Concert Review: Louis Lortie and Yan Pascal Tortelier deliver precise passion with the St. Louis Symphony, April 15 and 16, 2016

Louis Lortie
Photo: © Elias, rayfieldallied.com

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Most folks come back from vacations with snapshots or souvenirs.  The great French composer Camille Saint-Saëns came back from a winter trip to Egypt with a piano concerto, which was performed with an ideal mix of power and style this weekend by Louis Lortie and the St. Louis Symphony under guest conductor Yan Pascal Tortelier.

First performed in May of 1896 with the 60-year-old composer at the keyboard, the Piano Concerto No. 5, Op. 103 quickly picked up the nickname "Egyptian" in part because Saint-Saëns himself wrote that the it "takes us, in effect, on a journey to the East and even, in the passage in F-sharp, to the Far East."  The music is filled with "Oriental" touches, especially in the second movement, the main theme of which Saint-Saëns said he got from boatmen on the Nile.  There are even brief passages where the pianist produces a kind of otherworldly sound by playing major tenths two octaves apart.  You can almost smell the exotic perfume.

Saint-Saëns was clearly a remarkable pianist, and his fifth concerto calls for a daunting combination of raw virtuosity and sensitivity.  Mr. Lortie clearly had plenty of both, delivering a performance with all the flash and power called for in the boisterous finale without short-changing the delicacy of that lyrical second movement.  He is, as I have noted in the past, a very visceral performer, with every emotion etched on his face and visible in his body language.  His emotional commitment to the music could not have been more total.

That makes him an excellent match for Mr. Tortelier, who seems to love the grand musical gesture as much as the intimate detail.  Working without a baton, he uses his very expressive hands to shape phrases one moment and then his entire body to raise a massive orchestral climax the next—which is exactly what he did in the work that opened the program, Paul Dukas's rarely heard Polyeucte Overture from 1891.

Inspired by a Corneille play about a Roman nobleman who converts to Christianity and suffers the usual deadly consequences, Polyeucte is big and dramatic—real Technicolor, wide-screen Romanticism.  Brooding, tragic passages are frequently interrupted by abrupt orchestral outbursts.  Mr. Tortelier attacked this music with real intensity, and the musicians responded with a perfect performance that deserved far more applause than it got from the Friday night audience.  It has been nearly a century since the SLSO last played this piece, so it was effectively new music for them, but they played as though they knew it all by heart.

Yan Pascal Tortelier
imgartists.com

The concert concluded with music the musicians probably do know by heart, Maurice Ravel's popular orchestration of Mussorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition.  Inspired by an 1874 visit to a posthumous exhibition of the works of Russian artist Victor Hartmann, the piano original is colorful and evocative stuff, made all the more so by Ravel's expansion.  Justifiably regarded as an expert orchestrator, Ravel's work here is filled with ingenious touches, like the high woodwinds chirping away in the "Ballet of the Chicks in Their Shells", the alto sax playing the voice of a troubadour in "The Old Castle", the hair-raising evocation of "The Hut on Fowl's Legs", (home of the witch Baba-Yaga from Russian folklore) and the triumphant finale, based on a sketch for "The Great Gate at Kiev". 

That means there were multiple opportunities for individual members and sections of the band to show off, and they made the most of it.  For the first curtain call, Mr. Tortelier singled out Principal Horn Roger Kaza for his exemplary work as well as Principal Trumpet Karin Bliznik, whose ringing declamation of the recurring "promenade" theme got things off to such a stirring start and whose entire section performed with such impressive precision in the tricky "Samuel Goldberg and Schmuyle" movement. Principal Trombone Tim Myers on euphonium and Nathan Nabb on alto sax also got solo bows for their fine playing in the "Bydlo" and "Old Castle" movements, respectively.  Every section of the orchestra sounded stunning, in fact, and the strings had the wonderful richness that has come to typify their work.

Conducting without a score, Mr. Tortelier brought the same sense of high drama and nuance to this music that he had demonstrated throughout the evening.  His "Gnomus" had real menace, his "Ballet of the Chicks in Their Shells" was a masterpiece of brisk precision, and his powerful "Great Gate at Kiev" brought down the house.  The applause was loud, long, and entirely justified.

There is one more performance of this program at Powell Hall Saturday, April 16, at 8 p.m.  The St. Louis Symphony season continues next weekend, April 22 – 24, as Nathalie Stutzmann conducts the orchestra with violin soloist Karen Gomyo in music by Mendelssohn, Sibelius, and Dvorák.  Performances take place at Powell Symphony Hall, 718 North Grand.

Chuck's Choices for the weekend of April 15, 2016

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:

Richard III
Photo: David Sanford

St. Louis Shakespeare presents Shakespeare's tragedy Richard III Thursdays at 7:30 p.m., Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m., and Sundays at 2 p.m., through April 17. "A brilliant military commander, Richard, Duke of Gloucester, cannot be content in peacetime. As Richard centralizes power and makes a play for the crown, his motives grow uglier, sending him, enraged, into a bloody battle at Bosworth Field against Henry Tudor." Performances take place at the Ivory Theatre, 7620 Michigan in the Carondelet neighborhood. For more information, call 314-361-5664 or visit stlshakespeare.org.

My take: Historically bogus though it may be, Richard III is one of Shakespeare's most rippling yarns. Like Macbeth, it's ultimately a straightforward tale of ambition turned toxic with a villain who richly deserves his fate. In her review for 88.1 KDHX, Tina Farmer says this that production "embraces the eloquence of deceit and manipulation in a gleefully dark and riveting production that steamrolls courtly etiquette and political loyalties in pursuit of the crown."

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David Guintoli

The Emerald Room Cabaret presents David Giuntoli in Sinatra...The Man and His Music on Friday, April 15, at 8 p.m. "David Giuntoli sings songs that Frank Sinatra made famous. He would have been 100, if alive, and although he was from a different era, his musical stylings are a as swinging today as they were in the 40s, 50s, and 60s when he was at his peak. Sinatra had a gift of taking songs from great composers like, Cole Porter, Jimmy Van Heusen, Sammy Cahn, and, along with his fantastic arrangements, giving them that “Sinatra” stamp. The show includes these songs; I've Got the World on a String, All or Nothing at All, The Best is Yet to Come, I've Got You Under My Skin, The Way You Look Tonight, Angel Eyes, Fly Me to the Moon, Night and Day, The Lady is a Tramp and more." The show features Adam Maness on piano and Ben Wheeler on bass. The performance takes place in The Emerald Room at The Monocle Bar, 4510 Manchester in The Grove neighborhood. For more information: www.buzzonstage.com/st-louis

My take: No, this is not the David Giuntoli who stars in Grimm, but rather my fellow Cabaret Project board member in his first solo show. The focus on Sinatra makes perfect sense, given that Mr. Giuntoli is a baritone with a crooner's sensibility and an affection for the Great American Songbook.

Held Over:

Great Falls
Photo: John Lamb

The West End Players Guild continues their 105th season with Lee Blessing's comedy/drama Great Falls Fridays and Saturdays at 8 PM and Sundays at 2 PM, April 8-17. "This long, strange trip is undertaken by Monkey Man, a divorced middle-aged writer, and his teenaged ex-stepdaughter, who goes by the name of Bitch. Both of them have lost their way in life, and they set off in search of answers on a road trip through the great American West. By turns funny, sad, touching and profane, Great Falls will take you on a memorable and moving theatrical tour." There will also be a show on Thursday, April 14, at 8 PM. 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.

