Bobby Miller News

Riverside Theatre's Simply Amazing Season continues with the international smash musical hit, LES MISERABLES. Winner of eight Tony Awards including Best Musical and Best Original Score, LES MISERABLES performs on the Stark Stage from February 21 through March 17, 2013 and is presented by Wilmington Trust and through the courtesy Riverside Theatre's Patron Producers.

The St. Louis Theater Circle has just announced the nominees for the 2013 Louie Awards, honoring excellence in professional theater. The ceremony is set to take place on March 11 at the Gaslight Theater (358 North Boyle Avenue). To reserve tickets, email stltheatercircle@sbcglobal.net.

I'm lucky enough to see over a hundred shows every year, and I'm happy to report that 2012 was an excellent year for theatre in St. Louis. So, here I am again, offering up my lists for the best productions of 2012. While I'm not going to include the touring companies that came through town this year in my listings, I'd like to give them a shout out just the same.

The Cape Cod premiere of the smash hit off-Broadway comedy THE DIVINE SISTER opens tonight, July 12 at the Provincetown Theater, and runs Thursday, Friday, and Saturday through September 8th. All performances will be at 8:00PM. Ticket for THE DIVINE SISTER are $30.00, and are available by calling the box office at 508-487-7487, or online at www.provincetowntheater.org.

The Cape Cod premiere of the smash hit off-Broadway comedy THE DIVINE SISTER opens July 12 at the Provincetown Theater, and runs Thursday, Friday, and Saturday through September 8th. All performances will be at 8:00PM. Ticket for THE DIVINE SISTER are $30.00, and are available by calling the box office at 508-487-7487, or online at www.provincetowntheater.org.

Playwright James Sherman has crafted a charming and delightful work with his play JACOB AND JACK. It's a fond remembering of the last days of the Yiddish theatre and it weaves in the modern day with the past with considerable flair. It has farcical elements, including the requisite doors, six in this case, to go in and out of while the action switches back and forth between the two times. The New Jewish Theatre has put together a lovely rendering of this show, and the cast is absolutely superb. This is a brisk-paced comedy that's absolutely worth seeing.

The Ceremony for the Seventh Annual Kevin Kline Awards took place last night at the Loretto-Hilton Theater, honoring productions in St Louis from 2011. We've got the full list of nominees and winners below.

Playwright Jeffrey Sweet has constructed an entertaining and though-provoking work with THE VALUE OF NAMES. This brief (75 minutes) look at two men and the different paths their lives have taken since one named names during the Senator McCarthy red hunt trials of the 1950's. Filled with a surprisingly amount of humor, though mostly caustic and self-deprecating in tone, this is an interesting look at the fallout from that dark period in our country's history. The New Jewish Theatre has put together a marvelous, compact production that continues through April 1, 2012.

In what can be labeled a 'First,' the New Jewish Theatre is proud to boast that the director for the upcoming production of Clifford Odet's 1935 classic AWAKE AND SING! is Steve Woolf, Artistic Director of the Repertory Theatre of St. Louis. While Woolf does direct outside of the Rep, he does not direct for other theatres in the St. Louis area. So this is a genuine First for both Woolf and the New Jewish Theatre. Most recently outside of the Rep, Mr. Woolf directed THE DIARY OF ANNE FRANK at the Arrow Rock Lyceum Theatre (and then went on to direct the Rep's production of the same show). But the upcoming production at NJT was a show that he could not resist. Its realism and grittiness and the strength of the characters appealed to him.

Though playwright Clifford Odets wrote AWAKE AND SING! in 1933, it still has the power to resonate with an audience over 70 years later, not only due to the fact that our country is currently struggling with its own economic uncertainties, but also because the theme of pursuing your dream under undeniably dire circumstance is a timeless one. Revived in 2006, but rarely staged otherwise, this is a rare opportunity to see an American masterpiece. The New Jewish Theatre's current production is a real stunner, chock-full of drama and humor, and brimming with electric performances.

