St. Louis theatre calendar for the week of February 20, 2012

Updated Tuesday, February 21, 2012

[Looking for auditions and other artistic opportunities? Check out the St. Louis Auditions site.]

For information on events beyond this week, check out the searchable database at the Regional Arts Commission's ArtsZipper site.

I'm now adding my own purely personal comments to events about which I think I have anything worthwhile to say. Because that's what bloggers do. If I have left your show out, please leave a comment with all the details.

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St. Louis Community College at Florissant Valley Theater Department presents Almost, Maine through February 25. Performances take place in the Fisher Theatre on the campus at 3400 Pershall Road. For more information, call 314-513-4488.

Autobahn

R-S Theatrics, an offshoot of Soundstage Productions, presents a Neil LaBute's Autobahn at 8 PM Fridays and Saturdays, and 7 PM Sundays through February 26. Performances take place in their art space at 220 Crestwood Court. For more information, you may email RSTheatrics at yahoo.com or call 314-968-8070. Read the 88.1 KDHX review!

The St. Louis University Theatre Department presents Bat Boy: The Musical February 24 through March 4. Performances take place in Xavier Hall, 3373 West Pine Mall. For more information, call (314) 977-2998 or visit www.slu.edu/theatre.

Marble Stage Fairy Tale Theatre presents Beauty and the Beast Saturdays at noon through February 25 at Marble Stage Theater, 426 Crestwood Mall Art Space. For more information, call 314-437-0846 or visit www.marblestage.org.

"Attack of the Dorothies"
from  Briefs

That Uppity Theatre Company and The Vital Voice present Briefs: A Festival Of Short Lesbian and Gay Plays Friday at 8 PM, Saturday at 5 and 8 PM, and Sunday at 2 PM, February 24 through 26. There will also be a free preview performance on Wednesday, February 22, at 8 PM. Performances take place at La Perla, 312 North 8th Street, downtown. A DJ will be spinning music between plays, and a cash bar as well as valet parking will be available. The cast includes the author of this here blog. For more information, visit www.brownpapertickets.com/event/215115 or call (314) 995-4600.

The Pub Theater Company presents Bye Bye Liver: The St. Louis Drinking Play, a comedic romp through the joys and pitfalls of The Gateway to the West's favorite pastime. Performances take place on “select Saturdays” (and the occasional Friday) at Maggie O'Brien's, 2000 Market Street. For more information, you may call 800-650-6449 or visit byebyeliver.com/stlouis.

University of Missouri at St. Louis Opera Theatre presents Donizetti's comedy The Elixir of Love Friday at 7:30 PM and Saturday at 3 and 7:30 PM, February 24 and 25. Performances take place in the Lee Theatre at the Touhill Performing Arts center on the UMSL campus. For more information, visit touhill.org or call 314-516-4949.

St. Louis Community College at Forest Park Theatre Department presents Five Women Wearing the Same Dress February 23 through 26. Performances take place in the Bastian Theatre on the campus at 5600 Oakland. For more information, call 314-644-9100.

Marble Stage Theatre presents Flip/Flop Thursday through Saturday, February 23 through 25, at Marble Stage Theater, 426 Crestwood Mall Art Space. For more information, call 314-437-0846 or visit www.marblestage.org.

The Conservatory of Theatre Arts at Webster University presents John LaChiusa's musical Hello Again, based on La Ronde by Arthur Schnitzler, Wednesdays through Saturdays at 7:30 PM and Sundays at 2 PM, through February 26. Performances take place in the studio theatre at the Loretto-Hilton Center, 130 Edgar Road on the Webster University campus. Fore more information, call 314-968-7128. Read the 88.1 KDHX review!

Upstream Theater presents The Maids by Jean Genet. Performances are Thursdays through Saturdays at 8 PM and Sundays at 7 PM through March 4 at the Kranzberg Arts Center, 501 North Grand. The final Sunday show is at 3 PM. For more information, call (314) 863-4999 or visit www.upstreamtheater.org Read the 88.1 KDHX review!.

The Black Rep presents Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream through March 4. Performances take place at the Grandel Theatre, 3610 Grandel Square. For more information, call 314-534-3810. Read the 88.1 KDHX review!

Race

The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis presents David Mamet's drama Race Tuesdays through Sundays through March 4. Performances take place on the main stage at the Loretto-Hlton Center, 130 Edgar Road in Webster Groves, MO. For more information, call 314-968-4925 or visit repstl.org. Read the 88.1 KDHX review!

Radio Free Emerson

Washington University Performing Arts Department presents Radio Free Emerson Friday and Saturday at 8 PM and Sunday at 2 PM through February 26. Performances take place in the A.E. Hotchner Studio Theatre in the Mallinckrodt Student Center on the Washington University campus. “Loosely based on Ibsen's The Wild Duck, Radio Free Emerson examines the funny, dark and sometimes violent consequences of following desires unchecked.” For more information, call 314-935-6543. Read the 88.1 KDHX review!

Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville Department of Theater and Dance presents Servy-N-Bernice 4ever Wednesday through Saturday at 7:30 PM, and Sunday at 2 PM, February 22 through 26. Performances take place in the Dunham Hall Theater on the campus in Edwardsville, IL. For more information, call 618-650-2774.

