Shakespeare & Company received $25,000 from The Shubert Foundation

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LENOX — The Shubert Foundation, an independent New York-based foundation that supports the performing arts, has recently awarded Shakespeare & Company $25,000.
 
This marks the 11th consecutive year the foundation has generously supported the company, with its total grant awards reaching more than $200,000. This year's award represents an increase of 25 percent from last year's grant.

The Shubert Foundation is dedicated to sustaining and advancing the performing arts in the United States, with a particular emphasis on theater and a secondary focus on dance. The foundation does not earmark its awards; all allocations are unrestricted, so as to encourage the artistic process by providing the general operating support that is necessary to lay the groundwork for growth. The foundation gave more than $16 million in grant monies in 2007.

The Shubert Foundation was established in 1945 by Lee and J.J. Shubert in memory of their brother Sam, and is the sole shareholder of the Shubert Organization Inc., which currently owns/operates 20 theaters — 16 on Broadway, one Off-Broadway theatre (the Little Shubert), and one each in Boston, Philadelphia and Washington, D.C. In addition, the company has a half interest in Broadway's Music Box Theatre. the Shubert Archive, a working repository of more than six million theatrical documents and related items, operates under the Shubert Foundation aegis.

"This has been a remarkable year for Shakespeare & Company. We enjoyed the soft opening of our new Production and Performing Arts Center, including the beautiful Elayne P. Bernstein Theatre," said Ute DeFarlo, the company's director of development. "Our ongoing $10 million capital campaign has surged past the $8 million mark, an encouraging milestone as we enter the final stretch of the campaign. The generous support of friends like the Shubert Foundation is essential as we improve our facility, grow our programming, and progress on our goal of becoming the first American Center for Shakespeare Performance and Studies."

Shakespeare & Company is in the midst of the longest season in its 31-year history, with an adaptation of Oscar Wilde's "The Canterville Ghost" currently playing in the new Bernstein Theatre until Nov. 9, and a winter run of Theresa Rebeck's "Bad Dates" coming up in January and playing until early March.

Both the 20th anniversary of the Fall Festival of Shakespeare and the second year of the Conservatory at Shakespeare & Company, part of the company's Center For Actor Training, are also currently under way. 

For tickets and more information: 413-637-3353 or  www.shakespeare.org.
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A Boutique Hotel is Bringing Guests a Luxury Stay in Lenox

By Breanna SteeleiBerkshires Staff

LENOX, Mass. — A new Inn is bringing a boutique-style stay for visitors and locals to enjoy.

Owners, Sullivan Capital LLC, purchased the property, located on 135 Main Street, in 2024. After a year or renovations, Garden Gables Inn is open for business. 

"Garden Gables started off as one of the many Berkshire cottages, 1790 was the date on that, and it's always operated as an inn," said Hospitality Manager Yvonne Walton. "It's just a great gathering place and relaxation spot for people to come and get the feel of Lenox, and just slow down and enjoy the nature and the surrounding area...get culture and art and see some great concerts. I think it'll be a wonderful place, definitely does more of the upper-scale hospitality." 

Owners Niko Giallouis and Eric Sullivan bought the property from the former owner. Sullivan had his eye on Lenox since attending a wedding almost 10 years ago.

"I came to a wedding in Lenox, probably six or seven years ago. Personally, just kind of fell in love with the area, and I guess that's kind of how it got on my radar. So you know from that perspective, as we got into the hotel business out towards an area, it was a place I was kind of monitoring and waiting for the right property to show up."

After purchasing the two underwent a full renovation, a project that cost around $1.5 million. The building, first built in 1780, required some TLC. Sullivan's wife, Jessica, who owns Jessica Sullivan Design, designed the inn.

Sullivan said they installed a new roof, repainted everything, renovated the bathrooms, installed new floors, a new HVAC system, and new plumbing.

"We really touched everything from the outside...I mean, all the aesthetics and layouts changed a bit," he said. "As I said, put about a million and a half into it. All new furniture, fixtures, everything. The design's completely different. It wasn't a full gut, but it was a heavy, heavy renovation."

The two like to collaborate with local businesses, and they make a point to direct visitors to local restaurants, businesses, and attractions.

"If guests are asking for recommendations, our customer service team, our guest services team, will relay that kind of information. Even if we can call and make a reservation for somebody, happy to do it," he said. "We aren't doing breakfast, but what we do is we have partnerships with a lot of the breakfast places downtown. We actually purchase a gift certificates for each person each day, so that they can use that to go downtown."

Sullivan hopes that guests don't see their inn as just a place to sleep and dump their bags, but make it an experience for anyone who stays.

"We really focus on kind of the experience side of things, so again, we want to give you the best experience you can have here...and we want that not just to be the place you put your bag and go do things. It's important to think of everything," he said.

Sullivan said partnerships are important to their business and are a way to connect with locals.

"The local partnerships, I can't stress that enough, because no matter how much and how great the room is, people are still going to want to go do other things," he said. "So, I think it just benefits everybody if we're all working together and so forth, and supporting the community, being neighborly too, because we are surrounded by residential homes...But we really try to put a lot of blood, sweat, and tears, a lot of love into the building, all the details, really care about the senses," Sullivan said.

The Inn's check-in and reservations are completely online. When guests arrive, all they have to do is check in online and receive their code that they will use to enter their room. Sullivan hopes this helps create less stress for guests and gets them to their room as fast as possible, especially after a long trip.

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