J. Peter Bergman is the Director of Communications at Herman Melville’s Arrowhead. In the past he has been a writer for The Berkshire Eagle, Berkshire’s Week, The Advocate, The Berkshire Beacon, The Independent and still contributes to The Chatham Courier and Edge.com and Berkshirebrightfocus.com. He is a novelist, poet and author of short fiction. His book “Counterpoints” won the 2002 Friends of Charles Dickens Award. He has been a paid theater critic since he was 15 years old.
Wednesday, 15 Aug 2018 - I know it's meant to be funny, but my sense of the ridiculous goes awry when ridiculous goes incredulous.
Wednesday, 15 Aug 2018 - This is far from a perfect production, but its humor seeps through the awkward spots and its second act offers some genuinely delicious moments.
Tuesday, 14 Aug 2018 - The 85-minute one-act play is rich and rewarding in so many ways; the characters are fascinating and the actors are extraordinary as directed by a marvelous director on a functional and inventive set.
Tuesday, 14 Aug 2018 - As good as the script is, the bulk of the awarding here must go to the director for directing this comedy romance in such a clever, swift, well-timed fashion.
Monday, 13 Aug 2018 - Relatively unknown, the script is a challenge to the audience and, for the most part, that challenge was met by the opening night audience.
Sunday, 12 Aug 2018 - The director has moved people through the sequences with appropriate shifts of energy and enthusiasm, but she has missed some of the most relevant options in this play.
Saturday, 11 Aug 2018 - The more difficult musical numbers are in the first act so don't be dismayed if you don't like some of them, because the second half of the show will fill your ears and heart with pleasure.
Thursday, 9 Aug 2018 - The temptation after the show to dance your way to the parking lot is inescapable. There is so much embedded into the performances that only a director with a vision could have brought to the work.
Wednesday, 8 Aug 2018 - In spite of so much talent, I was less moved, less involved and less interested in the Helmer household this time around.
Tuesday, 7 Aug 2018 - Director David Auburn has done some wonderful work with this play, and some unpleasant choices he has made pull the show down a group of levels.
Wednesday, 1 Aug 2018 - The very 1960s appeal of the piece was maintained, with a very 2018 sensibility bringing it up-to-date in feel while leaving things as they were written more than 50 years ago.
Tuesday, 31 Jul 2018 - Overall, the 89 minutes of this play never lose a bit of impact in this stellar production.
Tuesday, 31 Jul 2018 - This has been one of my favorite little shows for 36 years and this production has only enhanced it in my mind.
Monday, 30 Jul 2018 - This is the sort of show that almost demands an in-house recording so that this company can play it eternally. It is one of the finest plays of the season anywhere.
Sunday, 29 Jul 2018 - There is so much wonderful material in the life of Lempicka from which to draw a fabulous musical. Unfortunately, this is a loud, brash, fascinating piece that doesn't truly satisfy.
Friday, 27 Jul 2018 - There wasn't a single false note to be found in this company's interpretations, and so the story maintained its novelistic power through fidelity to Hugo's original intent.
Thursday, 26 Jul 2018 - I think that the word “sensual” is the most apt word to apply to "The Chinese Lady" as this play, almost from the outset, applies that human quality to the work. This is one of the finest works presented by Barrington Stage this year.
Tuesday, 24 Jul 2018 - Oliver asks for a little bit more in the opening scene, and I would ask the same of this production: a little bit more, please, of the pleasing aspects of the show and a little bit less of the darkest side
Monday, 23 Jul 2018 - Realism truly sinks its teeth into subject matter here and, if you find the ending hard to take, well, I think you're supposed to.
Monday, 23 Jul 2018 - The director's sewing machine has created a seamless garment of humanity on the Dorset stage.
Sunday, 22 Jul 2018 - Under the sharp and precise direction of Melania Levitsky, the company works wonders with a heavily cut version of the play that brings the story to vivid life.
Thursday, 19 Jul 2018 - I often think I've seen this show one time too many, but this one was a joy to watch and a perfect show to recommend in this centennial anniversary year of Leonard Bernstein's birth.
Monday, 16 Jul 2018 - No one can expect more nor have their expectations met with such clarity and correctness.
Monday, 16 Jul 2018 - Predictable in plot, riddled with happy endings and beautifully performed in a pristine space, this world premiere production is an easy play to sit back and enjoy.
Sunday, 15 Jul 2018 - Covering three days and nights, the play needs to keep its audience off-balance, and the director and actors do that without artifice and it makes a lot of sense.
Sunday, 15 Jul 2018 - The young company takes immense pleasure out of teasing the audience, testing one another's mettle and using slapstick techniques with ardor.
Saturday, 14 Jul 2018 - I've always had a soft spot in my heart for "Hair," and it was gently and warmly rubbed in the Unicorn Theatre.
Saturday, 14 Jul 2018 - It may be the closeness of the actors, or perhaps it is their ironic renditions of real people, but the show felt immediate and positive and even rather relaxed instead of staged.
Friday, 13 Jul 2018 - This is a Macbeth for those who know the play well enough to know what's missing, but not for those who know it so well that excisions that abound will destroy the work.
Friday, 13 Jul 2018 - This is not my music, and certainly not my kind of show, but I was so delighted with the evening that I have been singing these songs in my head ever since.
Wednesday, 11 Jul 2018 - Phelps’ production is about the best you will see outside of St. Martin’s Theater in the West End of London, so save yourself the airfare and get to New Lebanon instead.
Tuesday, 10 Jul 2018 - As drama goes, this play presents a genuine picture of adults in our era — mixed marriages, mixed belief systems, altered understanding and miscommunication.
