Review: Yellow Wallpaper 2.0, Great Barrington Public Theater

St. James Place, Great Barrington, MA
GreatBarringtonPublicTheater
through September 6, 2026
By Suzanne Wells

With “Yellow Wallpaper 2.0,” Great Barrington Public Theater closes its summer season with a world premiere that transforms Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s “The Yellow Wallpaper” into a contemporary study of confinement, identity, and psychological suspense. Written by Jennifer Maisel, directed by Judy Braha, and staged at Saint James Place, the production derives from one woman’s unraveling in a room that becomes an incubator of paranoia.

Set in the single bedroom of a New York City apartment at the start of the Covid pandemic, T, played by Cloteal L. Horne, struggles to hold together her roles as caretaker, wife, mother, and adjunct professor as lockdown magnifies the pressures inside her home. Fearing infection, she retreats into the room and begins to unravel under the weight of inequity, maternal guilt, and a need for intellectual and emotional companionship. As she turns to “The Yellow Wallpaper,” T imagines Gilman as an ideal confidante, only to fracture when the ideal gives way to flawed reality.

From that confined premise, the script grounds T’s unraveling in familiar pandemic rituals—masking, hand sanitizer, Lysol wipes, home quarantine, neighborhood concerts, and applause for essential workers—while keeping the focus on the broader forces of isolation, caregiving, and gendered labor.

That psychological strain depends heavily on Horne’s solo performance, which gives the production its force, dynamically shifting through a range of emotions, illness, and haunting delusions while using the confined playing space to draw the audience into T’s unraveling. Her sustained energy makes T’s instability feel real, human, and unsettling.

The physical world around her deepens the same pressure. The bedroom design, by Juliana von Haubrich, intensifies that psychological pressure: faded, grimy yellow wallpaper, a squeaky brass bed, a dated leather chair, and antiquated lighting create a claustrophobic world that feels at once domestic and diseased. Together, these elements give the production a keen sense of unease.

“Yellow Wallpaper 2.0” is an unsettling production that honors the original short story while pressing its concerns about social issues into a contemporary theatrical work.

This play is not recommended for children under the age of 14.

REVIEW: Anderson-Silkroad-Dinnerstein

 Laurie Anderson
Image credit: Ebru Yildiz

Tanglewood, Lenox, MA 

bso.org/tanglewood

August 3, 20, & 21, 2026 

by Michael J. Moran 

The last three concerts in Tanglewood's 2026 recital series by smaller ensembles reflected the ever-broadening range of artists presented there.  

On August 13 in Ozawa Hall, protean American musician Laurie Anderson performed two of her recent large-scale works, playing viola, keyboards, and electronics, narrating text, and leading her ensemble of five singer-instrumentalists. "Amelia" honored aviator Amelia Earhart and adapted excerpts from her pilot's log of the round-the-world flight from which she never returned. "What War Is This?," a world premiere, lamented the randomness of modern warfare, included improvised passages, and quoted several sources, most notably the Shaker song "Tis a Gift to Be Simple." Boston Symphony string players under conductor Dennis Russell Davies had a supporting role in each piece. Despite their eerie soundscapes and visceral power, both ended in fervent hope.   

A week later in Ozawa Hall, the international Silkroad Ensemble, founded in 1998 by cellist Yo-Yo Ma, presented a moving program called "Sanctuary: The Power of Resonance and Ritual." Starting when the 12 musicians entered through the audience, all present were often invited to join them in singing and dancing, showing music's ability to build community. Led by American Rhiannon Giddens, ensemble members hailed from eight countries and played a vast range of instruments.               

The next afternoon in Studio E at the Linde Center, Brooklyn-based pianist Simone Dinnerstein and 15 string players from the Boston-based chamber orchestra A Far Cry collaborated in the world premiere of a new version they had just workshopped over the past few days at Tanglewood of Johann Sebastian Bach's "Goldberg Variations." Written in 1741 for solo harpsichord and played mainly on piano, the 90-minute piece (an aria - restated at the end - and 30 variations) had also been transcribed for many other instruments or ensembles. This imaginative new version by the charismatic Dinnerstein and the resourceful band (aka "Criers") was easily the most varied (jazz inflections, plucked piano strings, Criers singing, etc.) of the series' programs.

