St. Louis theatre calendar for the week of October 10, 2022

Now including both on-line and live events during the pandemic. Your event information should be in text format (i.e. not part of a graphic), but feel free to include publicity stills. To get your event listed here, send an email to calendar [at] stageleft.org.

Black Mirror Theatre Company presents Roll With It October 13 through 23. Performances take place at the Kranzberg Center in Grand Center. “After an SUV rollover leaves 25-year-old Katie paralyzed from the chest down, she and her former self struggle with physical, emotional, psychological, and financial challenges as they aim to recover, and find purpose and beauty in daily living. Katie’s journey with friends, family and caregivers is inspiring, difficult, funny, and honest.” For more information: www.blackmirrortheatre.org

Clayton Community Theatre presents Wendy Wasserstein’s Uncommon Women and Others Thursdays through Saturdays at 8 pm and Sundays at 2 pm, October 13-23.  “The year is 1978. Eight women - who six years earlier were classmates at a prestigious, New England women’s college during the heady early years of the women’s movement - share memories and reflect on how their lives have unfolded so far, in light of their own expectations and those of society. Wasserstein’s characters strive to define and chart new paths for themselves in a challenging world still fraught with traditional stereotypes. Uncommon Women and Others was her breakthrough play; Wasserstein wrote it in 1975 while earning a graduate degree at Yale Drama School and revised it in 1977. The play entered the public consciousness soon after its debut in 1978 in New York City; it remains very popular and is still frequently performed today.” Performances take place at the Washington University South Campus Theatre, 6501 Clayton Rd. For more information: www.placeseveryone.org

Hadestown
Photo: Kevin Berne

The Fabulous Fox presents the musical Hadestown opening on Tuesday, October 11, at 7:30 pm and running through October 23. “Hadestown intertwines two mythic tales — that of young dreamers Orpheus and Eurydice, and that of King Hades and his wife Persephone — as it invites you on a hell-raising journey to the underworld and back. Mitchell’s beguiling melodies and Chavkin’s poetic imagination pit industry against nature, doubt against faith, and fear against love. Performed by a vibrant ensemble of actors, dancers and singers, Hadestown is a haunting and hopeful theatrical experience that grabs you and never lets go.” The Fabulous Fox is on North Grand in Grand Center. For more information: www.fabulousfox.com

KTK Productions presents Two Witches, No Waiting Fridays through Sundays, October 14-23. “Arlene Marcus and her sister, Elzbeth, are known far and wide in South Texas as friendly, charitable and a little eccentric. This is understandable, because it is also known that they are witches. At least, that's the story, especially the one spread by their housekeeper, Opal Dunn, just before she vanished without a trace. Sheriff Jeb Abercrombie seems a little shy about investigating for some reason, which bothers Elzbeth, who has a crush on the lawman. Arlene's son, Jeremy, tries to keep a lid on things by trying to get the sisters to sell their house. And who wants desperately to buy the property? Eustace Sternwood, his fiancés father. Of course, Sternwood didn't reckon on dealing with people who read bumps on his head, a "recipe book" full of spells and potions and getting lost in Elzbeth's "mystery room." Jeremy already has his hands full, so what happens when he seems to be falling in love with Bonnie, the new housekeeper? And just who is she? And why does she keep making reports to someone over her cellphone? It's a heady brew of twists and turns, where barn owls spy on people through windows, closets fly open and even the house itself seems alive. Of course, it's all par for the course, especially when you have , Two Witches, No Waiting.” Performances take place at the Saint John The Baptist Gymnasium, 4200 Delor Street in south St. Louis. For more information: kurtainkall.org

The Lemp Mansion Murder Mystery Dinner Theatre and Jest Mysteries present Dead Like Me through October 29th. "Death is in the air as guests join Marilyn Monroe, Babe Ruth, Juliet and her Romeo, Nixon and other grizzly ghouls as they emerge from the Land of The Dead for the annual Brotherhood of Obituary Occupants Union Meeting (That’s BOO for short). Be sure to leave your pulse at home because everyone at this party is dead... even you! There are lots of shadowy characters at this fun, interactive murder mystery but none are as sneaky as P.T. Barnum himself. He’s always got some devious slimy trick up his translucent sleeves. Gee, hope nothing happens to him! But just in case it does... will you figure out who-dun-it? Or will all waggling fingers be pointing at you?"  The Lemp Mansion is at 3322 DeMenil Place in south city. For more information: www.lempmansion.com

Metro Theater Company presents Seedfolks live through November 6. “A vacant lot in a broken neighborhood in the middle of the city can become a lot of things. How could it ever be a source of hope? A dozen different characters and their stories come to life, beginning with Kim, a nine-year-old Vietnamese immigrant who plants six precious lima beans. One by one, the people of his community, many also immigrants, sow seeds of hope amid the dirt and grit, tending dreams to full bloom. As the garden grows, so does the community, blooming into something bigger, better, and beyond all expectations. As told by award-winning novelist Paul Fleischman, the garden draws neighbors out of their lonely isolation to rediscover and celebrate the community around them.” Performances take place at the Grandel Theatre in Grand Center and can also be viewed via streaming video beginning on October 19th. For more information: www.metroplays.org

Metro Theater Company presents the world premiere of Bold, Brave, Curious! Mariah L. Richardson Friday at 11 am and Saturday at 4 pm, October 15 and 16. “Nine-year-old Delilah has sworn to be BFFs with Lupe and Stanley, but when Stanley’s foster mom falls ill, secrets and lies threaten to tear the friends apart. Can the mysterious, magical object they find in Grandmomma’s attic bring them back together? Bold, Brave, Curious! illuminates the power of friendship and empowers young people to examine friendship, bias, community, and individual power. ” Performances take place at the Grandel Theatre in Grand Center. The show is also available for video streaming through October 16th.For more information: www.metroplays.org

St. Louis Woman

The Midnight Company presents the World Premiere of St. Louis Woman, a play with music starring Laka, written and directed by Midnight’s Artistic Director, Joe Hanrahan. Performances are Thursdays through Saturdays at 8 pm and Sundays at 2 pm (October 16 only) through October 22. “St. Louis Woman will honor the enduring legacy of some of the amazing women in St. Louis who brought this city to the world with their timeless music, dance and poetry. Laka will portray such legendary artists as Josephine Baker, Tina Turner and Katherine Dunham (and present the poetry of Maya Angelou, the song stylings of chart-toppers Fontella Bass and Ann Peebles, and the Gospel classics of the legendary Willie Mae Ford Smith.) These women were born in St. Louis, or came here when young (typically to join Gospel choirs), or, in Dunham’s case, moved here during the height of their careers to continue their momentous work. Performances take place at the .ZACK theatre, in Grand Center For more information: midnightcompany.com.

