The St. Louis theatre calendar for the week of February 28, 2011

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

I'm now adding my own purely personal comments to events about which I think I have anything worthwhile to say. Because that's what bloggers do.  If I have left your show out, please leave a comment with all the details.

Muddy Waters Theatre Company presents Paula Vogel's The Baltimore Waltz Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30 PM and Sundays at 2 PM, March 4 through 20. Performances take place at the Kranzberg Arts Center, 501 North Grand at Olive in Grand Center. For more information, call 314-799-8399.

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

Affton CenterStage Theatre Company presents Conventional Murder Weapons, a murder mystery dinner theater show, Thursday and Friday at 8 PM and Saturday at 4 and 8 PM, February 25 through March 5. Performances take place at 1719 Stemwood Way in Fenton, MO. For more information, call (314) 349-6880 or visit www.afftoncenterstage.org.

Everydaycircus Inc. performs shows hourly from 11 AM to 4 PM each weekend at City Museum, 701 N. 15th St. Shows are FREE with regular museum admission. (645-4445 or 231-CITY).

Kirkwood Theatre Guild presents the drama The Heiress, based on Henry James’s Washington Square, Fridays and Saturdays at 8 PM, March4 through 11, and on Sunday, march 6, at 2 PM. Performances take place at the Robert G. Reim Theatre of the Kirkwood Community Center, 111 South Geyer Road. For more information, call 314-821-9956.

Macbeth

The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis presents Shakespeare's Macbeth Tuesdays through Sundays through March 11. Performances take place at the Loretto-Hlton Center, 130 Edgar Road in Webster Groves, MO. For more information, call 314-968-4925 or visit repstl.org. I know this play well (both as an actor and audience member) and was looking forward to this. Sadly, I was disappointed. Our little party found the direction heavy-handed and gimmicky, the pacing slow, and the overall result not terribly respectful of either the play or the audience. Your mileage may vary, of course, and others apparently have enjoyed it. Read the 88.1 KDHX review!

A Midsummer Night's
Dream

Washington University Performing Arts Department presents Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream Friday and Saturday at 8 PM and Sunday at 2 PM through March 6. Performances take place in the Edison Theatre in the Mallinckrodt Center on the Washington University campus. I love this play and still fondly remember my own performance as Oberon in St. Louis Shakespeare's production many years ago. A good performance of it will both amuse and charm you. For more information, call (314) 935-5858.

The St. Louis University Theatre Department presents Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing through March 6. Performances take place in Xavier Hall, 3373 West Pine Mall. For more information, call (314) 977-2998 or visit www.slu.edu/theatre.

Ruined

The Black Rep presents the Pulitzer Prize-winning drama Ruined by Lynn Nottage through March 6. Performances take place at the Grandel Theatre, 3610 Grandel Square. For more information, call 314-534-3810. Read the 88.1 KDHX review!

Sirens

New Jewish Theatre presents the St. Louis premiere of Deborah Zoe Laufer's Sirens, described as "an empty-nest story about a husband and wife and the hit love song he wrote for her ", Wednesdays and Thursdays at 7:30 PM, Saturdays at 8 PM, and Sundays at 2 and 7:30 PM, through March 6. Performances take place at the Marvin and Harlene Wool Studio Theatre at the JCCA, 2 Millstone Campus Drive. For more information, call 314-442-3283 or visit www.newjewishtheatre.org. Read the 88.1 KDHX review!

New Line Theatre presents the rock musical Two Gentlemen of Verona, based on the Shakespeare comedy, Thursdays through Saturdays at 8 PM, March 3 through 26. The show features music by Galt Mac Dermott and lyrics by John Guare. Performances take place at the Washington University South Campus Theatre, 6501 Clayton Road. For more information, call 314-534-1111.

Playback Workshop Theatre presents The Vagina MANologues and The Saxophone Jesus Parables, written and directed by Jackie Masei, Fridays and Saturdays at 8 PM and Sundays at 2 PM, March 4 through 13. The show is “an exciting narrative one act social change play with an all African American Male cast, which weaves a critical response to Eve Ensler’s Vagina Monologues in order to open up dialogues about racism, bullying, sexism, homophobia, sexuality, and spirituality”. The show will be followed by a Playback Theatre performance. For more information, call 314-397-0733.

Odd man out

Anthony Marwood

Who: The St. Louis Symphony Orchestra
What: Robertson conducts Vaughan-Williams, Stephen Mackey, and Tchaikovsky
Where: Powell Symphony Hall, St. Louis
When: February 25 – 27, 2011

On my old Hoffnung Music Festival LP there’s a piece by Franz Reizenstein entitled Concerto Popolare (a Piano Concerto to end all Piano Concertos) in which the soloist and the orchestra duke it out over the course of nearly twelve hilarious minutes. Stephen Mackey’s Beautiful Passing, which closed the first part of this weekend’s St. Louis Symphony program, also involves a pitched battle between soloist and orchestra –a violin in this case – but the resemblance ends there. Reizenstein went for and got laughs; Mackey goes for emotional weight but, to my ears, just gets flash – and takes three times as long to do it.

Consisting of two contrasting sections bridged by a stunningly (and perhaps unnecessarily) difficult cadenza, Beautiful Passage, according to its composer, “has to do with the violin gaining control of its own destiny, competing with, commanding, and ultimately letting go of the orchestra”. Practically speaking, this means that the work begins with lyrical material on the violin being echoed sarcastically or simply ignored by a cacophonous orchestra. It passes through a wildly flashy cadenza and concludes with soloist and ensemble moving more or less together towards a serene finale.

