REVIEW: Berkshire Theatre “The American Five”

REVIEW: “The American Five”

Berkshire Theatre Group, Stockbridge, MA

www.BerkshireTheatreGroup.org

June 18 – July 11, 2026

by Simon Brighenti

“For nothing was simply one thing.” So wrote Virginia Woolf in “To the Lighthouse.”  That statement, which gets more profound as one contemplates it, applies to the brilliant regional premiere of “The American Five,” running at the Unicorn Theatre, one of the venues of Stockbridge Theatre. The production, which won the Helen Hayes Award for Best New Play, chronicles the lead up to the iconic speech given by Reverand Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial on August 28, 1963.

The story by writer and environmental social scientist Chess Jakobs, in his playwriting debut, starts out in a nondescript DC hotel room just hours before Dr. King’s monumental oration. Four of the titular American Five are introduced as they trade ideas and theories on what Dr. King should say and how he should say it. The audience meets Dr. King (Rashun Carter), his wife and chief sounding board, Coretta Scott King (Sydney Elisabeth), a force of her own with which to be reckoned; Dr. King’s eminence grise Bayard Rustin (Destan Owens); and erstwhile LA lawyer-to the stars Clarence Jones (Brett Diggs). The key fifth main character – wealthy Jewish (yes, the fact he is Jewish is important to both his character and his relationship with the others) lawyer Stanley Levison (Harry Smith) is introduced shortly and soon joins the others in their march toward destiny.

This initial exposition foreshadows the theme within the production that nothing is indeed simply one thing. The audience finds that the four words most remembered – “I have a dream” – are the distillation of years of struggle and thought and, once the idea of a march on Washington is nurtured and developed, a scant few weeks of writing, rewriting, and deliberation.

The story, as skillfully directed Gerry McIntyre, weaves back and forth among key points in the life of Dr. King, exploring an early meeting between the idealistic not-yet-Dr. King and Coretta Scott who is initially hesitant to let herself fall under the rhetorical spell of her suitor, depicting his incarceration in the Birmingham Jail, and capturing the intense dynamic among the five characters as they work with and against each other toward a common goal. 

Each of the obviously talented actors is given an opportunity to explain and explore why they believe what their characters and Dr. King are doing is a worthy cause and calling and how they can relate to him and to the African American experience in part, as well.

The set, few era-appropriate props and overall mise-en-scene, including actual newsreel ambient footage, combine to emphasize well the key points of each year, location, and scene depicted. Scenic designer Baron E. Pugh leads a team of artists that allows the audience to immerse fully in the lives and times portrayed.

Virtually every worthy artistic piece or production has a resonance and relevance to the times in which it is produced, even if – and especially if in this case – the segment of history portrayed occurred decades prior. "The American Five" vibrantly and brilliantly portrays a moment in time that still resonates today.

REVIEW: Chester Theatre Company, "R. Buckminster Fuller: The History (and Mystery) of the Universe"

Chester Town Hall Theatre, Chester, MA 
https://chestertheatre.org/  
June 19-28, 2026   
by Nechama Katan

 

Chester Theatre Company opens its season with a fun and exhilarating journey through the mind of one of the 20th century's great visionaries. "R. Buckminster Fuller: The History (and Mystery) of the Universe," written by D.W. Jacobs from the life, work, and writings of R. Buckminster Fuller and directed by Barbara Karger, follows the futurist, environmentalist, architect, inventor, and geodesic dome designer from his childhood in MA, to a meeting with Albert Einstein, through the extraordinary inventions that shaped his belief that doing more with less can save both humanity and the planet. 

Photo Credit: Andrew Grecco

 

More than a biography, the evening is an invitation to step out of our crazy lives for a couple of hours and see the world in a genuinely different way. The one-man-show format proves enormously enjoyable, though "one man" undersells it. Michael Preston shares the stage with a remarkable set, lighting, music, and video that he engages as though they were fellow actors, trading energy with each cue and image. 

