Main Street Stage’s first two Comedy Nights played to sold-out – and hysterical – audiences. Isn’t it time you got in on the fun? Ten bucks (and a reservation) gets you in. So make your reservations now by calling 413-663-3240. Don’t forget to tell us how many are in your party, and leave your phone number for confirmation. (For parties of 3 or more, please leave everyone’s name. Reservations will be held only until 8:05.)

The bill on March 18 includes everyone’s favorite improvisational comedy team the Royal Berkshire Improv Troupe (affectionately known as RBIT), followed by your host Eric Nottke and his hand-picked comedic assault team of Seth Brown, Ted Pettingell, and Matt Kona.

And don’t forget: The first Friday of every month is our FREE Open-Mic Comedy Night. What better day than April 1 to get up on stage and make a Fool of yourself – or at least laugh at your friends’ foolishness. The third Friday (April 15) is “comedy pro night” again, so mark it on your calendar.

For more information, check us out at www.mainstreetstage.org

Always cracking up your peeps? Have a million crazy ideas down on paper? Always catching yourself in class imagining what flight attendant school must be like?

Ever think of trying your hand at stand up comedy?

This Friday could be your lucky night as Main Street Stage, in association with Opposable Thumbs productions, present our FREE Open Mic Stand Up Comedy Night.

The hilariously popular series, long a staple at the Alley, is back in town, once again brought to you by Eric Nottke (voted the Most Stand-Up Guy in North Adams).

Seating is limited, admission is FREE, and the show starts at 8 pm sharp. But be sure to show up early, grab Eric and sign up for a stint on the mic.

Need a good laugh this winter? Main Street Stage in North Adams is announcing regular Comedy Nights on their stage, beginning Friday, February 18th, at 8 pm. For $10, the public will get a double dose of comedy with the hilarious stylings of comics Mark Jagiello, Sharkee Katz, Seth Brown, and Eric Nottke, followed by the crazy shenanigans of RBIT (The Royal Berkshire Improv Troupe).

Then starting on March 4, the first Friday of each month will feature an “open mic” night, where amateur comedians get to try their skills, along with seasoned pros. If selected, some novices will advance to the third Friday of each month and join the professionals on stage for a double billing with the Royal Berkshire Improv Troupe. Both Friday Comedy Nights begin at 8 pm and take place at Main Street Stage.

Main Street Stage is a non-profit theatre company celebrating its twelfth year on Main Street in North Adams. The theater is located at 57 Main Street, right next door to The Hub restaurant. Concessions will be available during the show. Go to www.mainstreetstage.org for more information.

The Royal Berkshire Improv Troupe (RBIT) is a comedy improv group that has been delighting audiences with its own brand of non-scripted comedic mayhem since June of 2001. Performing a mix of theater games reminiscent of the TV show “Whose Line Is It Anyway?” the group models its work on the teachings of renowned theater games/improvisation instructor Keith Johnstone. Through audience participation, RBIT’s mission is to create entertaining scenes which explore the boundaries of theater improvisation. See berkshireimprov.com for more information.

January 22 from 3 pm to 11 pm

Round up your friends and head on down to Main Street Stage for an entertainment extravaganza never before seen in Northern Berkshire: an 8-hour rolling bill featuring some of your favorite performers. We’ll have everything from children’s theater to comedy of the late-night variety. And in between you’ll hear some of the hottest local bands, the greatest talent from our local high schools and colleges, and some surprises that will even surprise us. For the bill-of-fare as it stands right now, see the list below.

It all takes place at 57 Main Street, where performances will alternate every hour with a new performer or group. One ticket will allow patrons to come and go as they please throughout the event. Delicious refreshments from Stone Soup of Adams will be available for purchase throughout the day.

