Race Brook Lodge presents a jazz brunch with legendary bassist Tarik Shah
Sheffield— On Sunday, November 16th from noon to 3 p.m., Race Brook Lodge presents a jazz brunch with legendary bassist Tarik Shah.
Brother Tarik is a remarkable and extraordinary individual who is serious about the music and brings a high level of jazz improvisation with a lot of joy and integrity. Grab a seat by the fire and enjoy delicious brunch offerings available from Trailhead Berkshires, a new on-site casual service pop-up restaurant by Chef Andrew Jalbert.
The brunch is on Sunday, November 16th from noon to 3 p.m. at The Stagecoach Tavern at Race Brook Lodge, located at 864 South Undermountain Road in Sheffield. No reservations are necessary. More information can be found online.
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Shakespeare & Company presents 37th annual Fall Festival of Shakespeare
Lenox— Since 1988, Shakespeare & Company’s Education Program has brought together high school students from across the region to introduce and nurture a love of theater and language through the Fall Festival of Shakespeare.
Back for its 37th year, the Fall Festival of Shakespeare includes nearly 500 students from 10 schools in Massachusetts and New York, supported by Shakespeare & Company directors, costume designers, and production designers. Nine weeks of after-school rehearsals, set builds, weekly “common class” workshops attended by all participants collectively, and more culminate in full-scale productions at each school and at the Fall Festival of Shakespeare, which takes place at Shakespeare & Company’s Tina Packer Playhouse, located at 70 Kemble Street in Lenox.
The 37th Fall Festival of Shakespeare schedule:
Thursday, November 20th:
6:15 p.m. – Chatham High School’s “Julius Caesar”
8:30 p.m. – Monument Mountain Regional High School’s “Twelfth Night”
Friday, November 21st:
6:15 p.m. – Lee Middle & High School’s “Much Ado About Nothing”
8:30 p.m. – Pittsfield High School’s “Hamlet”
Saturday, November 22nd:
1:15 p.m. – Lenox Memorial High School’s “Romeo & Juliet”
3:30 p.m. – Berkshire Waldorf High School’s “Hamlet”
6:15 p.m. – Mt. Greylock Regional School’s “Twelfth Night”
8:30 p.m. – Springfield Central High School’s “Romeo & Juliet”
Sunday, November 23rd:
1:15 p.m. – Taconic Hills Jr. & Sr. High School’s “Macbeth”
3:30 p.m. – Mt. Everett Regional School’s “Richard Ill”
The performances are open to the public and will be live-streamed via CTSB, and through the Cablecast app on Roku, iOS, Apple TV, Android, and Amazon Fire TV. More information can be found online.
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Great Barrington Public Theater presents the 2025 Berkshire Voices 10-Minute Play Festival at Saint James Place
Great Barrington— On Tuesday and Wednesday, November 18th and 19th at 7 p.m., Great Barrington Public Theater presents the 2025 Berkshire Voices 10-Minute Play Festival at Saint James Place.
The 10-Minute Play Festival showcases original works by Berkshire Voices playwrights, brought to life by a talented ensemble of actors and directors for an evening of fast, funny, and thought-provoking new plays. It’s a lively celebration of creativity, community, and the joy of live theater — all packed into one unforgettable night.
Directed by Liam Castellan and Joshua Briggs, the new plays include:
- “Please Take Your Seat for Act Two” by Gianfranco Lentini
- “Zero to One” by Billie Murray
- “The Last Cup of Coffee” by R. Vincent Park
- “Verisimilitude” by Andy Reynolds
- “Lena at the Pond” by Lori Evans
- “Pelligree the Penguin Auditions” by Gabrielle Orcha
- “Defection at the Half Moon” by Jane Dentiz Smith
- “Army Talks Orientation Fact Sheet Number 64*” by Michael Brady
The festival is on Tuesday and Wednesday, November 18th and 19th at 7 p.m. at Saint James Place, located at 352 Main Street in Great Barrington. Tickets and more information can be found online.
