Have a question for Dr. Ruth? Join America’s favorite sex therapist Dr. Ruth Westheimer, Monday, July 2 at 7pm, BSC Mainstage, for a brief talk followed by a Q&A as she answers all your most pressing questions. Anonymous question submissions will be accepted at the theatre before the talk begins.

Tickets: $35 and $25. Purchase VIP tickets, $75, and join us for a special post-show Chocolate & Champagne reception with Dr. Ruth. All proceeds will benefit BSC’s New Works Initiative.

Mark St. Germain’s world premiere play, Dr. Ruth, All the Way, directed by Julianne Boyd, starring stage, film and television actress Debra Jo Rupp (That 70s Show), runs now through July 21 at St. Germain Stage (formerly Stage 2) at the Sydelle and Lee Blatt Performing Arts Center, 36 Linden Street, Pittsfield. >> Barrington Stage Co. 2012 schedule and contact info.

Barrington Stage Company discounts June 15-17 Fiddler on the Roof tickets

Barrington Stage Company is selling discounted tickets for opening weekend, June 15, 16, 17 performances of Fiddler on the Roof. Tickets may also be purchased at 30 Union Street in Downtown Pittsfield, by calling the Box Office at 413-236-8888, or buy tickets online. Barrington Stage Company 2012 schedule details.

BSC Mainstage – Fiddler on the Roof

Barrington Stage Company’s 2012 schedule features Fiddler on the Roof, the Tony award winning play based on characters and stories created by Sholom Alecheim. Fiddler on the Roof is about the milkman Tevye and his family told by way of one of the most popular scores in the American theatre, Tradition, Matchmaker, Matchmaker, Sunrise, Sunset, and Far from the Home I Love..

• Jun 13, 2012 – Jul 14, 2012 – Press opening: Sun. June 17, 5pm
• Tues/Wed: 7pm – Thurs-Sat: 8pm – Sun 5pm | Wed/Fri: 2pm (excluding 6/13 and 6/15)
• Brad Oscar as Tevye and Joanna Glushak as Golde
• Book by Joseph Stein
• Music by Jerry Bock
• Lyrics by Sheldon Harnick
• Directed by Gary John LaRosa; Music direction by Darren R. Cohen

Hancock Shaker Village schedules collaborative events with Knesset Israel Congregation June 26 & August 12

Hancock Shaker Village and Knesset Israel Congregation will present two collaborative events exploring the shared customs from the Shaker tradition and from Judaism, two cultures of peace.

“Shaker Soul and Jewish Neshama: a Spiritual Bond Conversation” panel discussion between Rabbi David Weiner of Knesset Israel, Pastor Kim Kie of New Hope United Methodist Church, and Professor Jane Crosthwaite of Mt. Holyoke College’s religious studies department will take place on Tuesday June 26 at 7:30pm at Congregation Knesset Israel Synagogue (16 Colt Road in Pittsfield, Mass.). Light refreshments will be served. “These ‘Shaker Shalom’ conversations offer good opportunities to unearth and to explore common roots and the continuing common interests of these two religious traditions,” said Professor Crosthwaite. This event is open to the public by reservation; $5 suggested donation. RSVP to Knesset Israel at 413.445.4872.

“Shaker Shalom: A Gala Celebration and Concert,” a joint fundraising event with proceeds equally benefiting Hancock Shaker Village and Congregation Knesset Israel Synagogue, will take place on Sunday August 12 at 5:30pm at Hancock Shaker Village. It will include cocktails and an elegant Shaker-inspired kosher picnic created by Chef Michael Roller, followed by a Shaker-Jewish fusion concert by clarinet virtuoso Paul Green and his Neshoma Klezmer Ensemble and auction in the Round Stone Barn. Concert-only tickets are $36; Gala tickets range from $150 to $1000. Tickets may be purchased by calling Hancock Shaker Village at 413.443.0188 or online at www.hancockshakervillage.org.