It makes structural sense, but I found it surprisingly unengaging and ultimately not terribly interesting. I say “surprisingly” because, given that the piece was inspired by the death of the composer’s mother, I would have expected to be truly moved. I had a similar response to Mr. Mackey’s Turn the Key last October, so perhaps I’m simply not in tune with his muse, but it seems to me that his compositional toolbox doesn’t have much in it beyond repetition.

All that said, violinist Anthony Marwood turned in a spectacular performance Friday morning. Beautiful Passage is chockablock with fiendishly difficult music for the soloist, including a section in the cadenza that has him effectively playing a duet with himself by rapidly alternating between the instrument’s lowest and highest register – with harmonics thrown in for good measure. It’s bravura stuff, and Mr. Marwood executed it brilliantly. David Robertson drew virtuoso performances from the orchestra as well.

For the true lover of orchestral strings, however, the gem on this weekend’s program was Vaughan Williams’s 1910 Fantasia on a Theme of Thomas Tallis. This lush, rhapsodic meditation a on a 16th century psalm tune conjures up images of the lofty, echoing cathedrals of a bygone age, transforming the modest and mysterious original into an ecstatic celebration of sheer sound. Under Mr. Robertson’s intense direction, the symphony strings were ravishing and the first-chair players in the solo quartet were spot on.

It has always seemed to me that the Fantasia, employing two string ensembles and a solo string quartet, can only be fully appreciated in a live performance. You can distinguish them sonically in a recording, but to truly understand Vaughan Williams’s ingenious reworking of the multiple chorus techniques of the Renaissance (with their reliance on spatial separation), you need to be able to see the interaction among the three groups. Mr. Robertson’s placement of the smaller second orchestra behind and slightly above the main ensemble worked perfectly.

The concert concluded with Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 6 (“Pathetique”) – one of those works which has become so familiar precisely because it is so beautifully written. Tchaikovsky himself regarded it as one of his finest achievements and audiences over the last century or so have clearly agreed. The symphony’s compelling mix of triumph and tragedy is, as the song goes, “simply irresistible”. Only a world-class grouch, for example, could refuse to applaud after the exuberant third movement (which we all did, with Mr. Robertson’s approval) and only a heart of granite could fail to be moved by the despairing finale. Mr. Robertson paused for just a few moments after those final, dying chords in the low strings before turning to the audience for a well-deserved ovation – a good, theatrically apt decision. We all need a moment to exhale at that point.

This concert will be repeated Saturday, March 25, at 8 PM and Sunday, March 27, at 2 PM. For more information on this and other concerts, you may call 314-534-1700 or visit the St. Louis Symphony web site at stlsymphony.org. You can also follow the Symphony on Twitter: @slso.

Final Analysis

"Monks and Bunnies"
2010 play reading festival

As I noted in an earlier post, St. Louis has a small but active play writing community.  They find it hard to attract attention locally for, I suspect, the same reason home town performers find it hard to attract attention locally: a kind of reverse English version of the "not invented here" syndrome.  If an artist is local, he or she is presumed to be inferior to someone who is just passing through.

I bring this up because First Run Theatre, the only company hereabouts dedicated to producing the work of local playwrights, just sent me the press release listing the finalists in their 9th annual script submission contest.  Here it is.  More power to them, I say.
========================
First Run Theatre is proud to announce the finalists of our 9th annual script submissions. These scripts were selected from full length and one act plays received from January 1 2010 to November 30 2010.

'In His Service' by Cate Richard
'The Kerpash Affair' by Richard LaViolette
'Divine's Grace' by Richard LaViolette
'Behind The Chair' by Jason Slavik

These plays will be presented as on-stage readings with actors and afterward audience discussion in our 9th Annual Play Reading Festival March 25,26, & 27 2011, in the Thomas Hunter Theatre at DeSmet Jesuit High School, 233 N New Ballas Road, Creve Coeur MO. From these readings First Run will select two scripts to be presented for our 9th season starting June 17th 2011.

Congratulations to our playwrights.

For more information contact First Run Theatre by phone 314-352-5114, email info at firstruntheatre.com, or our web site at www.firstruntheatre.com

The St. Louis theatre calendar for the week of February 21, 2011

Updated Tuesday, February 22, 2011

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

I'm now adding my own purely personal comments to events about which I think I have anything worthwhile to say. Because that's what bloggers do.  If I have left your show out, please leave a comment with all the details.

The Conservatory of Theatre Arts at Webster University presents the magical romantic comedy Almost, Maine Wednesdays through Saturdays at 7:30 PM and Sundays at 2 PM through February 27. Performances take place in the studio theatre at the Loretto-Hilton Center, 130 Edgar Road on the Webster University campus. Fore more information, call 314-968-7128. The West End Players Guild (where I'm a board member) did the local premiere of this charming and very funny script almost exactly two years ago. We apparently started a trend as there have been multiple productions locally since then.

KTK Productions presents Broadway Loves the Movies Fridays and Saturdays at 8 PM and Sundays at 2 PM through February 27. Performances take place at Southampton Presbyterian Church, 4716 Macklind. For more information, call 314-351-8984.

