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

Updated Monday, March 28, 2011

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

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

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.

Acts of Love

The West End Players Guild concludes their 100th season with the St. Louis premiere of Kathryn Chetkovich's comedy Acts of Love Friday and Saturday at 8 PM and Sunday at 2 PM, April 1 through 10. 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. I'm on the board of directors at West End and did the sound design for this show.  Based on what I have seen in rehearsals, it's going to be a very funny and honest show about just how confusing "acts of love" can become.

Chez Leon presents singer/pianist Steve Ross in April in Paris - Songs Written in and About the City of Light. Performances are Friday and Saturday at 5 and 8 PM and Sunday at noon and 5 PM, April 1 through 3. Chez Leon is at 7927 Forsyth in Clayton. For more information, you may call 314-361-1589 or visit chezleon.com.

Beehive

The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis presents Beehive: The 60s Musical Tuesdays through Sundays, march 16 through April 10. 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.  As I noted in a recent blog post, this show does view the decade through rose-tinted Granny Glasses, but it's tremendous fun and highly recommended.

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

Upstream Theater presents The Death Of Atahualpa, directed and adapted by Philip Boehm from the traditional oral drama of the conquest of the Incas by Pizarro. Members of local Latin band Son de America will accompany the hour-long show, playing traditional Andean music. Performances are Thursdays through Sundays, April 1 through 17, at the Kranzberg Arts Center, 501 North Grand. All performances at 8 PM except Sundays: April 3 and 10 at 7 PM and April 17 at 3 PM. For more information, call (314) 863-4999 or visit www.upstreamtheater.org.

Eclipsed

Washington University Performing Arts Department presents Eclipsed, a “sharp-edged, humanizing and surprisingly funny” drama about the Liberian civil war by actress and playwright Danai Gurira Fridays through Sundays, April 1 through 10. Performances take place in the A.E. Hotchner Studio Theatre in the Mallinckrodt Center on the Washington University campus. For more information, call (314) 935-5858.

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).

Merry Keller

Mariposa Artists presents Love In Four Seasons: A Night of Classical Cabaret starring vocalist Merry Keller with Neal Richardson on piano and guest cellist Ethan Edwards. The performance takes place on Saturday, April 2, at 8 PM at the Belleville Philharmonic Hall, 116 North Jackson Street in Belleville, IL. For more information, visit merrykeller.com.  Neal is was music director and pianist for my cabaret show Just a Song at Twilight: the Golden Age of Vaudeville and I have worked with both Merry and Ethan in the past so I'm probably not objective, but I think they're all intensely talented folks.  I don't think you can go wrong with this evening.

The Real McCoy

The Black Rep presents Andrew Moodie's The Real McCoy through April 10. Performances take place at the Grandel Theatre, 3610 Grandel Square. For more information, call 314-534-3810.

The Conservatory of Theatre Arts at Webster University presents Adam Bock's drama The Receptionist Friday at 7:30 PM, Saturday at 2 and 7:30 PM, and Sunday at 2 PM, April 1 through 3. Performances of the play, which “raises disquieting, provocative questions about the consequences of complicity with evil”, take place in the Stage III Auditorium in Webster Hall on the Webster University campus. The student-directed show is part of the Directing Capstone Projects series. For more information, call 314-968-7128.

Shakespeare Festival St. Louis presents a special public performance of their one-act touring shows Shrew in a Few and Cruel To Be Kind? by Christopher Limber. The performance takes place on Saturday, April 2, at 7 PM at the Emerson Performance Center, at Harris-Stowe State University, 3026 Laclede. For more information, call 314-531-9800 or visit shakespearefestivalstlouis.org.

Over Due Theatre Company presents the musical Sweet Charity Fridays and Saturdays at 8 PM and Sundays at 2 PM, April 1 through 10. Performances take place at the Olivette Community Center, 9723 Grandview Drive, in Olivette, MO. For more information, call 314-210-2959 or visit overduetheatrecompany.com.

The St. Louis Writers' Group presents a reading of the one-act plays They Throw Rocks and Zaybah, Coffee, and Me by Shahnaz Ahmed on Monday, April 4, at 6:30 pm. Shahnaz Ahmed was born in India, did her high school in Dubai, UAE and has been living in the US since she was 16. The performance takes place at Big Daddy's, 1000 Sidney. For more information, you may call 314-865-1296 or visit www.stlwritersgroup.com.

Black Cat Theatre's Piwacket Theatre for Children presents The Three Little Pigs on April 2, 7, 14 and 16. Performances take place at Black Cat Theatre, 2810 Sutton in Maplewood. For more information, call (314) 781-8300 or visit www.blackcattheatre.org.

Trail of Tears

The Imaginary Theatre Company, the young audiences touring ensemble of The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis, presents Trail of Tears Fridays at 10 am and Saturdays and Sundays at 2 pm through April 3. “This dramatic tale of one man's heartbreaking struggle to hold on to his Cherokee heritage is a fresh look at a painful chapter in American history.” Performances take place at the Missouri History Museum at Lindell and DeBaliviere in Forest Park. For more information, call 314- 746-4599 or visit www.mohistory.org.

