FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Great Barrington, Mass.—The Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center will present five mainstage headliners, three Indigo Room performers, and five screened events this July: Dan St. Germain on July 3, The French Connection (1971) on July 5, Cathy Ladman on July 11, Tab Benoit on July 12, John Waite on July 16, The Godfather (1972) on July 17, Tom Papa on July 18, All the Music in the World (2026) on July 19, All the President’s Men (1976) on July 23, Branford Marsalis Quartet on July 24, David Rasche on July 25, The Right Stuff (1983) on July 30, and Heather Headley on July 31.
Indigo Comedy Night: Dan St. Germain
The Mahaiwe will present Dan St. Germain at the Indigo Room on Friday, July 3 at 8 p.m., as part of the new venue’s ongoing comedy series.
Dan St. Germain is the creator and star of the web series Kicking Dan Out featured on MyDamn Channel and co-hosts a weekly podcast with Sean Donnelly on Heavy.com called My Dumb Friends. His shorts have appeared on the front page of Funny or Die, Best Week Ever and The Huffington Post. He played right wing blogger Kane Phillips during Comedy Central’s Indecision and has been featured on Jokes.com, SpikeTv.com and College Humor Live. He’s been in ad campaigns for BushmillsWhisky, Pre-play, Fins, Saints Row on Spike, and featured alongside Howard Stern in a Super Bowl commercial for America’s Got Talent. Dan appeared as a “New Face” at the Montreal Just for Laughs Festival and has also been part of SXSW, The Eugene Mirman Comedy Festival, Bridgetown, New York, UNC and Boston Comedy Festivals. He’s an Emerging Comics of New York (ECNY) nominee for Best Emerging Comic, an ECNY nominee for Best Male Stand-Up, a finalist in the NY Comedy Contest, a semi-finalist in the Boston Comedy Festival and selected as part of the Young Playwrights Festival. Dan’s first album, Bad at the Good Times, was released on A Special Thing records.
Indigo Comedy Night shows are hosted by Thomas Attila Lewis and feature supporting comedians before the headliner. This performance is for ages 18 and up.
Indigo Comedy Night shows are sponsored by Fairfield Inn by Mariott.
Tickets are $30 general admission, café table seating.
Screening: 100 Years of Movies – The French Connection (1971)
The Mahaiwe will screen The French Connection (1971) on Sunday, July 5 at 7 p.m. as part of its 100 Years of Movies program.
The French Connection is a neo-noir thriller, known for its strong performances, gritty realism, and exhilarating chase sequences. NYPD detectives Jimmy “Popeye” Doyle (Gene Hackman) and Buddy “Cloudy” Russo (Roy Scheider) are in pursuit of international drug smuggler, Alain Charnier (Fernando Rey) in this Oscar winning Best Picture of 1971. Director William Friedkin, screenwriter Ernest Tidyman and star Gene Hackman also took home Oscars. Rated R.
100 Years of Movies screenings feature introductions by director Deborah Reinisch.
This screening is sponsored by Eileen Fisher.
Tickets are $8.
Indigo Comedy Night: Cathy Ladman
The Mahaiwe will present two performances from comedian Cathy Ladman at the Indigo Room on Saturday, July 11 at 6 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. Ladman’s show – I Have No One to Blame But Myself – will represent a special installment of the organization’s Indigo Comedy Night series.
Cathy Ladman’s relatable stand-up presents herself as the self-probing, anxiety-venting person that she is. She has appeared on The Tonight Show ten times and had her own Dry Bar special in 2024. She’s been on The Late Late Show five times, has had her own HBO One Night Stand comedy special, and was awarded the American Comedy Award for Best Female Stand Up Comic. Her TV and film credits include: recurring roles on, I’m Dying Up Here and Pretty Little Liars, Modern Family, Scandal, How to Get Away With Murder, NCIS: LA, Mad Men, Brothers and Sisters, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Caroline in the City (recurring), Everybody Loves Raymond, Politically Incorrect, Dr. Katz: Professional Therapist, Charlie Wilson’s War, The Aristocrats, White Oleander, What Planet Are You From?, My Fellow Americans, and Don’t Tell Mom The Babysitter’s Dead. Her solo show, Does This Show Make Me Look Fat? opened this past year.
