Stage Left: March 2018

Saturday, March 31, 2018

St. Louis classical calendar for the week of April 2, 2018

The Metropolitan Orchestra a Union Avenue Church

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The Metropolitan Orchestra performs on Sunday, April 8, at 7 p.m. "On this concert we hear from Dvorak, Father in Law to Suk. Unlike Dvorák's other symphonic poems, “A Hero's Song” is not based upon a specific text, and it may have been intended to be autobiographical. One of Suk's most famous teachers was Antonín Dvorák, who was not just a source of musical instruction and inspiration for the teenage composer, but the man who would eventually become his father-in-law. When dismissing his Prague Conservatory composition class for the summer at the end of the 1891-1892 school year, Antonín Dvorák bade 18-year-old Josef Suk, “It's summertime now, so go and make something lively for a change, to compensate for all those pomposities in minor.” Suk took that advice and that summer created what is still his best-known work, a sunny and uncomplicated Serenade of substantial dimensions." The concert takes place at First Presbyterian Church in Kirkwood. For more information: metro-orch.org.

The St. Louis Chamber Chorus presents The Time of Our LIves on Sunday, April 8, at 3 pm. "Continuing with our season's theme, Dance to the Music of Time, we present A Pageant of Human Life by the British composer, Sir Granville Bantock. The piece explores the full cycle of human life from childhood through death. The sections of the piece written to represent youth will be sung by students from the Women's Choir at University City High School. We are also proud to premier a new piece commissioned from the Haitian-American composer, Sydney Guillaume, entitled Hallelujah Amen. And in a reprise of an earlier commission for the SLCC from Judith Bingham, The Shepheardes Calendar, examines sin and forgiveness through the backdrop of the changing seasons." The concert takes place at Our Lad of Sorrows Catholic Church, 5020 Rhodes Avenue in south St. Louis. For more information: www.chamberchorus.org.

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

The St. Louis Sympony Orchestra presents a showing of the film Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, with the score played live by the orchestra under the baton of Justin Freer, Thursday at 7 pm and Saturday at 11 am, April 5 and 7. "In Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets™, cars fly, trees fight back and a mysterious house-elf comes to warn Harry Potter at the start of the second year of his amazing journey into the world of wizardry. Relive the magic of the film in high-definition on a giant screen as the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra performs John Williams' unforgettable score." For more information: stlsymphony.org.

The St. Louis Sympony Orchestra presents a showing of the film Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, with the score played live by the orchestra and chorus under the baton of Justin Freer, Friday and Saturday at 7 pm and Sunday at 2 pm, April 6 - 8. "Relive the magic of your favorite wizard in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban™ - in Concert. Based on the third installment of J.K. Rowling's classic saga, fans of all ages can now experience the thrilling tale accompanied by the music of a live symphony orchestra as Harry soars across the big screen." For more information: stlsymphony.org.

Thursday, March 29, 2018

Humana Festival 2018: Habits of highly defective people

This article originally appeared at 88.1 KDHX, where Chuck Lavazzi is the senior performing arts critic.

L-R: Megan Hill, Tiffany Villarin, Amir Wachterman,
and Bjorn Dupaty
Photo by Bill Brymer

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In Mara Nelson-Greenberg's wildly energetic (if ultimately exhausting) comedy "Do You Feel Anger?," the world premiere of which is on stage at the Actors Theatre of Louisville's 2018 Humana Festival through April 8th, empathy coach Sofia (Tiffany Villarin) has been hired to conduct compassionate listening classes at a debt collection agency plagued by lawsuits. Unfortunately, it soon becomes clear that Hercules had an easier job in the Augean Stables.

L-R: The company's two male employees--the constantly enraged Howie (Amir Wachterman) and the terminally egocentric Jordan (Bjorn DuPaty)--aren't just lacking in empathy, they literally don't know the meaning of the word (Jordan thinks it might be a kind of bird). But then, they also don't know the meanings of a lot of other words for emotions that don't involve eating, sex, or anger. They snigger, make crude jokes, and generally carry on as if they were still in first grade.

The company's only female employee Eva (Megan Hill) is so traumatized by being mugged in the break room on a regular basis that she's afraid to display any emotion at all, a situation that boss Jon (Dennis William Grimes) resolutely ignores. Worse yet, Sofia finds that her own self-image is eroding as she tries to break through the wall of smug entitlement thrown up by Jordan, Howie, and Jon. It gets to the point where she can't even return calls from her mom (Lisa Tejero) until it's almost too late to do so.

