Berkshire Theatre Group Receives Historic Bench from Union Station

Berkshire Theatre Group welcomes BTG Board Member Gary Scarafoni and wife Carol Scarafoni's gift to the organization of a historic bench from Pittsfield's Union Station (now the Joseph Scelsi Intermodal Transportation Center). The bench, which was restored by Taconic High School, will be placed inside the lobby of The Colonial Theatre.

The 125 hour project was completed by 9 students at Taconic High School. Chris Colletta, a junior at Taconic High School, who was a leader on the project stated, "The process was fun and a total learning experience. Seeing the bench completed makes me feel very accomplished."

"I think the Colonial Theatre is the perfect home for the bench. Both the Union Station, where the bench was placed, and The Colonial Theatre hold such rich history of Pittsfield, and were both built around the same time period during the early 1900's," said Gary Scarafoni.

The Union Station, which was built in 1914, served as a major transportation hub in the area. However, due to a gradual decline in use and economic changes, the station was closed and demolished in 1968.

For more information about the performance, visit www.BerkshireTheatreGroup.org.

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.

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