Review: "Noises Off" Barrington Stage Company

Photo by Marc J. Wrzesinski

Barrington Stage Company, Pittsfield, MA
www.barringtonstageco.org 
through September 6, 2026
by Shera Cohen

Nine characters fill the set of Barrington Stage Company's (BSC) production of "Noises Off". The number could be a slight error, but there is at least that same count (probably 11) of doors, windows, hall entries to the play's bedrooms, bathrooms, kitchen, sitting room, and terrace, can immediately indicate that the audience is about to see a farce.  And no one does farce as humorously, broad, and fast as the British. 

Set aside all sense of order, logic, or purpose in analyzing the play's plot. Actually, there are two plots since "Noises Off" is a play within a play; and the "within play" is seen a few times over the course of several quickly fleeting months in the real play's run.

Each actor portrays a character hired by BSC as well the character's on-stage presence. Makes sense? Probably not. Nothing is serious in "Noises Off" or in "Nothing On," play within the play.

Each actor is enormously skilled at comedy, although sometimes spoken dialog is a little too fast to be deciphered. But that's okay; we get the gist. More importantly, this play is a lesson in how to achieve physical humor without destroying actors' bodies. Assuredly, the director wouldn't permit that. Prat falls abound. In addition to the usual bumping into walls, "Noises Off" takes its actors to the point of not only falling down staircases but falling up the same staircase. Not a single character or character-within-character is left out of this mayhem; especially those who must watch over platters of plastic sardines; a running funny gag. 

As talented at the cast is, those who must take the "bravo" calls and standing ovations are the Scenic co-designers: Sotirios Livaditis and Todd Rosenthal. The huge English country home with expensive interior on two levels complete with full staircase, not to mention 9 or 11 doors, is straight out of Agatha Christie mysteries.

There's more. Flip this entire set 180 degrees to now see the backstage becoming the primary set and the latter becoming the secondary set. This second act of the play is the funniest. The actual BSC audience views both plays simultaneously; and the version backstage is outright hysterical. 

The second "bravo" goes to Director Gordon Greenberg, a man with credentials throughout the world and kudos on Broadway and Off-Broadway. In essence, Greenberg is directing three plays. Explaining the details would be far more than necessary. With help from his fight choreographer and associate director, it is near amazing that actors -- most of who's characters violently dislike each other -- don't fall off the stage during their feigned calamities. 

All of BSC's tech crew is perfect, as usual. The costumes are bawdy and colorful, as is appropriate to the characters. 

"Noises Off" and "Nothing On" are chaotic and fun. The actors take their bows as an ensemble, as they should. 

REVIEW: Barrington Stage “Estate Sale”

Barrington Stage Company, Pittsfield, MA 
www.barringtonstageco.org
through July 25, 2026 
by Jarice Hanson 

  
As the audience files into the theatre through a back door, onto a stage that looks like a thrift store, there’s a feeling that this show is going to be unlike anything they’ve ever seen before. This may be very true. What the audience is about to see is familiar, revelatory, and profound. It’s also emotionally laden, heart-wrenching, and wonderful. 

  

The world premiere of Keelay Gipson’s “Estate Sale” at Barrington’s intimate St. Germain Stage has something for everyone. The playbill warns that it is a play about grief—which is true—but it is also so much more. The play deals with memory, family, love, loss, and the gifts that growing up in a loving household bestows on the home’s occupants. 

  
Jayson Lee, described in the script as “Executor” is a marvel as the storyteller of the play. He uses a microphone which at first, seems like something an auctioneer would use, but the device also suggests he may tell the story the way a stand-up comic might. He even starts with three jokes that tell the audience he is now an orphan, and his feelings of aloneness are

clear, though implied rather than articulated. This is a clever device to key the audience into the back-and-forth time references that unfold as the characters enter the stage. First, a long-lost friend from the neighborhood called “Youth”. Then Father, “Truth” and Mother, “Beauty” appear. The last two happen to be ghosts.  

Photo: Roman Iwasiska

  
This is primarily the Executor’s story, and Lee is a wonderful actor who does a superb job suggesting different ages as he introduces memories, enacted by the other characters.

 

“Youth” is played by Christopher B. Portley; Father, by Blake Morris; and Mother, by Gillian Glasco. The team of talented actors show the audience the range of emotions of family and friends throughout different time periods and give the impression that they (the actors) have known each other for decades.    

  
They are surrounded by the detritus of life that the Executor now has to deal with; and the items, complete with price tags, are beautifully staged by scenic designer, You-Shin Chen. Director Steph Paul guides her actors around the stage integrating memory and objects and ruminating on the joys and sorrows of family life. What emerges is a story of love, remembered differently through the objects that we imbue with meaning, all the while reminiscing of the small acts of love that ultimately make us who we are.  

  

“Estate Sale” transcends time. The Executor says, “There’s good shit. And there’s bad shit.” The simplicity of those lines hides the multi-layers that emerge as this play evolves. From the audience's reaction, nearly everyone can relate to the emotions that arise as worlds shift with the passing of time, people, and the things that give meaning to an individual's position in the world.  
       

Since this is production is the world premiere, it's a good guess that "Estate Sale" will take to many stages in the near future; perhaps enough to become a modern-day classic. It's that good.

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: 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?!

Review: Barrington Stage Company, “The Weekend”

Barrington Stage Company, Pittsfield, MA

www.barringtonstageco.org

through October 12, 2025

by Shera Cohen

The treat on the weekend of September 20 – 23 was a discussion by writer Ben Diskant, playwright of “The Weekend: A Stockbridge Story” premiering at Barrington Stage Company, which was the final show of the 2025/26 summer series. Director Alan Paul (Artistic Director of BSC) also fielded intelligent questions from those in attendance – some who had seen the production and some who had yet to see it.

Barrington Stage Company

Various versions of Diskant’s responses about his play focused on the themes of 1) romantic love and 2) the physical setting in which the story takes place. Without spoilers, the writer loaded his answers with “what if” this, that, etc. Such is the life of essentially everyone: the all-encompassing and important question, “what if?” Diskant’s answers and examples, to some degree, focused on his writing process, especially because his lead character just happens to be a playwright writing his own play.

Next: the play at the St. Germain Stage.

The story of two couples takes place in the 1960’s in a cabin in Stockbridge, MA. Music at the start of the play is an obvious queue to the era, and the painted backdrop scene explains the location.

Tom and Beth have marital problems. Allan and Jordan, once a couple, are estranged while the spark remains between them. All actors are 30-somethings, portraying characters whose backgrounds intersect. The play works as an ensemble piece; each actor holding his/her own on an equal skill level with the others. No one outshines, yet none shine either. Bill Army takes the script given and uses it far more than the other actors to create his character. The other actors are Molly Jobe, Ben Rosenfield, and Sasha Diamond.

Anticipating the importance of the setting, as a part-time Berkshire resident and lover of all things Berkshires, the play’s title is a disappointing tease to bring in local audiences. Yes, there are often-repeated references and pictures of the Berkshires, but the play could have easily taken place anywhere and anytime.

Going back to the playwright’s talk in which Diskant spoke about each of his characters, their interactions with each other, and with their environment, told an involved, important story worthy of seeing.

Unfortunately, the end result did not carry out what was obviously intended by the writer. There is a core play here. With deeper insight of characters and backstory, “The Weekend” could be a weekend to remember.