TPTBT (The Place to Be Tonight): Sunday, February 17

Two recommendations: one for this afternoon and one for tonight.

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This afternoon:

The Missouri History Museum presents Merit, Not Sympathy, Wins: The Life and Times of Blind Boone, a lecture by Mary Collins Barile and Christine Montgomery, today at 1 PM and again on Monday, February 18, at 11 AM. “In post-Reconstruction America, John William "Blind" Boone, an illiterate, itinerant musician, overcame obstacles created by disability, exploitative managers, and racial prejudice to become one of the country’s most beloved concert performers. The story of Blind Boone is revitalized in this annotated edition of Melissa Fuell-Cuther’s out-of-print biography Blind Boone: His Life and Achievements, accompanied by essays describing the Missouri environment in which the artist lived, his place within the landscape of American music, and his achievements.”  The free event takes place in the ATT Foundation Multipurpose Room.

This evening:

Childgrove Country Dancers and The Monday Club present a Waltz Party from 7 to 10 PM. The evening consists of “a one-hour workshop followed by two hours of dancing to live music. About 2/3 of the dances are waltzes, with the others being a mix of polka, tango, schottisch, hambo or ragtime. No partner or experience is necessary. Please wear or bring soft soled shoes.” We’ve been to some of the contra dancing evenings at the club and it’s not only fun, it’s good exercise. The Monday Club is at Maple and Cedar in Webster Groves.

TPTBT (The Place to Be Tonight): Saturday, February 16

Photo Credit: Christian Steiner

Pianist Orli Shaham (pictured) and St. Louis Symphony conductor David Robertson demonstrate why they're the hardest-working couple in classical show biz with a bravura performance of Leonard Bernstein's Symphony No. 2 ("The Age of Anxiety") as part of an American Masters concert weekend. The program also features the local premiere of City Noir, John Adams's hyperchaged 2009 homage to the Los Angeles of Raymond Chandler and Chinatown (which is being recorded live for future release on Nonesuch), and a gracefully lyrical reading of Copland's Our Town suite. The concert starts at 8 PM at Powell Symphony Hall, 718 North Grand in Grand Center. The concert will be broadcast on St. Louis Public Radio at 90.7 FM, HD 1, and on via live Internet stream but, to paraphrase the orchestra's web slogan, you have to see it live. Get your tickets at stlsymphony.org.

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TPTBT (The Place to Be Tonight): Friday, February 15

Get Stupefied as Edison Theatre Ovations! Series presents Potted Potter tonight at 7:30 and 9:30 PM. “Take a madcap romp through all seven Harry Potter books in this 70-minute, unauthorized Harry experience! Storytellers Dan Clarkson and Jeff Turner created a five-minute performance for a store launch of the sixth book in the J.K. Rowley series. Those five-minutes turned into a zany condensed stage version of all seven books with endless costume changes, ridiculous props, a generous helping of Hogwarts magic and a live game of Quidditch with the audience. This fantastically funny show is a must-see for Potter addicts or anyone who's ever wondered what all the fuss is about.” Performances take place at Edison Theater on the Washington University campus. For more information, edison.wustl.edu or call 314-935-6543.

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Chuck's Choices for the weekend of February 15, 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:

HotCity Theatre presents the world premiere of Connected by Lia Romero through February 23. The play is designed to work in combination with Facebook, where profiles will be created for each of the characters as though they were real people. Audience members are invited to "friend" the characters in the weeks leading up to the show to find out more about their backstories. In his review for 88.1 KDHX, Robert Mitchell says theplay "offers a fresh and funny look at the lives of Ladue high school students and their use - and misuse - of social technology". 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 Black Rep presents The Mountaintop by Katori Hall through March 9. "April 3, 1968, Memphis. The Lorraine Motel, Room 306. where Martin Luther King Jr. spends his last night on earth." I haven't seen this yet, of course, but the topic is provocative and timely. Besides, the author is the winner of the Blackburn Prize for outstanding women playwrights and the play has earned England's Olivier Award for best play. Performances take place at the Grandel Theatre, 3610 Grandel Square. For more information, visit theblackrep.org or call 314-534-3810.

Held over:

Photo by John Lamb

The West End Players Guild continues their 102nd season with the comedy of Engaging Shaw by John Morogiello Thursday through Saturday at 8 and Sunday at 2.   "The story follows the real-life courtship of George Bernard Shaw and Charlotte Payne-Townshend, the woman he pursued until she caught him. The play brims with the wit and ego of Shaw, creating what the New York Times called 'a charming romantic comedy featuring four razor-sharp tongues. If there's a minute of the play that's less than clever, you'll be hard-pressed to find it.'" Riverfront Times reviewer Paul Friswold calls this “a persistently entertaining staging” of John Morogiello’s 2006 script. Mark Bretz in the Ladue News says it is “a captivating and clever interpretation” and that “Suki Peters is simply enchanting as Charlotte” while “Jeff Kargus and Nancy Nigh both are splendid as the Webbs.” Performances take place at the Union Avenue Christian Church, 733 North Union at Enright in the Central West End. For more information, call 314-367-0025 or visit www.westendplayers.org.

Photo by John Lamb

Stray Dog Theatre presents Charles Busch's comedy Psycho Beach Party Thursdays through Saturdays at 8 PM through February 23. There will be a matinee on the closing Saturday at 2 PM in addition to the evening show. “Comedy meets horror in this wacky, campy retro-fusion of teenage surfer flicks and slasher sagas. Set in 1962, teen tomboy Chicklet Forrest desperately wants to belong to the surfer crowd on Malibu Beach. Unfortunately her many split personalities get in the way, while her most dangerous alter ego has nothing less than world domination in mind.” In her review for 88.1 KDHX, Tina Farmer describes it as a "a spirited romp through the 'golden age' of beach and surf movies that playfully, occasionally darkly, jabs at the funny bone." Performances take place at The Tower Grove Abbey, 2336 Tennessee. For more information, visit straydogtheatre.org or call 314-865-1995.

