Barrington Stage Company to stage ‘Camping With Henry and Tom’
Pittsfield — Barrington Stage Company (BSC) presents Mark St. Germain’s award-winning play “Camping with Henry and Tom,” directed by Christopher Innvar, through Sunday, Oct. 23.
In 1921, Henry Ford, Thomas Edison and President Warren G. Harding took a camping trip together into the Maryland woods to escape civilization; what they couldn’t escape was each other. Inspired by an actual event, “Camping with Henry and Tom” is an exploration of friendship, politics and leadership — a comedic and dramatic clash of two great minds and one great heart of the 20th century. “Camping with Henry and Tom” features P.J.
Benjamin (Broadway: the Wizard in “Wicked”) as Thomas Edison, Patrick Husted (BSC’s “An Enemy of the People”) as Henry Ford, Fisher Neal (CBS’ “Person of Interest”) as Colonel Starling, and Kevin O’Rourke (WGN America’s “Outsiders” and HBO’s “Boardwalk Empire”) as Warren Harding.
In a related event, BSC will continue its “Conversations With…” series with “Politics Then (1921) and Now: So Much Has Changed… Or Has It?” on Sunday, Oct. 9, at 12:30 p.m. at the Boyd-Quinson Mainstage. Moderated by BSC Artistic Director Julianne Boyd, Mark St. Germain will discuss the personalities and hubris of presidential candidates in 1921 and how history repeats itself.
Tickets to “Camping With Henry and Tom” range from $20 – $49. For tickets and more information, see the Berkshire Edge calendar or call the BSC box office at (413) 236-8888.
–E.E.
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Grant Gordy and Ross Martin at Club Helsinki
Hudson, N.Y. — Acoustic guitar wizards Grant Gordy and Ross Martin will celebrate the release of their new album, “Year of the Dog,” at Club Helsinki Hudson on Friday, Oct. 7, at 9 p.m. The Lucky Three will warm up the crowd.
Searching for a balance between composed melodies and improvisation, Gordy and Martin’s repertoire ranges from fiddle tunes to jazz standards, original compositions, traditional hymns, and Bach. Gordy is best known for having held the guitar chair in the David Grisman Quintet for six years, as well as working with such musical luminaries as Edgar Meyer, Steve Martin, Tony Trischka and Darol Anger. Martin is a versatile guitarist who plays jazz, bluegrass, country, folk, experimental, and classical music, and has toured and performed with Matt Flinner, Tony Furtado, Ron Miles, Mollie O’Brien, the Motet, Sonya Kitchell, and others.
For tickets and more information, see the Berkshire Edge Calendar or call the Club at (518) 828-4800.
–E.E.
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CHP expands trail network
Great Barrington — On Friday, Oct.7 at 10 a.m., members of Greenagers, Berkshire Natural Resources Council (BNRC), and Community Health Programs (CHP), along with State Rep. William “Smitty” Pignatelli, D-Lenox, and others will gather at CHP to officially open a newly expanded 1.5-mile hiking and walking trail network. The public is invited to attend.
The new trail was funded by a $10,000 Community Preservation Coalition grant to CHP and was built by Greenagers. BNRC owns a portion of the land, and provided advance planning support. The Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) provided access to DCR property to allow for the trail construction, the Fields Pond Foundation donated $5,000 to map the project, and Great Barrington Trails and Greenways has contributed a new kiosk.
–E.E.
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Music & More to present award-winning authors
New Marlborough — The New Marlborough Village Association’s Music & More series will present award-winning authors Simon Winchester and Nicholson Baker on Saturday, Oct. 8, at 4:30 p.m. at the New Marlborough Meeting House, 154 Hartsville-New Marlborough Rd. A wine and cheese reception with the writers will follow the program in the Meeting House Gallery.
Simon Winchester, OBE, is a British author and journalist who resides in Massachusetts. Through his career at the Guardian, Winchester covered numerous significant events. Winchester has written or contributed to more than a dozen nonfiction books, has written one novel, and his articles have appeared in several travel publications including Condé Nast Traveler, Smithsonian Magazine, and National Geographic. “Pacific,” Winchester’s most recent book, was published in October 2015.
Nicholson Baker is an American novelist and essayist who has written about poetry, literature, library systems, history, politics, time manipulation, youth, and sex. He has also written about libraries getting rid of books and newspapers and created the American Newspaper Repository. He received a National Book Critics Circle Award in 2001 for his book “Double Fold: Libraries and the Assault on Paper,” and received the International Hermann Hesse Prize in 2014.
Tickets are $20 for Music & More members and $25 for nonmembers. For tickets and more information, contact Music & More at (413) 229-2785 or contact@newmarlborough.org.
–E.E.
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Haunted Hoosac Tunnel lecture and train ride
North Adams — On Saturday evenings this October, Berkshire Scenic Railway Museum (BSRM) will present local historian Paul Marino and retired educator Chris Wondoloski, author of “The Hoosac Tunnel Murders,” on-board the train as they relate the legend and legacy of the Hoosac Tunnel.
The Hoosac Tunnel, which opened for rail traffic in 1875, took over 25 years to build, cost millions of dollars to construct, and claimed more than 100 lives. The tunnel, which remains a vital transportation asset, transformed North Adams into an industrial city and left a legacy of engineering accomplishments and chilling ghost stories. While aboard the train, Marino and Wondoloski will explore the politics, personalities, technology and ghostly tales of the Tunnel. The highlight of the experience will be a lantern-lit dusk trek into the historic and hallowed grounds of Adams’ Southview Cemetery, located in the shadow of the very tunnel itself, to visit the resting places of some of the people involved in building the Tunnel.
The Hoosac Valley Legends Train: The Story of the Hoosac Tunnel will depart from North Adams Station, 98 Crowley Ave., at 5:30 p.m. on the Saturdays of October 8, 15, 22, and 29. The round-trip train excursion travels from North Adams to Adams with a stop at Southview Cemetery. Passengers will detrain and experience an approximately 30-minute walking tour of the cemetery led by Paul Marino. The cost of the train ride is $20 and all proceeds will benefit the nonprofit, all-volunteer BSRM. Although family-friendly, the experience is not designed for young children and parental discretion is recommended. For more information, call BSRM at (413) 637-2210.
–E.E.
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Lauren Clark Fine Art to host ‘NY, NY’ by Richard Britell
Great Barrington — Lauren Clark Fine Art will present “NY, NY,” an exhibit of paintings of big city architecture up close and personal by Richard Britell, Saturday, Oct. 8 through Sunday, Nov. 6. A reception for the artist will be held Saturday, Oct. 8, from 4 – 7 p.m.
Career painter Richard Britell studied at New York City’s Pratt Institute with Philip Pearlstein and Walter Erlebacher. His first show in New York City at Staempfli Gallery was sold out and reviewed in the New York Times. Britell’s new works are mainly small, detailed, cropped images of New York City buildings with a smattering of soft focus scenes of the city. He currently lives in Pittsfield.
For more information, contact Lauren Clark Fine Art at (413) 528-0432 or lauren@laurenclarkfineart.com.
–E.E.
