Chuck's Choices for the weekend of May 30, 2014

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

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Shakespeare Festival St. Louis presents Henry V nightly except for Tuesdays through June 15. Beginning May 26, the production alternates with performances of Henry IV. Performances take place in Shakespeare Glen next to the Art Museum in Forest Park. Curtain time is 8 PM. For more information, visit shakespearefestivalstlouis.org and don't forget to check out my interview with the directors.

My take: The festival's production of Henry IV has already gotten raves and it looks like the sequel is doing the same. In her review for KDHX, Tina Farmer says this is "a well-acted, fast-paced retelling of the glory days of Henry V's reign, from the battle of Agincourt, where Henry prevailed against the odds, to the resulting peace, sealed with the marriage of Henry and Katherine."

Photo: John Lamb

St. Louis Actors' Studio continues its seventh season, themed Sins of the Father, with Pinter's The Homecoming through June 8. "In an old and slightly seedy house in North London there lives a family of men: Max, the aging, crude patriarch, his ineffectual brother Sam and two of Max's three sons, both unmarried- Lenny, a small-time pimp and Joey, who dreams of success as a boxer. Into this sinister abode comes the eldest son Teddy, now a successful professor of philosophy in America. After six years abroad, Teddy brings his wife Ruth, to meet the family for the first time. In the style that became a trademark, Pinter creates mounting tension, with insidiously bizarre accusations and proposals by the men to Ruth, The Homecoming gives way to an ominous game of cat and mice." Performances take place at the Gaslight Theater, 358 North Boyle. For more information, call 314-458-2978 or visit stlas.org.

My take: Pinter is an acquired taste; it took me many years and the experience of actually acting in a Pinter script to appreciate the nuances of a writer who implies rather than states. "Harold Pinter's tale of family dysfunction," writes Tina Farmer in her review for KDHX, "is a well-acted, sharply directed and tightly produced piece, driven by a surprisingly satisfying level of dark humor and absurdity."

Held Over:

Photo: Peter Wochniak

Stages St. Louis presents the musical Always..Patsy Cline through June 22. "Jacqueline Petroccia and Zoe Vonder Haar star in the return engagement of the show critics called 'exceptional, must see entertainment.' The touching and true story of Country music legend Patsy Cline and her friendship with Texas housewife Louise Seger returns to STAGES this spring. Combining down home country humor, heartache and 27 of Patsy Cline's unforgettable hits such as 'Crazy,' 'WalkinÄô After Midnight,' and 'Sweet Dreams,' Always... Patsy Cline endures as a piece of genuine Americana." Performances take place at The Playhouse at Westport Plaza. For more information, visit stagesstlouis.org or call 314-821-2407.

My take: Call this a qualified recommendation. If you're a lover of Patsy Cline or country music in general, I think you'll have a great time at this show, which is really more of a celebrity impersonation review than a book musical per se. Jacqueline Petroccia captures Cline's voice and manner so accurately it's eerie and Zoe Vonder Haar is a hoot and a half as Louise Seger, the real-life Houston fan who became a close friends and correspondent of Cline. With over two dozen Patsy Cline hits performed to perfection by Ms. Petroccia and a six-piece band, the show is a real feast for fans. See my KDHX review for more information.

Shakespeare Festival St. Louis presents Henry IV nightly except for Tuesdays, May 15 through June 14. Henry IV, Parts 1 and 2, written as two separate plays, have been edited to fit into one evening. Beginning May 25, the production alternates with performances of Henry V. "Audience members can expect a once-in-a-lifetime theatrical experience this season," said Rick Dildine, Artistic and Executive Director of Shakespeare Festival St.Louis. "Many theaters around the world have performed these plays in consecutive seasons; however, we are performing them at the same time with the same cast on the same set." Performances take place in Shakespeare Glen next to the Art Museum in Forest Park. Curtain time is 8 PM. For more information, visit shakespearefestivalstlouis.org.

My take: This is a rare opportunity to see two (well, three, if you count the two parts of Henry IV) of Shakespeare's history plays back to back and with a single unifying concept. Costuming is period, but the themes are timeless. As Tim Ocel says in his director's notes for Henry IV, this is "the story of human beings shaping a civilization...Shakespeare saw that the future inclines to those who believe in a forward moving energy, not to those who hold back mankind's potential due to a selfish lack of vision." If that sounds familiar it's probably because, as Walt Kelly once wrote, "those things which make us human are, curiously enough, always close at hand. Resolve, then, that on this very ground, with small flags waving and tiny blasts of tiny trumpets, we shall meet the enemy, and not only may he be ours, he may be us."  Check out my interview with the directors for more information.

New Jewish Theater presents Old Jews Telling Jokes through June 1. "Think you've heard them all before? Think again! If you've ever had a mother, visited a doctor or walked into a bar with a priest, a rabbi and a frog, OLD JEWS TELLING JOKES will sit in the dark, give you a second opinion and ask you where you got that. You'll laugh til you plotz. It is a kosher pickle barrel full of laughs! Straight from NY, this is the first independent production; recommended for mature audiences." Performances take place in the Marvin and Harlene Wool Studio Theater at the Jewish Community Center, 2 Millstone Campus Drive in Creve Coeur. For more information: www.newjewishtheatre.org or call 314-442-3283.

My take: "I'm sorry not to be able to delve into the arc of the plot or the themes that this evening investigates," writes Steve Callahan in his review for 88.1 KDHX, "for in fact there are none. But after all, whaddya get when five old Jews walk into a theatre? You get—at its simplest, at its purest—entertainment." Besides, any show that includes a sing-along version of Tom Lehrer's "I'm Spending Hannukah in Santa Monica" has got my vote. So go, already. Enjoy.