This performance is for ages 18 and up.
Indigo Comedy Night shows are sponsored by Fairfield Inn by Mariott.
Tickets are $50 general admission, café table seating.
Mainstage: Tab Benoit
Blues guitarist Tab Benoit will perform on the Mahaiwe mainstage on Sunday, July 12 at 8 p.m.
Join for an exhilarating evening as the legendary multi-Grammy nominee and wetlands activist Tab Benoit brings his high-energy Soul of the Swamp Tour 2026 to the Mahaiwe. Known for his passionate performances and deep-rooted connection to the swamp, Tab Benoit is a true master of his craft, boasting over 20 releases that showcase his unique artistry.
With iconic radio hits like “Nice and Warm” and “Cross the Line” from his ‘90s recordings, critics have often compared Benoit’s voice to Otis Redding’s, while his guitar playing is celebrated for its originality and distinctive style. In 2024, he made a triumphant return with his first recording in 13 years, I Hear Thunder, signaling that his best work is yet to come.
On the Soul of the Swamp Tour, Benoit will take you on a musical journey, performing songs from his vast catalog and digging deep into the rich tones and storytelling lyrics that have made him an admired figure in the music world. True to his authentic style, Benoit performs without effects – just a guitar, a cord, and an amp – allowing the magic of his music to shine through his hands, fingers, and his band.
Blues rock act Sgt. Splendor will open for Benoit.
Tickets are $35 to $55 with discounts for Mahaiwe Members and individuals ages 30 and under.
Mainstage: John Waite
John Waite will perform hits from his 40-year career as both a solo artist and a member of iconic rock bands The Babys and Bad English, on Thursday, July 16 at 8 p.m., on the Mahaiwe mainstage.
John Waite’s catalogue of hits features some of the most loved songs of the ‘80s and ‘90s – the number one worldwide hit “Missing You,” The Babys’ “Isn’t It Time” and Bad English’s “When I See You Smile” rank amongst some of his biggest international hits and are still heard on radio today. Others include “Tears,” “Change,” and “These Times Are Hard for Lovers.” “Every Step of the Way,” and “If Anybody Had a Heart” appeared on the soundtrack to the 1986 Demi Moore film About Last Night. “Deal for Life,” penned by Martin Page and Bernie Taupin, was featured in the Days of Thunder soundtrack.
As a solo artist and as the lead singer of The Babys and Bad English, John Waite was a fixture of album-oriented rock radio stations during the ’70s and ’80s. John Waite has a talent for power ballads and driving arena rock, occasionally touching on new wave-styled power pop as well.
Tickets are $45 to $65, with discounts for Mahaiwe Members and individuals ages 30 and under.
Screening: 100 Years of Movies – The Godfather (1972)
The Mahaiwe will screen The Godfather (1972) on Friday, July 17 at 7 p.m. as part of its 100 Years of Movies program.
Widely considered one of the greatest films ever made, Francis Ford Coppola’s The Godfather charts the rise of a crime family in post-World War II America. Marlon Brando leads an all-star cast, including Al Pacino, Robert Duvall, Diane Keaton, and James Caan. Rated R.
100 Years of Movies screenings feature introductions by director Deborah Reinisch.
Tickets are $8.
Mainstage: 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.
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. Limited tickets remain available.
Screening: All the Music in the World (2026)
Tanglewood, the Mahaiwe, and DOC NYC will present the co-world premiere of All the Music in the World, a documentary film celebrating one of the world’s greatest pianists, Emanuel Ax, on Sunday, July 19 at 7 p.m. at the Mahaiwe. The screening will be followed by a talkback with Ax and filmmaker Joseph Levy.
Director Joseph Levy follows Emanuel Ax, a celebrated virtuoso still contending with stage fright, as he embarks on his 50th year of performing while wrestling with the idea of stepping away from the spotlight.
Tickets are $20.
Screening: 100 Years of Movies – All the President’s Men (1976)
The Mahaiwe will screen All the President’s Men (1976) on Thursday, July 23 at 7 p.m. as part of its 100 Years of Movies program.
