BASIC Berkshires

100 Years of Movies: “The Godfather” (1972)
2026-07-17 19:00 - 21:00 (America/New_York) | Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center, 14 Castle Street, Great Barrington, MA, 01230
Widely considered one of the greatest films ever made, Francis Ford Coppola’s “The Godfather” charts the rise of a crime family in post-World War II America. Marlon Brando leads an all-star cast, including Al Pacino, Robert Duvall, Diane Keaton, and James Caan. (Rated R, 2h 55min.)
100 Years of Movies is back! This popular film series celebrates over a century of movies at the Mahaiwe and once again features introductions by director Deborah Reinisch.

Years of Movies: “All the President’s Men” (1972)
2026-07-23 19:00 - 21:00 | Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center, 14 Castle Street, Great Barrington, MA, 01230
“All the President’s Men” (1976) is a political thriller about the Watergate scandal. Robert Redford and Dustin Hoffman play the Washington Post journalists Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein, who broke the story. The film is directed by Alan J. Pakula with an Oscar-winning screenplay by William Goldman. (PG, 2h 18min.)
100 Years of Movies is back! This popular film series celebrates over a century of movies at the Mahaiwe and once again features introductions by director Deborah Reinisch.

Branford Marsalis Quartet
2026-07-24 20:00 - 21:30 | Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center, 14 Castle Street, Great Barrington, MA, 01230
Saxophonist Branford Marsalis is one of the most influential and revered figures in contemporary music. The NEA Jazz Master, Grammy Award winner, and Tony and Emmy Award nominee is equally at home performing concertos with symphony orchestras and sitting in with members of the Grateful Dead, but the core of his musical universe remains the Branford Marsalis Quartet. After more than three decades of existence with minimal personnel changes, this celebrated ensemble is revered for its uncompromising interpretation of a kaleidoscopic range of both original compositions and jazz and popular classics. After receiving Grammy nominations on its last two albums, “Upward Spiral” and “The Secret Between the Shadow and the Soul,” the Quartet made its Blue Note Records debut with the release of “Belonging,” a full album interpretation of Keith Jarrett’s 1974 ECM album of the same name. “The New York Times” commented “Marsalis has tackled imposing jazz masterworks before…but at its best, his ‘Belonging’ goes deeper…it’s a performance that both honors and amplifies.” John Zeugner captured the impact of the Quartet in a review of a live performance, calling it “casually confident, professional, cerebral, and supercharged with energy. The Branford Marsalis Quartet…was all of those adjectives and more.”

Half an Evening with David Rasche
2026-07-25 19:30 - 21:00 | Indigo Room, 20 Castle Street, Great Barrington, 01230
David Rasche, star of HBO’s “Succession” and ABC’s “Sledge Hammer!” and local resident, is pleased to bring his performance “Half an Evening with David Rasche” to the Indigo Room in a delightful evening of painful memories and personal insults that are tied together with a collection of original songs that he originally wrote himself and were written by him originally. Some of these songs have never before been sung in public, perhaps for good reason. Some are love songs, some comedic, some are bittersweet, some just bitter. He is not above a cheap joke, and nothing is beneath him. Songs will include the bossa nova favorite “Sand Up in My Crack,” the enchanting jazz waltz, “I Wish I Was Married to Your Wife,” the historic actor/prison/chain gang song, “Never Going to Work Again,” and not many more. The songs are musical, and short enough to accommodate the most limited attention span. Someone else will be playing the piano, so don’t worry. This show will be just long enough that exactly when you are thinking, “It’s time to go,” the last song will be finishing and your coat will be waiting for you at the door. “Thank God, David Rasche is finally doing a show,“ someone might have said, maybe. It’s a performance you will be happy to have seen.
David Rasche began his career at Chicago’s famed Second City, where he worked with John Candy, Bill Murray and others. His many TV appearances include “Columbo” and “VEEP,” and, most recently, “Dying for Sex,” with Michelle Williams. He has also appeared in movies, such as “In the Loop,” directed by Armando Iannucci, who also did “VEEP,” and “About My Father” with Robert DeNiro. He has appeared both on Broadway and off.

