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chronology

Choose the Years: 1928 - 1939 1940 - 1949 1950 - 1959 1960 - 1969 1970 - 1979 1980 - 1989 1990 - 1999 2000 - present

1928-1939

Over the past eight decades, the Berkshire Theatre Festival has produced 550 fully staged productions, an eclectic mix of revivals, classics and premieres, embracing fully its role as a true theatrical “Festival.” Our Stockbridge stage, the oldest performing arts venue in Berkshire County and the third longest-running professional regional theatre in the United States, has consistently supported the work of emerging playwrights, directors, actors and designers. More than 2,100 actors have worked at the BTF in more than 6,000 performances. Thirty have won Academy Awards, 35 have earned Tony Awards, and 34 have received Emmys. 27 of our playwrights have won Pulitzer Prizes and another three have won the Nobel Prize. No history of the American Theatre would be complete without including the Berkshire Theatre Festival in its pages. It is a history ever present in our minds as each new season is planned.

1928

The Buffoon, A. Tupper and Howard Lee
Candida, George Bernard Shaw
Captain Applejack, Walter Hackett
The Cradle Song, Martinez Sierra
Enchanted April, Kane Campbell
Meet the Wife, Lynn Starling
Mr. Pim Passes By, A.A. Milne
Outward Bound, Sutton Vane
The Romantic Age, A.A. Milne
The Swan, Ferenc Molnar

1929

Arms and the Man, George Bernard
Caroline, Somerset Maugham
The Dover Road, A.A. Milne
Oh Boy, P.G. Wodehous
Rip Van Winkle, Joseph Jefferson and Dion Boucicault
The Royal Family, George F. Kaufman and Edna Ferber
Thunder in the Air, Robbins Miller
The Truth About Blaydes, A.A. Milne
You Never Can Tell, George Bernard Shaw

1930

The Admirable Crichton, Sir James M. Barrie
Bird in Hand, John Drinkwater
Doctor’s Dilemma, George Bernard Shaw
The Emperor Jones, Eugene O’Neill
Jack in the Box, Dorothy Fletcher and Alexander Kirkland
The Lake, John Houseman and Joan Wolfe
The Lute Song, Sidney Howard and Will Irwin
The Mask and the Face, Luigi Chiarelli Adapted by C.B. Fernold
The Romantic Young Lady, Martinez Sierra
Romeo and Juliet, William Shakespeare
The Torchbearers, George Kelly

1931

Alice-Sit-By-The-Fire, Sir James M. Barrie
Captain Brassbounder’s Conversation, George Bernard Shaw
The Constant Wife, Somerset Maugham
Hay Fever, Noel Coward
The Idiot, Jose Ruben
Juno and the Paycock, Sean O’Casey
The Magistrate, Arthur Wing Pinero
Monkey, Sam Janney
Pygmalion, George Bernard Shaw
The Second Man, S.N. Behrman

1932

A Bill of Divorcement, Clemence Dane
Broken Dishes, Martin Flava
Finale, S.K. Lauren
Great Catherine, George Bernard Shaw
Her Cardboard Lover, Jacques Deval and P.G. Wodehouse
Just Out, Edward Bourdet
A Man of Destiny, George Bernard Shaw
The Perfect Alibi, A.A. Milne
The Queen’s Husband, Robert
There’s Always Juliet, John Van Druten

1933

Dear Brutus, Sir James M. Barrie
The Devil’s Disciple, George Bernard Shaw
The First Mrs. Fraser, St. John Ervine
The Good Fairy, Ferenc Molnar
The Late Christopher Bean, Sidney Howard
The Queen Was in the Parlor, Noel Coward

1934

As You Like It, William Shakespeare
Biography, S.N. Behrman
Craig’s Wife, George Kelly
Dulcy, George S. Kaufman and Marc Connelly
Fly Away Home, Dorothy Bennett and Irving White
Good-Bye Again, Allan Scott and George Haight
Her Master’s Voice, Clare Kummer
Pursuit Of Happiness, Alan Child and Isabelle London
Romance, Edward Sheldon
Saturday’s Children, Maxwell Anderson

1935

Accent On Youth, Samuel Raphaelson
All This While, Donald Blackwell and Theodore St. John
As Husbands Go, Rachel Crothers
Berkeley Square, John Bolderston
The Cat and the Canary, John Willard
Declasse, Zoe Akins
In Old Kentucky, Charles Dazey
Meet The Prince, A.A. Milne
Trelawney Of The Wells, Arthur Wing Pinero

1936

A Church Mouse, Ladislaus Fodor
Kind Lady, Edward Chodorov
Mary, Mary Quite Contrary, St. John Ervine
Men In White, Sidney Kingsley
The Octoroon, Dion Boucicault
The Shining Hour, Keith Winter
They Knew What They Wanted, Sidney Howard
Topaze, Benn W. Levy

1937

Becky Sharp, Langdon Mitchell
The Bride the Sun Shines On, Will Cotton
Candida, George Bernard Shaw
Many Mansions, Eckert Goodman and Jules Eckert Goodman
Mariette, Sacha Guitry, Music by Oscar Strauss, Lyrics by Arthur Guiterman, English adaptation by William Miles
Patience, Libretto by W.S. Gilbert, Music by Sir Arthur Sullivan
Storm Over Patsy, James Bridie adapted from the work of Bruno Frank
The Texas Nightingale, Zoe Akins
Tonight At 8:30, Noel Coward

1938

Best Dressed Woman in the World, Jack Munro
Enter Madame, Gelda Varesi and Dolly Byrne
French Without Tears, Terrence Rattigan
Lightnin’, W. Smith and Frank Bacon
Pride And Prejudice – Helen Jerome adapted from the novel by Jane Austen
Road To Rome, Robert Sherwood
Stage Door, Edna Ferber and George S. Kaufman
Susan And God, Rachel Crothers
We, The Willoughbys, Meyer Kanin and Harry Ingram
“Yes, My Darling Daughter”, Mark Reed

1939

Anna Christie, Eugene O’Neill
Bicentennial, Allen Osborne
The Circle, Somerset Maugham
Easy Virtue, Noel Coward
First Lady, Katharine Dayton and George S. Kaufman
Here Today, George Oppenheimer
Our Town, Thornton Wilder
The Petrified Forest, Robert Sherwood
Petticoat Fever, Mark Reed
White Oaks, Mazo de la Roche