ST. LOUIS THEATER REVIEWS

In the academic world of mathematics 'proofs' are a kind of intellectual currency. If published, they can launch a career. But, they're rare and precious items, essentially the product of sweat and genius; the very essence of math. David Auburn's play, PROOF, examines this form of the word, but also...

Playwright Terrence McNally's MASTER CLASS is a fascinating peek at the life and legend of famed soprano Maria Callas, capturing the former opera star at a time when her talent was beginning to fade. The play is loosely based on events that occurred during actual classes that Callas taught in the ea...

The original animated film SHREK was a kind of adult fairytale, though it was obviously aimed squarely at the youth market as well, successfully spawning a franchise with sequels and merchandising galore. So, it should come as no surprise that Dreamworks would opt to try their luck on stage with a m...

If you only know about HotCity Theatre because of their dedication to producing new and original works by some of the most talented and unknown playwrights around, then you should also know how adept they are at staging revivals of edgy and provocative modern classics. This season they've chosen Pet...

George S. Kaufman and Moss Hart's classic play, YOU CAN'T TAKE IT WITH YOU, has been given a wonderfully performed and staged presentation by the Repertory Theatre of St. Louis. This venerable favorite is brought to life in splendid fashion, with a superb cast proving that Kaufman and Hart's punchli...

STATE FAIR was the only musical that Rodgers and Hammerstein wrote specifically for Hollywood and two versions were filmed, one in 1945 and the other in 1962. The one that's probably most familiar to audiences today is the rather forgettable 1962 version which features Pat Boone serenading a pig. Ha...

Playwright Lynn Nottage's CRUMBS FROM THE TABLE OF JOY, which is set in the 1950's, initially gives us more than enough plot for one play, presenting us with a grief-stricken widower who decides to pack up his two teenage daughters and haul them off to New York. But, Nottage isn't content to play ou...

Tchaikovsky's opera, PIKOVAYA DAMA (THE QUEEN OF SPADES) is based on a story by Pushkin, but the libretto tweaks the story ever so slightly, by having the lead protagonist, Gherman, already in love with the object of his desire before the plot is firmly put into motion. And the change makes all the ...

Playwright John Patrick Shanley explores the 'feminization' of the male of the species with his work PSYCHOPATHIA SEXUALIS (google Krafft-Ebbing for a more detailed explanation of the historical and ground-breaking, but essentially flawed, text that the title is copped from, but bears no resemblance...

First Run Theatre dedicates all its efforts toward full stagings of new works by local playwrights, and on this occasion, they're presenting (along with Dusty Bums, and through the kind use of the Marble Stage Theatre space in the Crestwood Artspace) LET THERE BE THISTLES by Joshua Thomas. This is a...

MAN OF LA MANCHA has become a community theatre staple, and as such, gets staged with some degree of regularity. While some of these are uneven affairs at best, the Insight Theatre Company's current production is an exception, combining the talents of a splendid cast with sharp direction and choreog...

When I started writing this review I had Turner Classics on, and it just so happened they were playing SHOW BOAT. Funny how that works sometimes, when you've just seen a splendid live performance of a show the night before, and the next evening you stumble across Hollywood's take on the material. Se...

Since I first started taking my son along with me to see children's shows, it's become readily apparent to me that he especially enjoys seeing the ones put on by Stages St. Louis. That's because they're always entertaining and fun, and they don't wear out their welcome by running too long. Their cur...

ANTON IN SHOW BUSINESS, written by playwright Jane Martin, has some clever ideas going for it, including taking on the sacred institution of Anton Chekov himself, as well as examining the ongoing conflict between art and commerce. However, it comes off as more a collection of interesting and amusing...

Though actor/playwright Jason Miller may be best remembered for his turns as troubled priest Father Damien in The Exorcist (and Exorcist III: Legion), he should probably be thought of for his Pulitzer-prize winning work, THAT CHAMPIONSHIP SEASON. It's a powerful piece that, on the surface, follows a...

I remember seeing FOOTLOOSE in a theatre back in 1984, and I think I actually enjoyed it. I even have a cassette of the soundtrack somewhere, although I don't remember ever purchasing it. Still, it's the type of movie that can be easily tweaked for translation to the stage since the songs are alread...

A romantic comic opera with militaristic undertones sounds like a rather odd juxtaposition of style and substance, but LA FILLE DU REGIMENT(Daughter of the Regiment) pulls off that feat with a delightful combination of tuneful melodies, along with a considerable amount of charm that's hard to resist...

Jenny Schwartz's play GOD'S EAR is an intriguing work, chock full of linguistic twists and turns that manage to illuminate rather than obscure, even though they appear to tumble forth with seemingly reckless abandon. Schwartz takes a tragic situation, in this case the loss of a child and the erosion...

It wasn't until a couple of years ago that I actually saw the stage version of THE SOUND OF MUSIC. Of course, I'd been exposed to the movie version long before that, but I never really enjoyed watching it until they started letterboxing the film for broadcast presentations, because the 'pan and scan...

Most of the productions of Kander and Ebb's CABARET that I've attended in recent years have been rather intimate and cozy affairs, with stagings seeking to replicate the smoky atmosphere of the Kit Kat Klub as closely as possible. And, the latest production by Non-Prophet Theatre Company is one such...

I grew up listening to the music and lyrics of Burt Bacharach and Hal David, and I've always had a warm spot in my heart for their tuneful pop confections. So, it was with a considerable amount of anticipation that I looked forward to getting a chance to see a production of their 1968 hit PROMISES, ...

Despite the fact that I'm not exactly what you'd call a fan of the show CATS, I've always tried to keep an open mind whenever I've attended a production of it (just as I would with any other show I'm not particularly fond of), because you never know when you're going to be beguiled by an especially ...

The Union Avenue Opera kick off their 2010 season with a spirited romp through Gilbert and Sullivan's comic opera PIRATES OF THE PENZANCE, and even if you've never seen it before, there's a good chance you've heard some of these tuneful melodies somewhere along the line. Countless variations on "The...

To an audience today, William Shakespeare's THE TAMING OF THE SHREW might be considered politically incorrect. After all, it's a tale about a man who takes on the challenge of breaking the will of a strong-minded woman in order to provide him with a subservient wife. I'm thinking this isn't exactly ...

I'm not sure how I would react if I found myself in the situation that Vito Pignoli finds himself in as the plot unfolds in Renee Taylor and Joseph Bologna's play IT HAD TO BE YOU. I certainly wouldn't remain as calm and collected as he (mostly) does while being trapped inside the apartment of a koo...