Sunday, April 10, 2016

St. Louis theatre calendar for the week of April 11, 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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Mustard Seed Theatre presents Bosnian-American: The Dance of Life, Friday and Saturday at 7:30 p.m., April 15 and 16 “Born in Bosnia and raised in St. Louis - painful history meets present reality in this collaboratively created script that celebrates the true stories of our neighbors.” Performances take place at at Grbic Restaurant Banquet Hall in the Bevo Mill . For more information, call (314) 719-8060 or visit the web site at www.mustardseedtheatre.com.

The Bridges of Madison County
Photo: Matthew Murphy
The Fox Theatre presents the musical The Bridges of Madison County through April 17. "THE BRIDGES OF MADISON COUNTY, one of the most romantic stories ever written, first captured the nation's attention as a best-selling novel by Robert James Waller and is now an irresistible, two time Tony Award®-winning Broadway musical. This stunning new production features gorgeous, soulful music by Tony Award®-winning composer Jason Robert Brown (Parade, The Last Five Years) that the Daily News hails as "one of Broadway's best scores in the last decade." With a book by Pulitzer Prize Winner Marsha Norman (The Secret Garden, The Color Purple) and direction by Tony® winner Bartlett Sher (South Pacific, The Light in the Piazza), THE BRIDGES OF MADISON COUNTY is the unforgettable story of two people caught between decision and desire, as a chance encounter becomes a second chance at so much more." The Fox is on North Grand in Grand Center. For more information: fabulousfox.com.

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

St. Louis Community College at Meramec presents the drama Death and the Maiden by Ariel Dorfman Wednesday through Sunday, April 13-17. "Paulina Salas is a former political prisoner in an unnamed Latin American country who had been raped by her captors, led by a sadistic doctor whose face she never saw. Years later, after the (also unnamed) repressive regime has fallen, a chance encounter allows Pauline to take the doctor captive in order to put him on trial and extract a confession from him." The production is recommended for mature audiences. Performances take place in the theatre on the campus at 11333 Big Bend Road. For more information, stlcc.edu/MC or call 314-984-7500.

Hard Road Theatre Productions presents the musical comedy First Date opening on Friday, April 15, at 7:30 p.m. and running through April 23. "When blind date newbie Aaron (Zachary Levi; “Chuck” and Thor: The Dark World) is set up with serial-dater Casey (Krysta Rodriguez; “Smash” and The Addams Family), a casual drink at a busy New York restaurant turns into a hilarious high-stakes dinner. As the date unfolds in real time, the couple quickly finds that they are not alone on this unpredictable evening. In a delightful and unexpected twist, Casey and Aaron's inner critics take on a life of their own when other restaurant patrons transform into supportive best friends, manipulative exes and protective parents, who sing and dance them through ice-breakers, appetizers and potential conversational land mines. Can this couple turn what could be a dating disaster into something special before the check arrives?" Performances will be held at the Kennel at Highland High School, 12760 Troxler Ave, Highland IL. For more information: www.hardroad.org.

Clinton County Showcase presents the comedy The Foreigner opening on Friday, April 15, at 8 p.m. and running through April 24. "The Foreigner is about a chronically shy man named Charlie who pretends to not speak a word of English. Misunderstandings and hilariious antics abound. Soon Charlie finds himself playing and embracing the role of the exotic foreigner and emerges from his shell all while keeping the charade. Characters include Charile's best friend Froggy, the innkeeper with a motherly role, a young couple, an not-so-bright young man, and a man who has trouble accepting racial progress." Performances take place at the Avon Theater, 525 North 2nd Street Breese IL. For more information, visit ccshowcase.com.

Great Falls
Photo: John Lamb
The West End Players Guild continues their 105th season with Lee Blessing's comedy/drama Great Falls Thursday through Saturday at 8 PM and Sunday at 2 PM, April 14-17. "This long, strange trip is undertaken by Monkey Man, a divorced middle-aged writer, and his teenaged ex-stepdaughter, who goes by the name of Bitch. Both of them have lost their way in life, and they set off in search of answers on a road trip through the great American West. By turns funny, sad, touching and profane, Great Falls will take you on a memorable and moving theatrical tour." Performances take place at the Union Avenue Christian Church, 733 North Union at Enright in the Central West End. For more information, call 314-367-0025 or visit www.westendplayers.org.

