St. Louis theatre calendar for the week of March 14, 2016

[Looking for auditions and other artistic opportunities? Check out the St. Louis Auditions site.]

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

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This Friday through Sunday Fontbonne University Theatre Department presents Almost, Maine. Welcome to Almost, Maine, a town that's so far north, it's almost not in the United States-it's almost in Canada. One night in the middle of winter, while the northern lights hover in the sky above, Almost's residents find themselves falling in and out of love in the strangest ways. And life for the people of Almost, Maine will never be the same. Performances take place in the Fontbonne Fine Arts Theatre on Wydown. For further details about Almost Maine, www.fontbonne.edu/academics/departments/fine-arts-department/theatre-productions.

American Idiot
Photo: Jill Ritter Lindberg

New Line Theatre presents the musical American Idiot, based on the album by Green Day, Thursdays through Saturdays at 8 PM through March 26. " New Line continues its 25th season with the powerful, high-octane, rock fable AMERICAN IDIOT, based on the powerhouse album by Green Day, a scorching attack on what they saw as the hypocrisy and moral evils of the Bush Administration after the attacks of Sept. 11, as well as the increasingly submissive nature of the American public. The score includes every song from Green Day's hit album American Idiot, as well as several songs from their follow-up release, 21st Century Breakdown, with music by Green Day, lyrics by frontman Billie Joe Armstrong, a book by Armstrong and Michael Mayer, and musical arrangements and orchestrations by Broadway composer Tom Kitt (High Fidelity, Next to Normal, If/Then). The Toronto Star called the show 'the first great musical of the 21st century.'" Performances take place at the Marcelle Theater, 3310 Samuel Shepard Drive, three blocks east of Grand, in Grand Center. For more information, visit newlinetheatre.com or call 314-534-1111.

The Bissell Mansion Murder Mystery Dinner Theatre presents And Away You Go through March 27. The Bissell Mansion is at 4426 Randall Place. For more information: bissellmansiontheatre.com.

Carol Schmidt

The Cabaret Project and 88.1 KDHX present the monthly cabaret open mic night on Wednesday, March 16, from 7 to 10 PM at the Tavern of Fine Arts "Drop by and enjoy a night of great music from St. Louis cabaret artists, backed up by music director Carol Schmidt on the baby grand." The master of ceremonies is Chuck Lavazzi, senior performing arts critic at 88.1 KDHX. If you're planning to sing, be prepared to do one or two songs and bring music, preferably in your key. At least one of your two songs should be a medium-or up-tempo number. We'd also recommend that you have your song memorized. The Tavern of Fine Arts is at 313 Belt at Waterman in the Central West End. There's free parking in the lot right across the street. For more information: thecabaretproject.org.

The Lemp Mansion Comedy-Mystery Dinner Theater presents Clueless through April 16. The Lemp Mansion is at 3322 DeMenil Place. For more information: lempmansion.com

The Emerald Room Cabaret presents Taylor Pietz in #Crazy is the New Black on Wednesday, March 16, at 7:30 p.m. " We're all a little crazy sometimes. We do crazy things for love, crazy things for art, crazy things to make it all work. This show might be a little crazy too." The performance takes place in The Emerald Room at The Monocle Bar, 4510 Manchester in The Grove neighborhood. For more information: www.buzzonstage.com/st-louis.

UMSL Opera Theatre presents Purcell's Dido and Aeneas Friday at 8 p.m., Saturday at 2 and 8 p.m., and Sunday at 2 p.m., March 18-20. "UMSL's national award-winning Opera Theatre invites you to an evening of beauty, music, and dance. Join us as we sojourn to antiquity and pay homage to one of opera's most heartbreaking pair of star crossed-lovers. Be witness to fate's unbending will as Dido and Aeneas' love succumbs to deceit, pride and destiny. There will be a pre-show talk 45 minutes prior to each performance." Performances take place in the Touhill Performing Arts Center on the University of Misouri-St. Louis campus. For more information: touhill.org.

Monday, March 14, at 6:30 p.m. St. Louis Writers' Group Musical Theatre Workshop presents Ebenezer. Ebenezer is a musical with book, music, and lyrics by Mario Farwell based on "A Christmas Carol" by Charles Dickens. The musical Ebenezer reimagines the traditional tale with an Afro-American/urban slant. The performance begins at 6:30PM at the Emerald at the Monocle. For further details on Ebenezer, www.stlwritersgroup.com

Alton Little Theater presents the comedy The Foreigner Thursdays through Sundays, through March 20, at 2450 North Henry in Alton, IL. "The scene is a fishing lodge in rural Georgia often visited by "Froggy" LeSeuer, a British demolition expert who occasionally runs training sessions at a nearby army base. This time "Froggy" has brought along a friend, a pathologically shy young man named Charlie who is overcome with fear at the thought of making conversation with strangers. So "Froggy," before departing, tells all assembled that Charlie is from an exotic foreign country and speaks no English. Once alone the fun really begins, as Charlie overhears more than he should - the evil plans of a sinister, two-faced minister and his redneck associate; the fact that the minister's pretty fiancee is pregnant; and many other damaging revelations made with the thought that Charlie doesn't understand a word being said. That he does fuels the nonstop hilarity of the play and sets up the wildly funny climax." For more information, call 618.462.6562 or visit altonlittletheater.org.

