Patti LuPone Will Play The Berkshires This Summer

The Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center will present Broadway legend Patti LuPone on Saturday, July 20 at 8:00pm, and The Fab Faux performing a celebration of the 50th anniversary of Abbey Road on Friday, August 2 at 8:00pm. Tickets go on sale to Mahaiwe members on Thursday, December 20 and to the general public on Friday, December 28. Mahaiwe members enjoy ticket discounts, early ordering privileges, and other perks for a full 12 months. Memberships start at $75 ($35 for those 30 and under) and contributions can be made at the box office or online.

"We can't wait to welcome Patti LuPone and The Fab Faux back to the Mahaiwe for new programs this summer," says Mahaiwe Executive Director Beryl Jolly. "Patti LuPone's dramatic artistry is a must-see for every theater lover, and The Fab Faux's high energy, impeccably-played Abbey Road concert will be revelatory."

Tony and Grammy Award winner Patti LuPone returns to her roots in Don't Monkey with Broadway. Through indelible interpretations of classic Broadway show tunes by Richard Rodgers, Lorenz Hart, Jule Styne, Stephen Schwartz, Charles Strouse, Leonard Bernstein, Stephen Sondheim, Cole Porter, and Irving Berlin, she explores how her life-long love affair with Broadway began and her concern for what the Great White Way is becoming today. The show was conceived and directed by Scott Wittman, with musical direction by Joseph Thalken. Tickets are $31 to $156.

Singer and actress LuPone's storied career on Broadway and in Hollywood has spanned more than four decades. A fireball of talent and a musical force to be reckoned with, she is one of the greatest performers in modern musical theater. Since establishing herself with a Tony Award-winning performance as Andrew Lloyd Webber's Evita, she has impressed audiences and critics alike in Les Miserables, Sunset Boulevard, Sweeney Todd, and Gypsy (for which she won another Tony Award). She is currently starring to critical acclaim as Joanne in Marianne Elliott's smash-hit production of the Stephen Sondheim-George Furth musical Company in London's West End. Her most recent Broadway performance was as cosmetics pioneer Helena Rubinstein in the Scott Frankel-Michael Korie-Douglas Wright-Michael Grief musical War Paint (for which she received Tony, Drama Desk, and Outer Critics Circle Award nominations for Best Actress in a Musical).

The Fab Faux will perform Abbey Road with The Hogshead Horns and The Creme Tangerine Strings. With a commitment to the accurate reproduction of The Beatles' repertoire, the band treats the seminal music with unwavering respect, and is known for their painstaking recreations of the songs (with emphasis on the later works never performed live by the Beatles). The musical virtuosity of The Fab Faux-in actuality, five of the hardest working musicians in NYC-completely up-ends the concept of a Beatles tribute band. Far beyond being extended sets of cover versions, their astounding shows are an inspired re-discovery of the Beatles' musical magic. Tickets are $38 to $111.

The Fab Faux is a labor of love that was born in 1998 when neighbors Jimmy Vivino, music director/guitarist/arranger for Conan with Conan O'Brien and long time music partner of Levon Helm, John Sebastian, Laura Nyro, and Max Weinberg (to name a few), and Will Lee (who's played with all four Beatles), bassist for Paul Shaffer's CBS Orchestra on the Late Show With David Letterman kicked around the idea during an elevator ride in their NYC building. Rounding out the line-up are lead-singing drummer/producer Rich Pagano (Rosanne Cash, Patti Smith, Ray Davies), guitarist Frank Agnello (Marshall Crenshaw, Phoebe Snow) and ace keyboardist/guitarist Jack Petruzzelli (Rufus Wainwright, Patti Smith, Joan Osborne Band). All five principals contribute vocals, making the Faux's soaring harmonies as resonant as their multi-instrumental chops.

The Mahaiwe is located at 14 Castle Street in Great Barrington, Massachusetts. Box office hours are Wednesday through Saturday from noon to 4:00pm and three hours before show times. For tickets and information, see www.mahaiwe.org or call 413.528.0100.

Located in downtown Great Barrington, Massachusetts, the Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center is the year-round presenter of world-class music, dance, theater, classic films, Live in HD broadcasts, and arts education programs for the southern Berkshires and neighboring regions. The intimate jewel box of a theater opened in 1905. Since 2005, the performing arts center has hosted over 1,500 events and welcomed over half a million people through its doors. More than 20,000 students from 68 different schools have benefited from the Mahaiwe's school-time performances and residencies. The Mahaiwe receives generous support from the Massachusetts Cultural Council, Berkshire Bank, and the Barr Foundation and The Klarman Family Foundation through the Barr-Klarman Massachusetts Arts Initiative. For more information, see http://www.mahaiwe.org.

Less than three hours from New York City and Boston, the Berkshires offers culture and adventure year-round. The surrounding mountains provide plenty of opportunity for outdoor excursions in all seasons while world class culture and entertainment, along with a deeply rooted food culture and an array of lodging options amidst picturesque towns, set this region apart. For more information, visit berkshires.org.