St. Louis theatre calendar for the week of August 5, 2013

Revised Thursday, August 8th

[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.

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O'Fallon TheatreWorks presents Aladdin Jr. at the O'Fallon Municipal Centre auditorium through August 11. The O'Fallon Municipal Centre is located at 100 North Main Street in O'Fallon, MO. For more information, visit www.ofallon.mo.us or call 636-379-5606.

Act Two Theatre presents the comedy Boeing Boeing through August 11. Performances take place in the St. Peters Cultural Arts Centre at 1 St Peters Centre Blvd, St. Peters, MO 63376. For more information: act2theater.com.

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. For more information, you may call 314-827-4185, email stlouis at byebyeliver.com, or visit byebyeliver.com/stlouis.

MOAART presents A Colored Funeral, written and directed by Gregory S. Carr, Friday and Saturday at 8 PM and Sunday at 3 PM, August 9-11.  Performances take place at South Hampton Presbyterian Black Box Theater, 4716 Macklind.  For more information: 314-968-8070.

The Lemp Mansion Comedy-Mystery Dinner Theater presents Dead Like Me through November 16. The Lemp Mansion is at 3322 DeMenil Place. For more information: lempmansion.com

The Chapel Venue presents Ebb and Flow: An Acoustic Evening with singer Dionna Raedeke and guitarist Mike Krysl on Friday, August 9, at 8 PM. The performance takes place at The Chapel, 6238 Alexander Drive, at Skinker and Wydown. For more information: ebbandflow.brownpapertickets.com.

Peter Wochniak

Stages St. Louis presents Legally Blonde, the Musical through August 18. Performances take place in the Robert G. Reim Theatre at the Kirkwood Community Center, 111 South Geyer Road in Kirkwood. "Sorority sister Elle thinks she has her future all tied up with a nice, little pink ribbon, until her boyfriend suddenly dumps her for someone more “serious.” But don’t break out the tissues just yet! This is one girl who doesn’t take “no” for an answer as she sets out to prove that being true to yourself and going after “what you want” never goes out of style." For more information, visit stagesstlouis.org or call 314-821-2407. Read the 88.1 KDHX review!

Encore! Theater Group presents John Logan's two-character drama Red, about 20th Century abstract painter Mark Rothko. Performances are Friday and Saturdas at 8, August 16 and 17 at the Warehouse at All Trades Supply located at 10 Kirkham Industrial Drive, Webster Groves. “Mark Rothko is at the height of his powers. His work, long rejected by critics, is suddenly hailed as some of the most important of this century. He is the new king of art in New York, and his coronation will be the flashiest commission in the history of painting: $35,000 for a series of epic murals at the Four Seasons restaurant. But...canvases this large cannot be lifted by a single man, not even a titan. So he hires an assistant (Ken). This young artist and his fiery ideas force Rothko, the surest thing in the world of modern art, to question everything. John Logan's 90-minute intellectual thrill-ride serves as a puzzling reminder of how difficult and dangerous the climb towards an artistic vision can be, and how worthwhile. “ The cast includes 88.1 KDHX theatre critic Steve Callahan as Mark Rothko. For more information: email encoretheatergroup at gmail.com, call (314) 329-8998, or visit squareup.com/market/noxp-entertainment-corp/red-tickets.

The Hawthorne Players present the musical The Secret Garden through August 11. The performances take place at the Florissant Civic Center Theatre at Parker and Waterford in Florissant, MO. For more information, call 921-5678 or visit hawthorneplayers.com. Read the 88.1 KDHX review!

The St. Louis Writers' Group presents a staged reading of Stereo Heart, a full-length drama by Mario Farwell, on Monday, August 5, at 6:30 PM. "The play is set in a rundown Stereo and TV repair shop in St. Louis, Missouri. Theo Freeman and Sunny Freeman, a father and son team, run the shop. The two men have a continuous relationship, because of Sunny's criminal history and Theo's past transgressions that brought ruin on the family. On an ordinary work day in the shop, the two men make a discovery in the back of a Sony Wide Screen TV that will change their lives." The reading takes place upstairs at Big Daddy's in Soulard. For more information, you may call 314-772-0743.

Photo: John Lamb

The Theatre Lab presents Cormac McCarthy's The Sunset Limited August 9-17. “The play involves only two nameless characters, designated "White" and "Black", their respective skin colors. Offstage, just before the play begins, Black saves White from throwing himself in front of a train. The title, The Sunset Limited, is derived from the name of a passenger train that travels from New Orleans to Los Angeles. All of the action takes place in Black's sparse apartment, where the characters go (at the behest of Black) after their encounter on the platform. Black is an ex-convict and an evangelical Christian. White is an atheist and a professor. They debate the meaning of human suffering, the existence of God, and the propriety of White's attempted suicide.” Performances take place at the Gaslight Theater on North Boyle in the Central West End. For more information: (314) 599-3309

Union Avenue Opera and Dr. Scott Stearman present a free interactive presentation about the company's St. Louis premiere of Richard Wagner’s Die Walküre, reduced and adapted by Jonathan Dove, on Thursday, August 8, at 7 PM. Die Walküre is the second installment of Wagner’s epic Ring cycle which the company started last summer with its production of Das Rheingold. Stearman, senior pastor of Kirkwood Baptist Church and adjunct faculty member of Webster University and Missouri Baptist University, returns to UAO after his popular lectures last season to lead us on an exploration of themes in the Ring cycle and Die Walküre. The presentation takes place in the Fellowship Gallery at Union Avenue Opera, 733 N. Union Blvd., and is FREE and open to the public. Attendees will be treated to a guest performance by select cast members of Die Walküre. For more information, unionavenueopera.org.

The Muny presents West Side Story at 8:15 PM nightly Monday through Sunday, August 5 - 11 in the outdoor theatre in Forest Park. For more information, visit muny.org or call 314-361-1900. Read the 88.1 KDHX review!

HotCity Theatre presents two benefit performances of their satire Whammy! The Seven Secrets to a Sane Self on Friday and Saturday, August 9 and 10, at 8 PM. "HotCity’s world premiere of Whammy! The Seven Secrets to a Sane Self has been invited to the the 2013 New York International Fringe Theatre Festival. In preparation for the festival, and to raise funds for the tour, HotCity will hold two benefit performances. Join the HotCity staff and the cast and crew of Whammy! for libations, pre- and post-show socializing and a great night of theatre." The performances take place at The Centene Center for Arts and Education, on Olive just east of Grand in Grand Center. For more information: hotcitytheatre.org.

Would you like to be on the radio? KDHX, 88.1 FM needs theatre reviewers. If you're 18 years or older, knowledgeable in this area, have practical theatre experience (acting, directing, writing, technical design, etc.), have good oral and written communications skills and would like to become one of our volunteer reviewers, send an email describing your experience and interests to chuck at kdhx.org. Please include a sample review of something you've seen recently.