ST. LOUIS THEATER REVIEWS

What is the place of monarchy in today's world? An utterly fascinating 'King Charles III' opens at the Ivory....

Jean-Paul Sartre's iconic play 'No Exit' is receiving a solid production under the aegis of the Slightly Askew Theatre Ensemble (SATE). It's directed by Bess Moynihan and uses a fresh new translation by Alyssa Ward....

Lonely woman finds true love in sunny, romantic, magical Italy! It's an all-too-familiar trope in films. It's happened to Kate (and Audrey) Hepburn, to Marisa Tomei, to Renee Zelwigger, to Miranda Richardson and others....

Kurt Weill's 'Lost in the Stars' brings a moving tale of South Africa to the Union Avenue Stage....

Stray Dog Theatre, August 3-18, 2018 Stray Dog Theatre has opened that strange, hilarious, almost surrealistic hoot of a show, The Robber Bridegroom....

In Will Eno's Drama Desk Award-winning The Realistic Joneses, we meet Bob (Alan Knoll) and Jennifer Jones (Laurie McConnell), whose young new neighbors John (Isaiah Di Lorenzo) and Pony Jones (Kelly Hummert) infiltrate their lives with normalized erraticism that is darkly funny, dry at times, and su...

Mamma Mia! is an entertaining musical experience at any venue, with any cast, but Stages St. Louis' production is an especially satiating late-summer treat, featuring a rockin' beach party atmosphere and all the chart-topping ABBA hits you know, including "Dancing Queen," "Winner Takes It All," "Tak...

The grandest of all of America's grand outdoor theaters has opened Gypsy. In its one hundredth season the MUNY in St. Louis brings us one of their very finest productions. It's certainly one of the best musical theater offerings I've ever seen....

Verdi's Nabucco has opened at St. Louis' Union Avenue Opera, and it is a remarkably fine production. Of the many beautiful shows that this amazing small company has presented in its twenty-four seasons Nabucco is, perhaps, the most vocally gorgeous of all. This is due not only to the stellar quali...

You'll want to attend the tale of Sweeny Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street School Edition, a dark and delicious musical thriller, presented by Ignite Theatre Company's capable young cast now through Sunday at The Marcelle....

You'd better gussy yourself up and get over to The Muny this week for the seven-time Tony Award-winning musical, Annie. This family show has it all - hope, heart, and a heaping helping of humanity, and Peyton Ella shines in the title role like the superstar she is....

Insight Theatre is an equity theatre in its 11th season, and Artistic Director Maggie Ryan says she has wanted to produce The Importance of Being Earnest for years. 'I delight in the language of this play,' she says of the classic farce. It's a 'trivial comedy for serious people,' which showcases pl...

Released on June 1, 2018 on the aptly named Timeless Grooves Records label, Rebecca Angel's WHAT WE HAD is a delightful series of tuneful excursions. In fact, the album's eponymous track written by Dennis Angel (her Father, who's also a trumpeter), Rebecca, and guitarist Jonah Prendergast, has alrea...

What a night it was at The Muny for Jersey Boys, the 2006 Tony Award winner for Best Musical. And when I say what a night, I mean Oh. What. A. Night. of doo-wop megahits galore! The Muny's opening night audience of over 8,400 showed up ready to be rocked, swayed, grooved, and shook, and all of that ...

The Union Avenue Opera opens its 24th season with a splendid production of Gilbert & Sullivan's H.M.S. Pinafore, and it brims with glorious music, wonderful voices, and bright, delightful, timeless comedy....

Now that the weather has finally cleared up in St. Louis, you'll want to go celebrate The Muny in its 100th year at Singin' in the Rain. Celebrated as one of the most iconic musicals of all time-and perhaps as relatable today in some ways as ever, while we move through the digital revolution-Singin'...

What do you get when you mix a few displaced New Yorkers, a couple of hungry foosas, a fanciful lemur leader, and an enormous dancing steak? A crackalackin' romp of a good time, that's what!...

In a beautifully polished performance, Corinne Melancon as Agnes and Steve Isom as Michael (or Kari Ely as Agnes and David Schmittou as Michael on an alternating performance schedule) open Stages St Louis' 2018 season with I Do! I Do! which is a two-character musical version of the Tony-award-winnin...

Stages St. Louis is one of the great success stories in American theater. Jack Lane and Michael Hamilton started a little group in 1987 and it soon grew into a dynamite company producing season after season of superbly professional musical theater....

Orpheus could charm the very stones with his lyre and his singing. Just such magic can be seen on the stage of Opera Theatre St. Louis when Jennifer Johnson Cano portrays the mythical superstar in the company's current production. She gives an utterly stunning performance....

Opera Theatre St. Louis continues its 43rd season of exceptionally fine opera with another world premiere. An American Soldier is their twenty-seventh such premiere, a record which sets OTSL among the forefront of producers of new opera in America....

For certain xenophobic East Coast opera lovers, the words 'St.Louis' and 'Opera' could seem like an oxymoron. However, this would be an invalid assumption....

Opera Theatre St. Louis has produced many wonderful productions, and a handful of simply perfect ones. Their production of 'Regina' is among the latter....

Of all the composers in the world Giuseppe Verdi is by far the most popular. Of all the operas in the world his 'La traviata' is by far the most frequently performed. Have you missed out on this mega hit? You can fill in that cultural gap with the splendid production now offered by Opera Theatre of ...

For several seasons I've searched for a term to describe Gateway Opera. In a city flush with larger companies-Opera Theater St. Louis, Union Avenue Opera, and Winter Opera-which offer truly 'grand opera', what can one call this little company which gives us such delicious bite-sized treats? They're...