Miss Hall's School Presents 'Matilda'

10:39AM / Wednesday, February 21, 2024Print Story | Email Story

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The Miss Hall's School Theater Ensemble will present 'Matilda' in three upcoming shows.

Performances are at 7 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 29; 7 p.m. on Friday, March 1; and 2 p.m. on Saturday, March 2. All performances take place in the Woods Theater of the Elizabeth Gatchell Klein Arts Center on the MHS campus.

Visit www.misshalls.org/stories to reserve tickets. (After 4 p.m. on Feb. 29, and through Saturday, March 2, call 413-395-7023 to reserve tickets.) General admission is $10, and reservations are recommended. Senior citizen and handicapped-accessible seating are available.

According to a press release:

'Matilda' tells the story of an imaginative five-year-old whose special powers and extraordinary potential go unrecognized by her abusive parents and cruel headmistress. Instead, Matilda seeks refuge in her books and bonds with a supportive librarian and a new schoolteacher, before showing her classmates they, too, can stand up against the forces holding them back.

This MHS production features Eleanor Jacobsen '27 as the title character, Matilda Wormwood; Willa Dowling-Paul '25 as the bullying Headmistress, Miss Agatha Trunchbull; Casey Lai '25 as Matilda's supportive teacher, Miss Honey; and Kyla Gore '24 and Hanna Heaton Wellenstein '24 as Matilda's parents, Mr. and Mrs. Wormwood.

The production also stars Sutra Chakma '24 as the kindly librarian, Mrs. Phelps; Hypnos Perri '24 as Matilda's older brother, Michael, and the Nurse; Avah DeBenedetto '27 as Matilda's best friend, Lavender; and Kyana Chainani '25, Myles Patton '27, Anna White '27, and Jaimie Corpuz '26 as Matilda's classmates Amanda, Hortensia, Eric, and Tommy. Emilie Coziol-Desy '25 performs as The Acrobat and Nigel, another of Matilda's classmates, and Welmerly Maria '24 is Rudolpho and Bruce, also a classmate.

Additionally, Indigo Travis '27 is The Escapologist, and EA Peña '25 is Sergei, and they join Sonia Rundle '27, Ella Tawes '24, and Maddie Tillem '24 in the Ensemble.

The production's technical crew includes Stage Managers Molly Casey '24 overseeing the front of the house and Mackenzie Ennis '24 overseeing backstage. Izzy Aponte '26, Itza Jimenez '27, Kara Kisselbrock '26, Fiona Lu '26, Kat Lunden '25, and Sophia Tillem '24 assist with costumes and props. Emilie Coziol-Desy '25 is the Choreographer.

The performance is directed by Jennifer Jordan, MHS Director of Theater and Dance.

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Berkshire Towns Can Tap State Seasonal Communities Resources

10:54AM / Monday, December 29, 2025

BOSTON — Governor Maura Healey announced that 18 additional municipalities across Massachusetts have been designated as Seasonal Communities, opening up new tools, support and grant funding to help them manage seasonal housing pressures.

Created as part of the historic Affordable Homes Act signed into law by Governor Healey in 2024, the Seasonal Communities designation was designed to recognize Massachusetts communities that experience substantial variation in seasonal employment and to create distinctive tools to address their unique housing needs. The law also established the Seasonal Communities Advisory Council (SCAC).

The Affordable Homes Act identified several communities to automatically receive the designation, including:

All municipalities in the counties of Dukes and Nantucket;
All municipalities with over 35 percent seasonal housing units in Barnstable County; and
All municipalities with more than 40 percent seasonal housing units in Berkshire County.

To identify additional communities, the Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities (HLC) reviewed available data, specifically focusing on cities and towns with high levels of short-term rentals and a high share of second- or vacation homes.

In Berkshire County, Egremont, Great Barrington, Lee, Lenox, New Marlborough, Richmond, Sandisfield, Sheffield, West Stockbridge and Williamstown have been designated.

"Our seasonal communities are a vital part of Massachusetts' cultural and economic fabric, but they're also home to essential workers, families, seniors, and longtime residents who deserve a place to live year-round," said Governor Healey. "That's why we're committed to supporting these communities with innovative solutions like the Seasonal Communities designation to meet their unique needs, and I'm thrilled that we're offering this opportunity to 18 additional communities across the state. Everyone who calls these places home should be able to live, work and grow here, no matter the season."

As with the statutorily identified communities, acceptance of the designation for municipalities is voluntary and requires a local legislative vote. HLC will open an application for newly eligible communities that haven't accepted the Seasonal Communities designation to request consideration.

The Affordable Homes Act created several new tools for communities who accept the Seasonal Communities designation to be able to:

Acquire deed restrictions to create or preserve year-round housing
Develop housing with a preference for municipal workers, so that our public safety personnel, teachers, public works and town hall workers have a place to live
Establish a Year-Round Housing Trust Fund to create and preserve affordable and attainable housing for year-round residents
Create year-round housing for artists
Allow seasonal communities to develop a comprehensive housing needs assessment
Permit tiny homes to be built and used as year-round housing
Permit year-round, attainable residential development on undersized lots
Increase the property tax exemption for homes that are the owners' primary residence