Something Rotten
Photo: Jill Ritter Lindberg

New Line Theatre presents the musical Something Rotten Thursdays through Saturdays at 8 pm through October 15 “It's 1595, and brothers Nick and Nigel Bottom are desperate to write a hit play but they're stuck in the shadow of the Renaissance rock star Will Shakespeare. When a local soothsayer foretells that the future of theatre involves singing, dancing and acting, all at the same time, Nick and Nigel set out to write the world’s very first musical. This smart, subversive musical comedy mashes up the crass commercialism of today’s Hollywood with the people and plays of Shakespeare’s London, to ask fascinating, funny questions about commercial success, popular success, artistic success, and personal success. And beneath the rapid-fire Shakespeare jokes, the show comically deconstructs itself and musical theatre as an art form, exploring what makes musicals tick and why we love them. The show was nominated for ten Tonys, nine Drama Desk Awards, and twelve Outer Critics Circle Awards.” .  Performances take place at the Marcelle Theatre in Grand Center.For more information: http://www.newlinetheatre.com.

The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis presents Private Lives by Noël Coward through October 23. “Sparks fly in Noël Coward’s witty and sophisticated romantic comedy of manners, featuring the unexpected and tumultuous collision of two former lovers.” Performances take place on the Berges Mainstage Theatre at COCA in University City. For more information: www.repstl.org

The St. Louis Actors’ Studio presents Fiction by Steven Dietz Fridays and Saturdays at 8 pm and Sundays at 3 pm through October 23. “Linda and Michael Waterman are both successful fiction writers, happily married to one another. They thrive on the give and take of their unusually honest and candid relationship. However, when Linda is diagnosed with a tumor, she asks her husband to share his diaries with her. The entries dive into Michael's past stay at a writer's retreat and a hidden affair. Michael says that his entries are only works of fiction. The boundaries between past and present, fact and fiction, trust and betrayal begin to break down, and that's all before Michael reads Linda's diaries. No life, as it turns out, is an open book.” Performances take place at The Gaslight Theater on North Boyle in the Central West End. For more information: www.stlas.org

The St. Louis Writers' Group presents round 2 of the 2022 Playwright Slam Tuesday, October 11 at 6:30 pm. The three finalists from round one will be read and rated by a panel of judges based on audience reaction. The judges will select several plays to move on to the final round next week. The readings take place at Big Daddy’s in Soulard. For more information, visit the St. Louis Writers' Group Facebook page.

The Department of Theater and Dance and SIU-Edwardsville presents Ibsen’s Hedda Gabler Wednesday and Saturday at 7:30 pm and Sunday at 2 pm, October 12-16. “Filled with a passion for life that cannot be confined by her marriage or “perfect home,” Hedda Gabler strives to find a way to fulfill her desires by manipulating those around her.  Hedda and George have just returned from their honeymoon, but when her former lover Eilert appears with a brilliant new manuscript, George’s hopes for a professorship are dimmed.  Hedda’s desperate dissatisfaction with her life leads to dangerous choices in this startling portrait of a woman hell-bent on destruction.” Performances take place at the Dunham Hall Theatre on the campus in Edwardsville, IL. For more information: www.siue.edu

A Little Night Music
Photo: John Lamb

Stray Dog Theatre presents the Sondheim’s A Little Night Music Thursdays through Saturdays through October 22. There are additional performances at 2 pm Sunday, October 16 and 8 pm Wednesday October 19. “Set in a weekend country house in turn of the century Sweden, this musical farce brings together surprising liaisons, long simmering passions, and a taste of love’s endless possibilities. Hailed as witty and wildly romantic, the story centers on the elegant actress Desirée Armfeldt and the spider’s web of sensuality, intrigue, and desire that surrounds her.” Performances take place at Tower Grove Abbey, 2336 Tennessee in Tower Grove East. Tickets are only offered in physically distanced groups of two or four. For more information: www.straydogtheatre.org

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 Calendar.

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.

Symphony Preview: Un ombre brumeuse d'hiver

In the sky was Bellatrix
Between Betelgeuse and Rigel fixed.
With Kappa standing to the right
Orion walks the winter night. – “Orion,” The New Golden Rocket (1991)

No, it’s not winter yet, but the opening work in the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra concerts this weekend (October 7 and 8) give us a sonic preview with “Ciel d’hiver” (“Winter Sky”) by Helsinki-born Kaija Saariaho (b. 1952). Saariaho has lived in Paris since 1982, where her studies at the Institute for Research and Coordination in Acoustics/Music (IRCAM) convinced her to turn away from serialism and towards spectralism, a movement that treats orchestral color (the sonic spectrum) as a compositional cornerstone.  You can hear that in the rich acoustic palette of “Ciel d’hiver,” which is a 2014 re-orchestration of the second movement of Saariaho’s 2002 suite "Orion."

Kaija Saariaho
Photo courtesy of the SLSO

Beginning with high woodwinds suspended over growling low notes with not much in between, the work strongly suggests the bleak emptiness of a dark, chilly night. The aurora borealis shimmers in the exotic percussion battery and eventually the winds begin to moan ominously. Finally the sky clears to a tinkling piano motif and an evanescent cello melody and it all fades to black.

“It ain’t a fit night out for man nor beast,” as W.C. Fields repeatedly intones in “The Fatal Glass of Beer,” but its music has a forbidding beauty all the same.

The composer of the second work on the program was also based in Paris, but the land of his birth lies considerably to the south of Saariaho’s Finland. Joseph Bologne, (1745-1799), was born in Baillif, Gaudeloupe, the son of Nanon, a Senegalese slave, and plantation owner George de Bologne Saint-Georges. The latter adopted the boy, paid for his education, and took both him and Nanon with him when a dubious murder charge obliged him to decamp for France.

Raised as a gentleman, the younger Bologne became a master fencer as well as an expert equestrian and was knighted Chevalier de Saint-Georges at the ripe old age of 19. He also excelled at music and achieved renown as a violinist, conductor, and composer. He survived the French revolution by siding with the Republic and leading an all-black cavalry unit. After a series of adventures, misadventures, and reversals of fortune that could easily be the basis of a rousing work of historical fiction, he died of a bladder infection at the age of 54.

It’s a hell of a biography for an 18th century composer and stands in stark contrast to the elegance of his Violin Concerto in A major, Op. 5 No. 2 (c. 1775), which the SLSO will play for the first time this weekend. At first hearing, it may remind you a bit of Mozart, but there’s an unmistakably gallic je ne sais quoi to this work in general and the solo part in particular that is entirely Bologne’s own.

By D'après Mather Brown (1761–1831) &
William Ward (1766–1826) -
Gabriel Banat.- The Chevalier de Saint-Georges,
Virtuosa of the Sword and the Bow,
Public Domain

The soloist will be the SLSO’s own Hannah Ji. A relatively recent addition to the first violin section, Ji has appeared on NPR’s “From the Top” program (which showcases exceptional young artists) and has performed with such luminaries as Pinchas Zuckerman, Jeremy Denk, and Yo-Yo Ma. This will be her first solo spot with the orchestra.

After intermission we get the Big Deal on this week’s bill: Modest Mussorgsky's "Pictures at an Exhibition." As the title indicates, it was inspired by the composer’s visit to an exhibit of work by the Russian artist and architect Victor Hartmann.

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 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 the first to orchestrate Mussorgsky's suite; that honor fell to fellow Russian Michail Tuschmalov in 1886, the year in which the suite was published. But he arranged only 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.