My take: Lee Blessing's work has appeared fairly frequently on local stages in recent years, and with good reason: he's an original and sometimes provocative voice. "An honest look at what is possible -- and seemingly impossible -- in human encounters lies at the heart of many Lee Blessing plays," wrote Michael McGregor in a 2010 review of Great Falls for Oregon Live. "Letting each character have his say -- and his due -- he shines a harsh but understanding light on contemporary American problems."

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Hedwig and the Angry Inch
Photo: John Lamb

Stray Dog Theatre presents the rock musical Hedwig and the Angry Inch Thursdays through Saturdays at 8 PM through April 16. "The 'internationally ignored song stylist' Hedwig Schmidt, an East German diva, is also the victim of a botched sex-change operation. As she tours the U.S. with her loyal band, Hedwig candidly shares her life story. Raucous, soulful and wickedly funny with a brilliant rock score, this show has inspired legions of fans." Performances take place at The Tower Grove Abbey, 2336 Tennessee. For more information, visit straydogtheatre.org or call 314-865-1995.

My take: "When Hedwig brings her Angry Inch band to St. Louis," writes Tina Farmer at KDHX, "you better get ready for a punk rock throwback that's still a force to be reckoned with. This is the premise, feel, and atmosphere Stray Dog Theatre has created for their production of John Cameron Mitchell's angry ode to the downtrodden working class, running through April 16, 2016 and directed by Justin Been. This is Hedwig's story and uniquely hers, but she shares kinship with musicians, artists, and rebels -- transgender, queer, and straight -- who have stories they are compelled to tell. Fame be damned." This aggressive rock musical is not new to St. Louis, of course, but Stray Dog is putting their own spin on it by turning their space into the seedy rock club where Hedwig performs, complete with table service.

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Our Town

The Hawthorne Players present the Thornton Wilder's Our Town April 8-17. "Narrated by a stage manager and performed with minimal props and sets, audiences follow the Webb and Gibbs families as their children fall in love, marry, and eventually-in one of the most famous scenes in American theatre-die." The performances take place at the Florissant Civic Center Theatre at Parker and Waterford in Florissant, MO. For more information, call 921-5678 or visit hawthorneplayers.info.

My take: What can I say about this classic that has not already been said? The type of small town life depicted in Wilder's play (the action place between 1901 and 1913) was already passing from the scene when it premiered in 1938. By rights it should be a museum piece by now. But the writing touches so effectively on the universal human experiences of birth, life, and death that it never seems dated.

Symphony Preview, April 15 and 16, 2016: Saint-Saëns's selfies

My wife and I have become dedicated travelers over the last couple of decades, but we can't hold a candle to the French composer Camille Saint-Saëns. Over the course of his long (1835-1921) and prosperous life, his peregrinations took him all over Europe as well as to England, the United States, and even (in 1896) to Algeria and Egypt.

Saint-Saën in 1900
By Petit, Pierre (1831-1909)
Photographer Restored by Adam Cuerden

A musical souvenir of the latter trip closes the first half of this weekend's St. Louis Symphony concerts as pianist Louis Lortie joins guest conductor Yan Pascal Tortelier for the Saint-Saëns Piano Concerto No. 5 in F major, op. 103. As Michael Steinberg writes in his program notes for the San Francisco Symphony, the concerto picked up its nickname, "Egyptian", from the composer's own comments about the piece:

Saint-Saëns had written the concerto during a winter vacation at Luxor in Egypt, which has some bearing on the second movement and perhaps the third as well. One of the more notable features of the amiable and unpressured first movement is an allusion to Dalila's gorgeous aria "Mon coeur s'ouvre à ta voix" from Samson et Dalila. Of the second movement, Saint-Saëns himself wrote that "it takes us, in effect, on a journey to the East and even, in the passage in F-sharp, to the Far East." First comes an extended introductory section, much of it like recitative, and then the music settles into a pleasant and serene song for piano and strings. Saint-Saëns said that it was "a Nubian love song which I heard sung by boatmen on the Nile as I myself went down the river in a dahabieh." The F-sharp major music to which he refers is the pentatonic melody, delicately scored and including the occasional distant vibration of the tam-tam. Some of the orchestral detail in this colorful piece will remind us of the most famous of all "Egyptian" compositions, the Nile scene in Aïda.

The sound of that second movement is so exotic that pianist Steven Hough once wrote a tongue-in-cheek explanation of how to achieve it for the April Fool's Day, 2012, edition of his blog at the Daily Telegraph. It's worth reading.

The "Egyptian" concerto hasn't been heard on the Powell Hall stage since 1977, by the way, so this is a rare opportunity for local classical music lovers to catch it live.

The other big work on this weekend's bill is an old favorite: Modest Mussorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition, last performed here in January of 2013. It, too, was inspired by a trip, but in this case it was just to an exhibit of work by the Russian artist and architect Victor Hartmann.

Mussorgsky in 1870

Hartmann may only have been 39 when he died in 1873, but he had already gained considerable fame for his inventive uses of Russian folk traditions in his work. He might have remained unknown outside Russia, however, had he not become friends with the equally innovative composer Modest Mussorgsky. Attending an exhibition of Hartmann's works a year after the artist's death, Mussorgsky was so moved that he immediately dashed off a piano suite based on ten of the pictures at that exhibition. Unfortunately, Mussorgsky himself died—at the age of 42—before the suite could be published.

And there it might have rested had not Maurice Ravel been commissioned by Serge Koussevitzky to produce an orchestral version of Pictures at an Exhibition in 1922. The work was a rousing success that guaranteed Hartmann a prominent place in musical history and Mussorgsky a larger share of concert programs than he might have gotten otherwise.

Ravel was not, of course, the first to orchestrate Mussorgsky's suite; that honor fell to fellow Russian Michail Tuschmalov in 1886, the year in which the suite was first published. But he only arranged seven of the ten pictures and the next attempt—by Britain's Sir Henry Wood in 1915—eliminated some of the reoccurrences of the unifying "Promenade" theme, which represents Mussorgsky wandering through the exhibition. Ravel wasn't even the first to orchestrate the entire piece; the Slovenian Leo Funtek pulled that one off in the same year as the Frenchman. Ravel's has, however, remained the most popular of the over two dozen arrangements of the original, for everything from full orchestra to jazz band to (oddly enough) solo guitar.

This weekend it's the familiar Ravel orchestration that Mr. Tortelier and the band will be performing. If you have never heard it before, I think you'll be delighted by the many opportunities it offers for individual musicians to take the spotlight. Ravel is justifiably regarded as an expert orchestrator, and his expansion of Mussorgsky's original is filled with ingenious touches, like the high woodwinds chirping away in the "Ballet of the Chicks in Their Shells", the alto sax playing the voice of a troubadour in "The Old Castle", and the hair-raising evocation of "The Hut on Fowl's Legs", home of the witch Baba-Yaga from Russian folklore. This is music that never fails to please.