 

Preston is amazing throughout, inhabiting the material and the character so fully that Fuller comes alive in movement, dance, and a sheer love of life that radiates from the stage. He draws the audience in at the play's start with Fuller's own story of being unable to see until he got glasses at the age of four, of learning who people were by smelling them, and of the wonder that washed over him when he finally put on those glasses and could see the world for the first time. It is a human moment that sets the tone for everything that follows.The lines themselves are a delight, from sharp jabs at Boston life to Preston's lucid account of Ephemeralization, the accelerating ability of technological advancement to do "more and more with less and less until eventually you can do everything with nothing," an idea that clearly touches our lives today. 

 

For those who think the pace of change feels crazy now, the production offers a steadying reminder of the people who lived through the beginning of the last century, the staggering changes they witnessed, and how much there still is to learn. One example is Fuller's tireless drive to be creative, to ask questions, and to think.

 

Audience members are sure to walk into this play with a settled view of how the world works and the pace at which it changes; yet walk out as many scratch their heads, happily rethinking much of what was known isn't necessarily the case. 

Scenic design by Tim Latta and Barbara Karger's direction make the show come alive, and sound design by Raphael Hendrick-Baker adds an additional dimension that deepens the whole experience.

Chester Theatre Company's season is just kicking off, with two shows running now and many more planned. The venue sits at the end of a beautiful drive through western MA, and the drive itself is worth the trip.

Review: Barrington Stage "The Zionists": A Family Storm

Barrington Stage Company, Pittsfield, MA

www.barringtonstageco.org

through July 3, 2026

by Shera Cohen

What happens when the members of a well-to-do Jewish family spend vacation time together at a posh resort? No surprise that all is not a happy reunion.

 

The story of the Rosenberg family focuses on two menacing and simultaneous storms; one indoors and the other outdoors. The storm of dialogue between various family members escalates from conversations to accusations to outright fights. The storm outdoors, which the audience can see through the set's windows, is just as intense growing into a full-on hurricane.

Which storm is worse, more unsettling, fierce, and enough to change the dynamics of the roles and outcome of the play? The answer is up to the audience, but each violent predicament is profound.

The story is time-sensitive and the time is now. Playwright S. Asher Gelman, a Jew entrenched in the contemporary status of Israel, states in Barrington Stage's playbook, "[It is] my most personal play, coming from a rich history of Jews arguing about, well, everything." Gelman's mantra is that many things can be true at once, "especially when they are in direct conflict."

The cast of eight create an ensemble piece; although Coby Getzug (Aaron) and Gregg Weiner (David), who depict brothers, are at the core of the bitter arguments. This is not sibling rivalry; but on a much higher and moral level. In fact, their conflict is on a global scale. 

 

Their war of increasingly passionate and sharp words becomes the crux of the second part of Act I and into Act II. Zionists vs. Palestinians -- whose atrocities are worse, is one evil equal to another? The brothers' sister Bex (Dani Stoller) soon becomes a third player, not defending either brother, but defending herself and her own beliefs.

Toss into the storm is the issue of money -- lots of it. Again, brother vs. brother with dollars spent to support each side of the cause doesn't sit well with all assembled.

To the actors' credit, what appears on stage is real. Yet, the dialogue is oftentimes so fast and overlaps that the arguments are not verbally clear to the audience. Yes, this occurs in real-life fights when one person doesn't or doesn't want to hear the other well enough to understand. Sometimes slower is better. Sometimes fewer words are better.

Scenic design by Adam Koch, lighting design by Solomon Weisbard, and sound design by Salomon Lerner and Andy Evan Cohen deserve kudos. To offer specific examples would be spoilers. The fictional rain, hail, thunder, lighting, crashes, and swooshes of 100+ mph winds is enough for many in the audience to be a bit fearful to take a breath of the cool Pittsfield air during intermission.

Director Chloe Treat places her characters in specific locations, using center stage only when the entire family gathers, stage right as Bex's apartment in Israel, stage left as Aaron's home in the US. Then sections switch again, developing wise use of space. Each sibling has a partner. The brothers' fight is, at first, a match of words, then shouting, soon physical with each man on his side of the stage, hurling "rights" and "wrongs" at each other. 

Yet, the story takes no sides. What is offered are opinions; albeit strong opinions which make this play complete.