"Do You Feel Anger?" is populated, in short, by the kind of broadly drawn caricatures often encountered in improv comedy, a form in which the playwright has considerable experience. That works well for short comic sketches in which a joke has to be set up quickly, but becomes tiring in a ninety-minute one-act like this one. Repeating the same gag over and over again doesn't generally improve it. As it stands, "Do You Feel Anger?" either needs to be a lot shorter or a lot more nuanced.

That said, the script's satiric jabs at toxic masculinity and the emotional impoverishment that goes with it are well placed. As a friend pointed out afterwards, it delivers a very visceral demonstration of the mix of male arrogance and condescension that provoked the #Metoo movement. It also demonstrates the limits of empathy. It's hard to listen to someone when that person is mainly interested in shouting you down.

L-R: Tiffan Villarin and Megan Hill
Photo by Bill Brymer

The play is certainly well performed, in any case. Mr. DuPaty and Mr. Wachterman make Jordan and Howie just as comically repellent as they need to be. Mr. Grimes makes Jon pristinely vacuous and Ms. Hill gives Eva just enough depth to make her character development credible. Ms. Villarin does the same for Sofia, making her unraveling towards the end of the play that much more shocking.

Ms. Tejero does nice work as both Sofia's mom and the mysteriously missing Janie, and Jon Huffman has a fine cameo appearance as the Old Man, although the character himself seems rather irrelevant.
Director Margot Bordelon keeps the pace and the decibel level high, which while appropriate for the script, eventually becomes tiring. The bottom line (to lapse into corporate speak for a moment) is that "Do You Feel Anger?" is a thought-provoking and relevant piece, but in its current form it feels like a sketch that goes on far too long.
The 2018 Humana Festival of New American Plays runs through April 8th at the Actors Theatre of Louisville.

Humana Festival 2018: Turning the tables

This article originally appeared at 88.1 KDHX, where Chuck Lavazzi is the senior performing arts critic.

The National Foosball Championships
Photo by Bill Brymer

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I've been attending the Humana Festival of New American Plays at Actors Theatre of Louisville since 2011, and one thing I've noticed over the years is that some of the most experimental and innovative work has been on display in the late-night show featuring the young performers of ATL's Professional Training Company.

This year's entry, "You Across from Me," which runs through April 8th, is no exception. As usual, the show consists of a series of short one-act plays--often little more than sketches--written by multiple playwrights and organized around a common theme. This time the unifying concept is "The Table" which, as Jessica Reese observes in her program notes, is "a place of contrasts--as site of communion and conflict, tradition and rebellion."

Over the course of twelve playlets, Jacklyn Backhaus, Dipika Guha, Brain Otaño, and Jason Gray Platt (the four authors) use tables in creative and innovative ways. Ms. Guha, for example, uses a 1950s-era dinner table as the focus for "A Date With the Family," in which a cheesy educational film goes horribly and comically wrong. She also uses a long, white table at which a large, pseudo-Amish family eats their evening meal as the departure point for a weirdly ambiguous bit of dystopian science fiction in "Mother's Blessings."

Mr. Platt makes a wobbly dinner table the central prop in the most drop-dead funny entry of the evening, "Mabel and Clare." It's a precisely composed and perfectly executed bit of non-verbal slapstick that evokes the ghost of Charlie Chaplin, as actors Marika Proctor and Nayib Felix try (and fail) to combat the laws of physics. Mr. Platt also wrote the clever "Prologue," delivered in mock iambic pentameter by the apparently disembodied head of actor Jack Schmitt.

Mabel and Clare
Photo by Bill Brymer

Widely separated end tables in a hospital waiting room tell a simple story of how the things that divide us are less important than the things that unite us in Mr. Otaño's "Olive." And Ms. Backhaus (in collaboration with the acting ensemble) provides the hilarious finale to the evening with "The National Foosball Championships", in which the rivalry between champion Trent (Joseph Miller) and challenger Lilly-Anne (Emily Kleypas) mirrors the competition between commentators Chip (Calum Bedborough) and Junie (Emily Kaplan).

At around an hour and twenty minutes, the evening moves quickly under Jessica Fisch's direction, with creatively choreographed scene changes by members of the ensemble. It has its hits and misses, but is great fun overall and offers an encouraging look at the next generation of theatre stars.

