Friday October 5, 2012

A digest of what's playing on stages in and around the Berkshires based upon reviews by Berkshire Eagle theater critic Jeffrey Borak. Capsules include publication date of the review, closing date of the production, and production running time.

H denotes a highly recommended critic's choice. DR. RUTH, ALL THE WAY. Debra Jo Rupp is a thoroughly engaging, appealing, at times pixieish, Dr. Ruth Westheimer who, while packing up an apartment that holds too many memories after the death of her third and most beloved husband, narrates the story of her life, the development of her career, her thoughts on sex and several notable public figures in playwright Mark St. Germain's entertaining, smartly constructed one-actress play (9/25). Through Oct. 7. Eves.: Wed.-Fri. 7:30; Sat. 8. Mats.: Sat. 4; Sun. 3. (1:58)

Barrington Stage Company, St. Germain Stage, Sydelle and Lee Blatt Performing Arts Center, 36 Linden St., Pittsfield. Tickets: $49-$40. (413) 236-8888; barringtonstageco.org.

THE PUPPETMASTER OF LODZ. Five years after his escape from a Nazi concentration camp in the closing days of the war, an emotionally tightly wound Jewish puppetmaster remains holed up in a garret apartment in Berlin, refusing to come out in the belief the war is still on, despite the entreaties and schemes of his landlady to assure him it is safe to leave the sanctuary he shares with his puppets, among

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them a life-size stand-in for his wife, who perished in the camp. The play and Joby Earle's performance as the puppetmaster, Finkelbaum, are at their most telling in the early going, especially Finkelbaum's scenes with his surrogate wife. But the play's intriguing premise rambles, meanders, stalls in a production that is more intellectually than emotionally engaging (7/2). Through Oct. 7. Eves.: Thu.-Sat. 7. Mats.: Sun. 2. (2:10)

Berkshire Theatre Group, Unicorn Theatre, 6 East St., Stockbridge. Tickets: $45. (413) 997-4444; (413) 298-5576; www.berkshiretheatregoup.org.

THE 39 STEPS. An innocent night out at the theater turns into murder, mystery and mayhem for a bored Canadian back in his native England as he is framed for a murder and pursued across England and Scotland by the police and Nazi spies as he, in turn, seeks answers in this madcap four-actor romp based on John Buchan's 1915 novel and Alfred Hitchcock's 1935 film. The timing and rhythm are a bit rough and effortful but with a cast as expert as this -- Jason Asprey, Josh Aaron McCabe, David Joseph and especially Elizabeth Aspenlieder, whose comedic chops are in full array -- that roughness has every prospect of smoothing out as the run progresses (10/4). Through Nov. 7. Eves.: Fri., Sat. 7:30; Oct. 18 and Nov. 1 at 7:30. Mats.: Sat., Sun. 2. (2:17)

Shakespeare & Company, Elayne P. Bernstein Theatre, 70 Kemble St., Lenox. Tickets: $50-$15. (413) 637-3353; www.Shakespeare.org