Strut and Fret Stage presents Brûler à Petit Feu (On Tenterhooks), a “dark comedy about PTSD, love, Walgreens, and making meth in America” written and directed by Jim Sala. Performances are Wednesday, Thursday, and Saturday at 8 PM and Sunday at 2 PM, February 23 - 27, at Dressel's Pub, 419 N. Euclid in the Central West End. For more information, call 314-361-1885, email strutandfretstage at gmail.com or visit strutandfret.ticketleap.com/tenterhooks/

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

Carol Schmidt

The Presenters Dolan present St. Louis's own Carol Schmidt, along with Ric Vice on bass and special guest artists Robert Breig, Michele Isam, Dionna Raedeke and Deborah Sharn, on Friday and Saturday, February 25 and 26, at 8 PM at The Kranzberg Center, 501 North Grand in Grand Center. The show is directed by Tim Schall. For more information, call 314-725-4200 stn. 10 or visit presentersdolan.com. Full disclosure demands that I have worked with nearly everyone on this program. Carol and Robert, for example, were key players in the short-lived Cabaret at the Cafe series I produced last year. Tim directed my own cabaret show in 2010, and I've shared the stage with everyone except Michele at one time or another. That said, I wouldn't have been working with them if I hadn't already regarded them as immensely talented folks, so I can recommend this show without reservation.

Closer

St. Louis Actors' Studio presents Patrick Marber's Closer, which "follows four lives intertwine over the course of four and a half years in a densely plotted, stinging look at modern love and betrayal". Performances are Tuesdays through Saturdays at 8 PM and Sundays at 2 PM through February 27 at the Gaslight Theater, 358 North Boyle. For more information, call 314-458-2978or visit stlas.org. The play is recommended for mature audiences only. Read the 88.1 KDHX review!

The Florissant Fine Arts Council presents A Closer Walk With Patsy Cline on Saturday, February 16, at 8 PM at the Florissant Civic Center Theatre at Parker Road at Waterford Drive in Florissant, MO. For more information, call 314-921-5678.

Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville Theater Department presents George C. Wolfe's The Colored Museum Wednesday through Saturday at 7:30 PM, and Sunday at 2 PM, February 23 through 27. Performances take place in the Dunham Hall Theater on the campus in Edwardsville, IL. For more information, call 618-650-2774.

Affton CenterStage Theatre Company presents Conventional Murder Weapons, a murder mystery dinner theater show, Thursday and Friday at 8 PM and Saturday at 4 and 8 PM, February 25 through March 5. Performances take place at 1719 Stemwood Way in Fenton, MO. For more information, call (314) 349-6880 or visit www.afftoncenterstage.org.

St. Louis Community College at Florissant Valley Theater Department presents Doubt: A Parable through February 26. Performances take place in the Fisher Theatre on the campus at 3400 Pershall Road. For more information, call 314-644-5522.

Everydaycircus Inc. performs shows hourly from 11 AM to 4 PM each weekend at City Museum, 701 N. 15th St. Shows are FREE with regular museum admission. (645-4445 or 231-CITY).

The COCA Family Theatre Series presents Holy Cow! Friday through Sunday, February 25 through 27. COCA is at 524 Trinity in University City. For more information, call (314) 725-6555 or visit www.cocastl.org.

Macbeth

The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis presents Shakespeare's Macbeth Tuesdays through Sundays through March 11. Performances take place at the Loretto-Hlton Center, 130 Edgar Road in Webster Groves, MO. For more information, call 314-968-4925 or visit repstl.org. I know this play well (both as an actor and audience member) and was looking forward to this. Sadly, I was disappointed. Our little party found the direction heavy-handed and gimmicky, the pacing slow, and the overall result not terribly respectful of either the play or the audience. Your mileage may vary, of course, and others apparently have enjoyed it. Read the 88.1 KDHX review!

The Brass Rail Players present the musical Mame. Performances take place through February 27 at the Lindenwood University Premier Center For The Arts In Belleville, Il. For more information, visit brassrailplayers.org.

A Midsummer Night's
Dream

Washington University Performing Arts Department presents Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream Friday and Saturday at 8 PM and Sunday at 2 PM, February 25 to March 6. Performances take place in the Edison Theatre in the Mallinckrodt Center on the Washington University campus. I love this play and still fondly remember my own performance as Oberon in St. Louis Shakespeare's production many years ago. A good performance of it will both amuse and charm you. For more information, call (314) 935-5858.

The St. Louis University Theatre Department presents Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing February 25 through March 6. Performances take place in Xavier Hall, 3373 West Pine Mall. For more information, call (314) 977-2998 or visit www.slu.edu/theatre.

The St. Louis Writers' Group presents a Play Writing Workshop with C. J. Zander on Monday, February 21, at 6:30 PM at Big Daddy's, 1000 Sidney St. in Soulard. For more information, call 314-865-1296 or send email to farwemar at aol.com.

Black Cat Theatre presents Alan Ayckbourn's comedy Round and Round the Garden Thursdays through Saturdays at 8 PM and Sundays at 2 PM through February 26. Black Cat Theatre is located at 2810 Sutton in Maplewood. For more information, call 314-781-8300 or visit blackcattheatre.org. Read the 88.1 KDHX review!

