The rave reviews are pouring in for Elizabeth Aspenlieder in Bad Dates. Here’s the latest, from Terry Teachout of the Wall Street Journal:
On paper it’s a cleverly written, overly cute one-woman romcom — and so it remained on stage when I saw Julie White perform it at Playwrights Horizons six years ago. But Elizabeth Aspenlieder, a splendid stage comedienne whose zany acting is part of what makes Shakespeare & Company the best theater troupe in the Berkshires, has miraculously contrived to turn Ms. Rebeck’s modest little show into a poignant slice of urban life that also happens to be drop-dead funny.
Read the full review. Read more reviews at the Bad Dates mini-site.
STAA president Philp Sneed (Colorado Shakespeare Festival) and Tina Packer (Shakespeare & Company). Photo: Danny Kurtz.
Shakespeare & Company this week hosted the annual conference of the Shakespeare Theatre Association of America. Comprised of over 60 Shakespearean theatres across the US, Canada and even the UK and Mexico, STAA provides a forum for artistic and managerial leadership to discuss ideas and share methods of work, resources and information.
This year’s conference was attended by over 150 artists and managers and was hosted in Shakespeare & Company’s new Production and Performing Arts Center and the Elayne P. Bernstein Theatre. It was a tremendous honor for Shakespeare & Company to host so many leaders in the field at our home.
WAMC (listen), Capital News 9 (watch the video) and the Berkshire Eagle all visited us during the conference. Check out their stories at their websites. Listen to the WAMC story below.
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Capital News 9′s Vince Gallagher visited Shakespeare & Company yesterday to meet Elizabeth Aspenlieder and find out a little bit about performing Bad Dates.
Check out the story at the Capital News 9 website. (Don’t miss the video!)
Bad Dates is now open in the Elayne P. Bernstein Theatre. Berkshirefinearts.com says, “Aspenlieder sparkles…alternately hilarious and heartbreaking…audiences will love it”. Check out her latest video blog–direct from the Bad Dates opening night party. (To check out video blog number 3, visit the Bad Dates mini-site.) Buy tickets now.
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Shakespeare & Company is proud to announce a Shoe/Accessory Drive in conjunction with Bad Dates. Throughout the run of the show, audience members can donate a pair of gently used career-appropriate shoes (and basic pumps in all sizes) or accessories (including jewelry, belts and handbags) to Dress for Success Western Massachusetts and receive a coupon good for 20% off a new pair at Shooz boutique in Lenox. Additionally, donations will be accepted at the Shooz store.
Thursday night Bad Dates performances are Dress for Success Nights. Donate your items and receive (in addition to the Shooz coupon) 20% off tickets to the show—on top of the 40% Berkshire Resident Discount for all.
Dress for Success Western Massachusetts is dedicated to promoting the economic independence of disadvantaged women by providing professional attire, a network of support and the career development tools to help women thrive in work and life. Learn more about Dress for Success nationwide at http://www.dressforsuccess.org.
Shooz, selling fine footwear for women and men, is located at 44 Housatonic Street in Lenox.
Got boots? While you’re sifting through your closet, Shakespeare & Company is in need of boots for its own stock—handy for shoeing armies of actors and students in the Education programs. Knee-high, flat-soled boots and other non-career-appropriate footwear will gladly be accepted (but remember: 20% off coupons are only available as a “thank you” for donating to Dress for Success)!
Theresa Rebeck’s Bad Dates opens this weekend in the Elayne P. Bernstein Theatre. Directed by Adrianne Krstansky, it stars Elizabeth Aspenlieder as Haley Walker, a single mom just trying to get by. New production photos posted! (Photos by Kevin Sprague).
Bad Dates is the final show of Shakespeare & Company’s longest season ever and our first winter production. Featuring scenic design by Susan Zeeman Rogers, lighting by Matthew Miller, costumes by Jennifer Tremblay and sound by Dave Wilson.
Visit the Bad Dates mini-site for contests, videos and more.
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Dear Friends:
Welcome to 2009. With the upcoming inauguration and economic news swirling around us, it promises to be a most fascinating year! 2008 showed what a Company of committed artist managers can do, when backed by friends, companies and foundations who share ideals. Continue reading ‘A Video Message from Tina Packer’
