Chuck's Choices for the weekend of October 25, 2013

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

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©Photo by Jerry Naunheim, Jr.

The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis presents drama Fly through November 10. “Based on the experiences of the Tuskegee Airmen, this inspiring story follows four courageous young African-American pilots as they train to fly combat aircraft during World War II. Facing powerful conflict both on and off the battlefield, the men form a lasting brotherhood, paving the way for the desegregation of the military and giving hope to a changing America on the horizon. Soaring and inventive, Fly combines live action, video and the compelling “Tap Griot,” an innovative dancing storyteller who expresses the anger, fear and triumph that the officers cannot.” Performances take place at the Loretto-Hlton Center, 130 Edgar Road in Webster Groves, MO. For more information, call 314-968-4925 or visit repstl.org.

My take: As I wrote in my OnSTL.com blog, the world premiere of Trey Ellis and Ricardo Khan's drama Fly at the Repertory Theatre of St. Louis is the most inspiring, enraging, and sad thing you can see in a theatre this week. Inspiring because this story of the legendary Tuskegee Airman—an all-black fighter pilot unit who escorted an unprecedented 200 of 205 bomber missions without losing an aircraft and earned a raft of medals in the process. Enraging because the white Americans whose lives and freedom they were protecting treated them as subhuman. Sad because we seem to have learned so little in the intervening seven decades." Other critics have been equally effusive. This is definitely a "must see."

Photo: Whitney Curtis

Washington University Performing Arts Department presents the musical Spring Awakening Fridays and Saturdays at 8 PM and Sundays at 2 PM, October 25 - November 3. "A girl asks awkward questions. A boy, frustrated by a dead language, erupts into a new one. Latin falls to rock ‘n’ roll. Steven Sater’s Spring Awakening—with its blunt depictions of adolescent sexuality and startling mixture of contemporary expression and fin de siècle restraint—is among the most influential, unexpected and beloved Broadway shows of recent years." Performances take place in the A.E. Hotchner Studio Theatre in the Mallinckrodt Student Center on the Washington University campus. For more information, call 314-935-6543.

My take: This powerful rock musical of teens struggling with raging hormones in a repressive social system is pretty much ideal material, I think, for a collegiate theatrical program.

OnSite Theatre Company presents the world premiere of The Trivia Job by St. Louis native and San Francisco playwright Dan Rubin Fridays and Saturdays at 8 PM, October 25 - November 9. “When the women of the St. Francis Knitting Ministry learn that their beloved church is on the brink of financial ruin, they do exactly what anyone else would do: they plan an elaborate bank heist, using a special trivia night fundraiser as their cover. But will the replacement emcee, a young priest from their church, screw up all of their plans? With a complete evening of trivia interwoven into a thrilling comedy set in a site-specific location, The Trivia Job promises to be a night of theater like none you've ever before experienced. Get ready to be accessories to fun!” Performances take place at Metropolitan Community Church of Greater St. Louis, 1919 S Broadway in Soulard. For more information: www.OnSiteTheatre.org.

My take: For many local theatre companies, not having a fixed abode is a problem. For OnSite, it's a mission. Their site-specific productions have taken them to bars, restaurants, a bowling alley, and a laundromat, among other non-traditional locations.

Opera Theatre of St. Louis presents the children's opera The Very Last Green Thing on Saturday, October 26, at 10 and 11:30 AM. “Journey to a classroom in the year 2413 where a group of students is raised and taught by an android. On a rare field trip “outside,” a shy and obedient child named Amy unexpectedly discovers the very last green thing on earth. Soon she must confront the truth and make important choices as the secrets of the past are uncovered.” Performances take place at the Touhill Performing Arts Center on the University of Missouri - St. Louis campus. For more information: touhill.org or call 314-516-4949

My take: Originally written in 1992, The Very Last Green Thing is a children's opera with an ecological message that is, in some ways, more even more urgent now than it was originally. And it doesn't just stop with the fictional elements. As Sarah Bryan Miller noted in an stltoday.com article last week, the production "seeks to practice what it preaches — and keep down costs — by using recycled elements, including water bottles and cardboard, in its deliberately green set design."

Held Over:

Photo: John Lamb

Stray Dog Theatre presents Evil Dead: The Musical Thursdays through Saturdays at 8 PM through November 1. Performances take place at The Tower Grove Abbey, 2336 Tennessee. For more information, visit straydogtheatre.org or call 314-865-1995.

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"?

Photo: Jill
Ritter Lindbergh

New Line Theatre presents the musical version of the film Night of the Living Dead Thursdays through Saturdays at 8 PM through November 2. Performances take place at the Washington University South Campus Theatre, 6501 Clayton Road. For more information, newlinetheatre.com.

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.