Great Barrington Public Theater Hosts Sit Down With Neil Pepe

GREAT BARRINGTON, Mass. — Great Barrington Public Theater (GBPT) invites theater lovers and artists to take part in the company's conversation with Neil Pepe on Monday, Feb. 26 at 6 pm at St Jams Place.

"It will be fun to swap ideas with Jim and the Berkshire theater community," Pepe adds. "Atlantic Theater Company has been built by artists exchanging ideas and diving into conversation about what makes a script, a scene, an actor or play stand out, what makes art, language and technique effective. Dialogue is the nuts and bolts of great theater. Anyone who loves the creativity of theater will get something from our shoptalk," Pepe said.

GBPT Artistic Director Jim Frangione's will have an off-the-cuff, sit-down with the actor, director, producer and longtime Artistic Director of New York City's Atlantic Theater Company. Their conversation will delve into the founding philosophy, creation and history of the Atlantic Theater Company and get Pepe's sense of happenings and trends in American theater today. 

This is a free live event, with a $10 suggested donation, but space is limited. Reservations can be made now by emailing Tristan.GreatBarringtonPublic@gmail.com

"Our Conversation With series invites Berkshire audiences to join in illuminating and fun discussions on how to create extraordinary theater, from the good idea to a fantastic play. A few weeks ago, we had a terrific evening with Jeff Zinn, and this chat with Neil will be chock-full of backstories, inside know-how, and you can bet on unexpected surprises," Frangione said.

Great Barrington Fire, Police Respond to Chimney Fire

By Sabrina DammsiBerkshires Staff
02:48PM / Tuesday, February 17, 2026

Fire Chief Scott Turner called for mutual aid as soon as he saw flames. 

GREAT BARRINGTON, Mass. — Firefighters made quick work of a chimney fire on Tuesday afternoon and two police officers aided the occupant in escaping the building. 

 

Fire Chief Scott Turner said the blaze at 205 North St. was reported about 12:38 p.m.

 

"When I arrived on scene, we had a small amount of flames coming out of the eaves of the roof over by the chimney for the wood stove, and then we had light smoke conditions on the second floor," he said. 

 

Police Officers Andres Huertas and Elias Casey were first on the scene and immediately entered the single-family home to find the occupant was on the second floor. 

 

They helped her out of the building, Turner said, "they did a great job."

 

The chimney is a metal chimney and burn marks could been seen where it meets the eaves on the side of the building. 

 

North Street is a narrow residential way and firetrucks from Alford, Egremont, Monterey, Richmond, Stockbridge and West Stockbridge were parked along nearby streets. Scene support was provided by police, Southern Berkshire Ambulance, and National Grid.