Cabaret shows by Ari Axelrod and Beverly Brennan join the hit list this week, along with a breakneck farce at the Rep.
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New This Week:
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| Ari Axelrod |
Mariposa Artists presents
Ari Axelrod in
A Celebration of Jewish Broadway on Saturday, March 23, at 8 pm. "Direct from its sold out NYC debut at the historic Birdland Theater, Ari Axelrod presents
A Celebration of Jewish Broadway honoring the songs and stories of Jewish composers and their contributions to the American Musical. Beloved melodies and lyrics by the likes of Irving Berlin, Leonard Bernstein, Stephen Schwartz, and Carole King will transport the audience back to the streets of the theatre district, your bubbie's Shabbos table, or the places of your dreams." The show takes place at the Kranzberg Arts Center, 501 N. Grand in Grand Center. For more information:
www.metrotix.com.
My take: Reviewing Ari Axelrod's debut show,
Taking the Wheel, back in 2016,
I wrote that he displayed a depth of feeling that I had not always seen in the work of some of his contemporaries because he had clearly absorbed and thoroughly internalized the lyrics. With direction by
Lina Koutrakos and musical direction by
Rick Jensen, I don't see how you can go wrong.
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| Beverly Brennan |
Mariposa Artists presents
Beverly Brennan in
Love and Marriage on Friday, March 22, at 8 pm. "With her new show "Love and Marriage", Bev offers an inside take on long term relationships - the good, the bad and the outrageously funny. With stories, jokes and songs her show will take you on the roller coaster ride of falling in love and the consequences. Songs include hits by Patsy Cline, Billy Joel, John Lennon and James Brown as well as selections from musical theater and the great American Song Book. It's time to get real and tell it like it is about being married to the same (wonderful) guy for 46 years! Rick Jensen serves as musical director and accompanist for this show on Beverly's birthday!! Co-directed by Lina Koutrakos and Ken Haller." The show takes place at the Kranzberg Arts Center, 501 N. Grand in Grand Center. For more information:
www.metrotix.com.
My take: This is the latest solo outing for Ms. Brennan, a St. Louis native (and daughter of sportscasting legend Jack Buck) who grew up on The Hill. Her first,
St. Louie Woman, played to sold-out houses both here and in Chicago in 2010. As she did in her Doris Day tribute show back in 2013, she has teamed up with the always-impressive
Rick Jensen along with cabaret legend
Lina Koutrakos and one of our city's most notable cabaret exports,
Ken Haller. Fun will be had.
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The Play the Goes Wrong
Photo: John Gitchoff |
The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis presents the comedy
The Play That Goes Wrong running through April 7. "Calamity, disaster, fiasco: whichever word you'd like to choose, the opening night performance of The Murder at Haversham Manor has gone decidedly wrong. A maelstrom of madcap madness ensues, complete with collapsing scenery, unconscious actors and a stage crew pushed to the brink. Will The Rep survive this train wreck of a play? Come find out!" Performances take place at the Loretto-Hilton Center on the Webster University campus. For more information:
repstl.org
My take: As an old theatere guy myself, I'm something of a sucker for shows (like Michael Frayn's
Noises Off) that get comedy out of backstage disaster, if only because anyone who has acted for any length of time will have his or her own tales of theatrical mishap.
The Play That Goes Wrong appears to take this gentre to dizzying heights. "Farce,"
writes Steve Callahan at KDHX, "is technically the most difficult form of theater, and low farce--slapstick farce, like this one--is the most difficult kind of farce. The cast at the Rep are intensely energetic, intensely disciplined and occasionally quite athletic in portraying (and surviving) all their various injuries and embarrassments."
Held Over:
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La Cage aux Folles
Photo by Jill Ritter Lindberg |
New Line Theatre presents the musical
La Cage aux Folles Thursdays through Saturdays at 8 PM through March 23. "What happens when the son of a middle-aged gay couple brings home the daughter of an arch-conservative politician -- and her parents -- for dinner? Musical comedy ensues. Come join us on the French Riviera for a night of love, laughs, illusions and truths, and the triumph of family over bullies and bigots." 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.
My take: I have always been a great admirer of this show. Although it's over thirty years old now,
La Cage feels relevant all over again in a time when obsessive culture warriors are denouncing loving long-term relationships like that of Georges and the flamboyant Albin as an existential threat to family life when, in fact, they are an affirmation of it. Jerry Herman's score is one of his strongest, with a French pop-music flavor reminiscent of Jacques Brel or Edith Piaf. Songs like "The Best of Times", "With Anne on My Arm", and "La Cage Aux Folles" are both irresistible and unforgettable. And the book by Tony–award winning playwright Harvey Fierstein is both witty and wise. The current New Line production apparently benefits from what Lynn Venhaus
calls a "tour-de-force performance from Zachary Allen Farmer as the drag diva Zaza/Albin." Mark Bretz agrees, calling Mr. Farmer's work "triumphant."
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Nonsense and Beauty
Photo: Jerry Naunheim, Jr. |
The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis presents the St. Louis premiere of
Nonsense and Beauty through March 24. "In 1930, the writer E.M. Forster met and fell in love with a policeman 23 years his junior. Their relationship, very risky for its time, evolved into a 40-year love triangle that was both turbulent and unique. Based on a true story,
Nonsense and Beauty captures the wit and wisdom of one of the last century's great writers. This world premiere, developed as part of The Rep's 2018 Ignite! Festival of New Plays, explores the power of love and forgiveness." Performances take place in the studio theatre at the Loretto-Hilton Center on the Webster University campus. For more information:
repstl.org.
My take: As I write in
my review of the show,
Nonsense and Beauty is a fundamentally sound work that could use with some fine tuning, largely around the character of Buckingham, but it's a worthy addition to the Rep's studio season nevertheless. The cast could hardly be better and Seth Gordon's direction is spot on.
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