Ruined

The Black Rep presents the Pulitzer Prize-winning drama Ruined by Lynn Nottage through March 6. Performances take place at the Grandel Theatre, 3610 Grandel Square. For more information, call 314-534-3810. Read the 88.1 KDHX review!

Sirens

New Jewish Theatre presents the St. Louis premiere of Deborah Zoe Laufer's Sirens, described as "an empty-nest story about a husband and wife and the hit love song he wrote for her ", Wednesdays and Thursdays at 7:30 PM, Saturdays at 8 PM, and Sundays at 2 and 7:30 PM, through March 6. Performances take place at the Marvin and Harlene Wool Studio Theatre at the JCCA, 2 Millstone Campus Drive. For more information, call 314-442-3283 or visit www.newjewishtheatre.org. Read the 88.1 KDHX review!

The Missouri History Museum presents The Tragical Comedy of the French, Spanish, French American Ville de Saint Louis Saturdays at 2 PM through February 26. The museum is at Lindell and De Baliviere in Forest Park. For more information, call 314-746-4599 or visit mohistory.org.

St. Louis Community College at Forest Park Theatre Department presents Tribute: Monologues From Black Heroes February 24 through 27. Performances take place in the Bastian Theatre on the campus at 5600 Oakland. For more information, call 314-644-9100.

Act II Community Theatre presents Kaufman and Hart's You Can't Take it With You Fridays and Saturdays at 8 PM and Sundays at 2 PM, February 18 through 28. Performances take place at The St. Peters Community and Arts Center, 1035 St. Peters-Howell Road in St. Peters, MO. For more information, call 636-219-0150 or email info at act2theater.com.

Homecoming King

Who: Craig Pomranz with Stephen Bocchino
Where: The Presenters Dolan at the Kranzberg Center
When: February 18 and 19, 2011

Before he even sang a note, it was already clear from Craig Pomranz’s publicity material that he had both a reputation as a technically strong singer and a self-deprecating sense of humor. Anybody who sells t-shirts with the phrase “I Spent the Night With Craig” can’t be too stuffy, after all.

Throw in Mr. Pomranz’s ebullient stage persona and easy give and take with pianist and music director Stephen Bocchino and the result was a charming and entertaining evening, marred only by the singer’s apparent reluctance to fully engage with the core emotions of some of the more heart-wrenching ballads in his list. As a result, I felt that we got to see only one side of Mr. Pomranz’s musical personality.

Mind you, that one side was very strong. Mr. Pomranz has impressive vocal technique with an enviable head voice, easy falsetto, and solid breath control – all of which allowed him to neatly manage that pianissimo diminuendo trick that eludes so many singers. He also has (to use his droll phrase) the “thespic skills” necessary to convincingly act a song. I just felt that if he’d shown me more heart to go with that great technique, the show would have been more engaging.

That said, there’s no question that the evening was a success overall. There was the musical variety, for one thing. Based on the annual Valentine’s Day show Mr. Pomranz and Mr. Bocchino present at the Metropolitan Room, the show emphasized love songs, but in this case the genre was stretched to include some pleasant surprises. Among my favorites were “I’m in Love With Miss Logan” (a winsome portrayal of puppy love from New Faces of 1952), “The Brain” (from Young Frankenstein – possibly a Cabaret First), and Murray Grand’s outrageous “Doris Was Nice”, about a gent who falls on his face and in love with a gorilla.

There were some unexpected numbers of a less silly nature as well, including “The Guilty Ones” from Spring Awakening – as mordant a view of young love as one is likely to find – and a Broadway Belter version of “I’ve Never Been in Love Before” from Guys and Dolls. Mr. Pomranz and Mr. Bocchino clearly have wide-ranging musical tastes, and the evening benefited as a result.

That’s not to say they didn’t do well by the American Songbook. Standards included “I Can’t Give You Anything But Love”, Porter’s “What Is This Thing Called Love?”, Martin and Blaine’s “Love”, and the Styne/Comden and Green favorite “Make Someone Happy” (from Do Re Mi, a 1960 Phil Silvers vehicle about the jukebox business). The Damn Yankees classic “Heart” became a delightful duet and "They Say It's Wonderful" got a somewhat rueful treatment that, while fully justified by the lyric, isn’t often seen in performance.

Not everything worked for me. A medley of early 20th century numbers culminating in a sing-along of “Meet Me in St. Louis”, for example, seemed a bit under-rehearsed - which may be why we got only a rough approximation of both the melody and lyrics of the verse of that World’s Fair classic. There were also minor lyric changes in other well-known tunes, presumably intended to make them more inclusive. It’s an admirable idea, but I don’t think that always worked, especially when (as in “My Funny Valentine”) it killed a rhyme.

Still, these are relatively minor complaints, which is why they’re at the bottom of this review. In the final analysis, Mr. Pomranz, Mr. Bocchino and their director, former Mound City resident Ron Cohen, put together a likable and diverting evening of cabaret. It was a fine homecoming for a local guy who has made good in the city that never sleeps.

St. Louis theatre calendar for the week of February 14, 2011

Updated Monday, February 14

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

I'm now adding my own purely personal comments to events about which I think I have anything worthwhile to say. Because that's what bloggers do.  If I have left your show out, please leave a comment with all the details.

9 to 5: The Musical

The Fox Theatre presents 9 to 5: The Musical through February 20. The Fox is at 527 North Grand in Grand Center. For more information, call 314-534-1111. Read the 88.1 KDHX review!