Performance Lineup

3:00: Nutshell Playhouse – Children’s Show
4:00: The high-school hour: BArT Improv and more
5:00: The MCLA hour: Yorick and Dance Co.
6:00: Trio Cafe Budapest – acoustic folk, jazz, blues, ethnic music
7:00: Music by MoCA Jam (featuring Tony Pisano) and Dan Hunter
8:00: RBIT: The Royal Berkshire Improv Troupe
9:00: Comedy block featuring Dan Schilling, Eric Nottke, Seth Brown, and Andy Davis
10:00: Rebel Alliance – the area’s premiere rock and reggae band

Purchase your tickets online with a major credit card ($9.99 plus a 99¢ service charge) by clicking on the logo of our ticketing partner below. Or call the Brown Paper Tickets 24/7 hotline at 1-800-838-3006. Any remaining tickets will be available at the door for $12.

If you can’t make it but still want to support us, click here!

Author and longtime Berkshire Eagle columnist Kevin O’Hara  will present his one-man show, The Twelve Stories of
Christmas, on Sunday, December 19th at 4 p.m.

O’Hara’s touching and humorous Yuletide tales recount his boyhood days growing up in a large Irish family in Pittsfield during the 1950′s and 60′s.  Author of two books, Last of the Donkey Pilgrims and A Lucky Irish Lad, O’Hara has performed in scores of venues throughout New England.

Guaranteed seating can be purchased online with a major credit card ($9.99 plus a 99¢ service charge) by clicking on the logo of our ticketing partner below. Or call our 24/7 ticket hotline at 1-800-838-3006.

December 10, 11, 17 and 18
Doors open at 8:00 pm. Show starts at 8:30

Get relief from your holiday traumas with The Red (and Green) Room — locally written skits, songs, music, and dance that take a tongue-in-cheek look at the ups and downs of the holiday season.

Let the Main Street Stage acting company divert you with everything from “A Caroler’s Lament” to “Dickens’s American Idol.” After an intermission filled with light refreshments and lots of good cheer, Kelli Newby’s one-act play A Critic’s Carol imagines what would happen if a small theatre company, much like our own, cast the local theater critic as Scrooge in their production of A Christmas Carol. (Any resemblances to real critics, living or spectral, might be coincidental.)

Guarantee your seat right now with a major credit card ($9.99 plus a 99¢ service charge) by clicking on the logo of our ticketing partner below.

Or call our 24/7 ticket hotline at 1-800-838-3006.

Preview Weekend October 16 -and17 with special pricing:

Saturday at 8 pm: all seats $10
Sunday at 2pm: all seats $10

October 22 – 30:

Fridays & Saturdays at 8pm: $15 / $10 seniors and students
Thursday October 28 at 8 pm: Pay What You Can Night
Sunday October 24 at 2 pm: $15 / $10 seniors and students

On the Verge follows the adventures of three Victorian women explorers into what they believe to be Terra Incognita, a new, unexplored land.  Blending Tom Stoppard’s limber linguistics with the historic overview of a Thornton Wilder, Mr Overmyer takes his audience on a mirthful safari…spinning into time travel.

To reserve seats for the Thursday Pay-What-You-Can Night only, call 413-663-3240 or click here.

The play is directed by Don Jordan and will feature local actors Justina Trova, Wendy Walraven, Jennifer Mattern and Todd Hamilton.

You can reserve or purchase tickets with a major credit card for On The Verge through our ticketing partner below:

Or call the Brown Paper Tickets 24/7 hotline at 1-800-838-3006.

Opening Wed. Sept. 22 through Saturday 25 at 9 pm with live music and cocktails starting at 7pm.   Gypsy Layne. The Berkshire’s first home grown burlesque show.  Coming straight from The Red Herring in Williamstown, Gypsy Layne is thrilled to continue their run at Main Street Stage in North Adams MA.