KTK Productions presents A Show Within a Show Fridays and Saturdays at 8 PM and Sundays at 2 PM through February 26. Performances take place at Southampton Presbyterian Church, 4716 Macklind. For more information, call 314-351-8984.

The Pulitzer Foundation for the Arts presents Staging Reflections of the Buddha Thursdays and Fridays, February 23, February 24, March 1, March 2, March 8, and March 9 at 7 pm; Saturdays, February 25 and March 3, 5 and 7 pm; and Sundays, February 26 and March 4 at 3 and 5 pm. On Saturday, March 10, the performance will be held at 5 pm followed by a lantern ceremony at 7 pm. “Former prisoners and veterans, who have been trained as actors, will guide the audience through the galleries, moving through the Reflections of the Buddha exhibit. The project is designed to break down social barriers by establishing common ground between the audience and the actors.” The Pulitzer Foundation for the Arts is at 3716 Washington in Grand Center. For more information, visit www.stagingbuddha.pulitzerarts.org.

Urinetown

Stray Dog Theatre presents two additional performances of the musical satire Urinetown Friday and Saturday at 8 PM, February 24 and 25. Performances take place at The Tower Grove Abbey, 2336 Tennessee. For more information, call 314-865-1995. Read the 88.1 KDHX review!

Wake Up, Cameron Dobbs

The West End Players Guild continues their 101st season with the world premiere of St. Louis playwright Stephen Peirick's comedy Wake Up, Cameron Dobbs Fridays and Saturdays at 8 PM and Sundays at 2 PM, February 24 through March 4. Performances take place at the Union Avenue Christian Church, 733 North Union at Enright in the Central West End. For more information, call 314-367-0025 or visit www.westendplayers.org.

The Edison Theatre Ovations! Series presents The Water Coolers on Saturday, February 25, at 8 PM The Water Coolers is “a 'laugh-out-loud' musical comedy about the things we share around the water coolers of America everyday: life, work, kids, travel, technology and trying to balance it all.” The performance takes place at 8 PM at Edison Theater on the Washington University campus. For more information, call 314-935-6543.

West Side Story

The Fox Theatre presents the tour of the new Broadway production of West Side Story February 14 through 26. The Fox Theatre is at 517 North Grand in Grand Center. For more information, call 314-534-1678. Read the 88.1 KDHX review!

Shall we dance?

Who: The St. Louis Symphony Orchestra conducted by David Robertson with Hubbard Street Dance Chicago
What: Music of Mozart, Corelli, Scarlatti, Bach, Anna Clyne, Stravinsky, and Martinů
Where: Powell Symphony Hall, St. Louis
When: February 17-19, 2012

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View a segment about Hubbard Street's performance from "Show Me St. Louis" on KSDK TV.

The symphony was super-sized this weekend, with a longer than usual program. The two and one-half hour concert had a decidedly Baroque/Classical/Neoclassical orientation, with music ranging chronologically from Baroque to contemporary and stylistically from Mozart to Martinů. Add in the dynamic dancing by Hubbard Street Dance Chicago and you had a pretty good bang for your entertainment buck.

I don’t know about you, but the first question that came to my mind when I learned that this weekend’s guest artists were a full ballet company was "where are they going to put everyone?" The answer is that you put the dancers on a temporary stage covering the front half of the regular stage and extending over the first row or two of seats. The orchestra is moved back and onto a platform a foot or two above the regular stage. The arrangement was ideal from our perch in the dress circle boxes and offered great sound and a clear view of the dancers.

Normally, of course, the conductor of a ballet orchestra would have the dancers above and in front of him instead of below and in back. The latter arrangement required David Robertson to frequently look over his shoulder, but both he and the musicians appeared to take it all in stride. Even with the new piece on the program—Within Her Arms by Chicago Symphony Orchestra composer in residence Anna Clyne—I saw no indication that the dancers and the orchestra weren’t always on the same page (literally or otherwise). Yet another reason why we love our St. Louis Symphony.

The program opened with an impeccably played Le nozze di Figaro overture by the orchestra alone, after which the Hubbard Street dancers, in simple deep mauve leotards, took to the stage for the first ballet, Nacho Duato’s Arcangelo. Originally created for Madrid’s Compañia Nacional de Danza in 2000, Arcangelo uses music from seven of the concerti grossi published in 1714 by one of the masters of the form, Arcangelo Corelli, along with a somber coda set to an aria (sung with great feeling by countertenor David Stephens) from Alessandro Scarlatti’s oratorio Il primo omicidio (based on the story of Cain and Abel). Mr. Duato’s choreography seamlessly blends modern and classically inspired movement—everything from a small flick of the wrist to athletic leaps—into a harmonious whole that handsomely complements the music. Until Friday morning’s concert, I didn’t know what Corelli’s music looked like. Now I do.

The first half closed with Bach’s Brandenburg Concerto No. 3 as a kind of palate cleanser. It was another fine performance, with a tip of the powdered wig to Peter Henderson’s sparkling harpsichord and concertmaster David Halen’s brief but beautiful second movement cadenza (the printed score has no second movement as such, only a single measure of two chords, so in performance a violin or harpsichord cadenza is often inserted there).

