Joe Hanrahan

The Midnight Company, in a collaboration with St. Louis University’s Lucy Cashion, is producing Mickle Maher’s SPIRITS TO ENFORCE. This is the fourth Maher play that Midnight Company has produced. Maher is the founder of Chicago’s Theatre Oobleck and has authored more than 10 plays. Cashion will direct.

Fresh off her win for Outstanding Costume Design of a Musical at Monday evening’s St. Louis Theatre Circle Awards, Eileen Engel took the stage in JACEY’S JAZZ JOINT. For the next 70-miutes, Engel treated her audience to jazzy renditions of some of the most loved American standards. Her set included “Embraceable You,” “Fly Me to the Moon,” and “Misty,” among 10 other songs. Her work with this set of 13 songs suited her voice as she confidently entertained the club at Blue Strawberry Showroom and Lounge, playing club owner Jacey.  

MOVIE MUSIC is an entertaining and sometimes emotional walk down memory lane by three skilled theatrical professionals who know a bit about storytelling. Midnight Company’s Joe Hanrahan has created a formula with his theatrical cabaret productions that continues to fill seats at The Blue Strawberry. Eileen Engel, glistened with confidence, charm, and stage presence as she sang most of the evening’s selections. Colin Healy has exceptional talent on the keys and a gift of theatrical intuition for using music to build anticipation and advance the story.

Eileen Engel will be starring in two new narrative driven cabaret shows, MOVIE MUSIC and JACEY'S JAZZ JOINT, written and directed by Joe Hanrahan. The productions, produced by Midnight Company, will play Blue Strawberry Showroom and Lounge in Midtown St. Louis. Fly North Theatricals Colin Healy and Bradley Rohlf will collaborate with Healy as music director for both productions and Rohlf will play drums for JACEY'S JAZZ JOINT.

This past year was a spectacular season for theatre in St. Louis. Forbes magazine recognized St. Louis as having “America’s most exciting emerging arts district.” The article credits the The Kranzberg Foundation for buying and operating spaces where artists can create. Many of the smaller theatre companies in St. Louis rely on The Kranzberg Foundation venues for performance and rehearsal space. In addition to the smaller professional companies, the mid-size and larger companies including The Muny, STAGES St. Louis, and The Black Rep all presented stellar musicals and plays that were produced locally. Blue Strawberry and The St Louis Cabaret project advanced cabaret performing in St. Louis booking amazing shows with Tony nominated Broadway performers Adam Pascal, Beth Leavel, and Robin de Jesús. 

Howe’s performance was spectacular from the first shows she performed, but as the show has aged, she has comfortably fallen into a vocal performance that is extraordinary. Her meticulous phrasing and body language has continued to mature with each performance. She comfortably inhabits Ronstadt’s voice and delivers the songs with self-assured ease and panache. As a Ronstadt superfan it is hard to pick a favorite song, but Howe delivers “You’re No Good,” “When Will I Be Loved,” “It’s So Easy,” “Tumbling Dice,” and “Just One Looks” like she herself is a rock goddess. The audience mouths the words of Ronstadt’s well-known classics, bob their heads with the beat, and responds with thunderous applause following each number. It is not until Howe takes on Ronstadt’s later in career work that the audience gains appreciation for Howe’s immense talent. Her version of “When You Wish Upon a Star” is out of this world. She confidently handles “Poor Wondering One” from Gilbert and Sullivan’s operetta PIRATES OF PENZANCE, and skillfully sings “Por Un Amor” in Spanish from Ronstadt’s album “Los Canciones de Mi Padre.” Howe digs into every Ronstadt song she sings and delivers a memorable performance that allows the audience to reminisce in the music that defined female rockers for a generation.  

In January of 2023, Broadway World called JUST ONE LOOK, the theatrical cabaret show based on the music of Linda Ronstadt, the most anticipated theatrical event of the year. Just prior to the show opening, Linda Ronstadt's hit song “Long Long Time” was featured in an episode of MAX’s (formerly HBO) “This is Us,” and began screaming up the download charts. Interest in Ronstadt’s music was at a new high since her singing career had been cut short by illness. Now, following 12 sold-out performances at Blue Strawberry, JUST ONE LOOK will move to a much larger venue, City Winery St. Louis, to accommodate the demand for tickets. City Winery St. Louis will present JUST ONE LOOK on Wednesday, November 22nd at 7:30 pm.  

Director Tom Kopp’s sharp and brisk direction keeps things moving on the small stage at the .Zack Theater. He smartly uses Brad Slavik’s static set design to ensure the limited space never seems overcrowded with four or five actors in a scene. His collaboration with his team of actors and technicians creates an effective palate for storytelling.

Kelly Howe follows up her incredible performance as Linda Ronstadt with another dynamic rock ‘n roll performance highlighting her immense range. She uses every type of timbre and quality from falsetto to chest/head voice and belt. While the song set won’t be revealed in this review in order to keep some of the mysterious fun of production, Howe does get to tear into the music of Jimi Hendrix, The Animals, Led Zeppelin, Tears for Fears, Patti Smith and Roy Orbison. Howe’s big voice delivers and rocks the house in a Stevie Nicks-esque performance. The music she and Hanrahan chose to include in this show offers something for everyone across generations of music lovers. The musical highlight of the night was 1978 hit “Because the Night” by The Patti Smith Band that was again covered in 1993 by 10,000 Maniacs featuring Natalie Merchant on vocals. Howe slayed this song while the audience nodded along with the drumbeat. One thing is certain, Howe knows how to deliver a rock ‘n roll song with grand panache.

