Highlights - and free events - for the 2013 summer season

PRIME – June 2013 By Debbie Gardner debbieg@thereminder.com Mark Gionfriddo, director of the jazz ensemble at Mount Holyoke College in South Hadley, Mass., is another Western Massachusetts native looking forward to spending his summer in the Berkshires. In his case, however, the visit is not just an opportunity to soak in all the great art and culture, but to be a part of it as a musical director and performer with the Berkshire Theater Group (BTG). "I drive there every day. To me, it almost seems like going on vacation. You get on the Pike, start climbing those hills and once you get over the main one in Beckett, the air becomes very clear, [everything] becomes very green," Gionfriddo said. The area, he added, has got "that 'Vermont-y,' 'New York-y' kind of feel." Thousands have agreed with Gionfriddo's assessment of this summer arts mecca since America's Gilded Age, when artists such as Daniel Chester French – creator of the statue of President Abraham Lincoln for the Washington D. C. Memorial – as well as novelists such as Edith Wharton – began calling these famed hills in Western Massachusetts their summer home. Today, Wharton's home, called The Mount, is one of the popular places in the Berkshires to soak in the arts. The mansion serves as the backdrop for productions by the Lenox, Mass. based Shakespeare and Company as well as literary lectures, staged readings during Wharton on Wednesdays, and musical events ( www.edithwharton.org ). This year's Shakespeare and Company production at The Mount will be "A Midsummer Night's Dream" July 20 to 31. (For a complete schedule of the company's 2013 performances visit www.shakespeare.org .) On June 9 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., the public is invited to tour Wharton's fully restored property and home, located at 2 Plunkett St. in Lenox, free of charge. Gionfriddo said his summer in the Berkshires would involve lending his conducting and accompanying talents to several BTG productions, which maintains stages in Stockbridge and Pittsfield, Mass. He'll be musical director for two of the Group's productions, including this year's BTG Children's Theater community production of "Peter Pan," slated to open on Aug. 8 in the Colonial Theater, 111 South St., Pittsfield, Mass. Eleven performances of the musical are scheduled through Aug. 18. (www.berkshiretheatregroup.org). "It's a gorgeous, gorgeous, Broadway-style house," Gionfriddo said of The Colonial Theater. "And the show is terrific." He'll start rehearsals with "200 kids" in late June. "We have a large chorus for the Lost Boys and the Indians and we have a wonderful Peter Pan," he said, adding that the talent for this production is drawn from the community. "Peter Pan will be flying, as will a number of the cast. [It's] going to be very exciting to see in that space in the Colonial" Gionfriddo will also be accompanying the staged readings of musicals that take place as part of the BTG's Ellenoff Musical Theatre Series this summer. "There's four or five [of them] and they all happen on Mondays at 2 p.m. at The Colonial," Gionfriddo said. And even when he's not taking part in a BTG production, Gionfriddo said he'll be in the Berkshires taking in the culture. "I'm especially looking forward to [the BTG's] first show, 'The Lion in Winter' [June 29 to July 13]," Gionfriddo said. "Bob Moss is directing . it sounds like it's going to be a great show." For a complete listing of BTG's summer productions and ticket information, visit the website or call the Colonial Theater ticket office at 413-997-4444 or the Stockbridge ticket office at 413-298-5576 ext. 33. Summer entertainment also abounds in Great Barrington, Mass., where the Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center showcases a variety of genres. Musical offerings range from Natalie Merchant, performing with the Hudson Philharmonic (July 21 at 7 p.m.), to the eclectic sounds of the mini-orchestra Pink Martini (July 2 at 8 p.m.). Art lovers can take in a high-definition (HD) broadcast of the works of Edvard Munch (June 27 at 7 p.m.) or a lecture on the impact of Winslow Homer's work (July 11 at 7 p.m.). The Mahaiwe will also offer London National Theatre HD broadcasts of "The Audience" starring Helen Mirren (June 13 at 7 p.m. and July 3 at 3 p.m.) and a family-friendly "Grease" sing-along, complete with a costume competition, on July 6 at 7 p.m. For more information, including a complete calendar of events, visit www.mahaiwe.org or call 413-528-0100. Another Berkshire arts icon, Jacob's Pillow Dance – which makes its home in Beckett, Mass., at 358 George Carter Road – offers a full slate of eclectic dance as part of its 2013 Festival. The program ranges from an appearance by the Dance Theater of Harlem (June 19 to 23) to works by the Cedar Lake Contemporary Ballet and Indian dance company Shantala Shivalingappa (July 3 to 7) to performances by the famed Martha Graham Dance Company (Aug. 21 to 25). The Pillow, often referred to as "the dance capital of the world," also offers a series of free weekly dance performances, called the Inside/Out series Wednesdays through Saturdays at 6:15 p.m. on the outdoor stage. For more information about either the ticketed Festival performances, or the free Inside/Out performances, visit www.jacobspillow.org or call 413-243-9919. Tanglewood, the Boston Symphony Orchestra's (BSO) summer home located in Lenox, Mass., opens its 2013 season on July 5 with an all-Tchaikovsky program and plans to close the season Aug. 25 with a performance of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony. Among the summer's highlights are Yo Yo Ma, Edgar Meyer, Chris Thile and Stuart Duncan performing music inspired by their genre-defying recording; "The Goat Rodeo Sessions" (Aug. 15), a presentation of the newly re-mastered film; "West Side Story" with the BSO performing Leonard Bernstein's famed score to accompany the screening (July 13); an all-Mozart program (July 26); an all-Beethoven performance (Aug. 11); and an all-Baroque concert (July 21). An audience favorite, the John Williams Film Night, returns on Aug. 24 and the calendar includes special guest concerts including a performance by Vince Gill (July 7) and American songbook champion Michael Feinstein (Aug. 16). For the third season, Tanglewood will also offer a free adult education series on select Wednesdays from 12:45 to 2 p.m. in the Tanglewood Tent Club. Each Wednesday will focus on the works of a composer that will be played the upcoming weekend. Participants are invited to bring lunch; dates are July 10 and 24 and Aug. 7 and 21. For more information on the education series, a complete calendar of concerts in the Shed and in Seiji Ozawa Hall, and ticket prices for all events, visit www.tanglewood.org . For information about the many other summer arts venues in the Berkshires, including the Williamstown Theater Festival, the Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute, Mass MoCA and the Norman Rockwell Museum, visit the Berkshire Visitors Bureau website at http://berkshire.org or call 413-743-4500. Information on many of these venues is also available at PRIME columnist Shera Cohen's website, www.inthespotlightinc.org, under List of Venues.