Triplex Cinema Appoints New Board President and Members

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GREAT BARRINGTON, Mass. — The Triplex Cinema announced changes to its Board of Directors, naming Gail Lansky as the new Board President and welcoming Leslie Chesloff, Matthew Penn, and Mitch Smilowitz as new board members.

Gail Lansky has a career in non-profit organizations, including the Yiddish Book Center, the Harold Grinspoon Foundation, and Amherst Cinema. Her prior board experience includes ten years on the Board of UMass Amherst Hillel, where she served as President, and ten years on the Board of the Amherst Survival Center, serving as Vice President.

Leslie Chesloff has worked in television entertainment for 35 years, holding executive positions at Columbia Pictures Television, Chris Craft Corporation, The Tribune Company, and Lifetime TV Networks. Since 2015, she has been a real estate agent.

Matthew Penn is an Emmy-nominated director with extensive experience in theater and television, having directed shows such as "Law and Order," "The Sopranos," and "NYPD Blue." He has also directed theater productions for Barrington Stage, Shakespeare & Company, Berkshire Theatre Group, and Great Barrington Public Theatre.

Mitch Smilowitz is the CEO of The Joint Retirement Board (JRB), a non-profit organization that serves as the plan sponsor and administrator of a denominational (403b) retirement plan.

Board President Lansky said, "We welcome Leslie, Matthew and Mitch to our Board. They bring an array of skills and connections to the community that round out our Board. I look forward to working closely with them. I’d like to express my gratitude to what Nicki Wilson, my predecessor as Board President, has done to Save the Triplex. It was Nicki’s vision and determination that helped to bring the Triplex back to live as a nonprofit organization. With her endless energy, dedication and ability to forge partnerships the Triplex has become a community hub and now has more than 600 members who actively participate in our wide range of events. However, our work is not yet done. Our priorities are renovation Theatre Two, replacing seats, redesigning our patio, and further expanding our membership base. With the help of our Board, and the more than 1000 supporters who help to Save the Triplex, we look forward to making these much needed upgrades and improvement in the coming months."

The Triplex Cinema, Inc. is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization that screens first-run, independent, foreign language, classic, children’s, and documentary films, and partners with schools and local non-profits for thematic programming.

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King and Confidantes Debate Hope and Change in 'American Five'

By Alan PetrucelliSpecial to iBerkshires
STOCKBRIDGE, Mass. — Fiction and fact meld in the regional premiere of "The American Five," now playing at the Larry Vaber Stage of the Unicorn Theatre. 
 
The play takes a fictionalized look at the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and his four closest confidants in the months leading up to the famed March on Washington on Aug. 28, 1963. The quintet, through differing opinions, animated arguments, constant threats of violence and a late-night meal featuring challah bread and wine, become a family as they prepare for the history-making march that galvanized the Civil Rights movement.
 
Most of us know the King saga. It's the second act in which playwright Chess Jakobs' genius shines. Prejudice runs rampant here: Is Stanley Levison, a Jewish lawyer from New York who shows up in Montgomery to join the fight for racial equality and "to repair the world," viewed as white? Jewish? Both? And march strategist and organizer Bayard Rustin experiences his own fight for civil rights because of his homosexuality. Here, Jakob explores prejudice on different levels.
 
The cast is top-notch with many emotional highs. As King, Rashun Carter (who would look more like his character if he had a full moustache) and Sydney Elisabeth (as Coretta Scott King) are at their best during a scene that bounces between humor and poignancy. 
 
She questions her husband about his meeting with President John F. Kennedy; he is angry and refuses to discuss it. "There is no 'you' out there, without a 'me,' in here," she says, leading King to agree that because of her self-worth and unwavering devotion to him, she is "Coretta Scott Queen."
 
As Clarence Jones, King's personal counsel, Brett Diggs has assurance and dignity; Harry Smith's portrayal of lawyer Stanley Levison, is nothing short of extraordinary. Destan Owens' performance as gay Bayard Rustin is the play's most outstanding performance as he defends his relations with men: "You don't get to judge me!" he tells King. "I'm just trying to find love."
 
"The American Five" is tightly directed by Gerry McIntyre; the historic period projections and footage/designed by Alex Hill remind people that there are dreams, such as hope and change, that are still being fought.
 
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