TPTBT (The Place to Be Tonight): Thursday, February 14

Celebrate Valentine's Day the Flamenco way as The St. Louis Cultural Flamenco Society brings authentic Flamenco music to Tavern of Fine Arts tonight at 7:30 with Noche Flamenca, featuring vocalist Cristo Cortes and guitarist Ricardo Diaz. "A Gypsy, Cristo Cortes has one of the most exceptional voices in flamenco. Raw and emotional, most of his music is flamenco at its most traditional. If you want authentic flamenco sung by a singer, Cristo Cortes is your number one choice. Ricardo Diaz has performed throughout the world and has performed extensively in the U.S. and Europe with Cristo Cortes and Flamenco Sur. He has performed at Festivals in Seville, Vancouver, Albuquerque, Avignon, Grenoble and Mont de Marsan." The Tavern of Fine Arts is at 313 Belt, between Pershing and Waterman in the Debaliviere Place neighborhood. Free parking is available in the lot across the street. The Tavern features a nice wine and drinks selection along with a menu of sandwiches, flatbreads, and other goodies.

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TPTBT (The Place to Be Tonight): Wednesday, February 13

The Black Rep presents The Mountaintop by Katori Hall February 13-March 9. “April 3, 1968, Memphis. The Lorraine Motel, Room 306. where Martin Luther King Jr. spends his last night on earth.” I haven't seen this yet, of course, but the topic is provocative and timely. Besides, the author is the winner of the Blackburn Prize for outstanding women playwrights and the play has earned England's Olivier Award for best play. Performances take place at the Grandel Theatre, 3610 Grandel Square. For more information, visit theblackrep.org or call 314-534-3810.

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TPTBT (The Place to Be Tonight): Tuesday, February 12, 2013

The St. Louis Public Library presents impressionist and storyteller Dave Ehlert’s one-man show Abe Lincoln, Mark Twain, and the Civil War today at 6:30 PM. The free performance takes place in the auditorium of the Central Branch at 1301 Olive downtown. If you haven't already done so, this is a great opportunity to check out the nicely restored Main Branch of the library and appreciate the cool new auditorium in what was once the coal bin. For more information: slpl.org

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Soirée de Vienne

Radu Lupu
Photo by Mary Roberts

Who: The St. Louis Symphony Orchestra conducted by David Robertson with pianist Radu Lupu
What: Music of Johann Strauss, Jr.; Beethoven; and Brahms
Where: Powell Symphony Hall
When: February 8-10, 2013

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Radu Lupu plays a genial and low-key Beethoven 4th piano concerto and David Robertson leads the orchestra in a lush Brahms “Symphony No. 2”, and it all starts with a Gemütlichkeit-filled cruise down the “Beautiful Blue Danube” of Johann Strauss, Jr. It must be another first-class evening with the St. Louis Symphony.

There was a goodly crowd at Powell Hall Friday night. The program was a solid one of Viennese classics, Maestro David Robertson was back on the podium, and the guest artist was a pianist well known to lovers of the classics, with substantial honors and a long recorded legacy. They were rewarded with a wonderfully polished evening, highlighted by that Beethoven concerto.

As Paul Schiavo points out in his program notes, the 4th concerto was not a success in Beethoven’s lifetime. It was premiered in 1808 at an absurdly long concert in a poorly heated theater with an under-rehearsed orchestra and the notoriously spiky composer at the piano. Add the fact that it’s less showy and more lyrical than Beethoven’s other concerti and you can see why the work went unappreciated until Mendelssohn revived it nearly a decade after Beethoven’s death.

Today, of course, it’s recognized as the masterpiece it is. It has always been a favorite of mine, certainly. The integration of the solo part with the orchestra is really quite seamless and the balance between light and dark couldn’t be better. The Andante con moto second movement, in particular, has always struck me as particularly dramatic, with the piano’s chorale-like melody pitted against the martial declamations from the strings.

Mr. Lupu’s performance was remarkable on multiple levels. His playing, to begin with, had that seemingly effortless grace that you find in (for example) the dancing of Fred Astaire. You know it’s darned difficult but it certainly doesn’t look that way. The keyboard just seemed to be a natural extension of his fingers. He also looked at the orchestra more than some soloists do, in my experience, even when he was playing. Soloists always have to listen carefully, of course, but Mr. Lupu seemed very sincerely engaged with his fellow musicians. He and Mr. Robertson were clearly very much in synch with each other as well, with predictably happy results.

Equally happy were the results of Mr. Robertson’s approach to Brahms’s “Symphony No. 2”, which closed the program. Brahms’s psychological state at the time of the symphony’s composition was reportedly quite happy and it was widely regarded as the most tranquil of the Brahms symphonies. Some writers have gone so far as to compare it to Beethoven’s “Pastorale.” Brahms himself, on the other hand, told his publisher “I have never written anything so sad, and the score must come out in mourning” (although he may have had tongue firmly in cheek at the time).

The reality is that, to continue with the pastoral imagery, the 2nd presents a dramatic balance of clouds and sun. The lyrical first movement, the dark and dramatic second, the lilting third, and the ultimately blazing finale all add up to an irresistible 45 minutes or thereabouts of music.

Mr. Robertson and the musicians brought all of Brahms’s colors to vivid life. Mr. Robertson gave us a beautifully shaped, fully integrated reading that allowed the individual character of each movement to come through while still maintaining a through-line that led inevitably to the joyous final pages of the score.

Orchestral playing was at its usual high level here and, indeed, throughout the evening. There’s a great deal of lovely writing for the horns in the 2nd, for example, and principal Roger Kaza and fellow players Julia Erdmann, Tod Bowermaster, and Larry Strieby did it up proud. All the sections were in fine form, though.

The concert opened with a somewhat leisurely but nonetheless gratifying performance of Strauss’s ever-popular “An der schönen blauen Donau” (“On the Beautiful Blue Danube”). I’m happy to say I only occasionally had flashback images of a rotating space station.

Next on the regular calendar: David Robertson conducts an American program featuring music from Copland’s score for the film “Our Town,” John Adams’s “City Noir” (which the orchestra is recording for Nonesuch), and Bernstein’s “Age of Anxiety” symphony with Orli Shaham at the piano. Performances are Friday at 10:30 AM and Saturday at 8 PM, February 15 and 16. For ticket information: stlsymphony.org

St. Louis theatre calendar for the week of February 11, 2013

Updated Friday, February 15

[Looking for auditions and other artistic opportunities? Check out the St. Louis Auditions site.]

For information on events beyond this week, check out the searchable database at the Regional Arts Commission's ArtsZipper site.

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ANNNONYArts presents 3 Row Poles to Enlightenment and Zilch Thursday through Saturday, February 14-16, at 8 PM and Friday and Saturday, February 22 and 23, at 8 PM. “3 Row Poles to Enlightenment, a performance/opera, was created by performance artist Tom Brady and is performed by himself and Monica Newsam. In Zilch, Beckah Reed, Monica Newsam and Tom Brady each bring decades of accomplishment, to speak about the liberation of spirit in the face of political and personal injustice.” Performances take place at ANNONYArts, 3003 Locust. For more information: annonyarts.org.