In what can be labeled a 'First,' the New Jewish Theatre is proud to boast that the director for the upcoming production of Clifford Odet's 1935 classic AWAKE AND SING! is Steve Woolf, Artistic Director of the Repertory Theatre of St. Louis. While Woolf does direct outside of the Rep, he does not direct for other theatres in the St. Louis area. So this is a genuine First for both Woolf and the New Jewish Theatre. Most recently outside of the Rep, Mr. Woolf directed THE DIARY OF ANNE FRANK at the Arrow Rock Lyceum Theatre (and then went on to direct the Rep's production of the same show). But the upcoming production at NJT was a show that he could not resist. Its realism and grittiness and the strength of the characters appealed to him.

Facebook, Scrabulous, handheld solitaire games, the Greek Isles, Greek myths... what do all of these things have in common? They all figure prominently in New Jewish Theatre's upcoming production of SIRENS by Deborah Zoe Laufer, where a 25th Anniversary trip to the Greek Isles becomes a catalyst for an amusing series of events in this quirky romantic comedy. The biggest hit from last year's Humana Festival of New American Plays, Laufer's play is a quirky empty-nest romantic comedy about a husband and wife and the hit love song he wrote for her more than 25 years ago.

Playwright Deborah Zoe Laufer has constructed an interesting and very engaging work with SIRENS, which comes to us directly from the Humana New Plays Festival. This is a whimsical and charming tale that touches on a couple of different mythologies with its references to muses and sirens, one of which actually makes an appearance here. The New Jewish Theatre has put together a warm and humorous production that benefits greatly from excellent casting and sharp direction.

Facebook, Scrabulous, handheld solitaire games, the Greek Isles, Greek myths... what do all of these things have in common? They all figure prominently in New Jewish Theatre's upcoming production of SIRENS by Deborah Zoe Laufer, where a 25th Anniversary trip to the Greek Isles becomes a catalyst for an amusing series of events in this quirky romantic comedy. The biggest hit from last year's Humana Festival of New American Plays, Laufer's play is a quirky empty-nest romantic comedy about a husband and wife and the hit love song he wrote for her more than 25 years ago.

Meet Victor and Walter Franz - brothers who haven't spoken to one another in 16 years. One a beat cop, the other a successful surgeon, they meet in the attic of a soon-to-be-demolished house to sell their deceased parents' property. THE PRICE, an essential Miller drama, explores missed opportunities, seething resentments, and the price of life decisions.

Facebook, Scrabulous, handheld solitaire games, the Greek Isles, Greek myths... what do all of these things have in common? They all figure prominently in New Jewish Theatre's upcoming production of SIRENS by Deborah Zoe Laufer, where a 25th Anniversary trip to the Greek Isles becomes a catalyst for an amusing series of events in this quirky romantic comedy. The biggest hit from last year's Humana Festival of New American Plays, Laufer's play is a quirky empty-nest romantic comedy about a husband and wife and the hit love song he wrote for her more than 25 years ago.

Meet Victor and Walter Franz - brothers who haven't spoken to one another in 16 years. One a beat cop, the other a successful surgeon, they meet in the attic of a soon-to-be-demolished house to sell their deceased parents' property. THE PRICE, an essential Miller drama, explores missed opportunities, seething resentments, and the price of life decisions.

Twenty-two St. Louis theater companies are represented in the nominations for the Sixth Annual Kevin Kline Awards. Thirty plays and musicals produced in the St. Louis area during 2010 now share 112 nominations in 22 different categories for the coveted award.

Meet Victor and Walter Franz - brothers who haven't spoken to one another in 16 years. One a beat cop, the other a successful surgeon, they meet in the attic of a soon-to-be-demolished house to sell their deceased parents' property. THE PRICE, an essential Miller drama, explores missed opportunities, seething resentments, and the price of life decisions.

The theatre scene in St. Louis in 2010 turned out to be another year filled with fine productions and superb performances. Despite the economic barriers faced by all the local theatre companies many continued to take risks, presenting material that challenged audience expectations, but entertained them as well. And so, I'm presenting my own top ten of 2010, to honor the shows that beguiled and entranced me this past year.