Andrea Purnell

Local and national talent is set to take center stage at the 29th annual St. Louis Arts Awards on January 27 at the Chase Park Plaza Royal Sonesta Hotel. The Arts and Education Council has announced that entertainment for their signature fundraiser will include performances by the Ambassadors of Harmony, The 442s with special guest Brian Owens and Broadway stars Caitlin Kinnunen and Beth Leavel.

The Arts and Education Council announced today that Edward Jones Managing Partner Penny Pennington and her husband, Mike Fidler, will co-chair the St. Louis Arts Awards on Jan. 27, 2020. Actor Andrea Purnell will emcee the fundraiser. Now in its 29th year, the event honors individuals and organizations who have made significant contributions to the St. Louis region's arts community.

New York, 1905, Esther, a black seamstress, lives in a boarding house where she sews intimate apparel for clients ranging from wealthy white patrons to prostitutes. As the other denizens of the boarding house marry and move away, Esther remains, lonely and longing. Through a mutual acquaintance, she begins to receive beautiful letters from a lonesome Caribbean man working on the Panama Canal.

New York, 1905, Esther, a black seamstress, lives in a boarding house where she sews intimate apparel for clients ranging from wealthy white patrons to prostitutes. As the other denizens of the boarding house marry and move away, Esther remains, lonely and longing. Through a mutual acquaintance, she begins to receive beautiful letters from a lonesome Caribbean man working on the Panama Canal.

The New Jewish Theatre's production of playwright Lynn Nottage's INTIMATE APPAREL is a very engaging work that presents the audience with layers of text and subtext to chew on. It's primarily about the pursuit of a dream, and the events that occur that may delay or derail that dream, but not to the point where the protagonist ever gives up hope. Though set in New York at the turn of the last century, there are a lot of issues brought forth that will ring true for a modern audience. In these especially difficult times, it's a reminder of the way people of color were treated then, something we have to work vigilantly to make sure doesn't happen again. Drawing on the experiences of her great-grandmother, Nottage has written a wonderfully touching, and ultimately hopeful, work that is brought to life with an incredibly well done production by The New Jewish Theatre. I recommend it highly!

The New Jewish Theatre continues its 20th Season with the Award-winning Lynn Nottage play, Intimate Apparel from January 26 - February 12.

The New Jewish Theatre continues its 20th Season with the Award-winning Lynn Nottage play, Intimate Apparel from January 26 - February 12.

As part of the kick-off event for the 2016 Kennedy Center (KC) American College Theater Festival, a special preview of the EVERY 28 HOURS PLAYS will be performed and livestreamed as part of KC's Millennium Stage Series. The preview consists of an excerpt of the collection with more than 30 one-minute plays inspired by the Black Lives Matter movement, with participation by theater makers and institutions across the nation and showcases the creative outcome of a community outreach residency in Ferguson and St. Louis County, Missouri in the fall of 2015.

New Line Theatre, 'the Bad Boy of Musical Theatre,' opens its 21st season with the St. Louis premiere of the electrifying Broadway rock musical PASSING STRANGE, running September 22 through October 15, 2011, at the Washington University South Campus Theatre (formerly CBC High School), 6501 Clayton Road, just east of Big Bend. Tickets are on sale now through Metrotix, at 314-534-1111.

New Line Theatre, 'the Bad Boy of Musical Theatre,' opens its 21st season with the St. Louis premiere of the electrifying Broadway rock musical PASSING STRANGE, running September 22 through October 15, 2011, at the Washington University South Campus Theatre (formerly CBC High School), 6501 Clayton Road, just east of Big Bend.

Just about every artist or creative type struggles with their home situation. It's truly a rare thing when your family actually nurtures your abilities rather than points you toward something more practical, or rather, something you can supposedly make a living doing ( I know mine didn't exactly support my acting aspirations). So, it's not uncommon for them to want to leave the nest and seek out like minded individuals who also possess their creative drive and spark. In PASSING STRANGE, playwright, composer and lyricist Stew (aka Mark Stewart, who shares composing credit with Heidi Rodewald) narrates a fictionalized account of his own experiences searching for some kind of reality he could identify with, and while it may be necessary to take the journey, sometimes the answers are really inside of you the whole time. This production by New Line Theatre provides a passionate experience, emboldened by excellent performances and top notch direction, and driven by superb work from the musicians playing the tuneful score.

New Line Theatre, 'the Bad Boy of Musical Theatre,' opens its 21st season with the St. Louis premiere of the electrifying Broadway rock musical PASSING STRANGE, running September 22 through October 15, 2011, at the Washington University South Campus Theatre (formerly CBC High School), 6501 Clayton Road, just east of Big Bend. Tickets are on sale now through Metrotix, at 314-534-1111.

New Line Theatre, 'the Bad Boy of Musical Theatre,' opens its 21st season with the St. Louis premiere of the electrifying Broadway rock musical PASSING STRANGE, running September 22 through October 15, 2011, at the Washington University South Campus Theatre (formerly CBC High School), 6501 Clayton Road, just east of Big Bend. Tickets are on sale now through Metrotix, at 314-534-1111.

New Line Theatre, 'the Bad Boy of Musical Theatre,' opens its 21st season with the St. Louis premiere of the electrifying Broadway rock musical PASSING STRANGE, running September 22 through October 15, 2011, at the Washington University South Campus Theatre (formerly CBC High School), 6501 Clayton Road, just east of Big Bend.

New Line Theatre, 'the Bad Boy of Musical Theatre,' opens its 21st season with the St. Louis premiere of the electrifying Broadway rock musical PASSING STRANGE, running September 22 through October 15, 2011, at the Washington University South Campus Theatre (formerly CBC High School), 6501 Clayton Road, just east of Big Bend. Tickets are on sale now through Metrotix, at 314-534-1111 .

New Line Theatre, 'the Bad Boy of Musical Theatre,' opens its 21st season with the St. Louis premiere of the electrifying Broadway rock musical PASSING STRANGE, running September 22 through October 15, 2011, at the Washington University South Campus Theatre (formerly CBC High School), 6501 Clayton Road, just east of Big Bend. Tickets are on sale now through Metrotix, at 314-534-1111.

New Line Theatre, 'the Bad Boy of Musical Theatre,' opens its 21st season with the St. Louis premiere of the electrifying Broadway rock musical PASSING STRANGE, running September 22 through October 15, 2011, at the Washington University South Campus Theatre (formerly CBC High School), 6501 Clayton Road, just east of Big Bend.

If your only previous exposure to the story of Cyrano de Bergerac was through the Steve Martin vehicle Roxanne, then you've really only seen a watered down (and considerably lightened) telling of the tale. The movie is a lot of fun, but Edmond Rostand's play, which imparts a great deal of fictional ornamentation to the actual person, is much darker in nature. And while there is a generous amount of humor to be found, most of the action is played with an undercurrent of deadly seriousness, and with the countenance of the true tragedy that it is. St. Louis Shakespeare has mounted a swashbuckling staging that's neatly appointed and well performed by a game and talented cast.

In a reversal of the traditional Shakespeare style of having an all male cast playing both male and female roles, St. Louis Shakespeare's second offering of their 26th season, Jane Martin's Anton in Show Business, boasts an all female cast playing both genders.

ANTON IN SHOW BUSINESS, written by playwright Jane Martin, has some clever ideas going for it, including taking on the sacred institution of Anton Chekov himself, as well as examining the ongoing conflict between art and commerce. However, it comes off as more a collection of interesting and amusing bits and pieces, than the pure farce it masquerades as. St. Louis Shakespeare has concocted an engaging production of this work that's occasionally hilarious, and definitely worthy of your time and attention.