Paul Dukas

The concerts open with a work that hasn't been performed by the SLSO since 1920: the concert overture Polyeucte, written in 1891 by Paul Dukas. Inspired by a Corneille play about a Roman nobleman who converts to Christianity and suffers the usual deadly consequences, it was the composer's public debut, written the year he graduated from the Paris Conservatory. So it's probably not surprising (as Renée Spencer Saller writes in her program notes) that it shows the influence of someone who threw a very long shadow back then, Richard Wagner:

The overture opens with a threnody of low strings and moody woodwinds. Out of this luxuriant gloom, violins scurry; timpani rumble and roar. Piercing silences puncture orchestral swells. Plangent winds hint at the tragedy's romantic subplot. The subtle harmonic shifts and haunting timbres make the Wagner comparisons inevitable, but who cares? Fin-de-siècle Wagneriana doesn't get any better than this.

Too true. It's big, dramatic stuff: real Technicolor, wide-screen Romanticism and, at only a little over 15 minutes, considerably shorter than Corneille's five-act tragedy.

The Essentials: Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m., Yan Pascal Tortelier conducts the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra with piano soloist Louie Lortie in Saint-Saëns's Piano Concerto No. 5, Mussorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition, and Dukas's Polyeucte Overture. Performances take place at Powell Symphony Hall, 718 North Grand. For more information: stlsymphony.org.

St. Louis theatre calendar for the week of April 11, 2016

[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 events web site.

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Mustard Seed Theatre presents Bosnian-American: The Dance of Life, Friday and Saturday at 7:30 p.m., April 15 and 16 “Born in Bosnia and raised in St. Louis - painful history meets present reality in this collaboratively created script that celebrates the true stories of our neighbors.” Performances take place at at Grbic Restaurant Banquet Hall in the Bevo Mill . For more information, call (314) 719-8060 or visit the web site at www.mustardseedtheatre.com.

The Bridges of Madison County
Photo: Matthew Murphy

The Fox Theatre presents the musical The Bridges of Madison County through April 17. "THE BRIDGES OF MADISON COUNTY, one of the most romantic stories ever written, first captured the nation's attention as a best-selling novel by Robert James Waller and is now an irresistible, two time Tony Award®-winning Broadway musical. This stunning new production features gorgeous, soulful music by Tony Award®-winning composer Jason Robert Brown (Parade, The Last Five Years) that the Daily News hails as "one of Broadway's best scores in the last decade." With a book by Pulitzer Prize Winner Marsha Norman (The Secret Garden, The Color Purple) and direction by Tony® winner Bartlett Sher (South Pacific, The Light in the Piazza), THE BRIDGES OF MADISON COUNTY is the unforgettable story of two people caught between decision and desire, as a chance encounter becomes a second chance at so much more." The Fox is on North Grand in Grand Center. For more information: fabulousfox.com.

The Lemp Mansion Comedy-Mystery Dinner Theater presents Clueless through April 16. The Lemp Mansion is at 3322 DeMenil Place. For more information: lempmansion.com

St. Louis Community College at Meramec presents the drama Death and the Maiden by Ariel Dorfman Wednesday through Sunday, April 13-17. "Paulina Salas is a former political prisoner in an unnamed Latin American country who had been raped by her captors, led by a sadistic doctor whose face she never saw. Years later, after the (also unnamed) repressive regime has fallen, a chance encounter allows Pauline to take the doctor captive in order to put him on trial and extract a confession from him." The production is recommended for mature audiences. Performances take place in the theatre on the campus at 11333 Big Bend Road. For more information, stlcc.edu/MC or call 314-984-7500.

Hard Road Theatre Productions presents the musical comedy First Date opening on Friday, April 15, at 7:30 p.m. and running through April 23. "When blind date newbie Aaron (Zachary Levi; “Chuck” and Thor: The Dark World) is set up with serial-dater Casey (Krysta Rodriguez; “Smash” and The Addams Family), a casual drink at a busy New York restaurant turns into a hilarious high-stakes dinner. As the date unfolds in real time, the couple quickly finds that they are not alone on this unpredictable evening. In a delightful and unexpected twist, Casey and Aaron's inner critics take on a life of their own when other restaurant patrons transform into supportive best friends, manipulative exes and protective parents, who sing and dance them through ice-breakers, appetizers and potential conversational land mines. Can this couple turn what could be a dating disaster into something special before the check arrives?" Performances will be held at the Kennel at Highland High School, 12760 Troxler Ave, Highland IL. For more information: www.hardroad.org.

Clinton County Showcase presents the comedy The Foreigner opening on Friday, April 15, at 8 p.m. and running through April 24. "The Foreigner is about a chronically shy man named Charlie who pretends to not speak a word of English. Misunderstandings and hilariious antics abound. Soon Charlie finds himself playing and embracing the role of the exotic foreigner and emerges from his shell all while keeping the charade. Characters include Charile's best friend Froggy, the innkeeper with a motherly role, a young couple, an not-so-bright young man, and a man who has trouble accepting racial progress." Performances take place at the Avon Theater, 525 North 2nd Street Breese IL. For more information, visit ccshowcase.com.

Great Falls
Photo: John Lamb

The West End Players Guild continues their 105th season with Lee Blessing's comedy/drama Great Falls Thursday through Saturday at 8 PM and Sunday at 2 PM, April 14-17. "This long, strange trip is undertaken by Monkey Man, a divorced middle-aged writer, and his teenaged ex-stepdaughter, who goes by the name of Bitch. Both of them have lost their way in life, and they set off in search of answers on a road trip through the great American West. By turns funny, sad, touching and profane, Great Falls will take you on a memorable and moving theatrical tour." 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.

Stray Dog Theatre presents the rock musical Hedwig and the Angry Inch Thursdays through Saturdays at 8 PM through April 16. "The 'internationally ignored song stylist' Hedwig Schmidt, an East German diva, is also the victim of a botched sex-change operation. As she tours the U.S. with her loyal band, Hedwig candidly shares her life story. Raucous, soulful and wickedly funny with a brilliant rock score, this show has inspired legions of fans." Performances take place at The Tower Grove Abbey, 2336 Tennessee. For more information, visit straydogtheatre.org or call 314-865-1995.

The Touhill Performing Arts Center presents Chicago's Second City comedy ensemble in Hooking Up With Second City Friday and 7 and 10 p.m. and Saturday at 6 and 9 p.m., April 15 and 16. "The Second City knows a few things about love - we've been looking at and laughing about relationships for over 55 years. Hooking Up With The Second City makes mirth out of missed connections, girls' night out adventures and all the crazy things we do for love. This gaspingly funny revue is a modern mix of romance, rancor and everything in between." The Touhill Performing Arts Center is on the University of Missouri St. Louis campus. For more information: touhill.org.

St. Louis University Theatre presents Oscar Wilde's comedy The Importance of Being Earnest, opening on Friday, April 15, at 8 p.m. and running through April 24. "Regarded by many as the wittiest play in the English language, the University Theatre is proud to close its 2015-16 season with this audience favorite." Performances take place in Xavier Hall, 3373 West Pine Mall. For more information, call 314-977-3327 or visit slu.edu/utheatre.

St. Louis Actors' Studio presents Ivanov by Anton Chekov, as translated by Tom Stoppard, opening on Friday, April 15, and running through May 1. "Once a man of limitless promise, Ivanov is plunged into debt. His marriage is in crisis, and his evenings are spent negotiating loans, avoiding love affairs and fighting to resist the small town jealousies and intrigues which threaten to engulf his life." Performances take place at the Gaslight Theatre, 358 North Boyle For more information, call 314-458-2978 or visit stlas.org.

