The St. Louis theatre calendar for the week of May 20, 2013

[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.

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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 pastime. Performances take place on Saturdays at 9 PM at Maggie O'Brien's, 2000 Market Street. For more information, you may call 314-827-4185, email stlouis at byebyeliver.com, or visit byebyeliver.com/stlouis.

The Lemp Mansion Comedy-Mystery Dinner Theater presents Clueless through July 27. The Lemp Mansion is at 3322 DeMenil Place. For more information: lempmansion.com

The Bissell Mansion Murder Mystery Dinner Theatre presents Field of Schemes through July 27. The Bissell Mansion is at 4426 Randall Place. For more information: bissellmansiontheatre.com

Upstream Theater presents An Iliad May 24-June 9. Performances take place at the Kranzberg Arts Center, 501 North Grand in Grand Center. "The inimitable Jerry Vogel returns to Upstream to play the poet who has come to enchant us, move us, and dare us to recognize ourselves as we peer into the bronze-tinged reflection of an ancient war...Featuring live music by longtime Upstream collaborator Farshid Soltanshahi." For more information, including show times: upstreamtheater.org.

Photo: John Lamb

Max and Louie Productions presents Jeffrey Hatcher's Mrs. Mannerly May 23 through June 2. "This irreverent, yet poignant comedy is inspired by the hilarious memories of a childhood etiquette class, wherein playwright Jeffrey Hatcher conjures up the world of a 10 yr. old studying manners. Set in 1967, Mrs. Mannerly is a demanding teacher, and no student in her thirty-six years of etiquette classes has ever achieved a perfect score. But, when he discovers her secret past, Young Jeffrey is determined to be the first to achieve this feat. This unique comic tale reveals truths about the face we present and the real selves that lie inside." Performances take place at COCA, 524 Trinity in University City. For more information, visit maxandlouie.com.

Opera Theatre of St. Louis presents Gilbert and Sullivan's The Pirates of Penzance in rotating repertory with three other operas May 25-June 29. Performances take place at the Loretto-Hilton Center at 135 Edgar Road on the Webster University campus. All performances are sung in English with projected English text. For more information, you may visit experienceopera.org or call 314-961-0644.

The Sheldon Concert Hall presents The Poor Puppets of Paris, an evening of French songs with Elsie Parker and the Poor People of Paris with special guests Bob Kramer's Marionettes, on Tuesday, May 21, at 7:30 PM. The show features songs by Edith Piaf, Charles Aznavour, Josephine Baker as well as music of Michel Legrand. The Sheldon Concert Hall is at 3648 Washington. For more information: sheldonconcerthall.org.

The Fox Theatre presents the musical Rock of Ages Friday at 8 PM, Saturday at 2 and 2 PM, and Sunday at 2 PM, May 24-26. The Tony-nominated musical is “a hilarious, feel-good love story told through the hit songs of iconic rockers Journey, Styx, REO Speedwagon, Foreigner, Pat Benatar, Whitesnake, and many more”. The Fox Theatre is at 517 North Grand in Grand Center. For more information, call 314-534-1678

Photo: John Lamb

New Jewish Theater presents Shlemiel the First through June 9. "A joyous klezmer musical based on the tale by Isaac Bashevis Singer, follows the naive beadle Shlemiel from Chelm, a village of fools, on a pilgrimage to spread the wisdom of the local sages. His simple-minded folly turns an already absurd world hilariously upside down, and the play’s small cast, complete with a live klezmer band and a topsy-turvy set, amasses large measures of adoration from audiences nationwide." Performances take place in the Marvin and Harlene Wool Studio Theater at the Jewish Community Center, 2 Millstone Campus Drive in Creve Coeur. For more information: www.newjewishtheatre.org or call 314-442-3283.

Dance St. Louis presents the Spring to Dance Festival 2013, featuring 30 dance companies, Thursday through Saturday, May 23-25, at the Touhill Performing Arts Center. Performances take place each night at 6 PM in the Terrace Lobby, at 7 PM in the Lee Theatre, and at 7:30 PM in the Anheuser-Busch Performance Hall. For more information: dancestlouis.org.

St. Louis Actors' Studio presents Alan Bennett's trio of monlogues Talking Heads through May 26 at the Gaslight Theatre, 358 North Boyle. For more information, call 314-458-2978 or visit stlas.org.

Shakespeare Festival St. Louis presents Twelfth Night nightly except for Tuesdays, May 22 through June 16. Performances take place in Shakespeare Glen next to the Art Museum in Forest Park. Curtain time is 8 PM. For more information, visit sfstl.com.

The Alpha Players of Florissant present the comedy Whodunnit through May 26 at The Florissant Civic Center Theater, Parker Rd. at Waterford Dr. in Florissant, MO. For more information, call 314-921-5678.

Tesseract Theatre Company presents You Won't See Me by company playwright in residence Caitlin McCommis Wednesday through Saturday at 7:30 PM and Sunday at 4 PM, May 22-26. “Joe Hanrahan portrays Mal Evans, Beatles road manager and friend in this new play that chronicles Evans' amazing life with the band and his tragic end.” Performances take place at the Regional Arts Commission on Delmar, across from the Pageant. Admission is free. For more information: tesseracttheatre.org.

Would you like to be on the radio? KDHX, 88.1 FM needs theatre reviewers. If you're 18 years or older, knowledgeable in this area, have practical theatre experience (acting, directing, writing, technical design, etc.), have good oral and written communications skills and would like to become one of our volunteer reviewers, send an email describing your experience and interests to chuck at kdhx.org. Please include a sample review of something you've seen recently.