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Valley Classical Concerts presents Boston Symphony Winds
Northampton— On Sunday, November 16th at 3 p.m., Valley Classical Concerts presents Boston Symphony Winds.
In what might be described as a “woodwind spectacular,” Valley Classical Concerts will present five current wind soloists from the Boston Symphony Orchestra. Flutist Elizabeth Klein, oboist John Ferillo, clarinetist Christopher Elchico, bassoonist Sam Watson, and horn player Rachel Childers will be joined by retired BSO Associate Principal Bassoon Richard Ranti and Smith College faculty pianist Jiayan Sun.
The eclectic program includes Beethoven’s “Quintet for Piano and Winds” (1796), Carl Reinecke’s romantic “Trio for Piano, Clarinet, and Horn” (1905), Paul Hindemith’s virtuosic “Kleine Kammermusik” for wind quintet (1922), and Bohuslav Martinů’s 1929 blues-infused “Sextet for Piano and Winds,” whose probably unique instrumentation includes two bassoons.
The concert is on Sunday, November 16th at 3 p.m. at Smith College’s Sweeney Concert Hall, located at 51 College Lane in Northampton. At 2 p.m., there will be a pre-show Q&A with the musicians and former NEPM host/Valley Classical’s longtime Artistic Director John Montanari. Youth ages 18 and under are admitted free. Tickets and more information can be found online.
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Triplex Cinema presents a screening of the documentary ‘Floyd Abrams: Speaking Freely’
Great Barrington— On Sunday, November 16th at 11 a.m., the Triplex Cinema presents a screening of the documentary “Floyd Abrams: Speaking Freely.”
The documentary explores America’s dedication to the foundational principles of free speech and free press through the groundbreaking work of attorney Floyd Abrams. Abrams achieved national fame for co-counseling and successfully defending The New York Times in the landmark Pentagon Papers case, which limited prior restraint on the media. Abrams is also known for having argued 13 cases before the U.S. Supreme Court and representing a wide range of clients, including major media corporations, about diverse First Amendment-related circumstances.
Over the years, Abrams has taught at several law schools as well as written extensively on the First Amendment. He founded the Floyd Abrams Institute for Freedom of Expression at Yale Law School. The late United States Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan of New York described Abrams as “the most significant First Amendment lawyer of our age.”
Following the screening, the legendary First Amendment lawyer Floyd Abrams will be interviewed by Berkshire Eagle President Fred Rutberg. Rutberg was a lawyer in private practice until he was appointed District Court judge, where he presided over criminal and civil cases primarily in Berkshire County. The live, virtual interview will include an audience Q&A.
The screening is on Sunday, November 16th at 11 a.m. at the Triplex Cinema, located at 70 Railroad Street in Great Barrington. Tickets and more information can be found online.
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Norman Rockwell Museum presents a virtual program with Heather Campbell Coyle, Curator of American Art at the Delaware Art Museum, who will share highlights of the “Jazz Age Illustration” exhibit
Stockbridge— On Sunday, November 16th from noon to 1:30 p.m., Norman Rockwell Museum presents a virtual program with Heather Campbell Coyle, Curator of American Art at the Delaware Art Museum, who will share highlights of the “Jazz Age Illustration” exhibit.
Organized by the Delaware Art Museum and now on view at Norman Rockwell Museum, “Jazz Age Illustration” is the first exhibition to survey the art of American popular illustration in the 1920s and ’30s. Illustrations originally published in Vogue, Vanity Fair, The Saturday Evening Post, and in books by authors such as F. Scott Fitzgerald capture the vibrant era. Featured illustrators include E. Simms Campbell, Aaron Douglas, Helen Dryden, John Held Jr., Rockwell Kent, and Sydney Leff.
The virtual talk, organized by the Art Deco Society of New York, is on Sunday, November 16th from noon to 1:30 p.m. on Zoom. More information can be found online.