The 2018 Humana Festival of New American Plays runs through April 8th at the Actors Theatre of Louisville.

Humana Festival 2018: One degree of separation

This article originally appeared at 88.1 KDHX, where Chuck Lavazzi is the senior performing arts critic.

L-R: Ted Koch, Carla Duren, Jessica Wortham, and Nancy Sun
Photo by Dana Rogers

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The importance of sheer dumb luck in human affairs is something that was well understood in the ancient world. These days we seem determined to deny it, no matter how often it dope slaps us.

The characters in Deborah Stein's compelling "Marginal Loss," the world premiere of which is part of the 2018 Humana Festival at Actors Theatre of Louisville, have been slapped rather hard. Through sheer accident, they have escaped being victims of the attacks on September 11, 2001, and now are trying to rebuild their brokerage business from the ashes.

As the play opens, John (Ted Koch) and Allegra (Nancy Sun) are reporting to work in a spartan New Jersey warehouse just 48 hours after the attack. Together with Margaret (Carla Duren), a freshly minted college graduate hired as a temp, they struggle with the dual challenges of recovering from their firm's financial losses and their own personal losses as they realize how many of their coworkers are among the missing. Cathy (Jessica Wortham), their de facto leader, tries to take charge, but she, too, is dealing with a serious case of survivor guilt.

Inspired by the playwright's own experiences as a temp in the days after 9/11, "Marginal Loss" tells a fast-paced and generally very intriguing tale of people coping with the unimaginable by immersing themselves in the mundane. The need to reconstruct a client list from old files and find a way to engage in stock and bond trades with nothing more than boxes of paper files and a singe computer on a dial-up modem (remember those?) allows them to avoid grief.

But they can't avoid it entirely. In one brief scene, for example, Allegra sits with a boom box listening to a recording of a call made by a coworker in the last seconds of his life. She's wearing headphones, so we can't hear it, but the grief on her face tells us all we need to know.

L-R: Ted Koch, Carla Duren, Jessica Wortham, and Nancy Sun
Photo by Dana Rogers

Even so, Ms. Stein's characters do such a good job of burying their emotions in the herculean task of business recovery that the emotional stakes in the script are ultimately far too low, and the underlying issues tend to get swamped in the minutiae of investment banking. The big emotional revelation, involving a white lie told by Margaret early on, felt like pretty small beer.

Meredith McDonough's direction is crisp and focused, and her actors do excellent work. You can see the emotional turmoil just below the surface as they struggle to keep their business afloat. The text calls for finely shaded acting, and they deliver it.

"Marginal Loss" may not be great theater, but it's an interesting story that presents an unconventional take on a bit of recent American history that I thought had been done to death. I'm glad to see I was wrong.

The 2018 Humana Festival of New American Plays runs through April 8th at the Actors Theatre of Louisville.

Chuck's Choices for the weekend of March 29, 2018

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:

The Color Purple

The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis presents a staged reading of the play Hurricane Colleen on Thursday, March 29, at 7:30 pm as part of the Ignite! Festival. "Six months after their sister Colleen has died of cancer, two women rent a beach house in Melbourne, Fla., to scatter her ashes. But when a tropical depression suddenly turns into a hurricane and strange encounters with wildlife occur, the sisters struggle to ride out the storms both outside and inside. From the author of Molly's Hammer, developed in Ignite! and produced at The Rep in 2016." The reading takes place at UMSL at Grand Center, 3651 Olive. For more information: repstl.org.

My take: I was mighty impressed by Molly's Hammer when I saw it back in 2016 at the Rep Studio, so I'm inclined to recommend this reading on the basis of that alone. And the Rep's Ignite! Festival is a goo way to see new plays being born.

Stiff

Inevitable Theatre Company presents the Risk Theatre Initiative production of Stiff: A Fast Paced Story About Moving Slow through April 1. "Award-winning Dallas actress Sherry Jo Ward chronicles her struggle with Stiff Person Syndrome, an incredibly rare disease which impairs her mobility and causes her unexplained pain. Part stand-up comedy, part PowerPoint presentation, STIFF is a "must-see" theatrical event - a unique and engaging first person account of what it means to re-assess one's own goals and ambition when confronted with a life-altering diagnosis." Performances take place in the black box theatre at the Kranzberg Arts Center, 501 N. Grand in Grand Center. For more information: inevitabletheatre.org.

