TPTBT (The Place to Be Tonight): Friday, March 29

Who: OnSite Productions
What: Childcare by Margaret Stamell
Where: Downtown Children’s Center, 607 North 22nd Street
When: Fridays at 8 PM and Saturdays at 5 and 8 PM through April 13
Why: "The play introduces us to daycare staff Roz and Joy, each dealing with financial, professional and personal issues of her own. Enter Andrew and Anita, parents desperately seeking childcare for their son Noah, who is 'totally normal…except with some differences', and the wild ride has begun." OnSite is a unique company that produces plays tailored to specific locations—usually the kind rarely associated with theatre. Previous shows, for example, have been set in such diverse locations as a bowling alley, an Italian restaurant, and a gym. For more information, visit onsitetheatre.org or call 314-686-0062.

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

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:

Ain't Misbehavin'

Stages St. Louis presents the "Fats" Waller musical Ain't Misbehavin' through Sunday. Performances take place in the Robert G. Reim Theatre at the Kirkwood Community Center, 111 South Geyer Road in Kirkwood. This lively tour of songs made popular by Thomas "Fats" Waller has always been a favorite of mine and the Stages production is apparently a good one. In her review for KDHX, Sheila Schultz says the show "overflows with rhythm and vigor." For more information, visit stagesstlouis.org or call 314-821-2407.

Un Ballo in Maschera

Union Avenue Opera presents Verdi's Un Ballo in Maschera (A Masked Ball) Fridays and Saturdays at 8 PM, June 29-July 7. Performances take place at the Union Avenue Christian Church, 733 Union at Enright in the Central West End. The opera is sung in Italian with projected English text. I won't get to see this until next weekend, but I'm singling it out because Union Avenue is almost always a company worth watching and because performances of thie work are relatively rare. For more information, visit unionavenueopera.org or call 314-361-2881.

Chicago

The Muny presents the first Muny production of the Broadway musical Chicago  through Sunday at 8:15 PM in the outdoor theatre in Forest Park. The last time the Muny put Chicago on stage was when they paid the original Broadway cast to bring the show here in the early 1970s, only to censor the words they thought were offensive, thereby making St. Louis a laughing stock and providing a hilarious story for those of us who witnessed the debacle. Apparently they have learned their lesson. In his review for 88.1 KDHX, Bob Mitchell says director and choreographer Denis Jones "does a superb job of transferring Chicago to the huge Muny stage, always keeping this bright and bubbly, while not glossing over the very human feelings of the characters." For more information, visit muny.org or call 314-361-1900.

Stray Dog Theatre presents a staged reading of the new play Dispersion by Joël Henning Doty Thursday through Saturday at 8 PM. Performances take place at The Tower Grove Abbey, 2336 Tennessee. OK, I'm being a bit self-serving here since I'm in the cast, but mine is the smallest part and the rest of the actors are really quite good. You'll recognize two of them from Stray Dog's remarkable Angels in America. Besides, new works by local authors are always something to be encouraged and you can't beat the price (free). For more information, visit straydogtheatre.org or call 314-865-1995.

Held over:

OnSite Productions presents Bowling Epiphany - The Revival! by Carter Lewis through Saturday. Performances take place at Epiphany Lanes, 3164 Ivanhoe Avenue. OnSite's mission—unique in St. Louis as far as I know—is to present site-specific theatre pieces. This set of one-acts with bowling themes is a classic example of their unusal approach to theatre. In his review for 88.1 KDHX, Robert Mitchell describes the show as "fast, funny, fluffy fun, perfect for a summer's night spent in a bowling alley!" For more information, visit onsitetheatre.org or call 314-686-0062.