Marisaa Mulder

The Presenters Dolan present Marissa Mulder in Fragments of Marilyn on Friday and Saturday, March 18 and 19, at 8 PM as part of the Gaslight Cabaret Festival. " In this utterly fascinating show, Marissa explores Marilyn Monroe, mind, heart and soul, and her journey from orphanage to celebrity's epicenter. A magical mix of real cabaret theater. The first public performance of Marilyn from one of the emergent talents in all of cabaret." The performance takes place at the Gaslight Theater, 358 North Boyle. For more information: gaslightcabaretfestival.com.

The Presenters Dolan present Jon Weber in From Joplin to Jarrett on Sunday, March 20, at 3 PM as part of the Gaslight Cabaret Festival. " A history of jazz piano in 70 minutes, from the host of NPR's Piano Jazz." The performance takes place at the Gaslight Theater, 358 North Boyle. For more information: gaslightcabaretfestival.com.

The Looking Glass Playhouse presents the Tennessee Williams's drama The Glass Menagerie Thursdays through Sundays through March 20. "The play revolves around a young man begrudgingly supporting the family his father has abandoned. It also features a painfully shy and slightly crippled sister character, whose preoccupation with a collection of glass animals draws her away from reality. Set against the backdrop of the Depression, the family struggles together with the past, the future, and one another." Performances take place at 301 West St. Louis Street in Lebanon, Ill. For more information, visit www.lookingglassplayhouse.com.

The Improv Shop presents Heartbreak running through March 19. "Heartbreak is an improvised serial show where we explore, in depth, the stages of doomed relationships. Watch characters go from strangers to friends, friends to lovers, and from lovers to heartbreakers. Heartbreak. It doesn't happen all at once." The Improv Shop is at 510 North Euclid in the Central West End. For more information on this and other Improv Shop shows: theimprovshop.com.

If/Then
Photo: Joan Marcus

The Fox Theatre presents the musical If/Then opening on Tuesday, March 15, and running through March 27. "IF/THEN is a contemporary Broadway musical about living in New York today - and all the possibilities of tomorrow. With unforgettable songs and a deeply moving story by the Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award®-winning creators of Next to Normal, this "fascinating, ambitious, and original new musical" (New York Post) simultaneously follows one woman's two possible life paths, painting a deeply moving portrait of the lives we lead, as well as the lives we might have led." The Fox is on North Grand in Grand Center. For more information: fabulousfox.com.

The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis presents the world premiere of Molly's Hammer through March 27. "Molly Rush was focused on the endgame- save the world, protect her family. But what would she have to sacrifice? In 1980, the Pittsburgh housewife and mother of six walked into a General Electric plant and took a hammer to a nuclear warhead to protest the buildup of America's nuclear arsenal. Based on the true story of the Plowshares Eight, Molly's Hammer is the world-premiere account of one woman's unwavering beliefs and her family's desperate attempts to protect her from infamy." Performances take place in the studio theater at the Loretto-Hlton Center, 130 Edgar Road in Webster Groves, MO. For more information, call 314-968-4925 or visit repstl.org.

Kirkwood Theatre Guild presents comedy The Murder Room through March 20. "Mavis Templeton Hollister returns home from an evening out surprised to find her new husband, Edgar Hollister, still alive. He, in turn, is surprised that she claims to have attended a church meeting that he knows for a fact had been cancelled. Edgar questions Mavis about her whereabouts but his interrogation stops abruptly when she pulls out a gun and shoots him. Chaos ensues when it comes to light that the gun was shooting blanks and Edgar's body has vanished. This hilarious spoof of crime thrillers has all the features of the classic whodunits with a spooky, old house, surprise relatives, a poisoned cat, and, of course, secret panels." 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.

Peabody Opera House presents the one-woman musical A Night With Janis Joplin Friday through Sunday, March 19-20. "Fueled by such unforgettable songs as "Me and Bobby McGee," "Piece of My Heart," "Mercedes Benz," "Cry Baby" and "Summertime," a remarkable cast and a breakout performance by Mary Bridget Davies, A NIGHT WITH JANIS JOPLIN, written and directed by Randy Johnson, is a musical journey celebrating Janis and her biggest musical influences-icons like Aretha Franklin, Etta James, Odetta, Nina Simone and Bessie Smith, who inspired one of rock & roll's greatest legends." The Peabody is at 14th and Market streets, downtown. For more information, visit peabodyoperahouse.com or call 314-622-5420.

