Mac-Haydn Theatre, Shakespeare Take Top Honors at Berkshire Theatre Awards

Tara Franklin accepting the award for Outstanding Solo Performance for 'On the Exhale' at the Chester Theatre Company.

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The Berkshire Theatre Critics Association presented the Berkshire Theatre Awards on Nov. 11, the fourth year the awards have been presented to honor and celebrate the excellence and diversity of theater in the greater Berkshire region.

The 2019 awards really display the commitment of regional theaters to presenting new and diverse work. Women and minorities were well-represented among the nominees and the winners in all categories. Nominees represented theaters in Massachusetts, New York, Vermont and Connecticut.

Critics J. Peter Bergman and Macey Levin once again hosted the ceremony, which saw top honors for Outstanding Play Production go to the Shakespeare & Company's production of Suzan-Lori Park's "Topdog/Underdog" and "Ragtime" take home the award for Outstanding Musical Production for the Mac-Haydn Theatre.

This year's ceremony featured musical and Shakespearean performances by nominees David Joseph ("Times Stands Still" at Shakespeare & Company) and Greg Boover ("Twelfth Night" at Shakepeare & Company), and musical selections by Monica M. Wemitt, Rachel Rhodes-Devey and Gabe Belyeu from the Mac-Haydn Theatre.

John Saunders was named Outstanding Director of a Musical for his work on "Ragtime" at the Mac-Haydn, and Regge Life was named Outstanding Director of a Play for "Topdog/Underdog" at Shakespeare & Company.

Tara Franklin took home the award for Outstanding Solo Performance for "On the Exhale," directed by Colette Robert and presented at the Chester Theatre Company.

The Larry Murray Award for Community Outreach and Support through Theater went to Tina Packer, founder of Shakespeare & Company, for her decades of work bringing theater and theater education to the Berkshire community. The recipient of this award, named in honor of the late Larry Murray, BTCA founder, is selected by the Board of the BTCA. Packer spoke briefly about her joy at receiving this special award and her long residence in the Berkshires.
 

The other 2019 Berkshire Theatre Awards are as follows:

* Outstanding Solo Performance: Tara Franklin, "On The Exhale," Chester Theatre Company.

* Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Musical: Tie between Monica M. Wemitt, Carmen Bernstein, "Curtains," Mac-Haydn Theatre and Dorcas Leung, Little Red, "Into the Woods," Barrington Stage Company.

* Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Play: Elizabeth Aspenlieder, Ellen, "The Waverly Gallery," Shakespeare & Company.

* Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Musical: Rob Brinkmann, Jud Fry, "Oklahoma!," Mac-Haydn Theatre.

* Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Play: Robert Zuckerman, Lou Fischer, "If I Forget," Barrington Stage Company.
 
* Outstanding Lead Actress in a Musical: Rachel Rhodes-Devey, Mother, "Ragtime," Mac-Haydn Theatre.

* Outstanding Lead Actor in a Musical: Mykal Kilgore, Witch, "Into the Woods," Barrington Stage Company.

Pittsfield Celebrates Robert 'Bob' Presutti on Arbor Day

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff
05:33PM / Friday, April 26, 2024

Bob Presutti, right, is presented the Hebert Award in 2017 for his volunteer efforts at Springside Park. He died in 2023 at age 88.

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — A tree has been planted next to the Berkshire Athenaeum in honor of local "giant" Robert Presutti.

Officials celebrated Arbor Day on Friday by installing a commemorative plaque next to the American elm sapling. This is a tree that James McGrath, the city's park program manager, said Presutti would have been particularly proud of.

"Today is a day where we yes, celebrate trees, but today is also a day where here in the city we intentionally try to acknowledge the good work of folks in our community who spend their time and their efforts and their talents to make Pittsfield a more beautiful place," he said to a crowd of about 20 people.

"Today we are honoring a longtime community volunteer named Bob Presutti. I'm sure a lot of you here know Bob and know his contributions to the city, not only when it comes to trees and parks but also to the Retired Senior Volunteer Program."

The longtime volunteer passed away last year at the age of 88. He contributed more than 10,600 hours to RSVP and had great impacts on the Parks Department over the years from sharing his knowledge and talents to ensuring that workers were safe when working on trees.

"This morning I went through my emails to see how many emails Bob Presutti sent me since the year 2001 when I started with the city. Bob Presutti sent me 14,000 emails and nearly every single one of those was about trees," McGrath said, prompting laughter and smiles from attendees.

One thread struck him as particularly important because it showed Presutti's empathy when it comes to the safety of city workers while caring for trees.

"There were multiple emails from Bob about the need to get the Parks Department maintenance guys into a program learning about chainsaw safety and learning about ladder safety. He was really into making certain that our city workers were well cared for and had all of the instruction that they needed and in fact, he even offered his own time and services after he became certified to teach our city workers," McGrath said.