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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The How and the Why
Photo: Eric Woolsey |
New Jewish Theater presents
The How and the Why through February 11. "In Sarah Treem's smart and provocative play about science, family and survival of the fittest, evolution and emotion collide as two women of different generations struggle to come together both on a professional and on a personal level. The play explores many areas of struggle for women, especially in the field of scientific research: the fierce competition among scientists for recognition of their discoveries; the struggles in the academic world for prestigious positions and grant funding: and female attitudes about sex, relationships, men, motherhood and families." 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: I'm a great admirer of plays that can deal with complex subjects like nuclear physics (Michael Frayn's
Copenhagen) or international economics (Ayad Akhtar’s
The Invisible Hand) in a way that's dramatically compelling and which illuminates areas of knowledge which are dark for many of us. The reviews indicate that
The How and the Why does that with evolutionary biology. Tina Farmer
at KDHX says the show "is riveting and filled with interesting ideas that come across as both real science and contemporarily relevant."
Held Over:
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Faceless
Photo: Jerry Naunheim, Jr. |
The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis presents
Faceless through February 4. "Two young women face off in a courtroom, locked in a battle of wills and theologies. Susie Glenn, 18, is on trial. Radicalized online into planning acts of terrorism, she's zealously committed to her cause. Her prosecutor, Claire Fathi, is a Harvard-educated Muslim woman who lives the faith that Susie professes to understand. Their edgy exchanges create a propulsive, escalating tension that makes this brilliantly topical play a true legal thriller." Performances take place in the studio theatre at the Loretto-Hilton Center on the Webster University campus. For more information:
repstl.org.
My take: As I wrote in
my review for KDHX,
Faceless is an intelligent, shrewdly observed commentary on faith, identity politics, institutionalized violence, and the vulnerability of young people coming of age in the digital goldfish bowl of social media. It's a reminder that Eric Hoffer's deconstruction of the authoritarian mindset over sixty years ago remains sadly timely.
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| Menopause the Musical |
The Playhouse at Westport Plaza presents
Menopause the Musical, "a celebration of women and The Change," through March 31. Four women meet while shopping for a black lace bra at a lingerie sale. After noticing unmistakable similarities among one another, the cast jokes about their woeful hot flashes, mood swings, wrinkles, weight gain and much more. The Playhouse at Westport Plaza is at 635 West Port Plaza. For more information:
playhouseatwestport.com.
My take: This popular ensemble show has been around for a while now, having premiered in 2001 in Orlando, Florida, in a 76-seat theatre that once housed a perfume shop. It's last visit at the Westport Playhouse was ten years ago, and it seems to have lost none of it's comic shine. "Who will enjoy this,"
asks Ann Lemmons Pollack in a review of the show last year, "beyond women of what they call
un age certain? People of both genders around them unless they have no sense of humor. That includes family, friends and co-workers. One of life's cruel jokes is that the menopause hits many households about the same time adolescence does. Here's something to tide us over." Since this is effectively a remounting of that same production, I think I'm on safe ground putting it on the hit list, as I did last January.
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