Theater Reviews

'Santaland Diaries' Spirited, Campy Christmas Romp
In "Santaland Diaries," at Shakespeare & Company in Lenox through Dec. 30, the mawkish sentimentality of commercial Christmas has been replaced by the story of a Macy's elf dealing with the reality of working retail at this time of year. It's a very different kind of holiday show, with both the "feel of time gone by with
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'Sylvia,' About a Dog, Unleashes Howls of Laughter
STOCKBRIDGE, Mass. — Years before Edward Albee wrote a play about a man falling passionately in love with a goat named Sylvia, A.R. "Pete" Gurney wrote his comedy "Sylvia." It is the first offering of the season on the Berkshire Theatre Group's Fitzgerald Main Stage. In this 1995 comic masterpiece, Gurney wrote about
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Randy Harrison Rocks Berkshires In The Who's 'Tommy'
PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Sunday night there was a miracle — in more ways than one — on South Street. The Who's "Tommy" is the first production of the newly minted Berkshire Theatre Group and it was more than good, or great. It was heart-thumpingly fantastic. By the time the classic story of Peter Townshend's deaf, dumb
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A Family of Strangers Rules in 'The Memory of Water'
LENOX, Mass. If it wasn't so funny, I would have cringed watching this play about three sisters preparing to attend the funeral of their recently deceased mother. "The Memory of Water" at Shakespeare & Company relates how the sisters have reunited for her service. In the play, they have taken up residence in her old bedroom,
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'Guys & Dolls' Still The Best Musical of All Time
PITTSFIELD, Mass. — This is the one, the classic that Barrington Stage Company was born to do. "Guys and Dolls" succeeds where musicals and plays about nobler characters fall short. This down-to-earth show was first penned in 1950 and took Broadway by storm. Its magical ingredients are the perfect concoction of words, music, dance
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