KTK Productions presents the comedy The Best of KTK Cabaret Fridays and Saturdays at 8 PM and Sundays at 2 PM, February 15-24. Performances take place at Southampton Presbyterian Church, 4716 Macklind. For more information, call 314-351-8984.

The Pub Theater Company presents Bye Bye Liver: The St. Louis Drinking Play, a comedic romp through the joys and pitfalls of The Gateway to the West's favorite pastime. Performances take place on Saturdays at 9 PM at Maggie O'Brien's, 2000 Market Street. For more information, you may call 314-827-4185, email stlouis at byebyeliver.com, or visit byebyeliver.com/stlouis.

HotCity Theatre presents the world premiere of Connected by Lia Romero through February 23. The play is designed to work in combination with Facebook, where profiles will be created for each of the characters as though they were real people. Audience members are invited to “friend” the characters in the weeks leading up to the show to find out more about their backstories. 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. Read the 88.1 KDHX review!

Photo by John Lamb

The West End Players Guild continues their 102nd season with the comedy of Engaging Shaw by John Morogiello Thursday through Saturday at 8 PM and Sunday at 2 PM. “The story follows the real-life courtship of George Bernard Shaw and Charlotte Payne-Townshend, the woman he pursued until she caught him. The play brims with the wit and ego of Shaw, creating what the New York Times called 'a charming romantic comedy featuring four razor-sharp tongues. If there's a minute of the play that's less than clever, you'll be hard-pressed to find it.'“ Performances take place at the Union Avenue Christian Church, 733 North Union at Enright in the Central West End. For more information, call 314-367-0025 or visit www.westendplayers.org.

Act II Community Theater presents the musical Forever Plaid Fridas and Saturday at 8 PM and Sunday at 2 PM. Performances take place at 1 St Peters Centre Blvd, St. Peters, MO. For more information, visit www.act2theater.com, call 636-336-0034 or email info at act2theater.com.

The Touhill Performing Arts Center presents The Improv Shop on Wednesday, February 13, at 7:30 PM. “This hilarious, Chicago-style improv will feature the Armando format - a celebrity (TBA) tells a story based on audience suggestion and the troupe then builds an original, full-length improvisational play based on the story. St. Louis' own Improv Shop is known for creating dynamic, rolling-in-the aisles comedy improv.” The Touhill Performing Arts Center in on the University of Missouri-St. Louis campus. For more information, you may visit www.touhill.org or call (314) 516-4949.

The St. Louis Family Theatre Series presents Miss Nelson Is Missing -- The Musical Friday through Sunday, February 15-17. Performances take place at the Florissant Civic Center Theatre at Parker and Waterford in Florissant, MO. For more information, call 314-921-5678 or visit www.florissantmo.com.

The Black Rep presents The Mountaintop by Katori Hall February 13-March 9. “April 3, 1968, Memphis. The Lorraine Motel, Room 306. where Martin Luther King Jr. spends his last night on earth.” Performances take place at the Grandel Theatre, 3610 Grandel Square. For more information, visit theblackrep.org or call 314-534-3810.

The Lemp Mansion Comedy-Mystery Dinner Theater presents Murder in Mayberry through April 27. The Lemp Mansion is at 3322 DeMenil Place. For more information: lempmansion.com

The Bissell Mansion Murder Mystery Dinner Theatre presents Nursery Crimes through April 30th. The Bissell Mansion is at 4426 Randall Place. For more information: bissellmansiontheatre.com

Washington University Performing Arts Department presents Oedipus at Colonus Thursday through Saturday at 8 PM and Sunday at 2 PM, February 14-17. Performances take place in the Studio Theatre in the Mallinckrodt Center on the Washington University campus. For more information, call (314) 935-5858.

St. Louis Community College at Florissant Valley Theater Department presents On Golden Pond February 15-23. Performances take place in the Fisher Theatre on the campus at 3400 Pershall Road. For more information, call 314-644-5522.

Edison Theatre Ovations! Series presents Potted Potter on Friday, February 15, at 7:30 and 9:30 PM. “Take a madcap romp through all seven Harry Potter books in this 70-minute, unauthorized Harry experience! Storytellers Dan Clarkson and Jeff Turner created a five-minute performance for a store launch of the sixth book in the J.K. Rowley series. Those five-minutes turned into a zany condensed stage version of all seven books with endless costume changes, ridiculous props, a generous helping of Hogwarts magic and a live game of Quidditch with the audience. This fantastically funny show is a must-see for Potter addicts or anyone who's ever wondered what all the fuss is about.” Performances take place at Edison Theater on the Washington University campus. For more information, edison.wustl.edu or call 314-935-6543.

Clinton County Showcase presents the musical The Producers through February 17. Performances take place at the Avon Theater, 525 North 2nd Street Breese IL. For more information, visit ccshowcase.com.

Photo by John Lamb

Stray Dog Theatre presents Charles Busch's comedy Psycho Beach Party Thursdays through Saturdays at 8 PM through February 23. There will be a matinee on the closing Saturday at 2 PM in addition to the evening show. “Comedy meets horror in this wacky, campy retro-fusion of teenage surfer flicks and slasher sagas. Set in 1962, teen tomboy Chicklet Forrest desperately wants to belong to the surfer crowd on Malibu Beach. Unfortunately her many split personalities get in the way, while her most dangerous alter ego has nothing less than world domination in mind.” Performances take place at The Tower Grove Abbey, 2336 Tennessee. For more information, visit straydogtheatre.org or call 314-865-1995. Read the 88.1 KDHX review!

©Photo by Lon Brauer.

The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis presents Sense and Sensibility, based on the Jane Austen novel, through March 3. “When their father's death leaves two sisters with uncertain prospects, they must navigate the unpredictable seas of courtship with only their hearts to guide them. The course of true love winds through flirtation, folly, scandals and secrets as reserved, sensible Elinor and romantic, impulsive Marianne attempt to find their way in the world. This lovely, intimate adaptation of Jane Austen's first novel is a charming journey through hope and heartbreak as two young ladies find that when sense and sensibility meet, love can't be far behind.” Performances take place at the Loretto-Hlton Center, 130 Edgar Road in Webster Groves, MO. For more information, call 314-968-4925 or visit repstl.org.
Read the 88.1 KDHX review!

