“Abe Lincoln in Illinois,” Robert E. Sherwood’s Pulitzer Prize-winning masterpiece that tells the tale of the remarkable journey of Abraham Lincoln, plays Berkshire Theatre Group’s Unicorn Theatre in Stockbridge through July 14. David Auburn directs, and the cast includes some familiar faces, including David Adkins, Rebecca Brooksher, Brandon Dial as Lincoln, Corinna May, and Isadora Wolfe. For details: www.berkshiretheatregroup.org.
“A Tender Thing” by Ben Power, author of “The Lehman Trilogy,” has its American premiere at Barrington Stage’s St. Germain Theatre, June 25 to July 20. Originally staged by the Royal Shakespeare Company, this charming and elegiac two-character play imagines what would have happened if Romeo and Juliet had not died as teenagers but had instead lived to old age. Derek Smith and Candy Buckley star. The play is directed by BSC Artistic Director Alan Paul. For details: www.barringtonstateco.org.
“A Body of Water,” Lee Blessing’s comedic thriller, is onstage outdoors at Shakespeare & Company’s Roman Garden Theatre through July 21. Directed by James Warwick, who directed Blessing’s “A Walk in the Woods” at Shakespeare & Company in 2022, the cast of “A Body of Water” includes Caroline Calkins, Bella Martin and Kevin O’Rourke. For details: www.shakespeare.org.
“Woody Sez: The Life and Music of Woody Guthrie” returns to TheaterWorks Hartford, July 13-28. Devised by David M. Lutken with Nick Corley, and Darcie Deaville, Helen J. Russell, and Andy Teirstein, the musical bio is directed by Nick Corley. Sam Sherwood plays Woody. For details: www.twhartford.org.
“The Prom” is the award-winning musical about a group of Broadway stars who travel to a flyover state to support a young woman who wants to bring her girlfriend to the prom. Featuring book and lyrics by Chad Beguelin, book by Bob Martin and music by Matthew Sklar, “The Prom” plays West Hartford’s Playhouse on Park, July 10 to Aug. 18. Robert Mintz will direct and choreograph. Kevin Barlowski is music director. For details: www.playhouseonpark.org.
“Here We Go Around Again,” the second Annual David Grover Scholarship Concert benefiting Berkshire Theatre Group, will be held on July 19, at Balderdash Cellars in Richmond, in the Berkshires. Performers include Michael Fabrizio with special guests Michael Wartella and Kathy Jo Grover, and members of the Berkshire Theatre Group Youth Chorus. For details: www.berkshiretheatregroup.org.
Shakespeare under the stars … Capital Classics presents the Greater Hartford Shakespeare Festival July 10 to Aug. 4, outdoors on the campus of the University of St. Joseph in West Hartford. “Hamlet” and “The Taming of the Shrew” are on the menu. For details: www.capitalclassics.org/upcoming.
“Corn Stalk Fiddles: Soundscape and Place in 19th Century Hadley,” a collaboration between the Hadley Historical Society and Porter-Phelps-Huntington House, presents the Red Skies Music Ensemble in concert, June 28-29. At the Hadley Public Library. For details: www.pphmuseum.org.
The Clark Art Institute in Williamstown has some free evening hours on Wednesdays through Sept. 25, when visitors enjoy free evening access to two of its special exhibitions, “Guillaume Lethière” and “Fragile Beauty: Treasures from the Corning Museum of Glass.” For details: www.clarkart.edu.
Jocelyn Pleasant, a drummer, percussionist, and bandleader, will headline TheaterWorks Hartford’s Living Room Series on July 13. Her award-winning ensemble, The Lost Tribe, combines West African rhythms and songs with jazz, funk, hip-hop and other genres. For details: www.twhartford.org.
Talamana Trio, who blend Indian and Middle Eastern music with American jazz and folk music, and lyrics from visionary poets, perform on the Wednesday Folk Traditions Concert Series at Porter-Phelps-Huntington Museum on June 26. For details: www.pphmuseum.org.
Burning Roses Burlesque performs its queer circus arts burlesque “See You L8ter Space Cowboy” on June 29, at the Rendezvous in Turners Falls. Burning Roses Burlesque is an egalitarian neo-burlesque troupe based in southern Vermont. They are described as “not your grandmother’s burlesque,” and pride themselves on presenting the weird, offbeat and experimental performances not found in traditional burlesque. For details: tinyurl.com/w30aab.
The Clark Art Institute kicks off its July Outdoor Concert Series on July 3, with a performance by Jacques Schwarz-Bart and Band. This year, the July Outdoor Concert Series celebrates the French Caribbean with some of the best musicians from Guadeloupe and Haiti. The free concert takes place at 6 pm on the Clark’s Reflecting Pool Lawn. For details: www.clarkart.edu/events.
Mark G. Auerbach studied theater at American University and the Yale School of Drama. He has worked for arts organizations nationwide and reported on the arts for print and broadcast. Mark produces and hosts “ArtsBeat,” “Athenaeum Spotlight” and “On the Mark” for WCPC, Channel 15 in Westfield, and WSKB 89.5 FM. His “Arts Beat” column appears Mondays in The Westfield News. He’s a regular contributor to Pioneer Valley Radio and a member of the Berkshire Theatre Critics Association.