The Conservatory of Theatre Arts at Webster University presents the magical romantic comedy Almost, Maine Wednesdays through Saturdays at 7:30 PM and Sundays at 2 PM, February 16 through 27. Performances take place in the studio theatre at the Loretto-Hilton Center, 130 Edgar Road on the Webster University campus. Fore more information, call 314-968-7128.  The West End Players Guild (where I'm a board member) did the local premiere of this charming and very funny script  almost exactly two years ago.  We apparently started a trend as there have been multiple productions locally since then.

The Riverside Shakespeare Theater Company presents Yasmina Reza's Art Thursday at 7:30 PM and Friday and Saturday at 6 and 9 PM, February 17 - 19. Performances take place at the Foundry Art Centre, 520 North Main Center in Saint Charles, MO. For more information, visit riversidetheatreco.org.

KTK Productions presents Broadway Loves the Movies Fridays and Saturdays at 8 PM and Sundays at 2 PM, February 18 through 27. Performances take place at Southampton Presbyterian Church, 4716 Macklind. For more information, call 314-351-8984.

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

Closer

St. Louis Actors' Studio presents Patrick Marber's Closer, which “follows four lives intertwine over the course of four and a half years in a densely plotted, stinging look at modern love and betrayal”. Performances are Tuesdays through Saturdays at 8 PM and Sundays at 2 PM through February 27 at the Gaslight Theater, 358 North Boyle. For more information, call 314-458-2978or visit stlas.org. The play is recommended for mature audiences only.

Black Cat Theatre presents Christina Rios: 50 Ways To Leave Your Lover on Monday, February 14. Black Cat Theatre is located at 2810 Sutton in Maplewood. For more information, call 314-781-8300 or visit blackcattheatre.org.

White Flag Projects presents an evening of stand-up comedy with Chicago's Comedians You Should Know on Saturday, February 19, at 8 PM. The reading has been organized to accompany Time Wounds All Heels, White Flag's current exhibition examining humor's potential effect on form and perception. White Flag Projects is located at 4568 Manchester Avenue. For more information, call 314-531-3442 or visit whiteplagprojects.org.

Craig Pomranz

The Presenters Dolan present Craig Pomranz, with pianist and music director Stephen Bocchino, on Friday and Saturday, February 18 and 19, at For more information, call 314-725-4200 stn. 10 or visit presentersdolan.com.  Craig is a local guy who has made a name for himself on the international cabaret scene; it will be interesting to see what him homecoming is like.  His music director, Stephen Bocchino, is no slouch as a cabaret artist himself.

Stray Dog Theatre presents Lisa Loomer's Distracted, described as a “fast-paced and comic look at parenting in the age of the Internet and Ritalin”. Performances take place Thursdays through Saturdays at 8 PM through February 19. There will be a matinee on the closing Saturday at 2 PM in addition to the evening show. Performances take place at The Tower Grove Abbey, 2336 Tennessee. For more information, call 314-865-1995. I've worked with most of the adult actors in this show in the past and know they do good work, so the performances should be strong, at least. I've done several shows with Stray Dog over the last few years so I'm perhaps a bit biased, but I really do love their work in general. Read the 88.1 KDHX review!

Distracted

St. Louis Community College at Florissant Valley Theater Department presents Doubt: A Parable February 18 through 26. Performances take place in the Fisher Theatre on the campus at 3400 Pershall Road. For more information, call 314-644-5522.

The St. Louis Writers’ Group presents an Evening of Seven One-Act Plays by Joel M. Litman and Mario Farwell on Monday, February 14, at 6:30 PM at Big Daddy’s, 1000 Sidney St. in Soulard. For more information, call 314-865-1296 or send email to farwemar at aol.com.

Everydaycircus Inc. performs shows hourly from 11 AM to 4 PM each weekend at City Museum, 701 N. 15th St. Shows are FREE with regular museum admission. (645-4445 or 231-CITY).

White Flag Projects presents a reading by poet and humorist Jeremy Sigler on Wednesday, February 16, at 8 PM. The reading has been organized to accompany Time Wounds All Heels, White Flag's current exhibition examining humor's potential effect on form and perception. White Flag Projects is located at 4568 Manchester Avenue. For more information, call 314-531-3442 or visit whiteplagprojects.org.

Macbeth

The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis presents Shakespeare's Macbeth Tuesdays through Sundays through March 11. Performances take place at the Loretto-Hlton Center, 130 Edgar Road in Webster Groves, MO. For more information, call 314-968-4925 or visit repstl.org. I hear tell stage blood is spilled in vast quantities.

The Brass Rail Players present the musical Mame. Performances take place February 17 through 27 at the Lindenwood University Premier Center For The Arts In Belleville, Il. For more information, visit brassrailplayers.org.

The Missouri History Museum presents a Teens Make History production of Nobody's Boy, described as a “story of the struggle for freedom in antebellum St. Louis”, Saturdays at 11:30 AM, through February 19. The museum is at Lindell and De Baliviere in Forest Park. For more information, call 314-746-4599 or visit mohistory.org.

The St. Louis Family Theatre Series presents Peter Pan Friday through Sunday, February 18 through 20. Performances take place at the Florissant Civic Center Theatre at Parker and Waterford in Florissant, MO. For more information, call 314-921-5678 or visit www.florissantmo.com.