Photo by John Lamb

New Jewish Theater presents David Mamet's Speed-the-Plow through February 24. “Revived on Broadway in 2008, this Tony nominated play by David Mamet (out nation's foremost master of the language of moral epilepsy) is a hilarious and chilling satire of Hollywood and a culture as corrupt as the society it claims to reflect. The acid-etched portrait of greedy, foul-mouthed Hollywood players follows Bobby Gould, the newly appointed Head of Production at a major studio as he struggles to understand the contest and morality of life.” Performances take place in the Marvin and Harlene Wool Studio Theater at the Jewish Community Center, 2 Millstone Campus Drive in Creve Coeur. For more information: www.newjewishtheatre.org or call 314-442-3283. Read the 88.1 KDHX review!

St. Louis Community College at Meramec Theatre Department presents Stephen Peirick's comedy Wake Up, Cameron Dobbs Thursday through Sunday, February 14-17. Performances take place in the theatre on the campus at 11333 Big Bend Road. For more information, call 314-984-7500.

The Monroe Actors Stage Company presents Welfarewell by Cat Delaney through February 17 in the Historic Capitol Theatre in downtown Waterloo, Illinois. For more information, visit www.masctheatre.org or call 618 939 7469.

The Presenters Dolan present Ralph Kalish in Winning History - The Branch Rickey Story, a one-act play written by Ralph Kalish and directed by Bobby Miller, Fridays and Saturdays at 8 and Sundays at 7 PM, February 15-24, at The Gaslight Theatre, 358 North Boyle in the Central West End. For more information, call 314-725-4200 stn. 10 or visit licketytix.com.

Would you like to be on the radio? KDHX, 88.1 FM needs theatre reviewers. If you're 18 years or older, knowledgeable in this area, have practical theatre experience (acting, directing, writing, technical design, etc.), have good oral and written communications skills and would like to become one of our volunteer reviewers, send an email describing your experience and interests to chuck at kdhx.org. Please include a sample review of something you've seen recently.

TPTBT (The Place to Be Tonight): Sunday, February 10, 2013

Actually two places: one for this afternoon and one for this evening.

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This afternoon:
Winter Opera St. Louis presents Douglas Moore's The Ballad of Baby Doe  at 3 PM. This remarkable American opera enjoyed quite a vogue back in the 1960s when Beverly Sills made the title role something of a signature piece. I haven't seen it for decades, so I'm looking forward to this production. Performances take place at The Skip Viragh Center for the Arts at Chaminade College Preparatory School, 425 S. Lindbergh. For more information, visit winteroperastl.org.


This evening:

Photo by John Lamb

New Jewish Theater presents David Mamet's Speed-the-Plow through February 24 (today's shows are at 2 and 7:30 PM. “Revived on Broadway in 2008, this Tony nominated play by David Mamet (out nation's foremost master of the language of moral epilepsy) is a hilarious and chilling satire of Hollywood and a culture as corrupt as the society it claims to reflect. The acid-etched portrait of greedy, foul-mouthed Hollywood players follows Bobby Gould, the newly appointed Head of Production at a major studio as he struggles to understand the contest and morality of life.” Say what you will about Mamet, he wrote some pretty snappy dialog before he became just another resentful old white guy.  Performances take place in the Marvin and Harlene Wool Studio Theater at the Jewish Community Center, 2 Millstone Campus Drive in Creve Coeur. For more information: www.newjewishtheatre.org or call 314-442-3283.

TPTBT (The Place to Be Tonight): February 9, 2013

Radu Lupu plays a genial and low-key Beethoven 4th piano concerto with a seemingly effortless grace (like Fred Astaire, he makes virtuosity look easy), David Robertson leads the orchestra in a lush Brahms Symphony No. 2, and it all starts with a Gemütlichkeit-filled cruise down the Beautiful Blue Danube of Johann Strauss Jr. It must be another first-class evening with the St. Louis Symphony.  The concert starts at 8 PM Saturday and repeats Sunday at 3 PM at Powell Symphony Hall, 718 North Grand in Grand Center.  See my review for 88.1 KDHX and get your tickets at stlsymphony.org.

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Chuck's Choices for the weekend of February 8, 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:

Winter Opera St. Louis presents Douglas Moore's The Ballad of Baby Doe Friday at 8 PM and Sunday at 3 PM, February 8 and 10. This remarkable American opera enjoyed quite a vogue back in the 1960s when Beverly Sills made the title role something of a signature piece. I haven't seen it for decades, so I'm looking forward to this production. Performances take place at The Skip Viragh Center for the Arts at Chaminade College Preparatory School, 425 S. Lindbergh. For more information, visit winteroperastl.org.

Photo by John Lamb

The West End Players Guild continues their 102nd season with the comedy of Engaging Shaw by John Morogiello Fridays and Saturdays at 8 PM and Sundays at 2 PM, February 8-17. There will also be a show on Thursday, February 14, at 8 PM. “The story follows the real-life courtship of George Bernard Shaw and Charlotte Payne-Townshend, the woman he pursued until she caught him. The play brims with the wit and ego of Shaw, creating what the New York Times called 'a charming romantic comedy featuring four razor-sharp tongues. If there's a minute of the play that's less than clever, you'll be hard-pressed to find it.'“ I did the sound design for this one, so I've read the script and can attest to the fact that Morogiello has done a nice job of writing a Shavian comedy about Shaw, which is a neat trick. Performances take place at the Union Avenue Christian Church, 733 North Union at Enright in the Central West End. For more information, call 314-367-0025 or visit www.westendplayers.org.

The Tavern of Fine Arts presents soprano Christine Johnson in Fyne Ayres, an evening of 16th and 17th century songs, with Jeffrey Noonan on lute and theorbo, on Saturday, February 9, at 8 PM. Mr. Noonan is one of the finest lutenists around and Ms. Johnson has both an impressive vocal instrument and a good sense of theatre, which is essential for this music. The Tavern of Fine Arts is at 313 Belt at Waterman in the Central West End. There's free parking in the lot across the street. For more information, visit tavern-of-fine-arts.blogspot.com or call 314-367-7549.

Photo by John Lamb

Stray Dog Theatre presents Charles Busch's comedy Psycho Beach Party Thursdays through Saturdays at 8 PM, February 7-23. There will be a matinee on the closing Saturday at 2 PM in addition to the evening show. “Comedy meets horror in this wacky, campy retro-fusion of teenage surfer flicks and slasher sagas. Set in 1962, teen tomboy Chicklet Forrest desperately wants to belong to the surfer crowd on Malibu Beach. Unfortunately her many split personalities get in the way, while her most dangerous alter ego has nothing less than world domination in mind.” Advance word is that this is a pretty hilarious production. Performances take place at The Tower Grove Abbey, 2336 Tennessee. For more information, visit straydogtheatre.org or call 314-865-1995.