Stray Dog Theatre presents the rock musical Hedwig and the Angry Inch Thursdays through Saturdays at 8 PM through April 16. "The 'internationally ignored song stylist' Hedwig Schmidt, an East German diva, is also the victim of a botched sex-change operation. As she tours the U.S. with her loyal band, Hedwig candidly shares her life story. Raucous, soulful and wickedly funny with a brilliant rock score, this show has inspired legions of fans." Performances take place at The Tower Grove Abbey, 2336 Tennessee. For more information, visit straydogtheatre.org or call 314-865-1995.

The Touhill Performing Arts Center presents Chicago's Second City comedy ensemble in Hooking Up With Second City Friday and 7 and 10 p.m. and Saturday at 6 and 9 p.m., April 15 and 16. "The Second City knows a few things about love - we've been looking at and laughing about relationships for over 55 years. Hooking Up With The Second City makes mirth out of missed connections, girls' night out adventures and all the crazy things we do for love. This gaspingly funny revue is a modern mix of romance, rancor and everything in between." The Touhill Performing Arts Center is on the University of Missouri St. Louis campus. For more information: touhill.org.

St. Louis University Theatre presents Oscar Wilde's comedy The Importance of Being Earnest, opening on Friday, April 15, at 8 p.m. and running through April 24. "Regarded by many as the wittiest play in the English language, the University Theatre is proud to close its 2015-16 season with this audience favorite." Performances take place in Xavier Hall, 3373 West Pine Mall. For more information, call 314-977-3327 or visit slu.edu/utheatre.

St. Louis Actors' Studio presents Ivanov by Anton Chekov, as translated by Tom Stoppard, opening on Friday, April 15, and running through May 1. "Once a man of limitless promise, Ivanov is plunged into debt. His marriage is in crisis, and his evenings are spent negotiating loans, avoiding love affairs and fighting to resist the small town jealousies and intrigues which threaten to engulf his life." Performances take place at the Gaslight Theatre, 358 North Boyle For more information, call 314-458-2978 or visit stlas.org.

Lindenwood University presents the comedy The Liar by David Ives, adapted from the play by Pierre Corneille, Thursday and Friday at 7:30 p.m. and Saturday at 2 and 7:30 p.m., April 14-16 “Paris, 1643. Dorante is a charming young man newly arrived in the capital, and he has but a single flaw: he cannot tell the truth. In quick succession, he meets Cliton, a manservant who cannot tell a lie, and falls in love with Clarice, a charming young woman whom he unfortunately mistakes for her friend, Lucrece. What our hero regrettably does not know is that Clarice is secretly engaged to his best friend, Alcippe. Nor is he aware that his father is trying to get him married to Clarice, whom he thinks is Lucrece, who actually is in love with him.” The performance takes place on the main stage at the J. Scheidegger Center for the Arts on the Lindenwood campus in St. Charles, MO. For more information, call 636-949-4433 or visit lindenwood.edu/center.

The Westport Playhouse presents Men Are From Mars-Women Are From Venus Live! running through April 17. "The Off-Broadway hit comedy Men Are From Mars - Women Are From Venus LIVE!, is a one-man fusion of theatre and stand-up, and is a light-hearted theatrical comedy based on the New York Times #1 best-selling book of the last decade by John Gray. Moving swiftly through a series of vignettes, the show covers everything from dating and marriage to the bedroom." Performances take place at the Westport Playhouse in Westport Plaza. For more information: marsvenuslive.com.

The Muny presents A Night With the Buddy Holly Boys on Wednesday and Thursday, April 13 and 14, at 7:30 p.m. "The boys of summer are back! Our three Buddy Holly stars reunite for a rockin' concert." The event takes place at the Sheldon Concert Hall on Washington in Grand Center. For more information: muny.org.

The Bissell Mansion Murder Mystery Dinner Theatre presents Nursery Crimes through July 31. The Bissell Mansion is at 4426 Randall Place. For more information: bissellmansiontheatre.com.

Our Town
The Hawthorne Players present the Thornton Wilder's Our Town through April 17. "Narrated by a stage manager and performed with minimal props and sets, audiences follow the Webb and Gibbs families as their children fall in love, marry, and eventually-in one of the most famous scenes in American theatre-die." The performances take place at the Florissant Civic Center Theatre at Parker and Waterford in Florissant, MO. For more information, call 921-5678 or visit hawthorneplayers.info.

