THEATER: Venture Capitalists Get Rich on “Other People’s Money” at Oldcastle Theatre Co. [Berkshire on Stage]

Review by Larry Murray

Ever since the Oldcastle Theatre Company in Bennington, Vermont opened its new theatre downtown they’ve been on a roll. Their latest offering is Jerry Sterner’s OTHER PEOPLE’S MONEY is one hell of a play, especially if you are wise to how money is made these days, and it is not by working hard, let me tell you. If tales of greed, lust and power pique your interest, here is a brilliant production of an older gem in Southern Vermont that is simply two hours of pure entertainment that might evoke a few gasps as you realize that what you are seeing is all basically true.

Just over the Massachusetts border from the Berkshires, Bennington, Vermont shares the region’s incredible affinity for well done plays by professional casts on subjects that are not the normal summer straw hat fare. With OTHER PEOPLE’S MONEY, they chose a complex play that hits close to home dealing in depth with one of the greedy practices that caused America to lose so many manufacturing jobs. It is possible that seeing this play will give you an inoculation against such tactics being successful in the future because all business is ultimately personal when jobs are involved.

In 1989, the play OTHER PEOPLE’S MONEY: The Ultimate Seduction, opened at the Minetta Lane Theatre in New York, and the production ran for two years. It was voted the best off Broadway play by the Outer Critics Circle. Mitt Romney would likely praise the play, since it gives voice to the logic behind corporate takeovers, often euphemistically called “reorganizations”.

Click to read the rest at Berkshire on Stage.