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

This weekend it's the familiar Ravel orchestration that guest conductor Jonathon Heyward will conduct in his first appearance with the orchestra. 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.

That said, I often wish that orchestras would give us a chance to hear some of those other arrangements. Leopold Stokowski's 1939 version, for example, is pretty compelling (even if he does leave out two of the original movements). So is the one by pianist and conductor Vladimir Ashkenazy, still available on CD along with his performance of the piano original.

To the best of my knowledge, the closest the SLSO has come to giving us a taste of those other arrangements was a concert on January 25-27, 1991, in which Leonard Slatkin presented a kind of "mosaic" version of "Pictures" that included orchestrations of individual movements by not only Stokowski and Ashkenazy but also (among others) Tuschmalov, Wood, and Lucien Caillet, with Ravel returning only in the last two movements. That performance was recorded and released by the SLSO as part of a special commemorative six-CD set titled "The Slatkin Years." The release was limited but individual copies still show up from resellers now and then. The good news is that Slatkin put together a similar arrangement for a recording with the Nashville Symphony Orchestra for Naxos in 2008, so I have included that version along with Ravel’s in this week’s Spotify playlist.

The Essentials: Guest conductor Jonathon Heyward leads the orchestra and violinist Hannah Ji in a program of Kaija Saariaho's "Ciel d'hiver" ("Winter Sky"), Joseph Bologne's Violin Concerto No 2 (both local premieres), and Ravel's orchestration of Mussorgsky's "Pictures at an Exhibition." Performances are Friday at 10:30 am and Saturday at 8 pm, October 7 and 8. The Saturday concert will be broadcast live, as usual, on St. Louis Public Radio and Classic 107.3.

This article originally appeared at 88.1 KDHX, where Chuck Lavazzi is the senior performing arts critic.

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Symphony Review: The SLSO and the Muny collaborate on a Sondheim celebration

In a 2008 New York Times interview, the late Stephen Sondheim was asked what he’d like his legacy to be. His answer: “I would just like the shows to keep getting done. Whether on Broadway or in regional theatres or schools or communities, I would just like the stuff to be done… You know, that would be the fun.”

Clockwise from top left: Ken Page, Emily Skinner,
Ben Davis, Bryonha Marie, Matthew Scott,
and Elizabeth Stanley. Photo courtesy of the SLSO.

If Sondheim looked down on the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra’s “A Little Sondheim Music” program yesterday (Sunday, October 2), I think he would have found this co-production with The Muny to be a great deal of fun indeed. I certainly did, and the large audience seemed to concur.

With Muny veteran Ben Whiteley at the podium and a killer cast of musical theatre stars, all of whom have Muny appearances in their resumes, “A Little Sondheim Music” was a Golden Ticket for musical theatre lovers in general and fans of Sondheim in particular. With over two dozen numbers culled from ten different Sondheim shows spanning over three decades of the composer’s career, it was a good representation of what I’m going to call the “PG-rated” aspects of his output.

That means darker or complex shows like “Passion,” “Sunday in the Park with George,” and “Assassins” were left out. “Sweeney Todd” was represented only by “My Friends” which, while not one of the strongest numbers in the score, is one of the less creepy. That’s not a complaint so much as an observation. When you’re preparing an openly celebratory show, you probably don’t want to hit folks with (say) “The Ballad of Sweeney Todd” or “The Gun Song.”

“But I digress.” – Tom Lehrer

The important point is that we got some of Sondheim’s best stuff performed, either singly or in ensembles, by a first-rate cast. There were so many highlights I can’t possibly list them all, but here are a few that will also allow me to say something about each one of those fine singers.

The title number from Sondheim’s first show, “Saturday Night” (1957) was a great showcase for the five principal singers: Ben Davis, Bryonha Marie, Matthew Scott, Emily Skinner, and Elizabeth Stanley. Each one played a different character, so they all got a chance to shine individually, and the canonical final moments demonstrated how well they blended as an ensemble. They didn’t perform as a quintet again until the very end, when their powerful rendition of “Our Time” (from “Merrily We Roll Along,” 1981) sent everyone out on an inspired musical high.

Stand-out solo turns included (but were absolutely not limited to) Marie’s warmly compassionate “Children Will Listen” (“Into the Woods,” 1987), Stanley’s “In Buddy’s Eyes” (“Follies,” 1971) with its unspoken tragic subtext, Skinner’s big, bold “I’m Still Here” (also “Follies”), Davis’s crystal-clear delivery of “Everyone Says Don’t” (“Anyone Can Whistle,” 1964), and Scott’s wide-eyed “Giants in the Sky” (“Into the Woods”).

And let’s not neglect St. Louis’s own Ken Page, one of the few actors to whom Sondheim actually wrote a fan letter. In his special guest appearance, he delivered a deeply felt and intensely personal performance of the title song from “Anyone Can Whistle.” Accompanied only by Nicholas Valdez on piano, it was a true cabaret moment. Nicely done, Mr. Page.

Whiteley and the orchestra got a few opportunities to strut their stuff, as well, with the overtures to “Merrily We Roll Along” and “A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum (1962),” but for me their best moment was the “Night Waltz” from “A Little Night Music (1971).” Individual members of the orchestra had some spotlight time as well, including Associate Concertmaster Celeste Golden’s duet with Marie in “Broadway Baby,” Tzuying Huang’s limpid bass clarinet solo in “Send in the Clowns,” and Andrea Kaplan’s flutes (standard concert and alto) in “Too Many Mornings.”

Michael Baxter’s staging of the musical numbers often made good use of the limited space available in front on the orchestra. An example that stands out in my mind was “It Takes Two” (“Into the Woods”) in which Davis and Stanley, as the baker and his wife, respectively, start out singing different melodies on opposite sides of the stage. As they begin to come together musically, they do so physically as well, until they’re in a clinch center stage in a happy duet.

As he did in the last SLSO/Muny collaboration in 2018, Muny Artistic Director Mike Isaacson acted as narrator, introducing each set of songs with interesting and sometimes surprising historical tidbits on both Sondheim and his connections with St. Louis and The Muny. There were just enough of these, and they were of just the right length, to provide context without getting in the way of the music.

Were there aspects of the program that didn’t work so well for me? Absolutely. How important were they overall? Well, I left them until the end of this review, so that should give you some idea. Most of the issues were technical, involving popping wireless body mics and the difficulty of balancing amplified sound (the singers and some of the softer instruments like the celesta) with an acoustic orchestra. Some of Sondheim’s rapid-fire lyrics got swamped by the band at times, but not often enough to be truly annoying.

Mostly, though, “Sing a Song of Sondheim” was a delightful afternoon’s entertainment and a fitting tribute to perhaps the greatest musical theatre composer of the 20th century. Thanks to the SLSO and The Muny for the experience. I hope there are more of these collaborations in the future.

Next at Powell Hall: Guest conductor Jonathon Heyward leads the orchestra and violinist Hannah Ji in a program of Kaija Saariaho's "Ciel d'hiver" ("Winter Sky"), Joseph Bologne's Violin Concerto No 2 (both local premieres), and Ravel's orchestration of Mussorgsky's "Pictures at an Exhibition." Performances are Friday at 10:30 am and Saturday at 8 pm, October 7 and 8. The Saturday concert will be broadcast live, as usual, on St. Louis Public Radio and Classic 107.3.

