Great Barrington in October is reason enough to make the drive. Add a 681-seat theater, a 90-minute show built around some of the most recognized songs in American music, and a $15 ticket option for anyone under 30 — and you have a night worth planning around.
About A.J. Croce
A.J. Croce is Jim Croce’s son, but here is what matters most about that in this context: he waited roughly thirty years before he felt ready to perform his father’s music publicly. That kind of patience tends to produce something worth seeing.
The Croce Plays Croce 50th Anniversary Tour — taglined “Where the Songbook Ends, the Story Begins” — is A.J.’s tribute to a catalog that includes “Operator,” “You Don’t Mess Around with Jim,” “Bad Bad Leroy Brown,” and “Time in a Bottle,” woven together with his own original compositions. In his own right, A.J. is an acclaimed piano virtuoso and multi-instrumentalist with more than twenty songs reaching Billboard’s Top 40 charts across a career spanning more than three and a half decades. His collaborators have included Ray Charles, B.B. King, James Brown, and Willie Nelson. Mahaiwe’s own description calls it “a moving and energetic blend” delivered through “stories, humor, and remarkable musicianship.” The show runs approximately 90 minutes.
The Venue
Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center is at 14 Castle Street in Great Barrington — a Berkshires town that gives you every reason to arrive early. The theater seats 681, making it the kind of room that still feels personal. If you are making the trip from the Albany / Capital District, Great Barrington is a manageable drive south and east, and in October the road there tends to look as good as the destination.
Tickets & Pricing
Reserved seats start at $45. Preferred seating is $60, Premium is $70. Mahaiwe members save $5 per ticket. If you are 30 or under, tickets are $15 — available through the box office or by calling 413-528-0100. Public on-sale opened Friday, May 15. Grab your tickets here.