Winners of Ninth Berkshire Theatre Awards Announced

03:43PM / Saturday, November 15, 2025Print Story | Email Story

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The Board of the Berkshire Theatre Critics Association (BTCA) has presented the 2025 Berkshire Theatre Critics Awards, colloquially known as The Berkies, on Monday, Nov. 10, at Zion Lutheran Church in Pittsfield.

This is the ninth time in ten years that these awards have been presented to honor and celebrate the excellence and diversity of theatre in the greater Berkshire region.

A request for donations was delivered by host J. Peter Bergman who also presented an overview of the season and read a letter from nominee Isadora Wolfe. Members of the Board of the Association presented awards throughout the evening; they included Barbara Waldinger, Paula Kaplan-Reiss, Bill Kellert, and Emily Edelman. Kaplan-Reiss, accompanied on the piano by her brother, Gary P. Kaplan, presented her montage of the season in a musical number early in the program.

"This was an unusual year for the awards. Theaters at all levels saw not just nominations but awards. It was an exciting competition," BTCA President J. Peter Bergman said. "Scenic Designers Christopher and Justin Swader were up against themselves for two shows at Dorset Theatre Festival and actually were nominated for seven shows they created at three theaters in three states. Kaitlyn Frank also ran against herself for two different shows at the Mac-Haydn. There were three nominees instead of the usual two for a production with fewer than six performances and many of the winners were unanticipated."

The Berkshire Theatre Group’s production of Mary Zimmerman’s Metamorphoses swept the technical theatre awards with Outstanding Costume Design going to Amanda Roberge (who shared the award with Amy Avila for The Elephant Man and Ana Kuzmanic for Camelot), Outstanding Scenic Design going to Jason Simms, Outstanding Sound Design going to Scott Killian, and Outstanding Lighting Design to Matthew E. Adelson. The production also was named the Outstanding Production of a Play this year, and it split the Outstanding Ensemble Production prize with Other Desert Cities at the Dorset Theatre Festival.

On the musical side, the Mac-Haydn Theatre in Chatham, NY, was a big winner this year, taking home the award for Outstanding Production of a Musical for Guys and Dolls. Producing Artistic Director John Saunders won Outstanding Direction of a Musical for his work on Jesus Christ Superstar, which also saw choreographer Kaitlyn Frank take home the award in her category. Mike Keller and Spencer Stanley split the Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Musical for their work in A Bronx Tale and Guys and Dolls respectively.

The Mac-Haydn production of Annie saw popular company member Monica M. Wemitt take home the award for Outstanding Supporting Performance by an Actress in a Musical for her portrayal of Miss Hannigan, and newcomer Wild Handel won Outstanding Leading Performance by an Actress in a Musical for her performance as the titular orphan.

The Larry Murray Award for Community Outreach and Support Through Theatre went to Jim Frangione , Co-founder and Artistic Director of Great Barrington Public Theater, for his work scheduling a full season of world premieres penned by Berkshire playwrights who identify as female. The company’s production of How to NOT Save the World with Mr. Bezos saw Shai Vaknine take home Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Play – an award he shared with Tony Pallone for his work in Deep Blue Sound at Harbinger Theatre.

Godfrey Simmons was awarded the Berkie for Outstanding Solo Performance for his work in Mr. Joy at the Chester Theatre Company.

The Sally and Robert Sugarman Award for World Premiere of a NEW Play went to fuzzy, the world premiere musical at Barrington Stage, with music and lyrics by Will Van Dyke, and book and lyrics by Jeff Talbott. For the third year in a row Producer/Director Paul Sugarman was on hand to present the award honoring his parents.

Several categories saw ties and the Outstanding Lead Actor in a Play had the win split three ways, between Jack Maxwell for his performance in Dying is No Excuse; Michael Wartella in the title role of The Elephant Man – both produced by the Berkshire Theatre Group – and Ben Rosenfield in The Weekend at Barrington Stage Company. Outstanding Lead Actress in a Play was split between Jen Cody in Sylvia at the Sharon Playhouse and Hero Marguerite in A Hundred Words for Snow at the Chester Theatre Company.

1. Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Play:

Sasha Diamond – The Weekend – Barrington Stage Company

Cathy Lee-Vischer – The Outsider – Ghent Playhouse

2. Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Play:

Tony Pallone – Deep Blue Sound – Harbinger Theatre

Shai Vaknine – How to NOT Save the World with Mr. Bezos – Great Barrington Public Theater

3. Outstanding Scenic Design of a Play or Musical:

Jason Simms – Metamorphoses – Berkshire Theatre Group

4. Outstanding Choreography:

B. Kaitlyn Frank – Jesus Christ Superstar – Mac-Haydn Theatre

5. Outstanding Direction of a Musical:

John Saunders – Jesus Christ Superstar – Mac-Haydn Theatre

6. Outstanding Costume Design of a Play or Musical:

Amy Avila – The Elephant Man – Berkshire Theatre Group

Ana Kuzmanic – Camelot – Barrington Stage Company

Amanda Roberge – Metamorphoses – Berkshire Theatre Group

7. Outstanding Solo Performance:

Godfrey Simmons – Mr. Joy – Chester Theatre Company

8. Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Musical:

Monica M. Wemitt – Annie – Mac-Haydn Theatre

9. Outstanding Lighting Design of a Play or Musical:

Matthew E. Adelson – Metamorphoses – Berkshire Theatre Group

10. Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Musical:

Mike Keller – A Bronx Tale – Mac-Haydn Theatre

Spencer Stanley – Guys and Dolls – Mac-Haydn Theatre

11. Outstanding Direction of a Play:

A. Chris Foster – Deep Blue Sound – Harbinger Theatre

12. Outstanding Sound Design of a Play or Musical:

Scott Killian – Metamorphoses – Berkshire Theatre Group

13. Outstanding Lead Actress in a Musical:

Wild Handel – Annie – Mac-Haydn Theatrere

14. Outstanding Lead Actor in a Musical:

John Cariani – fuzzy – Barrington Stage Company

15. Outstanding Ensemble Performance:

Metamorphoses – Berkshire Theatre Group

Other Desert Cities – Dorset Theatre Festival

16. Outstanding Production with Fewer Than Six Performances:

The Last Five Years – Mac-Haydn Theatre

17. Outstanding Lead Actor in a Play:

Jack Maxwell – Dying is No Excuse – Berkshire Theatre Group

Ben Rosenfield – The Weekend – Barrington Stage Company

Michael Wartella – The Elephant Man – Berkshire Theatre Group

18. Sally and Robert Sugarman Award for World Premiere of a NEW Play:

fuzzy by Music and lyrics by Will Van Dyke, book and lyrics by Jeff Talbott, Barrington Stage Company

19. Outstanding Lead Actress in a Play:

Jen Cody – Sylvia – Sharon Playhouse

Hero Marguerite – A Hundred Words for Snow – Chester Theatre Company

20. The Larry Murray Award for Community Outreach and Support through Theater:

Jim Frangione, Producer, Great Barrington Public Theater, for creating an entire season of world premieres by Berkshire playwrights who identify as women.

21. Outstanding Production of a Musical:

Guys and Dolls, Book by Jo Swerling and Abe Burrows

Music and Lyrics by Frank Loesser

Directed by Mandy Modic

Mac-Haydn Theatre

22. Outstanding Production of a Play:

C. Metamorphoses by Mary Zimmerman, based on the Myths of Ovid

Directed by Isadora Wolfe

Berkshire Theatre Group

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Companion Corner: Buster at Berkshire Humane Society

By Breanna SteeleiBerkshires Staff
02:19PM / Wednesday, October 28, 2026

PITTSFIELD, Mass. – There is a fun and loving boy who is ready to get a fresh start with a new family who will take care of him.

iBerkshire's Companion Corner is a weekly series spotlighting an animal in our local shelters that is ready to find a home.

Buster is a one-year-old Husky mix who has been at the shelter for about two months.

Canine caregiver and adoption counselor Simone Olivieri introduced us to Buster.

"He is very sweet and social. He loves people. He likes kids. It does take him a little while to warm up to new people and build some trust. And then once you do build that trust with him, he's very goofy, and he likes to play and jump on you and mouth playfully and gently, and he does get really excited with his people that he has a strong connection with."

Olivieri said Buster was an unclaimed stray who fell on hard times before going to the shelter. Olivieri said they assume he is approximately one, but his exact age is unknown.

She said that they are unsure of his history, but he could have some kind of soft tissue damage. They conducted X-rays, but they came back inconclusive. There are no breaks in any of his bones, but he has some periodic lameness, and some further diagnostics would be something the shelter requires.

Furthermore, he does occasionally lift up one paw, but he does not show that he is in any pain.

"He came in pretty emaciated. We've gotten some weight on him. He's a little bit hunched in his spine. And again, the X-rays didn't show anything, but there could be something else going on that, like MRI, ultrasound could detect."

She said he needs a home and family that would be willing to keep him current with a veterinarian and able to address anything that comes up health-wise.

"He occasionally will show these symptoms, whether it was just from an old injury or something that possibly could still bother him. So right now he is on some restricted exercise. We're doing leash walks with him only," she said. "He can't really, at this point, run around freely because he could kind of further damage that leg if there's anything really really going on there, so he's a little bit of a puzzle. Like we said, we don't know exactly what happened to him in his past, and we are trying to keep him comfortable. He's not in any pain right now, but that lameness will crop up every once in a while with him."

But Buster can go to a home with cats and kids eight and up.

"He can go to a home with cats, and while he does like other dogs, we're saying he will do best as the only dog, just because he's got a couple medical issues going on and roughhousing with other dogs probably isn't best for him at this point. While he could have some doggy friends and go for some walks and gentle playdates with other dogs."

"He does like kids, but again, he is a little bit kind of sensitive to some body handling and being grabbed and that kind of thing. So we just want to keep him nice and comfortable with where he goes home," she said.

Buster loves to play and be pampered. He loves walks and being out in the woods and can be silly, especially with his picky eating.

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