NORTHFIELD — With Valley Players’ newest production, the theater group hopes to give back to a Greenfield-based nonprofit that strives to make a positive impact on the lives of older adults and people with disabilities.
Since its founding in 2024, Valley Players has put on three or four play readings each year, including a series, called “Bard in the Bar,” of Shakespearean plays performed at local breweries and wineries. Having presented “The Winter’s Tale” in December 2024 at The Brewery at Four Star Farms, “Richard III” in May 2025 at Progression Brewing Co. and “The Tempest” in June 2026 at Black Birch Vineyard, the theater organization is now preparing to make its return to The Brewery at Four Star Farms in Northfield.
Shakespeare’s epic tragedy “King Lear” is the next play on tap, drawing a cast of more than 20 actors to the Northfield venue on Saturday, Nov. 21, from 6 to 9 p.m.
Although admission is free, donations are being collected, with half of the money raised supporting the Valley Players’ 2027 season and the other half benefiting the Greenfield-based nonprofit LifePath.
“LifePath supports older adults, people with disabilities and caregivers, trying to help people to live as independently as possible for as long as possible,” said Aria Killough-Miller, a resource consultant at LifePath. “Sometimes people will think, ‘Oh, you know, I need somebody to help me get in the shower,’ so they say [that they’ll] need to move into an assisted living facility or something, when it really could be a simple matter of having someone come over for a few hours a week to help with getting into the shower.”
In addition to being a resource consultant at LifePath, Killough-Miller has also been in some previous Valley Players shows. Still, this is the first time that LifePath and Valley Players are joining forces for a fundraiser.
“We’re always looking for partnerships with local organizations, both in terms of LifePath hoping to fund other places and sponsor other events, and in terms of other organizations sponsoring us,” Killough-Miller said. “We’re a big part of the community, and so having those relationships, I think, is really good.”
The funding recipients are chosen by Matteo Pangallo, founder and president of Valley Players. He picks nonprofits that align with both the themes of the plays and the community.
“For the play ‘King Lear’ in particular, it’s a play that sort of grapples with the themes of how we treat the elderly, the relationship between parents and children, particularly in the role of caregivers,” Pangallo said. “We wanted to choose an organization that had a mission that [addresses] those themes in our community.”
The “Bard in the Bar” series offers unrehearsed, script-in-hand readings, and most roles are distributed at random. Valley Players is known for its meaningful, accessible and fun readings, and the auditions are open to everyone, Pangallo noted.
“I want to make sure we’re staging plays that really have an impact, not just in terms of the financial donation we make with them, but also the transformative effect for the people that see them,” Pangallo said. “[So that when] you leave the theater or you leave the play-going experience, you’re changed in some way. Your life is enriched, you see the world in a different way, you think about people in a different way. We try to choose plays that really make that possible.”
Those who wish to participate in “King Lear” can sign up for the chance to get a role by emailing info@valleyplayers.org before Nov. 7.
Chel Lanza-Arsenault, a student at Four Rivers Charter Public School in Greenfield, recently interned with the Greenfield Recorder.