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'Christopher Robin': What the World Needs NowBy Michael S. Goldberger, iBerkshires Film Critic
02:32PM / Friday, August 10, 2018 | |
 Watching director Marc Forster's delightfully sweet and optimistic "Christopher Robin," wherein the title character now all grown up and in a funk reunites with Winnie the Pooh, his inspiring, childhood pal, my mind wandered. Not because the film wasn't absorbingly influential, but because it was. There I was, back on Dewey Street in Newark, in front of David Stein's house, where I found a dime and screamed of my bonanza, only to be assailed by Mrs. Stein, who claimed it was the dime David had lost. But that's OK. Arriving in front of the six-family house at 61 Dewey, crying about my fortune so quickly won and lost, there stood my Mom, as if a sixth sense 0 Comments
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Review: 'West Side Story' at Barrington Stage: Wow!By Nancy Salz, Guest Column
11:00AM / Friday, August 10, 2018 | |
Surely you know the song "Maria" from "West Side Story: "Maria, the most beautiful sound I ever heard, Maria. I've just met a girl named Maria ..." It has been recorded by Johnny Mathis, Dave Brubeck, Placido Domingo and Jose Carreras, to name just a few.
But you will never know the profound emotion in that song until you hear it sung by Tony, the character for whom it was written. And if the Tony happens to be young and a superb singer – as he is in the current, breathtaking Barrington Stage revival – only then can you appreciate the wonder and amazement of young, first love in its music and lyrics. I know every note and every word to that
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Tanglewood Presents Powerhouse ProgramsBy Stephen Dankner, Guest Column
02:18PM / Wednesday, August 08, 2018 | |
This week, Tanglewood continues its high energy 2018 classical season with a powerhouse pair of programs performed by the Tanglewood Music Center Orchestra (TMCO) and the Boston Pops, with guest artists the TMC vocal Fellows and the Boston University Tanglewood Institute (BUTI) Young Artists Chorus.
The "heavy hitters" are John Williams' "Film Night" - always an audience favorite event and a high point of each year's Tanglewood offerings - led by Mr. Williams and Boston Symphony maestro Andris Nelsons. Conductor Stefan Asbury directs a TMCO instrumental chamber ensemble accompanying the TMC vocal Fellows in a concert version of Leonard Bernstein's
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Old and New Favorites in Coming UpBy Grace Lichtenstein, Guest Column
01:30PM / Wednesday, August 08, 2018 | |
There are both old and new favorites on the horizon for this second week of August. Get ready for a revival of "She Loves Me," "The Wedding Singer," Melissa Manchester and Air Supply, plus a jazz afternoon at Sevenars. Here is a wide range of styles for pop lovers: Sevenars Jerry Noble and Friends, specifically jazz clarinetist Bob Sparkman, headline the show at this Worthington venue on Sunday, Aug. 12, at 4 p.m. Jerry is a pianist, composer and guitarist who for 20 years has teamed on jazz collaborations with Bob. At this performance, they will play their favorites and as a special treat, they will be joined by bass guitarist Karen Noble.
Jerry and Karen
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'Mission: Impossible-Fallout': It Takes All KindsBy Michael S. Goldberger, iBerkshires film critic
12:57PM / Friday, August 03, 2018 | |
 "Why do bad people have to be bad?" Thus spake my great nephew-in-law, Nate, 4, after recently seeing his first movie in a theater, "Incredibles 2." His other inquiry was whether or not the lights would come back on when the film concluded. Well Nate, in answer to your first question, we've been working on that since time immemorial, both in real life and in fiction, and we have some theories ... none conclusive. Some scientists believe it's bad mommies and daddies that make bad people. And then there's the bad seed concept: the matter of an aberrant gene causing one to think they have not only the right, but nay, the obligation to bully people 0 Comments
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Wonderful Week on Tap in the BerkshiresBy Grace Lichtenstein, Guest Column
02:26PM / Wednesday, August 01, 2018 | |
The first week in August brings great jazz and pop music to the Berkshires. Guitarist Pat Metheny, the pop group Blondie and a live production by the Barrington Stage presage a wonderful week. Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center The charming theater in the heart of Great Barrington will be alive with the jazz of iconic guitarist Pat Metheny on Thursday, Aug. 2. Metheny headlines a show that will also include his drummer Antonio Sanchez, bassist Linda Oh and keyboardist Gwilym Simcock.
Metheny does not just appeal to jazz purists. His music is wide-reaching enough to be enjoyed by even the most casual pops fan. This is a don't-miss. For more information, visit the Mahaiwe's
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Thrilling Music at Tanglewood, SevenarsBy Stephen Dankner, Guest Column
02:01PM / Wednesday, August 01, 2018 | |
 With the arrival of August, we are at the mid-point – the height of the classical music festival season. Programs at Tanglewood offer an enthralling mix of large-scale, powerful and melodic symphonies by Sibelius and Prokofiev, as well as beloved piano with orchestra works by Gershwin and Rachmaninoff. The week's highlight, on Aug. 7, will be the all-day "Tanglewood on Parade" events. Read below for the details.
Devotées of solo piano music should consider attending the brilliant pianist Lynelle James' solo recital, featuring works of Mozart, Liszt, Chopin and Nicolai Roslavets (1881-1944) on Sunday, Aug. 5, at the Sevenars Academy in South Worthington,
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Review: 'Lempicka' Beautifully Painted at Williamstown Theatre FestivalBy Nancy Salz, Guest Column
01:20PM / Monday, July 30, 2018 | |
 For the first few minutes of "Lempicka," the stunning world premiere musical at the Williamstown Theatre Festival, the music level was so assaulting, I wanted to wave a white flag of surrender as happened – perhaps apocryphally – during an early performance of Stravinsky's Rite of Spring. But very soon thereafter, either the music level was lowered, or I got used to it – and it was I who surrendered to this wonderful, beautifully realized musical. If you wear socks to "Lempicka," be prepared to have them knocked off.
The show is the story of a strong woman named Tamara de Lempicka (Eden Espinosa). She was an Art Deco painter who had two
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'Three Identical Strangers': Relatively HorrifyingBy Michael S. Goldberger, iBerkshires film critic
04:18PM / Thursday, July 26, 2018 | |
 You don't have to be Jewish to lament "Oy, yoy, yoy" after seeing director Tim Wardle's shocking documentary, "Three Identical Strangers." After being presented a series of outlandish and disturbing disclosures about the title triplets separated at birth, adopted by three separate families and who are reunited at age 19, you'll warm up for that final assessment by first issuing several "Holy Cows," a few "Yipes" and perhaps a couple good old-fashioned "Wows." Unaware of, or having forgotten about, the celebrity that Eddy Galland, David Kellman and Robert Shafran enjoyed when they discovered each other in the early 1980s, I 0 Comments
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Singing! Dancing! Naked Singing and Dancing!By Grace Lichtenstein, iBerkshires columnist
02:56PM / Wednesday, July 25, 2018 | |
Musical theater thrives in the region this week — on stage and on film. It might require a drive, but you can hear country/western music, Bernstein and great stuff for children in the coming days ... or catch up with nudity that began 50 years ago and caused a sensation on Broadway. Tanglewood The most famous work by Leonard Bernstein, whose centennial is being celebrated all summer worldwide, is, of course, "West Side Story." At the Shed on Saturday night at 8 p.m., Tanglewood presents the remastered movie of this iconic musical, on big screens.
But instead of canned music, the Boston Symphony Orchestra plays Lenny's great score live, while the original
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