Chester Theatre Company named to Berkshire Record Magazine’s Best lists

CHESTER THEATRE COMPANY RECEIVES BEST ACTOR AND BEST DIRECTOR HONORS IN BERKSHIRE RECORD MAGAZINE’S THE BEST 2016

Chester, MA—Chester Theatre Company (CTC) is proud to announce it has been awarded two “bests” in Berkshire Record Magazine’s The Best 2016 list. Joel Ripka was named Best Actor in a Serious Play for his performance as Jonah in Phil Porter’s Blink, and Producing Artistic Director Daniel Elihu Kramer received the Best Director award for his “subtle and clever work” on Blink.

Also named to the list as Best Scenic Design, Runner Up, was Travis George, who was praised for his “skillful use of limited space to create four different locations in Chester Theatre’s excellent production of Blink.”

“I’m so pleased for Joel,” said Kramer. “His and Therese Plaehn’s work—along with the contributions of Travis and the entire team—helped make Blink one of the most popular productions of the 2015 season.”

Kramer’s work as a playwright will be featured in the 2016 season opener, the World Premiere of My Jane, a contemporary classic based on Charlotte Brontë’s beloved novel Jane Eyre. My Jane will run from June 29 through July 10th.

Next on the schedule will be the Regional Premiere of Oh God by Anat Gov, produced in partnership with Israeli Stage and playing July 14–24. Directed by Israeli Stage Artistic Director Guy Ben-Aharon, Oh God is a wonderfully witty therapy session between a deeply depressed God and a therapist with doubts about her own faith.

Kramer will return as director for the third production, the Regional Premiere of Sister Play by John Kolvenbach. This funny and intriguing play about family dynamics will run August 3-14, 2016.

Rounding out the season will be another Regional Premiere: Katori Hall’s The Mountaintop, directed by Colette Robert. A bold reimagining of the last night in the life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., it plays August 18–28.

All performances will take place in the intimate setting of Chester’s Historic Town Hall, 15 Middlefield Road, Chester, MA. Show times are 8:00 p.m. Wednesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays; and 2:00 p.m. Thursdays, Fridays, and Sundays. Ticket prices are $37.50 for general audiences and $10.00 for students. Tickets may be purchased online at chestertheatre.org, or by phone at 1.800.595.4TIX (4849). Special rates for groups of 10 or more are available.

The Best is the Berkshire Record’s comprehensive, annual magazine featuring the best aspects of living, working, and playing in the Berkshires. The Best list is compiled from surveys submitted by readers throughout Berkshire County, MA, Litchfield County, CT, and Albany, NY.