Pittsfield Community Guidebook

Pittsfield:
The birthplace of
post-pandemic theater
Tyler Hanes and the ensemble in Barrington Stage Company’s “West Side Story.”
COURTESY OF DANIEL RADER
COURTESY OF DANIEL RADER
Sarah Crane, Magdalena Rodriguez, Skyler Volpe, Tamrin Goldberg and Jerusha Cavazos in “West Side Story,” performed at Barrington Stage Company.
By Melanie Lekocevic
Capital Region Independent Media
PITTSFIELD — When the nation —
and world — shut down due to the
COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020,
the creative economy was devastated
as the lights dimmed on Broadway,
and everywhere else, for the first time
in recent memory.
As the lockdown continued, productions
were canceled, performers and
stage crews lost their jobs, and the
creative spirit went dormant.
But two Pittsfield groups were determined
to revive the soul of live theater
that is so vital to the Berkshires.
In fact, they were the first two theater
groups in the country to return to live
performances, and it brought their
audiences to tears.
Barrington Stage Company and Berkshire
Theatre Group blazed a new trail
in the wake of the coronavirus out-
See THEATER, page 36
COURTESY OF DANIEL RADER
Danny Bevins, Sean Ewing and Julio Catano-Yee in “West Side Story” at Barrington Stage Company.
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