Berkshire Theatre Group Announces Bobbie's Summer Series

Bobbie's Summer Series returns this summer with concerts just outside the beautiful Unicorn Theatre patio (6 East Street) at BTG's Stockbridge Campus. A collection of talented musicians will entertain with a variety of genres ranging from folk-rock to fiddle tunes to country and more. Patrons are encouraged to bring a lawn chair or blanket for use on the grass.

The grounds will open at 6pm and the performances will begin at 7pm. Tickets are $30 for adults and $20 for children 16 and under and BTG is offering a 25% discount for all healthcare workers. Food/beverage provided by KJ Nosh is an additional $20 per person and will be available for purchase in advance and on site. Bobbie's Summer Series is generously sponsored by Bobbie Hallig.

Tickets can be purchased online at www.BerkshireTheatreGroup.org or by calling (413) 997-4444. Ticket office hours are every day from 12pm-5pm, or on any performance day from 12pm until curtain. All plays, schedules, casting and prices are subject to change.

Check out the full lineup below!

Susan Werner

Bobbie's Summer Series

Outside On The Great Lawn

The Unicorn Theatre

Friday, July 30 at 7pm

Tickets: $20 Children 16 and under a-? $30 Adults

Food Provided by KJ Nosh for additional $20

Susan Werner has been dubbed by NPR as "The Empress of the Unexpected" and has written and recorded twelve albums that cover the genres of folk, rock, Tin Pan Alley, gospel, country and chamber music. Her songs have been recorded by many including Tom Jones, Michael Feinstein, Betty Buckley and Christine Ebersole. She is known for her charismatic and energetic live shows and delivering her songs with sassy wit and charm. Since making her major-label debut in 1995 with the folk/rock gem Last of the Good Straight Girls, Werner has produced a number of "concept albums" ranging from Tin Pan Alley styled originals to "agnostic gospel" hymnals to a Cuban flavored collection. Her creative restlessness is her defining characteristic.

Werner has toured nationally with artists, such as Joan Armatrading and Richard Thompson. She was featured as part of the "next generation" in Peter Paul and Mary's PBS special LifeLines. She has performed on NPR's World Café and Mountain Stage. As audiences will testify, Werner's been knocking it out of the park-or concert hall-all around the U.S. for 20 years. Renowned as a charismatic performer, she's known above all for challenging herself to conquer new styles every few years.

Michael Fabrizio

Bobbie's Summer Series

Outside On The Great Lawn

The Unicorn Theatre

Saturday, July 31 at 7pm

Tickets: $20 Children 16 and under a-? $30 Adults

Food Provided by KJ Nosh for additional $20

Michael Fabrizio, son of Dr. Michael Fabrizio and BTG trustee Kathleen Fabrizio, is a Nashville-based recording artist, actor, singer/songwriter originally from Richmond, MA. He has spent the last 15 years writing and recording in Nashville and has toured the country performing his unique blend of eclectic original music. As a solo performer, Michael penned five albums working with Grammy award-winning producer Nick Sparks and Nashville legend Kent Wells, who has produced artists such as Dolly Parton, Reba McIntyre, The Oak Ridge Boys and Kenny Rogers. Michael spent much of his early career playing Nashville songwriters nights, during which he networked with other writers and eventually became a recognized name on the circuit. Since moving to Nashville in 2006, Michael has written with many highly regarded songwriters, including Greg Crowe, who wrote for Montgomery Gentry, Will Hoge and Lonestar, as well as Grammy winner Tommy Sims, who wrote for Eric Clapton and Garth Brooks.

In 2016 Michael formed Fabrizio and the Fever, a band of friends and musical powerhouses, and began to tour and perform as a band for the first time in his career. Michael's music is a balanced mixture of his Americana/roots/rock upbringing; he has dubbed his music and band as "genre gypsies." The band has since opened for supergroup Trigger Hippie as well as Boston, Robert Randolph, Sleeper Agent, Raelyn Nelson, Lewis Brice, John Carter Cash and numerous other notable names. The group has released two albums and a third album is due in 2022.