Katie McGrath

The Presenters Dolan present Katie McGrath in her new cabaret show The Underside of Love, “an evening of music and musings on the ups and downs of grownup love”. Performances are Friday and Saturday, April 1 and 2, at 8 PM at The Kranzberg Center, 501 North Grand in Grand Center. Rick Jensen is pianist and music director for the show, which is directed by Tim Schall. For more information, call 314-725-4200 stn. 10 or visit presentersdolan.com.  This is another case where I can't be objective.  Tim is my voice coach, Rick has taught Katie and I (among others) in the St. Louis Cabaret Conference, and I've done some showcases with Katie.  This is a show I wouldn't (and, in fact, won't) miss.

You're a Good Man,
Charlie Brown

Stray Dog Theatre presents the musical You're a Good Man Charlie Brown Thursdays through Saturdays at 8 PM through April 9. 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.

Hive Mind

There was a joke making the rounds in the 1970s to the effect that if you remembered Woodstock, you probably weren't there.  I'm beginning to think the same thing might be said of the 1960s.  Certainly when Pamela Hunt, the director and choreographer of the Repertory Theatre of St. Louis's delightful production of Beehive the 1960's Musical, writes that it "was an innocent time and often the biggest worry was having a date for the prom or having enough hairspray to make it through a rainy day", I think I'm justified in suspecting that she either hadn't been born yet or was too young to know what was going on.

I, on the other hand, was born in 1948, so I remember the 1960s pretty well.  Innocent they weren't - even here in the Midwest.

That said, you'd be hard pressed to find a more entertaining or more pleasantly nostalgic show than Beehive.  Ms. Hunt and here supernaturally talented and energetic cast do full justice to Larry Gallagher's dewy-eyed tribute to the great female performers of the 1960s, from the classic "girl groups"  to the full tilt boogie of Janis Joplin.

The show runs through April 10th and even if you have no memory of the 1960s at all, I think you'll find it (to quote a more recent song) "simply irresistible".  Get your tickets at the Rep web site.  And while you're at it, consider subscribing.  With public funding for the arts under relentless attack from the neolithic right, local arts organizations (which are, after all, community-based small businesses) need your support more than ever.

Sorry to get all radical on you there at the end.  That's just my 1960s side reasserting itself.

Oh, the Humanaty

Daniel Pearce, Cassie Beck and Sara Surrey in
Elemeno Pea

As some of you may know, I spent last weekend immersed in the Humana Festival of New American Plays in Louisville. I had a darned fine time, and I’d like to spend some electrons telling you why.

The festival – now in its 35th year – features a raft of world premiere plays by upcoming and established playwrights over the course of almost two months. The shows are all performed by the Actors Theatre of Louisville in their impressive facility on the city’s riverfront. With a respectable hotel (the Galt House, where our group stayed) and a plethora of restaurants and bars within walking distance, all the ingredients for a great theatre geek weekend were in place, and the results did not disappoint.

Taking advantage of one of the festival’s New Play Getaway weekend packages, I and six other St. Louis theatre folk made the trek to Kentucky to see five – count ‘em, five – shows: one on Friday night, one on Sunday afternoon, and three on Saturday (a matinee, an evening performance, and a nightcap at 11 PM). We all loved three of them and disliked the other two to varying degrees – a rather remarkable unanimity of opinion from a group that usually has pretty widely divergent tastes in drama. Even the two that we thought were failures, however, failed in mostly interesting ways. Indeed, one measure of the strength of the festival, in my mind, was the fact that nothing we saw was mediocre.

Friday night started things with a bang with the energetic comedy Elemeno Pea by Molly Smith Metzler in the company’s main stage Pamela Brown Auditorium. Plot summary: “When Devon visits Simone for an end-of-summer sibs fest on Martha’s Vineyard, she finds her little sister changed beyond recognition. As personal assistant to wealthy and demanding trophy wife Michaela Kell, Simone enjoys a lavish beachfront lifestyle that these girls never could have imagined growing up in blue-collar Buffalo—but is all this luxury really free of cost?”

Lampooning the self-indulgence of the excessively wealthy is a time-honored theatrical tradition and Pea fills the bill nicely. Metzler resists the temptation to make Michaela entirely a cartoon and even gives Simone’s foppish boyfriend a genuine moment or two. As with all the shows in the festival, a strong cast and impressive tech made a good case for the show.

The necessarily lavish set might be a challenge for some smaller theatre companies, but otherwise I’d expect this to have a good post-festival life on the regional theatre scene.



Saturday afternoon brought Anne Washburn’s A Devil at Noon, staged with just about every technical trick in the book in the Bingham Theatre. The Bingham is the Lexus of black box spaces, with a stunning lighting grid, surround sound, and a sophisticated set of traps and motorized lifts.