The second half opened with twice (once), in which Hubbard Street’s Rehearsal Director Terrence Marling turns Anna Clyne’s Within Her Arms—written as an elegy for the death of the composer’s mother in 2008—into a kind of balletic memory play. The fluid movement of dancers in flowing white costumes mirrored the somewhat mysterious music, which at times seemed to harken back to Vaughn Williams or even Thomas Tallis. Soloist Jessica Tong appeared to embody the spirit of the departed in a work that ends, courageously, with no music at all.

The rest is silence, to quote the dying Hamlet.

Next, another break for the dancers as the orchestra gave us Stravinsky’s 1938 homage to Bach’s Third Brandenburg, the "Dumbarton Oaks" concerto. Even though the work is from Stravinsky’s neo-classical period and therefore emotionally restrained, the composer still can’t resist some jolly writing for the winds (especially the clarinet and bassoon) and the symphony players did a fine job with it.

Bringing the concert to a brilliant close was As few as 3000 by Hubbard Street Resident Choreographer Alejandro Cerrudo, set to Bohuslav Martinů’s 1947 Toccata e due canzoni. There was so much going on here in terms of both music and dance that it was, to some extent, a case of sensory overload. Martinů’s score, with its rhythmic drive, clever reinterpretation of Baroque styles, and prominent piano part (another nod is due to Mr. Henderson there), is so interesting all by itself that it often threatened to draw focus from the dancers’ spectacular performance of Mr. Cerrudo’s inventive and often whimsical choreography. There were elements there of classic athletics—especially running and swimming—as well movement reminiscent of aquatic and insect life. There was even a mock levitation, complete with a magician in top hat and cape. Remarkable stuff, really, but it might work better with more familiar music.

To say that this program is ambitious would be an understatement. The fact that it all came off so well is a tribute to both our orchestra and Chicago’s dancers, and I congratulate them all.

Next at Powell Hall: Jaap van Zweden is on the podium along with pianist Martin Helmchen for Johan Wagenaar’s Cyrano de Bergerac Overture, Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 25, and Brahms’s Symphony No. 4. Performances are Friday and Saturday at 8 PM and Sunday at 3 PM, February 24-26. For more information you may call 314-534-1700 or visit stlsymphony.org.

St. Louis theatre calendar for the week of February 13, 2012

Updated Wednesday, February 15

[Looking for auditions and other artistic opportunities? Check out the St. Louis Auditions site.]

For information on events beyond this week, check out the searchable database at the Regional Arts Commission's ArtsZipper site.

I'm now adding my own purely personal comments to events about which I think I have anything worthwhile to say. Because that's what bloggers do. If I have left your show out, please leave a comment with all the details.

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St. Louis Community College at Florissant Valley Theater Department presents Almost, Maine February 17 through 25. Performances take place in the Fisher Theatre on the campus at 3400 Pershall Road. For more information, call 314-644-5522.

Autobahn

R-S Theatrics, an offshoot of Soundstage Productions, presents a Neil LaBute's Autobahn at 8 PM Fridays and Saturdays, and 7 PM Sundays, February 17 through 26. Performances take place in their art space at 220 Crestwood Court. For more information, you may email RSTheatrics at yahoo.com or call 314-968-8070.

St. Louis Community College at Meramec Theatre Department presents Jim Greer's drama Bad Things for Good Reasons February 15 through 19. Performances take place in the theatre on the campus at 11333 Big Bend Road. For more information, call 314-984-7500. Read the 88.1 KDHX review!

Marble Stage Fairy Tale Theatre presents Beauty and the Beast Saturdays at noon through February 25 at Marble Stage Theater, 426 Crestwood Mall Art Space. For more information, call 314-437-0846 or visit www.marblestage.org.

The Pub Theater Company presents Bye Bye Liver: The St. Louis Drinking Play, a comedic romp through the joys and pitfalls of The Gateway to the West's favorite pastime. Performances take place on “select Saturdays” (and the occasional Friday) at Maggie O'Brien's, 2000 Market Street. For more information, you may call 800-650-6449 or visit byebyeliver.com/stlouis.

The West County YMCA Y-Rep Teens presents Charlie and the Chocolate Factory February 16 through 18. The West County YMCA is at 16464 Burkhardt Place in Chesterfield, MO. For more information, call 636.532.6515 ext. 227.

The Conservatory of Theatre Arts at Webster University presents John LaChiusa's musical Hello Again, based on La Ronde by Arthur Schnitzler, Wednesdays through Saturdays at 7:30 PM and Sundays at 2 PM, February 15 through 26. Performances take place in the studio theatre at the Loretto-Hilton Center, 130 Edgar Road on the Webster University campus. Fore more information, call 314-968-7128.

The Florissant Fine Arts Council presents the musical Honky Tonk Angels on Sunday, February 19, at 7 PM at the Florissant Civic Center Theatre at Parker Road at Waterford Drive in Florissant, MO. For more information, visit www.florissantfinearts.com/ or call 314-921-5678.

