ST. LOUIS THEATER REVIEWS

Set in 1939, when Poland was falling to the Nazi's and Britain was being pulled into what would become World War II, playwright Mark St. Germain's engaging work FREUD'S LAST SESSION is a fascinating look at the historic meeting between two very different minds. Impeccably acted and directed, this St...

The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis is presenting a modern masterpiece with their soaring production of FLY. The acting is excellent, the direction is sharply focused, and the technical achievements are spectacular. I'm probably going to run out of superlatives before I finish this review, so bear wi...

I decided to take in one of the Sheldon's coffee concerts earlier this week, and though some snarled traffic kept me from enjoying the coffee portion of the bill, I arrived in time for the concert. I was rewarded for my efforts by witnessing the performance of a tremendously talented group of musici...

In keeping with the Halloween season, and in distinct contrast to the serious tone of New Line's brilliant Night of the Living Dead, we have Stray Dog Theatre's lively production of EVIL DEAD: THE MUSICAL, a campy gorefest based on filmmaker Sam Raimi's Evil Dead trilogy. The first two films are aud...

I'm a horror film fan, and I saw NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD for the first time at a midnight show when I was a teenager. Like the movie, the musical version (music by Matt Conner, lyrics by Stephen Gregory Smith and Conner) focuses our attention on the victims of a sudden outbreak of zombies. Sure, th...

I have to confess that other than the misguided movie that was made out of EVITA, the only other presentation I'd seen was New Line Theatre's wonderfully intimate version a couple of years ago. So, I was curious as to how this show would play on a bigger venue's stage. I wasn't disappointed and you ...

When you're a critic and you witness a magical evening of theatre it's hard not to be overly enthused and gush about it, but Upstream Theater's current production of Nikolai Gogol's (adaptation by David Holman) DIARY OF A MADMAN is simply brilliant and truly deserving of such praise. Upstream consis...

THE GOOD DOCTOR, Neil Simon's take on the short stories of Anton Chekhov, is a decidedly mixed bag. At the time he was writing this work he was dealing with his first wife's illness and busying himself with changes to the screenplay of The Prisoner of Second Avenue. Although it has become a much per...

Playwright Lee Blessing's LONESOME HOLLOW paints a cynical and slightly contrived portrait of our country's future. Blessing's dystopian look at America imagines a place where sex offenders are housed by a corporation in small towns that have been taken over and converted for this very purpose. Ther...

Playwright/novelist/screenwriter/songwriter Suzan-Lori Parks has crafted an intriguing work with Topdog/Underdog, which is currently playing at The Gaslight Theater in a marvelously acted production by the St. Louis Actors' Studio. The theme for their seventh season is 'Sins of the Father', and as t...

The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis kicks off their season with a lively and captivating production of CABARET, Kander and Ebb's dark and cynical examination of life in Berlin prior to Hitler's ascension. This sleek, sexy, abrasive and poignant musical is solidly performed by both the cast, and the m...

MY FAIR LADY is a venerable warhorse of the stage, and though it used to be performed with a frightening degree of regularity, it's been a while since I've seen it, other than catching the film version on TCM recently. I must say I'm impressed with the current production by Stages St. Louis. It mana...

Playwright Joe Orton's writing career was brief, ending abruptly when he was bludgeoned to death in 1967. In a very short span he wrote a handful of plays that are still being performed to this day, and one wonders what he would have created if he'd lived longer. You can catch one of his early plays...

St. Louis is home to dozens of theatre companies, most of which have the same problem; finding a venue in which to perform. The Black Rep, which utilized the Grandel Theatre for many years, is now faced with this same issue. But, thankfully, they were able to find space at Washington University, usi...

Elizabeth Van Meter's The Purpose Project: Thao's Library is a true story that genuinely touches the heart. Utilizing a multimedia presentation, Van Meter details the events that occurred that convinced her to attempt and reach out to a person who was born with disabilities due to the spraying of th...

Playwright Nicky Silver's Broadway-break through, THE LYONS, is a black comedy that focuses our attention on the titular dysfunctional family. Although it's characters may be a bit one dimensional at times, this play has a lot of amusing twists and turns, and there are also several moments that occu...

Playwright Cormac McCarthy has crafted an intriguing work with THE SUNSET LIMITED, and even though he skimps on fully developing his characters, there is still plenty to chew on here. It's also the inaugural production of Theatre Lab, and I'm always happy to welcome a new company to the local theatr...

The current production of MARY POPPINS that's playing at The Muny is 'practically perfect', featuring some nice special effects, a wonderful set, and terrific performances that manage to capture the spirit of the 1964 Disney film, as well as the P.L. Travers books that inspired it. The original and ...

Stages St. Louis continues their 2013 season with the musical adaptation of the 2001 Reese Witherspoon vehicle, LEGALLY BLONDE. It's a pleasant romantic comedy that, like a lot of modern musicals, pokes fun at itself, but it also features a positive message about believing in oneself. The clever com...

I love horror movies, especially the kind of cheesy stuff from the 1950's and 1960's that director Roger Corman was famous for. It's been said that he shot the cult favorite, The LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS, in four days, and it certainly has a look that would suggest as much. But, underneath its filthy...

Victor Hugo's novel, LES MISERABLES, was re-imagined in the early 1980's as a very successful musical (lyrics by Herbert Kretzmer (adapted from the French text by Alain Boublil and Jean-Marc Natel) and score by Claude-Michel Schonberg)) that has continued to captivate audiences. Although I wasn't es...

Rodgers and Hammerstein's SOUTH PACIFIC is a lavish and impressive show filled with gorgeous melodies, many of which have become standards that you'll find yourself humming on the way home from The Muny. From an intellectual standpoint, the social issues that this Pulitzer prize winning drama tackle...

It's only fitting that while we're celebrating Independence Day there's a production of the musical 1776 being staged by a local theatre group. After all, it's not has-been bands at local fairs and fireworks displays that we're supposed to be honoring on this particular occasion, but rather the prin...

Knowing full well it's popular reputation, but having seen only one production, I had moderately high expectations for The Muny's take on Dan Goggin's musical comedy, NUNSENSE. I'm not Catholic, so I assumed that some of the humor might be lost on me. Through osmosis alone, I've probably absorbed en...

Nearly everyone is familiar with the tale of CINDERELLA. You've either been read the story as a child, or perhaps viewed one of the many movie versions. It's just one of those things that seems to creep into our subconscious through osmosis. In fact, variations continue to pop up in books and films ...