Ms. Washburn’s script pushes those technical facilities to their limit, but it’s an incoherent mess. It’s intended as a kind of homage to Philip K. Dick and, given that it makes just as little sense as some of Dick’s more hallucinatory novels, I suppose it succeeds in that regard. The combination of demanding tech and narrative opacity will likely keep this one from seeing the light of day very often.

Things were looking up again Saturday night, with a top-notch presentation of A. Rey Pamatmat’s beautiful and painfully realistic Edith Can Shoot Things and Hit Them. Twelve-year-old Edith (a crack shot with her air rifle, hence the title) and her brother Kenny are largely fending for themselves in “a non-working farm” in the Midwest, kept afloat only by their mostly-absent father’s inconsistent support checks. The situation is complicated by Kenny and his boyfriend Benji’s attempts to keep their blossoming romance concealed from Benji’s conservative parents.

Mr. Pamatmat’s insight into his young characters’ complex emotional lives rings true, as does his funny and utterly convincing portrayal of the boys’ attempts to come to grips with their sexuality. Any guy who has survived puberty will recognize their joy and pain, regardless of sexual orientation. Some things are just universal.

The show presents some casting challenges to companies interested in producing this script. Edith and Kenny are Philipino, so directors would need to find East Asian actors young enough and small enough to believably play the parts. Fortunately, Mr. Pamatmat has simplified the task by keeping the adults off stage and unseen. Technically, the script is well within the capabilities of even the smallest theatres, so this may be another work with a life outside of Louisville.

That’s enough for one blog post. I’ll save my comments on the last two shows for next time.

Web of Relationships

Who: Jimmy Webb
Where: The Presenters Dolan at the Kranzberg Center
When: March 17 - 19, 2011

If you were to look at the song list from Jimmy Webb’s show – eleven numbers, including the encore – you might be surprised to learn that the evening runs an uninterrupted an hour and fifty minutes. You might then wonder if that was because (a) Mr. Webb’s arrangements of his own material tend to be a bit post-Wagnerian or (b) he talks quite a bit between numbers. The correct answer, as it turns out, would be (c) – a little of both, but mostly the latter.

Mr. Webb’s show might best be described as a series of anecdotes drawn from his illustrious and celebrity-strewn career and punctuated by a brace of his popular and highly regarded songs. For Jimmy Webb fans – and there were quite a few in the house the night we saw him – I expect that this was a major treat, judging by the standing ovation he received. For me, however, it was all a bit much. Yes, I’ve always admired Mr. Webb’s work, and there’s no denying that he’s one of the major songwriters of the last fifty years. I clearly don’t love his work the way most of his audience did, however, and after a while I was tempted, like his preacher father in one of those anecdotes, to start looking at my watch.

For the Webbophile, though, the evening offered many of his biggest hits, including “By The Time I Get To Phoenix,” “Up Up and Away”, “Galveston” (an indirect but still poignant anti-war song) and, one of my favorites, the romantically pantheistic “Highwayman”. There were also some that were less familiar (at least to me), including the droll “Campo de Encino” (which gently parodies 1970s California dreaming), “What Does A Woman See In a Man” (in which the man and woman are not so much from different planets as alternate universes) and the lovely “No Signs of Age”, which was preceded by an affectionate reminiscence of the late Richard Harris.

And, yes, he did give the fans an encore: a high-volume, passionate “McArthur Park” – a song which I once admired but now find oddly dated.

Mr. Webb delivered nearly all of his songs in more or less the same manner, with his head back, eyes closed and fingers pounding the piano into submission. I realize I’m in the minority on this one, but for me Mr. Webb’s vocal limitations and the lack of variety in his approach were major drawbacks. I’ve heard other artists do his complex melodies and literate lyrics far more justice. For me, the closest Mr. Webb got to giving his songs their due was his take on “Wichita Lineman” with its strong sense of lonely, wide-open spaces and a slow fade-out at the upper end of the piano, suggesting a solitary telegraph operator sending his Morse code over the wires. The Glenn Campbell original got the same effect with strings, as I recall, but this seemed more magical.

Mr. Webb tied all the songs together with generally entertaining but sometimes lengthy and discursive stories about the various entertainment legends he has known – and he has known plenty. There were also a few about his own life and how it shaped his music. I would have preferred more of the latter (especially about his rarely mentioned family) and less of the former. In particular, I could have done without his nostalgia for Sinatra, the singer’s friends in “The Family” and the days when they ruled Las Vegas. No doubt The Mob did make Vegas classy in the same way that the Fascists made the trains run on time, but in both cases the price was a bit high.

But again, this is all written from the perspective of a contemporary of Mr. Webb who liked but never loved his work. For me, the evening would have been more enjoyable if he had trimmed it by around 30 minutes and indulged both his admirers and himself a bit less. As it was, I had the sense that he assumed he’d be among fans from the beginning – and I don’t think any performer, no matter how justly celebrated, should take that for granted.

