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 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’.  

Shakespeare and Company  is presenting a magically updated spin on the classic family folktale. Children of all ages will enjoy a contemporary, urban, romantic fairytale about a streetwise accordion player and the handsome cosmopolitan Prince who falls head over heels for her. “Cindy Bella” was presented as a work-in-progress last year, and now returns for its world premiere.

Founders’  Theatre on Kemble Street in Lenox MA is around the block from Brook Farm Inn.
December 10 – December 20
11:00 am / 2:00 pm / 7:00 pm

The Berkshire Theatre Festival is offering a holiday treat!  Dickens’ classic  will be performed just minutes away from Brook Farm Inn, Lenox MA. 

A Christmas Carol runs from December 12-30.  Please note the special “movie pricing” nights on Sunday, December 20 and Monday, December 28 where all seats are only $10!  Order your tickets at (413) 298-5576 ext. 33 or by going to Online Ticketing.

  Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol”

Pamela Lanier’s B&B website has posted the story of how we, Linda and Phil, came to live in Lenox, Massachusetts and to be the innkeepers of Brook Farm Inn.  Click here to see it!

http://www.lanierbb.com/innkeeper-story-Linda_and_Phil_Halpern-bb9066.html

The 25th Annual Festival of Trees
November 14 – January 3

Each year, the Berkshire Museum spruces up the galleries with scores of festive trees decorated by community organizations, businesses, and school children. This year, to mark the Festival’s Silver Anniversary, the trees have been inspired by the theme Silver Bells.

The Festival of Trees is a time-honored Berkshires custom that Brook Farm Inn guests have enjoyed every holiday season.  Ask us for more information, or see www.berkshiremuseum.org

Next weekend, starting Friday night November 13th, there’s lots to do in the Berkshires.  On Friday at 8PM at the Mahaiwe in Great Barrington, see the Shangri-La Chinese Acrobats, with their formidable feats of daring and balance.

On Saturday, November 14th, go to Simon’s Rock College at 8 PM to hear Chorus, doing works by the Beatles.

And on Sunday, November 15th, the Colonial Theatre in Pittsfield presents the Berkshire Symphony Orchestra at 2 PM, with works by Vaughn Williams, Brahms, and Berio.

Wow!  Take your pick or go to all of them — Brook Farm Inn staff will be here to welcome you.

Description

“For the ghost should never be allowed to forget that his only chance of survival is in the tale of those who have encountered him.”

Edith Wharton wrote those words many years ago, but they still seem particularly apt today. Whether using the latest technology or their old-fashioned senses, visitors to The Mount during this season’s inaugural Friday night ghost tours have reported a variety of eerie experiences from unexplained taps on the shoulders to the faint aroma of flowers and cigar smoke.

During Halloween week, the time of year when according to ancient folklore, communication between the spiritual and physical worlds is at its liveliest, The Mount will be hosting a series of events to tell tales, both ancient and new, and shiver the spines of all who care to venture forth.

Halloween Week Activities:

October 26-29 (Monday – Thursday)

3:30 p.m. Daily readings by members of The Mount’s staff of stories and poems by some of Wharton’s favorite ghost story writers including Edgar Allan Poe, Robert Louis Stevenson, M.R. James, and Edith Wharton herself.  These readings are included in the price of admission to The Mount and will start each afternoon at 3:30 p.m. in the Drawing Room.

October 30 (Friday)

8:30 p.m. A reading, in collaboration with the Berkshire Theatre Festival, who made this year’s “Wharton on Wednesdays” so successful, of Edith Wharton’s famous gothic tale, The Lady’s Maid’s Bell. The reading, by BTF favorites Ariel Bock and Jonathan Epstein, will be held in the Drawing Room at The Mount. Admission is $10 and reservations are required. Please call (413) 551 – 5100.

October 31 HALLOWEEN (Saturday)

6:30 p.m. A special Halloween ghost tour of the stables and grounds to be followed by a reading in The Mount’s Drawing Room of Edith Wharton’s spine-tingling tale Kerfol performed by Ariel Bock and Jonathan Epstein of the Berkshire Theatre Festival. Price is $30 per adult and $15 for 16 and under and includes both tour and reading.

Costumes are encouraged during this special week. The tour is not suitable for children under 8, or people with limited mobility. Reservations are required, please call (413) 551-5111 or see www.edithwharton.org for more information.

“If it sends a cold shiver down one’s spine, it has done its job and done it well.”

Find out if Edith Wharton and her beloved house can still make spines shiver.  Celebrate Halloween at The Mount.

There’s still time to get tickets for some music performances this weekend!  On Friday, October 16th, there’s “I’m A Boomer Baby,” a musical tribute by Dan Riley, at the Colonial Theatre.  Also at the Colonial, on Sunday the 18th at 2:00, there will be a performance by the Berkshire Symphony Orchestra and the Williams Concert Choir, featuring works from movies and Mussorgky’s “Pictures at an Exhibition.”  Also, this is the final weekend of the Pittsfield City Jazz Festival.  So there are choices for everyone’s musical taste, and it’s all within minutes of Brook Farm Inn, Lenox Massachusetts.