Shakespeare & Company's Production Of August Wilson's FENCES Takes The Top Spot At The Berkshire Theatre Critic Awards

Shakespeare & Company's production of August Wilson's Fences has earned the Outstanding Production of a Play Award for the 2023 season from the Berkshire Theatre Critics Association (BTCA).

The 2023 Berkshire Theatre Critic Awards – also known as The Berkies – were held on Monday, Nov. 13 at the Common Room at Zion Lutheran Church in Pittsfield, Mass., recognizing plays produced from October 1, 2022 through September 30, 2023 and staged in theaters across Berkshire County, the Pioneer Valley, Southern Vermont, Northern Connecticut, and Eastern New York State, including the Capital District and the Catskills. 

August Wilson's Fences was presented at Shakespeare & Company from July 22 through August 27, directed by Christopher V. Edwards and featuring Ella Joyce, “ranney”, Brian D. Coats, L. James, JāQuan Malik Jones, Ashley McCauley Moore, and Kenneth Ransom. Coats was also honored with the Berkie Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor for his role as Gabriel.  The ceremony's top awards are Outstanding Production of a Musical and Outstanding Production of a Play; Shakespeare & Company tied for the Outstanding Production of a Play Award with East to Berlin by Hannah Moscovitch, staged by Bridge Street Theatre of Catskill, N.Y. August Wilson's Fences, winner of both the Pulitzer Prize for Drama and Tony Award for Best Play in 1987, is set in the 1950s and part of the playwright's acclaimed American Century Cycle. Shakespeare & Company's production was sponsored by Natalie and Howard Shawn. For more information, visit berkshirecritics.org or shakespeare.org. About the Berkshire Theatre Critics Association The BTCA was founded in August 2016 by theater critic Larry Murray of berkshireonstage.com.

The organization was formally incorporated as a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization on April 24, 2017. The purpose of the BTCA and the Berkshire Theatre Awards is to promote and celebrate the quality and diversity of theater in the region. About Shakespeare & Company Shakespeare & Company was founded in 1978 by Tina Packer. Located in the Berkshires of Massachusetts, the Company offers performance, education, and actor-training opportunities year-round, and attracts more than 40,000 patrons annually with a core of more than 150 artists.

Photo Credit: Nile Scott Studios.