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| The Ice Fishing Play Photo: John Lamb |
My take: In the interest of full disclosure, I must point out that I'm on both the board and the play reading committee at West End. That said, critics have had good things to say about this production, so you don't need to just take my word for it that it's worth your time. At Stage Door STL, Steve Allen writes that "a funny script with a universal theme running through it makes for an enigmatic and moving play. A solid cast doesn’t hurt either." Mark Bretz at Ladue News agrees. "Aficionados of Coen Brothers films," he writes, "will recognize character types that populate The Ice Fishing Play, minus the violence but not the charm. It’ll make you think and touch your heart just as much. You betcha."
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| To Kill a Mockingbird Photo: Jerry Naunheim, Jr. |
My take: With racism and bigotry on the rise again in America, this classic story of one lawyer's courageous stand for justice is, I'm sorry to say, every bit as relevant as it was when Harper Lee first set it down in novel form. And the Rep's innovative production has many admirers. "I find myself again and again wanting to use the word 'strong when I think about what the Rep is doing with Mockingbird," writes Ann Lemmons Pollack. "It’s moving, extremely well executed, and a perfect fit for almost any audience." "There is a rhythm that’s unique to this production," notes Lynn Venhaus at the Belleville News-Democrat. "The small tight-knit black community moves through scenes by singing spirituals and gospel songs, their voices strong in unison. Using music to depict their culture and struggles was a brilliant stroke, punctuating the racism and discrimination"
Held Over:
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| A Doll's House Photo: John Lamb |
My take: Stray Dog seems to have done it again with a highly-praised mounting of Ibsen's once-controversial (and still trenchant) look at the battle of the sexes. "Ibsen’s prescient look at a stifling marriage in an oppressive 19th Century Norway jumps off the page in this acting showcase," writes Lynn Venhaus at the Belleville News-Democrat, "featuring possibly career-best work from four principals and seamless support from minor characters." Mark Bretz at Ladue News agrees, calling it "a richly textured and faithful rendition to the spirit of Ibsen’s classic work, bolstered with finely etched characterizations by an ensemble of players who benefit from artistic director Gary Bell’s meticulous and carefully measured direction."
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| Something Rotten Photo: Jeremy Daniel |
My take: This "boistrous, brainy Broadway hit" (Judy Newmark, STLToday.com) just closed recently after a highly successful run on the Great White Way, in part because it does something that has proved very successful in recent years: make fun of the genre it represents. The fact that it does so by also sending up Shakespeare and theatre in general just adds to the fun. "The show really shouldn’t work," notes Ann Lemmons Pollack—"it’s a first effort from two brothers who had different careers, one a songwriter and the other a screenwriter for Disney, it pokes nasty at Shakespeare, and there’s plenty of mash-up in it. But the show is so deeply We-Love-Theater (another potential danger point) that the mash-up becomes homage with tongue inserted, nay, sutured, into cheek."
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