The St. Louis theatre calendar for the week of March 21, 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 Florissant Fine Arts Council presents The 39 Steps, the four-actor comic stage adaptation of the Hitchcock classic, on Sunday, March 27, at 2 PM. The performance takes place in the Florissant Civic Center Theatre at Parker and Waterford in Florissant, MO. For more information, call 314-921-5678.

Citilites Theatre presents the romantic comedy Almost, Maine Thursdays through Saturday at 8 PM and Sunday at 7 PM, March 24 through 27. Performances take place at The Foundry Arts Center, 100 Clark Street in St. Charles, MO. For more information, call 314-773-1879 or visit www.brownpapertickets.com/event/154353.

First Run Theatre presents the 9th Annual Reading Festival, featuring staged reading of the finalists of the annual script submission contest, Friday through Sunday, March 25 through 27. The plays are In His Service by Cate Richard, The Kerpash Affair and Divine's Grace by Richard LaViolette, and Behind The Chair by Jason Slavik. Performances take place in the Thomas Hunter Theatre at DeSmet Jesuit High School, 233 N New Ballas Road.. For more information contact First Run Theatre by phone 314-352-5114, email info at firstruntheatre.com, or visit www.firstruntheatre.com.

Beehive

The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis presents Beehive: The 60s Musical Tuesdays through Sundays, march 16 through April 10. Performances take place at the Loretto-Hlton Center, 130 Edgar Road in Webster Groves, MO. For more information, call 314-968-4925 or visit repstl.org. Read the 88.1 KDHX review!

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

Driving Miss Daisy

Dramatic License Productions presents Driving Miss Daisy Thursdays through Saturdays at 8 PM and Sundays at 2 PM through March 27. For more information, call 636-220-7012 or visit dramaticlicenseproductions.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).

Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville's Student Experimental Theater Organization presents Wendy MacLeod's House of Yes!, a “dark comedy, steeped in taboos that take a closer look at society's obsession with celebrities and each other”, Wednesday through Saturday at 7:30 PM, March 24 through 26. Performances take place in the James F. Metcalf Theater on the campus in Edwardsville, IL. For more information, call (618) 650-2774.

In the Next Room

The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis presents Sarah Ruhl's comedy In The Next Room or The Vibrator Play Tuesdays through Sundays through March 27. Performances take place in the Emerson Studio Theatre at the Loretto-Hilton Center, 130 Edgar Road in Webster Groves, MO. For more information, call 314-968-4925 or visit repstl.org. Read the 88.1 KDHX review!

The Gateway Men's Chorus presents Piano Men, featuring the music of Billy Joel, Elton John, or Barry Manilow, Saturday, March 26, at 8 PM. The concert, which will feature “dual and sometimes dueling pianos on stage” along with the chorus, takes place at the 560 Music Center at 560 Trinity in University City, MO. For more information, visit gatewaymenschorus.org or call 314-289-4169.

The Real McCoy

The Black Rep presents Andrew Moodie's The Real McCoy March 16 through April 10. Performances take place at the Grandel Theatre, 3610 Grandel Square. For more information, call 314-534-3810.

Citilites Theatre presents the Del Shores comedy Southern Baptist Sissies Thursdays through Saturdays at 8 PM and Sundays at 7 PM through March 27. Performances take place at The Gaslight Theater, 358 North Boyle. For more information, call 314-773-1879 or visit www.brownpapertickets.com/event/154347 Read the 88.1 KDHX review!

Dance St. Louis and the Fox Theatre present Stomp Friday and Saturday at 8 PM and Sunday at 2 PM, March 25 through 27. “The return of the percussive hit also brings some new surprises, with some sections of the show now updated and restructured and the addition of two new full-scale routines, utilizing props like tractor tire inner tubes and paint cans.” The Fox is at 527 North Grand. For more information, call 314-534-1111 or visit fabulousfox.com.

Trail of Tears

The Imaginary Theatre Company, the young audiences touring ensemble of The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis, presents Trail of Tears Fridays at 10 am and Saturdays and Sundays at 2 pm, March 25 through April 3. “This dramatic tale of one man's heartbreaking struggle to hold on to his Cherokee heritage is a fresh look at a painful chapter in American history.” Performances take place at the Missouri History Museum at Lindell and DeBaliviere in Forest Park. For more information, call 314- 746-4599 or visit www.mohistory.org.

Two Gentlemen of Verona

New Line Theatre presents the rock musical Two Gentlemen of Verona, based on the Shakespeare comedy, Thursdays through Saturdays at 8 PM through March 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. Read the 88.1 KDHX review!

Mariposa Artists presents Debbie Schuster in her solo cabaret debiut, UnWritten. “Through story and song, Debbie shares her own special unique style and flair for the unexpected that guarantees the audience an evening sparked with emotion and laughter.” Performances are Friday and Saturday at 8 PM, March 25 and 26, at the Kranzberg Arts Center, 501 North Grand in Grand Center. Rick Jensen is pianist and music director for the show, which is directed by Liina Koutrakos. For more information, visit www.brownpapertickets.com/event/143817

The Conservatory of Theatre Arts at Webster University presents the musical A Year With Frog And Toad Friday at 7:30 PM, Saturday at 2 and 7:30 PM, and Sunday at 2 PM, March 25 through 27. Performances take place in the Stage III Auditorium at Webster Hall on the Webster University campus. The student-directed show is part of the Directing Capstone Projects series. For more information, call 314-968-7128.

