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.