This article originally appeared at 88.1 KDHX, where Chuck Lavazzi is the senior performing arts critic.

St. Louis theatre calendar for the week of October 3, 2022

Now including both on-line and live events during the pandemic. Your event information should be in text format (i.e. not part of a graphic), but feel free to include publicity stills. To get your event listed here, send an email to calendar [at] stageleft.org.

Heroes
Photo: John Lamb

Albion Theatre presents Tom Stoppard’s translation of Gérald Sibleyras’s Heroes through October 9. “Set in 1959 three French World War I veterans in a military convalescent hospital make a bid for one last moment of freedom.” Performances take place at the Kranzberg Arts Center 501 N. Grand in Grand Center. For more information: albiontheatrestl.org.

The Alpha Players present Ripcord by David Lindsay Abaire  through October 9. “Have you ever had a roommate you couldn’t stand? A sunny room on an upper floor is prime real estate in the Bristol Place Senior Living Facility. When the cantankerous Abby is forced to share her quarters with new-arrival Marilyn, she has no choice but to get rid of the infuriatingly chipper woman by any means necessary. When Abby bets Marilyn she can make her angry and Marilyn bets Abby she can scare her, the sky is the limit on just how far each will go to “win” the room. The situation escalates into a comedic game of one-upmanship that reveals not just the tenacity of these worthy opponents, but also deeper truths that each would rather remain hidden.” Performances take place in the James J. Eagen Center in Florissant. For more information: www.alphaplayers.org

The Blue Strawberry presents a Singers Open Mic Night with host Meghan Kirk and pianist Ron McGowan on Tuesday, October 4, from 7 to 9:30 pm. “Musicals, Standards new and established, Cabaret and Pop. First Tuesday of every month (unless we change a date here and there!). Bring music in your key."  The Blue Strawberry is at 364 N. Boyle. For more information: bluestrawberrystl.com.

John Lloyd Young

The Blue Strawberry presents John Lloyd Young Friday and Saturday, October 7 and 8, at 7:30 pm. “John Lloyd Young is the Tony and Grammy award-winning Frankie Valli from Broadway's Jersey Boys as well as the star of the Clint Eastwood directed Warner Bros film. John Lloyd Young: Broadway’s Jersey Boy is a celebration of classic hits from the ‘50s and ‘60s presented in the authentic acoustic style of original rock ‘n’ roll, Doo-Wop, and R&B standards. Along with tracks from Young’s critically acclaimed debut album “My Turn”, the show features “Sherry”, “Can’t Take My Eyes Off of You”, “Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me”, “In the Still of the Night” along with treasures from Roy Orbison to The Platters, the Righteous Brothers to Paul McCartney, Adele to Luther Vandross, Little Anthony, Elvis, Tom Jones and more."  The Blue Strawberry is at 364 N. Boyle. For more information: bluestrawberrystl.com.

The Lemp Mansion Murder Mystery Dinner Theatre and Jest Mysteries present Dead Like Me through October 29th. "Death is in the air as guests join Marilyn Monroe, Babe Ruth, Juliet and her Romeo, Nixon and other grizzly ghouls as they emerge from the Land of The Dead for the annual Brotherhood of Obituary Occupants Union Meeting (That’s BOO for short). Be sure to leave your pulse at home because everyone at this party is dead... even you! There are lots of shadowy characters at this fun, interactive murder mystery but none are as sneaky as P.T. Barnum himself. He’s always got some devious slimy trick up his translucent sleeves. Gee, hope nothing happens to him! But just in case it does... will you figure out who-dun-it? Or will all waggling fingers be pointing at you?"  The Lemp Mansion is at 3322 DeMenil Place in south city. For more information: www.lempmansion.com

Metro Theater Company presents Seedfolks live October 9 through November 6. “A vacant lot in a broken neighborhood in the middle of the city can become a lot of things. How could it ever be a source of hope? A dozen different characters and their stories come to life, beginning with Kim, a nine-year-old Vietnamese immigrant who plants six precious lima beans. One by one, the people of his community, many also immigrants, sow seeds of hope amid the dirt and grit, tending dreams to full bloom. As the garden grows, so does the community, blooming into something bigger, better, and beyond all expectations. As told by award-winning novelist Paul Fleischman, the garden draws neighbors out of their lonely isolation to rediscover and celebrate the community around them.” Performances take place at the Grandel Theatre in Grand Center and can also be viewed via streaming video beginning on October 19th. For more information: www.metroplays.org

Laka

The Midnight Company presents the World Premiere of St. Louis Woman, a play with music starring Laka, written and directed by Midnight’s Artistic Director, Joe Hanrahan. Performances are Thursdays through Saturdays at 8 pm and Sundays at 2 pm (October 9 and 16 only),  October 6 – 22. “St. Louis Woman will honor the enduring legacy of some of the amazing women in St. Louis who brought this city to the world with their timeless music, dance and poetry. Laka will portray such legendary artists as Josephine Baker, Tina Turner and Katherine Dunham (and present the poetry of Maya Angelou, the song stylings of chart-toppers Fontella Bass and Ann Peebles, and the Gospel classics of the legendary Willie Mae Ford Smith.) These women were born in St. Louis, or came here when young (typically to join Gospel choirs), or, in Dunham’s case, moved here during the height of their careers to continue their momentous work. Performances take place at the .ZACK theatre, in Grand Center For more information: midnightcompany.com.

Something Rotten
Photo: Jill Ritter Lindberg

New Line Theatre presents the musical Something Rotten Thursdays through Saturdays at 8 pm through October 15 “It's 1595, and brothers Nick and Nigel Bottom are desperate to write a hit play but they're stuck in the shadow of the Renaissance rock star Will Shakespeare. When a local soothsayer foretells that the future of theatre involves singing, dancing and acting, all at the same time, Nick and Nigel set out to write the world’s very first musical. This smart, subversive musical comedy mashes up the crass commercialism of today’s Hollywood with the people and plays of Shakespeare’s London, to ask fascinating, funny questions about commercial success, popular success, artistic success, and personal success. And beneath the rapid-fire Shakespeare jokes, the show comically deconstructs itself and musical theatre as an art form, exploring what makes musicals tick and why we love them. The show was nominated for ten Tonys, nine Drama Desk Awards, and twelve Outer Critics Circle Awards.” .  Performances take place at the Marcelle Theatre in Grand Center.For more information: http://www.newlinetheatre.com.

