summer theatre 2023

Mark St. Germain’s new play, "The Happiest Man on Earth" had its World Premiere in the Berkshires this Spring. Now, due to overwhelming popular demand, the play is returning to Barrington Stage Company’s St. Germain Stage in Pittsfield, Massachusetts. It's re-opening Friday night and runs through October 8.

Hershey Felder’s "Beethoven" is an immersive theatrical experience that takes audiences on a journey through the life and work of one of the greatest composers of all time. Hershey Felder transports audiences to 19th century Vienna, where they witness the struggles, triumphs and genius of Ludwig van Beethoven.

The world premiere of “Penelope” a new musical about Penelope, the wife of Odysseus, begins performances this weekend at Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival in Garrison, New York. It runs there through September 17 and will continue its journey with a production at Signature Theatre in Washington D.C. next Spring.In this telling, the famously patient spouse is fed up and has some things she wants to say. With a glass of bourbon in hand, she takes the microphone to chronicle those twenty years waiting for her husband to return to the small island kingdom of Ithaca.“Penelope” features music and lyrics by Alex Bechtel with a book by Bechtel, Grace Mclean and Eva Steinmetz. Steinmetz also directs. Actor Tatiana Wechsler plays the title character. Alex Bechtel and Tatiana Wechsler join us.

“A New Brain” was produced off-Broadway in 1998 and an incredible production is currently running on Barrington Stage Company’s Boyd-Quinson Mainstage in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, presented in association with the Williamstown Theatre Festival. Broadway stars Adam Chanler-Berat and Mary Testa play Gordon Schwinn and The Mother.

Adapted from Kent Haruf’s novel, Berkshire Theatre Group’s World Premiere musical production, "On Cedar Street," tells the joyful and inspiring story of a man and a woman who, in advanced age, come together in a search for happiness and family. Actors Stephen Bogardus and Lauren Ward join us.

Barrington Stage Company’s production of "Faith Healer" is running in Pittsfield, Massachusetts through August 27 on the St. Germain Stage. In the play, the mysterious and charismatic Frank Hardy travels as a faith healer across the Welsh and Scottish countryside.

Ancram Opera House will cap its 2023 Summer Season with three captivating new works written for specific outdoor sites in bucolic Ancram, New York. For The Plein Air Plays, audiences will travel between locations to experience these self-contained plays in immersive environments that enhance their stories.

The Chester Theatre Company’s production of “Circle Mirror Transformation” by Annie Baker opens tomorrow night and runs through August 20. The play is directed by Daniel Elihu Kramer.

The critically acclaimed 2018 Broadway play, “The Lifespan of a Fact” is a fast-paced story which explores how facts become blurry when they’re twisted for effect in the high-stakes world of publishing. The play runs this Thursday through Saturday, August 3-5, at The Rosendale Theatre in Rosendale, New York. And then on Monday, August 7, Rosendale Theatre presents a staged reading fundraiser of the 2016 play by Jason Odell Williams – “Church & State.”To tell us more: Theatre Arts Director at Rosendale Theatre Ann Citron; Director of "The Lifespan of a Fact" Sydnie Grosberg Rong; and actor Elisabeth Henry.

For seven decades, the Williamstown Theatre Festival in Williamstown, Massachusetts, has brought emerging and professional theater artists together in the Berkshires to create a thrilling summer festival of diverse, world premiere plays and musicals, bold new revivals, and a rich array of accompanying cultural events.Williamstown Theatre Festival Interim Artistic Director Jenny Gersten joins us this morning to tell us about the season – which includes the return of the WTF Cabaret: a cabaret series curated in partnership with Tony Award nominee and Festival mainstay Christopher Fitzgerald. The WTF Cabaret will take place over three successive weekends and Cabaret All-Stars (Eden Espinosa, Asmeret Ghebremichael, and Jon-Michael Reese) will be a part of all three weeks with guest artists and hosts rotating each week.