Cultural Pittsfield This Week: Photography, Film, Comedy, and Theatre
Friday: Berkshire Veterans Photography Project opens at the Lichtenstein Bill Wright, a Pittsfield photographer who himself is a military veteran of the Gulf War, has a mission: he wants to shine a light on the wide variety of Berkshirites who have served in the military during times of war. The Berkshire Veterans Photography Project features large-scale portraits of local veterans and is part of The Big Read: Remembering the Vietnam War, a citywide community book project focusing on the powerful Vietnam War novel, The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien.Friday, March 12 | 5-7pm | Lichtenstein Center for the Arts | 28 Renne Ave | 499-9348 | FREE |
| Read more about the exhibit on the fabulous PittsfieldContemporary.com! |
Friday-next Sunday: The Town Players @ Jae’s Spice Upstairs In its 89th season, The Town Players of Pittsfield is the 2nd oldest community theatre in the country! The Town Players present a medley of 8 short comedies written by Craig Pospisil and directed by Kevin Wixsom. Performing in Jae’s upstairs, you can also get very affordable dinner/theatre packages as well for a night out on the town!Friday-Sunday, March 12-14 & 19-21 | 8pm Friday & Saturday/2pm Sunday | Jae’s Spice | 297 North St | 443-9279 | $15/$12 children and seniors |
| Get involved with with one of the country's oldest (and best!) community theatre companies! |
Friday & Saturday: Music for MS and Carousel Horses! Memory Lane will present a two-night show of musical memories with a doo-wop beat, featuring a group of about 20 performers from Berkshire County performing country music and comedy from the ’50s and ’60s. All proceeds will go to the Multiple Sclerosis Society. Also, Berkshire Carousel is holding an open house for the dedication of Kali, the first carousel pony fully carved, painted and jeweled for the carousel being built by county wide volunteers over the next three years.Memory Lane | Friday and Saturday March 12 & 13 | 7pm | BCC | 1350 West St | 442-3850 | $15/$25 for 2 Carousel | Saturday, March 13 | 5pm-7pm | 5 Whipple St | 499-0342 | FREE |
| Find out more about the Berkshire Carousel project! |
Saturday: Youth Alive All High School Dance @ Crowne Plaza! The Pittsfield Youth Alive Step Team will be hosting another High School dance at Crowne Plaza Hotel. The event will feature a live performance by the senior step team and a bucket drum performance by Jerome Edgerton. DJ Young Champ will be playing the latest club mixes and the dance is open to all Berkshire County high schools. Stop by for dancing and great performances!Saturday, March 13 | 7pm-11:30pm | Crowne Plaza Ballroom | 1 West St | 499-2000 | $7 |
| Learn more about a new program for young women of color started by Youth Alive! founder Shirley Edgerton |
Saturday & Wednesday: Irish Grub, Grog & Music around Town The Pittsfield Elks Club presents the 46th annual St. Patrick’s Day Dinner Dance. A wonderful corned beef and cabbage dinner will be provided along with entertainment from bands such as Mountain Road featuring John McManus on Fiddle and Ruari Layton on bagpipes. Reverend James Joyce of Sacred Heart Parish will be named The Berkshire County Irish American of the Year. On St. Patty’s night, Andy and The Brodie Mountain Boys are to play at the Pittsfield Brew Works with a talented new vocalist named Jennifer Poole. The band will feature old Irish drinking songs and will most definitely have the place rocking! Irish Dinner | Saturday, March 13 | 5:30 | Elks Club | 27 Union St | 770-7512 | $25 Andy Kelly Band | Wednesday, March 17 | 8pm-11pm | Pittsfield Brew Works | 34 Depot St | 997-3506 | FREE |
| Learn about the story of St. Patrick's Day! |
Saturday: Sam Bush @ the Colonial Hailed the “King of Newgrass,” Sam Bush has been considered one of the foremost innovators in acoustic music for over 30 years. He was the driving force behind the hugely influential band New Grass Revival and has collaborated with other progressive artists including Joshua Bell, Béla Fleck, Edgar Meyer and David Grisman. His talents have introduced a new generation to acoustic music and have earned him numerous honors including three Grammy Awards and a 2009 Lifetime Achievement Award.Saturday, March 13 | 8pm | Colonial Theatre | 111 South St | 997-4444 | A: $35 B: $25 |
| Check out other upcoming events at the Colonial Theatre. |
Sunday & Thursday: Live Music @ Rebel Sound Records Sunday afternoon, recent Epitaph Records signees Settle stop by the Room on their current tour also featuring Friday Night Fever, Petulant Child, Honeycreeper and Knightsbridge Fiasco. It will be a great matinee! Also, on Thursday night, The Purse Snatchers from Connecticut return for a special Thursday night show at The Room and they are joined by Continental from Boston (featuring Rick Barton formerly of the Dropkick Murphys and Everybody Out), Sons of Sedition from Rhode Island and locals the Dance Cancer! Settle | Sunday, March 14 | 4pm-5pm | the Room @ Rebel Sound Records | 146-A North St | $7 Purse Snatchers | Thursday, March 18 | 7pm-10pm | the Room @ Rebel Sound Records | 146-A North St | $7 |
| Rebel Sound Records is on Myspace (I know, right?!) |
Tuesdays in March: Cinema of Law Film Series Films about the law will be shown in the auditorium of the Berkshire Athenaeum again this year on Tuesdays in March. This week's film will be "Witness for the Prosecution" and will be introduced by Joseph Pieropan. The Berkshire Law library is again working with the Berkshire Bar Association and the Friends of the Berkshire Athenaeum to produce this series. Each of the films in the series, "The Cinema of Law" will be introduced by a member of the Berkshire Bar. Free popcorn will be served, and there will be a display of law books related to the subject of the movie from the Law Library's collection.Tuesday, March 16 | 6pm | Berkshire Athenaeum | 1 Wendell Ave | 499-9480 | FREE |
| Check out the entire film series listing for this month! |
Wednesday: John ffrench: A Life in Colour @ Alchemy Initiative In 2007, John ffrench was chosen by the Crafts Council of Ireland as the subject of its first “life-time achievement exhibition”, a show so popular its run was extended by several weeks. In 2008, RTÉ television broadcast A Life in Colour, a documentary on his life and work. John ffrench was an Irishman by birth and known to many, locally, as an accomplished ceramicist, high school art teacher in Great Barrington and resident of Stockbridge since 1969. He was the father of Alchemy Initiative Co-Founder, Crispina ffrench. Visit Alchemy Initiative on St Patrick’s Day to see the film and celebrate his fantastic life of fearless adventure, and color-filled creative abandon.Wednesday, March 17 | 8pm-9:30pm | Alchemy Initiative | 40 Melville St | 236-9600 | $5 |
| Learn more about the life and art of John ffrench. |
Thursday: Lisa Lampanelli Live @ the Colonial
Lisa Lampanelli is Comedy's Lovable Queen of Mean. Heralded as "more than a standup -- a standout," by comedy legend Jim Carrey, Lampanelli is a cross between Don Rickles, Archie Bunker, and a vial of estrogen. She even won accolades from The King of All Media Howard Stern, who called her "a true original and a brilliant comedy mind who'll steal the show every time." This equal opportunity offender is a regular on "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno" and Howard Stern's Sirius satellite radio shows.Thursday, March 18 | 7:30pm | Colonial Theatre | 111 South St | 997-4444 | $42.75
