Posted May 12, 2009

The Diva Series:
Shirley Valentine, Golda’s Balcony &
The Actors Rehearse the Story of Charlotte Salomon
May 21—June 7

{Lenox, Mass.}— Three powerful plays. Three remarkable actresses. One Diva Series. Celebrating the first full season at its new Elayne P. Bernstein Theatre, SShakespeare & Company hosts a select series of three, one-woman plays booked for limited runs. Everyone needs some diva in their life, and these three women are not to be missed! The Diva Series is dedicated to Elayne P. Bernstein, someone who understands what the power of one woman can accomplish.

The Diva Series features Founding Artistic Director Tina Packer in Shirley Valentine (May 27—31 and September 11), newcomer Penny Kreitzer in the world premiere of The Actors Rehearse the Story of Charlotte Salomon (June 3—14 and September 12), and award-winning actress and longtime Company member Annette Miller in Golda’s Balcony (June 17—July 3 and September 13). The Bernstein is air-conditioned and wheelchair accessible. Performances in the evenings run at 8:30 p.m. and in the afternoons at 3:00 p.m. Tickets range from $12 to $48. Or, take advantage of the Diva Discount by ordering tickets to all three plays by June 1, and receive 20% off. Contact the Box Office for more details or to order. For a complete listing of productions and schedules, to inquire about student, Senior, Berkshire resident and Rush Tix, or to receive a brochure, please visit the website at www.shakespeare.org or call the Box Office at (413) 637-3353. For group visits, contact Group Sales Manager Victoria Vining at (413) 637-1199 ext. 132.

This powerful series is augmented by the Diva Dialogues, a series of three special, post-curtain get-togethers with tea, sandwiches and enlightened conversation. Join Tina Packer for We Are All Shirley Valentine on May 31; join Penny Kreitzer and Jonathan Rest for Who Was Charlotte Salomon? on June 7; and join Annette Miller for Remembering The Life, Courage And Legacy of Golda Meir on June 21. Each Diva Dialogue begins at 5pm following the 3pm performance, and admission is included with purchase of the specially priced tickets for these three dates. Tickets for these three performances, including the Diva Dialogues, range from $34 to $60. Attend all three for a reduced price!

Willy Russel’s Shirley Valentine warmed the hearts and tickled the funny bones of thousands of New England theatre goers when Packer performed the role to critical acclaim in Boston several times in the late 1980’s, at Shakespeare & Company in 1991, and again in 1995. Last year, Packer reprised the role in front of an invited audience for the opening performance of the Bernstein Theatre. Now, Shakespeare & Company brings back this all-time audience favorite for five very special performances. Shirley Valentine follows the poignant and often hysterically funny story of a dowdy working class British housewife, and her journey to self-discovery by way of the Greek islands. Company artist and Youth Programs Director Jenna Ware directs. Shirley Valentine plays May 27-31 and September 11.

The Actors Rehearse the Story of Charlotte Salomon tells the remarkable story of an astonishing artist who fled Nazi Germany to France in 1939, only to be apprehended by the Gestapo in occupied Vichy in 1943. In the interval, as if aware of her impending fate, she busily created a startling artistic oeuvre: over 1300 autobiographically themed, notebook-sized gouache paintings. She arranged 769 of them into scenes and acts, accompanied by textural narration and operatic musical cues, and titled this epic Life? Or Theater? (Leben? Oder Theater?). At the age of 26, shortly before she was arrested by the Gestapo, Salomon gave her works to a trusted friend, saying, "Keep this safe. It is my whole life." Soon thereafter she was taken to Auschwitz, where she was murdered.