Lindenwood University presents the comedy The Liar by David Ives, adapted from the play by Pierre Corneille, Thursday and Friday at 7:30 p.m. and Saturday at 2 and 7:30 p.m., April 14-16 “Paris, 1643. Dorante is a charming young man newly arrived in the capital, and he has but a single flaw: he cannot tell the truth. In quick succession, he meets Cliton, a manservant who cannot tell a lie, and falls in love with Clarice, a charming young woman whom he unfortunately mistakes for her friend, Lucrece. What our hero regrettably does not know is that Clarice is secretly engaged to his best friend, Alcippe. Nor is he aware that his father is trying to get him married to Clarice, whom he thinks is Lucrece, who actually is in love with him.” The performance takes place on the main stage 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 Westport Playhouse presents Men Are From Mars-Women Are From Venus Live! running through April 17. "The Off-Broadway hit comedy Men Are From Mars - Women Are From Venus LIVE!, is a one-man fusion of theatre and stand-up, and is a light-hearted theatrical comedy based on the New York Times #1 best-selling book of the last decade by John Gray. Moving swiftly through a series of vignettes, the show covers everything from dating and marriage to the bedroom." Performances take place at the Westport Playhouse in Westport Plaza. For more information: marsvenuslive.com.

The Muny presents A Night With the Buddy Holly Boys on Wednesday and Thursday, April 13 and 14, at 7:30 p.m. "The boys of summer are back! Our three Buddy Holly stars reunite for a rockin' concert." The event takes place at the Sheldon Concert Hall on Washington in Grand Center. For more information: muny.org.

The Bissell Mansion Murder Mystery Dinner Theatre presents Nursery Crimes through July 31. The Bissell Mansion is at 4426 Randall Place. For more information: bissellmansiontheatre.com.

Our Town

The Hawthorne Players present the Thornton Wilder's Our Town through April 17. "Narrated by a stage manager and performed with minimal props and sets, audiences follow the Webb and Gibbs families as their children fall in love, marry, and eventually-in one of the most famous scenes in American theatre-die." The performances take place at the Florissant Civic Center Theatre at Parker and Waterford in Florissant, MO. For more information, call 921-5678 or visit hawthorneplayers.info.

Lutheran High School South presents the Stephen Schwartz musical Pippin Friday and Saturday at 7:00 p.m., April 15 and 16. Lutheran High School North is at 9515 Tesson Ferry Road in south St. Louis County. For more information: lhssstl.org.

St. Louis Shakespeare presents Shakespeare's tragedy Richard III Thursdays at 7:30 p.m., Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m., and Sundays at 2 p.m., through April 17. "A brilliant military commander, Richard, Duke of Gloucester, cannot be content in peacetime. As Richard centralizes power and makes a play for the crown, his motives grow uglier, sending him, enraged, into a bloody battle at Bosworth Field against Henry Tudor." Performances take place at the Ivory Theatre, 7620 Michigan in the Carondelet neighborhood. For more information, call 314-361-5664 or visit stlshakespeare.org.

The St. Louis Art Museum presents a live HD broadcast of the Metropolitan Opera production Donizetti's Roberto Devereux on Saturday, April 16, at 11:55 a.m. " Soprano Sondra Radvanovsky takes on the extraordinary challenge of singing all three of Donizetti's Tudor queen operas in the course of a single season, a rare feat made famous by Beverly Sills-and not attempted on a New York stage since. In this climactic opera of the trilogy, she plays Queen Elizabeth I, forced to sign the death warrant of the nobleman she loves, Robert Devereux. Tenor Matthew Polenzani is Devereux, and mezzo-soprano El_na Garan_a and baritone Mariusz Kwiecien complete the principal quartet in the bel canto masterpiece, conducted by Donizetti specialist Maurizio Benini. As with the earlier Anna Bolena and Maria Stuarda, the production is by Sir David McVicar, who with this staging completes an enormously ambitious directorial accomplishment." The live digital HD video broadcast from New York takes place in The Farrell Auditorium at the Art Museum in Forest Park. For more information: slam.org.

David Guintoli

The Emerald Room Cabaret presents David Guintoli in Sinatra...The Man and His Music on Friday, April 15, at 8 p.m. "David Giuntoli sings songs that Frank Sinatra made famous. He would have been 100, if alive, and although he was from a different era, his musical stylings are a as swinging today as they were in the 40s, 50s, and 60s when he was at his peak. Sinatra had a gift of taking songs from great composers like, Cole Porter, Jimmy Van Heusen, Sammy Cahn, and, along with his fantastic arrangements, giving them that “Sinatra” stamp. The show includes these songs; I've Got the World on a String, All or Nothing at All, The Best is Yet to Come, I've Got You Under My Skin, The Way You Look Tonight, Angel Eyes, Fly Me to the Moon, Night and Day, The Lady is a Tramp and more." The show features Adam Maness on piano and Ben Wheeler on bass. The performance takes place in The Emerald Room at The Monocle Bar, 4510 Manchester in The Grove neighborhood. For more information: www.buzzonstage.com/st-louis

COCA's student dance companies - Ballet Eclectica, COCAdance and the COCA Hip-Hop Crew - conclude their seasons with an annual Spring Repertory Concerts Friday at 7 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday at 2 p.m., April 15-18. The concerts feature pieces from a range of local and national choreographers. COCA is at 524 Trinity in University City. For more information: cocastl.org.

Gateway Center for Performing Arts' Youth Theatre Company finishes its 2015/2016 Mainstage Season with the musical Thoroughly Modern Mille Friday at 7 p.m.., Saturday at 2 and 7 p.m., and Sunday at 2 p.m., April 15-17. "This Tony Award winning musical is set in 1922 follows Millie Dillmount, straight off the bus from Salina, Kansas as she searches for more in New York City. With grand plans to marry the "modern" way, for money and not love, she finds herself on a madcap adventure that proves everything is not what it seems. With music by Jeanine Tesori, lyrics by Dick Scanlan and Book by Dick Scanlan and Richard Morris, you won't want to miss tunes like Not for the Life of Me, Forget About the Boy, and Gimme Gimme in a story filled with bobbed hair, raised skirts and fiery tap numbers!" Performances take place at Central Visual and Performing Arts High School , 3125 South Kingshighway Blvd. For more information: www.gcpastl.org/thoroughly-modern-millie.

St. Louis Community College at Florissant Valley presents the comedy Too Much Sun by Nicky Silver opening on Friday, April 15, at 7:30 p.m. and running through April 23. Performances take place in the Fisher Theatre on the campus at 3400 Pershall Road. For more information, stlcc.edu/FV call 314-644-5522.

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.

St. Louis classical calendar for the week of April 11, 2016

Marlon Daniel

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African Musical Arts presents A Tribute to Great African Composers: The Power of Music to Bring People Together on Saturday, April 16, at 7:30 p.m. "A concert of over 200 singers and musicians participating from the St. Louis Children's Choirs, St. Louis Women's HOPE Chorale, Legend Singers, University City Symphony Orchestra, IMI Chamber Players, as well as the very captivating Voices of Trinity from Chicago, acclaimed soprano Alison Buchanan and renowned African American conductor Marlon Daniel from New York." The concert takes place at the 560 Music Center, 560 Trinity in University City. For more information: africarts.org.