Lutheran High School South presents the Stephen Schwartz musical Pippin Friday and Saturday at 7:00 p.m., April 15 and 16. Lutheran High School North is at 9515 Tesson Ferry Road in south St. Louis County. For more information: lhssstl.org.

St. Louis Shakespeare presents Shakespeare's tragedy Richard III Thursdays at 7:30 p.m., Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m., and Sundays at 2 p.m., through April 17. "A brilliant military commander, Richard, Duke of Gloucester, cannot be content in peacetime. As Richard centralizes power and makes a play for the crown, his motives grow uglier, sending him, enraged, into a bloody battle at Bosworth Field against Henry Tudor." Performances take place at the Ivory Theatre, 7620 Michigan in the Carondelet neighborhood. For more information, call 314-361-5664 or visit stlshakespeare.org.

The St. Louis Art Museum presents a live HD broadcast of the Metropolitan Opera production Donizetti's Roberto Devereux on Saturday, April 16, at 11:55 a.m. " Soprano Sondra Radvanovsky takes on the extraordinary challenge of singing all three of Donizetti's Tudor queen operas in the course of a single season, a rare feat made famous by Beverly Sills-and not attempted on a New York stage since. In this climactic opera of the trilogy, she plays Queen Elizabeth I, forced to sign the death warrant of the nobleman she loves, Robert Devereux. Tenor Matthew Polenzani is Devereux, and mezzo-soprano El_na Garan_a and baritone Mariusz Kwiecien complete the principal quartet in the bel canto masterpiece, conducted by Donizetti specialist Maurizio Benini. As with the earlier Anna Bolena and Maria Stuarda, the production is by Sir David McVicar, who with this staging completes an enormously ambitious directorial accomplishment." The live digital HD video broadcast from New York takes place in The Farrell Auditorium at the Art Museum in Forest Park. For more information: slam.org.

David Guintoli
The Emerald Room Cabaret presents David Guintoli in Sinatra...The Man and His Music on Friday, April 15, at 8 p.m. "David Giuntoli sings songs that Frank Sinatra made famous. He would have been 100, if alive, and although he was from a different era, his musical stylings are a as swinging today as they were in the 40s, 50s, and 60s when he was at his peak. Sinatra had a gift of taking songs from great composers like, Cole Porter, Jimmy Van Heusen, Sammy Cahn, and, along with his fantastic arrangements, giving them that “Sinatra” stamp. The show includes these songs; I've Got the World on a String, All or Nothing at All, The Best is Yet to Come, I've Got You Under My Skin, The Way You Look Tonight, Angel Eyes, Fly Me to the Moon, Night and Day, The Lady is a Tramp and more." The show features Adam Maness on piano and Ben Wheeler on bass. 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

COCA's student dance companies - Ballet Eclectica, COCAdance and the COCA Hip-Hop Crew - conclude their seasons with an annual Spring Repertory Concerts Friday at 7 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday at 2 p.m., April 15-18. The concerts feature pieces from a range of local and national choreographers. COCA is at 524 Trinity in University City. For more information: cocastl.org.

Gateway Center for Performing Arts' Youth Theatre Company finishes its 2015/2016 Mainstage Season with the musical Thoroughly Modern Mille Friday at 7 p.m.., Saturday at 2 and 7 p.m., and Sunday at 2 p.m., April 15-17. "This Tony Award winning musical is set in 1922 follows Millie Dillmount, straight off the bus from Salina, Kansas as she searches for more in New York City. With grand plans to marry the "modern" way, for money and not love, she finds herself on a madcap adventure that proves everything is not what it seems. With music by Jeanine Tesori, lyrics by Dick Scanlan and Book by Dick Scanlan and Richard Morris, you won't want to miss tunes like Not for the Life of Me, Forget About the Boy, and Gimme Gimme in a story filled with bobbed hair, raised skirts and fiery tap numbers!" Performances take place at Central Visual and Performing Arts High School , 3125 South Kingshighway Blvd. For more information: www.gcpastl.org/thoroughly-modern-millie.

St. Louis Community College at Florissant Valley presents the comedy Too Much Sun by Nicky Silver opening on Friday, April 15, at 7:30 p.m. and running through April 23. Performances take place in the Fisher Theatre on the campus at 3400 Pershall Road. For more information, stlcc.edu/FV call 314-644-5522.

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.

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