This provocative work is structured as a play-within-a-play, telling the true story of a group of actors who attempted to present Salomon’s story at the Jerusalem Festival in 1982. They struggle to present a truthful voice, in the face of the differing views of Charlotte’s stepmother Paula Lindberg, a famous opera singer at the time. As the story unfolds, Lindberg is forced to confront truths about herself, her relationship with her deceased stepdaughter, and the artist’s responsibility in the world. The Actors Rehearse the Story of Charlotte Salomon is based on actress Penny Kreitzer's real-life experience as a member of that troupe. It is written by David Bridel, Kreitzer and Jonathan Rest, and directed by Jonathan Rest. The Actors Rehearse the Story of Charlotte Salomon plays June 3-14 and September 12.

In tribute to the life and work of the late William Gibson, S&Co. remounts its celebrated production of Golda’s Balcony, which received its world premiere at Springlawn theatre and played to wild acclaim in 2002 under the direction of Daniel Gidron. The duo is reunited again this summer with Gidron back in the director saddle as Annette Miller reprises the role that netted her an Elliot Norton Award for Outstanding Solo Performance in 2003, portraying Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir over the course of a single, crucial night during the Yom Kippur War. Miller was also recently nominated for another Elliot Norton Award this year for her passionate and moving portrayal of Martha Mitchell in Jodi Rothe’s searing Martha Mitchell Calling. While awaiting word of military aid from the White House and dreading a potential Doomsday scenario, Meir reflects on her life and the difficult personal and political decisions that have led her to office, from her first memories of her father, a carpenter, nailing boards against a door in Kiev to prevent a pogrom’s invasion; to her immigration to Palestine, the establishment of Israel in 1948, and eventually the horrors of the 1973 Yom Kippur War. This story of a lioness who made history is endlessly compelling, deeply riveting, and always powerful. Golda’s Balcony plays June 17—July 3 and September 13.

Bios

Tina Packer, one of the country’s foremost experts on Shakespeare and theatre arts, created Shakespeare & Company in 1978, the goal of which is to be an American Shakespeare company of the highest standard that holds language at its center.

Born in England and trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, Tina was an associate artist with the Royal Shakespeare Company and performed in the West End and on BBC television. Recognized by more than 18 awards, honors and fellowships, she has twice received Boston’s coveted Elliot Norton Award, as well as the state’s highest cultural honor, The Commonwealth Award, and both Guggenheim and Bunting Fellowships. She has directed nearly every Shakespeare play. Her business book, Power Plays: Shakespeare’s Lessons in Leadership was published in 2000 and Tales from Shakespeare, a re-telling of Shakespeare plays for young people, came out in 2004 and won the coveted Parents’ Choice Award.

Packer’s recent onstage roles at Shakespeare & Company include Queen Gertrude in Hamlet (2006, 2008 national tour, and 2009), Cleopatra in Antony and Cleopatra (2007), and the title role in Shirley Valentine (2009), with engagements to come in Boston and England this fall.

Annette Miller* twelfth season (Golda Meir in Golda’s Balcony, Eddie’s Grandmother in Ancestral Voices with A.R. Gurney) S&Co: The Ladies Man (Madame Aigreville), Martha Mitchell Calling (Martha)—toured at Stageworks Hudson (Best Actress, Independent News 2007) and at The Actors Playhouse in Coral Gables, FL, and in Oct '08 at the Nora Theater Co. (2009 Elliot Norton Award nominee); Full Gallop (Diana Vreeland); Golda's Balcony (Golda)—2003 IRNE and Elliot Norton Award for Best Solo Performance; Love Letters (with A.R. Gurney); Collected Stories (Ruth Steiner); Richard III (Margaret);Twelfth Night (Maria); Ethan Frome (Zenobia). B'way: Odd Couple—female version (Sylvie). Off B'way: The Primary English Class (Debbie Wastba). Boston: Nobody Dies on Friday at A.R.T. (Paula Strasberg) The Seagull (Arkadina); Hamlet (Gertrude); Glass Menagerie (Amanda). Film: Autumn Heart, Next Karate Kid, Night School, Boardwalk, the Company Men (upcoming). TV: As the World Turns (Smythe/Bettina) Brotherhood (Kate). Training: Stella Adler, Brandeis University (BA. & MFA).