Black Cat Theatre presents Alan Ayckbourn's comedy Round and Round the Garden Thursdays through Saturdays at 8 PM and Sundays at 2 PM through February 26. Black Cat Theatre is located at 2810 Sutton in Maplewood. For more information, call 314-781-8300 or visit blackcattheatre.org.

Ruined

The Black Rep presents the Pulitzer Prize-winning drama Ruined by Lynn Nottage through March 6. Performances take place at the Grandel Theatre, 3610 Grandel Square. For more information, call 314-534-3810.

New Jewish Theatre presents the St. Louis premiere of Deborah Zoe Laufer's Sirens, described as “an empty-nest story about a husband and wife and the hit love song he wrote for her”, Wednesdays and Thursdays at 7:30 PM, Saturdays at 8 PM, and Sundays at 2 and 7:30 PM, February 16 through March 6. Performances take place at the Marvin and Harlene Wool Studio Theatre at the JCCA, 2 Millstone Campus Drive. For more information, call 314-442-3283 or visit www.newjewishtheatre.org.

ACT Inc. presents a Sweet-and-Sour Valentine Fund Raising Performance on Monday, February 14, at 8 PM. This Valentine's Day grab a loved one and join Judy Newmark of the Post-Dispatch and the ACT INC regulars as they take fond and merry aim at courtship, marriage, sex, infidelity and all the absurdities of romance. The evening, which includes libations and desserts, takes place at the Fontbonne University Fine Arts Theatre at Wydown and Big Bend, in Clayton. For more information, call (314) 725-9108, or send e-mail to ACTSummerRep at sbcglobal.net.  Full disclosure: I have appeared on the Act Inc stage many times over the company's history, including an upcoming appearance as Herbert Dean in their production of The Royal Family this June.

The Missouri History Museum presents The Tragical Comedy of the French, Spanish, French American Ville de Saint Louis Saturdays at 2 PM through February 26. The museum is at Lindell and De Baliviere in Forest Park. For more information, call 314-746-4599 or visit mohistory.org.

True West

HotCity Theatre presents Sam Shepard's True West Thursdays and Fridays at 8 PM, Saturdays at 3 and 8 PM and Sundays at 7 PM through February 18. Performances take place at the Kranzberg Arts Center, 501 North Grand in Grand Center. For more information, call 314-289-4060 or visit hotcitytheatre.org. Read the 88.1 KDHX review!

St. Louis Community College at Meramec Theatre Department presents Waiting for Godot February 16 through 20. Performances take place in the theatre on the campus at 11333 Big Bend Road. For more information, call 314-984-7500.

Act II Community Theatre presents Kaufman and Hart's You Can't Take it With You Fridays and Saturdays at 8 PM and Sundays at 2 PM, February 18 through 28. Performances take place at The St. Peters Community and Arts Center, 1035 St. Peters-Howell Road in St. Peters, MO. For more information, call 636-219-0150 or email info at act2theater.com.

Kline Bottle

Gary F. Bell
Stray Dog Theatre

As noted here back in December, the recent decision by the Professional Theatre Award Council here in St. Louis (the folks who have sponsored the Kevin Kline Awards since 2004) to dictate salary structures for member companies has motivated some to reconsider their participation in the organization.  As noted in an article in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch Culture Club blog today, three groups - New Line Theatre, St. Louis Shakespeare, and Stray Dog Theatre - have now officially announced their intention to withdraw.

The headline on the article reads "Three troupes leave Kevin Kline awards", but based on what I've been hearing, it might be more accurate to say "first three troupes".  More to come, as they used to say on The Tonight Show.

St. Louis theatre calendar for the week of February 7, 2011

[Updated Saturday, February 12, 2011]

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

I'm now adding my own purely personal comments to events about which I think I have anything worthwhile to say. Because that's what bloggers do.  If I have left your show out, please leave a comment with all the details.

The Fox Theatre presents 9 to 5: The Musical through February 20. The Fox is at 527 North Grand in Grand Center. For more information, call 314-534-1111. Read the 88.1 KDHX review!

The Aga-Boom Theater

The COCA Family Theatre Series presents the Aga-Boom Theater Of Physical Comedy through Sunday, February 13. COCA is at 524 Trinity in University City. For more information, call (314) 725-6555 or visit www.cocastl.org.

The Monroe Actors Stage Company presents the comedy Bullshot Crummond  Saturday at 7:30 PM and Sunday at 2:30 PM, February 12 and 13, in the Historic Capitol Theatre in downtown Waterloo, Illinois. For more information, call 618 939 7469.

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

St. Louis Actors' Studio presents Patrick Marber's Closer, which “follows four lives intertwine over the course of four and a half years in a densely plotted, stinging look at modern love and betrayal”. Performances are Tuesdays through Saturdays at 8 PM and Sundays at 2 PM through February 27 at the Gaslight Theater, 358 North Boyle. For more information, call 314-458-2978or visit stlas.org. The play is recommended for mature audiences only.

The Presenters Dolan present the husband and wife team of Joe Dreyer and Rosemary Watts in Crazy Relationships: Love's Many Aspects on Saturday, February 12, at 8 PM at The Kranzberg Center, 501 North Grand in Grand Center. For more information, call 314-725-4200 stn. 10 or visit presentersdolan.com.  Joe and Rosemary are an entertaining couple all by themselves, but even more so when joined (as they are here) by clarinetist Scott Alberici and bassist Dave Troncoso.