All the President’s Men is a political thriller about the Watergate scandal. Robert Redford and Dustin Hoffman play the Washington Post journalists Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein, who broke the story. The film is directed by Alan J. Pakula with an Oscar-winning screenplay by William Goldman. Rated PG.
100 Years of Movies screenings feature introductions by director Deborah Reinisch.
Tickets are $8.
Mainstage: Branford Marsalis Quartet
The Branford Marsalis Quartet will perform on the Mahaiwe mainstage on Friday, July 24 at 8 p.m.
New Orleans-born Branford Marsalis is an award-winning saxophonist, band leader, featured classical soloist, and a film and Broadway composer. In the process, he has become a multi- award-winning artist with three Grammys, a citation by the National Endowment for the Arts as a Jazz Master and an avatar of contemporary artistic excellence.
The Branford Marsalis Quartet, formed in 1986, remains his primary means of expression. In its virtually uninterrupted three-plus decades of existence, the Quartet has established a rare breadth of stylistic range and has long been recognized as the standard to which other ensembles of its kind must be measured. The Quartet recently made its Blue Note Records debut with the release of Belonging, a full album interpretation of Keith Jarrett’s 1974 ECM album of the same name. But Marsalis has not confined his music to the jazz quartet context. He recently composed a classical suite commissioned by the Kalamazoo Symphony Orchestra. A frequent soloist with classical ensembles, Marsalis has become increasingly sought after as a featured soloist with acclaimed orchestras around the world, including the New York and Los Angeles Philharmonics, and the Chicago, Detroit, North Carolina, and Düsseldorf Symphonies. And his legendary guest performances with the Grateful Dead and collaborations with Sting have made him a fan favorite in the pop arena.
Marsalis’ screen credits as a composer include original music for: Rustin starring Colman Domingo, the History Channel’s documentary Tulsa Burning: The 1921 Race Massacre, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom starring Viola Davis and the late Chadwick Boseman, The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks starring Oprah Winfrey, and Spike Lee’s Mo’ Better Blues. He received a 2021 Emmy nomination for the original music he composed and produced for Tulsa Burning in the Outstanding Music Composition for a Documentary Series or Special (Original Dramatic Score) category. His work on Broadway has garnered a Drama Desk Award and a Tony nomination for the acclaimed revival of Fences. He recently arranged and orchestrated the music for a new Broadway production on Louis Armstrong, A Wonderful World. His previous Broadway efforts include music for the revivals of Children of a Lesser God and A Raisin in the Sun, as well as The Mountaintop, which starred Angela Basset and Samuel L. Jackson.
Tickets are $69 to $99, with discounts for Mahaiwe Members and individuals ages 30 and under.
Indigo Room: Half an Evening with David Rasche
Actor David Rasche will perform his show Half an Evening with David Rasche at the Indigo Room on Saturday, July 25 at 7:30 p.m.
Half an Evening with David Rasche is a delightful show of painful memories and personal insults that are tied together with a collection of original songs that the American theatre, film, and television actor wrote himself. Some of these songs have never before been sung in public, perhaps for good reason. Some are love songs, some comedic, some are bittersweet, some just bitter. He is not above a cheap joke, and nothing is beneath him. Songs will include the bossa nova favorite “Sand Up in My Crack,” the enchanting jazz waltz “I Wish I Was Married to Your Wife,” the historic actor/prison/chain gang song “Never Going to Work Again,” and not many more. The songs are musical, and short enough to accommodate the most limited attention span. Someone else will be playing the piano, so don’t worry. This show will be just long enough that just when you are thinking, “It’s time to go,” the last song will be finishing and your coat will be waiting for you at the door. “Thank God, David Rasche is finally doing a show,” someone might have said, maybe. It’s a performance you will be happy to have seen.