African Musical Arts presents A Tribute to Great African Composers: The Power of Music to Bring People Together on Sunday, April 17, at 3 p.m. "A concert of over 200 singers and musicians participating from the St. Louis Children's Choirs, St. Louis Women's HOPE Chorale, Legend Singers, University City Symphony Orchestra, IMI Chamber Players, as well as the very captivating Voices of Trinity from Chicago, acclaimed soprano Alison Buchanan and renowned African American conductor Marlon Daniel from New York." The concert takes place at Trinity Presbyterian Church, 6800 Washington in University City. For more information: africarts.org.

The Community Music School of Webster University presents Spring Opera Scenes on Sunday, April 17, at 4 p.m. "Webster students from the Department of Music present a variety of scenes from several well-known operatic masterpieces, including The Mikado and Patience by Gilbert and Sullivan, The Marriage of Figaro and Cosi fan tutte by Mozart, and Der Rosenkavalier by Richard Strauss." The Community Music School is at 535 Garden Avenue on the Webster University campus. For more information: webster.edu/cms.

The Community Music School of Webster University presents a concert by The Webster University Chamber Orchestra on Sunday, April 17, at 7 p.m. "The Webster University Chamber Orchestra presents its season finale concert on April 17, 2016 at the Concert Hall of the Community Music School at Webster University. Conductor Dr. Paul Davis will be joined by guest conductor Suzanne Rome from Louisiana State University. The program features classic orchestral repertoire, including Rossini's Overture to The Barber of Seville, Debussy's Suite Bergamasque, Tchaikovsky's Waltz from Sleeping Beauty, and closes with Beethoven's Symphony No. 5." The Community Music School is at 535 Garden Avenue on the Webster University campus. For more information: webster.edu/cms.

Tyshawn Sorey

New Music Circle and KDHX present the Alloy Trio on Saturday, April 16, at 8 p.m. "Alloy Trio is the highly anticipated group led by drummer/composer Tyshawn Sorey. Named one of 'Five Drummers Whose Time Is Now' by The New York Times, Sorey has spent a career confounding expectations. For over a decade he has remained one of the most prolific drummers in NYC, playing with the likes of Vijay Iyer, Roscoe Mitchell, Anthony Braxton and Myra Melford. Outside of his musical works he also holds a masters from Wesleyan University and in 2015 received the prestigious Doris Duke Impact Award." The performance takes place at TheStage @ KDHX, on Washington Avenue in Grand Center, just east of the Jazz Bistro. For more information: newmusiccircle.org.

Friday and Saturday, April 15 and 16, at 8 p.m., Yan Pascal Tortelier conducts the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra with piano soloist Louie Lortie in Saint-Saëns's Piano Concerto No. 5, known as the "Egyptian" concerto, and Mussorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition as orchestrated by Maurice Ravel. Performances take place at Powell Symphony Hall, 718 North Grand. For more information: stlsymphony.org.

Joseph Young conducts the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra in Beethoven's New Groove, a special Family Concert on Sunday, April 17, at 3 p.m. "Stomp, clap, clap, stomp! Learn about the beats in music and how different rhythms create different music styles. Hear your classical favorites, including Tchaikovksy's Waltz from Sleeping Beauty, Grieg's In the Hall of the Mountain King and selections from Beethoven's Fifth and Ninth symphonies." Performances take place at Powell Symphony Hall, 718 North Grand. For more information: stlsymphony.org.

Fifty Fingers of Imrat Khan

The Sheldon Concert Hall presents Ustad Imrat Khan and The Fifty Fingers of Imrat Khan on Friday, April 15, at 8 PM. "A great family heritage of musicians of sitar and surbahar dating to the era of the courts of Akbar. Continuing the heritage with his 4 sons and with special introduction by the students of the great master Ustad Imrat Khan is a special musical contribution from Todd Mosby, master of ImratGuitar." The Sheldon is at 3648 Washington in Grand Center. For more information: thesheldon.org.

The Tavern of Fine Arts presents a classical open stage night on Monday, April 11, from 7:30 - 9 PM. "Come by yourself or bring your quartet. Sight read through a Beethoven quartet or use this as an opportunity to put the finishing touches on that Hindemith Viola Sonata you have been working on. All ages and skill levels are welcome. We have a 6' grand piano and an accompanist." The Tavern of Fine Arts is at 313 Belt in the Debaliviere Place neighborhood. For more information: tavern-of-fine-arts.blogspot.com.

The Tavern of Fine Arts presents guitarist Mark Akin on Saturday, April 16, at 8 p.m. The concert features music by Assad, Bach, Dowland, Giuliani, Grieg, Jose, and Rodrigo. The Tavern of Fine Arts is at 313 Belt in the Debaliviere Place neighborhood. For more information: tavern-of-fine-arts.blogspot.com.

Symphony Review: "E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial" in concert shows its age, and that's a good thing

stlsymphony.org

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Steven Spielberg's blockbuster E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, a live concert version of which is on view at Powell Hall this weekend, is 34 years old now and beginning to show its age—which is not necessarily a bad thing.

A product of a time when pacing in popular films was somewhat less frenetic and music was less omnipresent, E.T. is shamelessly manipulative but skillfully made.  The wordless opening sequence, shot from the point of view of the diminutive aliens, makes the humans pursuing them look massive and threatening.  The iconic flying sequences still look great.  And the final farewell sequence can still tug at the heartstrings.

As with other St. Louis Symphony movie events, of course, the emphasis is on the score, performed live by the orchestra as the film is shown on the big screen above them.  The music for E.T. was composed by that most famous and prolific of living film composers, John Williams.  It earned him the fourth of his five (to date) Academy Awards, and it's easy to see why it was so honored.  It's melodically appealing and vividly evocative stuff, employing the full resources of a late romantic symphony orchestra in creative and sometimes surprising ways.  And even though Williams's harmonic palette is fairly conventional, he's not about using dissonance, string harmonics, and eerie glissandi when the dramatic situation calls for them.

Under the baton of Erik Ochsner—who conducted the SLSO for the concert version of Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring back in 2011—the orchestra sounded like the finely tuned instrument it has become over the years. For his part, Mr. Ochsner was very engaged with and friendly towards the musicians under his baton—not an easy task given the need to divide his attention between the printed score and the film (complete with the visual equivalent of a click track) playing out on a monitor mounted on the podium.

Erik Ochsner
erikochsner.com

It would be easy to dismiss the SLSO movie events as mere potboilers intended to improve the orchestra's balance sheet, but that would require one to overlook the amount of dedication and talent it takes to pull them off.  And besides, hearing this music live reveals orchestral details that are only really apparent in a concert hall.  I hadn't realized, for example, how often the harp and keyboards (piano and synthesizer) were featured.  SLSO Principal Harp Allegra Lilly and keyboard player Peter Henderson (who, for reasons which escape me, is still not the Principal for that section) were kept quite busy and were the first soloists to asked to stand at the end as a result.