The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis presents Private Lives by Noël Coward through October 23. “Sparks fly in Noël Coward’s witty and sophisticated romantic comedy of manners, featuring the unexpected and tumultuous collision of two former lovers.” Performances take place on the Berges Mainstage Theatre at COCA in University City. For more information: www.repstl.org

The St. Louis Actors’ Studio presents Fiction by Steven Dietz Fridays and Saturdays at 8 pm and Sundays at 3 pm, October 7-23. “Linda and Michael Waterman are both successful fiction writers, happily married to one another. They thrive on the give and take of their unusually honest and candid relationship. However, when Linda is diagnosed with a tumor, she asks her husband to share his diaries with her. The entries dive into Michael's past stay at a writer's retreat and a hidden affair. Michael says that his entries are only works of fiction. The boundaries between past and present, fact and fiction, trust and betrayal begin to break down, and that's all before Michael reads Linda's diaries. No life, as it turns out, is an open book.” Performances take place at The Gaslight Theater on North Boyle in the Central West End. For more information: www.stlas.org

St. Louis University Theatre presents The Government Inspector Thursday through Sunday, October 6-9. “When the locals in a small town in Russia learn that an undercover government inspector is coming for a surprise visit, an unfortunate case of mistaken identity sends the village spiraling into a world of panic and greed. The Government Inspector is often said to be Nikolai Gogol’s masterpiece, a comedy of errors that provides clever commentary on the extensive political wrongdoing of Imperial Russia. When it opened, it caused an uproar in the Russian press. Eventually, Tsar Nicholas I had to intervene in order for the production to move forward. Since its premiere in the 1830s, The Government Inspector has been translated and adapted for many different productions, most notably the Chichester Festival in 2005.” Performances take place at the Xavier Hall Main Stage on the campus at 3733 West Pine Mall in Grand Center. For more information: www.slu.edu

The St. Louis Writers' Group presents round 1 of the 2022 Playwright Slam Tuesday, October 4 at 6:30 pm, . Each script will be given a five minute read, and rated by a panel of judges based on audience reaction. The judges will select several plays to move on to round two next week. The readings take place at Big Daddy’s in Soulard. For more information, visit the St. Louis Writers' Group Facebook page.

Stray Dog Theatre presents the Sondheim’s A Little Night Music Thursdays through Saturdays October 6-22. There are additional performances at 2 pm Sunday, October 16 and 8 pm Wednesday October 19. “Set in a weekend country house in turn of the century Sweden, this musical farce brings together surprising liaisons, long simmering passions, and a taste of love’s endless possibilities. Hailed as witty and wildly romantic, the story centers on the elegant actress Desirée Armfeldt and the spider’s web of sensuality, intrigue, and desire that surrounds her.” Performances take place at Tower Grove Abbey, 2336 Tennessee in Tower Grove East. Tickets are only offered in physically distanced groups of two or four. For more information: www.straydogtheatre.org

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 Calendar.

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.

Symphony Preview: Les feuilles mortes

We’re only a week past the autumnal equinox and over a month away from the dreaded end of daylight saving time but, at least here in St. Louis, it’s finally beginning to feel like fall. Temperatures are mercifully cooler, days are shorter, and I find myself thinking of that Kurt Weill lyric about how the “the days dwindle down to a precious few.” Winter is coming, and so is the night.

The St. Louis Symphony Orchestra concerts Stéphane Denève will conduct this weekend (September 30 and October 1) have a decidedly nocturnal and autumnal feel to them, starting with a pair of local premieres by Japanese composer Tōru Takemitsu (1930-1996) and Chinese-born Qigang Chen (b. 1951).

Tōru Takemitsu
Photo: Guy Vivien

The concerts open with Takemitsu’s “Night Signal,” the second of two “antiphonal fanfares” for brass ensemble (the first, not surprisingly, is “Day Signal”) published collectively as “Signals from Heaven” in 1987. Unlike the prototypical fanfare, “Night Signal” is a quiet, almost mysterious piece in which the physical distance between the two instrumental groups becomes an integral part of the work. In that way, it's a bit reminiscent of the antiphonal brass music Giovanni Gabrielli (c. 1554/1557–1612) wrote for St. Mark’s Cathedral in Venice, in which groups of players engaged in “call and response” music across the vast space of the church. Perhaps that’s why “Night Signal” somehow sounds ancient and modern at the same time.

Distance is also a factor in the next piece, Qigang Chen’s “Éloignement” for string orchestra. It’s there in the title (which translates as “distance” or “separation”), as well as in the music itself, in which a traditional Chinese tune “Zou Xi Kou” (“Going Beyond the Western Gorges”) repeatedly struggles to be heard against more agitated motifs. Describing the song as “a love-song upon the departure of a beloved one, plaintive and nostalgic,” the composer says that “its melody is used in L’Éloignement because it retains a basic simplicity and because it gives the composer the possibility to express therein his own estrangement.”

This is, in short, music that speaks of the disconnection of the émigré from their homeland. The sense of conflict in “L’Éloignement” represents the composer’s own conflicting feelings. “L Éloignement,” writes Chen in program notes for the Minnesota Orchestra,  “depicts separation, disorder, imagination, and yearning. The music is both happy and sad, nostalgic and exciting, all of which account for the conflicting moods of the departing one.”

Qigang Chen
Photo: Boosey.com

Formally speaking “Éloignement” is a traditional rondo, but one that sometimes feels like a pitched battle. It ends serenely, but only after a considerable struggle.

Perhaps the greatest distance, though, is the one between life and the eternal darkness of death. The latter is the subject of this weekend’s major work, "Das Lied on der Erde" ("The Song of the Earth") by Gustav Mahler (1860–1911).  When Mahler began work on the piece in the summer of 1907 (as I originally wrote in notes for the SLSO’s last performance of “Das Lied” in 2014), his eldest daughter had just died of scarlet fever at the age of four and the composer himself had just been diagnosed with the heart condition that would lead to his demise four years later. Suddenly death—which had always been a theme in Mahler's music—became very personal.

Scored for large orchestra and two singers (typically tenor and mezzo-soprano, although Mahler allows for the substitution of a baritone in the second, fourth, and sixth songs), "Das Lied" is essentially a vocal symphony. Mahler didn’t call it that, though, because it then would have been his Symphony No. 9. And he had come to believe that because Beethoven and Schubert died after writing nine symphonies, the ninth symphony would always be a composer’s last.

Mahler in 1907
Photo: Moritz Nähr
en.wikipedia.org

Absurd? No doubt. And yet Mahler would go on to seemingly prove the superstition he essentially invented by writing a Symphony No. 9 and then promptly dying before he could complete his Symphony No. 10.

“Das Lied” takes its texts from Hans Bethge's "The Chinese Flute," a German-language rewrite of English, French, and German translations of some ancient Chinese poems. Further edited and rewritten by Mahler, the lyrics contemplate a variety of aspects of life and death. "Every mood," writes Tony Duggan at musicweb-international.com "from cynical and drunken hedonism to serene and Zen-like stasis gets covered in the course of the hour this work takes. At the end, the message is that, since the beauties and mysteries of the earth renew themselves year after year, our own passing should not be feared but accepted calmly and without rancour. The earth, the world and nature goes [sic] on without us."

Too true. In particular, the last movement—"Das Abschied" ("The Farewell")—is possibly one of the most emotionally powerful things you will ever encounter in a concert hall. In it, the narrator's farewell to a friend becomes a farewell to life itself: "Die liebe Erde allüberall Blüht auf im Lenz und grünt aufs neu! Allüberall und ewig blauen licht die Fernen! Ewig... ewig..." ("Everywhere the good earth blossoms in spring and turns green once again! Everywhere and forever, distant spaces shine their blue light! Forever...forever...").

