James Lindhorst - Page 10

Celebrities, family, friends, and members of the community gathered in St. Louis on Friday evening to celebrate the life of the late Ken Page. The celebration, hosted and produced by The Muny, was held in the packed-to-capacity Sheldon Concert Hall. 

WITH is the authentic love story of two cantankerous and snarky old folks whose time together has beaten the odds. Their life has been blessed with longevity and fond memories. They have lived a long enough to raise a child and experience joy, sorrow, happiness, grief, and the full complement of human emotions. But now, Minnie and Clifford are facing illness and their own mortality. Pileggi’s restrained direction and her actors’ honest portrayals keep WITH from wallowing in cloying insincerity and sadness. Reichert, Weinsting, and Pileggi blends equal parts humor, sweetness, and melancholy to tell Lewis’ end-of-life story with dignity and grace.  

West End Player’s AT THE WEDDING is a well-constructed show with strong directorial vision, good performances, but it is saddled by a muddled narrative. The talented cast works diligently to overcome Bryna Turner’s ponderous script. The early scene between Carlo and Carly (the bridesmaid) lays an expectation that AT THE WEDDING is a droll relationship comedy, but the scenes that follow lack the same wit and caustic sense of humor. Is AT THE WEDDING a comedy or a drama?  Turner’s writing seems stuck in limbo unsure of what it really wants to be. 

Three novice directors were given the opportunity to collaborate with aspiring playwrights at this weekend’s Aphra Behn Festival. The 9th Annual Festival, produced by Slightly Askew Theatre Company’s (SATE’s) Rachel Tibbetts and Ellie Schwetye, included works penned by Dylan Malloy, Meredith Lyons, and Aurora Behlke.  

BUT WHAT CAN YOU DO? Is a 50-minute one act play with a message that effort pays off. The play, with music, positively encourages its protagonist to face their challenges head-on to reach a goal.  Playwright Myah L. Gary, in collaboration with Metro Theater Company’s Jacqueline Thompson, has adapted the work from the writings of 9-year-old Arika Parr and Ava Johnson with Illustrations by Misra Karahan. Thompson told St. Louis Magazine that “this story aligns perfectly with Metro Theater’s mission.” 

Tesseract Theatre Company dominated at The St. Louis Theater Circle Awards on Monday evening winning 10 awards, including Outstanding Production of a Musical for ANASTASIA: THE MUSICAL and Outstanding Production of a Drama for Matthew Lopez’s THE INHERITANCE Parts 1 & 2. ANASTASIA and THE INHERITANCE each picked up five awards. Directors Brittanie Gunn and Stephen Peirick were honored for Outstanding Direction of a Musical and Drama. Each production picked up two acting awards as well. 

New Jewish Theatre’s production of CABARET is a grim reminder of the early days of the Nazi reign in Germany. It is appropriately risqué and bawdy and artfully staged on David Blake’s beautiful set. It is filled with impressive performances from the entire cast, especially the original characterizations developed by Spener Davis Milford, Hailey Medrano, Dustin Lane Petrillo, and Jane Paradise. Rebekah Scallet’s storytelling reflects on the two melancholy love stories with a direful reminder of the past and a warning about current day antisemitism. She hammers home the funereal denouement like a railroad worker driving spikes with a maul.  

Kelundra Smith has penned an important piece of drama. THE WASH’s historically educational narrative hooks the audience with provocative storytelling. Chris Anthony’s strong direction, enhanced by Heather Beal’s earth-centered movements, grabs and holds the audience’s attention. The cast’s outstanding performances, led by Velma Austin and Paulette Dawn, create indelible characters who will stick with you long after the curtain falls. 

As the Irish would say, THE BEAUTY QUEEN OF LEENANE is simply grand. Ashton is a skillful storyteller. He and his assistant director C.J. Langdon have elicited stunning performances from Cochran, Doggett, Matthews, and Meyers. McDonagh’s script is dripping with mordant and grim humor. Put Albion’s fierce and menacing production of the darkly humorous THE BEAUTY QUEEN OF LEENANE on your short list of plays to see this March.

On Monday, March 10, 2025, new season subscriptions go on sale for The Muny’s107th season. The 2025 season brings the premieres of BRING IT ON, COME FROM AWAY, DISNEY’S FROZEN, and DEAR EVAN HANSEN to The Muny stage in Forest Park. EVITA, LA CAGE AUX FOLLES, AND JERSEY BOYS round out the seven show season. This season promises to be as exceptional as last year’s magical season. 

