Mac-Haydn's RAGTIME Wins Outstanding Production Of A Musical

The Mac-Haydn Theatre took home five Berkshire Theatre Critics Awards at the fourth annual ceremony held on Monday, November 11th, including the highly regarded Outstanding Production of a Musical award for their 2019 production of Ragtime. The theatre was thrilled to receive this recognition as well as two other awards for one of the most ambitious productions in Mac-Haydn history.

"Ragtime was such a huge moment for the Mac-Haydn and we are so thankful to be recognized for the extraordinary work that went into the production. It was an enormous team effort by everyone at The Mac. We are so proud to be a part of The Berkshire Region and its incredible theatre community," said John Saunders, Mac-Haydn's Producing Artistic Director.

In addition to the Outstanding Production of a Musical category, Saunders won Outstanding Direction of a Musical for Ragtime, and Rachel Rhodes-Devey was awarded Outstanding Performance by a Lead Actress in a Musical for her highly-praised performance as "Mother". Rachel was previously nominated in 2017 for her performance in Hello, Dolly! at the Mac-Haydn.

"The show was written 20 years ago, but it feels even more relevant now. It was an honor to play a woman who steps outside of her bubble of comfort and privilege, and changes the way she sees the world. That is exactly what John and the Mac asked their audiences to do by putting on this piece, " said Rachel.

Mac-Haydn favorite Monica M. Wemitt's performance as "Carmen Bernstein" in Curtains earned her the award for Outstanding Performance by a Supporting Actress in a Musical. Ms. Wemitt was previously nominated for her highly-acclaimed performances in Hello, Dolly! and Annie in 2017 and 2018, respectively. Rob Brinkmann won the Outstanding Performance by a Supporting Actor in a Musical category for his Mac-Haydn Theatre debut as "Jud Fry" in the season-closer, Oklahoma!.

Reflecting on the season's successes, John Saunders expressed how Mac-Haydn is "so very honored to have so many skilled directors, choreographers, performers, designers, technicians and musicians working tirelessly to present such thrilling work". Of course, much of the theatre's success was thanks to the 2019 resident company. In the words of Saunders, "we had such an incredible resident company this past season and I am so proud of the tremendous work they did all summer long".