REVIEW: Hartford Stage, “Sweeney Todd - The Demon Barber of Fleet Street”

Hartford Stage, Hartford, CT
www.hartfordstage.org
through July 5, 2026
by Shera Cohen

For those who enjoy the works of Steven Sondheim, seeing “Sweeney Todd…” at Hartford Stage is a dream come true. In a sense, the word “nightmare,” might be more accurate. For those who aren’t enamored with this renowned playwright, composer, “Sweeney” should still be in the Top 10 List of musicals to see.

“Sweeney” is dark, both literally and figuratively. The program book sums up the plot about “love, murder, and revenge”. Set in mid-19 th century London is the barber Sweeney Todd, his wife, and baby daughter. Crisis befalls the small family. At the musical’s start, Sweeney’s jail sentence of 15 years has ended as he roams the dregs of the city searching for his wife and child, and for his own life that was snatched from him.

Photo by: T. Charles Erickson

Matt Faucher portrays Sweeney as a man consumed equally with retaliation and despair.
Faucher’s acting chops and exquisite baritone voice are impactful. Indeed, he only has one solo as well as an important duet (“My Friends”). Yet, the character of Sweeney Todd seems to be ever-present – either when actually onstage or referred to – through Faucher’s creation of this tortured man.

Jackie Burns oftentimes screams the personification of Mrs. Lovett, the local pie-maker whose shop deserves a zero-star rating. Yes, the actress’ vocals are a bit too loud; although befitting her character’s personality and life. It’s Burns who has a lot of songs in the repertoire. Burns ingratiates Mrs. Lovett with wit, timing, and cunning. Lovett provides humor as a means to keep herself alive.

The other seven actors portray those who are friend or foe to Sweeney, and as an ensemble, the chorus of a Greek tragedy. They begin and end the sad tale. All are pros.

Willem Butler’s role as Anthony, a young sailor/love interest sings and reprises the loveliest and most melodic piece in the musical, “Johanna”. In turn, Lauren Maria Medina as the ingenue Johanna replies in an upper range soprano voice. Of course, it’s love at first sight amid the horror of their lives.

Tristan Caldwell’s role as Adolfo Pirelli, a con man competing to be the best barber in town, is outright funny. He milks every syllable of his fake Italian accent for as many laughs as possible.

 Without a doubt, Rob Ruggiero (whose home is Theatre Works) is one of New England’s consummate theatre directors. He swiftly moves a multitude of flowing scenes, each with its own signature melody. Many may disagree, but Ruggiero’s choice to add more comic relief than necessary is somewhat incongruous to this exceedingly dark tale. Having seen other “Sweeney Todd” productions, and without giving spoilers, these amusing segments occur in the barber shop. 

Not enough praise can be written about the tech triumvirate of Luke Cantarella (scenic design), John Lasiter (lighting), and Beth Lake (sound), plus each category has two additional creatives.

“Sweeney’s” set is huge, situated across the entire length of the stage, with numerous openings and tiers, many of which surprise the audience enough to say, “Wow!”
 

Lighting is exceptional on what is otherwise a dark set yet oftentimes streams of muted green haze tend to purposely show bits of warmth in the cold shadows.
 

Sound doesn’t just come from the stage; the Chorus resonates as if it is double in size, especially when actors sing from the theatre’s aisles and intersperse within audience sections.

Speaking of sound…where was the band? This is no pit band, but a mini-orchestra with strings, horns, brass, and percussion hidden inside the set unbeknownst to the audience. Wiley DeWeese conducts.
 

Bravo to the teams at Hartford Stage and Theatre Works for mounting “Sweeney,” working hand-in-hand to create, design, and promote perhaps what each theatre might produce extremely successfully, yet together make for superb theatre. Even more than that accolade is the coupling itself. The arts in our country seek help in numerous ways; primarily financially. HS and TW override the “me for myself” competition to acknowledge that, at least in the case of “Sweeney,” playing together is better for all, including audiences.

Note: Not recommended for younger audiences.

REVIEW: “The Addams Family” Mac-Haydn Theatre, Chatham, NY

Mac-Haydn Theatre, Chatham, NY 
www.machaydntheatre.org
June 11 – June 21, 2026
Review by Simon Brighenti

"The Addams Family" has been creeping in and out of popular culture since the late 1930’s when Charles Addams first published a few of his macabre cartoons in the New Yorker Magazine. They have appeared in a popular ’60’s TV show, cartoons, video games, movies, and of course a musical, now being staged masterfully in the round at the Mac-Hayden Theatre.

