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MoCA’s robust offerings include live concerts, dance perform-
ances, film screenings, and kids’ programs.
And of course, any Berkshires arts roundup would be incomplete
without mention of America’s favorite midcentury illustrator,
Norman Rockwell. The artist lived and worked in Stockbridge, and
the
Norman Rockwell Museum
exhibits the world’s largest col-
lection of his originals, including covers for
The Saturday Evening
Post
and his iconic
Four Freedoms
. While there, you might even
meet local people who were his models.
Take in a Show
You might find anything from a magic show to a samba party at
the
Spectrum Playhouse
in Lee, and an equally varied schedule
at
The Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center
in Great Barrington.
This year-round venue presents frequent live music, theater, and
dance, along with family programs, film screenings, and
The Met:
Live in HD
. It also often hosts local groups, including the Berkshire
Bach Society, whose winter performances might include large
choral works with full orchestra, and Close Encounters with Music,
which presents world-class musicians and chamber music.
For theater performances, there are
Shakespeare & Company
’s
shows in Lenox, and opera, cabaret, and other often-edgy per-
formances at the
Whitney Center for the Arts
, housed in a
historic mansion in Pittsfield.
And if you’re in town February 12 to 22, Pittsfield’s 10x10
Upstreet Arts Festival includes an impressive lineup of performing-
arts events. Previous years’ fests have included 10-minute plays,
comedy acts, and concerts.
Explore the Past
Step back into the fabled Gilded Age at
Ventfort Hall
, a mansion
built in 1893 for the sister of financier J.P. Morgan. Ventfort Hall
was among approximately 75 late-19th-century “cottages” built in
Lenox when the town was a favorite of the ultrawealthy. As you
tour the soaring Great Hall and the elegant salon, dining room,
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Fall 2015
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Opened in 1999, Mass MoCA’s expansive setting in a former factory is
the ideal canvas for large-scale paintings and installations.
LEFT: The Norman Rockwell Museum houses more than 570 of the artist’s
works and his original Stockbridge studio, furnished much as he left it
with an easel, art supplies, and books.