Mark your calendars. It gives us immense pleasure to announce that our first film, “Maestro,” is one that was partially shot here in the Berkshires. “Maestro” is the story of the complex relationship between world-famous conductor Leonard Bernstein and his wife of 25 years, Felicia Montealegre. Bernstein, who first visited Tanglewood in 1940, conducted the last performance of his life—Beethoven’s Seventh Symphony—here in the Berkshires in 1990. Tanglewood was Bernstein’s longest standing artistic association. Bradley Cooper stars as Bernstein and Carey Mulligan as his wife, Felicia.
In addition to the continued screenings of “Maestro” over Thanksgiving weekend, we will screen three films in which Bernstein composed the musical scores: “On the Town” (1949), “West Side Story” (1961), and “On the Waterfront” (1954). There will be talkbacks on Friday night after “Maestro,” and on Saturday afternoon after “West Side Story.” To round off the weekend, we are planning on showing the Disney animated fantasy film “Wish” at regular intervals, Greta Gerwig’s “Little Women” on Saturday night as well as a crowd pleasing comedy, yet to be chosen. Tickets will go on sale as we get closer to the opening date.
Although it was published in this paper two weeks ago, we did not get a chance to thank Berkshire International Film Festival (BIFF) in this column for its board members’ extremely generous donation of $69,000. We are incredibly grateful to BIFF. This money will help us in furthering our ability to renovate, restore, and reinvigorate the Triplex. It is a true reflection of our community when the local nonprofits come together and support each other to enrich the lives of all of us in Berkshire County. We look forward to hosting BIFF’S 18th International Film Festival at the Triplex, May 30 to June 2, 2024.
Speaking of nonprofits, we are now engaged with a number of other nonprofits who have committed to work with us as part of the Triplex’s ongoing mission to provide entertainment and artistic and education opportunities to the local community and general public through film and cinema. Below is a growing list of nonprofits we have committed to working with in order to better serve our community:
- Berkshire Film and Media Collaborative
- Berkshire Hills Regional School District — K through 12.
- Berkshire International Film Festival
- Greenagers
- Literacy Network
- OLLI: The Osher Lifelong Learning Institute
- Pittsfield School District
- Roaring Brook Family Foundation
- Rural Recovery
- Southern Berkshire Regional School District — Undermountain Elementary School
We will also have a free Saturday morning series for kids where dress-up will be encouraged, and on Friday nights, we will have movies that will particularly appeal to the teenagers in our community. There are many plans for winter film series and Triplex special series for the months ahead, so stay tuned while we finalize those plans.
The Allegrone workers discovered another graffiti-covered wall this week (pictured above) while continuing to renovate Theater One. Richard Stanley, the former owner of the Triplex, cleared up the mystery of the origin of the graffiti behind the interior walls of the Triplex. It appears they were part of Bowlero bowling alley’s foundation walls that the Triplex used when it was built in 1995. It is our plan to have images of these colorful walls blown up and on display in order to honor the full history of the Triplex—from the ground up.
In our ongoing effort to raise money for the Triplex (yes, despite the big donations you may read about us getting, there is so much more money needed to be able to fix up the theaters and patio and buy new film and sound equipment, etc.), Amal Hussein has volunteered to host a Tag Sale. The Tag Sale will be held on October 21 and 22, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., at 296 Division Street, with all proceeds going to the Triplex. Anyone who would like to help this endeavor by contributing to this cause is welcome to come either day at 8 a.m. to set up their own wares to benefit the Triplex or come as a customer wanting to buy something at 9 a.m. We also need volunteers to help with set up, break down, and sales. If you are interested, please email info@thetriplex.org for further information.
As always, things are popping. If you would like further information about the Triplex or wish to donate, please go to our website, savethetriplex.org. Hope to see you at the Tag Sale and/or Thanksgiving Weekend!
