Chuck's Choices for the weekend of July 20, 2012

As always, the choices are purely my personal opinion. Take with a grain (or a shaker) of salt.

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New this week:

St. Louis Shakespeare presents Shakespeare's tragedy  Coriolanus July 20-29. Performances take place at the Grandel Theatre, 3610 Grandel Square. I haven't seen the show yet, of course, but I'm including it here because it's so rarely performed. It has one of Shakesperare's least sympathetic tragic heroes, in my view, so it will be interesting to see what the SLS folks do with it. For more information, call 314-361-5664 or visit stlshakespeare.org.

The Muny presents the musical Dreamgirls at 8:15 PM, through Sunday in the outdoor theatre in Forest Park. It looks like they have another hit on their hands, juding from the critical response. Even 88.1 KDHX's Bob Wilcox, who admits that he's not a fan of the show, has some good things to say about it. "Everyone in the cast is sharp and tight," he notes, "and musical director Darren Ledbetter drives the show forward with the most enthusiastic conducting I've seen at the Muny." For more information, visit muny.org or call 314-361-1900.


Patrick Wheatley presents his cabaret show The Postman Always Sings Twice on Saturday, July 20, at 8 PM at the Kranzberg Arts Center. The title refers to the fact that Mr. Wheatley is a retired US Postal Service employee. The evening features classics from the Great American Songbook. I'm not familiar with Mr. Wheatley's work and I'm always curious about new cabaret talent, so I'm planning to check this out. For more information, call 314-965-2526.

Held over:

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 Saturdays at 9 PM at Maggie O'Brien's, 2000 Market Street. The show has been running for as long as I can remember, so it deserves points for longevity, if nothing else. Word on the street is that it's not great art but is great fun. For more information, you may call 314-827-4185, email stlouis at byebyeliver.com, or visit byebyeliver.com/stlouis.