Avalon Theatre Company presents A.R. Gurney's Love Letters Thursday through Saturday at 8 PM and Sunday at 3 PM, February 16 through 19. Performances take place at the ArtSpace at Crestwood Court. For more information, visit avalontheatre.org or call 314-351-6482.

Upstream Theater presents The Maids by Jean Genet. Performances are Thursdays through Saturdays at 8 PM and Sundays at 7 PM, February 17 through March 4 at the Kranzberg Arts Center, 501 North Grand. The final Sunday show is at 3 PM. For more information, call (314) 863-4999 or visit www.upstreamtheater.org.

The Black Rep presents Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream February 15 through March 4. Performances take place at the Grandel Theatre, 3610 Grandel Square. For more information, call 314-534-3810. Read the 88.1 KDHX review!

The Monroe Actors Stage Company presents the comedy Mister Roberts through February 19 in the Historic Capitol Theatre in downtown Waterloo, Illinois. For more information, visit www.masctheatre.org or call 618 939 7469.

Race

The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis presents David Mamet's drama Race Tuesdays through Sundays through March 4. Performances take place on the main stage at the Loretto-Hlton Center, 130 Edgar Road in Webster Groves, MO. For more information, call 314-968-4925 or visit repstl.org. Read the 88.1 KDHX review!

Radio Free Emerson

Washington University Performing Arts Department presents Radio Free Emerson Friday and Saturday at 8 PM and Sunday at 2 PM, February 17 through 26. Performances take place in the A.E. Hotchner Studio Theatre in the Mallinckrodt Student Center on the Washington University campus. “Loosely based on Ibsen's The Wild Duck, Radio Free Emerson examines the funny, dark and sometimes violent consequences of following desires unchecked.” For more information, call 314-935-6543.

The St. Louis Family Theatre Series presents Seussical: The Musical Friday through Sunday, February 17 through 19. Performances take place at the Florissant Civic Center Theatre at Parker and Waterford in Florissant, MO. For more information, call 314-921-5678 or visit www.florissantmo.com.

KTK Productions presents A Show Within a Show Fridays and Saturdays at 8 PM and Sundays at 2 PM, February 17 through 26. Performances take place at Southampton Presbyterian Church, 4716 Macklind. For more information, call 314-351-8984.

Act II Community Theater presents Steel Magnolias Friday and Saturday at 8 PM and Sunday at 2 PM, February 17 through 19. Performances take place at The St. Peters Community and Arts Center, 1035 St. Peters-Howell Road in St. Peters, MO. For more information, call 636-219-0150 or email info at act2theater.com.

The Touhill Performing Arts Center presents Henson Alternative's Stuffed And Unstrung on Friday, February 17, at 8 PM. The Touhill Performing Arts Center in on the University of Missouri-St. Louis campus. For more information, you may visit www.touhill.org or call (314) 516-4949

Urnietown

Stray Dog Theatre presents the musical satire Urinetown Thursdays through Saturdays at 8 PM through February 18. There will be a matinee on the closing Saturday at 2 PM in addition to the evening show. Performances take place at The Tower Grove Abbey, 2336 Tennessee. For more information, call 314-865-1995. Read the 88.1 KDHX review!

The Fox Theatre presents the tour of the new Broadway production of West Side Story February 14 through 26. The Fox Theatre is at 517 North Grand in Grand Center. For more information, call 314-534-1678. Read the 88.1 KDHX review!

West Side Story

The old guard, young at heart

Stanislaw Skrowaczewski

Who: Violinist David Halen and The St. Louis Symphony Orchestra conducted by Stanislaw Skrowaczewski
What: Music of Weber, Mendelssohn, and Schubert
Where: Powell Symphony Hall, St. Louis
When: February 3 and 4, 2012

Big-name international soloists and new works are all well and good, but there’s still something immensely satisfying about seeing a member of the local band step to the front and deliver a fine, polished performance of a familiar standard. That’s what concertmaster David Halen did Friday night with Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto, one of three comfy Romantic favorites conducted with love by Stanislaw Skrowaczewski, still going strong at age 88.

It’s likely that just about every violinist on the planet has taken a crack at the Mendelssohn at one time or another. Audiences never seem to tire of it, though, and fiddlers never fail to find something new (or at least personal) in their interpretations. Mr. Halen certainly made it his own Friday night with a mix of technical facility and intense concentration that pulled me in immediately and kept me there right through the flash of the finale. Mr. Skrowaczewski was with him all the way. There was less visual communication between the two than I might have expected, but communicate they did nevertheless.

If the Mendelssohn concerto was the big solo event on the program, the Schubert Symphony No. 9 in C Major was the major orchestral event. Originally completed in 1826 and then substantially revised two years later just before the composer’s untimely death at age 31, the 9th—usually referred to as “The Great” to distinguish it from the earlier and less expansive symphony in the same key—was never performed in its final version during Schubert’s lifetime. The premiere didn’t take place until eleven years later—under the baton of Felix Mendelssohn, in fact—and even then it was widely viewed as too long and too difficult to play.