My take: This is a provocative piece about a little-known issue. "The absorbing drama," writes Mark Bretz at Ladue News, "is presented in an informal, casual discussion fashion, as Ward addresses the audience about her condition, informing with humorous slides which accompany her performance. She demonstrates considerable humor and courage in her presentation, aided by Galloway’s carefully crafted direction."

Held Over:

As It Is in Heaven
Photo by John Lamb

Mustard Seed Theatre presents the drama As It Is in Heaven Fridays and Saturdays at 8 pm and Sundays at 2 pm through March 31. "The tranquility of women living in an 1830's Shaker community in Kentucky is threatened by the arrival of newcomers claiming to see angels." Performances take place at the Fontbonne Fine Arts Theatre, 6800 Wydown Blvd. For more information, call (314) 719-8060 or visit the web site at www.mustardseedtheatre.com.

My take: What happens when the sweet bye and bye suddenly becomes the here and now? Arlene Hutton's 2001 Off-Broadway play examines what happens when miracles apparently become real. "There are probably a hundred ways a sweet little play like As It Is in Heaven could have gone wrong," writes Richard Green at talkinbroadway.com, "yet somehow this delicate but powerful Shaker drama emerges as both simple and free, under the direction of Deanna Jent. Cast and crew skirt every imaginable pitfall along the way". On his Stage Door blog, Steve Allen says this show "will fill you with awe at their devotion to God and community and make you laugh and cry at the touches of humanity that go beyond faith into the trials of everyday life.

Born Yesterday
Photo by Jerry Naunheim, Jr.

The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis presents the classic comedy Born Yesterday through April 8. "Junkyard tycoon Harry Brock swaggers into Washington, D.C., determined to buy a senator or two. The monkey wrench in his schemes is Billie Dawn, his seemingly dim-witted ex-showgirl girlfriend. But when Brock hires a reporter to tutor Billie, she rapidly comes into her own as a force to be reckoned with. This sharp and snappy comedy hilariously skewers Beltway corruption." Performances take place at the Loretto-Hilton Center on the Webster University campus. For more information: repstl.org.

My take: A boorish bully who knows the price of everything and the value of noting blows into our nation's capital, corrupting everything he touches. No, it's not today's headlines, but rather the 1946 stage hit by Garson Kanin. The Rep's excellent production doesn't make any effort to draw the parallel with the current circus in our nation's capitol because it doesn't need to; the quality of the acting, direction, and tech all speak for themselves and the issues addressed in the script are, sadly, timeless. If I have a complaint, it's that Kanin seems to have had a bit too much faith in the average citizen's ability to avoid being bamboozled. But maybe that makes it that much more important to see this play now.

Menopause the Musical

Tuesday, March 27, 2018

Humana Festival 2018: Not much sympathy for the Devil

This article originally appeared at 88.1 KDHX, where Chuck Lavazzi is the senior performing arts critic.

L-R: Suzy Weller, Luke F. LaMontagne
Photo by Bill Brymer

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In her essay of Mark Schultz's "Evocation to Visible Appearance," the world premiere of which is part of the 2018 Humana Festival at Actors Theatre of Louisville, Amy Wegner quotes the author as saying that his notion of the Devil is "an absence, a void--not in the sense of something that's beyond our comprehension, but just nothingness." His intent in the play, he says, was to present that Devil onstage.

I'd say he succeeded. "Evocation to Visible Appearance" is, in fact, just under two hours of ennui-inducing nothingness. The plot, such as it is, revolves around 17-year-old Samantha (Suzy Weller). She may (or may not) be pregnant by boyfriend Trevor (Lincoln Clauss) but in any case the future looks bleak. Her father Russell (Bruce McKenzie), who appears to be dying, spends all this time asleep on the couch and Martin (Daniel Arthur Johnson), her boss at Bear Burger, has little to offer outside of motivational bromides. Wannabe "black metal" guitarist Hudson (Luke F. LaMontagne) seems to share her angst but her institutionalized sister Natalie (Ronete Levenson) just can't be bothered.

L-R: Daniel Arthur Johnson, Bruce McKenzie
Photo by Bill Brymer

The characters are little more than gestures, and there is no actual dialog between them in any case. They talk around, over, and through each other but never interact. The show is effectively a collection of lengthy and repetitious monologues punctuated, toward the end, by a brief bit of pointless violence and capped by the most boring heavy metal song imaginable.

Evil, in short, was never this banal.