There is one more showing of the concert version of E.T. Sunday at 2. It's genuine family fun and highly recommended. You might even find yourself tempted to come back this Friday or Saturday when Yan Pascal Tortelier conducts the orchestra with piano soloist Louie Lortie in Saint-Saëns's Piano Concerto No. 5 ("Egyptian") and Mussorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition in the familiar Maurice Ravel orchestration.  Performances take place at Powell Symphony Hall, 718 North Grand. For more information, visit the St. Louis Symphony web site.

At the Humana Festival, "Wellesley Girl" displays untapped potential

L-R: Jeff Biehl, Pun Bandhu, Lynda Gravátt, Kelly McAndrew
Photo: Bill Brymer

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One of the great things about the Humana Festival of New American Plays is the valuable exposure it gives to new playwrights.  Their work is sometimes rough around the edges or even, as is the case with Brendan Pelsue's Wellesley Girl at this year's festival, a bit of a mess.  But as far as artistic growth goes, there's just no substitute for the experience of seeing one's work performed by a professional company for a paying audience.

The concept behind Wellesley Girl is intriguing, especially during our fractious political season.  Set in the year 2465, the play takes place in a walled enclave in New England whose 435 inhabitants are, as far as they know, the sole surviving population of the United States of America.  They're all members of Congress, and the Supreme Court is now one woman—the only one with legal training and the books to back it up.

Barney O'Hanlon, Rachael Leslie
Photo: Bill Brymer

Their stable if limited world is threatened when an army from Texas suddenly and inexplicably shows up, insisting that they are the real U.S. government and making a list of impossible demands.  The population soon splits into two camps, one insisting on negotiation and another on "scorched earth", which appears to mean abandoning the enclave and fleeing into the wilderness.  Neither alternative makes much sense, though, since the invading army appears to be invincible and the water supply outside of the enclave is supposedly poisoned.  Only the enclave's filtration system makes it drinkable.

This setup has the potential to offer a satirical look at our current political dysfunction and possibly an examination of how people behave when there are no good choices.  Unfortunately it offers neither.  The arguments among the enclave's residents become little more than shouting matches and the moral dilemma they face becomes buried in political maneuvering. 

L-R: Philip Taratula, Jeff Biehl
Photo: Bill Brymer

The plot also doesn't hold up to much scrutiny and much of it simply makes no sense.  If the water is poisoned, what are the mighty Texas forces drinking?  How did they even find out about the New Englanders in the first place, given that there appears to be no communication infrastructure?  If the army has them surrounded, how will they escape to the woods? 

Worse yet, the feeble final scenes seem to indicate that the playwright simply wrote himself into a corner and couldn't find a way out.  When the final blackout came, nobody clapped because it wasn't clear whether or not the play had actually ended.

The show isn't without its moments.  A scene in which Donna, The Supreme Court (Lynda Gravátt) hears arguments at her kitchen table with a hand-made "SCOTUS" sign in the center have real charm.  And Barney O'Hanlon's robot Hank is a wonderfully precise piece of acting.  Indeed, the cast as a whole is quite good, even if some of the characters they portray are a bit one-dimensional.  There's also some real comedy in the public meetings before they descend into chaos.  But ultimately this play's reach far exceeds its grasp.

That said, this is still an interesting first effort, for all its flaws.  Mr. Plesue is clearly an original voice and, given that he is still working on his M.F.A., it's reasonable to assume that he might have a bright future ahead of him.  Very few creative people get everything right the first time, after all.

Wellesley Girl runs through April 10th in the Pamela Brown Auditorium at Actors Theatre of Louisville as part of the 40th Humana Festival of New American Plays.

At the Humana Festival, Sarah Ruhl's "For Peter Pan on Her 70th Birthday" never quite gets off the ground

Scene 1
Photo: Bill Brymer

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"Having been unpopular in high school," observed Fran Lebowitz in her 1978 essay collection Metropolitan Life,  "is not just cause for book publication."  If she had seen Sarah Ruhl's For Peter Pan on Her 70th Birthday, the world premiere of which is part of the 40th Humana Festival of New American Plays, she might have added that a death in the family is not just cause for play production.

As the play opens, five adult siblings (the oldest, Ann, is 70; the others are in their 50s and 60s) are gathered in the remarkably large hospital room of their comatose father George.  In what feels like the strongest of the play's three scenes, the siblings ruminate on death, the afterlife, and what it means to really be an adult.  The tension of waiting for the end that they both dread and anticipate is palpable and believable.

Scene 2
Photo: Bill Brymer

The remaining two scenes are less impressive.  In the first, Ann and her brothers and sisters gather in George's house for an impromptu wake.  Fueled by liberal doses of Jameson, they tell stories from their childhood, share jokes, and engage in political arguments which, given the play's setting during "the Clinton era", feel rather dated.  Meanwhile, the ghost of George wanders in and out, repeating the routines of his daily life—and generating some of the funniest moments.

Finally, everyone toddles off to bed and Ann, who serves as the play's narrator, dreams of repeating the role of Peter Pan—the part she played at a local theatre before heading off to college—with her siblings as the Darling family and brother Jim as Captain Hook.  Like the previous scene, it has no real dramatic shape and doesn't really go anywhere.  A final scene between Ann and her ghostly father suggests that she is coming to terms with his departure, but it essentially comes out of nowhere, dramatically speaking.

Scene 3
Photo: Bill Brymer

Kathleen Chalfant leads a strong cast as a sympathetic and engaging Ann.  There's good work here as well from Keith Reddin as Michael, David Chandler as Jim, Lisa Emery as Wendy, and Ron Crawford as the spectral George.  Barney O'Hanlon was a late substitution in the role of the youngest brother, John, but you wouldn't have known that from his assured performance.

Les Waters directs with a sure eye for both the comedy and drama in the script, but even so For Peter Pan on Her 70th Birthday is a bit too specifically autobiographical for its own good.  It feels less like a play for a general audience than a home video.  Ms. Ruhl is a highly regarded playwright with a string of frequently performed and justifiably praised shows, though, so I'm inclined to cut her a little slack with this one.

For Peter Pan on Her 70th Birthday runs through April 10th in the Pamela Brown Auditorium at Actors Theatre of Louisville as part of the 40th Humana Festival of New American Plays. 

At the Humana Festival, student interns deliver a "Wondrous Strange" collection of ghost stories

Hannah Karpenko in "The Bonnets"
Photo: Bill Brymer

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Every edition of the Humana Festival features a program of short one-act plays organized around a common theme and performed by the students of the Actors Theatre of Louisville's Acting Apprentice Company.  This year's show, Wondrous Strange—which takes its title from Horatio's exclamation of astonishment after seeing the ghost of Hamlet's father ("O day and night, but this is wondrous strange!")—focuses on ghosts and the supernatural.

"Kentucky's supernatural lore fills anthology after anthology," writes Jessica Reese in the program book, "and every year, thousands of visitors head to the state's haunted landmarks, from posh hotels and mansions to dive bars and Civil War sites…This season, four fearless writers—Martyna Majok, Meg Miroshnik, Jiehae Park, and Jen Silverman—have been invited to venture into the spirit realm and examine the unexplained and the uncanny."

L-R: Alejandro Hernandez, Addison Williams
Jayson Speters in "Ghost Bros"
Photo: Bill Brymer

The resulting short (70 minute) collection of nine plays, sketches, and "blackouts" is a bit uneven, but taken as a whole it's great fun and performed with skill and versatility by a company of 20 talented young actors.  Even though we saw it at a 10:30 a.m. matinee, the show still created an appropriately spooky atmosphere, punctuated with moments of inspired comedy.

