Thursday, August 22, 2019

Chuck's Choices for the weekend of August 23, 2019

The local debut of a powerful 2007 opera joins the list this week.

New This Week:

Glory Denied
Photo by Dan Donovan
Union Avenue Opera presents Glory Denied by Tom Cipullo Fridays and Saturdays at 8 PM through August 24. "America's longest-held prisoner of war dreams of coming home. But home is a place he will not recognize. Follow the gut-wrenching saga of Col. Jim Thompson as he transitions from the jungles of Southeast Asia to the tree-lined streets of suburban America. This true story explores the unimaginable bravery asked of soldiers and the nature of home itself. It is a story of a nation divided and a country that changed significantly in the decade of his imprisonment." Performances take place at the Union Avenue Christian Church, 733 Union at Enright in the Central West End. The opera is sung in English with projected English text. For more information, visit unionavenueopera.org or call 314-361-2881.

My take: As I noted in my review, Glory Denied is difficult to watch. Not because of its flaws (although it does have a few) but because of its strengths. It's hard to watch because it does such a compelling job of presenting the true story of Col. Floyd James Thompson, the Green Beret whose nine-year ordeal as a prisoner of the North Vietnamese made him the longest held prisoner of war in US history. Subjected to torture (or, as we say in this country, "enhanced interrogation") by his captors, Thompson was eventually returned to the USA, only to find both the country and his life drastically changed. Union Avenue does an exceptional job presenting this somewhat problematic work, with very impressive performances by the four-person cast.

Held Over:

Antigone
Photo by Joey Rumpell
Slightly Askew Theatre Ensemble and ERA Theatre present Antigone, adapted from the Sophocles tragedy by Lucy Cashion, Wednesdays through Saturdays at 8 pm, August 14-31. " Antigone explores themes of fidelity, citizenship, civil disobedience, and the struggles and consequences the characters within the world of the play encounter as a result of their choices. Antigone's story of fighting civic law to obey divine law became famous in the Classical Greek tragedy Antigone, which premiered in Athens in 441 B.C. Since then, scholars, poets, and playwrights have written their own translations, adaptations, and critiques of the Antigone story, each from a different point of view. The continuation of this tradition resulted in a new version of Antigone, which was performed in October 2017 by SLU theatre majors in St. Louis and then with a performance by PPA participants at WERDCC in March 2018. The collaboration now continues with this ERA/SATE co-production in St. Louis." Performances take place at The Chapel Venue, 6238 Alexander Drive. For more information: slightlyoff.org.

My take: Lucy Cashion has a well-established reputation for doing surprising and often astonishingly creative things with well-known theatrical material. Some of you will remember Moscow! her remarkable one-hour distillation of Chekov's The Three Sisters that was a hit of the St. Lou Fringe in 2015 or her Oedipus Apparatus, which completely re-shaped the playing space at West End Players Guild back in 2017. As Michelle Kenyon writes at her blog, this re-thinking of the Greek tragedy is "both convention-challenging and thought-provoking, showcasing a superb cast of local performers." On a theatre scene dominated by musicals, this show truly stands out.


Guys and Dolls
Photo by John Lamb
Stray Dog Theatre presents the Frank Loesser musical Guys and Dolls Thursdays through Saturdays at 8 pm through August 24, with additional performances at 2 pm on Sunday, August 18, and at 8 pm on Wednesday, August 24. "Guys and Dolls takes us from the heart of Depression-era Times Square, to the cafés of Havana, and into the sewers of New York City to give us what some have called the perfect musical comedy. This timeless tale follows ruthless gamblers, sexy nightclub performers, and the hot-tempered law enforcers who keep them all in line." Performances take place at The Tower Grove Abbey, 2336 Tennessee. For more information, visit straydogtheatre.org or call 314-865-1995.

My take: I love Guys and Dolls. The show is based on the short story "The Idyll of Miss Sarah Brown" by Damon Runyon, a name much more famous in 1950 than today. A sports reporter and author of magazine fiction, Runyon romanticized the gamblers, hustlers, and hookers of the Big Apple into quaint characters with rough exteriors and hearts of genuine platinum. The book, by Abe Burrows, based on a treatment by screenwriter Jo Swerling, is faithful to its origins as it tells the story of two mismatched couples. And Frank Loesser's score displays a fine craftsmanship that is getting harder to find in commercial musicals these days. I'm sorry to say I missed the Muny's production earlier this year because of travel commitments, but I saw Stray Dog's version last night. It's not perfect, but it's great fun and has been getting a lot of love from the critics. At stltoday.com, Calvin Wilson calls it "immensely entertaining...the essence of old-school cool." At KDHX, Tina Farmer says it's "a thoroughly entertaining show that captures all the excitement and romance of the popular musical in a smaller, more intimate but no less compelling setting."


A Man of No Importance
Photo by Michael Young
R-S Theatrics presents the musical A Man of No Importance Fridays and Saturdays at 8 pm and Sundays at 7 pm through August 25. "The show has music by Stephen Flaherty, lyrics by Lynn Ahrens and a book by Terrence McNally, based on the 1994 Albert Finney film, of the same title. It tells the story of an amateur theatre group in Dublin and their leader, who is determined to stage a version of Salome at his church, despite the objections of church authorities. " Performances take place at black box theatre at The Marcelle, 3310 Samuel Shepard Dr. in Grand Center. For more information: r-stheatrics.com.

My take: With a book by noted playwright Terrence McNally and a score by the team that brought you Ragtime and Once On This Island, A Man of No Importance is, as Michelle Kenyon writes at her blog, a "witty, charming and poignant show that deserves a wider audience...It's a well-constructed story with some important themes of community, self-expression, family relationships, and more, as well as an overarching tone of sheer love for the theatre. ..Go see this if you can." It's also the last show to be directed for R-S by company founder Christina Rios, who steps down from her position as head of the company at the end of the current season. It's apparently a strong finale, as Mark Bretz writes at Ladue News: "Rios and her inspired cast realize the cadence not only in their characters but in the era and locale as well. A Man of No Importance continues R-S’ tradition of presenting polished and pensive musicals such as Parade while doing so in uplifting fashion.

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