St. Louis theatre calendar for the week of May 5, 2014

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For information on events beyond this week, check out the searchable database at the Regional Arts Commission's ArtsZipper site.

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Kirkwood Theatre Guild presents the musical 9 to 5 Thursday through Saturday at 8 PM May 9-11. Performances take place in the Robert G. Reim Theatre of the Kirkwood Community Center, 111 South Geyer Road. For more information, call 314-821-9956 or visit ktg-onstage.org.

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,' 'Walkin’ 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.

Act Two Theatre presents August: Osage County May 9 - 18 in the St. Peters Cultural Arts Centre at 1 St Peters Centre Blvd, St. Peters, MO 63376. " A vanished father, a pill-popping mother and three sisters harboring shady little secrets. When the large Weston family unexpectedly reunites after Dad disappears, their Oklahoman family homestead explodes in a maelstrom of repressed truths and unsettling secrets. Mix in Violet, the drugged-up, scathingly acidic matriarch, and you've got a major new play that unflinchingly - and uproariously - exposes the dark side of the Midwestern family." For more information: act2theater.com.

Slightly Askew Theatre Ensemble presents the comedy Bachelorette by Leslye Headland Wednesdays through Saturdays at 8, May 7 - 17. " Ten years out of high school, four friends convene in a luxurious bridal suite the night before a wedding. Fueled by jealousy and resentment, the girls embark on a night of debauchery that goes from playfully wasted to devastatingly destructive. Bachelorette is a wicked black comedy about female friendship and growing up in an age of excess." Performances take place at The Chapel Venue, 6238 Alexander Drive. For more information: slightlyoff.org.

Peabody Opera House presents the musical The Color Purple on Sunday, May 11 at 3 and 7 PM. " The hit musical “The Color Purple” has been a huge success nationwide and is coming to St. Louis starring Angie Stone and Vanessa Bell Armstrong! “The Color Purple” is a 1982 epistolary novel by American author Alice Walker that won the 1983 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction and the National Book Award for Fiction; later adapted into a film and musical of the same name “The Color Purple” was hugely successful as a novel, on screen and on Broadway. For more information, visit peabodyoperahouse.com or call 314-622-5420.

The Bissell Mansion Murder Mystery Dinner Theatre presents The Dapper Flappers through July 27. The Bissell Mansion is at 4426 Randall Place. For more information: bissellmansiontheatre.com

Alton Little Theater presents Hallelujah Girls Thursday through Sunday, May 8-11, at 2450 North Henry in Alton, IL. "Hilarity abounds when the feisty females of Eden Falls, Georgia, decide to shake up their lives. The action in this rollicking Southern comedy by the authors of Southern Hospitality takes place in SPA-DEE-DAH!, the abandoned church-turned-day-spa where this group of friends gathers every Friday afternoon. After the loss of a dear friend, the women realize time is precious; and if they're going to change their lives and achieve their dreams, they have to do it now! But Sugar Lee, their high-spirited, determined leader, has her hands full keeping the women motivated. The comic tension mounts when a sexy ex-boyfriend shows up unexpectedly, a marriage proposal comes from an unlikely suitor, and Sugar Lee's archrival vows she'll stop at nothing to steal the spa away from her. By the time the women rally together to overcome these obstacles and launch their new, improved lives, you've got a side-splitting, joyful comedy that will make you laugh out loud and shout 'Hallelujah!'"For more information, call 618.462.6562 or visit altonlittletheater.org.

The Theatre Guild of Webster Groves presents John Guare's dark comedy The House of Blue Leaves May 9 - 18. Performances take place in the Guild theatre at Newport and Summit in Webster Groves, MO. For more information: theatreguildwg.org or call 314-962-0876.

Photo: Daniel Brodie

The Fox Theatre presents the musical Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat through May 11. "One of the most enduring shows of all time, JOSEPH AND THE AMAZING TECHNICOLOR DREAMCOAT is the irresistible family musical about the trials and triumphs of Joseph, Israel's favorite son. The first collaboration of Andrew Lloyd Webber (Jesus Christ Superstar, Phantom of the Opera, Cats) and Tim Rice (Jesus Christ Superstar, The Lion King) JOSEPH blends pop, country and rock into an uplifting, technicolored story of biblical proportions. 'JOSEPH is still the wittiest of Lloyd Webber's extravaganzas' declares the Orlando Sentinel." The Fox Theatre is at 517 North Grand in Grand Center. For more information: fabulousfox.com. Read the 88.1 KDHX review!

Opera Theatre of St. Louis presents Mozart's Women and The Magic Flute. "The New York Times called Jane Glover's conducting of the Metropolitan Opera's recent production of The Magic Flute “spirited” and “graceful... a magisterial performance.” More than being a brilliant conductor, Ms. Glover has been knighted as a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) and has literally written the book on the women in Mozart's life with her critically acclaimed 2006 book, Mozart's Women. Leading off the program with a discussion of the women on-stage and off-stage that made The Magic Flute, with a special emphasis on the character of the Queen of the Night, this panel also features director and designer Isaac Mizrahi and choreographer John Heginbotham." It's part of their Spotlight on Opera, a series of four insightful dialogues exploring the ideas in each season's opera, and it takes place on Monday, May 5, at 7:30 PM at the Ethical Society, 9001 Clayton Road. For more information, you may visit experienceopera.org or call 314-961-0644.

The Looking Glass Playhouse presents Monty Python's Spamalot May 8 - 18. Performances take place at 301 West St. Louis Street in Lebanon, Ill. For more information, visit www.lookingglassplayhouse.com.

Dramatic License Productions presents the comedy The Nerd through May 18. Performances take place at Dramatic License Theatre located at the upper level of Chesterfield Mall (near Sears and across from Houlihan's Restaurant). For more information, call 636-220-7012 or visit dramaticlicenseproductions.org.

New Jewish Theater presents Old Jews Telling Jokes May 8 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 laughes! 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.

Magic Smoking Monkey Theatre presents The One-Hour Twilight Zone Friday and Saturday at 7:30 and 10:30 PM, May 9 - 17 and Thursday, May 16, at 7:30 PM. The featured episodes are "To Serve Man" and "Nightmare at 20,000 Feet." There will also be a special guest appearance by The Superfriends. Performances take place at the Regional Arts Commission, 6128 Delmar. For more information: www.stlshakespeare.org/magicsmokingmonkey.htm

Upstream Theater presents Windmill Baby by David Milroy through May 11. “Winner of the prestigious Patrick White Award, Windmill Baby is an enthralling show about an aging Aboriginal woman named MayMay, who returns briefly to the cattle station where she lived years ago in order to take care of some 'unfinished business.' With warmth, wit, and great heart she tells a story of many layers: Of Black Australians in the service of White Australia. Of unexpected romance and sudden ruination. Of overcoming heartbreak and -most wonderfully of all-of abiding love.“ Performances take place at the Kranzberg Arts Center, 501 North Grand in Grand Center. For more information, including show times: upstreamtheater.org. Read the 88.1 KDHX review!

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.