ST. LOUIS THEATER REVIEWS

A busy month has produced a number of outstanding options for theatre-goers in St. Louis, and even when the weather is as variable as has been over the last few weeks, there's no denying the appeal of watching a fine production of Shakespeare in Forest Park, especially when it doesn't cost you one t...

They always tell aspiring writers to 'write what you know', and in the case of playwright/novelist Mark Harelik's THE IMMIGRANT, he's done just that, fully capturing the experience of his Russian grandparents as they fled from their oppressors and settled in the small town of Hamilton, Texas. It's a...

Friedrich Durrenmatt's THE VISIT (adapted by Maurice Valency) is like one of those expressionistic German films from the 1920's directed by Robert Wiene or F.W. Murnau come to life on the stage. In fact, the characters and their stylized mannerisms seem like they would be right at home in one of the...

The original production of A CHORUS LINE grew out of workshops organized by director/choreographer Michael Bennett where dancers and performers discussed the various joys and hardships of a life spent pursuing the stage as an occupation. James Kirkwood, Jr. and Nicholas Dante pieced together these e...

At a time in our history when gay teens are committing suicide at an astounding and alarmingly high rate, a show like BARE: A POP OPERA shines a bright and important light on their struggles to deal with their difficulties in coping with accepting, and be accepted, for who they are. There are no eas...

June in St. Louis can mean only one thing to those of us who think young - the Circus is in town! And Circus Flora, the festival of fun we can proudly call our own here in St. Louis, continues a tradition they began some 25 years ago with their latest venture titled VAGABOND ADVENTURES. Forget about...

At a time in our history when gay teens are committing suicide at an astoundingly high rate, a show like BARE: A POP OPERA shines a bright and important light on their struggles to deal with their difficulties in coping with accepting, and be accepted, for who they are. There are no easy answers to ...

I've seen a lot of unusual and unique productions, especially since I've been checking out the Ovations! Series at the Edison Theatre the past couple of years, and a recent presentation of THE ALUMINUM SHOW (April 30, 2011) provided yet another example of the kind of energetic and engaging fare that...

If you've ever stayed up and listened to late night AM radio programs like the popular 'AM Coast to Coast' show, then you're fully aware that there are a lot of folks out there who believe in a lot of very peculiar things. While some of these unusual occurrences and sightings of critters and spacecr...

Playwright John Pielmeier has constructed an interesting work with AGNES OF GOD. It's decidedly uneven in tone, and the template for the script is very similar to the one utilized by the far-superior Equus (as a learned colleague of mine pointed out), but it's an engaging and involving show nonethel...

John and Alan Lomax were pioneering folklorists and ethnomusicologists who tracked down songs and performers to produce field recordings that provide a compelling picture of our cultural history in musical terms. Oft times, their recordings required them to travel to remote locations, or even prison...

Though playwright Clifford Odets wrote AWAKE AND SING! in 1933, it still has the power to resonate with an audience over 70 years later, not only due to the fact that our country is currently struggling with its own economic uncertainties, but also because the theme of pursuing your dream under unde...

It's always exciting when a reviewer gets the opportunity to see a new work premiered, and Mustard Seed Theatre is currently presenting an adaptation of the C.S. Lewis novel TILL WE HAVE FACES by playwright/director Deanna Jent, and it's a well-done and literate play that captures the prose and styl...

Last year the Pulitzer prize-winning play August: Osage County absolutely lit up the Fox Theatre, going down in my memory as one of the finest productions I'd ever had the pleasure to have seen, and this year the Pulitzer prize-winning musical NEXT TO NORMAL arrives with similar high expectations an...

After years of just seeing clips on public television, I thought it was time to actually take in a complete performance of MICHAEL FLATLEY'S LORD OF THE DANCE to see what all the fuss was about. And, it's an entirely different experience in person. Live, the energy and enthusiasm of these consummate...

I can always depend on Upsteam Theater to deliver a unique theatrical experience, and with the US premiere of THE DEATH OF ATAHUALPA they continue in the fine tradition they've firmly established, providing an audience with a fresh look at the last days of the Inca empire. Writer/director Philip Boe...

Charles M. Schulz, the creator of Peanuts, had the ability to communicate tiny bits of wisdom and insight in the space of three panels (six panels in the Sunday funnies) of rudimentary art. And, while most of his colleagues would head straight for a punchline, Schulz tended to take a more philosophi...

If you've ever drummed on your steering wheel to a song on the radio, or absentmindedly tapped your pencil on your desk, creating your own rhythmic accompaniment, then you've already grasped the concept at the heart of STOMP. Over the course of an hour and a half, a group of performers demonstrate h...

always consider it a rewarding experience when you go to see a play and you actually learn something along the way. In the case of playwright Andrew Moodie's work, THE REAL MCCOY, we're treated to a biographical account of forgotten black inventor Elijah McCoy (1844-1929). It's an intriguing and en...

The basic story of Chanticleer can supposedly be traced back to Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales, and a particular story titled 'The Nun's Priest's Tale', but you'd be hard pressed to find any resemblance between that work and most adaptations which focus instead on the conflict between a sly fox and ...

BEEHIVE THE 60's MUSICAL closes out the season for the Repertory Theatre of St. Louis, providing a refreshing and cheery dose of 1960's sunshine, and filling the theatre with the sounds of classic pop tunes from that era. This jukebox musical focuses on the contributions that women made to music dur...

If your only previous exposure to the story of Cyrano de Bergerac was through the Steve Martin vehicle Roxanne, then you've really only seen a watered down (and considerably lightened) telling of the tale. The movie is a lot of fun, but Edmond Rostand's play, which imparts a great deal of fictional ...

St. Louis has experienced a veritable confluence of exceptional songwriting talent with concerts by Randy Newman (The Sheldon), Kris Kristofferson and Merle Haggard (The Fox), along with the recent three day stand at the Kranzberg by Jimmy Webb. While I certainly regret missing the show at the Fox, ...

It's easy to see why playwright Alfred Uhry's DRIVING MISS DAISY was so successfully adapted for the movies. The episodic structure of Uhry's work, along with its brevity (running a scant 75 minutes), make it a perfect candidate for the big screen. But, don't be content sitting at home watching the ...

The idea of following the stories of four young gay men who are raised as members of a Baptist church in Texas is certainly fertile enough stuff for a play on its own. But, with SOUTHERN BAPTIST SISSIES, playwright Del Shores muddies this basic premise with a non-linear, and at times illogical, pres...