Chuck's Choices for the weekend of July 11, 2014

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

Share on Google+:

New this week:

Insight Theatre Company presents the comedy Over the River and Through the Woods July 10 - 20. "This comic-drama hit, which ran Off-Broadway for more than two years, introduces the audience to a tight-knit, Italian-American family who share Sunday dinners in New Jersey. When one family member announces he's moving to Seattle to accept a promotion, he sends his grandparents into a tailspin - and they pull out all the stops to convince him to stay." Performances take place in the Heagney Theatre, 530 East Lockwood on the campus of Nerinx Hall High School in Webster Groves. For more information, call 314-556-1293 or visit insighttheatrecompany.com.

My take: I haven't seen Insight's production, but I played Nunzio in the St. Louis premiere of this show back in 2002 at Act Inc, so I can say from personal experience that it's a very funny and very true to life script about a loving and very loud family. Kind of like my own.

Photo: Ron Lindsey

Union Avenue Opera presents Verdi's La Traviata Friday and Saturday at 8 PM, July 11-18. "La traviata, one of the most beloved tragedies in opera, tells the story of a worldly courtesan, Violetta, who decides to leave her life of glamour and frivolity behind for the love of one man, Alfredo. Returning to UAO after twelve years, La traviata depicts the ultimate operatic life, one filled with grand parties, grander sacrifices, and some of Verdi's most memorable music, including the drinking song “Libiamo” and Violetta's virtuosic “Sempre libera.” Both longtime opera lovers and first-timers will be captivated by this irresistible classic. La traviata will be directed by Tim Ocel, who received rave review for his direction of 2011's Dead Man Walking at UAO. " Performances take place at the Union Avenue Christian Church, 733 Union at Enright in the Central West End. The opera is sung in Italian with projected English text. For more information, visit unionavenueopera.org or call 314-361-2881.

My take: I'm seeing this opening night, but I'm putting in in the list for this week because it's the first production of Union Avenue's 2014 season and because it's the sort of thing they have generally done well in the past. Besides, when you think of it, this is an opera that thumbs its nose at the morally pompous. Based on Alexandre Dumas fils' 1852 stage adaptation of his 1848 novel La Dame aux Camélias, Francesco Maria Piave's libretto for La Traviata was, as they say, “hot stuff” back in the day because of its sympathetic treatment of Violetta, especially when combined with Verdi's own flouting of “middle class morality” by openly living with his mistress, the soprano Giuseppina Strapponi. It's a good example of why it's fortunate that the professional minders of other people's business on the far right never step inside an opera house. They'd be pretty scandalized if they knew.

Held Over:

Photo: Peter Wochniak

Stages St. Louis presents the musical Always..Patsy Cline through August 31. "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.

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.