Chuck's Choices for the weekend of February 6, 2015

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:

Bashir Lazhar
Photo: Peter Wochniak

Upstream Theater presents Bashir Lazhar by Évelyne de la Chenelière through February 12. "An Algerian refugee in Montreal is hurriedly hired as a substitute for a class of sixth graders who, like him, have experienced recent trauma. As he devotes his heart and soul to his students, his unorthodox methods challenge a system embedded in routine. A timely and poetic piece about grief and healing, love and survival. In 2011 the play was adapted into the Oscar-nominated film Monsieur Lazhar." The play stars J. Samuel Davis with live music by Farshid Soltanshahi. Performances take place at the Kranzberg Arts Center, 501 North Grand in Grand Center. For more information, including show times: upstreamtheater.org.

My take: A one-actor show (which this almost is; the title character dominates the play) can be a risky proposition. J. Samuel Davis is a darned strong actor, though, so that's not likely to be a problem. Mr. Davis, writes Tina Farmer in her review for KDHX, "commands our attention and tells his story, adroitly shifting from teacher, to employee, to family man, to a man experiencing more grief and tragedy than one person should be expected to bear...The story is moving and impactful, director Philip Boehm and Davis work together well to keep the action focused and intentional. As importantly, Davis feels his character deeply and transparently." Upstream continues to provide local audiences with unusual and often risky theatre that stands out from the run of the mill.

Held Over:

Imagining Madoff
Photo: Eric Woolsey

New Jewish Theater presents Imagining Madoff through February 8. "A fantasia conjured by the playwright featuring an imagined conversation between unrepentant Ponzi schemer Bernie Madoff and Holocaust survivor, poet and investment client Solomon Galkin. In an all-night study session, these two Jewish men find themselves in a moral showdown as they banter about a myriad of subjects from baseball, to the Talmud, to human decency and the story of Abraham and Isaac. The play concerns itself with the terrible beauty and magnificent danger of absolute faith, either in God or men. As an audience, we share a sense, even to the end, that we can change what's already past. It is a moral investigation." 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.

My take: This is the sort of thing that could become a pedantic "talking heads" exercise, but apparently both Deb Margloin's script and the NJT production avoid those pitfalls. "The attention to detail," writes Tina Farmer in her KDHX review, "both factual and fiction, ensures that the entire script feels authentic even though its centerpiece, the nightlong conversation between Galkin and Madoff, features a fictional character. Regardless, the show is a fascinating look into the minds of both Madoff and Galkin, the curiosities, passions and affronts that guided each man and caused their paths to cross and become so thoroughly entwined."

The Lion in Winter

Clayton Community Theatre presents James Goldman's The Lion in Winter Fridays and Saturdays at 8 PM and Sundays at 2 PM, through February 8. "Sibling rivalry, adultery, and dungeons - Lion in Winter, by James Goldman, is a modern day classic. Comedic in tone, dramatic in action - the play tells the story of the Plantagenet family who are locked in a free for all of competing ambitions to inherit a kingdom. The queen, and wealthiest woman in the world, Eleanor of Aquitaine, has been kept in prison since raising an army against her husband, King Henry II. Let out only for holidays, the play centers around the inner conflicts of the royal family as they fight over both a kingdom, as well as King Henry's paramour during the Christmas of 1183. As Eleanor says, "every family has its ups and downs," and this royal family is no exception." Performances take place at the Washington University South Campus Theatre. For more information, call 314-721-9228 or visit placeseveryone.org.

My take: A product of the 1960s (it opened on Broadway and was the basis for a successful film adaptation in 1968), Goldman's comedy-drama refuses to become dated, possibly because the underlying issues are timeless, the characters are so well drawn, and the dialog crackles with the kind of literacy that has become far too rare in more recent plays and films. As an illustration of the danger of allowing nations to be run by dynasties, it also carries a warning that is still timely today. "Director Sam Hack," writes Bob Wilcox at KDHX, "has assembled a strong cast for the Clayton Community Theatre production and has handled them well."

Photo: Jerry Naunheim, Jr.

The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis presents Safe House through February 8. "In 1843 Kentucky, the Pedigrews hold a unique place in their community as free people of color. While one brother has dreams of opening his own business as a cobbler and creating a life for his family, the other risks everything in an effort to help slaves escape. Inspired by the lives of his ancestors, playwright Keith Josef Adkins tells a gripping and heart-wrenching story of love, freedom and survival." 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.

My take: "Occasionally," writes Tina Farmer at KDHX, "a play sneaks up on you, grabbing you at some visceral, emotional level and knocking you down. The Studio at the Repertory Theatre of St. Louis' current production is that kind of a play. Deeply thoughtful, and grounded in history, "Safe House" challenges assumptions, providing a seldom seen glimpse of the old south, delivered in richly textured, carefully developed performances." With Confederate apologists and historical revisionists trying to whitewash (you should pardon the expression) the ugly history of slavery in America, it once again falls to the power of Art to remind us of just how great a moral cancer that institution was.