Most of the latter comes from Jen Silverman's two contributions. "Ghost Bros" is a hilariously on-target send-up of supernatural "reality" TV and juvenile macho as the titular "bros" (Alejandro Hernandez, Jayson Speters, and Addison Williams) blunder their way through a long-abandoned insane asylum in unsuccessful pursuit of a ghostly little girl (Walls Trimble). "The Bonnets", which concludes the show, is an enthusiastic celebration of murder and mayhem by the female members of the company, dressed in modest nightgowns and bonnets.

Martyna Majok contributes one of the best pieces, a touching little character study about an inexperienced prostitute (Glenna Brucken) who advertises herself as a psychic to stay ahead of the law, only to discover that her customer (Mr. Hernandez) is really interested in a reading.  Instead of playing this for laughs, Ms. Majok makes it a charming portrait of two troubled people looking for comfort in a cold world.

Tracey Green in "Something Like"
Photo: Bill Brymer

One of the creepiest entries is Meg Miroshnik's "The Holler", about a group of friends who have made the mistake of trying to turn part of a former abattoir into an apartment—with unpleasant results.  Her zombie tale "Bug" is a close second, but I thought its predictability spoiled it a bit.

Jiehae Park's "Something Like" takes the ghost story into cyberspace as a young woman (Tracey Green) becomes addicted to interacting with an artificial intelligence program (Adenike Thomas) modeled after her deceased lover.  It downplays the supernatural element to deliver a moving illustration of how we deal with loss.

Directors Marti Lyons and John Rooney make good use of the Bingham Theatre's versatile space, assisted by Paul Toben's dramatic lighting and Christian Frederickson's sound, both of which go a long way towards establishing a disturbing atmosphere.

Wondrous Strange runs through April 10th at Actors Theatre of Louisville as part of the 40th Humana Festival of New American Plays. 

At the Humana Festival, "This Random World" abounds in comic coincidences

L-R: Shirine Babb and Beth Dixon
Photo: Bill Brymer

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One of the great pleasures of the novels of Charles Dickens is the often comical way in which he arranges for characters from very disparate walks of life to be connected, often by wildly improbable coincidences.  In his new comedy "This Random World," veteran comic playwright Steven Dietz stands that convention on its head. 

In Dietz's anti-Dickensian story, characters who are already related to each other, however tangentially, repeatedly miss making connections as a result of coincidences that are as unlikely and comical as anything the great British novelist ever dreamed up.

Renata Friedman and Todd Lawson
Photo: Bill Brymer

As the play opens, Scottie—in her 70s and ailing, but still energetic—is preparing for a trip to the Shimogamo Shrine in Kyoto with her assistant and general dogsbody Bernadette.  Bernadette convinces Scottie to send Bernadette's younger sister Rhonda instead, but events conspire to force a last-minute cancellation on Scottie's part, sending Rhonda to Japan on her own.  Meanwhile, Scottie's daughter Beth, who believes her mother to be a shut-in, has taken off on an adventurous and expensive trip of her own to Nepal where, because of a missed connection, she is thrown together with Gary, a new-agey life coach and the ex-boyfriend of the outrageously neurotic Claire, who is the ex-girlfriend of Scottie's son Tim.

As for Tim, he's a failed writer and computer hacker whose already off-track life is sent into a genuine tailspin when his prank hack of a mortuary's server results in the publication of his own fictional obituary.  His attempts to explain to Rhonda—who just happens to work at said mortuary—that he is actually alive prove to be as funny as they are frustrating.

Nate Miller and Brenda Withers
Photo: Bill Brymer

I could have used the word "coincidentally" a lot in those last two paragraphs, but you get the idea.  As the characters' lives spin merrily out of control, the connections that might get them back on track are repeatedly missed in absurdly unlikely ways.  In one scene, for example, Bernadette just happens to leave her cell phone behind in a hospital waiting room at exactly the point when Beth, who just happens to have lost her cell, is calling from a pay phone to find out what's going on with Scottie.  As the phone rings, Tim just happens to walk in.  He answers it just as Beth impatiently hangs up.

Apparently, the phone just happens not to have voice mail.

Not all of the missed connections are funny, of course.  Dietz is too smart a playwright not to throw in a few scenes that are genuinely touching.  And those scenes work because, with the possible exception of the absurdly unhappy Claire, his characters are all well drawn and believable.

Deonna Bouye
Photo: Bill Brymer

The actors do well by these characters.  Brenda Withers's Beth is as confident as Nate Miller's Tim is lost and perennially baffled.  Beth Dixon is an appealingly feisty Scottie, nicely contrasting with Shirine Babb's patient Bernadette.  Todd Lawson's Gary is perfectly clueless and Deonna Bouye's Rhonda is hilariously motor-mouthed.  Dietz has made the role of Claire fairly one dimensional, but Renata Friedman makes her interesting nevertheless.

Dietz's script calls for a set that suggests "a world that is warm, mysterious and evocative", and designer Daniel Zimmerman has certainly delivered that.  Director Meredith McDonough keeps the action focused and smoothly flowing among the play's many scenes.

"This Random World" is essentially a one-joke play, but the variations on that joke are so ingenious that it never goes stale or wears out its welcome, remaining thoroughly entertaining right up to the surprising final scene.  Given its relatively simple technical demands, I'd expect it to start appearing on other regional stages in the coming years; it certainly deserves to be seen.

"The Random World" runs through April 10 at the Actors Theatre of Louisville, as part of the 40th Humana Festival of New American Plays.  For more information: actorstheatre.org.

Chuck's Choices for the weekend of April 8, 2016

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 Grind" from Briefs
Photo: Max Friedman

That Uppity Theatre Company and The Vital Voice present Briefs: A Festival Of Short Lesbian and Gay Plays Friday through Sunday, April 8-10. "BRIEFS is a unique venture in St. Louis that brings together numerous directors and theatrical artists to showcase the work of eight different playwrights all under one roof. BRIEFS presents theatrical work that address the lives of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer or questioning people. The festival is targeted to a diverse and mature audience that appreciates good theatre in unique settings. The playwrights include three-time Pulitzer Prize nominee and five-time Emmy nominee James Still. Still's When Miss Lydia Hinkley Gives A Bird the Bird is the story about a thinly coded women's literary club set in 1859. Award-winning General Hospital writer Scott C. Sickles, will have his world premiere of his play I Knew It, inspired by a rumored relationship between Mick Jagger and David Bowie. We are excited for emerging playwright Stephen Peirick to direct his play titled A Comfortable Fit, about a shopping excursion between a transgender mother and daughter." Performances take place at The Rialto Ballroom at Grand Center_3547 Olive. For more information, visit briefs.eventbrite.com or call (314) 995-4600.

My take: If Briefs is about anything, it’s about the fluidity of identity and the diversity that comes from it. If America is about anything, it’s about diversity. And that, no matter what some people will try to tell you, is a good thing. Diversity in nature increases resistance to extinction. Diversity in the workplace leads to smarter teams and better problem solving. Diversity is a source of strength. E pluribus unum. Go, see, and enjoy.

