Berkshire Theatre Group Announces Spring 2014 Season; Sets A LITTLE NIGHT MUSIC as Summer Musical

Berkshire Theatre Group and Artistic Director/CEO, Kate Maguire are excited to announce the 2014 spring schedule of events and the 2014 summer season musical. Tickets are available for purchase to members and pass holders on Friday, December 13 and to the general public on Monday, December 16.

Berkshire Theatre Group's spring season is filled with chart-topping musical artists and internationally acclaimed comedians. Kate Maguire comments, "This spring season brings programming for a variety of tastes, interests, and budgets in music and comedy. We believe that great live performances and entertainment, presented by the most talented artists, provides a sense of fun that is inherent within the arts. All of our spring events, we hope, will put a smile on your face. We are also thrilled to announce our summer musical, Stephen Sondheim's A Little Night Music directed by Ethan Heard featuring Maureen O'Flynn at The Colonial Theatre!"

The season holds an array of talented musical performances: Indie-folk quartet Darlingside, Pop-Rock Idol Rick Springfield, and Moody Blues Frontman Justin Hayward. BTG is also is excited to partner again this year with the Boston Symphony Orchestra in presenting their community chamber concert.

For comedic productions: The number one girls' night out SPANK! Harder, The Royal Berkshire Improv Troupe, Colin Quinn in Unconstitutional, and Loni Love of Chelsea Lately. During February's school vacation week, DiNO-Light, the family production seen on NBC's hit talent show America's Got Talent, is at the Colonial.

"The spring season will bring entertaining shows for all!" says Berkshire Theatre Group Programmer, Simon Shaw. "We have a great lineup of internationally-known comedians and musicians along with locally grown and up and coming talent. My intent when booking this season was to plan events that would offer a fun night for all in music and comedy while displaying the quality of area artists alongside influential and celebrated musicians and performers."

BTG is also very pleased to announce the summer musical for the 2014 Summer Season. Stephen Sondheim's, A Little Night Music, will be performed at The Colonial Theatre featuring the incomparable vocalist, actress, and Berkshire native, Maureen O'Flynn. This charming and witty musical features one of Sondheim's greatest hit show tunes, "Send in the Clowns" and is sure to be a wonderful musical theatre offering that celebrates love and the entanglements of it all.

Tickets are available for purchase to members and pass holders on Friday, December 13 and to the general public on Monday, December 16. Contact the Colonial Ticket Office at 111 South Street, Pittsfield by calling 413-997-4444. Tickets may also be purchased online at www.berkshiretheatregroup.org. The Ticket Office is open Monday-Friday 10am-5pm, Saturdays 10am-2pm and on any performance day from 10am until curtain. All plays, schedules, casting and prices are subject to change.

CALENDAR OF SPRING SEASON 2014:
Darlingside: The Garage: Friday, January 24 at 8pm
The Royal Berkshire Improv Troupe: The Garage: Friday, January 31 at 8pm
SPANK! Harder: The Colonial: Saturday, February 8 at 8pm
Rev Tor's Dead of Winter Jam: The Garage: Thursday, February 13 at 8pm
The Royal Berkshire Improv Troupe 10 x 10 Festival: The Garage: Sunday, February 23 at 2pm
Colin Quinn: Unconstitutional: The Colonial: Sunday, February 16 at 7pm
DiNo-Light: The Colonial Theatre: Friday, February 21 at 2pm (School Vacation Week)
Loni Love: The Colonial: Friday, March 7 at 8pm
Rick Springfield: Stripped Down: The Colonial Theatre: Wednesday, March 26 at 7:30pm
Boston Symphony Orchestra Community Chamber: The Colonial: Sunday, April 6 at 3pm
Justin Hayward: The Colonial: Tuesday, May 13 at 7:30pm

SPRING SEASON 2014 OVERVIEW

Darlingside
at The Garage
Friday, January 24 at 8pm
Tickets: $15 Advance, $18 Day of Show

Darlingside is a Massachusetts-based indie folk quartet. With four distinct voices clustered around a single microphone, their tightly-arranged tunes draw from the unexpected, featuring strains of bluegrass, classical and barbershop. Accompanied by an arsenal of classical strings, guitars, mandolin and percussion, these four close friends swap instruments from song to song, keeping audiences across the country on The Edge of their seats. Members include: Don Mitchell: guitar, vocals; Auyon Mukharji: mandolin, violin, vocals; Harris Paseltiner: cello, guitar, bass, vocals; David Senft: vocals, bass guitar, guitar.

The Royal Berkshire Improv Troupe
at The Garage
Friday, January 31 at 8pm
Tickets: $10 in advance, $12 at the door

The Royal Berkshire Improv Troupe (RBIT), the funniest thing in the Berkshires since roundabouts, is a comedy improv group that has been delighting audiences with its own brand of unscripted comedic mayhem since June 2001. Performing a mix of theater games reminiscent of the TV show Whose Line Is It Anyway?, the group models its work on the teachings of renowned theater games/improvisation instructor Keith Johnstone. Through audience participation, RBIT's mission is to create entertaining scenes which explore the boundaries of theater improvisation.