Held over:

The Duck Variations

Mustard Seed Theatre presents Christopher Durang's Mrs. Sorken and David Manet's The Duck Variations through February 10 at the Fontbonne Fine Arts Theatre, 6800 Wydown Blvd. “These two one-act plays are comic explorations of the meaning of theatre, the challenges of aging, and the importance of friendship.” In her review for 88.1 KDHX, Tina Farmer says the "engaging cast, complemented by an appropriately nondescript set and technical design, are seasoned veterans who inhabit their characters with a light, cheery touch and deft sense of timing." For more information, call (314) 719-8060 or visit the web site at www.mustardseedtheatre.com.

The Fox Theatre presents the musical Priscilla, Queen Of The Desert through February 10. "This OUTRAGEOUSLY fun show tells the uplifting story of a trio of friends, on a road trip of a lifetime, who hop aboard a battered old bus searching for love and friendship in the middle of the Australian outback and end up finding more than they could ever have dreamed." This is pretty lightweight stuff but, as I note in my review for 88.1 KDHX, "it’s so openly and cheerfully tacky and so stuffed with lavish, precisely executed dance numbers that only a dedicated curmudgeon could fail to smile at it." The Fox Theatre is at 527 North Grand in Grand Center. For more information: fabulousfox.com.

TPTBT (The Place to Be Tonight): February 8, 2013

Photo by John Lamb

The West End Players Guild continues their 102nd season with the comedy of Engaging Shaw by John Morogiello Fridays and Saturdays at 8 PM and Sundays at 2 PM, February 8-17. There will also be a show on Thursday, February 14, at 8 PM. “The story follows the real-life courtship of George Bernard Shaw and Charlotte Payne-Townshend, the woman he pursued until she caught him. The play brims with the wit and ego of Shaw, creating what the New York Times called 'a charming romantic comedy featuring four razor-sharp tongues. If there's a minute of the play that's less than clever, you'll be hard-pressed to find it.'“ Full disclosure: I did the sound design for this one, but I'd be looking forward to it regardless.  Performances take place at the Union Avenue Christian Church, 733 North Union at Enright in the Central West End. For more information, call 314-367-0025 or visit www.westendplayers.org.

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TPTBT (The Place to be Tonight): February 7, 2013

Kirsten’s Open Cabaret Thursday presents Love Songs tonight from 9 to 11 PM at Meyer’s Grove, 4510 Manchester in The Grove. It's an open mic but singers (including yours truly) had to sign up in advance so it'll be a little less wild and wooly than your average open mic night.  Come one down and celebrate Valentine's Day in advance.

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Swan Song

Photo: Vanessa Briceno

Who: The St. Louis Symphony Orchestra conducted by Hannu Lintu with pianist Conrad Tao
What: Music of Sibelius and Prokofiev
Where: Powell Symphony Hall, St. Louis
When: February 1 and 2, 2013

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It’s every orchestra manager’s nightmare: just a few days before the scheduled performance of a virtuoso showpiece the soloist gets sick and a replacement must be found. And not just any replacement; it has to be someone who knows the piece and has the chops to pull it off.

If there were any nightmares around Powell Hall earlier this week when scheduled pianist Markus Groh fell ill, they have surely turned into sweet dreams now that his replacement, 18-year-old prodigy Conrad Tao, has delivered a bang-up performance of Prokofiev’s Piano Concerto No. 3. This is the music of youth—Prokofiev was only a few years older than Mr. Tao when he started writing it—with ample wit, nose-thumbing cheer, and some ridiculously difficult writing for the soloist, especially in the final movement. Mr. Tao and guest conductor Hannu Lintu did full justice to the vital energy of Prokofiev’s score and were rewarded with spontaneous applause after the first movement and a thunderous ovation after the last.

But Mr. Tao wasn’t finished. After multiple bows, he returned with an encore: Liszt’s equally thorny Hungarian Rhapsody No. 6, delivered all the fire one could wish for. This was Mr. Tao’s debut with the orchestra and it could not have gone better. He’s a tremendously talented young man (and a fellow Midwesterner, hailing from Urbana, Illinois) at the beginning of what looks like a very promising career.

The orchestra was in excellent form as well. Scott Andrews gets a nod for his fine clarinet solo in the first movement, of course, but fine playing was the order of the day everywhere.

Bracketing the Prokofiev was a pair of deeply felt performances of music of Mr. Lintu’s countryman, Jean Sibelius.

The concert opened with a Finlandia that was one of the most powerful I’ve ever seen, with slow but majestic treatment of the famous “Finlandia Hymn” (now one of Finland’s most popular national songs) and an expansive finale. In this, as in the Sibelius Symphony No. 5 (the 1919 revised version) that closed the program, Mr. Lintu was a commanding and visually compelling figure on the podium. His big gestures were striking—at one point in Finlandia, for example, he held the baton with both hands and swept it down from overhead to signal a Really Dramatic Moment. But he also coaxed delicate sounds with a minimum of physical display. His interpretations were, in short, a nearly ideal mixture of romantic intensity and intellectual control—fire combined with ice.

Sibelius’s 5th symphony is a combination of fire and ice as well. It covers a vast range of emotional territory, from the first movement’s unearthly bassoon lament (beautifully played by Principal Andrew Cuneo) over ghostly ppp strings to the grand sweep in the final movement of the “swan theme”—so called because Sibelius wrote it after witnessing a flight of sixteen swans, which he described as “one of the greatest experiences of my life… Nature’s mystery and life’s melancholy.”

From 1892 until his death in 1957, Sibelius lived and worked in a home made entirely of wood (he didn’t want to hear the sound of rain in metal gutters) on Lake Tuusula in the Finnish forest, where he often went for long walks. The love of nature informs every bar of the 5th. It’s impossible to hear this music and not conjure up images of pines, snow, and brisk northern winds.

Mr. Lintu and the orchestra brought out all of the mystery and wildness in this remarkable score. The opening of the first movement sounded a little bit scrappy in places on Friday night, but the finale, with that sweeping final statement of the swan theme and those final six chords separated by just enough silence, had all the power and majesty you’d want. It was, altogether, a potent experience.

Mr. Lintu last conducted the orchestra in November of 2012. Let’s hope he returns to us again soon.

