St. Louis theatre calendar for the week of May 16, 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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Black and Blue

Gitana Productions presents Black and Blue by Lee Patton Chiles at 7:30 p.m. on Friday, May 20. “An original play of hope and healing, exploring the assumptions that all young black men are dangerous, and that all cops are bad. ” Performances take place at Harris- Stowe State University, Emerson Performance Center, 3101 Laclede in midtown St. Louis. For more information: www.gitana-inc.org.

Gitana Productions presents Black and Blue by Lee Patton Chiles at 3 p.m. on Sunday, May 22. “An original play of hope and healing, exploring the assumptions that all young black men are dangerous, and that all cops are bad. ” Performances take place at Webster Groves High School, 100 Selma in Webster Groves. For more information: www.gitana-inc.org.

Opera Theatre of St. Louis presents Puccini's La Boheme opening on Saturday, May 21, and running through June 25. "One of the most performed operas of all time, La bohème has gripped audiences for over a century. Rodolfo and his friends scrape by as bohemian artists, using their wit and charm to escape life's harsher consequences. Rodolfo can't imagine how love will change him until he encounters a beautiful dressmaker, Mimì. Set to lush, irresistible music, Puccini's masterpiece never fails to move audiences to both laughter and tears." Performances take place at the Loretto-Hilton Center at 135 Edgar Road on the Webster University campus. All performances are sung in English with projected English text. For more information: experienceopera.org or call 314-961-0644.

The Lemp Mansion Comedy-Mystery Dinner Theater presents Bullets in the Bathtub through July 30. The Lemp Mansion is at 3322 DeMenil Place. For more information: mansion.com

Affton CenterStage Theatre Company presents Charlie and the Chocolate Factory on Friday and Saturday, May 20 and 21, at 7 p.m. Performances take place at Affton High School in the Judith Rethwisch Auditorium, 8309 Mackenzie Road in south county. For more information, call 636-349-6880 or visit www.afftoncenterstage.org.

Alpha Players present the comedy Dearly Departed May 20 - 29at The Florissant Civic Center Theater, Parker Rd. at Waterford Dr. in Florissant, MO. "Dearly Departed is a drop-dead funny comedy about families, funerals, and fried chicken." For more information: alphaplayers.org, call 314-921-5678.

The Fox Theatre presents the musical Jersey Boys opening Wednesday, May 18, and running through Sunday, May 22. The musical is based on the careers of Rock and Roll Hall of Famers The Four Seasons: Frankie Valli, Bob Gaudio, Tommy DeVito and Nick Massi. "This is the story of how four blue-collar kids became one of the greatest successes in pop music history. They wrote their own songs, invented their own sounds and sold 175 million records worldwide - all before they were thirty!" The Fox is on North Grand in Grand Center. For more information: fabulousfox.com.

Tesseract Theatre Company presents Mitzi's Abortion Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m. and Sundays at 4 p.m., May 20-29. "A young woman trying to make an intensely personal decision in a system determined to make it a political one." Performances take place at the Regional Arts Commission, 6128 Delmar. For more information: tesseracttheatre.org.

Marsh Cobb

The Emerald Room at the Monocle presents singer Marsh Cobb in The Moon, the Stars, and Other Heavenly Bodies on Sunday, May 22, at 3 p.m. "There is probably no symbol more iconic in American popular music than the moon and stars. Sad songs, happy songs, and of course, love songs. It seems love and the moon go together like chocolate and peanut butter. Or chocolate and mint. Or chocolate and, well, just about anything. Marsh Cobb takes us on a tour of some of the best of these songs and what they meant to him throughout his life. A poet and lyricist himself, Marsh has a special connection to song lyrics and the magical effect they produce." The performances take place in The Emerald Room at The Monocle Bar, 4510 Manchester in The Grove neighborhood. For more information: www.buzzonstage.com/st-louis

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.

Act Two Theatre presents Neil Simon's The Odd Couple (Female Version) through May 22. "Unger and Madison are at it again! Florence Unger and Olive Madison, that is, in Neil Simon's hilarious contemporary comic classic: the female version of The Odd Couple. Instead of the poker party that begins the original version, Ms. Madison has invited the girls over for an evening of Trivial Pursuit. The Pidgeon sisters have been replaced by the two Costazuela brothers. But the hilarity remains the same. " Performances take place in the St. Peters Cultural Arts Centre at 1 St Peters Centre Blvd, St. Peters, MO 63376. For more information: act2theater.com.

Alton Little Theater presents the comedy Skin Deep Thursdays through Sundays through May 22 at 2450 North Henry in Alton, IL. If you like a show that is filled with laugh-out-loud humor then Skin Deep is sure to please. A large, lovable, lonely-heart, named Maureen Mulligan, gives romance one last shot on a blind-date with sweet awkward Joseph Spinelli; she's learned to pepper her speech with jokes to hide insecurities about her weight and appearance, while he's almost dangerously forthright, saying everything that comes to his mind. They were set up on the date by Maureen's sister Sheila and her husband Squire, who are having problems of their own: Sheila undergoes a non-stop series of cosmetic surgeries to hang onto the attractive and much-desired Squire, who may or may not have long ago held designs on Maureen, who introduced him to Sheila. " For more information, call 618.462.6562 or visit altonlittletheater.org.

The Kranzberg Arts Center presents singer Mara Bollini in Taking Chances on Friday, May 20, at 8 p.m. "A native of St. Louis, Mara Bollini has had the privilege of singing and dancing her way across stages throughout the area for decades. “Taking Chances,” Bollini’s debut solo cabaret, is an artistically crafted journey blending music from across the ages as well as musical genres." Tim Schall directs, with music direction by Carl Schmidt. The Kranzberg Center is at 501 North Grand in Grand Center. For more information: www.brownpapertickets.com/event/2506682

The Two-Character Play

The Midnight Company presents The Two-Character Play by Tennessee Williams Wednesdays and Thursdays at 7:30 p.m., Fridays at 8 p.m., and Saturdays and Sundays at 3 p.m., through June 4. "Two actors, a brother and a sister, are stranded in a theatre, struggling to perform, struggling to survive." Performances take place at the Winter Opera Space, 2322 Marconi on The Hill. For more information: midnightcompany.com.

New Jewish Theater presents the musical Yentl through June 5 “Based on Isaac Bashevis Singer's short story “Yentl the Yeshiva Boy” and updated with new music and lyrics by Jill Sobule, “Yentl” tells the story of a young girl in 19th century Eastern Europe forbidden to pursue her dream of studying Talmud. Unwilling to accept her fate, she disguises herself as a man. But when she falls in love, Yentl must decide how far she's willing to go to protect her identity. This marks 40 years since the play - then without music - ran on Broadway. With parallels in Singer's short story coinciding with the burgeoning second wave of feminism, we find Yentl as an outsider seeking to find her own voice within a very proscribed world.” 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.

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.