Shakespeare & Company Presents: Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune
2026-07-30 14:00 - 2026-08-23 21:00 | Shakespeare & Company, 70 Kemble Street, Lenox, MA, 01240
Shakespeare & Company Presents: Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune

By Terrence McNally, Directed by Nicole Ricciardi

July 30-August 23 at 2 pm and 7 pm at the Elayne P. Bernstein Theatre

Set over the course of a single late night in a small Hell’s Kitchen apartment, Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune is a tender, funny, and deeply human play about two people standing at the edge of connection. Frankie, a guarded waitress, and Johnny, an earnest short-order cook, work together at a Manhattan diner. After their first date, they find themselves in bed—and talking through the night.
What unfolds is an intimate conversation filled with humor, vulnerability, and longing. Johnny, a hopeful romantic, believes he may have found something rare and real. Frankie, shaped by past disappointments, keeps her defenses firmly in place. As they circle each other—sometimes clashing, sometimes connecting—the play reveals the quiet courage it takes to risk love after life has left its marks.
Accompanied by the soft glow of Debussy’s “Clair de lune,” playing on the radio at Johnny’s request, McNally’s play blends gritty realism with gentle romance. Both funny and achingly honest, Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune explores loneliness, resilience, and the possibility that even late in the night—and later in life—love may still be waiting.
Tickets are $40-$99 and are on sale now at shakespeare.org, or by calling the Box Office at (413) 637-3353
Content Advisory: Frankie & Johnny takes an honest, often funny look at two adults on the late-night hours of a first date. Please be advised that the production includes moments of sexual intimacy and brief nudity.

100 Years of Movies: “The Right Stuff” (1983)
2026-07-30 19:00 - 21:00 | Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center, 14 Castle Street, Great Barrington, MA, 01230
“The Right Stuff” is an epic America story about sending the first Americans into space. Sam Shepard stars as test pilot Chuck Yeager who broke the sound barrier, only to find himself yesterday’s news with the ascent of the camera-ready Mercury 7 astronauts. Additional cast includes Ed Harris as John Glenn and Scott Glenn as Alan Shepard. (Rated PG, 3h 13min.)
100 Years of Movies is back! This popular film series celebrates over a century of movies at the Mahaiwe and once again features introductions by director Deborah Reinisch.

Shakespeare & Company Presents - Shake It Up: The Remix
2026-07-31 19:00 - 2026-08-03 21:00 | Shakespeare & Company, 70 Kemble Street, Lenox, MA, 01240
A blend of modern music and Shakespearean verse. Co-created by Allyn Burrows and Jacob Ming-Trent, Directed by Allyn Burrows

July 29-August 2 at 3:30 pm, 6 pm, and 7 pm at the Tina Packer Playhouse

The hit that had audiences on their feet returns—revved up and remixed. The Tina Packer Playhouse transforms once more into the Elephant Lounge for Shake It Up: The Remix, an exuberant mash-up of modern music and Shakespearean verse. Audiences are invited to clap, sing, stomp, and dance in the aisles as the players unleash a breathless, rocking revue

Tickets are $25-$78 and are on sale now at shakespeare.org, or by calling the box office at (413) 637-3353

An Evening with Heather Headley
2026-07-31 20:00 - 21:30 | Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center, 14 Castle Street, Great Barrington, MA, 01230
Tony and Grammy Award winner Heather Headley considers her multi-faceted career a blessing. She was born and spent most of her childhood on the beautiful Caribbean island of Trinidad. The family moved to the United States in the early ‘90s where Heather’s love for the arts continued.
In 1997 Heather won the role of Nala in the original Broadway cast of the Elton John and Tim Rice’s hit Tony winning musical “The Lion King.” While still in “The Lion King,” Heather was asked to audition for the title role in the writing duo’s next Broadway venture together, “Elton John and Tim Rice’s Aida.” Her portrayal of the Nubian princess, Aida, won her the praise of critics and the prestigious Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical. In addition to other awards, she also received the coveted Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actress in a Musical. That year she was listed as one of “People Magazine’s” 50 Most Beautiful People and “Essence Magazine’s” 30 Women To Watch. In 2012 Heather made a triumphant return to the stage, starring in “The Bodyguard” in London’s West End, where she gained the critics praise and a new fan base overseas.
Heather continued her musical success on the pop charts with her 2002 debut album on RCA Records, “This Is Who I Am” which featured productions by several top-flight producers. Two songs, “He Is” and the album track “I Wish I Wasn’t,” both emerged as Top 5 R&B and Dance chart hits. Heather earned numerous accolades for “This Is Who I Am,” including Grammy Award nominations for Best New Artist and Best Female R&B Vocal Performance. Heather returned in January 2006 with “In My Mind,” her long-awaited second solo album. The opening title tune single became Heather’s first number one hit, topping the Dance and R&B charts.
In 2009 Heather released “Audience of One” for which she won the Grammy Award for the Best Contemporary R&B Gospel Album. In 2012 she released “Only One In The World,” an album that featured songs that Heather wrote as well as some of her favorite covers. To the audience’s and critics’ delight, Heather made her return to Broadway in 2016 starring in the Tony Award-winning “The Color Purple,” in the role of Shug Avery. In 2018, Heather had a recurring role on “Chicago Med” playing the formidable Gwen Garrett. In 2021 Heather won the critics’ praise for her role of the Witch in the New York City Center’s production of “Into The Woods.” Heather can currently be seen as a series regular on the Netflix series “Sweet Magnolias.”

