Berkshire Theatre Group to present ‘Magic Tree House: Pirates Past Noon’ performance, book signing
Pittsfield — Berkshire Theatre Group will present the BTG PLAYS! 2019-20 touring show “Magic Tree House: Pirates Past Noon,” based on the book “Magic Tree House: Pirates Past Noon” by Mary Pope Osborne, Saturday, Feb. 22, at 2 p.m. at the Colonial Theatre, 111 South St., as part of the 10×10 Upstreet Arts Festival. There will be a book signing with Osborne from 1 to 1:45 p.m. in the Colonial Theatre lobby prior to the performance. Books will be available for purchase, provided by the Bookstore in Lenox.
Siblings Jack and Annie visit the magic tree house on a rainy day and find a book that allows them to travel to a tropical place. They meet Captain Bones, a pirate who captures the two and forces them to help him find buried treasure. It’s up to Jack and Annie to find their way back to the tree house and make their way home.
“Magic Tree House: Pirates Past Noon” is an adaptation of the fourth of Osborne’s award-winning fantasy adventure books from the Magic Tree House book series, which has sold more than 100 million copies and is available in more than a hundred countries around the world. The musical features a book by Jenny Laird and Will Osborne, lyrics by Randy Courts and Will Osborne, music by Randy Courts, and direction by Travis Daly.
Tickets are $10. For tickets and more information, see the Berkshire Edge calendar or contact Berkshire Theatre Group at (413) 997-4444.
–E.E.
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Stockbridge Library to welcome Brattle Book Shop proprietor, ‘Antiques Roadshow’ appraiser Ken Gloss
Stockbridge — Kenneth Gloss, proprietor of the internationally known Brattle Book Shop in Boston, will give a talk on the value of old and rare books Tuesday, Feb. 25, at 6 p.m. at Stockbridge Library, Museum & Archives.
Gloss, who is also a frequent guest appraiser on PBS’ “Antiques Roadshow,” will talk in part about the history of his historic bookshop, which goes back to around 1825. He will also talk about and show some of his favorite finds and describe some of the joys of the “hunt,” as well as explain what makes a book go up in value. Following the talk and a question-and-answer session, he will give free verbal appraisals of all books that attendees have brought with them or will do so at his shop in Boston.
The Brattle Book Shop is one of America’s oldest and largest antiquarian bookstores. 2020 marks the 71st year of Gloss family ownership. Gloss had worked in the store since childhood and chose to go into the book business rather than pursue a doctorate in chemistry. He became the sole proprietor upon his father’s death in 1985. Gloss has appeared as a guest appraiser on “Antiques Roadshow” numerous times over the years and has been a popular guest on WBZ NewsRadio as well as other radio, TV and cable stations. His articles appear in various antique journals and in print and online consumer publications.
The event is free and open to the public. For more information, contact the Stockbridge Library at (413) 298-5501 or info@stockbridgelibrary.org.
–E.E.
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Phillip Luke Sinitiere to discuss W.E.B. Du Bois’ liberation journalism
Salisbury, Conn. — On Saturday, Feb. 22, at 4 p.m., the Salisbury Association Historical Society and the Scoville Memorial Library will present Phillip Luke Sinitiere. Ph.D., who will give a talk titled “Freedom Writer: W.E.B. Du Bois’s Liberation Journalism” at Scoville Memorial Library.
In his presentation, Sinitiere will explore the 80-year journalistic career of Du Bois, chronicling his journalistic efforts from the 1880s to the 1960s. He will pay particular attention to Du Bois’ work as editor of the NAACP’s “The Crisis” magazine during the Harlem Renaissance and to his role as a Cold War-era columnist with the New York-based weekly National Guardian.
Sinitiere is the scholar in residence at UMass Amherst’s W.E.B. Du Bois Center, and teaches history and humanities at the College of Biblical Studies, a predominately African American school located in Houston’s Mahatma Gandhi District. Sinitiere is author of numerous publications on American religious history and Du Bois including “Protest and Propaganda: W. E. B. Du Bois, The Crisis,and American History” and “Citizen of the World: The Late Career and Legacy of W.E.B. Du Bois.”
The event is free and open to the public. For more information, contact Scoville Memorial Library at (860) 435-2838 or scovlibn@biblio.org.
–E.E.
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Susie Kaufman to read from ‘Twilight Time’ essay collection
Pittsfield — On Monday, Feb. 24, at 10:45 a.m. at Knesset Israel, the Jewish Federation of the Berkshires will present Susie Kaufman, who will read selections from her 2019 personal essay collection “Twilight Time: Aging in Amazement.”
In “Twilight Time,” Kaufman invites the reader to accompany her on a journey of inquiry, from a childhood in Jewish New York in the 1950s to the unknowable final frontier where the crowded canvas of the past gives way to the uncharted future.
Kaufman is a retired hospice chaplain whose writing has appeared in America and Lilith magazines and the journal Presence. Several of her pieces were included in the Berkshire Festival of Women Writers 2017 anthology “Writing Fire.” Her blog seventysomething has appeared regularly since 2015.
The event is free and open to the public. For more information, call the Jewish Federation of the Berkshires at (413) 442-4360 x10. The program precedes a kosher lunch at noon, for which there is a $2 suggested donation for adults over 60 years of age and $7 for all others. Advance reservations are required for lunch and can be made by calling (413) 442-2200 before 9 a.m. on the day of the program.
–E.E.