They had a point about the length. Clocking in at around 50 minutes if you take all the repeats, the 9th would have seemed gargantuan at the time, dwarfed only by Beethoven’s 9th. Still, it’s hard to hear this now and not be completely captivated by the endless flow of irresistible melodies and rhythmic drive that runs throughout. It’s one of my favorite Romantic symphonies and never fails to delight me.

Mr. Skrowaczewski’s approach to the 9th struck me as very much in the mid 20th century Germanic tradition: somewhat slow tempi and a big, modern orchestral sound. It’s the sort of thing I grew up hearing. In recent years I’ve been somewhat seduced by the “original instrument” approach to music of this period exemplified by conductors like Roger Norrington or John Eliot Gardner, but this weekend’s performance reminded me of the virtues of that older approach. This was a Schubert 9th that built in power from beginning to end, starting with a hush and ending with a bang. It was all there: the magisterial first movement, the mysterious second, the boisterous third, and that magnificent piece of musical architecture, the final Allegro vivace.

The orchestra was in top form, with fine work by every section and a lovely, burnished sound overall.

The program opened with the overture to Carl Maria von Weber’s 1826 opera Oberon. It’s a lively and tune-filled curtain raiser that opens with haunting horn solo and gallops along to a lively finish. I found Mr. Skrowaczewski’s reading a bit on the stodgy side but could hardly quibble with the quality of the playing.

Next at Powell Hall: Four concerts featuring Hubbard Street Dance Chicago February 17-19. For more information you may call 314-534-1700, visit stlsymphony.org, like the Saint Louis Symphony Facebook page, or follow @slso on Twitter.

St. Louis theatre calendar for the week of February 6, 2012

[Looking for auditions and other artistic opportunities? Check out the St. Louis Auditions site.]

For information on events beyond this week, check out the searchable database at the Regional Arts Commission's ArtsZipper site.

I'm now adding my own purely personal comments to events about which I think I have anything worthwhile to say. Because that's what bloggers do.  If I have left your show out, please leave a comment with all the details.

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Angela Shultz

The Cabaret at St. Peter's presents NYC Award-Winning cabaret artist Angela Shultz in a free concert on Saturday, February 11, at 7 PM. David Horstman is pianist for the show, which takes place at St. Peter's United Church of Christ, 1403 Stein Road in Ferguson, MO. For more information, you may visit stpeterschurch.org.

Marble Stage Fairy Tale Theatre presents Beauty and the Beast Saturdays at noon through February 25 at Marble Stage Theater, 426 Crestwood Mall Art Space. For more information, call 314-437-0846 or visit www.marblestage.org.

The Pub Theater Company presents Bye Bye Liver: The St. Louis Drinking Play, a comedic romp through the joys and pitfalls of The Gateway to the West's favorite pastime. Performances take place on “select Saturdays” (and the occasional Friday) at Maggie O'Brien's, 2000 Market Street. For more information, you may call 800-650-6449 or visit byebyeliver.com/stlouis.

The Monroe Actors Stage Company presents the comedy Mister Roberts February 10 through 19 in the Historic Capitol Theatre in downtown Waterloo, Illinois. For more information, visit www.masctheatre.org or call 618 939 7469.

Mustard Seed Theatre presents Athol Fugard's Playland February 2 through 12 at the Fontbonne Fine Arts Theatre, 6800 Wydown Blvd. For more information, call (314) 719-8060 or visit the web site at www.mustardseedtheatre.com. Read the 88.1 KDHX review!

Race

The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis presents David Mamet's drama Race Tuesdays through Sundays, February 8 through March 4. Performances take place on the main stage at the Loretto-Hlton Center, 130 Edgar Road in Webster Groves, MO. For more information, call 314-968-4925 or visit repstl.org.

Cashore Marionettes

The Edison Theatre Ovations! For Young People series presents The Cashore Marionettes in Simple Gifts, on Saturday, February 11 at 11 AM in the Edison Theatre at the Mallinckrodt Center on the Washington University campus. For more information, call (314) 935-6543.

Act II Community Theater presents Steel Magnolias Fridays and Saturdays at 8 PM and Sundays at 2 PM, February 10 through 19. Performances take place at The St. Peters Community and Arts Center, 1035 St. Peters-Howell Road in St. Peters, MO. For more information, call 636-219-0150 or email info at act2theater.com.

The COCA Family Theatre Series presents Tall Stories Twinkle Twonkle Friday through Sunday, February 10 through 12. “From the British company that brought us Room on the Broom, Twinkle Twonkle was created with the UK's National Academy of Sciences. When Stella and her little brother extend their telescope all the way to the stars - they find themselves on a magical adventure. Could that be a cow jumping over the moon?!! Using storytelling, music, magic and humor, this terrestrial production was inspired by nursery rhymes and the amazing science of the stars.“ COCA is at 524 Trinity in University City. For more information, call (314) 725-6555 or visit www.cocastl.org.

Urnietown

Stray Dog Theatre presents the musical satire Urinetown Thursdays through Saturdays at 8 PM through February 18. There will be a matinee on the closing Saturday at 2 PM in addition to the evening show. Performances take place at The Tower Grove Abbey, 2336 Tennessee. For more information, call 314-865-1995. Read the 88.1 KDHX review!