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Steven Lutvak

The Presenters Dolan presents singer/songwriter Steven Lutvak in A Gentleman's Guide to the Gentleman's Guide on Friday and Saturday, April 8 and 9, at 8 PM as part of the Gaslight Cabaret Festival. "Come hear the man who was behind the Broadway hit, A GENTLEMAN'S GUIDE TO LOVE AND MURDER sing his songs, and let you in on the fascinating backstory and incredible journey of the making of a Tony Award winning musical." The performances take place at the Gaslight Theater, 358 North Boyle. For more information: gaslightcabaretfestival.com.

My take: Jim Dolan is bringing the spring edition of the Gaslight Cabaret Festival to a big close with a show by one of Broadway's newest and brightest talents. "The craftsmanship of the lyrics is impeccable," wrote Mark Horowitz in a DC Theatre Scene article on Mr. Lutvak's show in January, "dripping with wit, and sporting rhymes that leave one gasping in awe. The music is immediately and tunefully accessible, but listen more closely and you’ll hear harmonies, accompaniments, and flourishes that are the work of a composer with a unique voice and something to say."

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Great Falls
Photo: John Lamb

The West End Players Guild continues their 105th season with Lee Blessing's comedy/drama Great Falls Fridays and Saturdays at 8 PM and Sundays at 2 PM, April 8-17. "This long, strange trip is undertaken by Monkey Man, a divorced middle-aged writer, and his teenaged ex-stepdaughter, who goes by the name of Bitch. Both of them have lost their way in life, and they set off in search of answers on a road trip through the great American West. By turns funny, sad, touching and profane, Great Falls will take you on a memorable and moving theatrical tour." There will also be a show on Thursday, April 14, at 8 PM. 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.

My take: Lee Blessing's work has appeared fairly frequently on local stages in recent years, and with good reason: he's an original and sometimes provocative voice. "An honest look at what is possible -- and seemingly impossible -- in human encounters lies at the heart of many Lee Blessing plays," wrote Michael McGregor in a 2010 review of Great Falls for Oregon Live. "Letting each character have his say -- and his due -- he shines a harsh but understanding light on contemporary American problems."

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Hedwig and the Angry Inch
Photo: John Lamb

Stray Dog Theatre presents the rock musical Hedwig and the Angry Inch Thursdays through Saturdays at 8 PM through April 16. "The 'internationally ignored song stylist' Hedwig Schmidt, an East German diva, is also the victim of a botched sex-change operation. As she tours the U.S. with her loyal band, Hedwig candidly shares her life story. Raucous, soulful and wickedly funny with a brilliant rock score, this show has inspired legions of fans." Performances take place at The Tower Grove Abbey, 2336 Tennessee. For more information, visit straydogtheatre.org or call 314-865-1995.

My take: "When Hedwig brings her Angry Inch band to St. Louis," writes Tina Farmer at KDHX, "you better get ready for a punk rock throwback that's still a force to be reckoned with. This is the premise, feel, and atmosphere Stray Dog Theatre has created for their production of John Cameron Mitchell's angry ode to the downtrodden working class, running through April 16, 2016 and directed by Justin Been. This is Hedwig's story and uniquely hers, but she shares kinship with musicians, artists, and rebels -- transgender, queer, and straight -- who have stories they are compelled to tell. Fame be damned." This aggressive rock musical is not new to St. Louis, of course, but Stray Dog is putting their own spin on it by turning their space into the seedy rock club where Hedwig performs, complete with table service.

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The University of Missouri at St. Louis presents Idris Goodwin's How We Got On Thursday through Sunday, April 7-10. "Hank, Julian, and Luann are three talented, determined suburban teens coming of age in the 1980s. Dreaming of fame and fortune in the new Hip-Hop music scene, they must overcome cultural isolation, familial dysfunction, and ruthless rivalries to make the music that defines their lives. A sultry DJ spins their stories with her own meta-theatrical perspective in this contemporary ode to the roots of rap." The performances take place at the Touhill Performing Arts Center on the University of Missouri-St. Louis campus. For more information, touhill.org or call 314-516-4949.

My take: I saw the world premiere of this show at the 2012 Humana Festival of New American plays and was simply blown away by it. As I noted in my review, this is a literate, poetic, deeply felt and warmly human look at three suburban teens (two black and one Latino) in 1988 trying to make sense of their lives, their ambitions, and their relationships with their parents while learning to express themselves with rhymes and beats. A DJ/narrator holds it all together and weaves a highly educational history of history of rap into the story. The result is a compelling, moving, funny, and exciting piece of theatre. I'm glad to see that it has finally made its way to St. Louis.

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Gateway Opera presents William Bolcom's chamber opera Lucrezia Friday and Saturday, April 8 and 9, at 8:00 p.m. "Lucrezia is a chamber opera, composed by William Bolcom, with libretto by Mark Campbell, scored for five singers and two pianists. It's a zarzuela riff on Machiavelli's La Mandragola and re-imagines the comedy's heroine as an intelligent seductress in charge of her own destiny." Performances take place at Washington University's 560 Music Center, 560 Trinity in University City. For more information: gatewayopera.org.

My take: Well, how often do you get to see chamber operas by William Bolcom? Or any operas, for that matter? An eclectic composer and student of a wide variety of popular and classical music, Mr. Bolcom's musical voice is not heard nearly often enough on concert and opera stages.

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Our Town

The Hawthorne Players present the Thornton Wilder's Our Town April 8-17. "Narrated by a stage manager and performed with minimal props and sets, audiences follow the Webb and Gibbs families as their children fall in love, marry, and eventually-in one of the most famous scenes in American theatre-die." The performances take place at the Florissant Civic Center Theatre at Parker and Waterford in Florissant, MO. For more information, call 921-5678 or visit hawthorneplayers.info.

My take: What can I say about this classic that has not already been said? The type of small town life depicted in Wilder's play (the action place between 1901 and 1913) was already passing from the scene when it premiered in 1938. By rights it should be a museum piece by now. But the writing touches so effectively on the universal human experiences of birth, life, and death that it never seems dated.

Held Over:

Satchel Paige and the Kansas City Swing
Photo: John Gitchoff

The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis presents Satchel Paige and the Kansas City Swing through April 10. "The crack of the bat, the roar of the crowd-it's what every baseball player dreams of. In 1947, Jackie Robinson had broken baseball's color barrier, while Satchel Paige and his Negro League All-Stars were barnstorming against their white counterparts in the Majors. It was baseball by day and jazz by night as the impassioned and devoted players tried to find their place in a country on the verge of change." Performances take place on the mainstage at the Loretto-Hlton Center, 130 Edgar Road in Webster Groves, MO. For more information, call 314-968-4925 or visit repstl.org.

My take: While the reviews for this show have been mixed, I saw it last weekend and was very impressed. It's a fascinating look at a historical turning point both in American history in general and in the history of baseball, our national pastime, in particular. It uses the life of Satchel Paige as a metaphor for the passing of black American institutions that were made irrelevant by integration, and ties it up with the changes taking place in jazz at the same time. This is heady and smart stuff, and while the second act, in particular, could stand with some trimming, it's still a powerful show from the team that brought us the remarkable Fly a few seasons back. At a time when reactionary political forces are trying to undo all the good done since 1947, this show is very relevant.