Roaring ’20s speakeasy, prison justice drama on Western Mass. internships

“Next to Normal,” the Pulitzer Prize-winning musical by Tom Kitt and Brian Yorkey, had a highly acclaimed production at the Round House Theater in Washington, DC, earlier this year. Alan Paul, Barrington Stage’s artistic director, directed this production, which now comes to Barrington Stage Aug. 13 through Sept. 8. Eamon Foley choreographs the production, which involves Diana, a woman dealing with bipolar disorder, her architect husband trying to keep a sense of normalcy in the family, and their overachieving daughter. For details: www.barringtonstageco.org.

“Night at the Speakeasy,” a musical recreation of a Roaring Twenties nightclub starring Janelle Farias Sando, plays Great Barrington Public Theater through Aug. 11. Hudson Orfe accompanies Sando, and the party is directed by Wendy Welch. For details: www.greatbarringtonpublictheater.org. The show then moves to the Adams Theater, Aug. 22-25. For details: www.adamstheater.org.

“Forgiveness,” Mark St. Germain’s new play, has its world premiere at Barrington Stage’s St. Germain Theater (named for the playwright) July 30 to Aug. 25. In this interactive play, where audience members participate in the action, a group of Minnesota prisoners plead their case in front of the governor to determine if they can return to society. Ron Lagomarsino directs. The cast includes Peggy Pharr Wilson and Joey Collins. Brian Prather designs. “Forgiveness” was commissioned by Barrington Stage’s Sydelle Blatt New Works Fund. For details: www.barringtonstageco.org.

“The Islanders,” Carey Crim’s new drama, which was originally staged at Shakespeare & Company as a reading in the Plays in Progress series, has its world premiere through Aug. 25, at the Tina Packer Playhouse in Lenox. Regge Life directs, and Michelle Mountain and “ranney” play two denizens of an underpopulated island in the Great Lakes who have retreated from society, but have found a bond. For details: www.shakespeare.org.

TheaterWorks Hartford will showcase the work of six LGBTQ artists in a gallery exhibit Aug. 13 to September 13. Each artist participating in the exhibition receives a color of the rainbow to lean into, and a canvas provided by TheaterWorks Hartford to create on. All works in the exhibition will be for sale, and all proceeds go directly to the artists. For details: www.twhartford.org.

Sevenars presents Sayuri Miyamoto, pianist; Joel Bard, oboist; and violinist Jun-Ching Lin performing solos, duos, and trios at Sevenars in Worthington on Aug. 11.For details: www.sevenars.org.

The Springfield Symphony Orchestra has announced that local businessman and community activist Cesar Ruiz, and Bernard (“Bernie”) Spirito, who recently retired as the Springfield Museums’ chief financial officer, have joined the organization’s board of directors. For details: www.springfieldsymphonyorchestra.org.

“The Queen of Versailles,” the new musical starring Kristin Chenoweth and F. Murray Abraham, is playing a pre-Broadway run at the Emerson Colonial Theater in Boston. This new musical features music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz. Based on Lauren Greenfield’s 2012 documentary film of the same name and the life stories of Jackie and David Siegel, the book for “The Queen of Versailles” is by Lindsey Ferrentino with direction by Tony Award winner Michael Arden (“Parade,” “Once on This Island”) and choreography by Lauren Yalango-Grant and Christopher Cree Grant (“Parade”). For details: www.emersoncolonialtheater.com.

The Connecticut Critics Circle Awards recently honored several Greater Hartford and Northern Connecticut theaters. Goodspeed Musicals’ “Summer Stock” and “Private Jones” earned the most honors. Hartford Stage’s Marsha Mason and TheaterWorks’ cast of “Clyde’s” won major acting awards. Jacques Lamarre was honored with the Tom Killen Award for lifetime service to the theater. A longtime Connecticut arts supporter, Lamarre has worked with many of the top theater companies in the state. He is a renowned playwright and marketing specialist who focuses on arts and culture. For details: ctcritics.org.

Jorgensen Center for the Performing Arts is bringing Michael Feinstein’s Tony Bennett Tribute, Colin Jost, Samara Joy, The Piano Guys, the Capitol Fools (the former Capitol Steps) and more to Storrs this fall. For details: www.jorgensen.uconn.edu.

Emmy Award nominees with local connections include Ebon Moss-Bacharach, Amherst native, nominated for “The Bear.” For a full list of nominees: tinyurl.com/a31skq.

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 Theater Critics Association.