The surreal script can best be described as oddly bizarre. Dead Man’s Cellphone is a fantasy that explores human obsession with digital technology and the effects it has on our relationships. But it goes beyond the plot device to connect the protagonist to a dead man’s family. It examines how we sanctify the departed when we may have little or no information about them.
Those who enjoy abstract and experimental theater will the love Dead Man’s Cellphone. Others, while they may not like Ruhl’s play, should appreciate the exceptional work by the talented director, cast, and crew.
Lucy Kirkwood’s play The Children is fascinating and compelling. Her script prompts discussion about corporate responsibility, what accountability an organization’s employees should own, and how tragic circumstances force people to face personal transgressions and the fallout from their poor decisions.
The B St. Theatre is kicking off its 40th anniversary season with an ambitious piece, and if you’ve never seen a show there, you should make this current production your first. You’ll become their number one fan, just like Annie Wilkes in this adaptation of Stephen King’s 1987 novel, Misery. William Goldman, who adapted both the film and stage versions, appreciated the story’s psychological battle, which is brought to life with suspense and unexpected humor under John Lamb’s direction.
How do you tell that your play is a success? Not so easy if it’s a drama; you might detect a little silent sobbing. But with a comedy? That roar of laughter is a sure sign you’ve got a hit! Well, the folks at the Clayton Community Theatre have a hit on their hands with their production of Michael Frayn’s madcap farce, Noises Off.
B Street Theatre will present a chillingly funny new production of MISERY, the stage adaptation by William Goldman based on Stephen King's legendary novel. Learn more about the show here!
Christopher M. De León, Director of Jazz Studies at Alexander W. Dreyfoos School of the Arts in West Palm Beach, has been named the 2025 Instrumental Music Teacher of the Year by Palm Beach Symphony.
This past season was the year of the comedy in St. Louis Theater. Companies across the city had audiences laughing all season long with slapstick, farce, and satire. There were some wonderful musical productions that really sang, a few hard hitting dramas, but comedies reigned in both quantity and quality. Instead of publishing a Top 10 list this year, I’m going to recognize the Best in St. Louis Theater for 2025. “The Best” is still a shortened list of just 13 shows out of the nearly 90 shows I saw this past year. It took weeks of thought and painstaking consideration to decide which productions would be included in my annual list. Here they are. The productions are listed in alphabetical order, not ranked by favorites:
The B St. Theatre’s annual New Comedies Festival routinely produces fresh, creative, clever, and wonderfully hilarious works. The winner of the 2024 Festival is now playing to sold-out audiences and rabid fans after its much-anticipated opening last weekend. Playwright Tate Hanyok’s Dog Mom, in its National New Play Network Rolling World Premiere, is the treat we all need.
Never fear, theatregoers! The B St. Theatre’s newest Family Series offering is now on stage. Never Fear, Shakespeare!, written by Sean Patrick Nill and Elyse Sharp, introduces kids and grown-ups to the Bard in a fun and engaging way. There are guaranteed laughs, gasps, and even some learning in this wonderfully entertaining world premiere.
The beginning of August means the start of spooky season, and what better way to celebrate than with the most famous undead of all? Gordon Greenberg and Steve Rosen’s campy delight, Dracula: A Comedy of Terrors, is playing now at the B St. Theatre. You need to hurry to get tickets to this Monty Python-esque nod to Bram Stoker’s classic Dracula, because the word is getting out -- this cast is bitingly good.
B Street Theatre will present Dracula: A Comedy of Terrors by Gordon Greenberg and Steve Rosen, running August 6–31 on the Mainstage at The Sofia. Directed by Tara Sissom.
It is odd to call a story about a terminal cancer patient likeable, warm, and witty. Director Robert Ashton and his cast have staged a bittersweet production of Colder Than Here that is filled with vulnerable performances. Laura Wade’s affectionately droll and delightfully strange dark comedy conveys how laughter can be a cathartic force that disarms grief.
As the Irish would say, THE BEAUTY QUEEN OF LEENANE is simply grand. Ashton is a skillful storyteller. He and his assistant director C.J. Langdon have elicited stunning performances from Cochran, Doggett, Matthews, and Meyers. McDonagh’s script is dripping with mordant and grim humor. Put Albion’s fierce and menacing production of the darkly humorous THE BEAUTY QUEEN OF LEENANE on your short list of plays to see this March.
Mix some classic British humor with physical comedy and unflappable actors, and you’ve got a recipe for a night of laughs. The B St. Theatre’s version of Robert and David Goodale’s Jeeves & Wooster in Perfect Nonsense is just that: perfectly nonsensical fun. This 2014 Olivier Award-winner is based on the novel by P.G. Wodehouse, The Code of the Woosters.
West End Players Guild’s production of CONSTELLATIONS is a bittersweet dose of reality. It is a relationship story more than a love story. Payne examines how we react to two things in life, our partner’s behaviors and what the fates hand us. No one can predict when, or if, life will bring happiness, heartbreak, pain, or loss. Life must be lived and be experienced.
“The Butcher of Baraboo” is a grim dark comedy that spirals into complete brutality. The characters are willing to go to extreme measures to protect themselves and their secrets. The is no familial loyalty among this group of vicious characters. The West End Players Guild has staged a cutting production of a play that is gratuitous in savage barbarity.
Albion continues to stage exceptional productions of plays from the United Kingdom and LUNGS is no exception. Director Ellie Schwetye’s production is an emotional look at relationships and the forces that help maintain or derail a couple. Nicole Angeli and Joel Moses are convincing as the woman and man considering parenthood who find understanding and wrestle with conflicts along the way.
Pickleball is the fastest growing game in the country, and you can experience it now, out of the heat and inside the B St. Theatre, with the aptly titled Pickleball. Jeff Daniels’s play is an amusing farce about the dangers of middle-aged competition and a reminder to not take life too seriously – just pickleball.
Albion Theatre’s WOMAN IN MIND is a mad, absurd comedy that works on every level. It is a marvelous collaboration between director, actors, and technical crew to enrich comedic storytelling. Emily Baker is fantastic in the insanely demanding role as Susan. She leads this company with a workhorse-like performance that affords the supporting cast the opportunity to create ridiculously droll characters.
Albion delivers another first-rate production with MOLLY SWEENEY. Ashton, the artistic director, and his staff carefully select quality theatrical assets to increase the probability of sensational storytelling. Albion’s production of MOLLY SWEENEY is just that, outstanding storytelling through exquisite performances that are skillfully directed.
