My Nonprofit Reviews

Shakespeare & Co. provides a terrific mix of Shakespearean drama and comedy, plays by other writers, and educational programs that extend beyond their home base in Lenox (I am going to be working at an upcoming school-audience presentation of their Hamlet in upstate New York). Some of their events are free, which is important to community access; in fact, one of their most moving is their now-annual July 4 reading on the lawn of the Declaration of Independence. I especially enjoy their secondary theater which puts the audience nearly onstage with the actors. The Mystery of Irma Vep, featuring the multitalents (including beautiful singing in falsetto) of Josh Aaron McCabe and Ryan Winkles, was all the funnier because, even from so very up close, all those costume/character changes were brilliant. I must add that during the summer, it is lovely to see the casts and crew around town, at times rehearsing their lines as if in ordinary conversation; they live and breathe their art, they aren't just there for a gig. All in all, this company is a valuable community and cultural resource as well as a world-class training ground for actors of the future.

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