Chatham itself, just west of the New York/Massachusetts line, is one of those hamlets which, if the word “quaint” were not already in our lexicon, we would have to add it to describe. The theatre is a jewel in a rural setting just off Main Street. It provides an immersive experience with some of the most inventive and spellbinding lighting and sound design (courtesy of Andrew Gmoser and Sean McGinley, respectively) short of Broadway.

The production brings to life the well-known cast of characters – Gomez the passionate romantic, his adoring and adorable wife Morticia, darkly clad daughter Wednesday and impish son Pugsley, along with enthusiastic Uncle Fester, feisty Grandmama and the lumbering Lurch. The book is by Marshall Brickman, the comedic writer behind a number of movies, along with Rick Elice, the creative consultant for Disney Studios for years. As directed by Steve Edlund, the story focuses on Wednesday's love interest in a “normal” young man. It sets the stage for a meeting of the parents.

Gabe Belyeu is a great Gomez, equally adept at both wordplay and swordplay. He is torn between telling his “amore” Morticia (Madison Stratton) of the offspring's intention to wed, and his oath to Wednesday not to spill the beans prematurely.

The comfort and chemistry between Belyeu and Stratton are apparent at once and remain evident throughout. It is obvious the two talented thespians have performed with and off each other in earlier productions and have a fondness one for the other that sweetly informs their scenes together.

Jack Holick (youthful but experienced and talented beyond his years) does an at times hilarious and touching turn as Pugsley. Grace Mauldin imbues her portrayal of Wednesday with tenderness, resolve and determination to wed her betrothed. The two also showcase a couple of “torture” scenes including just the right amount of foreboding and mutual fondness. Comedian/magician Jeffrey Jene is perfectly cast as the eccentric Uncle Fester, equipped with his trademark piehole-powered lightbulb, bald pate and shapeless black shroud. The shroud, however, is magically transformed into a sparkling rainbow-infused garment during a superb scene in Act II that in a certain manner literally explains Fester’s perceived lunacy.

 

Filling out the main cast of Addams are a cackling Carol Charniga as the centenarian-plus Grandma, and amply altitudinal athlete/actor Aryell Beaulieu-Shaffer who brings height as well as some depth to the lugubrious Lurch.

Steve Taylor and Erin Spears Ledford as the parents of Wednesday’s intended Lucas go from button-downed to unbuttoned due to their exposure to the Addams family as well as their realization of their true selves.  And Will Forrest presents an earnest turn as Lucas himself.

Mention must be made of “the ancestors,” a group of ensemble actors who are each given a ghostly getup that hints of their untimely demise. They act at times as a Greek chorus and as a propulsive device for the waxing and waning of the relationships throughout the production.

REVIEW: Hartford Symphony Orchestra, Dvorak & Firebird

Bushnell, Belding Theater, Hartford, CT 
www.hartfordsymphony.org
June 5-7, 2026 
by Michael J. Moran 

For the closing weekend of their 2025-2026 Masterworks series and of her 15th season as HSO Music Director, Carolyn Kuan led the orchestra in a phenomenally varied program by five composers, including an HSO premiere, and featuring an imaginative composer-violinist. 

The concert opened with a deeply moving account of 24-year-old Richard Strauss’ surprisingly mature 1888 tone poem “Death and Transfiguration.” Its vivid depiction of an artist’s illness, death, and, as the program notes, his “vision of ultimate beauty as he is transfigured into part of the eternal cosmos” was captured with unerring power and passion by an inspired orchestra and conductor.  

Photo credit: Jim Henkel's 

The mood then lifted with exuberant readings of three "Slavonic Dances," dating from 1878, by Antonin Dvorak. Each was followed by what composer Curtis Stewart called, in spoken remarks, “a riff on Dvorak,” honoring an abolitionist of Dvorak’s era by fusing his music with American slave dances. The most original of these exhilarating pieces was the third, honoring Elizabeth Freeman (“Mum Bett”), which mixes Dvorak with hip-hop and Brazilian samba rhythms and audience participation.     

