Berkshires arts reviews

June 29, 2007 performance reviewed by Ronald K. Baker.

Ample parking and an easy stroll into the downstairs bar greeted theater goers Friday night at the foot of Bousquet Mountain Ski Resort as the “News in Revue” ensemble presented a preview of their offering for the summer season 2007. The which way and how to get where into the playhouse was a bit confusing possibly due to the early barbeque party that started a couple of hours before show time. No Matter. We were shortly directed to the upstairs room and were seated for the performance.

Lengthy announcements, background, history and rationale for the move from Cranwell to Bousquet were hopefully a one shot deal. The bid for support and word of mouth publicity will doubtless be ongoing however well deserved.

The initial few announcements over the backstage microphone were ear-piercingly loud causing some squirming on the part of some listeners. This was happily not repeated during the show. Rather, as it turns out, the placement of two or three mikes just above the front of the stage were often a bit inadequate. Once the performance hit its stride, some two or three selections along, it became evident that you didn’t want to miss even one line of this high-powered hilarity. A few of the lyrics in some songs were lost in spite of our proximity to the players. They might have done well to have a couple of mikes on stands in front of the stage. Another good choice would be remote lapel mikes. It’s too bad to have the audience stifling their laughter in order not to miss any lines.

When things got cooking they really got cooking, both figuratively and literally. The acoustic difficulties were compounded by the constant whirring of a fan. But it turned out to be the only air moving in the entire theater. The players broke sweats in the floodlights, eliciting sympathy from the audience, themselves shifting around on uncomfortable chairs. The main flood light tripped a circuit breaker. A stage hand made a hasty trip to a corner of the room. Undaunted, the troupe paraded through their routines at a break-neck pace piling laugh upon laugh, drawing more energy from the eager, if wilting, audience.

There were far too many high points to begin to list. Suffice it to say that some of the best were exchanges between the cast and individual patrons singled out for their routines. These were a scream. Bill Clinton, raising money for Hilary, tries to hit on a young lady sitting with her husband. A turbaned Indian from Bombay tries to get a female retiree to sing an AT&T jingle at a local job fair.

The vocals went from superior to beyond as the players showed off three part harmony worthy of The Manhattan Transfer. Just when you thought you’d seen it all, then came tap dancing and choreography wherein the disposal of props from previous skits went seamlessly. This crew is something to behold. The background music was flawless and well balanced. It featured a tour de force by Brent Frederick, musical director and accompanist on keyboard, during a political rally by Al Sharpton for Barak Obama.

This production is a must-see if you’re looking for knee-slapping belly laughs. It takes some of the most lamentable of our current events and pokes both poignant and hilarious fun at them. Wear light clothing and a thick skin. Be prepared to laugh at yourself and others. As the hep cats used to say, “it’s a gas.” The show runs through Labor Day. Check it out. Talk it up. The Pittsfield Renaissance is in evidence at Bousquet Mountain.

Map, directions, links on BerkshireLinks.com: get directions to The News in Revue, at Bousquet Mtn., Pittsfield.