Audiences and critics are buzzing about the highly anticipated production of CABARET at The New Jewish Theatre (NJT.) Their excitement comes on the heels of their award-winning musical INTO THE WOODS, and last season’s charming and well-reviewed production of FIRST DATE.  

First Run Theatre’s evening of short plays is always a wonderful opportunity to hear the emerging voices of newer playwrights and see their new works. Six playwrights from Illinois, Kansas, and Missouri are featured in First Run Theatre’s “2025 Spectrum: A Presentation of Short Plays.” The First Run selection committee chose seven scripts focusing on relatable themes of common human experiences.  

West End Players Guild’s production of CONSTELLATIONS is a bittersweet dose of reality. It is a relationship story more than a love story. Payne examines how we react to two things in life, our partner’s behaviors and what the fates hand us. No one can predict when, or if, life will bring happiness, heartbreak, pain, or loss. Life must be lived and be experienced.  

COCONUT CAKE is a character driven play that examines how the choices we make in the short term impacts our long-term wellbeing. It is a superbly constructed play with surprising reveals that are neither illogical nor unexpected. Beaty’s play is packed with immense honesty. Jones and his talented well-rehearsed cast give Beaty’s exceptional script the eloquent staging it deserves.

This is an elegant production of LONG DAY’S JOURNEY INTO NIGHT with a touch of surrealism. The creative team have taken O’Neill’s story and leaned into quaint imagery to enhance the story telling. Doggett’s period costumes designs are elevated by her tailoring and sumptuous fabric choices. Patrick Huber’s minimalist, but highly effective scenery and lighting design were complimented by Kristi Gunther’s oceanfront inspired sound design. The serenity created by the technical elements added to Pendelton’s directorial vision to counterbalance O’Neill’s scripted brutality. A LONG DAY’S JOURNEY INTO NIGHT, regarded as the masterpiece of Eugene O’Neill’s career, shows his family’s excruciating addiction, faultfinding, hopelessness, depression, and inhumanity. Pendelton captures O’Neill’s agonizing story in a well-acted and sophisticated production.  

The nominees’ reactions are starting to pour in following the St. Louis Theater Circle Awards announcement last week naming the nominees. Awards will be presented in 34 categories for outstanding achievement in Musicals, Dramas, Comedies, and Opera. Leading all companies is The Muny with 30 nominations. Two of the nominated actors are Adam Heller and Jessica Vosk. Heller played Tevye in FIDDLER ON THE ROOF, and Vosk starred as Jenna in The Muny premiere of WAITRESS. Both were nominated for Outstanding Performer in a Musical.

The St. Louis Theater Circle has announced their 2025 nominations for their annual awards. Each year, the Circle honors excellence in professional theater with awards in 34 categories for producing, directing, acting, and technical theatre. This year The Muny leads all companies with 30 nominations spread across their seven musicals presented in their 106th season. STAGES St. Louis, The New Jewish Theatre, and The Repertory Theater of St. Louis earned 19 nominations each. St. Louis Shakespeare Festival’s production of AS YOU LIKE IT and STAGES St. Louis production of RAGTIME are the most nominated productions of the year with 10 nods each.

Two of St. Louis’ most creative playwriting voices premiered new plays this weekend at Greenfinch Theater and Dive Bar. Courtney Bailey is arguably the most talented playwright in St. Louis creating new works. Her new one-act play, THE PAVEMENT KINGDOM: A CLINIC ESCORT PLAY, shared a double bill with Eric Satterfield’s THE BIGFOOT DIARIES. Satterfield is a playwright who has a knack for writing mysterious stories with unexpected twists.

Nick Freed is joining artistic forces with Kay Ailee Bush, Summer Baer, and Kayla Lindsay to create Glass Elevator’s first full season. Freed shared that there are richly gifted professionals in St. Louis who are eager to experiment and create cool new things. Glass Elevator will open its season in July with a new play development series called their “Ground Floor Series” that will feature a play that is 90-minutes or less. They will begin accepting script submissions in February from emerging St. Louis playwrights. Following their summer production, Glass Elevator will stage VAMPIRE DATING SHOW in the fall, a devised production that is based around a captivating vampire mistress in a macabre dating show parody set in a surreal gothic style studio.