Joe Hanrahan

Review: ST. NICHOLAS at The Midnight Company is a Story of Obsession and Consequences
by James Lindhorst - Oct 3, 2025

The Midnight Company’s production of St. Nicholas is built for fans of vampire stories. The story of obsession leads a man to walk down a dark path with irreversible consequence. The script and Hanrahan’s delivery never quite reach a level of creepy macabre, but it is a fascinating story that’s suited to the Halloween season. The Midnight Company’s production of St. Nicholas continues at Greenfinch Theater and Dive Bar through October 5, 2025. Visit midnightcompany.com for more information.

Keating, Cassidy Flynn, and Rachel Tibbetts Chat About CLASSIC ADVENTURE MOVIE; OR NEVER SAY DIE
by James Lindhorst - Aug 28, 2025

Classic Adventure Movie; or Never Say Die will run Thursdays – Saturdays from September 11 – 27, 2025 at The Chapel. Tickets can be purchased, and more information can be found here!

Review: PRIDE AND JOY at The Chapel is a Sharply Written Dysfunctional Family Comedy
by James Lindhorst - Jul 11, 2025

What did our critic think of PRIDE AND JOY at The Chapel?McLaughlin and Overly’s audience are unwelcome intruders listening in on a family’s raw, unfiltered, and private conversations. Pride and Joy is very funny. The Moran Family, as portrayed by the talented ensemble, is a bit of a trainwreck. Overly’s crisp pacing and sharp direction milks the script for maximal laughs and just the right amount of drama.

PRIDE AND JOY Will Premiere With Midnight Theater Company
by Stephi Wild - Jun 30, 2025

Pride and Joy, a new play by St. Louis playwright Colin McLaughlin, premieres next month at The Chapel. Old memories and new revelations pour forth, hilariously and poignantly in this 'intervention play.'

Review: THIS WILL BE Tells Natalie Cole's Story of Survival and Redemption
by James Lindhorst - Apr 19, 2025

This Will Be: The Spirit & Soul & Music of Natalie Cole played to two sold out houses at The Blue Strawberry. Hanrahan, Healy, Kidd and the rest of the company may have found another cabaret concept musical with long running potential.

Tesseract Theatre Company Wins Big at the 2025 St. Louis Theater Circle Awards Gala
by James Lindhorst - Mar 25, 2025

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. 

Review: The St Louis Premiere of COCONUT CAKE at The Black Rep is a Sweet Slice of Theater
by James Lindhorst - Feb 13, 2025

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.

Feature: The Muny’s 30 Nods Leads the St Louis Theater Circle Awards Nominations
by James Lindhorst - Feb 4, 2025

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.

Review: The Midnight Company's FINAL DRESS at Greenfinch Dive Bar And Theater is a Fun Diversion with Some Memorable Chart Topping Hits
by James Lindhorst - Oct 12, 2024

FINAL DRESS is another of Midnight Company’s scripted cabaret shows that features some memorable songs for people of all ages. It’s comes recommended solely for the chemistry between Howe and Cereghino. Howe takes on a dozen of chart-topping hits from the past seven decades including the Frankie Lymon hit “Goody Goody,” a plot advancing version of Alanis Morissette’s “Uninvited,” and Carole King’s “It’s Too Late.” Howe continues to show in her cabaret performances that she has the vocal chops to take on many different genres of music, including pop, rock, opera, musical theater, and Latin/mariachi.  Cereghino is strong on the keys, but he really captivated the room singing with Howe on the Barbra Streisand/Barry Gibb hit “Guilty,” and the delightful “Suddenly Seymour” from Little Shop of Horrors.

Review: Midnight Company Presents Harold Pinter's OLD TIMES at At The Chapel
by James Lindhorst - Jul 13, 2024

Holt's direction is sharp. Backer, Hanrahan and Howe’s snappy line delivery, awkward silence, and discernible discomfort make for fantastic performances. But Pinter’s script is just too murky for my taste. Kate and Anna’s relationship is hazy. What happened between them remains vague. Deeley’s acquaintance with Anna is ambiguous. Everything is veiled and nothing is revealed. All are the literary conventions that are the hallmarks of Pinter’s writing, but for me, the nebulous conclusion was not satisfying.

NEWSIES & More Lead BroadwayWorld's St. Louis Summer 2024 Top Picks
by James Lindhorst - Jun 24, 2024

The 2024 summer theatre season is already in full swing in St. Louis, Missouri, with three exceptional comedy-dramas opening last week. St. Louis stages opened their 2024 season with STEEL MAGNOLIAS starring a mostly local cast. Broadway World called the Stages St. Louis production “wonderfully funny – creating contagious uncontrollable laughter.”  Albion Theatre opened a terrific production of Alan Ayckbourn’s WOMAN IN MIND with a tour-de-force performance from Emily Baker in the lead role. Baker is on stage the entire production. Stray Dog Theatre had audiences laughing out loud with their production of David Lindsay-Abaire's RIPCORD. All three productions run through the end of June. The most anticipated productions of the remaining summer season include shows at The Muny, Stages St. Louis, and The New Jewish Theatre.

Review: SPIRITS TO ENFORCE at The Midnight Company
by Steve Callahan - May 9, 2024

A veritable hail-storm of verbal shrapnel, with shreds and shards of Shakespeare, frenzied fund-raising fragments, and a sprightly sprinkle of super-powers.

Lucy Cashion to Direct The Midnight Company's Production of SPIRITS TO ENFORCE
by James Lindhorst - Apr 9, 2024

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.

Review: JACEY'S JAZZ JOINT at The Blue Strawberry Showroom And Lounge
by James Lindhorst - Mar 28, 2024

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.  

Review: MOVIE MUSIC at The Blue Strawberry Showroom And Lounge
by James Lindhorst - Mar 21, 2024

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.

Previews: MOVIE MUSIC and JACEY'S JAZZ JOINT by Midnight Company to Premiere At Blue Strawberry Showroom And Lounge in March
by James Lindhorst - Jan 19, 2024

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.

The Top 10 Productions in St. Louis Theatre for 2023
by James Lindhorst - Dec 14, 2023

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. 

Review: The Midnight Company's JUST ONE LOOK Continues to Wow Audiences
by James Lindhorst - Nov 26, 2023

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.  

JUST ONE LOOK, The Linda Ronstadt Cabaret Show, Moves to City Winery St. Louis on November 22nd
by James Lindhorst - Nov 15, 2023

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.  

Review: THE LION IN WINTER at .Zack Theatre
by James Lindhorst - Oct 7, 2023

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.