Andrea Purnell

2020 St. Louis Arts Awards Entertainment Announced

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.

Penny Pennington and Mike Fidler to Co-Chair Arts and Education Council's St. Louis Arts Awards

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.

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.