Blake Robison News

Veteran Broadway actor Karen Ziemba, who received Tony, Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle awards for her portrayal of The Wife in Contact, stars in Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park's NATIVE GARDENS, beginning performances tonight, January 28, 2016.

The Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park unleashes girl-powered comedy with THE REVOLUTIONISTS, Lauren Gunderson's irreverent world premiere about four badass femmes of the French Revolution. THE REVOLUTIONISTS debuts in the Playhouse's Thompson Shelterhouse Theatre Feb. 5 through March 6.

My lists for the best plays/musicals in St. Louis is in chronological order. I'm not limiting myself to any specific number of entries either. These are simply the best productions and performances in various categories that I witnessed during a packed year filled with companies closing and new ones opening. It continues to be a great time to be a theater-goer in our town, with many, many choices of quality shows available for your viewing pleasure on any given day or evening. My favorite show among all thesel selections just might be Upstream Theater's THE RIME OF THE ANCIENT MARINER. My son and I attended, and were simply delighted by the mix of music and drama occurring on stage. It was a magical experience that I was able to share with my then nine year old little boy, and we both highly recommend that you check out the band Sleepy Kitty.

Veteran Broadway actor Karen Ziemba, who received Tony, Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle awards for her portrayal of The Wife in Contact, has been cast in the Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park's upcoming production of NATIVE GARDENS.

There are some St. Louis connections in this current production of PETER AND THE STARCATCHER. There's local author Ridley Pearson who, along with Dave Barry, crafted a terribly interesting and arresting 'prequel' to the story of Peter Pan with their entertaining novel Peter and the Starcatcher. The stage version of this tale, written by Rick Elice, is an equally imaginative and inspired effort that utilizes a relatively small cast, with just about everyone playing multiple roles, that takes off at a frenetic pace that captures the same qualities that distinguished the original work. I'd seen a touring version over a year ago, but this production by The St. Louis Repertory Theatre is absolutely amazing. It just seems fresher, more touching, and more joyful. I highly recommend this show, as it appeals to families with humor and heart that anyone old or young can enjoy!

The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis presents PETER AND THE STARCATCHER by Rick Elice, based on the novel by Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson, with music by Wayne Barker and directed by Blake Robison. This whimsical and uproarious journey to the Neverland we never knew runs tonight, December 2-27 on the Browning Mainstage of the Loretto-Hilton Center for the Performing Arts.

The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis presents PETER AND THE STARCATCHER by Rick Elice, based on the novel by Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson, with music by Wayne Barker and directed by Blake Robison. This whimsical and uproarious journey to the Neverland we never knew runs December 2-27 on the Browning Mainstage of the Loretto-Hilton Center for the Performing Arts.

Who wouldn't want to see this? BroadwayWorld has learned that Nathan Lane will read a love letter to Brian Dennehy onstage at Threatre Communications Group's gala this coming Monday, November 9, 2015 at The Edison Ballroom.

Theatre Communications Group (TCG), the national organization for theatre, welcomes five new members to its board of directors: Adrian Budhu, managing director, The Theater Offensive, Boston, MA; Christopher Acebo, associate artistic director, Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Ashland, OR; Meghan Pressman, managing director, Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company, Washington, DC; Nikkole Salter, actress, playwright, educator, and arts advocate, Bloomfield, NJ; Harold Wolpert, managing director, Roundabout Theatre Company, New York, NY.

Dana Yeaton's sweeping, compelling MAD RIVER RISING brings a flood of forces - natural, generational and emotional - to the Cincinnati Playhouse's Robert S. Marx Theatre Oct. 17 through Nov. 14. Family patriarch and farmer Angus Stewart, the anchor of Yeaton's captivating drama, escapes from his nursing home determined to save the land he loves from the rising tide of urbanization.

The Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park opens its 2015-16 season with the heartwarming, soaring musical THE SECRET GARDEN, based on the enduring family classic penned more than a century ago by Frances Hodgson Burnett. Winner of three Tony Awards on Broadway, with book and lyrics by Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Marsha Norman and music by Lucy Simon, THE SECRET GARDEN runs Sept. 5-Oct. 3 in the Playhouse's Robert S. Marx Theatre.

The Playwrights Foundation's 38th Annual Bay Area Playwrights Festival (BAPF) runs July 17-26, 2015 at the Tides Theatre in San Francisco. BAPF 2015 builds on the festival's historic legacy of innovation in theater that then moves to theaters across the country.

The Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park's 2014-15 Robert S. Marx Theatre season comes to a riotous close with VANYA AND SONIA AND MASHA AND SPIKE, Christopher Durang's madcap comedy about melancholy people. A smash hit on Broadway, VANYA AND SONIA AND MASHA AND SPIKE earned numerous critical accolades, including the 2013 Drama Desk and Tony awards for best play. It runs April 25 through May 23 in the Marx Theatre.

The Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park will salute the legacy of Cincinnati's own King Records with a one-of-a-kind celebration in Over-the-Rhine's Washington Park on Sunday, May 31. Celebrating King Records will feature an evening of food, music and memories, capped with an exciting staged concert reading of KJ Sanchez's play CINCINNATI KING. The event launches the OTR Performs series and is also included as part of this year's Cincinnati Fringe Festival.

The Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park's 2014-15 Robert S. Marx Theatre season comes to a riotous close with VANYA AND SONIA AND MASHA AND SPIKE, Christopher Durang's madcap comedy about melancholy people. A smash hit on Broadway, VANYA AND SONIA AND MASHA AND SPIKE earned numerous critical accolades, including the 2013 Drama Desk and Tony awards for best play. It runs tonight, April 25 through May 23 in the Marx Theatre.

Milwaukee Repertory Theater concludes its 2014/15 Quadracci Powerhouse Season with the charming, Tony Award-winning play Peter and the Starcatcher, the show The New York Times described as, 'the most exhilarating Broadway storytelling in decades!' Based on the bestselling novel by Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson and written by Rick Elice with music by Wayne Barker, Peter and the Starcatcher is the joyous prequel to the beloved story of Peter Pan. An epic origin story that is both hilarious and inspiring - Peter and the Starcatcher has touched the hearts of young and old as it lets their imaginations fly. This family-friendly play comes just in time for spring and runs April 21 - May 24, 2015 in Milwaukee Repertory Theater's Quadracci Powerhouse and opens on Friday, April 24.

This family-friendly play comes just in time for spring and runs tonight, April 21 - May 24, 2015 in Milwaukee Repertory Theater's Quadracci Powerhouse and opens on Friday, April 24.