Christopher Strawhun News

New Line Theatre, "the bad boy of musical theatre," opens its 24th season of adult, alternative musical theatre with the St. Louis premiere of the new musical BONNIE & CLYDE, running Oct. 2-25, 2014. Tickets are available in advance through Metrotix,314-534-1111 or Metrotix.com.

New Line Theatre, "the bad boy of musical theatre," announces its 24th season of adult, alternative musical theatre, including the St. Louis premiere of the new musical BONNIE & CLYDE, running Oct. 2-25, 2014; the St. Louis premiere of the outrageous JERRY SPRINGER THE OPERA, running March 5-28, 2015; and one of the masterpieces of the art form, the darkly satiric THREEPENNY OPERA (which isn't really an opera), running May 28-June 20, 2015.

Scatological, unpredictable, and oddly whimsical at times, BUKOWSICAL is not easily defined or categorized, and that's actually part of its appeal to me. Spencer Green (book, lyrics) and Gary Stockdale (book,lyrics and music) have concocted an interesting musical stew, some of which details the life and times of writer Charles Bukowski, and some of which seems to be skewering the entire idea altogether. For instance, the man himself doesn't bring to mind anything remotely resembling a warm and fuzzy character, and yet the music for this piece is incredibly sunny and upbeat. This makes for a fascinating juxtaposition between the lyrical content and the music that accompanies it. In fact, the words are often graphic and vulgar, but, at times, they're also surprisingly erudite and witty. These contradictions alone act to sum up Bukowski's complicated existence and ultimate status as a wordsmith. New Line Theatre's production captures this drunken genius in all his splendor. You may be shocked by what you see or hear, but I guarantee you won't forget it. This is cutting edge theatre at its finest.

New Line Theatre, 'the bad boy of musical theatre,' closes its 22nd season now through June 22, 2013, with the regional premiere of one of the most outrageous shows the company has ever produced. With book and lyrics by Spencer Green and Gary Stockdale, and music by Stockdale, BUKOWSICAL is a wacky, high-energy - and gleefully adult - musical comedy, an ironic and insightful 21st-century reboot of the classic American musical comedy, exploring the intersection between sex, drugs, booze, and art, all through the life story of the great American novelist and poet Charles Bukowski. BroadwayWorld has new shots of the cast in action below!

New Line Theatre, 'the bad boy of musical theatre,' closes its 22nd season May 30-June 22, 2013, with the regional premiere of one of the most outrageous shows the company has ever produced. With book and lyrics by Spencer Green and Gary Stockdale, and music by Stockdale, BUKOWSICAL is a wacky, high-energy - and gleefully adult - musical comedy, an ironic and insightful 21st-century reboot of the classic American musical comedy, exploring the intersection between sex, drugs, booze, and art, all through the life story of the great American novelist and poet Charles Bukowski. BroadwayWorld has a first look at the cast onstage below!

New Line Theatre closes its 22nd season May 30-June 22, 2013, with the regional premiere of one of the most outrageous shows the company has ever produced. With book and lyrics by Spencer Green and Gary Stockdale, and music by Stockdale, BUKOWSICAL is a wacky, high-energy - and gleefully adult - musical comedy, an ironic and insightful 21st-century reboot of the classic American musical comedy, exploring the intersection between sex, drugs, booze, and art, all through the life story of the great American novelist and poet Charles Bukowski.

New Line Theatre, 'the Bad Boy of Musical Theatre,' will continue its 21st season of rock theatre March 1-24, 2012 with the American regional premiere of the Broadway rock musical CRY-BABY.

New Line Theatre, 'the Bad Boy of Musical Theatre,' continues its 21st season of rock theatre through March 24, 2012 with the American regional premiere of the Broadway rock musical CRY-BABY. Check out the production photos below!

New Line Theatre, 'the Bad Boy of Musical Theatre,' will continue its 21st season of rock theatre March 1-24, 2012 with the American regional premiere of the Broadway rock musical CRY-BABY.

New Line Theatre, 'the Bad Boy of Musical Theatre,' will continue its 21st season of rock theatre March 1-24, 2012 with the American regional premiere of the Broadway rock musical CRY-BABY.

New Line Theatre, 'the Bad Boy of Musical Theatre,' will continue its 21st season of rock theatre March 1-24, 2012 with the American regional premiere of the Broadway rock musical CRY-BABY, which The Wall Street Journal called 'the funniest new musical since Avenue Q.' The stage musical is based on the cult classic John Waters film starring Johnny Depp. The original creative team is reworking and re-orchestrating the show for New Line, to make it a smaller, more intimate musical for this first production since Broadway.

New Line Theatre closes its nineteenth season with the first St. Louis production in many years of Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber's rock opera EVITA, running July 8-31, 2010, at the Washington University South Campus Theatre (formerly CBC High School), 6501 Clayton Road, just east of Big Bend. Tickets are on sale now, through Metrotix, 314-534-1111.

Simply put, New Line Theatre's current production of EVITA absolutely rocks! Employing a more intimate staging and utilizing stripped down orchestrations acts to reinvigorate the work, personalizing the story and adding a real edge to the music. This is one of the chief reasons I'm always drawn to New Line's productions; they don't conform to the norm, offering regular theatre goers the opportunity to witness creative and imaginative takes on new works as well as more familiar ones. If you're already a fan of EVITA (or musical theatre in general), or if you've only seen the misguided movie version with Madonna in the lead role, and you've been turned off to the subject as a result, then you owe it to yourself to check out New Line's darkly engaging presentation.

New Line Theatre closes its nineteenth season with the first St. Louis production in many years of Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber's rock opera EVITA, running July 8-31, 2010, at the Washington University South Campus Theatre (formerly CBC High School), 6501 Clayton Road, just east of Big Bend. Tickets are on sale now, through Metrotix, 314-534-1111.

New Line Theatre, 'the Bad Boy of Musical Theatre,' closes its nineteenth season of provocative, adult, alternative musical theatre with the first St. Louis production in many years of Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber's political rock opera EVITA, running July 8-31, 2010, at the Washington University South Campus Theatre (formerly CBC High School), 6501 Clayton Road, just east of Big Bend.

New Line Theatre closes its nineteenth season with the first St. Louis production in many years of Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber's rock opera EVITA, running July 8-31, 2010, at the Washington University South Campus Theatre (formerly CBC High School), 6501 Clayton Road, just east of Big Bend. Tickets are on sale now, through Metrotix, 314-534-1111.