St. Louis theatre calendar for the week of September 8, 2014

[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 events web site.

Share on Google+

Manual Cinema
Photo: Jerry Schulman

Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville presents the Manual Cinema production of ADA/AVA at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, September 11, as part of Xfest: 4 Days of Experimental Theater. The performance takes place in the Metcalf Theater on the campus in Edwardsvile, IL. For more information, call 618-650-2774 or visit siuexfest.com.

The Monroe Actors Stage Company presents the classic musical Annie Get Your Gun September 21-21 in the Historic Capitol Theatre in downtown Waterloo, Illinois. " Annie Oakley is the best shot around, but when shooting ace Frank Butler's ego won't accept Annie's talent, it's up to Annie to prove to him that love trumps talent." For more information, visit www.masctheatre.org or call 618-939-7469.

The Bissell Mansion Murder Mystery Dinner Theatre presents A Big Easy Murder through October 26. The Bissell Mansion is at 4426 Randall Place. For more information: bissellmansiontheatre.com

New Jewish Theatre presents Cabaret NJT: An Evening With Ben Nordstrom on Saturday, September 13, at 8:00 PM. The show features songs from Broadway, pop, and the American Songbook. The performance takes place at the JCCA, 2 Millstone Campus Drive. For more information, call 314-442-3283 or visit www.newjewishtheatre.org.

The Theatre Guild of Webster Groves presents the comedy/drama Dearly Departed through September 14. Performances take place in the Guild theatre at Newport and Summit in Webster Groves, MO. For more information: theatreguildwg.org or call 314-962-0876.

Insight Theatre Company presents Arthur Miller's classic drama Death of a Salesman September 11-21. "A true American classic, this drama follows the last day in the life of salesman Willy Loman. Through memories, dreams and explosive arguments, playwright Arthur Miller delves into the contradictions between denial and reality, between success and failure. This poignant family story of a broken man, his supportive wife and the two sons who try to please him received the 1949 Pulitzer Prize for Drama and the Tony Award for Best Play. It has been revived on Broadway four times, most recently in 2012." Performances take place in the Heagney Theatre, 530 East Lockwood on the campus of Nerinx Hall High School in Webster Groves. For more information, call 314-556-1293 or visit insighttheatrecompany.com.

Endurance

Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville presents the Split Knuckle Theatre production of Endurance at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday, September 10, as part of Xfest: 4 Days of Experimental Theater. "Trapped in Antartica with no hope of rescue, the great British explorer Sir Ernest Shackleton kept 27 men alive for two years in the most inhospitable climate on earth. Ninety-five years later, in the worst economic meltdown since the Great Depression, Hartford insurance man Walter Spivey, struggling to justify his recent promotion and save his employees jobs, relives Shackleton's story. Can one of the greatest leaders in human history inspire him to conquer the corporate world?" The performance takes place in the Dunham Hall Theater on the campus in Edwardsvile, IL. For more information, call 618-650-2774 or visit siuexfest.com.

Photo: Peter Wochniak

Stages St. Louis presents the classic musical Fiddler on the Roof through October 5. "Winner of the Tony Award for Best Musical and one of the most touching creations in the history of Broadway, featuring such heartfelt and beloved songs as 'Sunrise, Sunset,' 'If I Were A Rich Man,' and 'Matchmaker, Matchmaker'.” Performances take place in the Robert G. Reim Theatre at the Kirkwood Community Center, 111 South Geyer Road in Kirkwood. For more information, visit stagesstlouis.org or call 314-821-2407.

R-S Theatrics presents the musical First Lady Suite by Michael John LaChiusa Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m. and Sundays at 7 p.m., through September 14. "First Lady Suite provides a witty and poignant glimpse into the private lives of such women as Jackie Kennedy, Eleanor Roosevelt, and Mamie Eisenhower; all were First Ladies during historic times who navigated their public private lives through achievements and tragedy while always being second to their husband's job." Performances take place at the Ivory Theatre, 7620 Michigan Avenue. For more information, visit r-stheatrics.com. Read the 88.1 KDHX review!

The Great American Trailer Park Musical
Photo: Zachary Stefaniak

Dramatic License Productions presents The Great American Trailer Park Musical through September 21. "Directed by St. Louis theatre veteran actor and director, Alan Knoll with musical direction by Stephen Eros and choreography by Zachary Stefaniak, the adults-only musical is the story of a wayward stripper, Pippi, pursued by her marker-sniffing, highly combustible boyfriend. Pippi hides out in the north Florida trailer park Armadillo Acres, home to an agoraphobic housewife, her toll-collector husband and three gossiping girlfriends who also narrate the wacky story. A four-piece, on-stage band accompanies the cast of seven." Performances take place at Dramatic License Theatre located at the upper level of Chesterfield Mall (near Sears and across from Houlihan's Restaurant). For more information, call 636-220-7012 or visit dramaticlicenseproductions.org.

Human Terrain
L-R: Melissa Gerth and Wendy R Greenwood

Mustard Seed Theatre presents Human Terrain by Jennifer Blackmer. "This world-premiere explores the treasonous relationship between a US Cultural Advisor and an Iraqi woman during the Iraq War." Performances take place through September 14 at the Fontbonne Fine Arts Theatre, 6800 Wydown Blvd. For more information, call (314) 719-8060 or visit the web site at www.mustardseedtheatre.com. Read the 88.1 KDHX review!

