“Penelope” at Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival
September 3-17
Despite its moniker, the Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival doesn’t only feature Shakespeare. This world premiere of “Penelope,” composer and lyricist Alex Bechtel’s reimagined telling of Homer’s “Odyssey.” Bechtel began working on the play as a writing project at the start of the pandemic, when he was forced to quarantine from his romantic partner and found comfort and healing in writing songs from the point of view of Odysseus’s waiting wife. See website for times.
Arm-of-the-Sea (various performances)
Through August 30
Making magic with masks and puppets since 1982, the Saugerties-based Arm-of-the-Sea theater company is one of the Hudson Valley’s most precious cultural jewels. This summer the group takes its guiding themes of experimental hybrid performance, art, ecology, and social action around the region with three all-ages-appealing productions: “Dirt: The Secret Life of Soil,” “A Riparian Rhapsody: How the Forest Sings to the Stream,” and “The Panama Suitcase Show.” Check the website for show locations, dates, and times.
“Just Another Day” at Shadowland Stages
June 2-18
Making its world premiere at Ellenville’s Shadowland Stages is this new play written by and starring Dan Lauria of TV’s “The Wonder Years” alongside Emmy and Tony Award-winning acrtess Amanda Plummer. A comedy writer and a sophisticated poet in their 70s meet daily on a park bench to exchange wits and barbs, and wax nostalgic about old movies. All the while trying to figure out how they know—and love—each other. At least for that day. Visit the Shadowland Stages website for performance times and other information.
“Off Peak” at Great Barrington Public Theater
July 6-23
Written by Brenda Withers, the train-set comedy “Off Peak” makes its July arrival at the McConnell Public Theater on the campus of Bard College at Simon’s Rock in Great Barrington, Massachusetts. This production stars Peggy Pharr Wilson and Kevin O’Rourke and is directed by James Warwick. The New York Times said it was “so close to life that you expect a conductor to come in at any second.” Thursday through Saturday shows at 7:30pm; Saturday and Sunday matinees at 3pm.
“The Smile of Her” at Berkshire Theater Group
July 12-29
Also making a world premiere this season is Christine Lahti’s one-woman play “The Smile of Her.” Presented by the Berkshire Theater Group at the Unicorn Theater in Stockbridge, Massachusetts, “The Smile of Her” stars the playwright and features direction and dramaturgy by Robert H. Egan. Set in the 1950s and focusing on Lahti’s “perfect” American family, it “takes the audience on a sometimes funny, always deeply personal, journey of denial, neglect, abuse, understanding and by the end—maybe possibly, hope.” See website for show days and times.
“As You Like It” at Catskill Mountain Shakespeare
July 15-30
To quote the play itself, “All the world’s a stage.” But to be more specific, the stage for the Catskill Mountain Shakespeare company’s interpretation of the English icon’s 1599 pastoral comedy is outdoors and under the tent at the Red Barn in Hunter. The beloved tale follows the follies of Rosalind and her cousin Celia amid their hilarious encounters with Jaques, various shepherds and shepherdesses, and others in the Forest of Arden. Website has showtimes.
“The Lucky Few” at Ancram Opera House
July 22
Being presented by the Ancram Opera House live at the nearby Circa 1799 Barn in Ancram, is “The Lucky Few,” a new musical written and performed by Todd Almond and Kate Douglas. The story takes place on New Year’s Eve in 1959, when the postwar prosperity of the 1950s transitioned into the tumultuous 1960s: “The US has entered the space race; Lenny Bruce appeared on NBC for the first time; Miles Davis began recording Kind of Blue; and somewhere in South Dakota, Jane is making music nobody has ever heard before.” 7:30pm.
“I Am Barbie” at Bridge Street Theater
August 31-September 10
Enjoying its regional premiere at the Bridge Street Theater in Catskill this summer is Walton Beacham’s “I Am Barbie.” The clever comedy finds the iconic doll on her 60th birthday, “reminiscing about her countless careers, her relationship with Ken and with other characters from her life, including GI Joe, She-Ra, and her creators, Ruth Handler and Jack Ryan. A hilarious and surprisingly touching look at what it’s like being a Barbie girl in a not-so-Barbie world.” Thursday through Saturday shows at 7:30pm; Sunday matinees at 2pm.
This article appears in June 2023.