Next on the calendar: David Robertson returns to the podium to conduct Strauss’s On the Beautiful Blue Danube, Brahms’s Symphony No. 2, and Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 4. Radu Lupu is the soloist. Performances are Friday and Saturday at 8 and Sunday at 3, February 7-9. For ticket information: stlsymphony.org.

St. Louis theatre calendar for the week of February 4, 2013

[Looking for auditions and other artistic opportunities? Check out the St. Louis Auditions site.]

For information on events beyond this week, check out the searchable database at the Regional Arts Commission's ArtsZipper site.

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Winter Opera St. Louis presents Douglas Moore's The Ballad of Baby Doe Friday at 8 PM and Sunday at 3 PM, February 8 and 10. Performances take place at The Skip Viragh Center for the Arts at Chaminade College Preparatory School, 425 S. Lindbergh. For more information, visit winteroperastl.org.

The Pub Theater Company presents Bye Bye Liver: The St. Louis Drinking Play, a comedic romp through the joys and pitfalls of The Gateway to the West's favorite pastime. Performances take place on Saturdays at 9 PM at Maggie O'Brien's, 2000 Market Street. For more information, you may call 314-827-4185, email stlouis at byebyeliver.com, or visit byebyeliver.com/stlouis.

HotCity Theatre presents the world premiere of Connected by Lia Romero February 8 through 23. The play is designed to work in combination with Facebook, where profiles will be created for each of the characters as though they were real people. Audience members are invited to “friend” the characters in the weeks leading up to the show to find out more about their backstories. 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.

Piwacket Theatre for Children presents Duckugly on February 7-March 9 at the Regional Arts Commission on Delmar. For more information: www.piwacket.com.

Photo by John Lamb

The West End Players Guild continues their 102nd season with the comedy of Engaging Shaw by John Morogiello Fridays and Saturdays at 8 PM and Sundays at 2 PM, February 8-17. There will also be a show on Thursday, February 14, at 8 PM. “The story follows the real-life courtship of George Bernard Shaw and Charlotte Payne-Townshend, the woman he pursued until she caught him. The play brims with the wit and ego of Shaw, creating what the New York Times called 'a charming romantic comedy featuring four razor-sharp tongues. If there's a minute of the play that's less than clever, you'll be hard-pressed to find it.'“ Performances take place at the Union Avenue Christian Church, 733 North Union at Enright in the Central West End. For more information, call 314-367-0025 or visit www.westendplayers.org.

The Tavern of Fine Arts presents soprano Christine Johnson in Fyne Ayres, an evening of 16th and 17th century songs, with Jeffrey Noonan on lute and theorbo, on Saturday, February 9, at 8 PM. The Tavern of Fine Arts is at 313 Belt at Waterman in the Central West End. There's free parking in the lot across the street. For more information, visit tavern-of-fine-arts.blogspot.com or call 314-367-7549.

Act II Community Theater presents the musical Forever Plaid Fridays and Saturdays at 8 PM and Sundays at 2 PM, February 8-17. Performances take place at 1 St Peters Centre Blvd, St. Peters, MO. For more information, visit www.act2theater.com, call 636-336-0034 or email info at act2theater.com.

The Duck Variations

Mustard Seed Theatre presents Christopher Durang's Mrs. Sorken and David Manet's The Duck Variations through February 10 at the Fontbonne Fine Arts Theatre, 6800 Wydown Blvd. “These two one-act plays are comic explorations of the meaning of theatre, the challenges of aging, and the importance of friendship.” For more information, call (314) 719-8060 or visit the web site at www.mustardseedtheatre.com. Read the 88.1 KDHX review!

The Lemp Mansion Comedy-Mystery Dinner Theater presents Murder in Mayberry through April 27. The Lemp Mansion is at 3322 DeMenil Place. For more information: lempmansion.com

The Bissell Mansion Murder Mystery Dinner Theatre presents Nursery Crimes through April 30th. The Bissell Mansion is at 4426 Randall Place. For more information: bissellmansiontheatre.com

The Fox Theatre presents the musical Priscilla, Queen Of The Desert through February 10. "This OUTRAGEOUSLY fun show tells the uplifting story of a trio of friends, on a road trip of a lifetime, who hop aboard a battered old bus searching for love and friendship in the middle of the Australian outback and end up finding more than they could ever have dreamed." The Fox Theatre is at 527 North Grand in Grand Center. For more information: fabulousfox.com. Read the 88.1 KDHX review!

Clinton County Showcase presents the musical The Producers February 8-17. Performances take place at the Avon Theater, 525 North 2nd Street Breese IL. For more information, visit ccshowcase.com.

Photo by John Lamb

Stray Dog Theatre presents Charles Busch's comedy Psycho Beach Party Thursdays through Saturdays at 8 PM, February 7-23. There will be a matinee on the closing Saturday at 2 PM in addition to the evening show. “Comedy meets horror in this wacky, campy retro-fusion of teenage surfer flicks and slasher sagas. Set in 1962, teen tomboy Chicklet Forrest desperately wants to belong to the surfer crowd on Malibu Beach. Unfortunately her many split personalities get in the way, while her most dangerous alter ego has nothing less than world domination in mind.” Performances take place at The Tower Grove Abbey, 2336 Tennessee. For more information, visit straydogtheatre.org or call 314-865-1995.

Summerstage presents the comedy The Red Velvet Cake War February 8 and 9. Performances take place at 1350 27th St. in Granite City, IL. For more information, call (618) 451-1032.

©Photo by Lon Brauer.

The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis presents Sense and Sensibility, based on the Jane Austen novel, February 6 through March 3. “When their father's death leaves two sisters with uncertain prospects, they must navigate the unpredictable seas of courtship with only their hearts to guide them. The course of true love winds through flirtation, folly, scandals and secrets as reserved, sensible Elinor and romantic, impulsive Marianne attempt to find their way in the world. This lovely, intimate adaptation of Jane Austen's first novel is a charming journey through hope and heartbreak as two young ladies find that when sense and sensibility meet, love can't be far behind.” Performances take place at the Loretto-Hlton Center, 130 Edgar Road in Webster Groves, MO. For more information, call 314-968-4925 or visit repstl.org.

