ST. LOUIS THEATER REVIEWS

Here in St. Louis we should never take for granted the fact that we have our very own circus. Of course, I'm talking about Circus Flora, the one ring big top that you'll find around this time every year situated just behind Powell Symphony Hall. And, this is a circus with a great deal of thought beh...

I've always been curious about THEY'RE PLAYING OUR SONG, but I'd never had the chance to see it before. You have to be intrigued by the fact that prolific playwright Neil Simon wrote the book, and also because Marvin Hamlisch and Carole Bayer Sager, who are responsible, together and separately, for ...

Looking over a list of New Line Theatre's shows for the past 23 years is a very telling experience. This is a group dedicated to restoring the old and embracing the new. That's why their current production of HANDS ON A HARDBODY shouldn't shock you that it's so damn good (it really is), because this...

Well, it worked on me! 'The Elixir of Love' opened last night at the Opera Theatre of St. Louis, and after only a sip or two I fell head over heels for it. At the end of the evening I was, like Nemorino, giddy (oh, let's admit it, the better word is 'drunk') with happiness and delight. It was si...

Harold Pinter's THE HOMECOMING has been referred to as one of his early 'menacing' comedies. I suppose that that's an accurate enough description, but I would say that the actual humor is pitch black in nature. It's a twisted tale that Pinter writes, and it's funny in the most unsettling ways. Chara...

Since the stories and cast of HENRY IV (pts. 1 & 2) and HENRY V intertwine, it's only fitting that I review Shakespeare Festival St. Louis' marvelous productions together. The shows will alternate (every evening except Tuesdays), and there will be special performances the next two weekends where bot...

Opera Theatre of St. Louis has opened its thirty-ninth season with a bang. Their production of The Magic Flute is unlike any other you've seen (or ever will see)....

I hesitated to review the current touring production of THE WIZARD OF OZ (Fox Theatre, through May 18, 2014), which has been adapted by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Jeremy Sams, because even though I thought it told essentially the same tale as the original, I didn't particularly care for it. There's cer...

It's impossible to analyze humor, and even if you try to it just takes all the fun out of it anyway. Some say jokes are mostly 'tragedy plus time', and that 'laughter is the best medicine'. Both are true to a certain extent. So, when it comes to reviewing OLD JEWS TELLING JOKES (created by Peter Get...

I would've written about Dramatic License Production's presentation of playwright Larry Shue's THE NERD sooner, but my computer crashed. Not once, but twice. It's fixed with the help of some technical assistance, but some things got lost in the process. Kind of like how I've generally felt about mos...

Though it was written before Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice's successful Jesus Christ Superstar, JOSEPH AND THE AMAZING TECHNICOLOR DREAMCOAT caught on after Superstar's success as a kind of adjunct sequel. Family friend in tone and full of catchy musical numbers, it's a pleasant and upbeat show w...

I've seen BLUE MAN GROUP live quite a few times, and on this particular occasion I brought along my son for his second go around with the show. What's appealing to me is that there's still a freshness about their performances, even if a lot of the bits are familiar, such as: the camera tour down an ...

Upstream Theater continues their fine season with the U.S. premiere of Australian David Milroy's engaging work, WINDMILL BABY. Upstream continues to bring us some of the finest and most thought-provoking plays from around the globe, both educating us and enhancing our perspective on the world around...

Another welcome revival hits the local theatre scene with the Stages St. Louis production of ALWAYS...PATSY CLINE at The Playhouse at Westport Plaza. It's an excellent show, full of good humor and packed with a great collection of classic country tunes. It plays out as more than just your typical tr...

It's been a couple of years since playwright Deanna Jent's FALLING debuted here in St. Louis, and since then it's been published, and gone on to receive rave reviews on both coasts. FALLING's impact has been a wonderful thing to witness from afar, and so it's especially nice that we get the opportun...

I have to thank the Artistic Director of MADCO, Stacy West, for allowing me to see the first full-run through of LIQUID ROADS. I was completely captivated by the union of music and dance I experienced, and found the piece thoroughly entertaining. And, I wondered how it would all come together on sta...

ONCE, the Oscar-winning film ("Falling Slowly"), has a lot of qualities to it that don't immediately make you think it should transition well to the stage. It's a simple story that deals mostly with two main characters, and it doesn't have an "in your face" type of score, or mood about it. And yet, ...

There's always a risk involved in becoming a test subject for a new drug. It's a necessary process for the pharmaceutical companies since it reveals the benefits and detriments of their latest discovery. But, the people who undertake these studies are often desperate for something that will help the...

Stray Dog Theatre tackles another classic musical, bringing Kander and Ebb's CABARET to the stage at the Tower Grove Abbey on this occasion. and It's a splendid rendition that combines a strong cast with incisive direction. Some bench seats have even also been removed to allow for a group of smaller...

Though this review is late in arriving, I wanted to publish it anyway because I found HotCity Theatre's production of playwright Adam Rapp's RED LIGHT WINTER so intriguing. This is a raw and edgy work that doesn't pull any punches. It's adult in its themes, and filled with rough language that initia...

I was lucky enough to be invited to the first full run through of MADCO's (the Modern American Dance Company, led by artistic director Stacy West) latest production, LIQUID ROADS and even in the unfinished state I saw it in, it promises to be a lively and wonderful presentation. Choreographer Gina P...

Writer Arthur Miller's THE PRICE is a powerful and engaging work that uses a simple set up to discuss the "price" everyone pays for the decisions they make in life. Each choice we make makes an impact on those around us, often deeper than we're aware of. Though emotionally charged and dramatic, this...

The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis closes another wonderful season with playwright Michael Frayn's hilarious farce within a farce, NOISES OFF. Frayn's work is just downright funny, but it's especially amusing to anyone who's ever taken part in a stage production sometime in their life. The Rep's pre...

If there's any 'jukebox' musical that should be wildly over the top it would have to be one connected with the 70's and 80's rock group Queen. It just makes sense. Their music always had a sort of 'larger than life', heroic quality to it to begin with. So, it's only natural that WE WILL ROCK YOU (bo...

A graduate of the Rep's Ignite! Play Festival (the 2014 festival takes place this week), playwright Rebecca Gilman's work, SOUPS, STEWS AND CASSEROLES: 1976, is currently receiving it's world premiere in the Studio Theatre of the Loretto-Hilton. This is a smart and funny piece with a message that st...