Paris 1890 - Unlaced!  is the title for Ventfort Hall’s summer theater.  Ventfort Hall, here in Lenox just a few minutes’ walk from Brook Farm Inn, is also known as the Museum of the Gilded Age.  This mansion is a great setting for the one-woman show, which provides a humorous yet poignant glimpse into Parisian society of the Belle Epoque.  Anne Undeland plays five different women, in an intriguing mystery.

We missed this production the first time around a couple of years ago, and we’re really glad that Shakespeare & Co. is reprising “Hamlet.”  We saw it yesterday and thoroughly enjoyed it.  The performance is especially interesting because a real mother, son, and step-father have leading roles.  Tina Packer is Gertrude, her son Jason Asprey is a wonderful Hamlet, and Dennis Krausnick husband of Tina Packer, plays the best Polonius we’ve seen.  It will be performed here in Lenox, Massachusetts all summer long, and we’re recommending it to guests of Brook Farm Inn.

Award-winning actors Steve Martin and Martin Sheen will join host Garrison Keillor on a live broadcast of A Prairie Home Companion from Tanglewood in Lenox, Massachusetts on Saturday, June 27.

The show’s guests will also include Stuart Duncan, Tim Russell, Sue Scott, Fred Newman, and The Guy’s All-Star Shoe Band.

Keillor will celebrate the radio show’s 35th anniversary on Saturday, July 4 with a free broadcast from Avon, Minnesota.

For more information, visit prairiehome.publicradio.org.

Steve Martin

We attended Barrington Stage Co.’s production of “Carousel” last night, and what a treat!  Music, choreography, costumes, and a timeless script — guess that’s why it’s been a favorite musical since 1945.  The voices of the lead actors were matched by their incredible energy.  It will be performed through July 11 (at prices way below Broadway),  and we think it’s just one more reason to come to the Berkshires.

At Brook Farm Inn, we’re always interested in literary links to the original Brook Farm, for which the inn was named.  Brook Farm was a utopian farm experiment — the original hippie commune, perhaps — that was founded by the Transcendentalists in the 1840’s.   Hawthorne, Emerson, Margaret Fuller, and other famous intellectuals of the era were involved.  Nathaniel Hawthorne immortalized the farm in The Blithedale Romance, a fictionalized account .  (You’ll find a copy in each of our guest rooms.) The photo shows how the site looks today, in what is now West Roxbury.

This summer, The Mount is presenting a series of literary lectures, Mondays at 4 PM.  They all sound fascinating.  The one that connects most to Brook Farm is the lecture  about Eden’s Outcasts, a dual biography of Louisa May Alcott and her father, Bronson Alcott.  Although not involved with Brook Farm, they were part of the Transcendentalist community, and their lives were fascinating.   We recommend the book, and the lecture!

Starting tomorrow night,  and continuing  on Fridays through the summer and early fall, you can enjoy a special haunted twilight tour at The Mount in Lenox Massachusetts, home of Edith Wharton.   The author herself was rather superstitious, and the house has eaves, nooks and woods to explore, in this after-hours guided tour of the house, stables, and grounds (including the pet cemetery).  To quote the Berkshire Eagle, “you can expect tales of death, betrayal, and desolation, as well as some quotes from Edith Wharton’s own ghost stories.”  At Brook Farm Inn, we can’t wait to experience it!  Stay posted — we’ll let you know if we experience shivers and chills.

After being closed for 2 years, the road to the highest peak in Massachusetts will be opening today.  The newly repaired road makes it possible for you to drive to the top of Mt. Greylock, where you’ll find Bascom Lodge, a visitors’ center.  The view from Bascom Lodge is incomparable, and on the way are scenic overlooks. The drive there from Brook Farm Inn,  in Lenox,  is about  1/2 hour. Link here for more information. http://www.mass.gov/dcr/parks/mtGreylock/

The weather is great, and the hours we’ve spent gardening  at Brook Farm Inn, in Lenox Massachusetts, are paying off!  So everything looks green — just the right weather for hiking, or relaxing among our flowers and trees.  Also, here are some suggestions for theater performances this weekend, to keep you busy every evening.

Berkshire Theatre Festival performs  The Faith Healer, “An intenseluy powerful play by one of Ireland’s greatest playwrights.”

Shakespeare & Co. opens Romeo and Juliet tonight.

Mixed Company in Great Barrington offers “April in Paris,” a delightful comedy. 413-528-2320.

We went to see “April in Paris,” at the Mixed Company Theater in Great Barrington, Massachusetts, and loved every minute.  This is a great comedy, and it’s being performed every Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday through May 24th.  At $15 a ticket, this performance  matches many Broadway plays that cost a great deal more.  At Brook Farm Inn in Lenox, we’re recommending it to all our guests.  Phone number for tickets is $413-528-2320.