MCLA Spring Theatre Season Kicks Off With 'Topdog/Underdog'

NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — The Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts theater program kicks off its spring season with Suzan-Lori Parks' "Topdog/Underdog."

The play will be directed by visiting guest artist Rodney Creech, with student John Archer-Harvey serving as assistant director.

"Topdog/Underdog" opens on Friday, March 6, with additional shows on March 7, 10, 11, and 12. All performances begin at 8 p.m. There will be additional matinee performances at 2 p.m. on March 7 and 8. A talk-back with Creech and the cast will be held after the March 8 matinee performance. General admission tickets are $15.

The play explores the lives of two brothers, Lincoln and Booth, locked in a battle of wits over a game of Three-card Monte while struggling to come to terms with their identities. With her trademark explosive language, Suzan-Lori Parks' Pulitzer Prize-winning comic drama explores the deepest of connections, and what it means to be a family of man.

Northern Berkshire United Way: 1950s Sees New Name, Same Mission

By Tammy DanielsiBerkshires Staff
07:01PM / Sunday, March 29, 2026

Northern Berkshire United Way is celebrating its 90th anniversary this year. Each month, we will take a look back at the agency's milestones over the decades. This first part looks at its successes and challenges during the war years.

 

NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — Frank Bond, a founding member of the community chest, had the honor of cutting a cake at the 1956 annual meeting to mark the 20 years since its establishment. 

 

The organization had successfully grown over the past 20 years and, by the end of the decade, would see its campaign drives pass the $100,000 mark and the number of agencies under its umbrella grow to 17. 

 

The community chest had also changed names, becoming a United Fund, a natural outgrowth of its establishment to bring multiple local social service campaigns under one umbrella, and would include both Clarksburg and Stamford, Vt.

 

But that impetus for its founding would continue to bedevil the United Fund as more organizations, some national, would continue to compete for local dollars. 

 

At the beginning of the decade, Executive Secretary Estelle Howard said there were still too many independent appeals and that "serious thought must be given to this problem."

 

"Competition for the contributors' dollar, for volunteer workers' time and for publicity are getting out of bounds," she said.