Berkshire Theatre Festival Honors Richie DuPont

Poster for the Richie DuPont Event May 9.

Berkshire Theatre Festival audiences and staff still remember Richie Dupont, a young actor who was killed in a house fire at age 24. The young actor was at the beginning of his career. At the BTF he played one of the horses in Equus with Randy Harrison who played Alan Strang in that play, his first BTF appearance. We will never know what his full potential might have been. Ritchie worked as a double on the films "Herbie Fully Loaded" and "National Lampoon’s Lost Reality II."

Each year, a special event is held in his memory to enable other promising actors a chance to learn the business of stagecraft.

Richie in Equus: (front row) Tara Franklin, Randy Harrison and Richie DuPont; back row Joe Jung and Ryan O'Shaughnessy in Berkshire Theatre Festival's Main Stage production of Equus. Photo by Kevin Sprague.

To that end, BTF PLAYS!, the year-round educational program for Berkshire Theatre Festival, will be hosting the 4th annual Richie DuPont Award Benefit on May 9th at 8 p.m. at Firefly in Lenox, MA. The benefit will feature live entertainment by Berkshire favorites, the Tony Lee Thomas Band, light hors d’ouevres, door prizes and a silent auction. All proceeds will benefit the Richie duPont Award, which provides tuition assistance for children to attend BTF PLAYS! summer acting camps on the BTF campus.

This year’s silent auction features a “A Night at the Theatre” package including overnight accommodations for two and a complimentary breakfast at the Red Lion Inn in Stockbridge, MA along with tickets to a BTF Main Stage Production; tickets to see The Roundabout Theatre Company’s current production of Waiting for Godot on Broadway, starring Nathan Lane and Bill Irwin; gift certificates to IS183, Plaine’s BikeSkiSnowboard, Route 7 Grill, and Berkshire Bike and Blade; Kayak rental from the Arcadian Shop; and many, many more items donated by local businesses. The event is sponsored this year by Maureen Stanton, Laura Shack of Firefly, and Your Color Connection.

Tickets for the event are $15 in advance and $20 at the door the night of the event. For advance tickets or more information on the event, please contact BTF at (413) 298-5536 ext. 13.

Equus on Broadway: Pick of the Week

Daniel Radcliffe rides high in Equus. Carol Rosegg photo.

With only about five weeks left in its run, this is the time to think seriously about seeing the brilliant revival of Equus on Broadway. The play by Peter Shaffer hardly needs stars to succeed in pleasing its audiences. But its top roles have been filled by major actors such as Richard Burton playing the role now filled by the remarkable Tony-winner Richard Griffiths.

Richard Griffiths and Daniel Radcliffe on Broadway. Carol Rosegg photo.

That Daniel Radcliffe, star of the popular Harry Potter films, so captivated London and Broadway theatre-goers is no surprise. This is not a shallow teen idol filling an opportunistic role, but rather a serious actor proving his mettle. Equus wins our "Pick of the Week" because it is a great psychological inquisition into the character of a young stable boy who blinded horses, and great theatre that will keep your mind actively involved in the evolution of both the boy's pathology, and that of his equally troubled psychiatrist. As if that was not enough, even more is bared in the famous nude scene, in his relationship with his girlfriend, all while the authorities sort out his crime.

According to the UK's Daily Mail, the nude scene with actress Joanna Christie had many parents objecting that someone who plays a boy wizard in films for children should remain innocent. But Radcliffe clearly wanted to get beyond such type casting, and spent months in the gym pumping up his physique so his love scene would not disappoint.

Daniel Radcliffe and Joanna Christie in the London Production

Of course our pick of this show would not be complete without providing a key to some discounts. This one is particularly good, and there are others around. This may prove particularly useful for weekday performances since it is very deeply discounted at $49.50 for rear mezzanine and $66.50 for orchestra and front mezzanine on Tuesday to Thursday evenings. Click here for tickets. Or check one of the ticket brokers that specialize in discounted tickets. Cheapest for fees is to visit one of the TKTS booths run by the Theatre Development Fund. Finally, you can call "Special Promotions" at 212-947-8844 and mention code EQNYT28.

This riveting tale is one whose images will stick in your memory for a long time. The stylized horses, with heads wrought out of steel and whose actors carefully constructed stances and actions makes them real to the audience is a minor miracle of theatrical trickery, aided and abetted by a magnificent cast and brilliant technical support.