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'Hair' continues through Aug. 11 at Berkshire Theatre Group, which is also staging 'Tarzan' through Aug. 16.

Singing! Dancing! Naked Singing and Dancing!

By Grace LichtensteiniBerkshires columnist
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'West Side Story' will be shown at Tanglewood on Saturday night, accompanied live by the Boston Symphony Orchestra.

Musical theater thrives in the region this week — on stage and on film. It might require a drive, but you can hear country/western music, Bernstein and great stuff for children in the coming days ... or catch up with nudity that began 50 years ago and caused a sensation on Broadway.

 

Tanglewood

The most famous work by Leonard Bernstein, whose centennial is being celebrated all summer worldwide, is, of course, "West Side Story." At the Shed on Saturday night at 8 p.m., Tanglewood presents the remastered movie of this iconic musical, on big screens.

But instead of canned music, the Boston Symphony Orchestra plays Lenny's great score live, while the original vocals (Natalie Wood lip-synching Marnie Nixon, among others) are left intact. I've seen this technique before, with David Newman conducting, and its a wonderfully immersive experience.

Pray for good weather; the Shed seats are sold out, but the lawn beckons. There are big screens outside, too. Info can be found online.

 

Berkshire Theatre Group

At the Unicorn Theatre in Stockbridge, crowds continue to celebrate the Age of Aquarius 50 years on at the production of "Hair," complete with nudity. It is directed by Daisy Walker. Let your hair down and pay a visit. It continues through Aug. 11.

Meanwhile, the BTG on Thursday begins its run in Pittsfield at the Colonial Theatre of "Tarzan," based on the Disney film. The music and lyrics are by rocker Phil Collins, with book by David Henry Hwang. No nudity that we know of!

"Tarzan" is definitely for kids as well as adults and features more than 100 local youth. There are matinees on Saturdays, Sundays and Wednesdays.The 100-plus-year-old Colonial was restored in 2006 and is a Berkshires landmark. The show runs through Aug. 16. For more information, visit the website.

 

Mac-Haydn Theatre

Cross over to nearby New York State and you'll find two theaters worth your while. At the Mac-Haydn, starting Wednesday, July 26, you can enjoy "The Hunchback of Notre Dame," with music from the Disney film. This new production features the hits by Alan Mencken and Stephen Schwartz.


The Mac-Haydn is on Route 203 in Chatham. It also as children’s theater shows. On July 27 and 28, it's "The Pied Piper." Visit the website for more information.

 

The Theater Barn

This professional company on Route 20 in New Lebanon, N.Y., opens its musical season on Thursday, July 26, with "Pump Boys and Dinettes" by John Foley, Mark Hardwick, Debra Monk, Cass Morgan, John Schimmel and Jim Wann.

The book was created to recall the authors' experiences at a lounge in New York City and evolved into a show about guys who pump gas and the Double Cupp diner next door. It opened off-Broadway in 1981 and moved to Broadway the next year. The music is original county and western songs. It has been a favorite of regional theater ever since. Information is available online.

 

Barrington Stage Company

Here's another musical aimed at young people: Ronald Dahl's "James and the Giant Peach." With words and music by Benjamin Pasek and Justin Paul, and a book by Timothy Allen McDonald, it is being performed Thursday, July 26, through Aug. 12 at the Berkshire Museum by the teens participating in Barrington Stage Youth Theatre.

Dahl’s story is a fanciful take about an old tree, a magic potion, a truly big peach, and a collection if singing insects. It is tuneful and fun. There are matinees Saturdays, Sundays and Wednesdays. The Berkshire Museum is located in downtown Pittsfield at 39 South St. For more information, visit the website.

 


Ronald K. Brown/Evidence comes to Jacob's Pillow.

And there's more ...

Barrington Stage's Mr. Finn's Cabaret is presenting "An Evening with Jason Robert Brown" July 29 and 30. The Tony-winning composer and lyricist will present music from his career plus songs from a new album. We are told the shows are sold out, but you can check for returns.

At Jacob's Pillow July 25-29, pop music fans can check out the Ronald K. Brown/Evidence, a blend of African, Caribbean and contemporary choreography with live jazz music by Arturo O'Farrill and Resist. The company also performs pieces inspired by artist/activists Nina Simone and Fela Kuti, and Dancing Spirit, originally choreographed for Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater. Info online.

The Guthrie Center in Great Barrington has Aztec Two Step on Friday, July 27. New York songwriter Lucy Kaplansky is the featured artist on Saturday, July 28. Info online.


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The Classical Beat: Look For a Profusion of Events at Tanglewood From Fall and Into Next Spring

by Stephen DanknerSpecial to iBerkshires

LENOX, Mass. — Come late August, classical aficionados are grateful for the cornucopia of extraordinarily sonorous riches the Boston Symphony has bestowed upon audiences within the incomparably bucolic setting that is Tanglewood. It's been, as ever, a magical summer of glorious music making.

But wait – it's not over; for a cool, refreshing stylistic change of pace, with a tincture of Jazz, Broadway, Dance, Classical, Pops and Local Community events to buoy the spirits, be sure to check out the complete schedule of upcoming events at the storied Tanglewood Learning Institute, beginning in September. Read below for the complete TLI listings.