Penelope Kreitzer was born in South Africa. She is a member of the Roy Hart Theatre, France and a founding member of the Jerusalem Drama Workshop (The “troupe” that performed Leben? Oder Teater? at the Jerusalem Festival). In the USA, she has performed at numerous theatres including the Berkeley Repertory Theatre, The American Conservatory Theatre, The Gloucester Stage Company. Roles include: Kate in Dancing at Lughnasa, Anna Jedlikova in Pentecost, Mother Pit in Angels in America, Irina in Mad Forest, Hecuba in Hecuba, Mrs Montgomery in The Heiress (Bay Area Best Supporting Actress Award), Mrs. Warren in Mrs. Warren’s Profession (Bay Area Best Actress Award), Nadine in Still Life, Hannah Kennedy in Mary Stuart, Olivia in Twelfth Night and Deborah in A Kind of Alaska. She has been voice and dialogue coach on Academy Award-nominated documentaries Promises and Regret to Inform. She is a founding director of Corporate Scenes, an international communications training company. She has taught Voice for the Actor as well as Leadership Presence & Presentation Skills for the corporate world in Universities that include: Vassar, UC Berkeley, Washington University, Fordham, Columbia University, Yale and SUNY Purchase. She has a son, Adam and a daughter, Annais and lives in NY City. She would like to thank Mark Rittenberg for his contribution to the initial Charlotte Salomon Project in Israel.

At a Glance: Diva Series

Production: Shirley Valentine
Theatre: Elayne P. Bernstein Theatre
Written by: Willy Russel
Director: Jenna Ware
Cast: Tina Packer
Set Design: Kiki Smith, Janet Kalas
Costume Designer: Kadie Midlam & Govane Lohbauer
Sound Designer: Michael Pfeiffer
Lighting designer: Greg Solomon
Performing: May 27—31 and September 11

tickets: $12-$48, or buy tickets to all three by June 1 and save 20% (In-person or phone orders)
*Tickets to May 31 matinee include the Diva Dialogue and are $34-$60

Phone: (413) 637-3353
Email: boxoffice@shakespeare.org
Web: www.shakespeare.org
Fax (credit card orders only): (413) 637-4274

Production: The Actors Rehearse the Story of Charlotte Salomon
Theatre: Elayne P. Bernstein Theatre
Written by: David Bridel, Penny Kreitzer and Jonathan Rest
Director: Jonathan Rest
Cast: Penny Kreitzer
Set Design: Kiki Smith, Janet Kalas
Costume Designer: Kadie Midlam
Sound Designer: Michael Pfeiffer, Jonathan Rest
Lighting designer: Greg Solomon
Performing: June 3—14 and September 12

tickets: $12-$48, or buy tickets to all three by June 1 and save 20% (In-person or phone orders)
Tickets to June 7 matinee include the Diva Dialogue and are $34-$60

Phone: (413) 637-3353
Email: boxoffice@shakespeare.org
Web: www.shakespeare.org
Fax (credit card orders only): (413) 637-4274

Production: Golda’s Balcony
Theatre: Elayne P. Bernstein Theatre
Written by: William Gibson
Director: Daniel Gidron
Cast: Annette Miller
Set Design: Kiki Smith, Janet Kalas
Costume Designer: Kadie Midlam
Sound Designer: Michael Pfeiffer, Jonathan Rest
Lighting designer: Greg Solomon
Performing: June 17—July3 and September 13

tickets: $12-$48, or buy tickets to all three by June 1 and save 20% (In-person or phone orders)
Tickets to June 21 matinee include the Diva Dialogue and are $34-$60

Phone: (413) 637-3353
Email: boxoffice@shakespeare.org
Web: www.shakespeare.org
Fax (credit card orders only): (413) 637-4274

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