A season with this high level of excellence in Tanglewood’s recital series will be hard to top in 2027.

Mid-August Weekend in the Berkshires

Mid-August Weekend in the Berkshires

with still a few more weekends to go
by Shera Cohen

Tanglewood, Lenox, MA
Young Artists Orchestra – Except for the ages of the musicians seated on the stage of Seiji Ozawa Hall, it would have been nearly impossible for me to distinguish the talent between these accomplished students and the members of the Boston Symphony Orchestra. No, I am not a learned musician, but quality can be easily recognized by just about anyone.

Conductor Lina Gonzalez-Granados looked joyful and with pride, leading the YAO for two classics: Aaron Copland’s “Suite from Billy the Kid” and Dvorak’s “Symphony No. 9, From the New World”. Two more recent compositions were by Jessie Montgomery (b.1981) and Valeria Coleman (b.1970). It’s a toss-up as to who enjoyed the concert more – those on stage or those in the audience.

Tanglewood – A Tribute to John Williams
Little did I know that John Williams was famous before his collaborations with Steven Spielberg; there was “Gidget Goes to Rome” and “Home Alone”. Williams was who I will dub Composer of Multi-Million-Dollar Disaster Movies; i.e. “The Poseidon Adventure,” “Earthquake,” and “The Towering Inferno”. All disastrous and fun in my memory.

Fortunately, I have not missed the Williams’ Salutes since they began. One reviewer paraphrased a concert patron, “It’s the same every year”. Apparently, that was meant to be somewhat derogatory toward Mr. Williams and/or Tanglewood. I say, “Bravo”. First, the program is never the same. Second, even if there is one more “E.T.,” “Close Encounters,” “Jaws,” “Star Wars,” “Raiders,” and “Superman” (which there was), then I am in heaven. “Olympic Fanfare” and “The Theme from Schindler’s List” traditionally make the program, as well. Again, thank you.

Ken-David Masur conducted. I am always in awe of how live music is synchronized to film. Maybe I don’t want to know the magic behind it? Ben Mankiewicz, host of Turner Classic Movies for 20 years, was the MC. He spoke and dressed casually, offering anecdotes throughout. Numerous, huge screens descended from the top of the concert shed as well as along the outside of the periphery for the thousands seated on the grounds. No one could miss a sight or a note.

Surprise! But not really. Nearly all of Tanglewood Pops Concerts include an encore or two. And all include at least three standing ovations.

Unfortunately, because of Mr. Williams’ health restrictions at age 94, this is the first time that he has been absent from Tanglewood’s concert. He was sorely missed. I think that we can all assume that, whether live or video, he was able to watch his salute by his own BSO. Bravo, John Williams for the marvelous music that you have shared through the decades!

The Mount, Lenox, MA
Gardens & grounds & granite, oh my!
(plus wood, plastic, marble, ceramics, bronze & more)
Author Edith Wharton would have enjoyed walks through her expansive property, seeing depictions of art just around the corners of congregations of giant trees and in many nooks & crannies in her woods; the contrasts of modern planet-like floating globes adjacent to the old rustic barn or the shy metal deer near her four-sided pristine garden. The exhibit has taken residency at The Mount for dozens of years, free and open to the public daily from to dawn to dusk. It’s a wonderful journey for adults and families and is dog friendly. May 24 -  October 24

Chesterwood, Stockbridge, MA
Home of Daniel Chester French – The creator of the Lincoln Memorial in DC, George Washington Statue in Boston lived in a huge, decorated mansion in Stockbridge. Alongside the house is French’s workshop with miniature and near-life sized sculptures. Paying homage to the country’s 250th anniversary is his statue of the Minute Man. The Revolutionary Teapot exhibit includes several drawn with wording like “No Stamp Act” and another “No Kings,” from the 1760’s and 1770’s.

