Parts of playwright Brian Friel's DANCING AT LUGHNASA are joyous, and some are unsettling, mainly because we come to care so much about the Mundy family that inhabits it. I personally found it fascinating and disturbing at the same time. It's that dichotomy that drives the action, and it provides no easy answers for the viewer. I actually like that aspect. Because life isn't a bed of roses for most of us, instead it's a journey where obstacles pop up, sometimes unexpectedly, forcing us to constantly adapt and change, or risk being steamrolled by circumstance. Mustard Seed Theatre is presenting this engrossing play as they close their tenth season, and it's a production well worth your time and attention. Go see it!
Grammy Award-winning soprano Christine Brewer and St. Louis star Linda Kennedy will perform at the St. Louis Visionary Awards on Mon., April 24, at The Sun Theater in Grand Center (3625 Grandel Square). Brewer and Kennedy's performances will honor six local women who will be recognized for their numerous contributions and achievements to the arts.
A timely retelling of Julius Caesar and an original play for young audiences by playwright Nancy Bell will highlight Shakespeare Festival St. Louis' award-winning Education Tour, Feb. 6 through April 16, at up to 65 schools throughout the metro area and rural Missouri.
Residents from all neighborhoods will be asked to reflect on 'what it means to be a St. Louisan today' as part of the sixth annual 2017 Shakespeare in the Streets: ONE CITY, underwritten by PNC Arts Alive, Sept. 15-17, in downtown St. Louis. The specific location will be announced at a later date.
Written in approximately 1610, The Winter's Tale is considered to be one of a group of Shakespeare's plays that are vaguely defined by their tragic undertones and simultaneous use of straightforward comic situations. Other plays in this category include Measure for Measure, The Merchant of Venice, Troilus & Cressida, All's Well that Ends Well, and Timon of Athens. While this is the first time the Festival will be featuring this play as its mainstage show in Forest Park, The Winter's Tale was adapted for the 2013 Shakespeare in the Streets production Old Hearts Fresh, written by Festival playwright Nancy Bell and performed in The Grove.
Shakespeare Festival St. Louis announced today that The Winter's Tale will be the 2017 season main stage production at Shakespeare Glen in Forest Park. Both tragic and funny, the production is scheduled June 2-25; preview nights are set for May 31 and June 1.
People in the St. Louis area have two opportunities to see the show. Center of Creative Arts (COCA, 524 Trinity Ave, St. Louis, MO 63130) will be hosting a performance on Saturday, October 15th at 8pm and The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis (130 Edgar Rd, Webster Groves, MO 63119) will be hosting a performance on Monday, October 24th at 8pm. All performances will be free of charge.
Local beer, donuts, bowling and the Bard will all come together as Shakespeare in the Streets heads to Maplewood this week (Sept. 16-18). This year's production, "Remember Me," will feature a mash-up of "Hamlet," "A Midsummer Night's Dream," and "Macbeth," with a little "Romeo & Juliet" thrown in. All performances will begin at 8 p.m. on Sutton Boulevard, between Hazel and Marietta streets.
As part of the kick-off event for the 2016 Kennedy Center (KC) American College Theater Festival, a special preview of the EVERY 28 HOURS PLAYS will be performed and livestreamed as part of KC's Millennium Stage Series. The preview consists of an excerpt of the collection with more than 30 one-minute plays inspired by the Black Lives Matter movement, with participation by theater makers and institutions across the nation and showcases the creative outcome of a community outreach residency in Ferguson and St. Louis County, Missouri in the fall of 2015.
Although activism is still alive and well, one wonders if future generations will be moved to make change due to their increased isolationism. We live in a world where people feel more and more entitled, and have been raised to expect instant gratification. People who make a stand are becoming rarer and rarer to find. Maybe that's why a play like Tammy Ryan's MOLLY'S HAMMER (based on the book Hammer of Justice by Liane Ellison Norman) is so important. The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis has, again, put together an outstanding production that will make you ponder weighty issues that still exist, but that have been replaced by a fear of terrorism that can arrive so suddenly and unexpectedly that we feel helpless against it. Maybe that's why you should take a young adult with you to experience this story. Nuclear weapons are still a threat to our continued existence on this planet, and we must never forget that we have a duty as citizens of the world to speak out and act out against tyranny. This excellent show takes us back to 1980, when a Pittsburgh housewife took just such a stand.
The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis concludes its 2015-2016 Studio Theatre series with Molly's Hammer by Tammy Ryan, based on the book Hammer of Justice by Liane Ellison Norman and directed by Seth Gordon.
CSULB Theatre Arts Department is proud to announce the inauguration of their new donor wall, created in appreciation of the individuals and corporations who have generously contributed to the department. The donor wall will be revealed at the opening of the first show of the semester, Mutual Consent, the evening of February 12th.
In an intriguing blend of absurdity and lyricism, this vignette-style drama tells the story of how multiple couples navigate marriage, commitment, and the challenges of contemporary life while exploring the beauties and discontents of love in adulthood. D'Zmura explains that the play "explores the journey we take throughout life and the essential questions we explore when we journey into middle age." The farcical and witty scenarios presented will entice viewers to consider their lives and who they still wish to become.
The LABUTE NEW THEATER FESTIVAL is now onstage at 59E59 Theaters through February 7th. Six fascinating one-act plays are receiving their New York Premiere.
59E59 Theaters will welcome the St. Louis Actors' Studio?with the NYC premiere of their acclaimed LaBUTE NEW THEATER FESTIVAL, an evening of one-act plays featuring new plays by Neil LaBute, Lexi Wolfe, Peter Grandbois & Nancy Bell, G.D. Kimble, JJ Strong, and John Doble. Directed by Milton Zoth and John Pierson, the LaBUTE NEW THEATER FESTIVAL begins performances on Wednesday, January 13 for a limited engagement through Sunday, February 7. Press opening is Sunday, January 17 at 7:30 PM. The performance schedule is Tuesday - Thursday at 7:30 PM; Friday at 8:30 PM; Saturday at 2:30 PM & 8:30 PM; and Sunday at 3:30 PM & 7:30 PM. Performances are at 59E59 Theaters (59 East 59th Street, between Park and Madison Avenues). Tickets are $30 ($21 for 59E59 Members). To purchase tickets, call Ticket Central at (212) 279-4200 or go to www.59e59.org.
59E59 Theaters has announced the line-up of shows for Winter 2016. All performances take place at 59E59 Theaters (59 East 59th Street, between Park & Madison Avenues). Ticket prices and performance schedules vary. For tickets, call Ticket Central at 212-279-4200 or visit www.59e59.org.
Rick Dildine will direct the 2016 production of A Midsummer Night's Dream, William Shakespeare's classic tale of enchanted love in the woods, at Shakespeare Glen in Forest Park. The production is one of several exciting events, including a number of commemorative partnerships, planned by the Festival in celebration of the 400th anniversary of the Bard's legacy.