Stewart, a widely travelled performer and music educator and the HSO’s 2025-2026 Joyce C. Willis Artist in Residence, next demonstrated his considerable chops as a violinist with an entertainingly personal take on Pablo de Sarasate’s popular 1878 “Zigeunerweisen” (“Gypsy Airs”) for violin and orchestra. Bending notes, extending tempos, and inserting humorous facial expressions and other gestures, but always in the spontaneous spirit of the music, Stewart kept the full house laughing with his technical wizardry and earned an enthusiastic standing ovation.   

A blazing rendition of Dvorak’s festive 1892 “Carnival Overture,” with a tender central interlude, was followed by the concert closer, an electrifying performance of the colorful 1919 suite which Igor Stravinsky drew from his breakout piece, the 1910 ballet “The Firebird,” based on a Russian folktale. Conductor and orchestra sharply characterized all six scenes in the suite, especially a lush “Round Dance of the Princesses,” a terrifying “Infernal Dance of King Kashchei,” and a memorably triumphant “Finale.”   

Next up for the HSO is their 2026 Talcott Mountain Music Festival on the five Fridays of July at 7:30pm at the Simsbury Meadows Performing Arts Center starting July 3 with a program called “Celebrate America!”

Review: Barrington Stage Company, “Driving Miss Daisy”

Barrington Stage, Pittsfield, MA

www.barringtonstageco.org
May 26 – June 21, 2026
by Shera Cohen

Over the 26 years since Barrington Stage Company (BSC) began, most season openers have been big musicals; a strategic and smart choice as an audience draw.This summer of 2026 differs.

photo credit Roman Iwasiwka

“Driving Miss Daisy” is a small play with a few big messages. Essentially a comedic drama (dramady) with a cast of only three, it is the talents of the actors that can make or break the spirit of the story. Add the fourth vital player in the mix -- a tried ‘n true director – and what appears on stage are live characters, telling their story, in a quality production.

Set in 1948, Georgia, is spunky Jewish widow Daisy. Her trappings are upper-middle class, although she refuses to admit it. She is spunky and stubborn. At the start of the play, the world revolves around her. Enters an unwanted hire, who Daisy’s son insists on as Daisy’s driver. Apparently, the widow Daisy has had one too many car accidents. For good or bad, Hoak, a middle-aged, unemployed, African-American man gets the job. The plot becomes the developing relationship between these two disparate people.

Debra Jo Rupp, a frequent player at BSC, as well as one of the audience’s favorites, becomes Daisy, not so much in broad comedy strokes as she has depicted in other BSC plays, but subdued, befitting her character. For the most part, Rupp makes for an ideal Daisy. Even wearing a grey-haired wig, Rupp belies Daisy’s age as 72, and throughout the scenes she ages to 97, the audience must forgive the aging process asfiction. Rupp is too young and cute.

Ray Anthony Thomas, a newcomer to BSC as Hoke, comes with an impressive resume. Thomas effectively grows from Daisy’s chauffeur to become her friend. This is Daisy and Hoke’s play against a background of prejudice and racism in the U.S.

Matthew Korinko, as Daisy’s son, serves as the conduit between the other two characters. Boolie’s role doesn’t call for deep analysis.

“Daisy” especially benefits by the direction of BSC’s founder and artistic director of over 20 years, Julianne Boyd. Although now retired, Boyd keeps her creative mind and hand in a few productions this summer. It is assuring that she has not completely left the theatre that she created.

BSC’s St. Germaine Stage provides the intimacy for the acting trio, plus the caricaturized car -- front and center. The venue would offer plenty of stage space even for a much larger cast. A point, however, regards the division of the stage space in three equal sections: Daisy’s home, the automobile, and Boolie’s office. A recommendation would be to minimize the office portion. Scenes that take place here are not as important as those in the other two sections. There is no need for all spaces to be equal.

Effective videos and still black & white photographs tell the audience that years are passing. Immediately following “Driving Miss Daisy’s” run at BSC, it moves a bit up north in geography to Williamstown, MA from June 26 – July 5, 2026.

A personal note: In its first 11 years, BSC operated from rented space at a high school in Sheffield, MA. I remember seeing the world premiere of “The Putnam County 25^th Annual Spelling Bee” performed in the school’s band room. The composer and author sat directly in front of me. “Spelling Bee” went on to Tony Awards and other accolades on Broadway! How fortunate was I?!