You're a Good Man,
Charlie Brown

Stray Dog Theatre presents the musical You're a Good Man Charlie Brown Thursdays through Saturdays at 8 PM, March 24 through April 9. 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.

The St. Louis theatre calendar for the week of March 14, 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 through March 20. Performances take place at the Kranzberg Arts Center, 501 North Grand at Olive in Grand Center. For more information, call 314-799-8399. Read the 88.1 KDHX review!

The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis presents Beehive: The 60s Musical Tuesdays through Sundays, march 16 through April 10. 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.

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

Chanticleer!

The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis's Imaginary Theatre Company presents the new musical Chanticleer! Saturday, March 19, at 11 AM and 2 PM. The show features book, music and lyrics by Brian Hohfeld. For more information, call 314-968-4925.

St. Louis Shakespeare presents Cyrano de Bergerac Thursday at 7:30 PM, Fridays and Saturdays at 8 PM, and Sundays at 2 PM through March 20. Performances take place at the Missouri History Museum in Forest Park. For more information, visit stlshakespeare.org. Read the 88.1 KDHX review!

Driving Miss Daisy

Dramatic License Productions presents Driving Miss Daisy Thursdays through Saturdays at 8 PM and Sundays at 2 PM through March 27. For more information, call 636-220-7012 or visit dramaticlicenseproductions.com.

Lindenwood University presents An Evening of One Act Plays Thursdays through Saturdays at 7:30 PM, March 17 through 19. Performances take place in the Emerson Black Box Theatre at the J. Scheidegger Center for the Arts on the Lindenwood campus in St. Charles, MO. For more information, call 636-949-4433 or visit lindenwood.edu/center.

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).

In the Next Room

The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis presents Sarah Ruhl's comedy In The Next Room or The Vibrator Play Tuesdays through Sundays through March 27. Performances take place in the Emerson Studio Theatre at the Loretto-Hilton Center, 130 Edgar Road in Webster Groves, MO. For more information, call 314-968-4925 or visit repstl.org. Read the 88.1 KDHX review!

Alton Little Theater presents the Tom Dudzick's comedy King o' the Moon through March 20 at 2450 North Henry in Alton, IL. For more information, call 618.462.6562 or visit altonlittletheater.org.

The Theatre Guild of Webster Groves presents the comedy Leading Ladies through March 20. Performances take place in the Guild theatre at Newport and Summit in Webster Groves, MO. For more information, visit theaterguildwg.org or call 314-962-0876. Read the 88.1 KDHX review!

The Black Rep presents Andrew Moodie's The Real McCoy March 16 through April 10. Performances take place at the Grandel Theatre, 3610 Grandel Square. For more information, call 314-534-3810.

The Black Rep presents a discussion with the playwright, designers and cast of The Real McCoy as part of the Subway Noonday Series on Thursday, March 17, from noon to 2 PM at the Grandel Theatre, 3610 Grandel Square. The program includes lunch courtesy of of the Subway in University City. For more information, call 314-534-3810.

Ma'atology Productions presents the new play Snap, Honey Friday and Saturday at 8 PM and Sunday at 3 PM, March 18 through 20. The play “tells the story about an aging female impersonator who returns home to do her one woman play and appears on a popular talk show. Meanwhile, she discovers during her stay that her abusive father is dying and contemplates seeing him.” Performances take place at The Space, 3016 Locust. For more information, call 618-719-3160.

Citilites Theatre presents the Del Shores comedy Southern Baptist Sissies Thursdays through Saturdays at 8 PM and Sundays at 7 PM through March 27. Performances take place at The Gaslight Theater, 358 North Boyle. For more information, call 314-773-1879 or visit www.brownpapertickets.com/event/154347 Read the 88.1 KDHX review!

Two Gentlemen of Verona

New Line Theatre presents the rock musical Two Gentlemen of Verona, based on the Shakespeare comedy, Thursdays through Saturdays at 8 PM through March 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. Read the 88.1 KDHX review!

The Presenters Dolan present singer/songwriter Jimmy Webb iThursday through Saturday, March 17 through 19, at 8 PM. Beth Etz is pianist and music director for the show, which takes place at The Kranzberg Center, 501 North Grand in Grand Center. For more information, call 314-725-4200 stn. 10 or visit presentersdolan.com.

The Conservatory of Theatre Arts at Webster University presents the The Wonderful World Of Disocia by Anthony Nielson Friday and at 8 PM and Sunday at 2 PM, March 18 through 20. Performances take place in the Stage III Auditorium at Webster Hall on the Webster University campus. For more information, call 314-968-7128.

