Ben Nordstrom News

The Sheldon presents Ben Nordstrom & Katy Tibbets, 'Broadway Romance,' Saturday, April 17, 2010 at 11 a.m. in the perfect acoustics of the Sheldon Concert Hall.

Kevin Kline Award winner Ben Nordstrom and St. Louis veteran actor Steve Isom star in the St. Louis premiere of GUTENBERG! THE MUSICAL!, the Off-Broadway hit that the New York Times called 'A Smashing Success!' The Temporary Theatre (The Temp), a new company headed by Isom, has chosen as its inaugural offering the exclamation point-littered two-man musical spoof by Scott Brown and Anthony King.

The Sheldon presents Ben Nordstrom & Katy Tibbets, 'Broadway Romance,' Saturday, April 17, 2010 at 11 a.m. in the perfect acoustics of the Sheldon Concert Hall.

The Fifth Annual Kevin Kline Awards will take place on Monday, March 22, at 7pm, at the Loretto-Hilton Center on the campus of Webster University. 125 productions presented by 40 constituent theatres were judged in 2009, and awards will be given out in 22 categories.

At our current rate of consumption, is it conceivable that we could ever reach a point where every movie, book, historical figure, or current event available will have been used as the basis for a musical? Probably not. But, with that idea in mind, writers/composers Scott Brown and Anthony King have crafted a rather unlikely vehicle titled GUTENBERG! THE MUSICAL!, which was originally developed during their work with the comedy troupe the Upright Citizens Brigade. A wonderfully energetic production of this piece, featuring a sharp cast and tight direction, marks the debut of the new Temporary Theatre company at the Ivory Theatre.

Kevin Kline Award winner Ben Nordstrom and St. Louis veteran actor Steve Isom star in the St. Louis premiere of GUTENBERG! THE MUSICAL!, the Off-Broadway hit that the New York Times called 'A Smashing Success!' The Temporary Theatre (The Temp), a new company headed by Isom, has chosen as its inaugural offering the exclamation point-littered two-man musical spoof by Scott Brown and Anthony King.

The Fifth Annual Kevin Kline Awards will take place on Monday, March 22, at 7pm, at the Loretto-Hilton Center on the campus of Webster University. 125 productions presented by 40 constituent theatres were judged in 2009, and awards will be given out in 22 categories.

Kevin Kline Award winner Ben Nordstrom and St. Louis veteran actor Steve Isom star in the St. Louis premiere of GUTENBERG! THE MUSICAL!, the Off-Broadway hit that the New York Times called 'A Smashing Success!' The Temporary Theatre (The Temp), a new company headed by Isom, has chosen as its inaugural offering the exclamation point-littered two-man musical spoof by Scott Brown and Anthony King.

[title of show] is an interesting new musical that chronicles the very creation of the show itself, and then documents the rocky road it takes on its journey to Broadway. The musical was initially conceived as a writer's exercise by Jeff Bowen and Hunter Bell, who used a 3 ½ week deadline for a festival contest as motivation. But, somewhere along the line the play began to take on a life of its own. The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis is presenting a wonderfully clever production of this work that's greatly aided by a superb cast and sharp direction.

The nominees for the 5th Annual Kevin Kline Awards have been announced. The annual ceremony will be held on Monday, March 22 at 7pm at the Loretto-Hilton Theater.

The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis (The Rep) continues its 2009-2010 Studio Theatre series with an unabashedly self-aware and totally unique creation with music and lyrics by Jeff Bowen and book by Hunter Bell. And yes, for the last time, [title of show] really is the title.

The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis (The Rep) continues its 2009'Äì2010 Studio Theatre series with an unabashedly self-aware and totally unique creation with music and lyrics by Jeff Bowen and book by Hunter Bell. And yes, for the last time, [title of show] really is the title.

Tony nominee Stephanie D'Abruzzo, Benjamin Howes, Ben Nordstrom and Amy Justman are set to star in the Repertory Theatre of St. Louis' production of [title of show] that runs Jan. 13-31, 2010. Opening night is Jan. 15, 2010.

The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis (The Rep) continues its 2009'Äì2010 Studio Theatre series with an unabashedly self-aware and totally unique creation with music and lyrics by Jeff Bowen and book by Hunter Bell. And yes, for the last time, [title of show] really is the title.

2009 provided me with the opportunity to review 126 of the more than 200 shows that were available in the St. Louis region, and it began in terrific fashion with New Line Theatre's NIGHT OF THE LIVING SHOW TUNES. This was a wonderful sampling of contemporary show tunes performed by a cast of talented locals, and featuring artistic director Scott Miller's fine accompaniment on piano. In the acoustically perfect confines of the Sheldon Concert Hall, these unique melodies made a glorious noise. And, as I continued on my quest to expose my young son to the world of musical theatre, I ended the year with the Imaginary Theatre Company's splendid presentation of BAH! HUMBUG!. I was lucky enough to catch quite a few gems in between, and I've decided to compile a list of the ten most intriguing and engaging productions I saw in 2009.

Tony nominee Stephanie D'Abruzzo, Benjamin Howes, Ben Nordstrom and Amy Justman are set to star in the Repertory Theatre of St. Louis' production of [title of show] that runs Jan. 13-31, 2010. Opening night is Jan. 15, 2010.

If the holiday blues have got you down, or you're starting to get tired of being inundated with Christmas themed advertising, then take a break from your shopping list and check out Echo Theatre's production of THE SANTALAND DIARIES. The pitch black humor of writer David Sedaris is on display in this hilarious look at the yuletide season from the point of view of a disgruntled former Macy's department store elf.

THE SANTALAND DIARIES comes from Mr. Sedaris' best-selling book, Holidays on Ice, in which he shares the sardonic tale of his employment as 'Crumpet', an elf in Macy's Santaland. Sedaris' reading of this story on National Public Radio generated one of the largest responses from its listening audience ever. As a stage piece, The Santaland Diaries has also met with huge success in theatres nationwide.

Echo Theatre Company presents the world premiere of Fugitive Songs by Chris Miller and Nathan Tysen from October 30-November 15.

There are quite a few outstanding theatre congregations in the St. Louis area, and Echo Theatre Company is fast becoming a company to watch with their consistently interesting choices. Their latest production,the World Premiere of the engaging song cycle FUGITIVE SONGS, continues this trend, and provides local audiences with the opportunity to see a terrifically entertaining show performed by a hugely talented ensemble. This is modern musical theatre at its best, and I cannot recommend this show enough.