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:
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| Forbidden Broadway's Greatest Hits |
KTK Productions presents
Forbidden Broadway's Greatest Hits Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m. through September 24. "The show is a cabaret revue sharply spoofing show tunes, characters and plots of contemporary and current Broadway musicals. Forbidden Broadway has mocked popular shows like The Phantom of the Opera, Wicked, Les Misérables, The Lion King, Spamalot, Annie, Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark, Rent, Newsies, to name a few. It also targets famous Broadway actors, writers, composers, directors, choreographers and producers, including Julie Andrews, Mel Brooks, Carol Channing, Kristin Chenoweth, Michael Crawford, Harvey Fierstein, Bob Fosse, Whoopi Goldberg, Robert Goulet, Jerry Herman, Dustin Hoffman, Elton John, Angela Lansbury, Andrew Lloyd Webber, Patti LuPone, Cameron Mackintosh, Mary Martin, Ethel Merman, Liza Minnelli, Rita Moreno, Mandy Patinkin, Bernadette Peters, Chita Rivera, Stephen Sondheim, Barbra Streisand, Julie Taymor and Gwen Verdon. " Performances take place at Southampton Presbyterian Church, 4716 Macklind. For more information:
kurtainkall.org or call 314-351-8984.
My take: I saw one of the early editions of
Forbidden Broadway many years ago in New York and laughed hysterically all the way through. Creator Gerard Allesandrini brilliantly skewered the musicals then running on the Great White Way which, at the time, included the famous dark revival of
Cabaret and
Titanic. The cast at KTK seems to be doing a decent job with this collection of the more memorable moments from the various editions of FB. "Musical theater aficionados will especially love it,"
writes Steve Callahan at KDHX, "as familiarity with the great shows being spoofed lets one catch every joke and feel like an insider. But it's really a show for everybody." Yes, it's a community theatre production, but it appears to be a good one and sounds like great fun.
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South Pacific
Photo: Peter Wochniak, ProPhotoSTL |
Stages St. Louis presents Rodgers and Hammerstein's
South Pacific through October 8. "One of the most powerful musicals of all time, this multi-award- winning classic from Rodgers and Hammerstein will sweep you away with its tale of love and loss in the SOUTH PACIFIC. Based on the Pulitzer Prize winning book by James Michener and featuring some of the finest music ever written for the American stage, SOUTH PACIFIC spins a dangerously romantic tale centered around young American soldiers and nurses stationed on a tropical naval base during the Second World War. Seeking respite from the battles around them, they find refuge in the two groups as romance blooms in this lush tropical paradise." Performances take place in the Robert G. Reim Theatre at the Kirkwood Community Center, 111 South Geyer Road in Kirkwood. For more information:
stagesstlouis.org.
My take: It is, I think, easy to forget that this theatrical classic is not just a musical, but a drama as well. In
South Pacific, boy gets girl, boy abandons girl, boy dies and everybody else goes off to war. For audiences that know
South Pacific largely as a high-gloss widescreen musical from 1958, the show's occasionally trenchant commentary on the folly and futility of war, issues of racism, and what Emile De Becque, in a moment of despair, refers to as "a mean little world / Of mean little men" might come as a surprise. Sadly, current events are reminding us of just how right he was. The Stages production is being lauded by darn near everybody. A good example is Chris Gibson at Broadwayworld. "Sparked by an excellent cast," he
writes, "this is an incredibly touching testament to the power this work still wields." Similarly glowing reviews can be found at
Ladue News and the
Post-Dispatch. I'm seeing it this weekend and am looking forward to it.
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| Unsuspecting Susan |
Inevitable Theatre Company makes its St. Louis performance debut with the regional premiere of Stewart Permutt's one-woman play
Unsuspecting Susan, through September 30. "
Unsuspecting Susan portrays the tranquil village life of upper-class Hampshire divorcée Susan Chester, whose hobbies include amateur dramatics, raising Sealyham Terriers, and collecting the juiciest gossip about her neighbors. After Susan's troubled son, Simon, moves to London, her seemingly perfect world is rocked by an unspeakable act of violence." Performances take place at The Chapel on Alexander Drive in Clayton. For more information:
inevitabletheatre.org.
My take: I have known this show's star, Donna Weinsting, for many years now. She's a warm, funny person and a tremendously talented actress. Local directors obviously think so as well since they keep casting her, and this one-woman show appears to be a real triumph for her. At Ladue News, for example, Mark Bretz
praises the "touching and revelatory performance by Donna Weinsting in this affecting, one-character drama." Other critics have been equally positive.
Held Over:
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The Curious Incident of the
Dog in the Night-Time
Photo: Jerry Naunheim, Jr. |
The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis presents the drama
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time throiugh October 1. "The 2015 Tony Award winner for Best Play, The Curious Incident is an immersive adventure that puts audiences in the shoes of 15-year-old sleuth Christopher. He's a brilliant young man, but struggles to process everyday information. Suspected of killing his neighbor's dog, Christopher journeys into London to track down the true culprit. But can he withstand the sensory overload of the big city?" Performances take place at the Loretto-Hilton Center on the Webster University campus. For more information:
repstl.org.
My take: Critics have been mining their stock of superlatives for this show. At KDHX, for example, Tina Farmer
calls it "a spectacular theatre experience." Steve Allen at Stage Door St. Louis
says it's a "beautiful, powerful and heart-wrenching experience," while Judy Newmark at the Post-Dispatch
praises the "fluid, crystal-clear production." I could go on, but you get the idea. We saw it last weekend and were completely captivated. The title, FYI, comes from the Sherlock Homes story
Silver Blaze, and refers to the importance of something that didn't happen as a clue in a murder case.
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Dot
Photo: Phil Hamer |
The Black Rep presents the St. Louis premiere of the comedy/drama
Dot through September 24. "In DOT, Dotty Shealey and her three grown children are gathering once more for the holidays at the Shealey house (always a wild affair there.) But this year, there's more to deal with than exchanging gifts. Dotty is struggling to hold onto her memory, while her children are fighting to balance care for their mother and for themselves. Warm, funny and touching, DOT grapples unflinchingly with aging parents and midlife crises in the heart of a West Philly neighborhood." Performances take place at the Edison Theatre on the Washington University campus. For more information:
theblackrep.org.
My take: When I first saw this play in the spring of 2015 at the Humana Festival, I
wrote that the combination of script, acting, and direction was so perfect that it just blew me away. The Black Rep's production appears to be doing it justice. "Ron Himes directs the show with compassion and finesse as well as a keen sense of comedy,"
writes Tina Farme at KDHX, "mining every line for every layer of meaning. The cast responds marvelously, keeping pace with the constantly shifting tone and building tension." This is a plays that deals with a serious issue in a funny and yet compassionate manner. Playwright Colman Domingo's characters are all fully fleshed out and his portrayal of the effects of dementia on both Dotty and her family is vividly real. As someone who had a parent that went through this, I speak from experience. There are plenty of laugh-out-loud moments in
Dot, as well as many that call for a hanky. Be prepared.
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