Chuck's Choices for the weekend of November 29, 2013

As always, the choices are purely my personal opinion. Take with a grain (or a shaker) of salt.

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New this week:

Carol Schmidt

The Garden of Life Spiritual Center presents Celebrate Me Home, a contemporary holiday cabaret concert, on Sunday, December 1, at 1:30 PM. The featured singers are Michele Isam, Connie Fairchild (both formerly with popular St. Louis group Fairchild) and Tim Schall, with Carol Schmidt on piano and Rice Vice on bass. The program includes contemporary holiday favorites from the worlds of jazz, pop, and R&B, as well as instrumental selections from A Charlie Brown Christmas and Tchaikovsky's Nutcracker Suite. The Garden of Life Spiritual Center is at 9525 Eddie and Park Road in Crestwood, MO. For more information: 636-489-8472.

My take: I know and have worked with just about everybody connected with this show at one time or another. They're great singers and entertainers and the song list looks like fun: Kenny Loggins, Otis Redding, Amy Grant, John Bucchino and even some instrumental Tchaikovsky. Looks like a good way to start the holiday season to me.

Held Over:

Mustard Seed Theatre presents the a capella musical All is Calm: The Christmas Truce of 1914 through Sunday. “Join us in celebrating the power of peace in this a capella musical based on the true story of soldiers during World War I who for one night, put down their arms and played soccer instead of exchanging bullets.” Performances take place at the Fontbonne Fine Arts Theatre, 6800 Wydown Blvd. For more information, call (314) 719-8060 or visit the web site at www.mustardseedtheatre.com.

My take: The play is based on a remarkable true story of a spontaneous truce between Allied and German forces in No Man's Land during Christmas of 1914. In some areas it lasted only one night while elsewhere it lasted until New Year's Day. While it was in effect, soldiers laid down their arms, shared Christmas carols (as well as food and drink), buried each others' dead, and even played soccer. Playwright Peter Rothstein, artistic director of Theater Latté Da where the play was developed, wanted to tell the story in the words of the real soldiers who experienced it. "I created the drama," he relates, "primarily through found text including letters, official war documents, autobiographies, World War I poetry, grave stone inscriptions and even an old radio broadcast." In his review for 88.1 KDHX, Dennis Corcoran says "this complex piece of musical theatre comes off as a beautifully, simply performed tribute to a poignant moment in the horrors of war."

Chuck's Choices for the weekend of November 29, 2012

As always, the choices are purely my personal opinion. Take with a grain (or a shaker) of salt.

Share on Google+:

New this week:

The Fox Theatre presents Blue Man Group through December 2. In her review for 88.1 KDHX, Em Piro describes it as "a fun show, with just enough provocation to be culturally relevant." The Fox Theatre is at 527 North Grand in Grand Center. For more information, call 314-534-1678.

Carol Schmidt

The Garden of Life Spiritual Center presents A Jazzy Christmas Cabaret featuring vocalists Deborah Sharn and Tim Schall Sunday, December 2, at 1:30 PM. Carol Schmidt is pianist and music director for the show, which also features Ric Vice on bass. Deborah and Tim can always be counted upon for satisfying performances and Carol is one of the best cabaret music directors around in my opinion. The Garden of Life Spiritual Center is at 9525 Eddie and Park Road. Tickets are $10 (children under 12 free) and available at the door with cash or check.

HotCity Theatre presents Charles Busch's comedy The Divine Sister November 30 through December 15. "This hilariously irreverent tale tells the story of an indomitable Mother Superior (played 'in-drag') trying to cope with a young postulant experiencing 'visions', sexual hysteria among her nuns, a Da Vinci Code style mystery, and a 'well-endowed' former flame intent on luring her away from her vows." Busch's lunatic sensibility is always worth seeing, and this should be a nice antidote to all the Christmas Carol and Nutcracker performances we get around this time. Performances take place at the Kranzberg Arts Center, 501 North Grand in Grand Center. For more information, visit www.hotcitytheatre.org or call 314-289-4063.

The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis presents the comedy The Foreigner November 28-December 23. Performances take place on the main stage at the Loretto-Hlton Center, 130 Edgar Road in Webster Groves, MO. "In this wild and wacky comedy, Charlie Baker needs to get away, and his friend Froggy knows just the place - his favorite little fishing lodge in rural Georgia. To get Charlie some much needed peace, Froggy convinces the locals that his friend doesn’t understand English. But the plan backfires when all the lodge’s inhabitants start revealing deep secrets and diabolical plans in front of their quiet foreign guest." It has been a few decades since the Rep did this fast-paced and somewhat political comedy. Sadly, the satire of Southern bigotry is still relevant. For more information, call 314-968-4925 or visit repstl.org.

Union Avenue Opera presents The Mini Ring, a free “family opera” based on Wagner's Ring Cycle, on Friday, December 1, at 1 PM. The performance takes place at the Union Avenue Christian Church, 733 Union at Enright in the Central West End. Anna Russell still has the best condensed Ring ever, but I expect this would be a good way to introduce younger audiences to Wagner's complex universe. For more information, visit unionavenueopera.org or call 314-361-2881.

Held over:

Mustard Seed Theatre presents Imaginary Jesus through December 2 at the Fontbonne Fine Arts Theatre, 6800 Wydown Blvd. "This hilarious, faced-paced show follows Matt on his journey to discover the true face of Jesus. Along the way he makes friends with St. Peter, a talking donkey and a modern Magadalen; while facing down 'Magic Eight-Ball Jesus,' 'Social Justice Jesus,' 'Legalist Jesus,' and 'King James Jesus' just to name a few." In his review for 88.1 KDHX, Robert Mitchell says this "hilarious look at a young writer's spiritual quest for the perfect personification of his personal Jesus" boasts a "star-studded cast" that's "filled with some of the best, and the funniest that STL has to offer." For more information, call (314) 719-8060 or visit the web site at www.mustardseedtheatre.com.