Distracted

Stray Dog Theatre presents Lisa Loomer's Distracted, described as a “fast-paced and comic look at parenting in the age of the Internet and Ritalin”. Performances take place Thursdays through Saturdays at 8 PM through February 19. There will be a matinee on the closing Saturday at 2 PM in addition to the evening show. Performances take place at The Tower Grove Abbey, 2336 Tennessee. For more information, call 314-865-1995. I've worked with most of the adult actors in this show in the past and know they do good work, so the performances should be strong, at least. I've done several shows with Stray Dog over the last few years so I'm perhaps a bit biased, but I really do love their work in general. Read the 88.1 KDHX review!

Everydaycircus Inc. performs shows hourly from 11 AM to 4 PM each weekend at City Museum, 701 N. 15th St. Shows are FREE with regular museum admission. (645-4445 or 231-CITY).

Macbeth

The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis presents Shakespeare's Macbeth Tuesdays through Sundays through March 11. Performances take place at the Loretto-Hlton Center, 130 Edgar Road in Webster Groves, MO. For more information, call 314-968-4925 or visit repstl.org. I hear tell stage blood is spilled in vast quantities.

The Memory of Water

The West End Players Guild continues their 100th anniversary season with Shelagh Stevenson's “dark and hilarious” The Memory of Water Fridays and Saturdays at 8 PM and Sundays at 2 PM through February 13. 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. Full disclosure: I'm on the board and play reading committee at West End. There, I said it. That said, though, I think the group is presenting some very strong seasons these days with good, solid scripts. This is one of them. Read the 88.1 KDHX review!

Lindenwood University's J. Scheidegger Center for the Arts presents the The Nick of Time Players Improv Show on Saturday, February 12, at 8 PM, in the Emerson Black Box Theater. The Scheidegger Center is on the Lindenwood campus in St Charles MO. For more information, visit lindenwood.edu/center.

The Missouri History Museum presents a Teens Make History production of Nobody's Boy, described as a “story of the struggle for freedom in antebellum St. Louis”, Saturdays at 11:30 AM, through February 19. The museum is at Lindell and De Baliviere in Forest Park. For more information, call 314-746-4599 or visit mohistory.org.

The Avalon Theatre Company presents Arthur Miller's drama The Price through February 13 in the ArtSpace at Crestwood Court, 119 Crestwood Plaza. For more information, call 314-351-6482 or visit avaontheatre.org. If you know Miller, you know what to expect: literate, insightful writing and strong characters. A good performance of this script is a treasure. Read the 88.1 KDHX review!

The Alpha Players of Florissant present Neil Simon's Proposals through February 13 at The Florissant Civic Center Theater, Parker Rd. at Waterford Dr. in Florissant, MO. For more information, call 314-921-5678.

Black Cat Theatre presents Alan Ayckbourn's comedy Round and Round the Garden Thursdays through Saturdays at 8 PM and Sundays at 2 PM through February 26. Black Cat Theatre is located at 2810 Sutton in Maplewood. For more information, call 314-781-8300 or visit blackcattheatre.org.

The Black Rep presents the Pulitzer Prize-winning drama Ruined by Lynn Nottage through March 6. Performances take place at the Grandel Theatre, 3610 Grandel Square. For more information, call 314-534-3810.

Shadowlands

Mustard Seed Theatre presents Shadowlands, based on the real-life story of C.S. Lewis, who unexpectedly falls in love with young American poet Joy Gresham. Performances take place Thursdays through Saturdays at 8 PM and Sundays at 2 PM through February 13, at the Fontbonne Fine Arts Theatre, 6800 Wydown Blvd. For more information, call (314) 719-8060 or visit the web site at www.mustardseedtheatre.com. Read the 88.1 KDHX review!


Alton Little Theater presents Willy Russell's Shirley Valentine through Sunday, February 13, at 2450 North Henry in Alton, IL. For more information, call 618-462-6562 or visit altonlittletheater.org.

The Department of Theatre, Dance, and Media Arts at the University of Missouri at St. Louis presents Diana Son's Obie Award-winning romantic comedy Stop Kiss Saturday, February 12, at 7:30 PM. Performances take place in the E. Desmond and Mary Ann Lee Theater at the Blanche M. Touhill Performing Arts Center on the UMSL campus. For more information, visit touhill.org or call 314-516-4949.

The Missouri History Museum presents The Tragical Comedy of the French, Spanish, French American Ville de Saint Louis Saturdays at 2 PM through February 26. The museum is at Lindell and De Baliviere in Forest Park. For more information, call 314-746-4599 or visit mohistory.org.

True West

HotCity Theatre presents Sam Shepard's True West Thursdays and Fridays at 8 PM, Saturdays at 3 and 8 PM and Sundays at 7 PM through February 18. Performances take place at the Kranzberg Arts Center, 501 North Grand in Grand Center. For more information, call 314-289-4060 or visit hotcitytheatre.org. Read the 88.1 KDHX review!

Dramatic License Productions presents a Valentine's Cabaret, featuring Ken Haller, Kim Furlow, Elise LaBarge and Jeremy Whaley with Ron Bryant on piano, on Saturday, February 12, at 8 PM. For more information, call 636-220-7012 or visit dramaticlicenseproductions.com.