Kelly Howe and Joe Hanrahan, the creative minds behind the blockbuster Linda Ronstadt show JUST ONE LOOK are premiering a brand-new narrative driven cabaret show titled PROFESSOR SUNSHINE’S TRAVELING POST-APOCALYPTIC ROCK AND ROLL REVIVAL on September 20th and 23rd at The Blue Strawberry in St. Louis. Loosely based on Old West Traveling shows, PROFESSOR SUNSHINE’S TRAVELING POST-APOCALYPTIC ROCK AND ROLL REVIVAL will feature the music of Led Zeppelin, The Beatles, Bob Dylan, Patti Smith and more.

Fans of Judy Garland will love Midnight Company’s production of YOU MADE ME LOVE YOU for three reasons. First, because Hanrahan’s script about Garland’s life and career is compelling. Second, because Owens is relatable when she is sharing Garland’s story to the audience. Finally, because of the delightful nostalgia of Judy Garland’s music catalog.

Sisters Andrea (Alicen Moser) and Eloise (Summer Baer), and their first cousin Isabella (Ashley Bauman) are the trio of women who help one another cope with the hardships that life throws at them. Moser, Baer and Bauman access their character’s genuine feelings by tapping into the character’s emotional state. Each of the three actors realistically convey their character’s anger, love, sadness, fear and joy. It is in each of their emotional performances that make The Midnight Company’s production of THE YEARS compelling. There is such realness in their performances that the audience senses their familial ties.

Midnight Company is following up their sensational hit JUST ONE LOOK, the Linda Ronstadt theatrical cabaret experience, with another narrative driven cabaret show YOU MADE ME LOVE YOU, featuring the songbook of the incomparable Judy Garland. YOU MADE ME LOVE YOU stars Jennelle Gilreath Owens and premiers at THE BLUE STRAWBERRY on Wednesday, July 26, 2023, with two additional performances on Wednesday, August 2nd and August 9th.

Midnight Company’s Joe Hanrahan performs all nine roles in the play that is narrated by detective Chuck Desantis as he tries to solve the mystery of what happened to Leonard. Along the way the audience is introduced to Leonard’s Aunt Ellen, his cousin Phoebe, one of his bullies, Tyler, and to about another half-dozen characters. Hanrahan again proves himself an adept storyteller in a one-actor show as he effortlessly transitions in-and-out of characters using physical acting choices as opposed to significant alterations in his voice. Hanrahan is at his best when portraying Leonard’s aunt as she emotionally confronts one of her nephew’s bullies, but all of his characterizations have the requisite depth to make each character real.

The Midnight Company will present the THE ABSOLUTE BRIGHTNESS OF LEONARD PELKEY, by Celeste Lecesne from May 4-20 at The Kranzberg Black Box Theatre. Joe Hanrahan, Midnight’s Artistic Director, will play all the roles in this show including a detective, as well as the other characters, in a small New Jersey town as he unravels the story of Leonard Pelkey, a tenaciously optimistic and flamboyant fourteen-year-old boy who goes missing.  A luminous force of nature whose magic is only truly felt once he is gone, Leonard becomes an unexpected inspiration as the town’s citizens question how they live, who they love, and what they leave behind.

JUST ONE LOOK is just one night of exceptional music. It’s a rock ‘n roll cabaret performance that is uniquely driven by a theatrical narrative and it works on every level.

As part of their 2023 season, The Midnight Company will present the world premiere production of JUST ONE LOOK, a cabaret show based on the life and music of pop icon Linda Ronstadt. Ruling the pop charts in the 1970’s, Ronstadt was often called the ‘First Lady of Rock’ and recently began climbing the charts again this month with her song “Long Long Time” which was featured in the emotional third episode of the HBO hit show “The Last of Us.”

The latest standings as of Monday, December 19th, have been released for the 2022 BroadwayWorld St. Louis Awards! Nominations were reader-submitted and now our readers get to vote for their favorites.

The Midnight Company will open its 2023 season with what is becoming the most highly anticipated event of the coming St. Louis theatre season.  The company’s first show is the world premiere of a theatrical cabaret show JUST ONE LOOK based on the life of pop superstar Linda Ronstadt written by Midnight’s artistic director Joe Hanrahan. In the 1970s Ronstadt was the queen of the pop charts and would sell out stadiums worldwide. Ronstadt’s hits included, “When Will I Be Loved,” “You’re No Good” “It’s so Easy,” “Poor Poor Pitiful Me,” “Blue Bayou” and dozens more hits that topped the pop charts. She was featured on the cover of The Rolling Stone magazine six times. When Cameron Crowe wrote his 1976 article for The Rolling Stone, Ronstadt had three consecutive platinum albums and there was no bigger name in music on the planet. BroadwayWorld had the opportunity to sit down with Kelly Howe who will play Linda Ronstadt and playwright, director and actor Joe Hanrahan who will play an aging reporter who finally gets his long-coveted interview with Ronstadt.

This past year was filled with exceptional theatrical productions in the St. Louis Arts Community. Nearly every performance in 2022 at STAGES St. Louis, The Muny, The Black Rep and Midnight Company were entertaining with only a few misfires. As a long-time season ticket holder to The Fabulous Fox Theatre and a first-time attendee to New Line Theatre, I had the opportunity to see nearly every theatrical production that was staged in these venues. Instead of compiling a top ten list of best shows, I decided this would be the opportunity to recognize the best work, both performing and technical theater, that I observed in 2022. Without further ado, here are the ten best works on the stages of St. Louis throughout the past year.