Dramatic License Productions presents a Valentine's Cabaret, featuring Ken Haller, Kay Love, Knemu Menu-Ra and Marti Signaigo, with Ron Bryant on piano, on Friday and Saturday at 8 PM and Sunday at 2 PM, February 10 through 12. For more information, call 636-220-7012 or visit dramaticlicenseproductions.com.

Way to Heaven

New Jewish Theatre presents Way to Heaven by Juan Mayorga, translated by David Johnston, through February 12. The play “is inspired by the true story of the elaborate deception that took place at the Theresienstadt concentration camp, where the Nazis constructed a fake village to fool international inspectors and quell extermination rumors“. Performances take place at the Marvin and Harlene Wool Studio Theatre at the JCCA, 2 Millstone Campus Drive. For more information, call 314-442-3283 or visit www.newjewishtheatre.org. Read the 88.1 KDHX review!

España

Who: Dance St. Louis
What: Ensemble Español Spanish Dance Theater
When: January 27 and 28, 2012
Where: The Touhill Performing Arts Center

Boléro

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The first Dance St. Louis program of the year was a stunner. The artistry and athleticism of the Ensemble Español Spanish Dance Theater lit up the Touhill this weekend with an exhilarating and colorful evening of Spanish Regional, Classical, and Flamenco music and dance.

Think of it as a Spanish Riverdance but farther from Las Vegas and closer to its roots.

Currently in residence at Northeastern Illinois University at Chicago, Ensemble Español describes its mission as “the preservation, presentation and promotion of the classical, folkloric, flamenco, and contemporary traditions of Spain.” That mission was accomplished in spectacular fashion this weekend with a full program (two and one-half hours with intermission) that captured the variety, vigor, and (especially) the sensuality of Spanish dance. Spontaneous applause was common, along with standing ovations.

The night began with the exuberant and flashy “El Baile de Luis Alonso” by the full company, followed by “El Albaicín” (music by Albéniz, from Book 3 of Iberia), a seductive duet by guest artists Palome Gómez and Christian Lozano. Seduction then took a dark turn in the tragically charged “Amor Eterno (Petenera)”, in which live flamenco musicians joined company Associate Artistic Director Irma Suárez Ruíz and First Dancer Jorge Pérez in a pas de deux that, according to the program notes, “is rarely performed due to the superstitions that surround La Petenera. Is she love or is she death?” Either way, it was riveting.

Two remarkable solos were next. First, Mr. Lozano returned, along with the live musicians, for an astonishing display of flamenco technique that was frequently interrupted by applause. It was the kind of performance that made me wonder if flamenco shouldn’t be considered as an Olympic-level sport as well as an art form. Then Ms. Gómez took the stage for the elegant “Ruinas”, dedicated to company founder Dame Libby Komaiko. The first half of the program concluded with the entire company displaying a variety of dance styles in “Ecos de España”, inspired by the “Black Period” paintings of Goya (several of which were projected on the a screen upstage to set the scene) and accompanied by the final two sections of Rimski-Korsakov’s Capriccio Español.

Various styles of flamenco (mostly with live musicians) informed the the second half of the program, beginning with the full company in “Alegrias y Jaleos”, followed by “Anhelo del Alma” (“Longing of the Soul”), with Claudia Pizarro, Crystal Ruiz, and Olivia Serrano performing their own choreography — a neat combination of staccato taps and sinuous grace. Each of the three brought her own unique personality to the dance — a marked contrast from the kind of uniformity you usually encounter in classical ballet troupes.

Next, the men of the company were featured in the bravado of “Una Obra de Arte” (“A Work of Art”), followed by a return of Mr. Lozano and Ms. Gómez in their own creation, the elegiac “Zorongo Gitano”.

The evening concluded with what has apparently become a signature piece for the company, a dazzling realization of Ravel’s Boléro accompanied by projected images of drawings and paintings by Picasso.

It begins with small, fluid arm and shoulder movement from the women of the company, decked out in bright red low-backed dresses and seated on the floor, facing away from the audience. The movement passes from one dancer to the next in a kind of choreographic canon. As the music progresses, they rise and are joined by other company members as the piece slowly builds to its well-known conclusion. By the end, the stage has become a riot of color and movement, with flashing toreador capes to accent Ravel’s one and only key change.

It was simply jaw-dropping. I have complained before about how willing local audiences are to leap to their feet, but this time it was completely appropriate. Thanks to Dance St. Louis for bringing this remarkable, tremendously talented company to our city. Let’s hope this will be only the first of many visits.

Dance St. Louis’s season continues with the national tour of the recent revival of West Side Story at the Fox February 14 through 16. Their next presentation at the Touhill is the Joffrey Ballet on March 9 and 10. For more information, you may visit dancestlouis.org.

St. Louis theatre calendar for the week of January 30, 2012

[Looking for auditions and other artistic opportunities? Check out the St. Louis Auditions site.]

For information on events beyond this week, check out the searchable database at the Regional Arts Commission's ArtsZipper site.

