Review: Tesseract Theatre's MY HEART SAYS GO at The Marcelle
Gunn, Corpuz, Urday, Wilkinson and company delivered a compelling and entertaining production of the new musical MY HEART SAYS GO. The mundanities with the score and book are what keep this production from really soaring. Indigo’s coming-of-age story is not particularly different from what has been seen in other stories where a child makes a choice that is met with a parent’s disapproval. The themes are consistent with most stories about young adults pursing their dreams. Perhaps if the promising score were more dynamic and memorable, the familiar follow-your-heart story could reach new heights.
Previews: MY HEART SAYS GO and CASCADE'S FIRE Headline Tesseract's New Musical Summer Fest
Tesseract Theatre company is following up their critically acclaimed productions of The Inheritance Parts I & II with their festival of new musicals. CASCADE’S FIRE written by Taylor Gruenloh with music composed by Kyle Wernke and MY HEART SAYS GO written by Matthew Hawkins with music and lyrics composed by Jorge Rivera-Herrans, and additional arrangements by Geoffrey Ko, will have their St. Louis Premieres in July at Tesseract’s “New Musical Summer Fest 2024.”
Review: Tesseract Theatre Company's THE INHERITANCE PARTS 1 & 2 is a Gripping Triumphant Success
The Tesseract Theatre Company’s production of THE INHERITANCE was a marvelous accomplishment thanks to the genius direction of Stephen Peirick and the out-of-body performances he evoked from each member of his cast. Peirick took the more than 300 pages of Lopez’s wordy script and swiftly paced the production, making it so succinct that the time in the theater melted away as rapidly as a piece of satisfying chocolate on the tongue.
Peirick artfully blocked his well-rehearsed actors on his small set design consisting of two small risers surrounded by the three walls of the small black box theatre. Paintings of familiar New York City scenes representing The Bethesda Terrace Fountain and theatre marquees were interspersed with artwork of cherry blossoms adorning the side walls. Decorating the back wall were vines of cherry blossoms in a crisscross pattern reminiscent of a NYC subway map. He judiciously used the performance space to move his actors between NYC, the apartment interiors, and an upstate New York estate while maintaining a lively pace to his sensational storytelling.
Regional Premiere of THE MAD ONES to be Presented at The Marcelle in November
Experience the regional premiere of The Mad Ones, a captivating musical production, at The Marcelle in St. Louis. Follow Samantha Brown as she faces a life-changing decision while reminiscing about her past. Don't miss this highly anticipated show featuring talented performers Melissa Felps, Grace Langford, Sarah Gene Dowling, and Cody Cole.
Review: GODSPELL at Tower Groves Abbey
Powerful and prophetic, Stray Dog Theatre’s Godspell is a welcome redux filled with great performances, excellent choreography, robust numbers, and even some smoke.
Review: WELCOME TO ARROYO'S at The Zack
WELCOME TO ARROYO’S is the current production by The Tesseract Theatre Company that closed on May 7th. Brittanie Gunn directs a funny and mostly effective production of Diaz’s uneven play. There are plenty of genuine laughs, more resulting from the energy, physical acting choices and rapping ability of Kevin Corpuz (Nelson) and Jacob Schmidt (Trip) than from the actual script itself. Corpuz and Schmidt play two DJs who advance half of the narrative with their hip-hop performance and their story telling. These two are the heart and soul of the play and never fail to captivate the audience when they are front and center.
Photos: First Look at New Line Theatre's URINETOWN
Set in 2027, Mark Hollmann and Greg Kotis' URINETOWN is an hilariously subversive fable of greed, corruption, love, revolution, and urination, in a time when water is worth its weight in gold and there's no such thing as a free pee. Set in a near-future dystopian Gotham, a severe 20-year drought has led to a government-enforced ban on private toilets. The citizens are forced to use public 'amenities' now, regulated by a single malevolent company that profits by charging admission for one of humanity's most basic needs. In this nightmare world, the punishment for an unauthorized pee is a trip to the dreaded Urinetown. But from the ruins of Democracy and courtesy flushes, there rises an unlikely hero who decides he's held it long enough, and he launches a People's Revolution to lead them all to urinary freedom!
Photos: First Look at URINETOWN at New Line Theatre
Set in 2027, Mark Hollmann and Greg Kotis' URINETOWN is an hilariously subversive fable of greed, corruption, love, revolution, and urination, in a time when water is worth its weight in gold and there's no such thing as a free pee.