Some thoughts that apply to most museums and historic homes’ tour guides job descriptions are knowledgeable and friendly with rapport that connects with those in the group. Our hour-long tour was led by a young woman who knew her stuff yet not in a didactic manner. She was casual, informative, and most importantly answered our questions. She led us through the grounds, house, workshop, eventually to the veranda where we sat to observe the seemingly unending range of the Berkshire Mountains. May 15 – October 31

Contemporary Sculpture Outdoor Show – This is Chesterwood’s exhibit now 48 years and running featuring dozens of large sculpture art. Titled “In the Open: New England Sculptors  Reclaim the Landscape,” the meaning is a dialogue between art and nature. Chesterwood’s landscape plays host to works by regional artists. Some pieces are obvious in meaning, some not, some situated for all to see, others tucked away in the woods. On specific dates, the exhibit is led by a guide; otherwise it is TIY. June 15 – October 31, 2026

Downtown Lee, MA
Literally a drive-by is the weekly farmers’ market and craft fair on the town green. Lots of townsfolk there and tourists. Lee’s downtown is short, less than a half mile, from the US Flag to Joe’s Diner. Alas, our clock was ticking to get to Tanglewood. Save Lee for another weekend.

Downtown Stockbridge, MA
The drive, this time returning to Lee, en route to Shakespeare & Company, was a take-out lunch stop at Main Street Cafe – part store, part ice cream shop (with a choice of nearly every ice cream flavor imaginable), part indoor/outdoor family restaurant (always crowded). I ordered a quick tuna on rye. Thank you for no celery. I didn’t intend to get the piece of home-made carrot cake, but it was staring in front of me.

Shakespeare & Company, Lenox, MA
“Hamlet” – Not that all plays presented at Shakespeare & Company are by the Bard; perhaps about half during each summer season. If anyone guessed which was the most famous, it might be a tie between “Romeo & Juliet” and “Hamlet”. For those, and there are many, who think that Shakespeare is not for them, this “Hamlet” is the most accessible that I have ever attended. And, I am not alone, as I looked around seeing a full house. See review in this blog. August 13 – 30, 2026

Review & Talk-back: Ballet Hispanico New York

August 23, 2026

Jacob’s Pillow, Becket, MA

www.jacobspillow.org

by Shera Cohen

We are so fortunate that one of the premiere dance festivals in this country is located in Berkshire County, just an hour from Springfield, MA; where In the Spotlight “lives”.

In all honesty, dance is the performing art form of which I am the least knowledgeable. That is probably one of the reasons that I can sit back and simply enjoy without tasking myself to write a bona fide review. As I have written often in the past, my dance critiques are commentaries by a layperson to others like me; somewhat educated on the subject matter but by no means an authority.

 

Over the years, including this summer, I purposely choose to see at least one Latin dance troupe – my favorite ethnic style. Ballet Hispanico New York last week had been exactly what I expected. The group is the nation’s leading American Latino dance company and the largest cultural institution of its kind in the U.S. For over five decades, it has commissioned over 100 original works and performed on the world’s most prestigious stages.

 

The beauty and precision of the female and male dancers working solo or as a group was exemplary. These dances were not simply cassinettes clipping to Latin music. I picture black & white movies of the 1940’s and 50’s. What I saw was ballet from other cultures – emphasizing the troupe’s title, Ballet Hispanico. The dancers’ homes were Mexico, Guatemala, Bermuda, Cuba, and Brazil. The costumes’ colors, the young faces, and the live music all played into the presentation of what was a wonderful program.

 

Their hand-out states that Ballet Hispanico “inspires generations through performances, education, and community engagement”. This topic was the focus of the dance’s talk-back immediately following the concert. We were fortunate to attend on one of the dates when the weekly Pillow Talk took place. These are free discussions held in Blake's Barn on campus.

The speakers were four dance professionals conducting a casual conversation followed by Q&A; they included Ballet Hispanico's Artistic Director Eduardo Vilaro. The others on the panel were from the company as well as the Pillow. 

The audience at Blake’s Barn was mixed – people from Latino cultures and those having many different backgrounds. Some in attendance were seniors, yet there were families with youngsters. Every seat was taken. Why? We wanted to understand, to appreciate, and to learn. Dance was, of course, the core interest of each person on the panel. They spoke quite eloquently about their own backgrounds and dance studies, the importance of the troupe’s evolving history, and Latino societies and how one description does not fit all.