Christ Memorial Productions presents the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical The King and I Friday sand Saturday at 7:30 PM and Sundays at 2 PM, September 12-21. Performances take place at Christ Memorial Lutheran Church, 5252 South Lindbergh. For more information, visit CMPShows.org or call 314-631-0304.

Alton Little Theater presents the comedy Leading Ladies Thursdays through Sundays, September 11-21, at 2450 North Henry in Alton, IL. "Two English Shakespearean actors, Jack and Leo, find themselves so down on their luck that they are performing “Scenes from Shakespeare” on the Moose Lodge circuit in the Amish country of Pennsylvania. When they hear that an old lady in York, PA is about to die and leave her fortune to her two long lost English nephews, they resolve to pass themselves off as her beloved relatives and get the cash. The trouble is, when they get to York, they find out that the relatives aren't nephews, but nieces! Romantic entanglements abound, especially when Leo falls head-over-petticoat in love with the old lady's vivacious niece, Meg, who's engaged to the local minister. Meg knows that there's a wide world out there, but it's not until she meets “Maxine and Stephanie” that she finally gets a taste of it." For more information, call 618.462.6562 or visit altonlittletheater.org.

Clinton County Showcase presents the drama The Miracle Worker September 12-27. "Immortalized onstage and screen by Anne Bancroft and Patty Duke, this classic tells the story of Annie Sullivan and her student, blind and mute Helen Keller. The Miracle Worker dramatizes the volatile relationship between the lonely teacher and her charge. Trapped in a secret, silent world, unable to communicate, Helen is violent, spoiled, almost sub-human and treated by her family as such. Only Annie realizes that there is a mind and spirit waiting to be rescued from the dark, tortured silence. With scenes of intense physical and emotional dynamism, Annie's success with Helen finally comes with the utterance of a single, glorious word: “water”." Performances take place at the Avon Theater, 525 North 2nd Street Breese IL. For more information, visit ccshowcase.com.

Matt Smith
Photo: John Jeffcoat

Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville presents Matt Smith in his one-man show My Last Year With the Nuns at 7:30 p.m. on Friday, September 12, as part of Xfest: 4 Days of Experimental Theater. "Master monologist Matt Smith turns his 8th grade year in 1966-67 into a wild coming-of-age comedy---a comedy grounded in his Catholic education, racism, and the joys and horrors that are male adolescence. Smith's stories---about the young hooligans he admired but couldn't bring himself to emulate; about the nun who tried, sometimes cruelly, to steer him and his friends on the path to righteousness; about a fleeting friendship with a black kid that gives him an unexpected view of escalating trouble---and jolting humor in serious events. My Last Year with the Nuns gathered critical and popular acclaim for Smith's dynamic performance and trenchant writing." The performance takes place in the Metcalf Theater on the campus in Edwardsvile, IL. For more information, call 618-650-2774 or visit siuexfest.com.

The Normal Heart

HotCity Theatre presents The Normal Heart September 12-17. “Debuting in 1985, Larry Kramer's The Normal Heart was perceived as “too urgent to ignore.” The AIDS epidemic was by then full-blown and hysteria was rampant. The intensity of the play helped usher in a new gay activism that could arguably be attributed to the evolution of gay rights in the decades to follow. An acclaimed revival in 2011 and the upcoming HBO version (produced by Ryan Murphy and starring Julia Roberts) have given this (now) modern classic a place in one of the important plays of our times.” 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.

One Man, Two Guvnors
©Photo by Lon Brauer

The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis presents the comedy One Man, Two Guvnors September 10-October 5. “Francis Henshall needs a job. Recently sacked from his skiffle band, he's hungry and has a bad case of fish and chips on the brain. To make ends meet, he becomes a servant to two different masters. Frazzled Francis tries his best to balance duties and keep his bosses from meeting, but what he doesn't know about them, and what they don't know about each other, quickly become uproarious and riotous cases of mistaken identities and slapstick antics in this laugh-out-loud award-winning comedy.” 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.

Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville presents a performance of Power Goes by The Seldoms at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, September 13, as part of Xfest: 4 Days of Experimental Theater. "In this new dance theatre work, artistic director Carrie Hanson responds to Robert Caro's famed biography of Lyndon B. Johnson and uses this controversial historical figure as a lens through which to see broader and enduring patterns of political power. Power Goes combines physical action and contemporary dance, spoken word, sound design including historical recordings, and visual design including text/video/photo in order to explore the relationship between political power and social action. " The performance takes place in the Dunham Hall Theater on the campus in Edwardsvile, IL. For more information, call 618-650-2774 or visit siuexfest.com.

The Black Rep presents the musical Purlie, based on the Ossie Davis play Purlie Victorious, September 10-21. "Purlie is the story of Purlie Victorious Judson, a preacher who returns to his homeland to revive an old church and help empower the African Americans who are under the thumb of bigoted Ol' Cap'n Cotchipee." Performances take place at the Emerson Performance Center on the campus of Harris-Stowe State University. For more information: theblackrep.org

The Lemp Mansion Comedy-Mystery Dinner Theater presents Zombie Love! (No Biting) through November 2. The Lemp Mansion is at 3322 DeMenil Place. For more information: lempmansion.com.

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.