The kindness of singers

Who: Craig Rubano with Beth Ertz
What: We Can Be Kind
Where: The Presenters Dolan at the Kranzberg Center
When: March 10 - 12, 2011

About half-way through Craig Rubano’s thoughtful, innovative, and surprisingly profound new show, my wife passed me a note which read “Wouldn’t it be lovely if religion were to evoke a similar response in everyone who found it?” That’s not a typical reaction to cabaret, but then one of the many strengths of We Can be Kind is that it isn’t typical cabaret.

For that matter, Mr. Rubano is not a typical cabaret artist – assuming, of course that there can be such a thing in a genre that encompasses the work of both Barbara Cook and Varla Jean Merman. A hometown boy who went on to a career as a Broadway actor (in roles ranging from Marius in Les Misérables to Harpo in Animal Crackers) and a multiple award-winning cabaret artist, Mr. Rubano has also graduated summa cum laude from Yale in Literature and Philosophy and earned an M.A. in English and Comparative Literature from Columbia. This May he will receive a Master of Divinity degree from Princeton Theological Seminary, where he works as an editor on the school’s Dead Sea Scrolls publishing project.

But wait, there’s more! He also lives up in the mountains and raises goats, a subject on which he discourses passionately and humorously during the evening. I think it’s safe to say that’s a unique C.V. for a guy with three CDs and a MAC award to his credit. How many cabaret artists, after all, are on record as saying “I sing to make money to buy books”?

You might expect that an act assembled by someone with that kind of background would have a spiritual center and intellectual sophistication not often found in the genre and, indeed, We Can Be Kind has all that and more. The song selection was eclectic and covered a chronological range from Cohan’s 1904 hit “Give My Regards to Broadway” (to which Mr. Rubano gave added poignancy by placing it in the context of Yanks abroad yearning for home during World War II) to Peter Mayer’s 1999 “Holy Now” – which took on added layers of meaning considered in the context of Mr. Rubano’s religious awakening.

There was a comical sing-along with the traditional English “Bill Grogan’s Goat”, an inspired bi-lingual (Spanish and English) version of “The Impossible Dream” in a brilliant Flamenco-inspired arrangement by pianist and music director Beth Ertz, and an overtly anti-war set consisting of “I’ve Heard It All Before” (from the rarely-seen Shenandoah), “Empty Chairs at Empty Tables”, and “Bridge Over Troubled Water”.

I can count on the fingers of one hand the number of times I have been moved to tears at a cabaret show; that set was one of them.

There were also some American Songbook and theatre classics. A charming and relaxed take on “Make Believe” (from Showboat), for example, opened the evening, followed by an equally persuasive “Dancing in the Dark”, and the closing encore was the winsome “Just One Person” from 1976’s Snoopy: The Musical. On the whole, though, songs like David Friedman’s title number and Joni Mitchell’s “Woodstock” are more representative of the compelling mix of the personal, spiritual and political that made We Can Be Kind so remarkable.

Mr. Rubano performed all of this with light, supple baritone and wide dynamic range that have become his hallmark. His voice was, perhaps, a bit more ragged than it has been in the past but it remains a strong instrument which he used beautifully. Ms. Ertz, whose arrangements were often quite striking and original, was a sympathetic and skilled accompanist. She had a nice solo break early in the evening on “Dancing in the Dark”, but I would have enjoyed hearing more of her.

We Can Be Kind is clearly a very new show - it’s not even mentioned on Mr. Rubano’s web site - and therefore (to paraphrase Mr. Sondheim) something of an unfinished hat. In particular, Mr. Rubano needs to tighten up and more thoroughly memorize his patter. He brings a wealth of interesting insights to the music. I think a good director could help him sharpen and focus those insights. Part of the problem, I expect, is that it’s hard to fully concentrate on a show when you have divinity school exams coming up.

Cabaret is, ultimately, the most personal of performance genres. It succeeds or fails based on the talent and sincerity of the performer. Mr. Rubano has all of that, along with an impressive intellectual depth and emotional maturity. We Can Be Kind, as it was presented in St. Louis, was an awfully good show. Once he has that degree in his pocket, I expect that Mr. Rubano will make it a great one.

Next at the Kranzberg Center: a three-night stand by singer/songwriter Jimmy Webb March 17 through 19; for more information, call 314-725-4200 or visit licketytix.com on the web.

Double Dutch

Simone Lamsma
(photobucket.com/wiebren_2007)

Who: The St. Louis Symphony Orchestra
What: Jaap van Zweden conducts Rachmaninoff, Simone Lamsma plays Shostakovich
Where: Powell Symphony Hall, St. Louis
When: March 11 - 13, 2011
Reviewed by Chuck Lavazzi, 88.1 KDHX

Dutch violinist-turned-conductor Jaap van Zweden is one of those performers whom I know entirely from recordings, so I looked forward with some anticipation to seeing him in person conducting the St. Louis Symphony this weekend. I was not disappointed. A brusque, no-nonsense type whose gestures are precise and highly focused, he nevertheless appeared to be passionately engaged with both the music and the musicians. As a result, he and the orchestra did equal justice to both the dark and demon-haunted Violin Concerto No. 1 of Shostakovich and the unabashedly romantic Symphony No. 2 of Rachmaninoff.