"Mahler’s own philosophy saw death as a part of life,” writes Tim Munro in his program notes, “and in Der Abschied we meet death as friend, not foe.” It's a notion of death which, while uncommon, is hardly unknown. The character Death of the Endless from Neil Gaiman's "Sandman" graphic novels comes immediately to mind.

[Note: "Les feuilles mortes" (literally "The Dead Leaves") refers to the 1947 Joseph Kosma/Jacques Prévert song beter known to us Anglophones as "Autumn Leaves." Either way, the message is the same.'

The Essentials: Stéphane Denève conducts the SLSO in Tōru Takemitsu’s “Night Signal,” Qigang Chen’s L'Éloignement," and Mahler’s “Das Lied von der Erde,” with mezzo Kelley O’Connor and tenor Clay Hilley. Performances are Friday at 7:30 pm Saturday at 8 pm, September 30 and October 1.  The Saturday concert will be broadcast live, as usual, on St. Louis Public Radio and Classic 107.3.

Under the baton of Ben Whiteley, the SLSO returns on Sunday, October 2 at 3 pm for a "A Little Sondheim Music." A joint presentation with The Muny, this program of the music of the late Broadway legend features six prominent singers, including St. Louis's own Ken Page. All performances take place at Powell Symphony Hall in Grand Center.

This article originally appeared at 88.1 KDHX, where Chuck Lavazzi is the senior performing arts critic.

St. Louis theatre calendar for the week of September 26, 2022

Now including both on-line and live events during the pandemic. Your event information should be in text format (i.e. not part of a graphic), but feel free to include publicity stills. To get your event listed here, send an email to calendar [at] stageleft.org.

Albion Theatre presents Tom Stoppard’s translation of Gérald Sibleyras’s Heroes through October 9. “Set in 1959 three French World War I veterans in a military convalescent hospital make a bid for one last moment of freedom.” Performances take place at the Kranzberg Arts Center 501 N. Grand in Grand Center. For more information: albiontheatrestl.org.

The Alpha Players present Ripcord by David Lindsay Abaire September 30 through October 9. “Have you ever had a roommate you couldn’t stand? A sunny room on an upper floor is prime real estate in the Bristol Place Senior Living Facility. When the cantankerous Abby is forced to share her quarters with new-arrival Marilyn, she has no choice but to get rid of the infuriatingly chipper woman by any means necessary. When Abby bets Marilyn she can make her angry and Marilyn bets Abby she can scare her, the sky is the limit on just how far each will go to “win” the room. The situation escalates into a comedic game of one-upmanship that reveals not just the tenacity of these worthy opponents, but also deeper truths that each would rather remain hidden.” Performances take place in the James J. Eagen Center in Florissant. For more information: www.alphaplayers.org

David Giuntoli

The Blue Strawberry presents David Giuntoli in Sinatra…the Man and His Music on Friday at 7:30 pm, September 30. “David Giuntoli returns to Blue Strawberry to sing the songs that made Frank Sinatra famous. Sinatra was born 107 years ago yet his musical stylings are as swinging and relevant today as they were when he was at his best."  Carol Schmidt is pianist and music director for the show with Ben Coan on bass, Mike Whalen on guitar, Savannah Hess on flute and special guest Ken Haller. The Blue Strawberry is at 364 N. Boyle. The show is also available via a live video stream. For more information: bluestrawberrystl.com.

ERA Theatre presents the radio play SHE by Nancy Bell with music by Joe Taylor and Lyrics by Nancy Bell via on-demand streaming  "SHE controls the radio station of the fascist regime in power. SHE's also the star of the broadcast. Her recording studio abounds with music and oysters. But in the nearby government camps full of misfits and would-be revolutionaries, only torture and starvation is thick on the ground. Tonight, however, SHE's realm feels different. The bombs sound closer. Time moves faster. But SHE will finish her radio show, and it will be her finest. If executing every number in the broadcast means some people need to die, so be it; it is a small sacrifice. The citizens need her and she will not let them down." SHE is available on most major platforms including Spotify, Amazon Music, Apple Music, YouTube, and BandCamp. For more information: www.eratheatre.org

Ain't Too Proud
Photo: Emilio Madrid

The Fabulous Fox presents the musical Ain’t Too Proud, the Life and Times of the Temptations through October 2. “AIN'T TOO PROUD – The Life and Times of The Temptations is the electrifying new smash-hit Broadway musical that follows The Temptations’ extraordinary journey from the streets of Detroit to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. Nominated for 12 Tony® Awards and the winner of the 2019 Tony Award for Best Choreography, it’s a thrilling story of brotherhood, family, loyalty, and betrayal during a decade of civil unrest in America. Set to the beat of the group’s treasured hits, including “My Girl,” “Just My Imagination,” “Get Ready,” and “Papa Was a Rolling Stone,” Ain’t Too Proud tells the unforgettable story of the legendary quintet that Billboard Magazine named the greatest R&B group of all time.” The Fabulous Fox is on North Grand in Grand Center. For more information: www.fabulousfox.com.

The Lemp Mansion Murder Mystery Dinner Theatre and Jest Mysteries present Dead Like Me through October 29th. "Death is in the air as guests join Marilyn Monroe, Babe Ruth, Juliet and her Romeo, Nixon and other grizzly ghouls as they emerge from the Land of The Dead for the annual Brotherhood of Obituary Occupants Union Meeting (That’s BOO for short). Be sure to leave your pulse at home because everyone at this party is dead... even you! There are lots of shadowy characters at this fun, interactive murder mystery but none are as sneaky as P.T. Barnum himself. He’s always got some devious slimy trick up his translucent sleeves. Gee, hope nothing happens to him! But just in case it does... will you figure out who-dun-it? Or will all waggling fingers be pointing at you?"  The Lemp Mansion is at 3322 DeMenil Place in south city. For more information: www.lempmansion.com

Something Rotten
Photo: Jill Ritter Lindberg

New Line Theatre presents the musical Something Rotten Thursdays through Saturdays at 8 pm through October 15 “It's 1595, and brothers Nick and Nigel Bottom are desperate to write a hit play but they're stuck in the shadow of the Renaissance rock star Will Shakespeare. When a local soothsayer foretells that the future of theatre involves singing, dancing and acting, all at the same time, Nick and Nigel set out to write the world’s very first musical. This smart, subversive musical comedy mashes up the crass commercialism of today’s Hollywood with the people and plays of Shakespeare’s London, to ask fascinating, funny questions about commercial success, popular success, artistic success, and personal success. And beneath the rapid-fire Shakespeare jokes, the show comically deconstructs itself and musical theatre as an art form, exploring what makes musicals tick and why we love them. The show was nominated for ten Tonys, nine Drama Desk Awards, and twelve Outer Critics Circle Awards.” .  Performances take place at the Marcelle Theatre in Grand Center.For more information: http://www.newlinetheatre.com.

