Berkshire Theatre Group, Stockbridge, MA
www.berkshiretheatregroup.org
Date: August 29, 2026
by Shera Cohen
“Lovesong” at Berkshire Theatre Group’s Unicorn Theatre stars four actors as two characters. The quartet is extraordinary as a whole and individually. Without hesitation, this play is assuredly one of BTG’s best in many years.
The story is somewhat universal about your average married couple; at the same time unique in the execution of the lives that these two develop for 40 years. At the start of the story is the older Maggie and Billy; the husband is a retired dentist; his wife, retired as well, never really had a career. They love each other. Deeply? Or, after many decades, is it the best alternative to any other choice? The answer is for the characters and viewers to decide, yet most would likely lean toward the answer, “both”.
The same couple is depicted in the early years of marriage, as the play’s timeline, while chronological, shifts back and forth between the couples, who are indeed the same pair. The success of this achievement of the ebbs and flows, coupled with joys and many sorrows of the same characters is drawn deftly with emotional nuances by director David Auburn. “Lovesong” is a director’s dream challenge, and Auburn (whose day job is as Associate Artistic Director at BTG) handles the extraordinary task with precision beyond expectations. This is a director’s play.
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| Photo credit: Caelan Carlough |
The production also shows the immense talent of scenic designer Alexander Woodward. The staging, a house seen as if sliced horizontally, is the only setting. This is an entire house with several rooms the size of an actual kitchen bedroom, and bathroom, for example. The backyard, complete with hammock, is natural. Stairways and halls lead to other parts of the home. This, in itself, is no magical feat. Yet the transition of the young Margaret and William immediately and almost mystically becoming the older Maggie and Billy and vice versa simply within the confines of a house is enormous.
Of course, the remarkable direction and design would be static without four extraordinary actors. The love, expectations, and trust that grows in an even somewhat, if not a long, marriage is realistic. The actors work brilliantly as a small ensemble. Margaret almost flows into the body of Maggie. Rebecca Brooksher holds her own with Karen Allen (whose name is recognized as a movie star in epic blockbusters), each as the vulnerable woman living the best she can for herself and for her husband. Shawn Fagan and David Garrison (the latter, recognizable from TV roles) are the Williams, as a man working on sensitivity through the years.
There are a few subtle attempts for the actors to look alike through the decades, although some clothing styles are consistent. The Williams seem to consistently like plaid shirts. Mirror-looks are unnecessary.
The characters’ words and demeanor are significant tools for the actors to truly become the person on stage. And these four actors are remarkable.
