Mathieu Amalric
FOREIGN FILMS AND DOCS at BERKSHIRE INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL
(GREAT BARRINGTON, Mass.) – Seventy-five films, including many features of international origin and numerous documentaries, will be screened as part of the 9th annual Berkshire International Film Festival (BIFF), held primarily at the Triplex Cinema in Great Barrington and also at the Mahaiwe, the Beacon in Pittsfield, and at the Mount in Lenox, from May 29 through June 1. Among the highlights are two films featuring the brilliant French actor Mathieu Amalric – France’s answer to Dustin Hoffman – including Venus in Fur, directed by Roman Polanski, and the documentary When Jews Were Funny, tracing Jewish humor from the Borsht Belt through Seinfeld up to today.
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Black Swallowtail (photo Howard Hoople)
LIVE BUTTERFLIES to SWARM at BERKSHIRE MUSEUM
(PITTSFIELD, Mass.) – A Butterfly Pavilion, filled with vibrant native and exotic species of butterflies, will be the centerpiece of the new exhibition, Butterflies, which opens at Berkshire Museum on Saturday, May 31, and runs through September 1, 2014. The exhibition will introduce visitors to the fascinating and complex life cycle of butterflies, including their remarkable metamorphosis, and suggest how we can protect their place in the natural environment. The inter-disciplinary exhibition will include works by contemporary artists, as well as historic and cultural artifacts from around the world. A Butterflies Preview Party will be held Friday, May 30, from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m.
LAUREN AMBROSE to BRING WESTERN SWING to HELSINKI HUDSON
(HUDSON, N.Y.) – Lauren Ambrose, perhaps best known for her dramatic role in the black comedy “Six Feet Under,” brings her latest musical project, the Northeastern Western Swing Explosion, to Club Helsinki Hudson on Friday, May 30, at 9pm. The band, a kind of supergroup comprised of members of many of the region’s top Americana bands, specializes in performing danceable renditions of beloved Western swing classics by the likes of Bob Wills and the Texas Playboys.
Marjorie Dix
CHORAL FESTIVAL of PSALMS at TANGLEWOOD’S OZAWA HALL
(LENOX, Mass.) – The Berkshire Lyric Chorus and Blafield Children’s Chorus will perform their annual Masterworks Concert this year at Ozawa Hall at Tanglewood on Sunday, June 1, 2014, at 3 pm. The concert will feature choral psalms from many traditions and periods, including works by Schubert, Mendelssohn, Chesnakov, Charles Ives, Virgil Thomson, Bobby McFerrin, Arvo Part, Henryk Gorecki, James MacMillan and others. Guest artist mezzo-soprano Marjorie Dix will be joined by the men of the chorus in a performance of the Brahms Alto Rhapsody.
EMMY AWARD-WINNER MARG HELGENBERGER STARS in BARRINGTON STAGE SEASON OPENER
(PITTSFIELD, Mass.) – Emmy Award-winner and Golden Globe nominee Marg Helgenberger stars in Sharr White’s The Other Place, which opens the 2014 season at Barrington Stage Company through Saturday, June 14, on the St. Germain Stage.
SHERYL CROW BRINGS HER MASSIVE CATALOG of POP-ROCK HITS to UPAC
(KINGSTON, N.Y.) – Grammy Award-winning rock star Sheryl Crowwill perform with her band at the Ulster Performing Arts Center (UPAC)on Thursday, May 29, at 7:30 pm. Crow is expected to perform all her hits at the show, including “All I Wanna Do,” “Leaving Las Vegas,” “If It Makes You Happy,” “Everyday Is a Winding Road,” “My Favorite Mistake,” and her version of Cat Stevens’s “The First Cut Is the Deepest.”
D’Anna Fortunato
JEWISH MUSIC FESTIVAL KICKS OFF with ROMANTICISM
(PITTSFIELD, Mass.) – The fifth annual Berkshire Summer Celebration of Jewish Music kicks of its 2014 season with “Jewish Romanticism: A Queen, Korngold, Copland and Klezmer” featuring mezzo soprano D’Anna Fortunato at the Berkshire Music School on Sunday, June 1, at 3 p.m. Upcoming concerts will feature klezmer, poetry, dance, and Yiddish song.
Heather Fisch
DANCE PARTY WITH HEATHER FISCH, DJs at COLONIAL
(PITTSFIELD, Mass.) – The Down County Social Club, based at Stagecoach Tavern in Sheffield, moves up-county for one night, when the Down County Ball – an eclectic dance party and performance event – takes place at the Garage in the Colonial Theater on Saturday, May 31, at 8pm. The event will feature local DJs BFG and Roth Fitz, and will include an interactive presentation by performance artist Heather Fisch, with the Berkshire Community Youth Ensemble, as well as a multimedia/music performance by Tree Collage.