Jacob’s Pillow’s 2026 season is almost over. A consolation is that here is always next year. Watch for the Pillow’s schedule which usually comes out in the spring to plan your summer of culture.

REVIEW: “Lucia di Lammermoor”

Mahaiwe Theatre, Great Barrington, MA

https://www.berkshireoperafestival.org/

Photo by Matt Madison-Clark

August 25 & 28, 2026

by Michael J. Moran

As the mainstage production of its 2026 season, the Berkshire Opera Festival presents Gaetano Donizetti’s 1835 tragic masterpiece “Lucia di Lammermoor,” its second Donizetti opera (after the comedy “Don Pasquale” in 2019). Conducted and directed by BOF co-founders Brian Garman and Jonathon Loy and often considered the crown jewel of “bel canto” opera, it turns out to be a “Lucia” for the ages.  

Loosely based on Sir Walter Scott’s 1819 novel The Bride of Lammermoor and set in 1703 Scotland, the libretto by Salvadore Cammarano centers around Lucia’s love for Edgardo, an enemy of her family. Her brother, Enrico, convinces her that Edgardo has been unfaithful and forces her into a loveless marriage with his political ally, Arturo. Going mad on her wedding night, she kills her new husband, appears in perhaps the most famous mad scene in all opera, and dies of a broken heart. Edgardo kills himself to join Lucia in death.

Soprano Christine Lyons inhabits Lucia in a career-making performance, combining raw passion with the beauty of tone demanded by the “bel canto” style (literally, “beautiful singing”) of early 19th-century Italian opera. Tenor Terrence Chin-Loy is almost equally intense as Edgardo. Baritone Dean Murphy is a commanding Enrico. Bass Stefan Egerstrom as Lammermoor’s chaplain, Raimondo, and tenor Luke Norvell as Arturo make strong impressions in smaller roles.   

Musical highlights include: the orchestra’s brooding, scene-setting overture; Murphy’s powerful Act I aria, “Cruel, Baneful Torment;” a perfectly balanced “Who Restrains Me,” the sextet that ends Act II; and Lyons’ note-perfect and emotionally shattering Act III mad scene, accompanied by the eerie sound of the rarely heard glass harmonica, invented in 1761 by Benjamin Franklin and skillfully played by Dennis James.

Loy’s resourceful direction highlights how Lucia’s ability to see ghosts empowers her, with a brilliant final coup de theatre, and elicits stylish singing and acting from a consistently strong cast. Scenic design by Cameron Anderson, costumes by Brooke Stanton, and lighting by Alex Jainchill contrast mostly dark colors with brighter ones for Lucia. Sensitive performances under Garman by the BOF orchestra and chorus (prepared by Chorus Master Luca Antonucci) bring Donizetti’s compelling score to vibrant life.

This revelatory “Lucia” is unmissable for Italian opera lovers.

Review: Martha Graham Dance Company

Jacob’s Pillow, Becket, MA

https://www.jacobspillow.org/

August 12-16, 2026

By Melissa Roti

 

This summer, Jacob’s Pillow is celebrating the centennial of the groundbreaking Martha Graham Dance Company as well as offering a salute to pioneering women in dance for the nation’s 250th Anniversary.

Martha Graham had a long history with Jacob’s Pillow and its founders, Ted Shawn and Ruth St. Denis, as she enrolled in the Denishawn School and later joined the dance company. In 1926, Graham founded what is now the oldest continuous American dance companies.

Even after the death of its founder in 1991, the troupe honored Graham’s legacy as a fearless innovator. Artistic director, Janet Eilber, a former dancer with the company, offered praise to both Graham's choreography and her spirit of collaboration in creating new works that included Graham technique with unique choreography. Eilber directed a conversation between two classic choreographies and two contemporary commissions; alternating between them juxtaposed where the company came from and where it is today.

