St. Louis theatre calendar for the week of March 17. 2014

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

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That Uppity Theatre Company and The Vital Voice present Briefs: A Festival Of Short Lesbian and Gay Plays Thursday through Sunday, March 21-23. " More than a traditional theatrical production, BRIEFS is a community event, bringing together a diverse audience from the LGBT community, straight allies, local businesses, and local artists. Our slogan this year is, “Come for the play, stay for the party!” The space will stay open for at least at hour after every performance so people can visit and have a drink. Additionally, on Sunday, March 23, our final performance matinee will also honor LGBT seniors and their friends and will include a complimentary brunch for LGBT seniors from groups including SAGE, Primetimers and Older Lesbians Advocating for Change (OLAC)." Performances take place at La Perla, 312 North 8th Street, downtown. For more information, visit uppityco.com or call (314) 995-4600.

The Lemp Mansion Comedy-Mystery Dinner Theater presents its Bullets in the Bathtub through April 27. The Lemp Mansion is at 3322 DeMenil Place. For more information: lempmansion.com

Carol Schmidt

The Cabaret Project and 88.1 KDHX present the monthly Cabaret Open Stage Night on Wednesday, March 19, from 7 to 10 PM at the Tavern of Fine Arts. The master of ceremonies is 88.1 KDHX senior performing arts critic Chuck Lavazzi and the music director is Carol Schmidt. Bring your favorite seasonal songs and be prepared for the big sing-along! If you're planning to sing, be prepared to do one or two songs and bring music, preferably in your key. It's also recommend that you have your song memorized. The Tavern of Fine Arts is at 313 Belt at Waterman in the Central West End. There's free parking in the lot right across the street. For more information, visit tavern-of-fine-arts.blogspot.com or call 314-367-7549.

Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville Department of Theater and Dance presents Pinter's The Caretaker March 21-30. The performances take place on the campus in Edwardsville, IL. For more information, call 618-650-2774.

Curtain's Up Theatre presents Cinderella Or The Story Of Bigfoot on Saturday, March 22. The performances take place in the Dunham Hall Theater on the SIU-Edwardsville campus. For more information, visit curtainsuptheater.com.

The Looking Glass Playhouse presents The Diary of Anne Frank through March 23. Performances take place at 301 West St. Louis Street in Lebanon, Ill. For more information, visit www.lookingglassplayhouse.com.

The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis presents a staged reading of Every Reason to Hope and Believe by Laura Eason on Sunday March 23, at 3:00 PM as part of the Ignite! New Play Festival. “Emma, a successful St. Louis fundraiser, and Nathan, one of the city's most celebrated African American artists, couldn't make it work as a mixed race couple. When they reunite professionally to discuss creating a statue of Dred Scott to be erected in front of the Old Courthouse, their conversation quickly turns personal in this moving story of entitlement, privilege, passion, and how the past informs the present. Commissioned for Ignite! by The Rep.” The reading takes place at the Sally S. Levy Opera Center, 210 Hazel in Webster Groves. For more information, visit repstl.org.

St. Lou Fringe presents Five-Fifths: Alice In Fringeland on Friday, March 21, at 7:30 PM. "St Lou Fringe presents its newest annual benefit event and showcase of St Louis' finest indie artists, FIVE-FIFTHS. Five-Fifths presents one classic story, broken into five acts, and performed by five different performing groups. This isn't just any night of theater. With a VIP reception, after party, celebrity guests and integrating visual and ambient art, we are taking the experience of theater going to a whole new level. Welcome to Fringeland." The performance takes place a the Kranzberg Arts Center, 501 North Grand in Grand Center. For more information: stlfringe.com

The Bissell Mansion Murder Mystery Dinner Theatre presents Flaming Saddles through April 27. The Bissell Mansion is at 4426 Randall Place. For more information: bissellmansiontheatre.com

The Touhill Performing Arts Center presents The New York Gilbert and Sullivan Players production of H.M.S. Pinafore on Saturday, March 22, at 8:00 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.

St. Louis Actors' Studio continues its seventh season, themed Sins of the Father, with Kate Chopin's The Awakening, adapted for the stage by Henry I. Schvey, through March 23. "Set in New Orleans and the Southern Louisiana coast at the end of the nineteenth century, the plot centers on Edna Pontellier and her struggle to reconcile her increasingly unorthodox views on femininity and motherhood with the prevailing social attitudes of the turn-of-the-century South. It is one of the earliest American novels that focuses on women's issues without condescension. It is also widely seen as a landmark work of early feminism, generating mixed reaction from contemporary readers and criticism." Performances take place in the Des Lee Auditorium at the Missouri History Museum. For more information, call 314-458-2978 or visit stlas.org.

Photo: Lon Brauer

The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis presents Michael Frayn's comedy Noises Off March 19 - April 13. “Disasters abound as a frantic, sleep-deprived touring company of actors rehearses and performs their fictional farce, Nothing On. Too many doors, too many sardines and not near enough time combine to create a riotously funny situation on and off stage for both cast and crew. Michael Frayn's intricately crafted mayhem is hailed as one of the greatest comedies ever written.” Performances take place on the mainstage at the Loretto-Hlton Center, 130 Edgar Road in Webster Groves, MO. For more information, call 314-968-4925 or visit repstl.org.

Summerstage presents the musical Pippin March 20-22. Performances take place at 1350 27th St. in Granite City, IL. For more information, call (618) 451-1032.

New Jewish Theater presents Arthur Miller's The Price March 20-April 16. “Everything has a price. In one of the most emotional pieces that Arthur Miller ever wrote, two estranged brothers reunite for one day to sort and sell their deceased father's "furniture," before the building is torn down. The brothers are forced to deal with the price of decisions made in their shared past.” 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.