In conjunction with these two events, Hancock Shaker Village will also present “Shalom: Weaving Threads of Peace Mixed Media Assemblages by Wendy Rabinowitz” in the Poultry House Gallery. This exhibition will run from Saturday, August 4 through Sunday, August 26 from 10:00am to 5:00pm daily. Pittsfield-based artist Wendy Rabinowitz relates the Shaker ideals of peace with Jewish ideals of Shalom in her artwork that combines weaving and textile arts with other visual arts, graphics, and the written word, resulting in mixed media assemblages. The exhibition is free to HSV members and included with general admission.

WTF names cast for The Importance of Being Earnest and Blue Deep

Williamstown Theatre Festival announces the full cast and creative teams for the first two productions of the 2012 season: The Importance of Being Earnest will be presented on the Main Stage from June 26 through July 14 (opening June 28) and the World Premiere of The Blue Deep will grace the Nikos Stage from June 27 through July 8 (opening June 28).

Oscar Wilde’s quintessential comedy of manners, The Importance of Being Earnest, is directed by David Hyde Pierce, whose portrayal of Niles Crane for 11 seasons on NBC’s “Frasier” earned him four Emmy Awards. The cast features Marylouise Burke (Fuddy Meers) as Miss Prism, Louis Cancelmi as Algernon Moncrieff, Helen Rita Cespedes as Cecily Cardew, Sean Cullen (South Pacific) as Lane, Emmy and Tony Award winner Tyne Daly (“Cagney and Lacey”, Master Class, Gypsy) as Lady Bracknell, Glenn Fitzgerald (The Sixth Sense) as Jack Worthing, Paul Anthony McGrane as Merriman, Amy Spanger (Elf, Rock of Ages) as Gwendolyn Fairfax, and Henry Stram (WTF’s R Shomon) as Chasuble with Charlotte Bydwell, Julian Cihi, Alexander Seife, and Ariana Seigel.

The creative team includes Allen Moyer (Scenic Design), Ben Stanton (Lighting Design), Michael Krass (Costume Design), and Jill BC Du Boff (Sound Design). Eileen Kelly is the Production Stage Manager.

The World Premiere of The Blue Deep by Lucy Boyle is directed by Bob Balaban (Bernard and Doris, Tennessee and Me). The new play stars Becky Ann Baker (WTF’s Our Town), Emmy and Tony Award winner and WTF veteran Blythe Danner (WTF’s The Seagull, “Meet the Parents”), Jack Gilpin (WTF’s Design for Living), “Boardwalk Empire” regular Heather Lind (former WTF Non-Equity Company), and Finn Wittrock (Broadway’s Death of a Salesman).

Rounding out the creative team is Takeshi Kata and Andrew Boyce (Scenic Design), Matthew Richards (Lighting Design), Mimi O’Donnell (Costume Design), and John Gromada (Sound Design and Composer). Libby Unsworth is the Production Stage Manager.

Berkshire Museum schedules PechaKucha Night june 14

Berkshire Museum schedules PechaKucha Night in Western Massachusetts on Thursday, June 14, 2012, at 7 p.m. This worldwide event features a series of presentations, each consisting of 20 slides shown for 20 seconds each, totaling a talking time of 6 minutes, 40 seconds. The goal is to bring prominent and up-and-coming creative minds together for a night of inspiration, networking, and fun.

Tickets to attend the event are $5, including snacks as well as beverages donated by Wandering Star Craft Brewery. Museum members are free. Tickets are available in advance by calling 413.443.7171, ext.10, or by visiting the museum.

In the 20×20 format, each presenter is only allotted 20 slides, advanced automatically every 20 seconds. In its first outing, back in March 2012, PechaKucha Night Pittsfield drew presentations ranging from film to fashion, art to architecture, and even included the first-ever animal presentation in the world. This time around, the evening will consist of music, burlesque, and even an improvisational PechaKucha by the Royal Berkshire Improv Troupe (RBIT).

PechaKucha, literally translated as “chit chat” or “blah blah” in Japanese, was created by Klein Dytham architecture in Tokyo in 2003 as an opportunity for young designers to meet, network, and show their work in public. It has since gone viral, and turned into a massive celebration, with events happening in more than 500 cities around the world, inspiring creatives worldwide.

PechaKucha Night Pittsfield will be held four times a year at Berkshire Museum. The final two events will be on Tuesday, August 14 – to coincide with the annual WordxWord Festival, and Tuesday, October 30, for a special Halloween edition.