Summer, 1976 at The Unicorn Theatre

Summer, 1976 is a deeply affecting two-hander by Pulitzer Prize–winning playwright David Auburn, whose celebrated body of work includes Proof and other acclaimed plays that examine intellect, memory and the fragile complexities of human connection. A longtime artistic presence at Berkshire Theatre Group, Auburn has written and directed multiple productions on BTG stages, bringing both his precision as a playwright and his emotional clarity as a director to the company’s work. In Summer, 1976, he turns his focus to an unexpected friendship between two women whose lives intersect during the Bicentennial summer. What begins as a brief encounter unfolds into a quietly transformative bond, leaving an imprint that shapes both women for decades to come.

Directed by Isadora Wolfe, who returns to BTG after multiple seasons collaborating as a performer, choreographer and director, the production builds on the extraordinary impact of her acclaimed direction of Metamorphoses at BTG last season, a production widely praised by both critics and audiences for its striking visual imagination and emotional resonance. Wolfe is an Artistic Associate for Punchdrunk (UK) and previously served as Associate Artistic Director and Resident Director for the New York production of Sleep No More. She has worked with artists including David Auburn, Martha Clarke, Maxine Doyle, Eric Hill, Richard Jones and Johannes Wieland, and serves on the faculty of The Juilliard School and as a Fellow at NYU Center for Ballet and the Arts. Her layered theatrical perspective brings emotional depth and physical nuance to Auburn’s intimate script, illuminating the subtle shifts of time, memory and human connection that define this quietly powerful play.

Reflective and resonant, Summer, 1976 offers a poignant meditation on friendship and the small, fleeting moments that quietly alter the course of a life.