Prism Theatre Company presents Emerging Artists: Festival of New Works through October 1. "Prism Theatre Company's second annual Festival of New Works will focus on spotlighting the work of local emerging playwrights and artists, will feature staged readings of 6 new plays over the course of 2 weekends. Performed by a diverse cast of local actors, this festival will allow the featured playwrights the opportunity to further develop their work and receive audience feedback. We cannot wait to share these incredible, fresh stories with you! Each evening, there will be talkbacks with the playwrights, actors, directors, and artistic team at Prism so that the audiences can give their feedback to the playwrights and learn more about the process.”Performances take place at the High Low Café in Grand Center. For more information: https://www.prismtheatrecompany.org.

R-S Theatrics presents While the Ghostlight Burns, a virtual discussion series featuring R-S Artistic Director Sarah Lynne Holt in conversation with St. Louis theatre artists, Mondays at 7 pm.  Conversations will be archived at the R-S Theatrics YouTube channel. For more information: r-stheatrics.com/while-the-ghostlight-burns.html

The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis presents Private Lives by Noël Coward September 30 through October 23. “Sparks fly in Noël Coward’s witty and sophisticated romantic comedy of manners, featuring the unexpected and tumultuous collision of two former lovers.” Performances take place on the Berges Mainstage Theatre at COCA in University City. For more information: https://www.repstl.org/events/detail/private-lives

St. Louis Shakespeare presents Shakespeare’s comedy As You Like It Fridays and Saturdays at 8 pm and Sundays at 2 pm through October 2. “This pastoral comedy features Rosalind and her cousin Celia, who find safety and love in the Forest of Arden.” Performances take place at The Reim Theatre at 111 S. Geyer Road. in Kirkwood Park. For more information: www.stlshakespeare.org.

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 Calendar.

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.

Detroit Pride: "Ain't Too Proud" on tour at the Fox

“Ain’t Too Proud: The Life and Times of The Temptations” arrives at The Fabulous Fox trailing clouds of glory—or at least clouds of hype. That cloud includes a dozen Tony Awards, a “Critic’s Pick” listing by the New York Times’s Ben Brantley, and a review by Tim Teeman in The Daily Beast  dubbing it a “gold-standard triumph.”

Not every show can live up to expectations like that, but “Ain’t Too Proud” can and does. This is a theatrical powerhouse that boasts a killer cast with enough talent and energy to light up several cities and, most importantly, a solid script that a makes it far more than a typical jukebox musical.

Photo: Emilio Madrid

Credit book author Dominique Morisseau for that. A well-established playwright and the recipient of multiple awards, including a MacArthur Genius Grant, Morisseau infuses the well-worn tale of the personal costs of stardom with a credibility and humanity that makes it relatable and mostly avoids the usual clichés of the genre.

Based on the memoir “The Temptations” by Otis Williams (the last surviving member of the original quintet) and Patricia Romanowski, “Ain’t Too Proud” is essentially a memory play in which Williams tells the story of the triumphs and tragedies of the  first three decades of the legendary soul/R&B group. Still alive and singing after 62 years, The Temptations’ roster has included 27 performers over the decades. But since only Williams, like Mehlville’s Ishmael, is “escaped alone,” it seems only fair that he gets to tell the tale.

It's a long and rocky road that The Temptations travel. It begins with Otis running afoul of the law on the Detroit streets (“Runaway Child, Running Wild”) and finding a new path in music. He recruits baritone Paul Williams (James T. Lane) and tenor Eddie Kendicks (Jalen Harris), along with a rapidly changing assortment of basses and tenors, to form a series of groups with names that change just as rapidly: The Cavaliers, The Primes, and even, improbably, The Siberians.

Photo: Emilio Madrid

With the addition of tenor Elbridge “Al” Bryant (Brett Michel Lockley) and bass Melvin Franklin (Harrell Holmes, Jr.), who stuck with the group until just before his death in 1995, the Elgins (another name change) are still treading water until Otis arranges a ”chance” meeting with Motown Mogul Berry Gordy (Michael Andreaus) in a backstage restroom (“When you hear Mr. Berry Gordy himself is headed to the bathroom,” recalls Otis, “you suddenly have to pee real bad”). Gordy likes their sound but hates their name. They finally decide to call themselves The Temptations (“because once you hear us sing, you’ll do anything”) and the reset, as they say, is history.

For the members, though, it was often a turbulent history, both on a personal and political level. We see the group struggle with the impacts of racism (“Don’t Look Back”), drug use (“Cloud 9”), the assassination of Dr. King (“I Wish it Would Rain”), and the 1967 Detroit riots, as well as with the clashing egos and emotional  problems that resulted in frequent changes in the makeup of The Temptations.  

Bryant was the first to go, cashiered for his violent outbursts (“I Want a Love I Can See”). He was replaced by David Ruffin (Elijah Ahmed Lewis, in a spectacular performance), whose gaudy stage presence and acrobatic dancing made him the ideal front man but whose inner demons eventually led to his departure (”I Could Never Love Another”). Others came and went over the years, but it was the team of Ruffin, Kendricks, Franklin, Otis Williams, and Paul Williams that created the classic Temptations sound.

Photo: Emilio Madrid

And it’s that sound that permeates “Ain’t Too Proud”. The story of The Temptations’ trials and triumphs unfolds amid a steady stream of their hits: “Shout,” “My Girl,” “I Can’t Get Next to You,” “Ain’t Too Proud,” “Papa Was a Rollin’ Stone” (a song they all hated, which naturally became a #1 hit), and so many others. For anyone who loves their music, this show is a nonstop delight. More impressively, the songs are closely interwoven with and advance the story.

Accompanied by a quartet of touring musicians fortified up by a choice collection of local players and conducted by Jonathan “Smitty” Smith (they’re on stage, but hidden by the backdrop), this amazing cast sings and dances its way through over 30 Motown classics. The many stunning performances include Holmes’s stolidly loyal Melvin Franklin, (complete with a big, powerful bass voice), Lane’s tragic Paul Williams, Andreaus’s imperious Berry Gordy, and Traci Elaine Lee as the group’s first (and least principled) manager, Johnnie Mae, whose noisy departure in their confiscated Cadillac is surely one of the best exits in musical theatre (“I’ve Been Good to You”).

Lee returns later in the show with Amber Mariah Talley and Shayla Breille G. as The Temptations’ top 40 rivals, The Supremes. The trio totally nails the sinuous moves and close harmonies of the original (“Supremes Medley”).

Photo: Emilio Madrid

Last but certainly not least is Marcus Paul James as Otis Williams. Since Otis is our eyes and ears, the actor playing the role has to be immediately appealing and credible. James is certainly that, and (like everyone else in the cast) he’s a damn fine singer as well. He lets us see the character’s mix of pride, regret, and wry wisdom. He’s an ideal guide on this musical odyssey.

Sergio Trujillo’s choreography perfectly captures the flashy and fluid movement that became a Temptations trademark. Peter Nigrini’s projections and Robert Brill’s sets create rapid-fire scene changes, and Paul Tazewell’s costumes colorfully evoke the changing styles of the late 20th century.

The bottom line is that “Ain’t Too Proud” pulls off the neat trick creating a theatrical hybrid of the hit-driven juke box musical and the plot-driven musical drama. And it does so with a large and phenomenally talented ensemble cast and an eye-popping dosh of technical flare. It runs close to three hours but moves so quickly and is so consistently compelling that it seems like the blink of an eye. This is one you don’t want to miss.