Old Wicked Songs
Photo: Eric Woolsdy

New Jewish Theater presents the Old Wicked Songs March 17 - April 3 "Hoping to reconnect with his music and shatter the artistic block that has plagued his career, a young American piano prodigy travels to Vienna in the spring of 1986. He is assigned to a vocal teacher who gives him the "Dicheterliebe" song cycle by Robert Schumann. Marans incorporates the poetry of Heinrich Heine and the music of Robert Schumann into the series of events. Through the sessions between the two men, Marans creates a link between two generations who find they much more in common than they think. This is the inspirational journey of two very different men who, with music as their one common bond, must find a way to break through their pasts." 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.

This Friday, Saturday and Sunday First Run Theater is holding its annual Play Reading Festival. This festival showcases original scripts by St. Louis playwrights interested in seeing their work produced on a state-of-the-art stage; all readings are open to the public. The performances take place in the theatre on the campus of DeSmet Jesuit High School on Ballas Road in Creve Coeur. For more information on First Run Theater's Play Reading Festival, firstruntheatre.com

On Saturday afternoon the Repertory Theatre of St. Louis Ignite! New Play Festival presents Replica. In the near future, a terminally ill woman volunteers for an experimental procedure that will allow her memories and personality to live on in her clone. The performance begins at 2:00PM at inside the Opera Center at Opera Theatre of St. Louis, on Hazel Avenue in Webster Groves. For more information about Saturday's performance of Replica repstl.org

The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis presents Satchel Paige and the Kansas City Swing March 16 - April 10. "The crack of the bat, the roar of the crowd-it's what every baseball player dreams of. In 1947, Jackie Robinson had broken baseball's color barrier, while Satchel Paige and his Negro League All-Stars were barnstorming against their white counterparts in the Majors. It was baseball by day and jazz by night as the impassioned and devoted players tried to find their place in a country on the verge of change." Performances take place on the mainstage at the Loretto-Hlton Center, 130 Edgar Road in Webster Groves, MO. For more information, call 314-968-4925 or visit repstl.org.

The Wildey Theater presents Sister's Easter Catechism: Will My Bunny Go To Heaven? on Friday and Saturday, March 18 and 19. "Celebrate the Easter Season with Sister as she answers the time worn questions of the season like "Why isn't Easter the same day every year like Christmas?" and "Will My Bunny Go To Heaven?" Part pageant, and wHOLY hysterical, this latest of the sinfully funny Late Nite Catechism series unearths the origins of Easter bunnies, Easter eggs, Easter bonnets, Easter baskets, and of course those yummy Easter Peeps. Sister answers questions about pet heaven and the significance of those adorable baby chicks! Classroom participation is a must, so don't forget to wear your Easter bonnet and join Sister for this seasonal treat!" The Wildey Theatre is at 252 North Main Street in Edwardsville, Illinois. For more information, visit wildeytheatre.com.

Tammy McCann

The Presenters Dolan present Tammy McCann in The Storytellers - Sarah, Ella, Dinah and Billie on Thursday, March 17, at 8 PM as part of the Gaslight Cabaret Festival. " Tammy McCann has been named Best Jazz Vocal Performance for several years by the Chicago Tribune. She is an internationally recognized jazz vocalist whose powerful, sultry, and emotionally charged voice paints pictures and tells stories by merging classical vocal technique and a Gospel aesthetic with jazz to create a sound that is completely her own." The performance takes place at the Gaslight Theater, 358 North Boyle. For more information: gaslightcabaretfestival.com.

The Tavern of Fine Arts presents Tim Schall's Cabaret Party on Friday, March 18, at 8 p.m. "Hosted by Tim Schall with Carol Schmidt at the piano, this promises to be fun, lively and entertaining - a musical party with Tim, Carol and their talented friends- each singing lots of tunes for you! The guests that will sing their hearts out on March 18 include: Mara Bollini, Meghan Kirk, Ben Nordstrom and Tim and Carol, of course. The Tavern of Fine Arts is at 313 Belt in the Debaliviere Place neighborhood. For more information: tavern-of-fine-arts.blogspot.com.

Clayton Community Theatre presents Clare Boothe Luce's The Women Thursdays through Saturdays at 8 p.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m., through March 20. "This witty comedy of manners follows a group of women through the perils of adultery, divorce, and finding a unique voice in a sea of gossip and innuendo. The 1936 play continues to echo a relevant look in the complex nature of relationships." Performances take place at the Washington University South Campus Theatre. For more information, call 314-721-9228 or visit placeseveryone.org.

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.