Season Preview 2024: Theater
For those who like their theater on the more traditional side, the Rural Intelligence region has you covered. Barrington Stage Company is opening its season with the Broadway musical “La Cage au Folles;” Shakespeare & Company is offering the Bard’s “Comedy of Errors.” And so on. But this is also going to be a season that pushes the boundaries of theater. With productions incorporating multimedia elements, movement, and audience participation, it’s getting increasingly difficult to slot a production in the theater, dance, or music category. But for now, we’re putting these “avant-garde” offerings here in the theater section. One thing is for sure: We know they’ll all be dramatic. Here’s a sampling, from traditional to the unconventional.
1, “Ulysses “— Elevator Repair Services
Elevator Repair Services (ERS) is a NYC-based company that creates original works crafted from a range of texts. At Bard, the troupe explores James Joyce’s Ulysses in a production that presents a new way of appreciating the masterpiece. In the ERS version, seven performers sit down for a sober reading when chaos ensues. The multimedia aspect comes in through the layered sound design. This is a Bard SummerScape commission — and we’ve seen enough of SummerScape’s commissioned work to know that whatever they put out is going to be an event. June 20-July 14
2. “A Body of Water”
Playwright Lee Blessing (“A Walk in the Woods” at S&Co. in 2022)) brings us what’s been called “existential with a touch of the absurd.” An older man and woman wake up one day in an isolated setting above a body of water. The problem? They’ve both come down with a case of amnesia. A young woman appears, offering tantalizing clues to the couple’s identity. Intrigued? We are. June 21-July 21 in the Roman Garden Theatre
3. "The Comedy of Errors"
And now, for a little high-brow levity, is Shakespeare’s “The Comedy of Errors,” taking over Shakespeare & Company’s outdoor mainstage. It’s got all of Shakespeare’s trademarks: mistaken identities, two sets of twins separated by a storm at sea, misunderstandings, and mishaps. Tradition at its best. July 13-Aug. 18 in the Arthur S. Waldstein Amphitheatre
3. Mel Brooks’ “Young Frankenstein”
It was Berkshire Theatre Group’s first announced production of the season and we’ve been excited ever since. You’ve watched the movie (how many times?), and now you can enjoy the classic comedy as a musical, with music and lyrics by the great Mel Brooks. All your favorite characters will be there: Dr. Frederick Frankenstein, Igor and Inga, getting star turns with tunes like “The Translyvania Mania” and “He Vas My Boyfriend.” Scary? Probably not. So funny it’s scary? We’ll see. June 27-July 21 at The Colonial Theatre
4. Rodgers & Hammerstein’s “Pipe Dream”
While BTG’s lineup includes several intriguing plays — “4,000 Miles,” “Abe Lincoln in Illinois,” and “The Weir” — you can’t fault us for putting the spotlight on Rodgers and Hammerstein, particularly one of the duo’s shows that’s been seen by hardly anybody. “Pipe Dream” is the musical based on John Steinbeck’s Cannery Row, Rarely performed, it has all the hallmarks of the Rodgers and Hammerstein genius, and offers themes of love and resilience among the drifters and dropouts who call Cannery Row home. July 25-Aug. 31 at The Unicorn Theatre
5. Bill Bowers, “It Goes Without Saying”
In its 35th season, Chester Theatre Company is presenting two world premieres (“Will Sacrifice,” July 25-Aug. 4, and “Unreconciled,” July 4-14). But we’re especially curious about “It Goes Without Saying,” written and performed by renowned mime Bill Bowers. It’s probably not what you’re thinking; this mime speaks, sharing true stories in an autobiographical tour de force. From growing up gay in the wilds of Montana to studying with Marcel Marceau, the stories are funny and heartbreaking as Bowers explores the role that silence plays in all our lives. July 18-19
6. “Forgiveness”
You can’t go wrong with any of BSCs opening musicals, and this year (its 30th), BSC is opening with a blockbuster musical,” La Cage aux Folles” (June 11-July 6). (BSC will also be mounting the Broadway musical “Next to Normal” Aug. 13-Sept. 8). But we must champion our local, prolific playwright, Mark St. Germain (“Freud’s Last Session,” “Becoming Dr. Ruth”), who hands us “Forgiveness,” a world premiere in which the audience serves as judge and jury. It’s based on actual circumstances in Minnesota, where a convict is allowed to seek forgiveness from the Governor. After the character pleads his case, you’ll decide the ending. July 30-Aug. 25 on the St. Germain Stage
7. “A Tender Thing”
Ponder this: What if Romeo and Juliet did not die as teenagers, but lived on into old age? Author Ben Power did just that, rearranging and reimagining the scenes of Shakespeare’s play into a new tale of love and sacrifice. It will be fascinating to meet up with the two characters as a mature couple towards the ends of lives. June 25-July 20
Great Barrington Public Theater
8. “Survival of the Unfit”
Playwright Oren Safdie’s latest work focuses on a 30-something man, still living at home with his parents, who introduces his new girlfriend to his parents. The four-hander is a dramedy (how could it be anything but?) about family dynamics and disfunction where honesty is dished up, along with just desserts. The play will be directed by Matthew Penn. At the McConnell Mainstage, July 6-21
9. "Pamela Palmer"
Couple dynamics seem to be a major theme this summer. In "Pamela Palmer," playwright David Ives puts a noir spin on this romance, where the title character has a bizarre suspicion about her seemlingly perfect life with her husband, only for them both to become entanged with the detective she hires to investivate. July 23-Aug. 10
10. “The Fantasticks”
There’s a reason “The Fantasticks,” which opened off Broadway in 1960, is the longest running show in U.S. theater history, playing 17,162 performances. If you haven’t experienced this magical musical, take in Mac-Haydn’s production of the romantic fable about two young lovers, their meddling fathers, and the letting go of illusions. A lovely, whimsical bit of theater just as summer begins to bid adieu. Sept. 5-15
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