Fabrizio and the Fever continued to gain notoriety after being chosen by the prestigious Lightning 100.1 radio station in Nashville as "Artist of the Week" with Fabrizio's song, "Lately I've Been Waiting." In 2016 his song "California" was the winner in a song contest on Nashville's Hippie Radio 94.5. Five other songs from the band's debut album "Nunchuck Fury" were featured in trending podcasts based in the Los Angeles area. Fabrizio has written songs and jingles for NBC/CBS programming and appeared as an actor on the ABC/CMT show Nashville several times as a member of the character "Gunner's" band. In 2015 Fabrizio and co-writer Patrick Raines were awarded "Best Song" in the Nashville 48 hour film festival with their tune "Party With Us." In 2008, Fabrizio's song "Kisses," which he wrote with close friend Bryan Edwards, won first place for best love song from the Paramount song contest. Edwards has also written the Jason Aldean song "If She Could See Me Now."

Fabrizio is the longtime founder and owner of Red Roots Music LLC (www.redrootsmusic.org), an organization that hosts high-level musical showcases featuring top-tier up-and-coming musical talent. The company has been an advocate for musicians and the arts since it was started in 2007 and regularly gives back to the local Nashville music scene. Since 2018, the company's main event, "The Nashville Masquerade," has sponsored hundreds of shows from Wisconsin to Florida and a standing monthly show at Nashville's famous Exit/In.

Mike Wartella

Bobbie's Summer Series

Outside On The Great Lawn

The Unicorn Theatre

Friday, August 6 at 7pm

Tickets: $20 Children 16 and under a-? $30 Adults

Food Provided by KJ Nosh for additional $20

Broadway and Berkshire County's own Mike Wartella makes his Berkshire Theatre Group solo debut hosting a night of folk rock, original music, and Broadway favorites reimagined. Mike, who is originally from The Berkshires and a singer/songwriter at heart, will fill the evening with brand new original music straight from his new debut solo album, Polarity, as well as some old Broadway favorites done with a folk/rock twist. As a Broadway veteran, Mike has been seen playing children in Tuck Everlasting, Wicked and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Mike also performed Off-Broadway in Rent, The Kid (The New Group), Seussical (TheaterWorksUSA) and Oliver Twist (TFANA) and in Regional productions: Godspell (BTG), Chasing Rainbows (Paper Mill Playhouse, Flat Rock Playhouse, Goodspeed Opera House); Midsummer; A Prayer For Owen Meany (Denver Center Theatre Company). His television and film credits include: Mysteries of Laura, Blood Night: The Legend of Mary Hatchet and Loving Leah.

Mike's folky edgy voice hardly matches his youthful type, so this summer he will take to the Stockbridge lawn to lead you through an evening, much closer to his grown up rocker roots. From his debut album, Mike will be previewing new original material, as well as some of his favorite folk-rock covers of "Pure Imagination" and "Round Here", and his high-octane covers of "Midnight Radio," "Scars" and "Wild Love". This is a show you won't want to miss.

Jay Ungar & Molly Mason

Bobbie's Summer Series

Outside On The Great Lawn

The Unicorn Theatre

Saturday, August 7 at 7pm

Tickets: $20 Children 16 and under a-? $30 Adults

Food Provided by KJ Nosh for additional $20

Jay and Molly are musicians of enormous talent who draw their repertoire and inspiration from a wide range of American musical styles-19th-century classics, lively Appalachian, Cajun and Celtic fiddle tunes and favorites from the golden age of country and swing-along with their own songs, fiddle tunes and orchestral compositions.

In recent years, Jay and Molly have reached an ever-widening audience through their appearances on PBS' Great Performances, their own public radio specials and through their work on film soundtracks such as Brother's Keeper and Legends of the Fall.

They achieved international acclaim when their performance of Jay's composition, "Ashokan Farewell," became the musical hallmark of Ken Burns' The Civil War on PBS. The soundtrack won a Grammy and "Ashokan Farewell" was nominated for an Emmy. The piece was originally inspired by Jay & Molly's Ashokan Fiddle & Dance Camps in New York's Catskill Mountains, which are still going strong today.

To post a comment, you must register and login.