PS21 presents ‘Hamlet | Toilet’
Chatham— On Friday, January 5th at 7 p.m. and Saturday, January 6th at 2 p.m., PS21 presents Kaimaku Pennant Race Theater ’s ‘Hamlet | Toilet,’ co-presented with Japan Society, New York as part of the Under the Radar Festival.
Led by the acclaimed playwright and director Yu Murai, Kaimaku Pennant Race Theater (KPR) has become known for its nonsensical yet profound style that sensationally weaves Japanese pop culture into reimagined scenes from Shakespearean plays.
Yu Murai established KPR in 2006 in Tokyo. Their first overseas tour in New York in 2009 successfully obtained good reviews and praise from The New York Times and Time Out New York. The company’s unique spatial composition and staging, such as a huge toilet with 10,000 toilet paper rolls on the stage surrounded by a standing audience, as well as their gonzo street performances have been receiving reviews and gathering attention from all around the world. Their genre-bending view has been described as “hyper-nonsensical absurdist philosophical comedy” by director and translator Yoji Aoi, who has been assisting them as a translator and a dramaturg since 2015.
The performances are on Friday, January 5th at 7 p.m. and Saturday, January 6th at 2 p.m. in the PS21 Black Box Theater on Route 66 in Chatham. Tickets are $25 to $25. Tickets and more information can be found online.
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Barrington Stage Company announces two musicals for 2024
Pittsfield— Barrington Stage Company is delighted to unveil two musicals from their six-show 2024 30th Anniversary season, the Pulitzer Prize-winning “Next to Normal,” which will be co-produced with Round House Theatre and “La Cage Aux Follies,” winner of 11 Tony Awards, including Best New Musical and Best Revival of Musical.
“I have been thinking about the many variations of what constitutes a family, which is an element I feel that is explored, in very different ways, in both the ebullient ‘La Cage Aux Follies,’ and the gripping ‘Next to Normal.’ We are excited to announce these two sensational musicals as the tentpoles of our 30th anniversary season, with much exciting news still to come,” said Alan Paul, Barrington Stage Company’s Artistic Director. “I am thrilled to produce ‘La Cage Aux Follies,’ a vibrant musical that explores profound themes of love, acceptance and the courage to embrace one’s true identity,” said Alan Paul. “‘Next to Normal’ has been on my bucket list as a director for years. It is one of the greatest modern musicals and a penetrating exploration of an American family. I can’t wait to direct this show and share this story with our audiences at Barrington Stage.”
Buy 2024 season passes at the 2023 rate through December 31st. Learn more online.
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American Mural Project introduces new audio tours
Winsted— Beginning Friday, January 5th, American Mural Project (AMP) introduces new audio tours featuring stories from the artist and the mural subjects.
American Mural Project announces a significant enhancement to its mural exhibit, which provides a more immersive experience for visitors. This new service, which features user friendly, hand-held audio players, will be available for anyone visiting AMP’s mural exhibit.
AMP’s Audio Guides service provides a fresh way for visitors to explore the mural more deeply, and at their own pace. They can delve into specific aspects of the mural by listening to the anecdotes told by mural artist Ellen Griesedieck and personal stories of the actual workers portrayed in the mural. To listen to the audio guides, visitors may use the audio players or their personal cell phones. Transcripts are also available in English and Spanish. The Audio Guides service is included with admission.
The exhibit enhancement is designed to be flexible. Visitors may use the audio guides to engage with the artwork by selecting which stories they wish to hear and in what order. The Audio Guides enhancement is launching with 13 first-person narratives. AMP plans to add more stories and narration in Spanish over the next two years.
American Mural Project is located on Whiting Street in Winsted. Hours are Fridays and Saturdays 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sundays from noon to 5 p.m. More information can be found online.
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The OLLI Distinguished Speakers Series, in Partnership with the Berkshire Museum, presents Kris Allen: An Introduction to the Music of John Coltrane
Pittsfield— On Tuesday, January 9th at 7 p.m., The OLLI Distinguished Speakers Series, in Partnership with the Berkshire Museum, presents “An Introduction to the Music of John Coltrane,” a virtual lecture with Kris Allen.
This lecture will be a sprint through the highlights of the musical life of saxophonist/composer/bandleader John Coltrane, the cultural context in which it was created and received, and its varied artistic, philosophical, political, and spiritual legacies. His too-short but intense public career featured many abrupt changes and distinct phases, and he is widely considered to be the most influential jazz musician from the 1960’s onward. His quartet, featuring Elvin Jones, McCoy Tyner, and Jimmy Garrison, instigated a seismic shift in the expectations of what a jazz performance entailed and represented, and he helped to usher in the concept of “world” music. He was also an important figure in the Civil Rights and Black Arts movements of the 1960’s.