HotCity Theatre presents Red Light Winter by Adam Rapp through March 29. “A tempestuous love triangle smolders between two college buddies and the red light woman they share for a night. Sex, lies and decadence will change their lives forever!” Performances take place at the Kranzberg Arts Center, 501 North Grand in Grand Center. For more information, visit www.hotcitytheatre.org or call 314-289-4063.

Photo: Jill Ritter Lindberg

New Line Theatre presents the rock musical Rent Thursdays through Saturdays at 8 PM, through March 29. "New Line continues its 23rd season with Jonathan Larson's Pulitzer Prize winning, long-running rock opera Rent. This cheerfully transgressive, 1990s rock/pop riff on the classic story, set in New York City’s East Village, is best described in its creator's own words: 'In these dangerous times, where it seems the world is ripping apart at the seams, we can all learn how to survive from those who stare death squarely in the face every day and we should reach out to each other and bond as a community, rather than hide from the terrors of life at the end of the millennium.'"Performances take place at the Washington University South Campus Theatre, 6501 Clayton Road. For more information: newlinetheatre.com. Read the 88.1 KDHX review!

The St. Louis Theater Circle presents the St. Louis Theater Circle Awards on Monday, March 17, at 7 PM. The awards recognize outstanding achievement in locally produced professional theatre as judged by local theatre critics who are members of the Circle. Presenters will include KDHX's own Chuck Lavazzi. The ceremony is preceded by an optional buffet dinner at 6:00 PM from With Love Catering and takes place at COCA, the Center of Creative Arts, at 524 Trinity in University City. Tickets for both the ceremony and the buffet are available at the door or by calling 314.561.4877. The event will be broadcast and webcast live on HEC-TV Charter channel 989, U-Verse channel 99, and at hectv.org

Alton Little Theater presents Sex, Please, We're 60 Thursdays through Sundays, through March 23, at 2450 North Henry in Alton, IL. For more information, call 618.462.6562 or visit altonlittletheater.org.

St. Louis Community College at Florissant Valley presents a free staged readings of Joanna Baillie's comedy The Siege, on Tuesday, March 18 at 7:00 PM in Room H112 in the Humanities Building on the campus at 3400 Pershall Road in Florissant, MO. Bailllie was "an unjustly forgotten woman dramatist of the late 18th/early 19th century" and the reading is part of the celebration of Women's History Month. The show has never before been performed in Saint Louis, and rarely, if ever, staged in over 200 years.

©Photo by Jerry Naunheim, Jr.

The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis presents Soups, Stews, and Casseroles: 1976 through March 30. “When the main employer in Monroe, Wisconsin is acquired by a major manufacturer, a once peaceful small town turns into a battleground as families struggle to retain their independence, identity and livelihoods. While new opportunities develop for some, difficult choices must be made, putting loyalties and relationships to the test. This world premiere play has been commissioned by The Rep and was developed through the Ignite! New Play Festival.” Performances take place in the studio theatre 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 Repertory Theatre of St. Louis presents a staged reading of Ten Questions to Ask Your Biology Teacher About Evolution by Stephen Massicotte on Wednesday March 19, at 7:30 PM as part of the Ignite! New Play Festival. “High school biology teacher Ms. Kelly encourages her students to ask questions about the world around them. But when one student starts openly questioning the very basis of her teachings and the school science curriculum, her own personal faith is put to the test.” The reading takes place at the Sally S. Levy Opera Center, 210 Hazel in Webster Groves. For more information, visit repstl.org.

The Presenters Dolan present Tim Schall: 1961 on Saturday, March 22, at 8 PM as part of the Gaslight Cabaret Festival. "In 1961 the Beatles debuted at the Cavern Club in Liverpool, Bob Dylan entered the Greenwich Village folk scene, 19 year old Carole King wrote her first #1 hit, Moon River won the Oscar for Best Song and in February of that year Tim Schall was born! Join Tim as he celebrates his birthday in a show dedicated to the music of his natal year." The performance takes place at the Gaslight Theater, 358 North Boyle. For more information: gaslightcabaretfestival.com. Read the 88.1 KDHX review!

O'Fallon TheatreWorks presents Twelve Angry Jurors. at the O'Fallon Municipal Centre auditorium March 21-30. The O'Fallon Municipal Centre is located at 100 North Main Street in O'Fallon, MO. For more information, visit www.ofallon.mo.us or call 636-379-5606.

The St. Louis Family Theatre Series presents the Lightwire Theater production of The Ugly Duckling and The Tortoise and the Hare March 21 at 2:00 PM, March 22 at 7:30 PM, and March 23 at 2:00 PM. "Lightwire Theater, with its dazzling visuals, poignant choreography and creative use of music ranging from classical to jazz to pop, literally brings these classic tales into a new and brilliant light." 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.

The Fox Theatre presents the musical We Will Rock You March 18 - 30. "From London's West End, the worldwide smash hit musical by Queen and Ben Elton comes to St. Louis for a limited engagement! We Will Rock You features the greatest hits of the legendary British rock group, Queen. Now in its 11th year in London and seen by a staggering 15 million people worldwide, this hilarious, multi-award-winning and record-breaking phenomenon boasts a fantastic score of killer Queen tunes that you just can't resist singing along to, such as Another One Bites The Dust, Crazy Little Thing Called Love, We Are The Champions, Bohemian Rhapsody and of course, We Will Rock You. It's the world champion of musicals and the show that rocks harder than any other, so don't miss the party - book your tickets now!" The Fox Theatre is at 517 North Grand in Grand Center. For more information, call 314-534-1678.

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.