is ArtCircus – a raucous evening of tricks and treats, including jugglers, clowns, musicians, magicians, singers, fortune tellers, fire dancers, stilt walkers, mayhem makers and more. In addition to the three-ringed events, there are roving performances, dinner, and an auction of art and other goodies, plus a post-performance dance party. We’ll get there late, after we attend a quite different performance at the Mahaiwe – by the Paul Taylor Dance Company, which includes the premiere of a new work.
3. New exhibitions: In addition to all the opening nights at our theaters, May 24 is the date of two other grand openings. Hancock Shaker Village has “Gather up the Fragments: The Andrews Shaker Collection,” the largest selection of Shaker objects – more than 250 pieces of furniture, printed works, visual art, tools, textiles, and small craft, much of which has never been seen by the public.  It’s all part of the private collection of Edward Deming Andrews and Faith Young Andrews, who were taken with the beauty of objects in a Shaker kitchen they visited in 1923. In a very different vein is MASS MoCA’s “Badlands: New Horizons in Landscape,” with an opening celebration featuring the show’s curator and many of the artists represented in this timely, environmentally and politically charged exhibition. And more openings are coming, including the Clark’s two summer exhibitions, opening in tandem with its new Tadao Ando-designed Stone Hill Center on June 21 (the actual start of summer, according to the calendar).
4. More music: Just as the theater scene is heating up, so is the music scene, and that’s about a month before Tanglewood opens its gate. Close Encounters with Music is at the Mahaiwe on May 24, with  Gypsy!, a program of Romanian and gypsy-inspired music. On May 25 the Tannery Pond Concerts series kicks off with pianist Pedja Muzijevic, violinist Soovin Kim, cellist Ed Arron, and tenor Nichals Phan performing works by Haydn, Faure, Britten and Schumann. That same evening MASS MoCA presents folk/country group Son Volt. The next weekend, Journey fans disappointed by the band’s cancellation at Tanglewood last summer can head to The Colonial on May 31 for Evolution: The World’s Greatest Journey Tribute Band. Opera lovers should show up the next day for The Colonial’s HD broadcast of Aida direct from La Scala.
5. The Mount is open: It has been a rough period for Edith Wharton’s historic estate and gardens, but happily this literary landmark opened in May for the season.  Starting this weekend The Mount will be open daily, and there’s no better time to visit. The flowers are in fine form, framed in the pale green of fresh growth on the surrounding shrubs and trees. Visitors tend to be of two camps: literary pilgrims paying homage to one of America’s finest writers; and home décor devotees, taken with Wharton’s precepts on the decoration of houses and the gorgeous gardens on the grounds. But you don’t have to be a member of either camp to savor the splendor of the Mount – just go, stroll, and enjoy.
6.  The Lenox Art Walk: It’s always a pleasant way to pass Saturday or Sunday on Memorial Day weekend. I make a point of stopping at Hoadley Gallery, where I admire the pottery, glass, jewelry and owner Stephanie’s eye for art; the Sienna Gallery, focused on art jewelry, where a new exhibition will have just opened; and Church Street Art Gallery, focusing on Outsider and Folk art, which is having an opening that weekend. Owner Denise is a fellow dog-lover, so we always bring Duffy and Hobbes along while we peruse the gallery.
7.  Eating outside: I’ll admit we have not yet used our grill, though K did fire it up for a good cleaning. That doesn’t mean that it’s too early to dine alfresco. Outdoor tables and decks are already hopping at Xichotencatl and Aegean Breeze – if only I could get the folks at Bombay Bar Grill to take over the pool patio on lovely Laurel Lake in Lee!  Since that’s unlikely, I’m looking forward to an evening en plein air at Asters, where there’s a secret outdoor area with firepits. Next time we head north we’ll try out Coyote Flaco, which also enjoys a tucked-away dining patio. Come to think of it, there will be plenty of choices for outdoor dining in Lenox during the Art Walk – French fare in Baroods private courtyard; Italian on the deck at Café Lucia; people-watching at Church Street Café or Firefly; lunch in the garden at Rumplestiltzkin’s at the Village Inn…
8. Meal specials are ending: While we’re on the subject of food, I just got news that Allium’s Ten-dollar Tuesdays are ending for the season; it’s coming up on your last chance to get a gourmet pizza for just ten dollars until November. Other “off-season” meal specials may be coming to a close, so get it while it’s hot – and cheap!
9.  There are more people around: Driving around last weekend, I noticed quite a few “No Vacancy” signs at the inns on Route 7. Perhaps it was due to the popularity of BIFF, or maybe it’s that visitors don’t want to wait until the official start of summer to enjoy the Berkshires. To slow impatient types down a bit, Stockbridge has reinstalled speedbumps in the heart of town, and today I saw them repainting the crosswalks – sure signs of preparation for the busy season!
10. The return of the Little Cinema: The seasonal opening of this mini-movie palace at the bottom of the Berkshire Museum is not only a sure signal of summer - it also greatly enhances the spectrum of quality film in the Berkshires. For a few brief months, we get a flood of innovative indie and international films, starting with BIFF, leading right into the reopening of the  Little Cinema -- and top of year-round classics at the Mahaiwe, current flicks at The Triplex, eclectic programming at The Colonial, and blockbusters at the Berkshire Mall. And just about when the Little Cinema goes into hibernation, it's time for the Williamstown Film Festival, in October! But who can think that far away when summer has just arrive
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.
|
|
|
|