David Rasche began his career at Chicago’s famed Second City and appeared in the first two seasons of Succession on HBO. He has worked, although not frequently enough, both on Broadway and Off-Broadway, most recently at the New Jersey Rep in Fern Hill, by Michael Tucker. Other credits include: the musical of Little Miss Sunshine at Second Stage, directed by James Lapine, The Shadow Box, Lunch Hour with Gilda Radner, directed by Mike Nichols, and David Mamet’s Edmond at the Atlantic Theater Company. Film credits include: Burn After Reading, United 93, In the Loop, Just Married, That Old Feeling, Men in Black III, Delirious, and Manhattan. His latest film, Swallow, with Hailey Bennett, is scheduled for December release. On TV, he plays the title role in Sledge Hammer!, and has appeared in episodic shows from Miami Vice to Madame Secretary to VEEP.
Tickets are $47 general admission, café table seating.
Screening: 100 Years of Movies – The Right Stuff (1983)
The Mahaiwe will screen The Right Stuff (1983) on Thursday, July 30 at 7 p.m. as part of its 100 Years of Movies program.
The Right Stuff is an epic America story about sending the first Americans into space. Sam Shepard stars as test pilot Chuck Yeager who broke the sound barrier, only to find himself yesterday’s news with the ascent of the camera-ready Mercury 7 astronauts. Additional cast includes Ed Harris as John Glenn and Scott Glenn as Alan Shepard. Rated PG.
100 Years of Movies screenings feature introductions by director Deborah Reinisch.
Tickets are $8 or $5 for ages 12 and under.
Mainstage: Heather Headley
Tony and Grammy Award winner Heather Headley will perform on the Mahaiwe mainstage on Friday, July 31 at 8 p.m.
Heather Headley considers her multi-faceted career a blessing. She was born and spent most of her childhood on the beautiful Caribbean island of Trinidad. The family moved to the United States in the early ‘90s where Heather’s love for the arts continued.
In 1997 Heather won the role of Nala in the original Broadway cast of the Elton John and Tim Rice’s hit Tony winning musical The Lion King. While still in The Lion King, Heather was asked to audition for the title role in the writing duo’s next Broadway venture together, Elton John and Tim Rice’s Aida. Her portrayal of the Nubian princess, Aida, won her the praise of critics and the prestigious Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical. In addition to other awards, she also received the coveted Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actress in a Musical. That year she was listed as one of People Magazine’s 50 Most Beautiful People and Essence Magazine’s 30 Women To Watch. In 2012 Heather made a triumphant return to the stage, starring in The Bodyguard in London’s West End, where she gained the critics praise and a new fan base overseas.
Heather continued her musical success on the pop charts with her 2002 debut album on RCA Records, This Is Who I Am, which featured productions by several top-flight producers. Two songs, “He Is,” and the album track “I Wish I Wasn’t,” both emerged as Top 5 R&B and Dance chart hits. Heather earned numerous accolades for This Is Who I Am, including Grammy Award nominations for Best New Artist and Best Female R&B Vocal Performance. Heather returned in January 2006 with In My Mind, her long-awaited second solo album. The opening title tune single became Heather’s first number one hit, topping the Dance and R&B charts.
In 2009 Heather released Audience of One for which she won the Grammy Award for the Best Contemporary R&B Gospel Album. In 2012 she released Only One In The World, an album that featured songs that Heather wrote as well as some of her favorite covers. To the audience’s and critics’ delight, Heather made her return to Broadway in 2016 starring in the Tony Award-winning The Color Purple, in the role of Shug Avery. In 2018, Heather had a recurring role on Chicago Med playing the formidable Gwen Garrett. In 2021 Heather won the critics’ praise for her role of the Witch in the New York City Center’s production of Into The Woods. Heather can currently be seen as a series regular on the Netflix series Sweet Magnolias.
Tickets are $55 to $95 with discounts for Mahaiwe Members and individuals ages 30 and under.
This performance is sponsored by Fairview Hospital.
Tickets
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.
The Mahaiwe accepts ConnectorCare/WIC/EBT cards — four free tickets to movies or HD broadcasts per individual. Learn more at mahaiwe.org/visit/ticketing-offers.
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, opera, 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.
About the Indigo Room
The Indigo Room is a flexible performance venue in the former Great Barrington firehouse building at 20 Castle Street, next door to the historic Mahaiwe theater. Audience capacity ranges between 75 and 150 based on the floor plan for a given performance.
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