Triplex Cinema Receives Grant from Feigenbaum Foundation

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GREAT BARRINGTON, Mass.— The Triplex Cinema has received a grant from the Pittsfield-based Feigenbaum Foundation.

The grant will be used to purchase newly enhanced Theatre Management Software. The new system will allow the Triplex to upgrade its software program, which is used for digital theatrical projection.

The Feigenbaum Foundation provides financial assistance for education in technology, engineering, and management; academic institutions and disciplines; medical initiatives and disciplines; cultural programs and projects; community-based tax-exempt organizations in Berkshire County; and established religious institutions programs and projects.

Nicki Wilson, President of the Triplex Board of Directors, acknowledged the Feigenbaum Foundation's support.

"We are grateful to the Feigenbaum Foundation for their continued support of the Triplex Cinema. Our new Theatre Management Software program is a critical piece of our operations and the Feigenbaum grant makes the purchase of this new system possible," she said. 

Triplex Cinema, Inc., is a 501(c)3 nonprofit that shows movies and provides a space for film entertainment, including first-run, independent, foreign language, classic, children’s, and documentary films. The Triplex also showcases locally produced films and thematic programming and partners with schools and local nonprofits for community programming.

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King and Confidantes Debate Hope and Change in 'American Five'

By Alan PetrucelliSpecial to iBerkshires
STOCKBRIDGE, Mass. — Fiction and fact meld in the regional premiere of "The American Five," now playing at the Larry Vaber Stage of the Unicorn Theatre. 
 
The play takes a fictionalized look at the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and his four closest confidants in the months leading up to the famed March on Washington on Aug. 28, 1963. The quintet, through differing opinions, animated arguments, constant threats of violence and a late-night meal featuring challah bread and wine, become a family as they prepare for the history-making march that galvanized the Civil Rights movement.
 
Most of us know the King saga. It's the second act in which playwright Chess Jakobs' genius shines. Prejudice runs rampant here: Is Stanley Levison, a Jewish lawyer from New York who shows up in Montgomery to join the fight for racial equality and "to repair the world," viewed as white? Jewish? Both? And march strategist and organizer Bayard Rustin experiences his own fight for civil rights because of his homosexuality. Here, Jakob explores prejudice on different levels.
 
The cast is top-notch with many emotional highs. As King, Rashun Carter (who would look more like his character if he had a full moustache) and Sydney Elisabeth (as Coretta Scott King) are at their best during a scene that bounces between humor and poignancy. 
 
She questions her husband about his meeting with President John F. Kennedy; he is angry and refuses to discuss it. "There is no 'you' out there, without a 'me,' in here," she says, leading King to agree that because of her self-worth and unwavering devotion to him, she is "Coretta Scott Queen."
 
As Clarence Jones, King's personal counsel, Brett Diggs has assurance and dignity; Harry Smith's portrayal of lawyer Stanley Levison, is nothing short of extraordinary. Destan Owens' performance as gay Bayard Rustin is the play's most outstanding performance as he defends his relations with men: "You don't get to judge me!" he tells King. "I'm just trying to find love."
 
"The American Five" is tightly directed by Gerry McIntyre; the historic period projections and footage/designed by Alex Hill remind people that there are dreams, such as hope and change, that are still being fought.
 
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