Photo by John Lamb

New Jewish Theater presents David Mamet's Speed-the-Plow February 7-24. “Revived on Broadway in 2008, this Tony nominated play by David Mamet (out nation's foremost master of the language of moral epilepsy) is a hilarious and chilling satire of Hollywood and a culture as corrupt as the society it claims to reflect. The acid-etched portrait of greedy, foul-mouthed Hollywood players follows Bobby Gould, the newly appointed Head of Production at a major studio as he struggles to understand the contest and morality of life.” Performances take place in the Marvin and Harlene Wool Studio Theater at the Jewish Community Center, 2 Millstone Campus Drive in Creve Coeur. For more information: www.newjewishtheatre.org or call 314-442-3283.

Dramatic License Productions presents A Valentine Cabaret Friday through Sunday, February 8-10. “Our popular annual tribute to romance opens the 2013 season with singer, impressionist and actor, Dean Christopher and his combo performing love songs from Broadway and beyond with a little "Rat Pack" thrown in.” Performances take place at Dramatic License Theatre located at the upper level of Chesterfield Mall (near Sears and across from Houlihan's Restaurant). For more information, call 636-220-7012 or visit dramaticlicenseproductions.com.

Lindenwood University presents Arthur Miller's A View From the Bridge February 7-9. Performances take place in the Emerson Black Box Theatre at the J. Scheidegger Center for the Arts on the Lindenwood campus in St. Charles, MO. For more information, call 636-949-4433 or visit lindenwood.edu/center.

The Monroe Actors Stage Company presents Welfarewell by Cat Delaney February 8-17 in the Historic Capitol Theatre in downtown Waterloo, Illinois. For more information, visit www.masctheatre.org or call 618 939 7469.

Would you like to be on the radio? KDHX, 88.1 FM needs theatre reviewers. If you're 18 years or older, knowledgeable in this area, have practical theatre experience (acting, directing, writing, technical design, etc.), have good oral and written communications skills and would like to become one of our volunteer reviewers, send an email describing your experience and interests to chuck at kdhx.org. Please include a sample review of something you've seen recently.

The Big 'Pictures'

A costume sketch of canary chicks
by Victor Hartmann for the ballet Trilby

Who: The St. Louis Symphony Orchestra conducted by Gilbert Varga with pianist Peter Serkin
What: Music of Glinka, Bartók, and Mussorgsky/Ravel
Where: Powell Symphony Hall, St. Louis
When: January 25-27, 2013

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In his program notes for these concerts, Paul Schiavo suggests that the theme running through all three works is the way in which they strongly suggest visual images to the listener. Let me suggest an additional one: all three composers represented here—Glinka, Bartók, and Mussorgsky—drew heavily on folk traditions in their respective cultures. One way or another, they were all proponents of musical nationalism

Bela Bartók is perhaps the most obvious example. He collected and studied folk music both in his native Hungary and later in Turkey. Indeed, he was known primarily as an ethnomusicologist and teacher in the USA when he arrived here in 1940 as a penniless immigrant, fleeing his Nazi-occupied homeland.

The melodic and rhythmic elements of the folk music in which he steeped himself became part of his compositional vocabulary and can be heard strongly in the Piano Concerto No. 3, which he wrote in New York during 1945, the final year of his life. Lively dance-like elements and complex rhythms, for example, dominate both the opening and closing movements, while the “Adagio religioso” that separates them is classic Bartók “night music”, with emotionally intense chorales flanking a middle section that evokes the nocturnal sounds of nature.

Guest conductor Gilbert Varga and pianist Peter Serkin (son of the great Rudolph Serkin) gave us a beautiful performance of the concerto Friday night. Mr. Serkin’s concentration was fierce. His performance of the “Adagio” was deeply felt, and his playing in the concluding “Allegro vivace” rondo was volcanic in its intensity. Mr. Varga and the orchestra supported him in fine style.

When Mr. Varga conducted the orchestra back in the summer of 2010, I noted that he “worked the podium with the cheerfully physical intensity of someone who truly loves both his music and his musicians.” I saw that same happy engagement Friday night. His gestures were large but precise and his interpretations were marked by carefully shaped phrases and a wide range of tempi and dynamics.

This was most apparent in his approach to Maurice Ravel’s orchestration of Pictures at an Exhibition, Modest Mussorgsky’s 1874 memorial tribute to his friend the Russian artist and architect Victor Hartmann. Many arrangers have had a go at this piano suite but Ravel’s version, produced in response to a 1922 commission from the noted conductor Serge Koussevitsky, remains the most popular. Conducting without a score, Mr. Varga gave it a widescreen Technicolor Dolby 7.1 THX treatment, full of big (but nevertheless precise) gestures, marked contrasts, and high drama.

“Gnomus” was particularly menacing, “The Market at Limoges” notably raucous, “The Ballet of the Chicks in Their Shells” wonderfully cartoonish, and the “Catacombs” most ominous. I think “The Great Gate at Kiev” might have had more impact with fewer pauses, but the final bars were appropriately grandiose and the audience loved it.

They also loved the many fine solo performances. Ravel’s orchestration is filled with opportunities for individual players to show off their skills, and the symphony musicians made the most of them. Some of the many notable solo breaks included saxophonist Nathan Nabb‘s melancholy voice of the troubadour in “The Old Castle,” Principal Trombone Tim Meyers on French C tuba in the lumbering “Bydlo,” guest trumpeter Andrew Balio (Principal Trumpet for the Baltimore Symphony) in the opening “Promenade,” the entire woodwind section in the “The Ballet of the Chicks in Their Shells,” and the entire brass section throughout. I apologize to those I left out; everyone sounded terrific.

You can see a gallery of the surviving Hartmann pictures that inspired Mussorgsky at Wikipedia. The symphony, for its part, displayed art in the Powell Hall lobby inspired by Pictures and other recent works played by the orchestra. The exhibition was titled Mussorgsky in Reverse.

The evening opened with a brisk, high-energy reading of the overture to Glinka’s 1842 fairy-tale opera Ruslan and Lyudmila. It’s one of those pieces that used to crop up often as “filler” on classical LPs—a function it still serves on classical radio stations today. Its alluring melodies and neat little solo tympani part are irresistible, especially when performed with this kind of zest. As in “Pictures,” Mr. Varga worked without a score.

Next on the calendar: Finnish conductor Hannu Lintu is on the podium for Silbelius’s Finlandia and Fifth Symphony along with Prokofiev’s Piano Concerto No. 3. Conrad Tao will be at the piano, substituting for an ailing Markus Groh. Performances are Friday and Saturday at 8, February 1 and 2. For ticket information: stlsymphony.org

The Mill and the Gloss

Who: The Royal Winnipeg Ballet
What: Moulin Rouge® the Ballet
Where: Dance St. Louis at the Touhill Center
When: January 25 and 26, 2013



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Every performing arts organization has its share of potboilers—light entertainments designed to reach a popular audience and boost box office revenues. Most have a short shelf life but some, like Verdi’s Aida, exceed expectations and wind up as part of the standard repertoire.

