I THOUGHT THAT U SHOULD KNOW!! This sound great - Checkout the actors!!! BERKSHIRE THEATRE GROUP For Immediate Release, please: Monday, June 9, 2014 Notable Cast of American Actors to Present Lincolns Favorite Shakespeare Stockbridge, MA– Kate Maguire, Artistic Director of Berkshire Theater Group and Donna Hassler, Executive Director of Chesterwood, a property of the National Trust for Historic Preservation, announce Lincolns Favorite Shakespeare at the Fitzpatrick Main Stage on August 14 at 4pm. A reception immediately follows at Chesterwood. The benefit performance, presented by both organizations, includes the opportunity to attend a twilight reception at Chesterwood, the newly-restored studio where Daniel Chester French created the seated figure of Lincoln for the Memorial in Washington, D.C. A quartet of noted actors: Brian Dennehy, John Douglas Thompson, Kathleen Chalfant, and Sam Waterston, donating their performances to the event, will present scenes and soliloquies known and loved by Abraham Lincoln. Assembled and annotated by noted scholar Harold Holzer, author and editor of over 40 books about Lincoln, the program is inspired by the 16th Presidents lifelong love of Shakespeare. The program is produced and directed by Gordon Hyatt. Ticket Information Tickets to Lincolns Favorite Shakespeare are on now for: $100 for the performance at The Fitzpatrick Main Stage and reception at Chesterwood; $50 for the performance only. Call the BTG Ticket Office at 111 South Street, Pittsfield 413-997-4444. The ticket office is open Monday-Friday 10am-5pm, Saturdays 10am-2pm or on any performance day from 10am until curtain. Tickets can also be purchased online at berkshiretheatregroup.org Historical Accuracy Mr. Holzer, who will narrate, discovered that the President attended twelve or more theater productions while in office—Lincolns love of the Bard began while crossing the Illinois plains by railroad as a prairie lawyer. He and his wife Mary often exchanged lines from their favorite plays. Mr. Lincoln, Holzer observed, was especially fond of actors Edwin Booth, the noted tragedian, and James Hackett, the outstanding Falstaff of his era. Performers Credits Kathleen Chalfant appeared in Henry V at the NY Shakespeare Festival, Alls Well That Ends Well at the Yale Rep and Tony Kushners Angels In America on Broadway. She has received Tony Award and Drama Desk nominations. For her performance in WIT she received the Drama Desk, OBIE, Lucille Lortel and Outer Critic Awards. Brian Dennehy appeared in Death Of A Salesman (Tony and Drama Desk awards), in Eugene ONeils A Touch Of The Poet, Long Days Journey Into Night (Tony Awards in 2003) and The Iceman Cometh, in Chicago. Iceman will open again in New York later this fall. John Douglas Thompson has appeared on Broadway in A Time To Kill, Cyrano and Julius Caesar. Off Broadway portraits include SatchmoAt TheWaldorf (Outer Critic, Lucile Lortel, Drama League and Drama Desk nominations), Macbeth and Othello (Theatre for a New Audience), The Emperor Jones (Irish Rep), Richard III and Othello (Shakespeare & Company, Lenox). He will appear this fall in the title role of Tamburlaine at Theater for a New Audience. John Douglas Thompson has appeared on Broadway in A Time To Kill, Cyrano and Julius Caesar. Off Broadway in Satchmo At The Waldorf (Drama Desk and Outer Critic Circle Awards) Othello (Obie and Lortel Awards/Theatre for a New Audience), The Emperor Jones (Irish Rep), Richard III and Othello (Shakespeare & Company, Lenox). He will appear this fall in the title role of Tamburlaine at Theater for a New Audience. Sam Waterston notes that from the start Shakespeare was the playwright whose plays he most wanted to perform. Beginning with Silvius in As You Like It, the NY Shakespeare Festival (now the Public Theater) gave him great parts, including Benedick, Prospero, Hamlet, and, most recently, King Lear. Gordon Hyatt, producer director, was first associated with the Berkshire Playhouse as Technical Director while in college. Now emeritus, he served as BTF board member for 16 years. He served on the Chesterwood Council for nine years and produced the program celebrating the 75th Anniversary of the dedication of the Lincoln Memorial with the Boston Symphony Orchestra playing Copelands Lincoln Portrait, narrated by James Earl Jones. The gardens in his Stockbridge home, designed by Daniel Chester French in 1929, are now restored and enlarged with the dedicated help of his wife Carole. Mr. French was also instrumental in creating the neighboring Berkshire Playhouse, the second oldest summer theatre in America. Gordon Hyatt, producer director, was first associated with the Berkshire Playhouse as Technical Director while in college. Now emeritus, he served as BTF board member for 16 years. He served on the Chesterwood Council for 9 years and produced the program celebrating the 75th Anniversary of the dedication of the Lincoln Memorial with the Boston Symphony Orchestra playing Aaron Copelands Lincoln Portrait, narrated by James Earl Jones. The gardens in his Stockbridge home, designed by Daniel Chester French in 1929, are now restored and enlarged with the dedicated help of his wife Carole. Mr. French was also instrumental in creating the neighboring Berkshire Playhouse, the second oldest summer theatre in America. ### About Berkshire Theatre Group The Colonial Theatre, founded in 1903, and Berkshire Theatre Festival, founded in 1928, are two of the oldest cultural organizations in the Berkshires. Having united in November of 2010 under the leadership of Artistic Director and CEO Kate Maguire, these two institutions are providing the Berkshires and beyond with the finest in live theatre, music, dance and the visual arts on five stages in Stockbridge, MA and Pittsfield, MA. The Fitzpatrick Main Stage (400 seats), cataloged by the National Register of Historic Places, was originally designed and built by Stanford White as the Stockbridge Casino in 1888. The intimate Unicorn Theatre (122 seats) is a home for emerging artists and new theatrical ideas. The Colonial in Pittsfield (780 seats) re-opened in August of 2006, following a $21 million restoration, and boasts pristine acoustics, classic gilded age architecture and state-of-the-art technical systems. BTG also performs at the outdoor Neil Ellenoff stage, located on the grounds of BTF in Stockbridge, and at The Garage, a music venue located in the lobby of The Colonial. BTG serves over 100,000 patrons per year and reaches over 17,000 students through its educational and outreach programs. For more information on BTG call (413) 448-8084. To purchase tickets, call (413) 997-4444 or go online to BerkshireTheatreGroup.org. Questions? BTG If you have any inquiries about the productions/events, please do not hesitate to contact us! The Colonial Theatre in Pittsfield Ticket Office: (413) 997-4444
Posted on: Mon, 09 Jun 2014 18:06:13 +0000
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