I'm now adding my own purely personal comments to events about which I think I have anything worthwhile to say. Because that's what bloggers do.  If I have left your show out, please leave a comment with all the details.

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Marble Stage Fairy Tale Theatre presents Beauty and the Beast Saturdays at noon, February 4 through 25, at Marble Stage Theater, 426 Crestwood Mall Art Space. For more information, call 314-437-0846 or visit www.marblestage.org.

The Pub Theater Company presents Bye Bye Liver: The St. Louis Drinking Play, a comedic romp through the joys and pitfalls of The Gateway to the West's favorite pastime. Performances take place on “select Saturdays” (and the occasional Friday) at Maggie O'Brien's, 2000 Market Street. For more information, you may call 800-650-6449 or visit byebyeliver.com/stlouis.

Black Cat Theatre's Piwacket Theatre for Children presents Goldilocks and the Three Bears on Friday and Saturday, February 3 and 4, at Black Cat Theatre, 2810 Sutton in Maplewood. For more information, call (314) 781-8300 or visit www.blackcattheatre.org.

The University of Missouri at St. Louis presents Intimate Apparel by Lynn Nottage through February 4. Performances take place in the E. Desmond and Mary Ann Lee Theater at the Blanche M. Touhill Performing Arts Center on the UMSL campus. For more information, visit touhill.org or call 314-516-4949

Lindenwood University presents Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream Thursday through Saturday at 7:30 PM and Sunday at 2 PM, February 2 through 5, in the Emerson Black Box Theater. The Scheidegger Center is on the Lindenwood campus in St Charles MO. For more information, visit lindenwood.edu/center.

Mustard Seed Theatre presents Athol Fugard's Playland February 2 through 12 at the Fontbonne Fine Arts Theatre, 6800 Wydown Blvd. For more information, call (314) 719-8060 or visit the web site at www.mustardseedtheatre.com.

Hard Road Theatre presents the musical I Love You Because, based on Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice, through February 3 in “an intimate, bistro-type setting” at Highland High School's Kennel at 12760 Troxler Avenue in Highland, IL. For more information, visit www.hardroad.org or call 618-654-7748.

Alton Little Theater presents the comedy The Last Mass At St. Casimir's by Tom Dudzick through February 5 at 2450 North Henry in Alton, IL. For more information, call 618.462.6562 or visit altonlittletheater.org.

The Improv Trick hosts weekly Long Form Improv performances every Tuesday at 7:30 PM at Lemmons Restaurant, 5800 Gravois. Long form improv features 15 to 20 minute sketches based entirely on audience suggestions, with audience participation strongly encouraged. For more information, visit theimprovtrick.com.

Oleanna

HotCity Theatre presents David Mamet's Oleanna Thursdays through Sundays through February 4. "Did he or didn't he? As if straight from the Herman Cain scandal, Oleanna is a seething investigation into the ever-present mechanisms of power, harassment, and abuse." Performances take place at the Kranzberg Arts Center, 501 North Grand in Grand Center. For more information, visit www.hotcitytheatre.org or call 314-289-4063. Read the 88.1 KDHX review!

On Golden Pond

The Black Rep presents On Golden Pond, a "wry, gentle comedy of a family dealing with the problems of aging through the ageless power of love", through February 5. Performances take place at the Grandel Theatre, 3610 Grandel Square. For more information, call 314-534-3810. Read the 88.1 KDHX review!

The Fox Theatre presents the musical Rock of Ages Friday at 8 PM, Saturday at 2 and 2 PM, and Sunday at 2 PM, February 3 through 5. The Tony-nominated musical is “ a hilarious, feel-good love story told through the hit songs of iconic rockers Journey, Styx, REO Speedwagon, Foreigner, Pat Benatar, Whitesnake, and many more”. The Fox Theatre is at 517 North Grand in Grand Center. For more information, call 314-534-1678.

The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis presents the drama A Steady Rain, "a harrowing story of guilt, fear and corruption", through February 5. Performances take place in the studio theatre at the Loretto-Hlton Center, 130 Edgar Road in Webster Groves, MO. For more information, call 314-968-4925 or visit repstl.org. Read the 88.1 KDHX review!

Urnietown

Stray Dog Theatre presents the musical satire Urinetown Thursdays through Saturdays at 8 PM, February 2 through 18. There will be a matinee on the closing Saturday at 2 PM in addition to the evening show. Performances take place at The Tower Grove Abbey, 2336 Tennessee. For more information, call 314-865-1995.

Way to Heaven

New Jewish Theatre presents Way to Heaven by Juan Mayorga, translated by David Johnston, through February 12. The play “is inspired by the true story of the elaborate deception that took place at the Theresienstadt concentration camp, where the Nazis constructed a fake village to fool international inspectors and quell extermination rumors“. Performances take place at the Marvin and Harlene Wool Studio Theatre at the JCCA, 2 Millstone Campus Drive. For more information, call 314-442-3283 or visit www.newjewishtheatre.org. Read the 88.1 KDHX review!