Chuck's choices for the weekend of June 22, 2012

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:

OnSite Productions presents Bowling Epiphany - The Revival! by Carter Lewis through June 30. Performances take place at Epiphany Lanes, 3164 Ivanhoe Avenue. OnSite's mission—unique in St. Louis as far as I know—is to present site-specific theatre pieces. This set of one-acts with bowling themes is a classic example of their unusal approach to theatre. In his review for 88.1 KDHX, Robert Mitchell describes the show as "fast, funny, fluffy fun, perfect for a summer's night spent in a bowling alley!" For more information, visit onsitetheatre.org or call 314-686-0062.

"The Fringe is Near!"

The St. Lou Fringe Festival takes place Thursday through Sunday, June 21-24, at several venues in the Grand Center area including the Kranzberg Arts Center, the rock club Fubar, and the Nash Motor Building. Performances include traditional theater, dance, music, comedy, circus arts, performance art, magic and burlesque, with acts from St. Louis and around the country. I'll be one of a group of critics covering the festival and I have to say the variety of performers and groups is pretty impressive. All of us critical types will be naming our favorites at the Monday, June 25th, wrap-up party at Plush on Locust a block west of Compton; come on over and sit in. Fringeland opens at 3 PM on Thursday at Friday and at 10 AM on Saturday and Sunday; performances start an hour after opening and continue until around 11 PM, followed by after parties.  For a complete schedule, visit stlfringe.com.

Held over:

Kendall Gladen

Opera Theatre of St. Louis presents Bizet's Carmen in rotating repertory with three other operas through June 23. Performances take place at the Loretto-Hilton Center at 135 Edgar Road on the Webster University campus. The production is set in the 1940s, with the look of classic film noir, all the way down to the black and white costume and set designs and an opening cinematic credit sequence. The concept doesn't always work, but it succeeds often enough to be worth seeing.  Besides, you won't want to miss St. Louis's own Kendall Gladen's smoky performance in the title role and the great work by conductor Carlos Izcaray and the St. Louis Symphony musicians. For more details, check out my review for 88.1 KDHX. All performances are sung in English with projected English text, although the chorus enunciates so clearly it's rarely necessary. For more information, you may visit experienceopera.org or call 314-961-0644.

Opera Theatre of St. Louis presents Mozart's Cosi fan Tutte in rotating repertory with three other operas through June 22. 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. As I noted in my review for 88.1 KDHX, I don't think director Michael Shell has completely solved the problems posed for modern audiences by Da Ponte's casually misogynistic libretto, but at least he tries, and the cast, chorus, and orchestra are just splendid.  For more information, you may visit experienceopera.org or call 314-961-0644

New Line Theatre presents the rock musical High Fidelity Thursdays through Saturdays at 8 PM through June 21. Performances take place at the Washington University South Campus Theatre, 6501 Clayton Road. In his review for 88.1 KDHX, Robert Mitchell says "if rockin’ music with a good story is your idea of great entertainment, plan on seeing New Line’s High Fidelity." I'd add that you could hardly ask for a better cast than this one. For more information, call 314-534-1111.

Sweeney prepares Judge Turpin
for a close shave

Opera Theatre of St. Louis presents Sondheim's Sweeney Todd in rotating repertory with three other operas through June 24. Performances take place at the Loretto-Hilton Center at 135 Edgar Road on the Webster University campus. I've been waiting for many years for Opera Theatre to take a crack at this most operatic of all Sondheim's musical theatre works. Director Ron Daniels and set designer Riccardo Hernandez have made of couple of missteps (see my review for 88.1 KDHX for details) but on the whole this is the Sweeney Todd many of us have been waiting for. All performances are sung in English with projected English text. For more information, you may visit experienceopera.org or call 314-961-0644.

Nino and Yo-Yo

Circus Flora presents its brand new show, The Wizard: Merlin and the Legends of King Arthur, through June 24 under the air-conditioned, red-and-white, big top tent in Grand Center next to Powell Hall. Sadly, I'm going to miss Circus Flora this year but it past seasons (and Connie Bollinger's review for 88.1 KDHX) are any indication, there will be fun for all. For more information, visit circusflora.org.