Stockbridge, A Winter Wonderland

Now is the time to enjoy the wonders of nature and a true winter wonderland. The Berkshires is experiencing the biggest snowstorm of the season as I am writing this blog. By Friday we should have 30" of beautiful powder, perfect for skiing, snow shoeing or making that perfect snowman.
Butternut is the perfect choice for down hill skiing and we have discount tickets available for you. If you prefer cross country try Canterbury Farms. Perhaps you want to snow shoe in Kennedy Park or on the grounds of the Inn. We have snow shoes for you to borrow. Come to the Inn at Stockbridge and take advantage of our stay more save more special.
Winter in the Berkshires is beautiful and enjoy the snow before spring arrives. There is even some culture now. Visit Shakespeare and Company and see Dangerous Liaisons after you day on the slopes and end the perfect day in a double whirlpool in one of our barn or cottage house suites.

February is for Valentines & Love

Valentines Day is February 14, but at the Inn at Stockbridge bed&breakfast in the Berkshires we are celebrating love and Valentines all month long. Stay at the inn for 2 or more nights the entire month of February and we will have chocolate covered strawberries waiting in you room for your arrival. For a 3 night stay we will also have waiting for you a split of champagne. You can also take advantage of our stay more save more special the entire month as well as March & April.

Love can also be a bit dangerous. For a merry wicked time visit Shakespeare & Company in Lenox MA and see Les Liasons Dangerous.
Love is the ultimate weapon! This wickedly entertaining story of love, sex and betrayal is as sumptuously guilt-inducing as a decadent chocolate you just can't resist. Depicting the devious schemes of French aristocrats on the cusp of the Revolution, it heats up the intimate Bernstein Theatre at Shakespeare & Company this winter under the direction of Founding Artistic Director Tina Packer.

Packer directs Elizabeth Aspenlieder, who won the coveted Elliot Norton Award for her tour de force performance in Bad Dates last winter, and Josh Aaron McCabe, most recently seen last fall as Sherlock Holmes (and a host of other characters, both male and female) in the runaway hit The Hound of the Baskervilles. Les Liaisons Dangereuses (Dangerous Liaisons) was ahead of its time as a novel in 1782 and it still may be ahead of its time today.
This play is running until March 21.

Repeat Guests at The Inn at Stockbridge

Alice & Len Schiller, owners of the Inn at Stockbridge B&B in the Berkshires, always look forward to their repeat guests every summer. It is always wonderful to see friendly faces and catch up on all that has happened in our lives over the years. Phip & Adelle Glassman & Gordy and Eleanor Zach are loyal repeat guests from Toronto.
Phip and Adelle are married 58 years and are still a great team. Gordy and Eleanor are not married but have been together for 15 years. Both the Zach's and Glassman winter in Palm Beach. It is always a treat to write this blog and to interview our guests. The Glassmans were in the sponge business together. They imported the raw material and fabricated the sponges. they have 3 children, 11 grandchildren and 2 great grandchildren and they are thrilled to have them all live in Toronto. Gordy had a furniture and appliance store in Hamilton retired and moved to Toronto. Gordy has 5 grandchildren and Eleanor has 2 children and 5 grandchildren. The Glassmans's and the Zach's have been coming to the Inn at Stockbridge for over 10 years and look forward to returning next year. They enjoy visiting Jacobs Pillow, Williamstown Theatre Festival, Shakespeare & Company & Tanglewood. They enjoy the fine restaurants that we recommend each year. This year the tried and enjoyed Cafe Adam on the recommendation of the Sach's and Croll's.
I particularly enjoyed chatting with Adelle & Phil and Eleanor & Gordy about health insurance in Canada. They think it is a marvelous system and that the US should implement a similar system.
We look forward to welcoming them back again next year and to catch up.

Breakfast at the Inn at Stockbridge with Special Guests

Alice & Len Schiller, owners of the Inn at Stockbridge, Bed & Breakfast are always pleased when we can welcome special friends of our guests to join us for breakfast at the Inn. We were pleased to welcome Elayne Bernstein & Sol Schwartz the other day. I had the pleasure of meeting Elaine & Sol at Shakespeare & Company in the Elayne P. Bernstein Theatre. The theatre is named for Elayne Bernstein who is a trustee of Shakespeare & Co. Elayne and Sol spotted the young man Stephen Pilkington in New York at an Apple Store where he was working. They struck up a conversation and spotted his talent and brought him to Shakespeare & Co. Stephen is an extraordinary actor and is very grateful to Elayne & Sol for this opportunity. Elayne & Sol are a wonderful couple who found each other later in life. Frances Martinson, from our previous blog related how Sol proposed to Elayne at Shakespeare and Co. several years ago.

Frances also related how Elayne moves her car in Manhattan for alternate side of the street parking in order to save money on a garage and thus be able to donate more to Shakespeare & Co. Meeting wonderful people is what Len and I love about owning the Inn at Stockbridge. Who knows who we will have the pleasure of meeting tomorrow. Perhaps You

