Bringing Theater Back To Life

Three months into Broadway’s shutdown because of the coronavirus pandemic, Michael Paulson, a theater reporter for The New York Times, got a call from a theater in western Massachusetts — they planned to put on “Godspell,” a well-loved and much-performed musical from 1971, in the summer.

Today, we explore how, in the face of huge complications and potentially crushing risks, a regional production attempted to bring theater back to life.

The Daily Staff
September 4, 2020
The New York Times

Listen: The Daily from The New York Times

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Masks, smaller audience: The Show Goes On As States Ease Restrictions

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Just like NPR, Berkshire Theatre Group depends on the generous giving of its members!

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We believe the performing arts can transform a community.

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Of the 16,000 Berkshire County school children, we serve 13,000 through our BTG PLAYS! Year-Round Educational Programs.

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Theatre is the place where we go to understand what lies in the human heart.

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BTG's buildings, on two campuses in Stockbridge and Pittsfield, are historic treasures.

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Berkshire Theatre Group believes that the creative arts are dependent on a free society that encourages freedom of speech and debate.

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In a Boston Globe article by Don Aucoin on Covid‑19, Artistic Director Kate Maguire said:
"Out of need will come the way. Once the pandemic ebbs, whenever that is, there will be an incredible need to gather again." The theatre has existed from the time of the Greeks. We will go on.

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Text on the photo states: Berkshire Theatre Trustee, Neil Ellenoff, adored this picture. It is a rendering of a photo used in BTG’s production of The Cat and the Canary in 2013. Neil E. Ellenoff 1929–2018

BTG Legacy Legends: The Lasting Impact of Neil Ellenoff

By: Kate Maguire, Artistic Director/CEO Neil Ellenoff and his first spouse Budd Mann were in the audience at our Stockbridge campus long before I arrived at Berkshire Theatre in 1995. … Read On

Masks, smaller audience: The Show Goes On As States Ease Restrictions

For almost six months, the art world has been at a standstill as museums, galleries, and theaters have all been closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. But as some states … Read On