Chuck's Choices for the weekend of June 14, 2013

As always, the choices are purely my personal opinion. Take with a grain (or a shaker) of salt.

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New this week:

Opera Theatre of St. Louis presents the world premiere of Champion in rotating repertory with three other operas through June 30. “Audiences across the country are already anticipating the world premiere of this compelling new opera in jazz. With music by five-time Grammy Award-winning composer Terence Blanchard and libretto by Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Michael Cristofer, Champion is inspired by the true story of Emile Griffith. An immigrant from the Virgin Islands, Emile claimed the title of World Welterweight Champion in a fatal 1962 fight which transformed him into a tragic hero and left the two-year old son of his opponent, Benny “The Kid” Paret, without a father.” 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. The combination of composer, librettist, and subject matter make this an easy call. For more information, you may visit experienceopera.org or call 314-961-0644.

Photo: John Lamb

St. Louis Actors' Studio presents King Lear through June 23 at the Gaslight Theatre, 358 North Boyle. "The St. Louis Actors Studio has opened a fine production of King Lear, writes Steve Callahan in his review for 88.1 KDHX, "and it's an excellent opportunity for you to make your little temporal tithe." For more information, call 314-458-2978 or visit stlas.org.

Held over:

New Line Theatre presents the St. Louis premier of the musical Bukowsical Thursdays through Saturdays at 8 PM through June 22. "With book and lyrics by Spencer Green and Gary Stockdale, and music by Stockdale, Bukowsical is a wacky, high-energy – and gleefully adult – musical comedy, an ironic and insightful 21st-century reboot of the classic American musical comedy, exploring the intersection between sex, drugs, booze, and art, all through the life story of the great American novelist and poet Charles Bukowski." I haven't seen this, but the idea is so much in line with the mission of the Church of the SubGenius that it demands attention. "The show is, I think, ephemera," writes Steve Callahan in his review for 88.1 KDHX, "But it’s the sort of ephemera that a company like New Line should be doing. And they do it so very, very well!" Performances take place at the Washington University South Campus Theatre, 6501 Clayton Road. For more information, call 314-534-1111.

Photo: Ken Howard

Opera Theatre of St. Louis presents Gilbert and Sullivan's The Pirates of Penzance in rotating repertory with three other operas through 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. As I note in my review for 88.1 KDHX, this may not be a perfect production, but it's pretty darned good and well worth seeing. For more information, you may visit experienceopera.org or call 314-961-0644.

Photo: Ken Howard

Opera Theatre of St. Louis presents Puccini's Il Tabarro and Leoncavallo's I Pagliacci in rotating repertory with three other operas through 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. As I note in my review for 88.1 KDHX, this is "a dramatically powerful and musically impeccable combination of two classics of verismo opera." For more information, you may visit experienceopera.org or call 314-961-0644.

Circus Flora presents its new show, A Trip to the Moon through June 23 under the air-conditioned, red-and-white, big top tent in Grand Center next to Powell Hall. "Inspired by Georges Méliès' groundbreaking 1902 film, A Trip to the Moon, Circus Flora's creative team captures the film's imaginative spirit ...A Trip to the Moon borrows this iconic piece of cinematic history and Méliès' artistic instruments to construct the visual styling, costuming and narrative elements." "Circus Flora continues to amaze us," writes Sheila Schultz in her review for 88.1 KDHX. "Unflinching, its artists perform mind-boggling feats of daring." For more inforamtion, visit circusflora.org.