The first Graham work was a stunning performance of Night Journey (1947), an example of her creative collaborations with composer William Schuman and sculptor Isamu Noguchi (set design). This piece was part of Graham’s Greek cycle where she used the female point of view in her storytelling. Queen Jocasta (Anne Souder) and Oedipus (Lloyd Knight) were so beautifully portrayed, as well as the Seer and Greek Chorus.

The company’s artistry was particularly evident in En Masse (2025), choreographed by former Alvin Ailey American Dance dancer Hope Boykin with input from the Graham company dancers. There were clear Graham influences, but Boykin brought her own language and movement vocabulary creating a work that was more fluid and contemporary. She incorporated music from Leonard Bernstein which added a rediscovered score originally composed for Graham. 

After an intermission, the dramatic solo Immediate Tragedy (1937) was performed flawlessly by dancer Xin Ying. Graham regularly explored the intersections of art and politics, and this work was her response to the suffering of women during the Spanish Civil War. Like the piece mentioned above, Immediate Tragedy was thought to have been lost, yet ultimately recreated through an intensive reconstruction process involving Graham’s notes, her letters to composers about the “despair” each has within us, staging maps, and photographs. This was a triumph for preserving Graham’s history which highlights the sad fact that many pre-video choreographies have been lost.

The show concluded with We The People (2024), choreographed by former Ailey dancer-choreographer Jamar Roberts, with a commissioned score by Rhiannon Giddens. The dancers expressed their own joyous physicality yet incorporated familiar gestures and techniques of Graham. Roberts followed in Graham’s footsteps using new music and choreography to express a spirit of collective change. Denim costumes, a quintessentially American fabric, by designer Karen Young also aligned with Graham’s purposeful use of costume in the storytelling process.

Martha Graham was a pioneer as a dancer, choreographer, and collaborator. Her namesake company continues to be a beacon of innovation in modern dance.

Note: The Pillow hosts a summer-long exhibition in Blake’s Barn highlighting Graham’s use of her art to speak out for democracy, women’s rights, and freedom of expression.

Review: "Dear Alien," Chester Theatre

Chester Theatre, Chester, MA
www.chestertheatre.org
August 23, 2026
By Suzanne Wells

Chester Theatre Company presents “Dear Alien,” written by Liz Duffy Adams and directed by Michelle Ong Hendrick, as a vivid portrait of an advice columnist whose life has narrowed to one room and one relentless box of letters. At first, the play has a sparkle of a comic monologue but slowly darkens into a meditation on despair and survival.

The action unfolds in a shabby-chic one room apartment filled with velvet, satin, a hardwood writing desk, a faded, upholstered chaise lounge, and a well-stocked bar cart. Crumpled papers and letters litter every corner, suggesting a personal collapse.

As Dear Alien, Bill Kux is the center of the production. He begins flamboyantly, drawing the audience in with gossip and dry, sarcastic humor, then gradually reveals the disillusionment beneath the performance. He treats the audience as correspondents themselves, pulling them into the advice columnist’s world as he transitions to painful self-reflection. Kux’s range—witty, brittle, vulnerable, and finally exposed—makes the character deeply human.

David Keohane as Écrivain and Eliza Fichter as Scrittora function less as conventional supporting characters than as theatrical devices, embodiments of the many voices asking Dear Alien for help. They gracefully blend into the background, only to emerge with another letter, another crisis, another demand for wisdom from a man who is struggling to save himself. Their presence keeps the play moving while also emphasizing the pressure placed on Dear Alien.

The letters give the play its structure, and Dear Alien answers them with evocative imagery and sharp, sometimes brutal, truths. His counsel to trust one’s instincts, to be the hero of one’s own life, and to accept the world is full of “unnecessary unkindness” are themes which help him overcome his ultimate dilemma - a life-or-death reckoning.

Dear Alien recalls a morally complicated moment when he was faced with saving himself or someone else. Questioning if his actions were selfish, heroic, or some tangled mixture of both? In that uncertainty, the play finds its strongest tension. It asks whether survival and kindness can coexist, and whether saving someone else might also be a way of saving oneself.

“Dear Alien” proves thought-provoking and unexpectedly hopeful.