My Former Neck of the Woods ~ part deux

Did you ever see that commercial for "I shudda had a V-8"? Yeah... the one where someone smacks the guy/gal on the forhead. Well, I had a V-8 moment last night while watching the Tonight Show with Jay Leno. Jay was interviewing Kevin Bacon (You no doubt remember Kevin Bacon from such movies as Footloose, Tremors, Flatliners, Hollow Man, etc). Kevin and his brother also have a nice little rock band business.

So Jay says, "Where will you be performing?"

And Kevin says, "Next in Lincoln, Nebraska."

And Jay says, "And after that?"

And Kevin says, "PITTSFIELD, MASS."

And then I said, "Holy **** (something I could but won't print here)!!!"

And that was my V-8 moment!! Actually, that was my holy-crap-Pittsfield-really-is-on-the-map-moment.

I almost got up right then and there to write this, but I was really tired and it was after mid-night. But when I did final get up today, I started investigating this. I don't know why it shocked me so, I actually saw the Statler Brothers at the Boys Club waaay back a few years ago. And there is always Tangelwood in the summer and that draws a lot of 'names in the business.' So I figured the Bacon Brothers would be playing at one of the smaller venues on the Tanglewood Grounds. NOPE... again, I was wrong. Their website said at the Barrington Stage Company. OMG... where did that come from. I had never heard of that place. So back into the investigation.

Can I tell you how grateful I am for the WWW? Without this marvel, I would never have known how well downtown Pittsfield is surviving after the devastating hole in the economy left when G.E. pulled up stakes and went south.

Barrington Stage Company (BSC), founded in 1995, is a not-for-profit professional theatre company in the Berkshires (MA), with a three-fold mission: to produce top-notch, compelling work; to develop new plays and musicals; and to find fresh, bold ways of bringing new audiences into the theatre, especially young people.

However, for it's first eleven years BSC operated from rented space at the Consolati Performing Arts Center at Mount Everett High School in Sheffield (very much south of Pittsfield -- almost to the Connecticut border). In January 2006 BSC began renovations on a 1912 vaudeville theatre in downtown Pittsfield which BSC purchased in 2005. And by June, 2007, BSC opened its doors to a completely renovated 520 seat state-of-the art theatre. Now, there is the explanation as to why I didn't know about the Barrington Stage Company. I have been in California on and off since 2001 and permanently since 2004. Anyway, this 1912 theater was also at one time The Union Square Movie Theater where, as a mere child, I saw great films like West Side Story, The Apartment, and Flower Drum Song.

So... there is another little part of the former neck of my woods. Thanks for stopping by to visit.