Although completed in 1948, the Shostakovich Concerto was not performed until 1955 – two years after the death of Stalin and the subsequent easing of restrictions on composers who (like the residents of Monty Python’s “Happy Valley”) risked arrest for not being sufficiently cheerful. And cheerful is a word which nobody is his or her right mind would apply to this work. Yes, the finale is typically lively and boisterous, but it comes after a dark and tragically brooding first movement, a demonically grinning second that could have been penned by The Joker (Batman’s, not Steve Miller’s), a Passacaglia (based, in part, on the “fate” motive of Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony) that sounds like something Bach might have produced had he lived through the horrors of World War II in Russia, and a highly dramatic virtuoso cadenza that’s almost a tone poem unto itself.

Taken as a whole, the concerto is a work of tragic grandeur, which may be why David Oistrakh (for whom the work was written and who assisted in its revision) referred to the solo violin part as a "pithy 'Shakespearean' role". Certainly the cadenza that links the third and fourth movements is as technically challenging as any of The Bard’s soliloquies, with a dynamic and emotional range that compels complete attention. Which it got, thanks to a stunning performance by soloist Simone Lamsma.

Ms. Lamsma has performed the concerto with her fellow countryman Mr. van Zweden before, so perhaps it’s no surprise that they were so completely in synch with each other despite a lack of any obvious visual communication. Even so, it was a remarkably seamless and powerful reading to which the audience responded with an enthusiastic standing ovation. To that Ms. Lamsma responded, on Friday, with an encore – the “Sarabanda” from Bach’s Partita No. 2. This was Ms. Lamsma’s debut with the symphony and given the warmth with which it was received, I suspect it will not be the last.

The second half of the program was given over entirely to Rachmaninoff's lush and expansive Symphony No. 2. Clocking in at around an hour uncut (which, happily, this performance was) and featuring the seemingly endless melodic invention that characterizes so much of the composer’s work, the Second has become immensely popular since its 1908 premiere. Yes, it can be repetitive and structurally disjointed at times, but Mr. van Zweden’s disciplined and yet sympathetic approach made it all work. There were instrumental details here and there that got lost, at least from where we sat in the dress circle boxes, but on the whole the orchestra was its usual splendid-sounding self.

Musical trivia note: both works on the program contain four-note “signatures” with which their respective composers often stamp their music. In Shostakovich’s case the signature is melodic – the notes D, E-flat, C and B natural which, in German notational convention, spell out DSCH – an abbreviation for Dimitry Shostakovich. Rachmaninoff’s signature, by contrast, is rhythmic – one long note and three short corresponding to “RACH-man-in-off”. Is their back-to-back placement coincidental or just a remarkable bit of subtlety? Only your symphony knows for sure.

And finally, a question that has been bugging me for some time now: what is it about some members of the symphony audience that makes it impossible for them to suppress a cough response until breaks between movements? More specifically: why do some people feel compelled to hack up a lung during some of the softest and most emotionally intense moments? Far be it from me to discourage anyone from attending a concert, but if you’re really that sick perhaps you should either stay home or dope yourself up with an antitussive and get a designated driver. On Friday night the Shostakovich, in particular, was marred by outbreaks that made Powell Hall sound like a 19th century tuberculosis ward.

Let’s have a little consideration for your fellow audience members. Some of us are there to hear the music without bronchial obbligato.

Next up on the symphony schedule: a varied program the combines Strauss’s Also Sprach Zarathustra and Ligeti’s Atmospheres (both of which were used in 2001: A Space Odyssey) with Liszt’s Mephisto Waltz No. 1 and Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 4. For more information, you may call 314-534-1700, visit slso.org, or follow @slso on Twitter.

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

Updated Tuesday, March 8, 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 West County YMCA and Chesterfield Community Theatre present the comedy Arsenic and Old Lace Thursday through Saturday at 7:30 PM and Sunday at 3 PM, March 10 through 13. Performances take place at the West County YMCA, 16464 Burkhardt Place. For more information, call (636) 532-6515 Ext. 227.

Muddy Waters Theatre Company presents Paula Vogel's The Baltimore Waltz Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30 PM and Sundays at 2 PM through March 20. Performances take place at the Kranzberg Arts Center, 501 North Grand at Olive in Grand Center. For more information, call 314-799-8399. Read the 88.1 KDHX review!

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

Cabaret artist and teacher Tim Schall presents A Cabaret Showcase, featuring students from his Advanced Performance Class, on Sunday, February 13, at 7 PM. Performers are Shirley Aschinger, Steve Brammeier, Michael Brightman, Kari Donovan, Jay Knehans, Michael McKinley, Charlene Reimann, and KDHX's own Donna Weinsting. Al Fischer is pianist and music director for the show, which takes place at the Kranzberg Arts Center, 501 North Grand in Grand Center. For more information, visit www.brownpapertickets.com/event/163778.

