At Brook Farm Inn, Lenox MA, we recommend this wonderful theater experience to put a smile on your face this weekend.  There’s no need to ask, “Wherefore art thou?” if you’re looking for hilarity.  Everything, yes, everything the Bard wrote is slammed by a mighty wind; nothing can avoid the slings and arrows!

The first production of the new year, indeed the new decade, at the  nearby Ghent Playhouse will be The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged) by Adam Long, Daniel Singer and Jess Winfield, co-directed Tony Pallone and Colleen Lovett, both relative newcomers to the Ghent Playhouse scene, although Mr. Pallone will be remembered as the lead horse in their 2005 production of Equus. The production opens January 15 and closes January 31 with performances Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m., Sunday afternoons at 2 p.m.

The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged) is a Monty Python-esque romp through the work of the greatest playwright in the English language, with a tiny cast of actors playing all the roles in all the plays. That’s right, ALL…albeit in abridged form. From gender-bender casting to “Titus Andronicus” staged as a cooking show to a backwards version of “Hamlet,” this frenetic roller coaster ride offers something for everyone, be they scholar or simpleton, schoolchild or septuagenarian. The play was written by the Reduced Shakespeare Company, a group known for writing and performing unsubtle, fast-paced, seemingly improvisational condensations of huge topics. “Complete Works (Abridged)” was first performed at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in 1987 and later played at the Criterion Theatre in London, where it ran for nine years. It has been performed all over the world in a variety of languages — sometimes even in languages the audiences could understand

Brook Farm Inn recommends “The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (abridged)” at Ghent Playhouse

At Brook Farm Inn, we’ll be celebrating Valentine’s Day with chocolate-dipped strawberries & love stories…

Visitors will find flowers and chocolate-dipped strawberries in their rooms when they arrive.  And on Sunday, February 14^th there will be a special afternoon tea by the library fireplace.  Linda, the inn’s resident professional storyteller, will present love stories from around the world.  Our inn has always been the perfect spot for  proposals, honeymoons, and romantic getaways, truly a place for guests to live their own love stories.  So we know this will be a weekend to remember.

At Brook Farm Inn in Lenox, MA, we enjoy sharing restaurant recommendations with our guests.  Flavours Restaurant was always one of our favorites, but its location used to be less than stellar.  It’s now moved to  a lovely space in Pittsfield and is better than ever.  There is ample parking across the street.  The menu features Malaysian food, as well as American fare.  Everything is fresh, cooked to order, and delectable.  The owners and staff are friendly and the service is great.  The location is near Barrington Stage Co., the new Beacon Cinema, and it’s on the way to the Clark in Williamstown or any destination north of Lenox.  Here’s a quote from the Flavours website:  

Malaysian food is not one particular distinction of food but a culinary diversity originating from it’s multi-ethnic population of Malay, Indian, Eurasian, Chinese, Nyonya and the Indigenous peoples of Borneo.  At Flavours, we offer the most authentic cosmic array of food that has now come to be known all over the world as ‘Malaysian Food’.  

Good news for movie goers in the Berkshires — a new, state-of-the-art theater! It’s the Beacon Cinema on North Street in Pittsfield, where an old building has been completely renovated into 5 separate screening rooms. It has the advantages of comfy seats, lately released films, and a convenient location, and some great restaurants are springing up in the neighborhood. It’s close to Brook Farm Inn, your bed and breakfast in Lenox, MA.

The snow-filled scene from Brook Farm Inn, a Lenox B&B, is like a Currier & Ives print.  We’ve been snowshoeing lately, and it’s an exhilarating way to enjoy the beautiful winter trails.  This weekend, Notchview has a great offer, and it’s not far from Brook Farm Inn.  After skiing or snowshoeing, our hot tea and scones by the fire is just right.

A property of the Trustees of the Reservations, Notchview offers 30 km of scenic trails to hike, ski, skate or snowshoe this winter. On Jan 9^th they host Winter Trail Days with free snowshoes and trail passes for two hour periods.  They’ll also be offering free cross-country ski and skate lessons, a wax clinic and a snowshoe hike.