ST. LOUIS THEATER REVIEWS

Playwright Sarah Ruhl has crafted a brilliantly funny and touching work with IN THE NEXT ROOM OR THE VIBRATOR PLAY, a piece that's as moving, in the end, as it is hilarious and erotic. While it concerns itself with the invention of the device mentioned in the title, it's also an amusing look at all ...

Muddy Waters Theatre opens their season devoted to playwright Paula Vogel with her OBIE award-winning work, THE BALTIMORE WALTZ, a play best described as a kind of farcical fever dream that satirizes AIDS hysteria. It was apparently written as a sort of literary 'AIDS quilt' that allowed Vogel to de...

Though Shakespeare's first play, TWO GENTLEMEN OF VERONA, is ungainly and raw at times, many of the devices and plot mechanisms that will soon become the playwright's stock in trade are present in its text. As such, it remains a crude example of an early work by a master still fine tuning his craft....

So, one evening (February 25, 2011) Randy Newman is providing the assembled throng at the Sheldon Concert Hall (a benefit for the Friends of the Sheldon) with an immensely entertaining concert, and a couple of days later he's picking up his second Academy Award (after countless nominations) for his ...

Patrick Marber's play CLOSER is an intriguing examination of the way men and women interact with one another, particularly with regards to their vastly differing ideas as to what love and commitment actually mean. The story itself is fascinating and frustrating, in equal measure, as we watch four da...

Playwright Deborah Zoe Laufer has constructed an interesting and very engaging work with SIRENS, which comes to us directly from the Humana New Plays Festival. This is a whimsical and charming tale that touches on a couple of different mythologies with its references to muses and sirens, one of whic...

RUINED is one of those plays that lingers in your mind long after it's over. There's a reason that playwright Lynn Nottage won the Pulitzer Prize for drama with this powerful story, and once you've seen it yourself, it may well haunt you too. Because, even though this tale about the plight of civili...

Since I've become a theatre critic I've had the opportunity to see several productions of William Shakespeare's MACBETH, and most have left me wanting in one way or another. But, just as Roman Polanski's gritty 1971 film adaptation is, for me at least, the best interpretation of the Bard's play that...

The 1980 movie Nine to Five was a pretty big hit when it came out, and one reason is because it touched a nerve with its tale of three secretaries (Lily Tomlin, Jane Fonda and Dolly Parton) who extract revenge from their chauvinistic boss, superbly played by Dabney Coleman, who made a career out of ...

As a fan of the Beatles, I imagine it's a bit of a daunting task to try and bring something fresh to the table regarding their classic catalog of music. After all, their timeless melodies have been explored by artists from around the globe for decades. Nonetheless, Grammy-nominated composer and pian...

HotCity Theatre continues to provide St. Louis with a mix of new plays and modern classics, and actor/playwright Sam Shepard's TRUE WEST is their latest foray in these areas. Considered to be one of Shepard's more accessible works, TRUE WEST is a fascinating look at sibling rivalry, and it also take...

As technology races ever forward, we find ourselves continually bombarded with requests for our time. Personal assistants are no longer actual people, but handheld devices that have become our lifeline to our work and families. So, it's not surprising that we've all become a little preoccupied. Then...

In his persona as DOKTOR KABOOM, David Epley is a force to be reckoned with. Brandishing an authoritative German accent, he takes on a role that previous generations may associate with Mr. Wizard and Bill Nye the Science Guy, making science entertaining for children of all ages. His performance at ...

Writer William Nicholson's play SHADOWLANDS, which was adapted from his 1985 television screenplay, takes a look at the life of C.S. Lewis, focusing its attention on the relationship between the famous author and an American fan named Joy Gresham that he wound up marrying. It's a superbly constructe...

It's tragic enough when someone loses their spouse, but when they also lose their only child within a year and a half of that, it's simply indescribable. But that's precisely what happened to writer Joan Didion, and she chronicled the experience in her book, and in the play that followed, THE YEAR O...

Upstream Theater continues to find little gems from around the globe, delivering unique theatrical experiences that cast a light on different cultures and societies outside of our own. Buenos Aires born playwright Lucia Laragione's COOKING WITH ELISA is their latest discovery, and is currently being...

Though not as frequently performed or fondly remembered as some of the classics in the Shakespearean canon, PERICLES is an interesting tale nonetheless. While it's usually cataloged along with the romances and comedies, its circumstances are really quite tragic, until it reaches for a fairytale endi...

Author and playwright Walter Mosley has a real knack for writing hard-boiled fiction, as evidenced by his extensive, best-selling body of work, and his first foray writing for the theatre, THE FALL OF HEAVEN, is a stunning success. Mosley deftly reworks 'The Tempest Tales' into an incendiary piece o...

As an avowed Monty Python fan, it was with much anticipation that I looked forward to finally getting the opportunity to see SPAMALOT. Unfortunately, this hodgepodge of scenes cobbled from the cult film (although admittedly, it is a very large cult) Monty Python and the Holy Grail, failed to fully e...

The theatre scene in St. Louis in 2010 turned out to be another year filled with fine productions and superb performances. Despite the economic barriers faced by all the local theatre companies many continued to take risks, presenting material that challenged audience expectations, but entertained t...

The Imaginary Theatre Company provided a very fitting offering for the holiday season with their delightful and amusing take on THE NUTCRACKER. This version is cleverly scripted by playwright Sarah Brandt, with original music and lyrics by Neal Richardson, and though it differs somewhat from E.T.A. ...

Seven talented young senior students from Webster University were showcased on the stage of the Kranzberg Arts Center this past Tuesday (12/14/2010) by the Presenters Dolan. I'd heard that this show was usually presented at the university itself, but I think that the group benefited greatly from hav...

The classic film It's a Wonderful Life is brought to the stage by Dramatic License Productions in a unique presentation, re-imagined as THIS WONDERFUL LIFE, and finding one actor taking on all the roles. Mark Setlock and Steve Murray's adaptation condenses 130 minutes of screen time into 75 minutes ...