Bob Verini

At Williamstown, an O.K. revival and a superior modern premiere explore humanity at lowest ebb.

Two American dramedies, one classic and the other newly minted, affirm humanity’s indomitable ability to renew in the face of chaos.

★★☆☆☆ A Hamlet prequel out of a John Updike novel falls short of presaging the tragedy to follow

★★★★☆ A great doggie performer headlines a tuneful, kid-friendly morality tail (sic)

★★★☆☆ Rock’n’roll is here to stay, though we learn little about the man who made it happen

Two concurrent plays in the Berkshires examine the effect of fairy tales, whether on the body human or the body politic

★★☆☆☆ Garcia Lorca’s folk tragedy invokes earth, fire, and water, but gets mostly infused with air

★★★☆☆ A sprightly, nostalgic musical of the 1960s sacrifices some of the stronger qualities of its cinematic source

★★★★☆ Two gifted first-timers, the Brothers Lazour, find melody and hope in recent historical events marked as much by defeat as by triumph

★★★★☆ Shadow Box author shadow-boxes with charismatic real-life champ, wins on points