The brainchild of Nicole Rizzo of North Adams, Gypsy Layne is a show that traces over a century of American Burlesque, highlighting the historical and theatrical aspects from the London stages to vaudeville, through Old Broadway to the present neo-burlesque craze. Featuring Ms Karen Louise Lee as host/MC,(as well as playing Gypsy Rose Lee) the hour long revue showcases six other dancers, including Ms. Rizzo (director/producer), as well as a surprise guest performer each week. Singing, hoola hoops, roller skates, belly dancing, a carousel horse and Jelly Rolls are just some of the gimmicks this multi-talented ensemble will display, with plenty of improv, comedy and audience participation to boot. Or not to boot… (sorry, I couldn’t resist the pun)

Seating is limited so reservations are encouraged and can be made at gypsylayne.com

Tickets are $15

For more articles related to this event please visit:

Berkshire Living Magazine

Berkshire On Stage

Saturday September 11 at 11 a.m. Come Dance with a Clown

$5 for kids, $7 adults and grandparents free!! Available at the door.

Yes, it’s grandparents day! Kids invite your grandma and grandpa to enjoy a delightful performance featuring clowns, puppets, music and more. Clowns Shmurple, Mambo and Bowtie visit some pesky puppets, including The Encyclopoodle (the dog who knows everything), the Ductionary (the duck who knows every word in the English language), and Taco Caramba, the most ferocious pirate parrot to fly the seven seas! Join them as they struggle to find out what a “compromise” is, brave the Big Dark Scary Cave and Dance With a Clown!

This project is supported in part by a grant from the Cultural Council of Northern Berkshire, a local agency which is supported by the Massachusetts Cultural Council, a state agency.

While Wilco will be taking to the big stage at MASS MoCA this weekend, a myriad of other strange creatures will be performing in miniature downtown when Main Street Stage retells Lewis Carroll’s classic tale of Alice in Wonderland using an authentic toy theatre dating back to the 19th century.

“I’d been searching local antique shops for a working toy theatre for some time without much luck,” explains the director Calvin Callay, “so you can imagine my surprise when I found, quite by accident during a garden tour of at The Mount in Lenox, a classic freestanding Danish Dukketeater, designed I think, by Alfred Jacobsen in the 1880s. No one seems to mind that I’ve borrowed it.”

Calvin Callay, who teaches theatre history at a local college and is co-founder of Tumtum Tree Art Collective, has set out to rediscover the wonder and magic of Victorian toy theatre and share it with the North Adams community. “It’s amazing just how life-like tiny bits of cut up paper can become—if you squint your eyes a bit, it’s almost like being transported back in time to an age of drawing rooms and petticoats, and when treating astigmatism was much more tricky.”

Professor Bandersnatch of Willibum College, Willibum, CT notes that the Toy Theatre was a very popular parlor game and after dinner activity in many Victorian households right here in North Adams.

“During a visit to North Adams in 1905, President McKinley was reported to have enjoyed a delightful Toy Theatre adaption of Jules Verne’s From the Earth to the Moon, and later wrote in his Presidential diary, “I should quite like being shot from a canon, I think.”

Bandersnatch, (whose research on the popular toy theatre play Blackbeard the Really, Really Scary Pirate won him the 2009 Lectura Obscura prize) notes, “It’s quite rare to discover a fully working Victorian theatre in such good condition. I haven’t seen anything of this ilk since I came across The Triumph of Neptune in a dumpster behind Best Buy.”

“Oddly enough, several popular television shows have been based on classic European toy theatre games. Most notably, “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air” originates from the French farce Fraîchement Lavés Balades Prince en Dehors (The Freshly Washed Prince Strolls Outside) and the widely popular “The Hills” was developed from the German toy theatre play Frech Hügel Auf Denen Menschen Kinder Schokolade Milch Zum Frühstück (The Naughty Hills Where People Drink Chocolate Milk for Breakfast).”

Appropriate for all ages, Alice in Wonderland will be performed Saturday, Aug. 14 at 11 am and Sunday, Aug. 15 at 10 am at Main Street Stage, 57 Main Street, a five-minute walk from MASS MoCA. Tickets are $7. Click here for reservations or call the box office at 413-663-3240