Seeking the Greed Cure, Sort Of

Yes, we’ve heard lately about the 47 percent of Americans said to pay no federal income taxes (the elderly, the unemployed, the college bound, the afflicted, the impoverished and the very, very wealthy with sharp accountants). But we have ignored the outliers, that 2 percent of the population that is successful, wealthy and incapable of minding the rules most people follow, most of the time. James Sheldon gives us an entertaining look at them in his new play “The Bonus Room,” (that something-for-nothing useless space realtors push). He introduces us to three members of this notable corps who, deep in their hearts, are convinced the rules are not for them. The rules are for the other 98 percent. The chumps. Of course these men (women can be outliers, too, Sheldon makes clear) are cooling their Gucci loafers in federal prison as the play opens: Sen. Bob Graboczek (Gary Cookson) got nailed for skimming state pension funds; mortgage banker Ben Bancroft (Andrew Joffe) is in the big house for security fraud and insider trading and the disappearance of $42 million. And baseball pitcher Dale Cannon (Charlie Tirrell), an almost Hall-of-Famer as known for chasing skirts as he was for his awesome fast ball, is serving time for denying he used performance enhancing drugs and for refusing to rat on others who did as well. But wait. Bancroft can get back into his Armani suits (cut a bit snugger in the shoulders than Graboczek’s $1,490 Ermenegildo Zegnas), and Graboczek can work his way back to the public trough and Cannon can play again or maybe coach, before Christmas. All they have to do is take part in a federal study aimed at subduing psychopathic behavior with a snort of oxytocin. This is the hormone that speeds childbirth, promotes breast feeding, and engenders, it is said, cooperative behavior. Might it turn outliers into righteous citizens, and terrorists into pussycats? That’s what researcher Dr. Connie Stroheim (Diedre Bollinger) wants to prove (thus spinning her into the upper echelons of government research and a nice apartment in Georgetown). And so it goes for close to two hours, and aside from a discussion of oxytocin that comes off as Wikipedia at its giddiest, this is a neat, if sometimes talky, play about American hopes and dreams, particularly the larcenous ones. It is very funny in spots, but I get the feeling that director Thomas Gruenewald played down the humor in this piece. And that is too bad, because this “Bonus Room” lectures us on the dark leanings in our culture. What it really wants is to show how risible, how unserious, our efforts to curb these leanings have been. “The Bonus Room” plays at the Copake Grange, 628 Empire Empire Road in Copake, NY, through Oct. 7. For tickets, call 518-329-3151.

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Club baseball at Fuessenich Park

Travel league baseball came to Torrington Thursday, June 26, when the Berkshire Bears Select Team played the Connecticut Moose 18U squad. The Moose won 6-4 in a back-and-forth game. Two players on the Bears play varsity ball at Housatonic Valley Regional High School: shortstop Anthony Foley and first baseman Wes Allyn. Foley went 1-for-3 at bat with an RBI in the game at Fuessenich Park.

 

  Anthony Foley, rising senior at Housatonic Valley Regional High School, went 1-for-3 at bat for the Bears June 26.Photo by Riley Klein 

 
Siglio Press: Uncommon books at the intersection of art and literature

Uncommon books at the intersection of art and literature.

Richard Kraft

Siglio Press is a small, independent publishing house based in Egremont, Massachusetts, known for producing “uncommon books at the intersection of art and literature.” Founded and run by editor and publisher Lisa Pearson, Siglio has, since 2008, designed books that challenge conventions of both form and content.

A visit to Pearson’s airy studio suggests uncommon work, to be sure. Each of four very large tables were covered with what looked to be thousands of miniature squares of inkjet-printed, kaleidoscopically colored pieces of paper. Another table was covered with dozens of book/illustration-size, abstracted images of deer, made up of colored dots. For the enchanted and the mystified, Pearson kindly explained that these pieces were to be collaged together as artworks by the artist Richard Kraft (a frequent contributor to the Siglio Press and Pearson’s husband). The works would be accompanied by writings by two poets, Elizabeth Zuba and Monica Torre, in an as-yet-to-be-named book, inspired by a found copy of a worn French children’s book from the 1930s called “Robin de Bois” (Robin Hood).

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Cycling season: A roundup of our region’s rentals and where to ride them

Cyclists head south on the rail trail from Copake Falls.

Alec Linden

After a shaky start, summer has well and truly descended upon the Litchfield, Berkshire and Taconic hills, and there is no better way to get out and enjoy long-awaited good weather than on two wheels. Below, find a brief guide for those who feel the pull of the rail trail, but have yet to purchase their own ten-speed. Temporary rides are available in the tri-corner region, and their purveyors are eager to get residents of all ages, abilities and inclinations out into the open road (or bike path).

For those lucky enough to already possess their own bike, perhaps the routes described will inspire a new way to spend a Sunday afternoon. For more, visit lakevillejournal.com/tag/bike-route to check out two ride-guides from local cyclists that will appeal to enthusiasts of many levels looking for a varied trip through the region’s stunning summer scenery.

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