SPANK! Harder
at The Colonial Theatre
Saturday, February 8 at 8pm
Tickets: A: $47.50 (premium seating) B: $37.50 C: $27.50

The original SPANK! The Fifty Shades Parody was last year's #1 show across the country, delivering naughty and hilarious fun to women in over 150 cities. Now, the ALL NEW, SPANK! Harder picks up where the original left off, parodying not only Fifty Shades but taking aim at a variety of issues facing women in today's pop culture. Gather your girlfriends and buy your tickets now for the funniest show this year!

Rev Tor's Dead of Winter Jam Celebrating the Music of the Grateful Dead
at The Garage
Thursday, February 13 at 8pm
Tickets: $10 Advance, $12 Day of Show

Since its conception in the mid-90s, The Rev Tor Band, led by singer and lead guitarist Tor Krautter, has become one of the most compelling and exciting acts on the blues and jam-band circuit. This show will be a mid-winter celebration of the music of The Grateful Dead featuring a multitude of guest artists. Pulling inspiration from a variety of influences, Tor and his band have shared the stage with members of The Grateful Dead, Phish, The Allman Brothers and The New Riders of the Purple Sage.

The Royal Berkshire Improv Troupe Presents 10 Musicals: Unscripted
Presented as a part of the 10x10 Upstreet Arts Festival
at The Garage
Sunday, February 23 at 2pm
Tickets: $10 in advance, $12 at the door

The Royal Berkshire Improv Troupe (RBIT) explores the boundaries of theater improvisation through audience participation and the use of theater games reminiscent of the TV show Whose Line Is It Anyway? For this special 10X10 performance, RBIT will collaborate with musician Carlton Maaia to perform 10 unscripted short musicals providing the greatest spontaneous musical theatre ever seen!

Colin Quinn: Unconstitutional
at The Colonial Theatre
Sunday, February 16 at 7pm (President's Day Weekend)
Tickets: A: $35 B: $25

Comedian, Colin Quinn, became a household name in the '80s with television roles as co-host of MTV's popular game show Remote Control and spots on Saturday Night Live and Comedy Central's Tough Crowd with Colin Quinn. Film roles followed including: A Night at the Roxbury, Comedian, and Adam Sandler's Grown Ups. In 2010, Quinn starred in the hit Broadway show Colin Quinn Long Story Short directed by Jerry Seinfeld. Quinn will be back on the upcoming season of HBO's Girls and returns to the stage in Unconstitutional where he tackles 226 years of American Constitutional calamities in 70 minutes. From predator drones to the Kardashians, he pulls no punches in asking if this is what the founding fathers planned.

DiNO-Light
at The Colonial Theatre
Friday, February 21 at 2pm (School Vacation Week)
Tickets: A: $20 B: $15

Lightwire Theater presents DiNO-Light as created by Corbian Visual Arts and Dance where electroluminescent creatures light up the darkness in a heart-rending original tale. Truly unique and visually dazzling, DiNO (formally known as Darwin) has been praised for its cutting edge blend of puppetry, technology, and dance by audiences all over the world.

Loni Love
at The Colonial Theatre
Friday, March 7 at 8pm
Tickets: A: $35 B: $25

Loni Love is one of the most hilarious and lovable comics performing stand-up on the Comedy Club and college circuits today. Both Variety and Comedy Central named her among their "Top 10 Comics to Watch." Her many television appearances include The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, The Late Late Show with Craig Kilborn, The Best Damn Sports Show Period, VH1?s I Love the ?70s/?80s/?90s, and Comics Unleashed among numerous others. In 2009, Love became a CNN correspondent for the show D.L. Hughley Breaks the News covering the inauguration of President Barack Obama as well as a correspondent for the Dr. Oz Show and The Doctors. Currently, Love is a regular panelist on E!'s hit show Chelsea Lately.

Rick Springfield: Stripped Down
at The Colonial Theatre
Wednesday, March 26 at 7:30pm
Tickets: A: $75 (premium seating) B: $57.50 C: $47.50 D: $37.50

Rick Springfield fans will get to witness the pop-rock idol as they've never seen him before in his first-ever solo acoustic tour! In addition to playing unplugged versions of many of his memorable tunes, Springfield will share stories about the songs and his life during the performances and do a Q&A session with fans after the performance. Springfield is known for one of his most famed hits, the Grammy Award-winning #1 single "Jessie's Girl," a landmark of '80s pop-rock that helped establish the emerging music video age. His 1983 album went platinum on the strength of hits "Human Touch," "Souls," and "Affair of the Heart." That same year Springfield won the American Music Award for "Favorite Pop/Rock Male Artist." Springfield is also known for his role as Dr. Noah Drake on the daytime drama General Hospital.