The Royal Winnipeg Ballet’s Moulin Rouge® the Ballet is a potboiler, and a darned good one. I have no idea what its shelf life might be—it has only been around since 2009—but there’s no question that it’s a flashy crowd-pleaser with strong dancing throughout. This tale of young lovers thwarted by fate in Belle Époque Paris isn’t Great Art, but it was certainly engaging enough and the final tragic scene, set to the concluding pages of Ravel’s Mother Goose ballet, actually did choke me up a bit. But then, I get all misty at the opening bars of “La Vie En Rose”—which, as it happens, is the music that begins the show.

It’s Paris at the turn of the 20th century and the young artist Matthew has just arrived from the sticks. He’s quickly relieved of everything he owns by Gypsies but forgets all when he meets Nathalie, a launderette and aspiring dancer at the Moulin Rouge. The club’s owner Zidler (very loosely based on the real Charles Zidler, co-founder of the real Moulin Rouge in 1889) likes her style and hires her. Meanwhile Matthew gets into a painting duel with Toulouse-Lautrec, who befriends him and helps him pursue his budding romance with Nathalie.

Alas, Zidler soon becomes obsessed with Nathalie himself, with tragic results. His confrontation with Nathalie and Matthew in a tango bar—set to a pair of impassioned tangos by Astor Piazzolla—eventually leads to a violent confrontation at the Moulin Rouge that leaves Nathalie dead and both men bereft. It’s curtains for her and the curtain for the ballet.

Choreographer Jorden Morris uses a relatively small set of (mostly) classical ballet steps to tell the story, liberally spiced with some impressive tango moves in the second act. In fact, the dancing in Moulin Rouge would have been largely familiar to a ballet audience during the period in which the action takes place. It’s a nifty conceit, even if it does lend a degree of sameness to the first act.

It helps that the company has such strong dancers. When we saw Moulin Rouge at the Saturday matinee, Tristan Dobrowney and Amanda Green were a terrific Matthew and Nathalie—athletic, graceful, and invested in their characters. Amar Dhaliwal was a vigorous and menacing Zidler and Dmitri Dovgoselets a charming Toulouse-Lautrec.

Sarah Davey and Alanna McAdie had great star turns as La Goulue and Môme Fromage—both characters based on real Moulin Rouge dancers. With Serena Sandford, they made a sympathetic trio of “green fairies” who appear to Matthew after he over-imbibes in absinthe. The hallucinatory sequence is set to the melancholy “Adagio assai” from Ravel’s Piano Concerto in G and was a highlight of the second act.

The big ensemble scenes were the most popular, of course. The “Can-Can From Moulin Rouge” (set to the familiar Offenbach) drew a big round of applause and the extended tango scene that takes of much of the second act was very theatrically compelling.

The colorful costumes by Anne Armit and Shannon Lovelace contributed a lot to the polished look of the show, as did Pierre Lavoie’s lights and Andrew Beck’s Art Noveau sets. The program doesn’t say who was responsible for the music choices (although I’d have to assume Mr. Morris was heavily involved) but whoever it was gets a round of applause from me. I could have done without the saccharine arrangement of Debussy’s “Clair de Lune” that accompanied the lovers’ pas de deux at the end of the first act, but otherwise the variety and quality of the pieces were impressive. I was very much taken with the use of most of Ibert’s witty “Divertissment” for the Act I rehearsal scene and can-can battle between Nathalie and La Goulue.

The Royal Winnipeg Ballet’s Moulin Rouge® the Ballet has moved on to other venues; for more information: rwb.org. The Dance St. Louis season continues with The Nashville Ballet’s production of Orff’s Carmina Burana, with UMSL's University Orchestra and University Singers, Bach Society of Saint Louis, and St. Louis Children's Choirs. Performances are February 21-24 at the Touhill Center. For more information: dancestlouis.org.

Chuck's Choices for the weekend of February 1, 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:

The Duck Variations

Mustard Seed Theatre presents Christopher Durang's Mrs. Sorken and David Manet's The Duck Variations through February 10 at the Fontbonne Fine Arts Theatre, 6800 Wydown Blvd. “These two one-act plays are comic explorations of the meaning of theatre, the challenges of aging, and the importance of friendship.” In her review for 88.1 KDHX, Tina Farmer says the "engaging cast, complemented by an appropriately nondescript set and technical design, are seasoned veterans who inhabit their characters with a light, cheery touch and deft sense of timing." For more information, call (314) 719-8060 or visit the web site at www.mustardseedtheatre.com.

The Fox Theatre presents the musical Priscilla, Queen Of The Desert January 29 through February 10. "This OUTRAGEOUSLY fun show tells the uplifting story of a trio of friends, on a road trip of a lifetime, who hop aboard a battered old bus searching for love and friendship in the middle of the Australian outback and end up finding more than they could ever have dreamed." This is pretty lightweight stuff but, as I note in my review for 88.1 KDHX, "it’s so openly and cheerfully tacky and so stuffed with lavish, precisely executed dance numbers that only a dedicated curmudgeon could fail to smile at it." The Fox Theatre is at 527 North Grand in Grand Center. For more information: fabulousfox.com.

Held over:

St. Louis Actors Studio presents Albee's The Goat, or Who is Sylvia? through February 3 at the Gaslight Theatre, 358 North Boyle. “The tale of a married, middle-aged architect whose life crumbles when he falls in love with a goat, the play focuses on the limits of an ostensibly liberal society. Through showing this family in crisis, Albee challenges audience members to question their own morality in the face of other social taboos including infidelity, homosexuality, pedophilia, incest and, of course, bestiality.The play also features many language games and grammatical arguments in the middle of catastrophes and existential disputes between the characters.” In his review for 88.1 KDHX, Steve Callahan describes this as "a stunningly beautiful piece of theatre." For more information, call 314-458-2978 or visit stlas.org.

Photo: Stewart Goldstein

The Black Rep presents August Wilson's The Piano Lesson through February 3. “Depression-era Pittsburgh. A family strives to hold on to its history. The masterful Pulitzer Prize winner from one of American's greatest playwrights.” In his review for 88.1 KDHX, Robert Ashton describes this production as "lively, funny and challenging." Performances take place at the Grandel Theatre, 3610 Grandel Square. For more information, visit theblackrep.org or call 314-534-3810.