Share on Google+:
New This Week:
Max and Louie Productions presents the US premier of the comedy Chancers through November 16. "Aiden's bright and fully stocked store has no customers, a vagrant at the doorstep, and his family living in the back room while they rent their home to strangers. Pre-recession, Aiden expanded his empire and store count and spared no expense. After the foreclosures, the construction workers that once filled his stores were laid off, and no longer paying customers. The skeleton of the closed hot food bar hulks in the corner as daily reminder to Aiden that his store is slowly slipping away. Beyond the brilliant colors and bright lights of the store, we see the fields and the town of Kildare, with its rich horse racing history and plenty of old money. But the view of the town as a quaint village is a thing of the past in a global economy. Tesco has permanently joined the landscape of rolling fields and high street shopping and Aiden is in denial of his certain future." Performances take place at the Kranzberg Arts Center, 501 North Grand in Grand Center. For more information, visit maxandlouie.com.My take: In her review for 88.1 KDHX Tina Farmer says that while she finds the playwright's ending not entirely persuasive, "the sharp performances and biting humor make for an enjoyable production with a bit of an edge." "Thanks to the delightful efforts of its quartet of players," says Mark Bretz at Ladue News, "this Chancers delivers on its promise to keep an audience laughing at the wacky ineptitude of its characters." The cast includes some fine actors whose work I know first-hand.
My take: In her review for 88.1 KDHX of Joe and Rosemary's Valentine's Day show back in 2011 Laura Kyro praised their "obvious affection for each other and a joy in singing songs that were special to them" and was impressed by how they were "comfortable in their own voices." I have seen the pair at work and I couldn't agree more. They have an easy grace on stage that is essential to cabaret.
 |
| Photo: Jerry Naunheim, Jr. |
My take: There are generally good reviews for this one. Writing for broadwayworld.com, for example, Chris Gibson calls it "an engaging and, in many ways, touching and sensitive production that's sure to spark a lot of positive conversation about the subject, and that makes it important enough in of itself, but its also a work that makes you really care about these characters in a very raw and emotional way that is quite unexpected." Even reviewers who have misgivings about the script have been impressed by the quality of the Rep's production.
Winter Opera St. Louis presents Mozart's Le Nozze di Figaro (The Marriage of Figaro) Friday at 8 PM and Sunday at 3 PM, November 7 and 9. Performances take place at The Skip Viragh Center for the Arts at Chaminade College Preparatory School, 425 S. Lindbergh. The opera is sung in Italian with project English supertitles. For more information, visit winteroperastl.org.
My take: Winter Opera is the newest of our city's three professional opera companies, and the quality of their work just continues to get better. They also have the advantage of working in one of the best opera spaces in town at the Viragh Center. The lighting can be a bit eccentric, but the orchestra has a real pit to work with and the sound is often excellent. And this is, after all, Mozart's operatic masterwork.
First Run Theatre presents the 2014 Spectrum One-Act Play Festival Fridays and Saturdays at 8 PM and Sundays at 2 PM, November 7-16. This year's plays are No Other Gods Before Me by Richard Newman; Night of the Armadillo by Jason Slavik; Bang by Richard Newman; Miss Nancy's Playhouse by Mario Farwell; The Jungfrau by David Hawley; and The Adventures of BunnyMan by Mario Farwell. Performances take place at Southampton Presbyterian Church, 4716 Macklind. For more information, call (314) 352-5114 or visit www.firstruntheatre.com.
My take: At First Run it's all St. Louis playwrights all the time, and the spectrum festival gives you a chance to see the work of multiple writers in one evening. The quality of First Run's productions can be uneven, but they're doing important work here, and that deserves some praise.
My take: Mr. Michael and Ms. Menzie are major players on the Chicago cabaret scene and while I haven't seen this particular show, I've been impressed by their individual solo efforts. Besides, as a child of the '60, I have to say that this looks like a great collection of songs. If you go to any of the shows at the Gaslight, give serious consideration to coming early (say around 6 or 6:15) and having dinner at the West End Grill and Pub, which is connected to the theater. The food's good and you'll avoid parking headaches.
Held Over:
 |
| Photo: Jerry Naunheim, Jr. |
My take: The Rep's track record with Shakespeare has been uneven over the years, but judging from Tina Farmer's review for us at KDHX, they have come up a winner this time. Director Paul Mason Barnes "admirably succeeds in creating a well-paced production that brings out both the comedy and commentary on the human condition that are inherent in this play. It is very clear that both the director and actors understand the words and intent of the script, something which is sadly lacking in many productions of Shakespeare." Chris Gibson at broadwayworld.com concurs. "If I were asked to provide the perfect introduction to the work of playwright William Shakespeare," he writes, "I would advise that person to check out The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis' current production of A Midsummer Night's Dream." My own reaction, while not as unreservedly positive, is awfully close. This "Midsummer" succeeds far more often than not, and its hits are so completely on target that they more than make up for the few misses.
No comments:
Post a Comment