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New this week:
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| Photo: John Lamb |
My take: Honestly, this is not my particular thing, but the reviews have been so good and I'm so favorably inclined towards Stray Dog shows anyway that I have to include it. "If you like your scary stories served with a generous helping of ribald and slapstick humor," writes Tina Farmer in her review for 88.1 KDHX, "you'll want to put Evil Dead The Musical at the top of your must see list. Stray Dog Theatre kicks off its eleventh season with a show that takes the company's tagline "Come out and play" and ratchets it up to new levels in an energetic, yet playful, spoof on the teen horror movie genre." Besides, how can you not like a show that includes a dance number titled "Do the Necronomicon"?
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| Photo: Jill Ritter Lindbergh |
My take: This is not, as you might think, another horror send-up along the lines of Evil Dead the Musical. "This is no spoof," writes Steve Callahan in his review for 88.1 KDHX, "nor is it merely an homage; if you let it, it will lead you to think...By approaching these rather two-dimensional characters with such deep seriousness the cast leads us to consider some thoughts that make this show more than just a zombie thriller: How fragile is peace. How fragile is happiness. Death, despair, catastrophe can come suddenly, with no warning. War, a tornado, an economic crash—they can destroy us in a moment, just like a horde of zombies." So, no, not a lot of laughs, but rather a serious musical about what's out there in the dark—very appropriate to open the current season by "the bad boy of musical theatre." Before you go, check out my interview with director Scott Miller.
Held Over:
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| Photo: Peter Wochniak |
My take: Once again, Upstream is taking on unusual material, apparently with great success. "The script," writes Tina Farmer in her review for 88.1 KDHX, "mixes metaphor, language and wordplay with ease, and is clearly understood and delivered with a deft touch by both actors. Director Philip Boehm and Scenic Designer Michael Heil deliver a briskly paced, visually memorable show that does justice to Gogol's original story, considered by many to be a masterpiece of the era." Joe Dreyer performs his original music live on the keyboard.
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| Photo: Richard Termine |
My take: As I note in my review for 88.1 KDHX, this creatively re-invented revival of Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber's unlikely 1976 concept album-turned-musical is innovative, exciting, and worth seeing whether you're familiar with the show or not. New musical arrangements, lots of new choreography, and an interpretation of Che that goes back to the show's roots all make this unlike any Evita you've probably seen before.
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| Photo: John Lamb |
My take: this series of eight short plays—sketches, really—based on the work of Chekov is great fun when done well. In her review for 88.1 KDHX, Andrea Braun praises the work of the four actors as well as Bobby Miller's "masterful" direction.
Valhalla Cemetery and The Hawthorne Players present Voices Of Valhalla: A Hayride Through Time through October 19. "Don’t miss out this year when haywagons take you to locations in historic Valhalla Cemetery where actors from Hawthorne Players bring to life the stories of some of the cemetery’s permanent residents. You’ll hear stories of remarkable triumph over adversity, heroism and intrigue, sacrifice and greed. Not recommended for children. The hayrides leave every 15 minutes, beginning at 6:30 p.m." Valhalla Cemetery is located at 7600 St. Charles Rock Road. For more information, visit hawthorneplayers.com.
My take: This is one of the most interesting examples of "site specific" theatre that I can think of, and couldn't be more appropriate for the weeks approaching Hallowe'en. We Americans have a very bad tendency to forget our past, often endangering our future in the process. Shows like this serve to remind us of who we were and, therefore, who we are.
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