Soundstage Productions presents St. Louis's own Jeanne Trevor and Kevin Kurth in a Valentine's Day Cabaret Saturday at 8 PM and Sunday at 2 PM, February 12 and 13, at SoundStage in the Crestwood Art Space. Their individual and duet CDs will for sale as well. For more information, send email to soundstage at msn.com.

Triumph in Tragedy

Gustav Mahler

Who: The St. Louis Symphony Orchestra
What: Semyon Bychkov conducts Mahler's Symphony No. 6
Where: Powell Symphony Hall, St. Louis
When: January 4 and 5, 2011

During the thoroughly deserved standing ovation that followed Friday's performance of the Mahler Symphony No. 6 by Semyon Bychkov and the St. Louis Symphony, my wife turned to me and remarked, “Well - that was thrilling.” And so it was.

The Sixth is a daunting work, running between 70 and 90 minutes and jam-packed with compelling and original musical ideas. It demands rapt attention from listeners, Olympic-class endurance on the part of the players, and a strong grasp by the conductor of both Mahler's passion and his musical architecture. It is, in short, a work that is both exhilarating and exhausting for musicians and audience members alike.

Mr. Bychkov, in particular, looked physically drained after those last, searing moments of the finale, as though the famous “hammer blows” that felled Mahler's hero had nearly claimed him as collateral damage. For a moment or two it wasn't even clear whether he would come back out to acknowledge the waves of applause. Happily, there were no signs of strain in his conducting, which looked just as precise and in control as it did during last weekend's far lighter program of Schubert, Shostakovich and Beethoven. And the augmented forces of the symphony sounded brilliant.

Much has been written about how this work was the most personal of Mahler's symphonies - so much so that a huge body of lore and controversy has arisen in the 104 years since its premiere. There is, for example, the ongoing debate as to whether the Scherzo or the Andante should be performed as the second movement. Mahler apparently never quite made up his mind on the matter, and respectable recordings are available of both versions. Mr. Bychkov apparently decided to opt for the Scherzo/Andante approach, but only after the programs had already been printed, necessitating an insert with the final running order. It made dramatic sense to me but given the high quality of the performance I expect that, had he gone with Andante/Scherzo, he would have made that work as well.

Another problem orchestras have had to contend with is the question of how to produce the hammer blows called for in the finale. Mahler stipulated that the sound should be "brief and mighty, but dull in resonance and with a non-metallic character (like the fall of an axe)". The symphony's solution, while unsightly, was undeniably effective: a massive (around 8' tall) unfinished wooden box struck with an equally massive wooden hammer. The resulting sound had a visceral impact that the composer would probably have loved.

Mahler originally called for three blows in the final movement to act, among other things, as demarcation points in its massive structure (the movement runs nearly a half-hour) but at the work's premiere Essen the composer could not bring himself to conduct that final stroke of fate. It was dropped from the published score and while some conductors have elected to restore it, Mr. Bychkov let the deletion stand. Personally, I would have preferred all three, but I understand the logic behind his decision.

The emotional and sonic range of this symphony is massive - a fact which has tempted some conductors to personalize an already idiosyncratic work by exaggerating the highly charged drama. Happily, Mr. Bychkov does not appear to be one of them. I had the strong sense that he was letting Mahler speak for himself, bringing out all the intense emotion and loving details in the music without ever calling too much attention to the process.

The sheer numbers of musicians not withstanding, the Sixth is filled with little moments that place nearly every principal musician in the spotlight at one point or another. You can hear, in this piece, the beginnings of the kind of pointillist approach to orchestration that would reach its apogee if the music of Webern. Melodic fragments are often tossed between sections, with individual instruments sometimes getting in only a few notes before passing the baton.

In order for this sort of thing to work, you need an orchestra of virtuosi. As Friday's performance clearly demonstrated, we have that orchestra here. Every detail was perfectly in place, and the entire package neatly wrapped up by Mr. Bychkov. What a gift for all of us!

Semyon Bychkov conducted Mahler's Symphony No. 6 on Friday and Saturday, February 4 and 5, 2011. For information upcoming St. Louis Symphony concerts, you may cal 314-534-1700 or visit stlsymphony.org.

St. Louis Symphony Update, 5 February 2011

Semyon Bychkov

During the thoroughly deserved standing ovation that followed Friday’s performance of the Mahler Symphony No. 6 by Semyon Bychkov and the St. Louis Symphony, my wife turned to me and remarked, “well – that was thrilling.” And so it was.

It was also just a bit exhausting for musicians and audience members alike. Mr. Bychkov, in particular, looked physically drained after those last, searing moments of finale, as though the famous “axe blows” that felled Mahler’s hero had nearly claimed him as collateral damage. For a moment or two it wasn’t even clear whether he would come back out to acknowledge the waves of applause. Happily, there were no signs of strain in his conducting, which looked just as precise and in control as it did during last weekend’s far lighter program of Schubert, Shostakovich and Beeethoven. And the augmented forces of the symphony sounded brilliant.

My schedule makes a full review impossible earlier than tomorrow (at which point it will appear both here and in the Music section at the 88.1 KDHX site), but I wanted to at least get this update out so that I could encourage my readers to catch the second and final performance tonight (Saturday, February 5) of this rarely-heard and most personal of Mahler's symphonies.  Tickets are available at 314-534-1700 or at the St. Louis Symphony web site.  Don't miss it.