Stay at Brook Farm Inn in Lenox, Massachusetts this weekend, and you can enjoy  Close Encounters With Music on Saturday evening.  This Saturday, October 18th, at 6:00 PM Close Encounters will present “Crown Jewels:  A Musical Tour Through Europe’s Princely Courts.”  It will be a glittering evening of Baroque and Classical works for chamber orchestra and soloists.  Mention that you’re staying with us, and you’ll receive a discount on your ticket.

 The BellHop Travel and Vacation Directory selects a Bed and Breakfast, Hotel or Vacation Destination for an informational podcast.  They are currently featuring  The Brook Farm Inn in Lenox Massachusetts.  To listen click on the following link.  http://www.bellhop.com/rsearch/detail_main.asp?ID=26070&910=

Shakespeare and Company is performing “The Canterville Ghost” at the new Elayne Bernstein Theater in Lenox Massachusetts.  We attended last night’s preview and loved it.  Michael Hammond is brilliant as Sir Simon the Spellbinder.  The supporting cast was talented and versatile.  The play runs about 90 minutes without intermission. 

This was our first trip to the Elayne Bernstein Theater and we were very impressed.  The facility is beautiful and we look forward to future visits.  The theater is in a large wide room but the audience is very close to the performers, which makes for an intimate experience.  The staging and quality of the performance overcome the modern and minimalist decor.  The one drawback is the seats.  Although padded they are not very comfortable for larger people. 

The play runs through November 9th, so book your room at Brook Farm Inn,  order your tickets from Shakespeare and Company, and enjoy the fall foliage in the Berkshires.

Four of the Berkshires’ most visited attractions have combined under the name “American Icons” to make your visit to the area more convenient and affordable.  Now through the end of October you can visit The Hancock Shaker Villiage, the largest working farm from the Shaker era; The Mount Estate and Gardens, the home of the great American author Edith Wharton; Chesterwood Museum, the home and the studio of sculptor Daniel Chester French (Lincoln Memorial and Minute Man statues); and The Norman Rockwell Museum.  Buy an American Icon pass for $46.00 and visit all four or buy a Pick Two pass for $25.00.  The passes are valid for four days including the date of purchase.  Passes may be purchased at any of the four sites.

Book your room at Brook Farm Inn in Lenox Massachusetts and you will be centrally located to all Berkshire attractions during the Fall Foliage Season.

Poetry is here at Brook Farm Inn, in Lenox Massachusetts.  We enjoy sharing the many poetry volumes in our library, and showcasing a poem every day for our guests to read.  Here’s a seasonal poem that we like, because it describes the Berkshires! It’s titled “September Hills.”

Have you seen the hills in September–

The aspens dripping their gold?

It’s a picture no artist has painted,

A beauty no poet has told.

You must see for yourself the splendor

The glory that fills and thrills–

THe gold of the sun on the aspens,

September high in the hills.

Shakespeare & Co. is presenting “The Canterville Ghost” from Sept. 19th through November 9th.  Adapted from the story by Oscar Wilde, it sounds like the perfect play for the autumn season.  Featured is Michael Hammond as Sir Simon the Spellbinder.  Hammond received rave reviews for his recent portrayal of Iago.  We have our tickets, and will encourage our guests, at Brook Farm Inn in Lenox Massaachusetts, to see it.

This weekend see the critically acclaimed SHAKESPEARE & COMPANY production of Hamlet.  When SHAKESPEARE & COMPANY staged their stunning new production of Hamlet in 2006, The New York Times praised the “invaluable and indefatigable” 28 year old company for “…speak[ing] the speech so clearly and comprehendingly that even theater goers new to Shakespeare grasp the plot and characters.”

Now, America’s foremost center for Shakespeare performance and studies will offer Hamlet as their first national tour in the fall of 2008, bringing a “pared-down, revved-up version” of Shakespeare’s uncontested masterpiece to audiences across the country.

Curtain times are at 2:00pm and 8:00pm on Saturday and Sunday September 13 and 14.  Contact boxoffice@shakespeare.org or visit their website http://shakespeare.org.  The performances are at the Founders Theater on Kemble Street in Lenox Massachusetts, around the block from Brook Farm Inn.  Call us to reserve your room this week end.

We have our tickets, and can’t wait to see “Oliver!” at the Berkshire Theater Festival in Stockbridge.  It’s one of the favorite musicals of all time. The cast includes children and adults drawn from the local Berkshire community.  Stay at Brook Farm Inn in Lenox Massachusetts, and see the show September 4 through 7.

Come to the Berkshires in September, and enjoy special events at the Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center in Great Barrington.  September 13, it’s Paula Poundstone, Sept. 21st see the Indigo Girls.  Then on Sept. 22nd the Metropolitan Opera “Live in HD” series begins, with Renee Fleming.  Stay with us at Brook Farm Inn in Lenox Massachusetts, and you can also enjoy the Mahaiwe’s Monday night movies, which present great classic flicks.

The Capitol Steps will be performing their hilarious political satire at the Cranwell Resort and Spa in Lenox Massachusetts through the Labor Day weekend.  Guests of Brook Farm Inn who saw the show this week reported that many new skits have been added that make the show timely.  The recent events in Georgia, the Olympics in China, and John Edwards all are dealt with as only the Capitol Steps can.  By the way, has anybody seen John Edwards lately?

Don’t miss the final weekend of performances.  Also, make reservations for  dinner at The Wyndhurst in the mansion at Cranwell before the Capitol Steps shows.  If you prefer a more casual meal eat at the Sloanes Tavern.  Try the porter on tap if you like dark beer.

We hope the Cranwell brings back the Capitol Steps next season.  In fact, we wish they were staying until November.  This election year should certainly give them a lot of material to work with.