Winter Opera St. Louis presents Mascagni's Cavalleria Rusticana Saturday at 8 PM and Sunday at 5 PM, March 12 and 13. Performances take place at St. Ambrose Church, 5130 Wilson Avenue. For more information, visit winteroperastl.org or call 314-865-0038.

St. Louis Shakespeare presents Cyrano de Bergerac Thursday [March 17] at 7:30 PM, Fridays and Saturdays at 8 PM, and Sundays at 2 PM, March 11 through 20. Performances take place at the Grandel Theatre, 3610 Grandel Square. For more information, call 314-361-5664 or visit stlshakespeare.org.

The COCA Family Theatre Series presents Dan Zanes and Friends, Friday at 7 PM and Saturday at 2:20 and 7 PM, March 11 through 13. COCA is at 524 Trinity in University City. For more information, call (314) 725-6555 or visit www.cocastl.org.

Driving Miss Daisy

Dramatic License Productions presents Driving Miss Daisy Thursdays through Saturdays at 8 PM and Sundays at 2 PM, March 10 through 27. For more information, call 636-220-7012 or visit dramaticlicenseproductions.com.

The St. Louis Family Theatre Series presents Duck for President, Fancy Nancy, and other Story Books Friday at 7:30 PM and Saturday and Sunday at 2 PM, March 13, 18 and 19. 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.

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 through March 11. 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.

In the Next Room

The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis presents Sarah Ruhl's comedy In The Next Room or The Vibrator Play Tuesdays through Sundays, March 9 through 27. Performances take place in the Emerson Studio Theatre at the Loretto-Hilton Center, 130 Edgar Road in Webster Groves, MO. For more information, call 314-968-4925 or visit repstl.org.

Alton Little Theater presents the Tom Dudzick's comedy King o' the Moon March 11 through 20 at 2450 North Henry in Alton, IL. For more information, call 618.462.6562 or visit altonlittletheater.org.

The Theatre Guild of Webster Groves presents the comedy Leading Ladies March 11 through 20. Performances take place in the Guild theatre at Newport and Summit in Webster Groves, MO. For more information, visit theaterguildwg.org or call 314-962-0876.

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 Touhill Performing Arts Center presents New York Gilbert and Sullivan Players production of The Mikado on Friday, March 11, at 8 PM. The Touhill Performing Arts Center in on the University of Missouri-St. Louis campus. For more information, you may visit www.touhill.org or call (314) 516-4949

Fontbonne University presents a stage adaptation Nathaniel West's Miss Lonelyhearts February 10 through 13. Performances take place Thursdays through Saturdays at 8 PM and Sundays at 2 PM at the Fontbonne Fine Arts Theatre, 6800 Wydown Blvd.

Carol Schmidt

Mariposa Artists presents a Moonglow Cabaret Series concert on Saturday, March 12, from 6 to 8 PM. The featured performers are Bob Becherer, Robert Breig, Brian Derton, Mark Kraft, Dionna Raedeke, and Charlene Reimann. Carol Schmidt is the pianist and music director. The free concert takes place at Schwaig Art Glass, 1916 Park Avenue in Lafayette Square. For more information, call 314-776-4442 or visit fabartscenter.com.  An art glass studio may seem like an unusual venue for cabaret, but Schwaig's air of casual elegance is a surprisingly good fit.  And then there's the free wine and cheese.

Citilites Theatre presents the Del Shores comedy Southern Baptist Sissies Thursdays through Saturdays at 8 PM and Sundays at 7 PM, March 10 through 27. Performances take place at The Gaslight Theater, 358 North Boyle. For more information, call 314-773-1879 or visit www.brownpapertickets.com/event/154347

Two Gentlemen of Verona

New Line Theatre presents the rock musical Two Gentlemen of Verona, based on the Shakespeare comedy, Thursdays through Saturdays at 8 PM through March 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. Read the 88.1 KDHX review!

Lindenwood University presents the musical Urinetown Thursdays through Saturdays at 7:30 PM through March 12. Performances take place in the Emerson Black Box Theatre at the J. Scheidegger Center for the Arts on the Lindenwood campus in St. Charles, MO. For more information, call 636-949-4433 or visit lindenwood.edu/center.

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 through March 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.

Craig Rubano

The Presenters Dolan present St. Louis native Craig Rubano in his new cabaret show We Can Be Kind Thursday through Saturday, March 10 through 12, at 8 PM. Beth Etz is pianist and music director for the show, which takes place at The Kranzberg Center, 501 North Grand in Grand Center. For more information, call 314-725-4200 stn. 10 or visit presentersdolan.com. Reviewing Mr. Rubano's previous appearances locally, I praised his ebullient and unashamedly genuine style, his supple light baritone, his ability to communicate the emotional core of every song and his impressive dynamic range - so I'm looking forward to this performance.