The tour of “Ain’t Too Proud” plays The Fabulous Fox through Sunday, October 2nd, after which it's off to other venues in the US and Canada. More information is available at the Fabulous Fox web site.

This article originally appeared at 88.1 KDHX, where Chuck Lavazzi is the senior performing arts critic.

Symphony Review: Joachim's "Fanm D'Ayiti" highlights the beginning of the SLSO's new season

St. Louis Symphony Orchestra Music Director Stéphane Denève began the second of the opening pair of concerts of the 2022/23 season on Sunday, September 18, with a hearty “bonjour,” as he usually does (“bon soir” for evening shows). This time, though, he went on to remind us that words of welcome were especially relevant because the concert came at the end of the 10th anniversary of Welcoming America’s “Welcome Week.”

[Find out more about the music with my symphony preview.]

“Through Welcoming Week,” states the non-profit’s web site, “organizations and communities bring together neighbors of all backgrounds to build strong connections and affirm the importance of welcoming and inclusive places in achieving collective prosperity.”  The SLSO’s welcome took the form of a musical travelogue that took the audience to Italy, Tunisia, Spain, Haiti, and Bohemia (or, as it is now known, the Czech Republic). Under Denève’s sympathetic baton, it was two hours of music that brought joy to the heart and an occasional tear to the eye, and I wouldn’t have missed it for…well, the world.

It’s traditional to open a concert with a brief, upbeat work. Usually it’s also a well-worn favorite. This time, however, it was a piece that hadn’t been heard locally in over 20 years: the 1922 suite “Escales” (“Ports of Call”) by the under-appreciated Jacques Ibert (1890-1962). Its three movements take us on a 15-minute visit to multiple Mediterranean venues. Yes, the composer’s tone painting borders on the cliché (a tarantella for Palermo, Iberian dance rhythms for Valencia, etc.) but the colorful orchestration and irresistible melodies are entertaining nevertheless.

Nathalie Joachim and the Spektral Quartet

“Escales” provides some substantial solos for the woodwinds in general and for the oboe in particular. That’s especially true in the “Tunis – Nefta” movement, dominated as it is by its sinuous, “snake charmer” melodic line, but the truth is that all three movements feature the oboe prominently. Principal Oboe Jelena Dirks’s rich and flexible sound served Ibert exceptionally well and her solo bow was richly deserved. Under Denève’s knowing direction, the entire band exploded like a musical kaleidoscope. Great fun.

Next, we were off to Haiti for a suite based on the Grammy-nominated 2019 album “Fanm d’Ayiti” (“Women of Haiti) by flutist, composer, and vocalist Nathalie Joachim (b. 1983), who was also the flute and vocal soloist. The concert version of “Fanm d’Ayiti” consists of five of the original album’s eleven tracks arranged for orchestra, voice, and flute, along with the recorded voices of a girls’ choir from the Haitian town of Dantan and the voice of Joachim’s grandmother, whose death in 2015 served as the original inspiration for the work.

This orchestration of the intimate original has its pluses and minuses. The expanded sonic palette allows Joachim to add layers of musical color that weren’t possible with the modest forces on the original album, but the difficulties inherent in mixing the recorded sound and a live microphone with the orchestra seriously muddied some of those sonic hues.

For me, the music had the most impact when it used the least amount of amplified sound. A good example is the fourth movement, “Madame Bellegarde,” which begins with a recording of the tune sung by Joachim’s grandmother and then continues with an affecting setting for voice and viola, accompanied by the strings, harp, and vibraphone. Joachim and Principal Viola Beth Guterman Chu clearly drew considerable pleasure from their fine collaboration.

The opening “Prelid” was equally blissful, with radiant vocals and a virtuoso flute solo by Joachim that sparked a spontaneous ovation, and the closing “Fanm d’Ayiti,” was an inspiring tribute of the valor and resilience of the island nation’s women: “Women of Haiti stand / Like all valiant women / To reclaim our rights / To say freedom lives.”

Words to live by, and words to banish the mad, angry darkness that sometime seems to be enveloping our world.

After intermission, which included a champagne toast to the new season led by Maestro Denève, it was time to hop into the Wayback Machine, set the dial for 1889 Bohemia, and revel in Anton Dvořák’s Symphony No. 8, Op. 88. Written at a time of great happiness in the composer’s life, which followed hard on the heels of a time of considerable grief, the Eighth is perhaps the best single example of Dvořák’s ability to mingle smiles and tears with a series of ravishing melodies.

Stéphane Denève conducts the SLSO
Photo courtesy of the SLSO

The fact that all this rests on some solid musical architecture is not readily apparent. “Dvořák's is an art that conceals art,” writes The Guardian’s Tom Service, “and which appeals on many different levels precisely and paradoxically because this symphony's initial impact is so powerful, because Dvořák has distilled his melodic gifts to their symphonic essence.” That’s not something you necessarily need to be aware of as a listener, but it’s vital for the conductor to have a grasp of it. Otherwise the Eighth can feel somewhat rambling and episodic.

When he last conducted the piece here in 2015, Maestro Denève (then a guest conductor) gave us a performance which, persuasive as it was, occasionally struck me as somewhat idiosyncratic. Either his approach has changed in the intervening seven years or (more likely) my own view of the work has evolved, because this time around I felt his reading was quite seamless and indicated a clear vision of the “deep structure” of Dvořák’s musical thought. The fact that he was conducting from memory (i.e. without a score) seemed to reinforce that idea.

Either way, it was immensely satisfying. This was a Dvořák Eighth that maintained a sense of momentum even during the seemingly static second movement, with its forlorn bird calls in the woodwinds and the “mortal storm” that threatens to overturn everything. The third movement Allegretto grazioso was a perfect balance of mirth and melancholy, and the final pages of the concluding Allegro ma non troppo were a boisterous bombshell.

Let me not staunch the flow of encomiums without heaping some praise on the SLSO woodwinds, including (but by no means limited to) Principal Flute Matthew Roitstein (first rate solos in the first and last movements especially), along with clarinetists Ryan Toher and Principal Scott Andrews. Principal Cello Danny Lee and his compatriots also deserve praise for their delivery of the important melodic role Dvořák gave them. Dvořák arguably wrote some of the best cello music of the 19th century, after all, so it’s good to hear it done do well.

Next at Powell Hall: Justin Freer conducts the orchestra in Alexandre Desplat’s score for “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2” while the film is projected on the hall’s big screen. Showings are Friday and Saturday at 7 pm and Sunday at 2 pm, September 23-25. The regular season resumes the following weekend as Stéphane Denève conducts Tōru Takemitsu’s “Night Signal,” Qigang Chen’s L'Éloignement (“Distance”), and Mahler’s “Das Lied von der Erde” (“The Song of the Earth”) with soloists Kelley O’Connor and tenor Clay Hilley. Performances are Friday at 7:30 pm Saturday at 8 pm, September 30 and October 1.  The Saturday concert will be broadcast live, as usual, on St. Louis Public Radio and Classic 107.3.

This article originally appeared at 88.1 KDHX, where Chuck Lavazzi is the senior performing arts critic.