Shakespeare & Company Presents: Hamlet by William Shakespeare, Directed by Ariel Bock
2026-08-13 19:00 - 2026-08-30 22:00 | Shakespeare & Company, 70 Kemble Street, Lenox, MA, 01240
Shakespeare & Company Presents: Hamlet by William Shakespeare, Directed by Ariel Bock

August 13-30 at 2 pm and 7 pm at the Tina Packer Playhouse

Hamlet is Shakespeare’s most searching play—a gripping story of grief, conscience, and the cost of action. Haunted by his father’s ghost, a young prince must navigate a world of secrets, power, and betrayal, where nothing is as it appears. By turns thrilling, darkly funny, and deeply human, this August production brings Shakespeare’s language to life with clarity, physicality, and immediacy.

Tickets are $40-$99 and on sale now shakespeare.org, or by calling the Box Office at 413.637.3353
Free Youth Tickets are sponsored by the Harvey and Virginia Kimmel Family Fund of the Philadelphia Foundation. Learn more at shakespeare.org.

Shakespeare & Company Presents: Midsummer Dreamers, Created by Kirsten Peacock and Nick Nudler
2026-09-01 19:00 - 2026-09-03 21:00 | Shakespeare & Company, 70 Kemble Street, Lenox, MA, 01240
Shakespeare & Company Presents: Midsummer Dreamers, Created by Kirsten Peacock and Nick Nudler of Cosmic Mirth

September 1-3 at 7 pm at the Tina Packer Playhouse

Two lovers fall asleep angry—and wake inside a rare vision, challenging them to confront each other and themselves.
Blending the poetry of A Midsummer Night’s Dream with physical theater, aerial performance, and rambunctious comedy, Midsummer Dreamers reimagines Shakespeare’s classic as a surreal, seductive journey through a couple’s subconscious. Performed by just two actors, this 90-minute whirlwind explores love, resentment, reconciliation, and the mysterious forces that shape our inner worlds.
Tickets are $35 for Adults; $22 for Ages 13-22; $15 for Ages 3-12, and on sale now at shakespeare.org, or by calling the Box Office at 413.637.3353

Content Advisory: This production includes strobe lights, suggestive content, and brief staged violence.

Shakespeare & Company Presents: The Norwegians by C. Denby Swanson, Directed by James Warwick
2026-09-04 19:00 - 2026-10-04 21:00 | Shakespeare & Company, 70 Kemble Street, Lenox, MA, 01240
September 4-October 4th at 2 pm and 7 pm at the Elayne P. Bernstein Theatre

Set in a Minnesota bar where heartbreak is served alongside beer, The Norwegians is a sharp, surprising dark comedy about love gone wrong—and the lengths we go to set things right. Betty and Olive, two women reeling from romantic betrayal, hatch an unlikely plan: hiring a pair of Norwegian hitmen to deal with the men who wronged them.
Enter Tor and Gus, professional killers who turn out to be unfailingly polite, disarmingly gentle, and almost aggressively nice. As the women’s simmering rage collides with the hitmen’s courteous manners, the play finds humor in the contrast between Midwestern civility and the brutal business at hand.
With witty dialogue and a clever premise, The Norwegians explores the culture of America’s “flyover country,” where kindness runs deep—even in the most unexpected professions. At once dark, funny, and oddly tender, the play examines love, revenge, and cultural identity, reminding us that people are rarely what we expect and that even the politest among us may be capable of surprising extremes.
Tickets are $30-$88 and on sale now at shakespeare.org, or by calling the Box Office at 413.637.3353