Tanglewood Learning Institute Announces Fall/Winter/Spring Season, Presenting Over 50 Events September 2026 through May 2027

TLI's most expansive season to date brings classical, jazz, Broadway, and dance talent to Tanglewood's Linde Center. Tickets now on sale.

The Tanglewood Learning Institute (TLI) has announced the 2026–'27 fall/winter/spring season, the most expansive yet, with over 50 events at the Linde Center for Music and Learning on Tanglewood's campus and in the Berkshires community. Marking the third year of year-round TLI programming, the upcoming season offers a wide-ranging performance lineup of exciting classical, jazz, Broadway, and dance talent as well as the TLI Cinematics film series, new TLI Focal Point photography classes, and community engagement events.  

The season begins in late September with TLI Jazz: Mark G. Meadows & The Movement (Sept. 18) and TLI Presents: Beijing Guitar Duo (Sept. 25). Berkshire-based artists appear throughout the season, including a dedicated weekend of TLI Close to Home performances (Oct. 30–Nov. 1). BSO musicians curate and perform five TLI Chamber Concerts (Oct. 18, Nov. 8, Feb. 28, April 11, and April 25). Last year's inaugural Berkshire Bach Portals series, a collaboration with Berkshire Bach Society, continues with four programs about the impact of Bach's music across artistic disciplines (Nov. 7, Jan. 30, March 20, and May 15). As currently planned, the TLI fall/winter/spring season concludes May 23 with a performance by Grammy-winning vocal ensemble Roomful of Teeth. TLI events continue during the 2027 Tanglewood summer season. 

Single tickets and choose-your-own subscriptions for the upcoming TLI season go on sale Wednesday, August 12 at 10 a.m.

TLI Presents

A wide-ranging lineup of soloists and ensembles will visit the Linde Center for TLI Presents programs, beginning with the Tanglewood debut of the Beijing Guitar Duo (Meng Su and Yameng Wang) in a program that shows the expressive range of classical guitar and includes works by Telemann, Giuliani, and Chinese American composer Tan Dun (Sept. 25, 7 p.m.). Award-winning Moldovan accordionist Radu Ratoi follows with a varied recital that reveals the remarkable expressive range of his instrument with pieces by Rameau, Bach, Philip Glass, Gubaidulina, Tchaikovsky, and others (Oct. 23, 7 p.m.). 

Broadway comes to the Linde Center by way of two-time Tony-nominated singer and actress Christine Andreas ("My Fair Lady," "Oklahoma!," "The Light in the Piazza"), who brings classic and contemporary selections from the American songbook in her show S'Wonderful with Grammy-nominated composer and pianist Martin Silvestri. In a new format for TLI, this event will feature cabaret-style table seating with bites and beverages available for purchase (Nov. 13, 7 p.m.). Later that weekend, the Grammy-winning and four-time nominated wind quintet Imani Winds, renowned for blending classical masterworks with newly commissioned works and diverse musical influences, performs an adventurous chamber music program (Nov. 15, 3 p.m.)

Founded by retired Boston Ballet principal dancer John Lam, who led TLI 101: Dance at the Linde Center in July, Lam Dance Works returns to Tanglewood for an intimate evening where dance, live music, and the human voice illuminate memory, identity, and our shared humanity. The program features works by internationally acclaimed choreographers Peggy Baker, Jorma Elo, and Yury Yanowsky, with Artistic Director Lam offering audience insights before each work and a post-performance conversation with the artists. (Nov. 21, 7 p.m.).  

Newly installed as a Berkshire tradition, BSO Holiday Brass returns to the Linde Center for four presentations, including a morning performance geared towards families (Dec. 18–20).  

Colombian cellist Santiago Cañón-Valencia, Silver Medalist and "Audience Favorite" at the 2019 XVI International Tchaikovsky Competition, presents a recital that pairs music by Bach and George Crumb with several of his own compositions (Feb. 26, 7 p.m.). Concert pianists Alessio Bax and Lucille Chung, each in-demand soloists in their own right, offer an afternoon concert featuring repertoire for four hands, including works by Bach, Mendelssohn, Debussy, Poulenc, and Piazzolla (March 7, 3 p.m.).  

Actor and singer Jarrod Spector, most recently seen on Broadway as King George III in "Hamilton," shares his musical journey in "Jukebox Life," a cabaret-style evening of Broadway, rock n' roll, and crooner classics that traces his career from winning "Star Search" at age six to the bright lights of Broadway (April 9, 7 p.m.). 

In a highlight of the season, pianist and composer Conrad Tao and choreographer and dancer Caleb Teicher give two performances of their collaborative and original program Counterpoint. The stylistically diverse music of "Counterpoint" includes the Aria from Bach’s Goldberg Variations, Art Tatum’s brilliantly virtuosic stride piano, Arnold Schoenberg’s ironic/modernistic take on the Viennese waltz, a delicate miniature from Tao and Teicher’s More Forever, and threading it all together, Gershwin’s  perennially beloved "Rhapsody in Blue." Tao and Teicher’s earlier work," More Forever," is a Bessie Award-winning, New York Times critic’s pick which was lauded for "constantly extending the sonic aspects of dance" (April 17, 7 p.m., and April 18, 3 p.m.). 

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