Kris Allen is the Lyell B. Clay Artist in Residence in Jazz and Lecturer in Music at Williams College and the director of the Williams jazz ensemble program. A protégé of the great Jackie McLean, Kris has forged a clear conceptual and aural identity as a saxophonist, composer, bandleader, and recording artist appearing on dozens of albums. His latest release as a leader, “June,” is his third critically acclaimed album for the Truth Revolution Recording Collective. Allen’s work has been honored with numerous awards and commissions, including a Macdowell Artist’s Colony fellowship and the Connecticut Office of the Arts fellowship. He currently tours widely as the leader of his own quartet/quintet and as a member of the collaboratively led “Triangle Offense” trio with bassist Matt Dwonszyk and Jonathan Barber, and the experimental jazz/electronic duo “Allen LANZ.”
The virtual lecture is on Tuesday, January 9th at 7 p.m. on Zoom. Admission is $15 and $10 for OLLI at BCC and Berkshire Museum members. Admission is free for students, staff and faculty from Berkshire Community College, MCLA, Simon’s Rock, and Williams; youth ages 17 and under, and those holding WIC, EBT/SNAP, or ConnectorCare cards. Pre-registration is required. Registration and more information can be found online or by calling 413-236-2190
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The Cornwall Library presents ‘Cornwall Landscapes: Paintings by Robert Adzema’
Cornwall— From January 6th through February 17th, the Cornwall Library presents “Cornwall Landscapes: Paintings by Robert Adzema.”
In his upcoming show at the Cornwall Library, artist Robert Adzema presents energetic watercolors that capture his love of the Cornwall landscape. Since moving to Cornwall in 2019, Adzema has been exploring the local terrain through his varied and beautiful paintings. He is a familiar sight working at his easel on Jewell Street overlooking Coltsfoot Valley, or wandering the fields with his painter’s kit, looking for inspiration. The resulting work captures the joy and energy he finds here in Cornwall, from images of the iconic covered bridge in West Cornwall to more personal paintings of his own home and gardens.
All of his landscapes are painted outdoors (plein air) and in watercolor. Adzema says “I favor this medium because it is easily transportable and so encourages one to deal with the subject directly and spontaneously, and to welcome chance and accident. In general, I choose sculpturally interesting subjects with strong and often unexpected compositional points of view. I try to capture a time of day and the quality of light of the location, such as the reflective and transparent light on a stream, lily pond or marsh, or the modulated light captured in fracturing on the rock face of a quarry.” He continues, “My technique reflects a passion for and use of color along with expressive brushwork to further the emotional dimension of the paintings.”
The show runs from January 6th through February 17th at the Cornwall Library on Pine Street in Cornwall. There is an artist’s reception on Saturday, January 6th from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m., registration requested. Registration and more information can be found online.
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First Congregational Church of Williamstown’s ‘3rd Annual Standout Against Christian Nationalism’
Williamstown— The First Congregational Church of Williamstown invites the public to its 3rd Annual Standout Against Christian Nationalism on Saturday, January 6th from noon to 1 p.m. on the anniversary of the 2021 assault on the Capitol.
“Christian Nationalists want their beliefs to be the official national religion that governs our laws, our education, and our families,” says church deacon David Langston. “They would end the constitutional guarantee of freedom of religion, and as Christians and as citizens, we stand in opposition to forsaking both Christian teaching as well as the Constitution.”
“The threat of Christian Nationalism has been growing over the past several years and has received a boost with the election of Rep. Mike Johnson as Speaker of the House,” said Betsy Burris, Church Moderator. “Johnson, who is second in line to the Presidency, actually claims that ‘the separation of church and state is a misnomer’ and defines his ‘worldview’ as ‘the Bible.’ That may be his personal perspective, but it is wholly inappropriate for a public official serving a diverse democracy,”
“As a Christian church that rejects the Christian Nationalists’ definitions both of church and state, we encourage congregations in the Berkshires to stand up against the dangerous influence of people like Speaker Johnson and all those who support the Christian Nationalists’ abuse of the teachings of Christianity,” urged Sherwood Guernsey, church activist. “Reclaiming Christianity as a religion of love and equity, inclusiveness and justice, is the job of congregations like our own.”
The standout will be on Saturday, January 6th from noon to 1 p.m. on the front lawn of the First Congregational Church of Williamstown at 906 Main Street in Williamstown.