Boston Symphony Orchestra Community Chamber Concert
at The Colonial Theatre
Sunday, April 6 at 3pm
Please RSVP to the BSO for your free ticket online: www.bso.org or by phone: 617-266-1200

BSO Program
Bach Contrapuntus Nos. 5 and 10
Albinoni Sonata Saint Mark
Martin Simple Fugue
Arnold Brass Quintet

BSO Musicians
Benjamin Wright and Michael Martin, trumpets
Jason Snider, horn
Stephen Lange, trombone
James Markey, bass trombone

BSO community chamber concerts provide high-quality, relevant, and engaging free chamber music concerts performed by BSO musicians in greater Boston area communities limited in access to the BSO by distance or economics. Community chamber concerts build personal connections to the BSO and orchestral music, allowing community members to become more deeply engaged with the BSO over time. Each concert program lasts approximately one hour and is followed by a coffee and dessert reception for the audience and musicians.

Justin Hayward
at The Colonial Theatre
Tuesday, May 13 at 7:30pm
Tickets: A: $95 (premium seating) B: $70 C: $45 D: $35

Justin Hayward is best known as the singer, composer and lead guitarist for The Moody Blues. The Swindon, England native's professional career began in 1964 when he joined Marty Wilde and his wife, Joyce, in the Wilde Three. Hayward joined the Moody Blues in late 1966, replacing departing vocalist, Denny Laine. Bassist John Lodge replaced Clint Warwick at the same time. The integration of Hayward and Lodge into the Moody Blues sparked commercial success and recognition for the band, transforming them from a cover band into one of the biggest selling acts of all-time. The 1967 album Days of Future Passed was one of the most influential albums of its genre and spawned the Hayward-penned singles "Tuesday Afternoon" and "Nights in White Satin" that went on to sell over 2 million copies worldwide.

SUMMER SEASON MUSICAL

A Little Night Music
music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim
book by Hugh Wheeler
orchestrations by Jonathan Tunick
suggested by a film by Ingmar Bergman
originally produced and directed on Broadway by Harold Prince
directed by Ethan Heard
featuring Maureen O'Flynn

at The Colonial Theatre
Preview Tickets: $50
Tickets: A: $65 B: $45 C: $25

Performance Dates
Monday, June 30 at 8pm (Preview)
Tuesday, July 1 at 8pm (Preview)
Thursday, July 3 at 8pm (Preview)
Friday, July 4 at 8pm (Preview)
Saturday, July 5 at 8pm (Opening Night)
Sunday, July 6 at 2pm
Monday, July 7 at 8pm
Tuesday, July 8 at 8pm
Thursday, July 10 at 8pm
Friday, July 11 at 8pm
Saturday, July 12 at 2pm & 8pm
Sunday, July 13 at 2pm
Monday, July 14 at 8pm
Tuesday, July 15 at 8pm
Thursday, July 17 at 8pm
Friday, July 18 at 8pm
Saturday, July 19 at 2pm & 8pm

One of Stephen Sondheim's most beloved musicals, A Little Night Music explores the witty and farcical tale of unexpected liaisons, relentless desire, and ill-fated heartbreak in the life of acclaimed actress, Desiree Armfeldt, played by the renowned actress and vocalist, Maureen O'Flynn. One eventful weekend, Desiree, her former beau and his wife, and Desiree's current lover and his wife all arrive at a Swedish country estate. Long-held passions are soon rekindled in this classic waltz of a musical directed by Ethan Heard from this past summer's hit, The Cat and The Canary. Featuring one of Sondheim's most notable show tunes, "Send in the Clowns," A Little Night Music celebrates love and all the foolhardy particulars it entails.

Maureen O'Flynn (Desiree Armfeldt) Born and raised and still living in her beloved Berkshires of Massachusetts, O'Flynn has had a more than a 28 year career singing leading soprano roles in virtually every major opera house in the world; Metropolitan Opera, La Scala, Vienna Staatsoper, Dallas Opera, La Fenice to name a few. She has shared the stage with Bryn Terfyl, Stephanie, Blythe, Renee Fleming, Leo Nucci, Roberto Alagna and sung under the batons of Riccardo Muti, Marco Armiliato, Nello Santi, and Maurizio Benini. Throughout her career, Ms. O'Flynn performed as much musical theatre and straight theatre as her opera career would allow. She played the role of Guenevere in Camelot, and Eliza in My Fair Lady with Berkshire Theatre Festival, Jenny in Companywith Berkshire Public Theatre, and the dual roles of Queen/Claudia in Joan Ackermann's The Taster at Shakespeare & Company in 2010.In 2011, Maureen presented her first cabaret, At the Crossroads, at Feinstein's in NYC. Still performing, she teaches voice at Hartt School of Music, and maintains private voice studios in the Berkshires and NYC.

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