FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Great Barrington, Mass.—The Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center has added three new shows to its year-round lineup: Great American Songbook performer Michael Feinstein on May 1, bluegrass band Railroad Earth on May 9, and comedian Tom Papa on July 18.
These programs join previously announced shows Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo (February 7), Selected Shorts: Lovers & Strangers (February 13), and Black Violin (February 27) in the Mahaiwe’s 2026 lineup. More to be announced.
Michael Feinstein
Great American Songbook performer Michael Feinstein will return to the Mahaiwe with a new show – Big Band Broadway featuring the Carnegie Hall Ensemble – on Friday, May 1 at 8 p.m.
Broadway never sounds better than when it swings. With the greatest contemporary jazz musicians, Michael Feinstein swings the songbook into the 21st Century.
Featuring music from quintessential shows such as Cabaret, Hello Dolly, and Fiddler on the Roof to Into the Woods, and Chicago, Big Band Broadway delivers modern and classic showtunes with the timeless tradition of Carnegie Hall in a way that only Michael Feinstein can do.
The show also brings to bear the history of Carnegie Hall, which has been connected to the American big band for decades. Icons from across the 20th and 21st Century have graced the stage of Carnegie Hall, from Benny Goodman to Duke Ellington, Louis Armstrong to Ella Fitzgerald, and from Frank Sinatra to, of course, Tony Bennett. A multi-media element of the show will help to bring this history to life onstage.
Michael Feinstein has built a dazzling career over the last three decades bringing the music of the Great American Songbook to the world. From recordings that have earned him five Grammy Award nominations to his Emmy nominated PBS-TV specials, his acclaimed NPR series and concerts spanning the globe – in addition to his appearances at iconic venues such as The White House, Buckingham Palace, Hollywood Bowl, Carnegie Hall, and Sydney Opera House – his work as an educator and archivist defines Feinstein as one of the most important musical forces of our time.
Tickets are $69 to $124, with discounts for Mahaiwe Members and individuals ages 30 and under.
Railroad Earth
Progressive bluegrass band Railroad Earth will perform at the Mahaiwe on Saturday, May 9 at 8 p.m.
For over two decades, Railroad Earth has captivated audiences with gleefully unpredictable live shows and eloquent and elevated studio output. The group introduced its signature sound on 2001’s The Black Bear Sessions. Between selling out hallowed venues such as Red Rocks Amphitheatre in Morrison, Colo., they’ve been responsible for launching signature festivals Hangtown Music Festival in Placerville, Calif., and Hillberry: The Harvest Moon Festival in Eureka Springs, Ark. Sought after by legends, the John Denver Estate tapped them to put lyrics penned by the late John Denver to music on the 2019 vinyl EP, Railroad Earth: The John Denver Letters. Beyond tallying tens of millions of streams, the collective have earned widespread critical acclaim from David Fricke of Rolling Stone, American Songwriter, Glide Magazine, and NPR who assured, “Well-versed in rambling around, as you might expect from a band named after a Jack Kerouac poem, the New Jersey-built jam-grass engine Railroad Earth has let no moss grow under its rustic wheels.”
Tickets are $39 to $64, with discounts for Mahaiwe Members and individuals ages 30 and under.
Tom Papa
Comedian Tom Papa will return to the Mahaiwe on his Grateful Bread Tour on Saturday, July 18 at 7 p.m.
With more than 20 years as a stand-up comedian, Tom Papa is one of the top comedic voices in the country, finding success as an actor, host, and author, in film, TV, radio and podcasts as well as on the live stage.
The comedian has had 5 highly rated stand-up specials over the years, and he has recently released his 6th stand-up special, Tom Papa: Home Free as a Netflix Original on October 29, 2024. Papa holds nothing back in his third Netflix special as his kids are finally out of the house and it’s just him, his wife, and a bunch of animals ready to return to their glory days. Tom has seen a lot over the years from close calls with a pachinko ball to late night 7-Eleven runs and he’s sharing all his thoughts as he parties on into the next stage of life. His other critically acclaimed specials include What A Day!, Tom Papa: You’re Doing Great!, Human Mule, Freaked Out, and Tom Papa Live in New York City, two of which were directed by Rob Zombie.
On June 6, 2023, Tom released his highly anticipated third book, We’re All In This Together… So Make Some Room. The book compiles comedic essays that aim to unite us through our stupidity. Every mistake has already been made, and this should bring us great comfort as we join together in our fight for survival, or at least in our attempt to get through the day. Whether we like it or not, we’re all in this together.
In 2020, Tom released his second book, You’re Doing Great! – And Other Reasons To Stay Alive, which was the follow-up to Your Dad Stole My Rake: And Other Family Dilemmas both released by St. Martin’s Press, making “Summer Must Read” lists from Parade Magazine to The New York Post. Tom is also a contributing writer to The New Yorker magazine.
Tom’s highly rated podcast, Breaking Bread with Tom Papa, features Tom and his guest eating, drinking, and celebrating the true meaning of breaking bread with insightful, revealing, and always funny conversations. He also hosts the popular daily Netflix radio show, What A Joke With Papa And Fortune, on Sirius XM Channel 93 and the monthly show, Come To Papa Live, on Channel 94.
Tom has starred in many fan-favorite films including Paper Spiders where he starred opposite Lili Taylor, The Informant! opposite Matt Damon, Analyze That opposite Robert De Niro, and The Haunted World of El Superbeasto opposite Paul Giamatti, where Tom voiced the title character. He can also be seen alongside Michael Douglas and Matt Damon in the HBO film, Behind the Candelabra, which was directed by Steven Soderbergh and won 11 Emmys.
On TV, Tom hosted the NBC series, The Marriage Ref, which ran for two seasons and had a recurring role opposite Julia Louis-Dreyfus on the CBS series, The New Adventures of Old Christine.
Tickets are $40 to $89, with discounts for Mahaiwe Members and individuals ages 30 and under.
Tickets
Tickets go on sale to Mahaiwe Members on Wednesday, December 10 at noon, and to the public on Friday, December 12 at noon (Railroad Earth tickets will be available online at 10am).
Tickets can be purchased online at mahaiwe.org, or by calling or visiting the Box Office, 413-528-0100, on Wednesday through Saturday from noon to 4 p.m.
To learn more about Mahaiwe Membership, contact Brenna Hull at 413-644-9040 x107 or brenna@mahaiwe.org, or visit mahaiwe.org/membership.
Individuals ages 30 and under are eligible for $15 youth tickets for live Mahaiwe Presents events on the mainstage. Visit or call the Box Office to redeem this offer.
About the Mahaiwe
Located in downtown Great Barrington, Mass., the Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center is the year-round presenter of world-class music, dance, theater, classic films, Live in HD broadcasts, and arts education programs for the southern Berkshires and neighboring regions. The intimate jewel box of a theater opened in 1905. Since 2005, the performing arts center has hosted over 2,500 events and welcomed over 600,000 people through its doors. More than 28,000 students from 77 different schools have benefited from the Mahaiwe’s school-time performances and residencies. In 2025, the Mahaiwe opened a second performance venue, the Indigo Room. For more information, see mahaiwe.org.
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