The Inn at Stockbridge, Shakespeare & Co and Special Guests

The Inn at Stockbridge Bed & Breakfast in Stockbridge Ma has been very fortunate to have had some wonderful repeat guests over the years. Alice & Len Schiller, owners of the Inn for fifteen years consider many of their guests special friends who they have grown fond of. One of these special ladies is Frances Martinson. Frances & her late dear husband Paul have and continue to be a part of our inn family since we arrived. The Martinsons have been an integral part of Shakespeare & Co since its founding. Frances's late husband Paul was a big supporter of Shakespeare in the Park since the 60's. Martinson Hall in the Public Theatre is named after him. They have been Trustee's of the Public Theatre and have been trustee's of Shakespeare & Co for over 30 years. Frances continues to be a great supporter of Tina Packer and all her efforts to make Shakespeare & Co what it is today.
Frances is also philanthropic in New york City as well. She is a trustee of the Pearl Theatre as well as a trustee of the American Folk Art Museum.
I had the pleasure of seeing two of Shakespeare & Co shows this season . Yesterday I went with Frances to see "Pinter's Mirror", three one act plays by Harold Pinter as well as " the Actor's rehearse the Story of Charlotte Salomon. This tells the mother daughter story, artistic journey and ultimate tragedy of Charlotte Salamon. I would highly recommend both productions.
A visit to the Berkshire's, a stay at The Inn at Stockbridge and a visit to Shakespeare & Co should be on your to do list this summer. After all if Frances supports both the Inn at Stockbridge and Shakespeare & Co it must be the best.

Fall at its Best in the Berkshires

Stockbridge is now experiencing the best fall foliage that I have seen in years. the colors are bright, the weather has been beautiful and life is good in the Berkshires.



The cultural scene is still happening as well. The Berkshire Theatre Festival is featuring Eleanor, a one women play about Eleanor Roosevelt. Shakespeare and Co is offering by Irina Brook and Michael Hammond. This is a world premiere adaption of Oscar Wilde's comical tale from 1887 of a transplanted American family living in a haunted English mansion and the ghastly ghost that grows on them. The show is in the new Elayne P Bernstein Theatre. It is a must see and the theatre is great.

The Barrington Stage Company is offering To Kill a Mockingbird. This is a southern classic and a quintessential American courtroom thriller. It is a powerful exploration of racial injustice, class tensions, courage, compassion and the loss of innocence in the deep south.

Offerings are until the end of October.

Summer in the Berkshires

Alice & Len Schiller, owners of the Inn at Stockbridge are thrilled to be in the Berkshires for their 14th season as owners of the Inn. This season is off to a great start. Alice & Len have been busy checking out the offerings at the various venues to assist their guests in planning their stays. There is something happening every day we even need a day of rest.
Last week James Taylor appeared at Tanglewood. He always puts on a wonderful show. We went to the Art Festival at Butternut, heard the reading of the Decoration of independence at Shakespeare & Co. We went to Tanglewood again and heard La Trojans by Berlioz. Monday was a film at the Jewish Film Festival, Tuesday was the Pops at Tanglewood. We heard and saw a wonderful production of A Little Night Music by Sondheim. Tuesday afternoon I went on a hike with my Women's hiking group and saw the arches at Chester. This was railroad arches that were built in the 1930's. It was a bit strenuous but wonderful. Thursday was the Book Club Play at the Berkshire Theatre Festival. This was a wonderful new play that I strongly recommend.

This weekend also appears to be promising. There is so much to do in the Berkshires. It is truly a cultural paradise.
We are thrilled to see so many of our regular guests. Its a wonderful feeling to be owners of the Inn, seeing all our wonderful guests and enjoying all the Berkshires has to offer.

Shakespeare & Company

Alice & Len Schiller, owners of the Inn at Stockbridge are proud to by supporters and advertisers of Shakespeare & Company. We were treated to a wine and cheese party the other night and saw their new play. This was not an ordinary wine and cheese party. There were over 400 guests from all over the county. The event was catered by our friends Lynn & Christian from Ketchup to Caviar. Everything was perfect, weather setting and surroundings.

Alice & Len were then treated to see the Ladies Man, the mother in law of French farce by Charles Morey. It was directed by Kevin Coleman & starred Annette Miller as the mother in law and Elizabeth Aspenlieder, both great actresses. Annette Miller starred as Golda Meir in "Golda".
This was a convoluted story with whip-smart dialogue. It is set in Paris at the turn of the century about a suave doctor whose young wife and fire breathing mother in law suspect infidelity. The doctor gets deeper into his own soup the more he tries to prove his innocence. This is a must see if you want a good laugh.

Berkshire Cultural Season has begun

The 2008 Berkshire cultural season has begun. Alice & Len Schiller owners of the Inn at Stockbridge are fortunate to have seen the new show by the Barrington Stage Company while in previews. "I Am My Own Wife" is a Tony Award winning play by Doug Wright in the one man play starring Vince Gatton. It tells the story of of an East German transvestite Charlotte van Mahisdorf who incredibly eluded both the Nazis and communists with a combination of cleverness and deceit. We loved this play and recommend it to our guests.

In the coming weeks we are going to the Spelling Bee also by the Barrington Stage Company. Shakespeare and Company is offering the Ladies Man, the mother in law of French farce by Charles Morey. The inn is an advertiser and we are invited to a reception and showing of the play. Alice & Len love the beginning of the season and look forward to welcoming all their guests.

Shakespeare & Company

Tina Packer playing Cleopatra, I was curious. I know Tina lost weight but could she pull it off. Like everything else Tina does she did it with finesse.
Tina created this wonderful venue. I remember when she had her company at the Mount. Shakespeare was out of this venue and then bought the National music Center on Kembell St. It was a great endeavor, but her supporters had faith. One of our long time dear guest Frances Martinson and her late husband Paul were founders. We followed the progress and are now thrilled with the results.
Yes Tina was a great Cleopatra. she can do anything she sets her mind to.

The Inn at Stockbridge Bed & Breakfast is extremely busy with all our wonderful guests.. We are receiving wonderful feedback from all the cultural venues, the weather is great. What more can one ask for. Culture in the Country.