Once on this island

Who: Winter Opera
What: Richard Strauss’s Ariadne auf Naxos
When: January 27 and 29, 2012
Where: The Women’s Center

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Winter Opera’s ambitious production of Strauss’s seriocomic Ariadne auf Naxos was impressive, given the size of the cast and intellectual complexity of the piece.

The combination of mythological drama and bel canto–style comedy might have been a bit of a stretch for the fledgling company, but ultimately the problems were more with the material itself and the venue than with the performance.

Ariadne auf Naxos is an odd duck by any standard. It was originally written as a one-act postlude to a German translation by Strauss’s frequent collaborator Hugo von Hofmannsthal of Moliere’s comedy “Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme” in 1912. The difficulty and expense of mounting a play and an opera on the same bill eventually forced Strauss and Hofmannsthal to produce a rewrite that allowed the opera to stand on its own. It was first performed in 1916 and has been in circulation ever since.

The comic Prologue sets up the situation: the “richest man in Vienna” has engaged both a production of the tragic opera “Ariadne auf Naxos” and a commedia dell’arte troupe as after-dinner entertainment for his guests. To save time, he decrees that both shows must take place simultaneously. The performers can work out the details. The resulting conflicts between the opera company’s Composer, Music Master, Prima Donna, and Tenor on one side and Zerbinetta and her group of buffoons on the other generate plenty of laughs, most of them at the expense of the self-important composer and his egotistical leading lady.

After intermission, we see the hybrid opera within an opera set up in the Prologue. Abandoned on Naxos, Ariadne (with the help of three nymphs) yearns for death, but her lamentations are repeatedly interrupted by Zerbinetta and company, who are determined to cheer her up. Drama eventually wins out, however, when Bacchus arrives, declares his love, and joins Ariadne in a long, rapturous love duet.

The opera within an opera has been a bit of a problem from the beginning. At least one early British critic, for example, found the scene with Bacchus to be tedious. My view is that getting the audience to take Ariadne seriously is a tough sell, considering how effective Strauss and Hofmannsthal have been at making fun of the pretensions of operatic tragedy. Strauss’s music shifts the mood appropriately, but you still need fully committed and compelling performances by Ariadne and Bacchus to pull off that big a change in tone.

Winter Opera had a pair of strong voices in soprano Meredith Hoffman-Thompson and tenor Scott Six, but neither of them were particularly convincing in that final scene. Ms. Hoffman-Thompson’s stock theatrical gestures, which worked so well when Ariadne was a foil for Zerbinetta and company, felt out of place, and Mr. Six seemed not to be acting at all. They made beautiful music, but I don’t think that’s enough to compensate for the problem Strauss and Hofmannsthal created.

Comedy was king in this Ariadne. Soprano Mary Thorne wowed the crowd with her coloratura fireworks and was convincingly seductive in her scenes with the terribly serious young Composer, a “pants” role sung with appropriate intensity by mezzo Sarah Heltzel. As Zerbinetta’s four clowns, John-Andrew Fernandez, Charles Martinez, Zach Rabin, and Jon Garrett impressed with their fine quartet singing and physical comedy. Director Marie Allyn King’s decision to make them into the four Marx Brothers, complete with choreography lifted from Duck Soup, was an inspired one.

Baritone Eric McCluskey was all wisdom, authority, and precise diction as the Music Master. His scenes with Philip Touchette’s pompous Major-Domo (a spoken role) set the comic tone for the “Prologue” nicely. The voices of Megan Higgins, Sara Gottman, and Rachel L. Smith blended beautifully as Ariadne’s long-suffering nymphs.

The costumes by Teresa Doggett (a.k.a. The Hardest-Working Woman in Show Biz) were unfailingly appropriate, and I loved the Marx Brothers outfits. Rebecca Hatelid is credited with the English supertitles, which are easily visible above the stage. The translation struck me as a bit clumsy, but it did the job.

Conductor Timothy Semanik’s small orchestra (20 players vs. the 30 or more Strauss calls for) had a surprisingly big sound, some opening night intonation issues aside. There were certainly balance issues with the singers, but fewer than I would have expected given then physical limitations of the venue.

Speaking of which: Ariadne was staged in the opulent second-floor ballroom of The St. Louis Woman’s Club, a converted 1895 mansion at 4600 Lindell in the Central West End. Given that the opera takes place in the ballroom of a mansion, that added a bit of extra-musical resonance, especially when you consider that there was an optional dinner preceding the show downstairs. The downside was that the orchestra had to be placed on the ballroom floor in front of the stage, with the audience behind them on freestanding chairs. There were no risers, so sightlines are a problem for all but the first few rows.

It was not, in short, an ideal arrangement. It’s a testament to Winter Opera’s skill and dedication that their Ariadne was, despite these limitations, both artistically satisfying and highly entertaining for most of its length.

Now in its fifth season and with a new home at the Skip Viragh Center for the Arts on the campus of Chaminade Preparatory School, Winter Opera stands poised to be an important player in the growing opera scene locally. If this production was any indication, we can expect great things from them.

Winter Opera’s Ariadne auf Naxos was presented on Friday and Sunday, January 27 and 29. Their season concludes with “La Boheme” at the Viragh Center on March 2 and 4. For more information, you may visit winteroperastl.org.