Chuck's Choices for the weekend of January 17, 2014

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

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Photo: Stewart Goldstein

The Black Rep presents Jeff Stetson's The Meeting, based on a supposed meeting between Malcom X and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., through January 26. Performances take place at the Emerson Performance Center on the campus of Harris-Stowe State University. For more information: theblackrep.org. Read the 88.1 KDHX review!

My take: In her review for 88.1 KDHX, Tina Farmer calls this an "effective, thought-provoking drama" that offers "a well-directed, well-performed look under the public veneer" of these important historical figures. "The new space at the Emerson Performance Center on the Harris-Stowe State University campus suits the company well," she writes, "and the technical aspects were to their usual high standards."

Circus Harmony presents Verismo, described as “the four seasons, circus style,” on Saturdays at 2 and 7 PM and Sundays at 2 PM, January 18-26. Performances take place at City Museum, 701 N. 15th Street. Museum  admission is free with your ticket purchase. For more information: circusharmony.org.

My take: The kids at Circus Harmony are always a highlight of Circus Flora's annual performances in Grand Center. Expect a fun, family friendly show in the small ring at City Museum. And don't forget to check out the museum's unique interactive attractions while you're at it; the place is truly a one-of-a-kind experience and a tribute the the remarkable imagination of its founder, the late Robert Cassilly.

Held Over:

Photo: Jerry Naunheim, Jr.

The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis presents Michael Hollinger's Opus through February 2. "With only four days to rehearse for their most important performance ever, a world-class string quartet takes a chance by hiring a gifted but inexperienced young woman. Onstage the Lazara Quartet is pitch perfect but behind the scenes they're coming unstrung as the four artists battle the sweat, tears and pain that go into making extraordinary music seem effortless. This fascinating play is a passionate look at the delicate and complex relationships between artists' lives and their art." 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.

My take: I'm on the board of West End Players Guild, the group that did the St. Louis premiere of this play last April. I was a big backer of Opus in the WEPG play reading committee and remain a fan of this funny, literate, dramatic, and informed look at the often less than beautiful reality behind the performance of so much beautiful music. It's easy to be transported by (say) a late Beethoven quartet and lose sight of the fact that the performers are doing their jobs as well as creating art. Opus explores what happens when the worlds of commerce and art collide. "Here is a lovely play," writes Andrea Braun in her review for 88.1 KDHX, "well performed by a talented cast and it deserves an audience".

First Run Theatre presents Whatever Remains, a new Sherlock Holmes mystery by Jason Slavik, Fridays and Saturdays at 8 PM and Sundays at 2 PM, January 10-19. Performances take place at First Run Theatre at De Smet Jesuit High School Theatre, 233 N. New Ballas Rd. For more information, call (314) 352-5114 or visit www.firstruntheatre.com.

My take: I admit it; I'm a Sherlock Holmes fan (a Sherlockian, as we call ourselves) and have been for a long time. You'll even find some Sherlockian papers that I've written over the years at my old personal home page (now mostly abandoned). I don't know whether I'm gong to be able to see this or not (the next two weekends are pretty heavily booked for me), but I look forward to at least finding out what it's about. For those of you curious about the title, it comes from something Holmes says in "The Sign of Four": "How often have I said to you that when you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth?" He repeats that point in "The Beryl Coronet," "The Bruce-Partington Plans," and "The Blanched Solider" (and says something very similar in "Silver Blaze") so it's a safe bet he meant it. In her review for 88.1 KDHX, Tina Farmer says the show is "is entertaining and well paced, if occasionally a bit of a credibility stretch."