New This Week:
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| Dreamgirls Photo by John Lamb |
My take: I haven't seen this show since the 1997 USA tour played the Fox, so it's good to see a locally-sourced production. Stray Dog has had a pretty impressive string of hits with its musicals in recent years, and judging from the reviews, this one is keeping the streak going. "Go see Dreamgirls at Stray Dog Theatre because it sounds glorious," writes Ann Lemmons Pollack. "It's a thrilling kind of opera, with a powerful R&B heartbeat," says Richard Green at Talkin' Broadway. "Director Justin Been keeps things moving," writes Calvin Wilson at STLToday.com "with particular attention to creating stage pictures that capture the zing of showbiz life. The contributions of music director Jennifer Buchheit and choreographer Mike Hodges are first-rate, and the performances are excellent." I just hope I can still get at ticket.
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| Photograph 51 Photo by John Lamb |
My take: Although the story of Dr. Franklin's contribution to the discovery of the nature of DNA is a complex one, there seems little doubt that, she never received proper credit for her work. There is even, as Ms. Ziegler's script suggests, evidence that Watson and Crick appropriated some of her work--in particular the X-ray photograph from which the play takes its title--without proper credit. The script, in any case, is literate, witty, and filled with compelling and multi-faceted characters. Director Ellie Schwetye and her superb six-member cast do a remarkable job bringing them all to life. Nichole Angeli, in particular, does a wonderfully subtle job of revealing the many aspects of Franklin's personality and Ben Ritchie's portrayal of her inhibited and somewhat hapless co-worker Maurice Wilkins, whose sharing of Photograph 51 with Watson and Crick might have violated scientific ethics, is also a nuanced gem. There are first-rate performances as well by Will Bonfiglio and John Wolbers as Watson and Crick, Alex Fyles as the enthusiastic Don Caspar, and Ryan Lawson-Maeske as Ray Gosling, forever taken for granted by everyone. At the Riverfront Times, Paul Friswold calls this "a beautifully told story about how life flourishes and fades away, and about how death is not the end of anything really." I call it a "must see."
Held Over:
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| Popcorn Falls Photo by Todd Davis |
My take: This is one of those examples of theatrical sleight of hand, on the order of The 39 Steps or Stones in His Pockets, in which a small cast (two actors, in this case) quickly take on a wide variety of roles to tell a relatively straightforward story. Fortunately, those two actors are the very talented Joe Hanrahan and Shane Signorino. "The implausible script," writes Tina Farmer at KDHX, "offers a coterie of interesting townsfolk to recruit for help, a satisfying villain and a budding romance along with secret fears and unresolved personal truths. The actors work through each challenge in ways that are laugh out loud funny and totally entertaining." At Ladue News, Mark Bretz writes that "Hanrahan and Signorino have a grand time playing 21 parts, often successfully conveying those good feelings to the audience. It’s especially humorous to see Signorino switch identities in the quick time it takes him to walk behind an on-stage curtain and emerge as a different character with just guile and gesticulations."
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| Time Stands Still Photo by Philip Hammer |
My take: Here's a play that deals with some serious issues and, if reviews are any indication, does so very effectively. "Margulies is a superior writer," says Mark Bretz at Ladue News, "and his thought-provoking, two-act drama is currently being given a telling rendition at New Jewish Theatre...Director Doug Finlayson keeps the focus correctly on the players and while doing so brings out stellar performances." "It’s fine ensemble work, certainly," writes Ann Lemmons Pollack. "Director Doug Finlayson has created a very worthwhile group to offer a thoughtful experience for all audiences."
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