The plodding direction by Actors Theatre Artistic Director Les Waters gives the audience plenty of time to examine the play's many weaknesses, although even with better pacing this would be a slog. The members of the cast do credible work with their thankless parts, with perhaps the best performance coming from Mr. McKenzie as the heartbreakingly broken Russell, but ultimately there's just no reason for the script to exist.

The 2018 Humana Festival of New American Plays runs through April 8th at the Actors Theatre of Louisville in downtown Louisville, KY.

Humana Festival 2018: Family feud

This article originally appeared at 88.1 KDHX, where Chuck Lavazzi is the senior performing arts critic.

L-R: Jay Patterson and Ako
Photo by Jonathan Roberts

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The prolonged illness and death of a parent can put stress on the most durable of families. When the family is as fragile as the one Leah Nanako Winkler depicts in "God Said This," the world premiere of which is part of the 2018 Humana Festival at Actors Theatre of Louisville, the results can be devastating.

"God Said This" is centered on the Lexington, KY, hospital room where Masako (Ako) is undergoing chemotherapy for an especially aggressive form of cancer. Her daughter Hiro (Satomi Blair) has returned from New York to offer support, even though she has never forgiven her alcoholic father James (Jay Patterson) for the abuse he inflicted on the family before he got sober and even though she finds the born-again Christianity of sister Sophie (Emma Kikue) baffling. Hiro tries to reconnect with her old classmate John (Tom Coiner), a single dad with issues of his own, with mixed results.

There is much to admire in "God Said This," beginning with the credible and often moving scenes between Masako and James. The parents are the most fully developed characters in the script and are exceptionally well acted by Ms. Ako and Mr. Patterson, both of whom completely inhabit their characters. The comic relief scenes between Hiro and John are hilarious (although there are probably too many of them), and John's ruminations on the challenges of parenting offer an ingenious way for the playwright to shed light on James's failures in that area.

But there are issues. The daughters are both fairly one-dimensional and frankly unappealing characters, and their dialogue feels more trite than that of the parents. The scenes between John and Hiro in John's car get repetitious after a while. And the playwright relies far too heavily on the monologues James delivers to his fellow AA members (played by the audience) to advance the story.

L-R: Jay Patterson, Satomi Blair, Emme Kikte, Aku
Photo by Jonathan Roberts

Those monologues are an issue for another reason: they present the entire story from the point of view of the sober James, allowing him to essentially whitewash the years of abuse the drunk James heaped on the family. We see a bit of that in a powerful scene in which Masako rails at James for creating the stress that, in her mind, brought on her illness. "You gave me cancer," she screams at one point. But then the scene dissolves in hugs and we move on.

"God Said This" raises worthwhile concerns, not the least of which is the way Americans do (or don't) deal with mortality. But it does so unevenly and could probably stand some editing. There's not quite enough material here to cover its two acts and some story elements felt a bit like padding.

In any case, Morgan Gould's direction makes smart use of the Bingham Theater's in-the-round space and the cast generally turn in strong performances. The technical aspects are impeccable, as they generally are at Actors Theatre, with a special shout-out due to M.L. Dogg's clever sound design.

The 2018 Humana Festival of New American Plays runs through April 8th at the Actors Theatre of Louisville in downtown Louisville, KY.

Sunday, March 25, 2018

St. Louis theatre calendar for the week of March 26, 2018

As It Is in Heaven
Photo by John Lamb

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Mustard Seed Theatre presents the drama As It Is in Heaven Fridays and Saturdays at 8 pm and Sundays at 2 pm through March 31. "The tranquility of women living in an 1830's Shaker community in Kentucky is threatened by the arrival of newcomers claiming to see angels." Performances take place at the Fontbonne Fine Arts Theatre, 6800 Wydown Blvd. For more information, call (314) 719-8060 or visit the web site at www.mustardseedtheatre.com.

The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis presents the classic comedy Born Yesterday through April 8. "Junkyard tycoon Harry Brock swaggers into Washington, D.C., determined to buy a senator or two. The monkey wrench in his schemes is Billie Dawn, his seemingly dim-witted ex-showgirl girlfriend. But when Brock hires a reporter to tutor Billie, she rapidly comes into her own as a force to be reckoned with. This sharp and snappy comedy hilariously skewers Beltway corruption." Performances take place at the Loretto-Hilton Center on the Webster University campus. For more information: repstl.org.

The Color Purple

The Fox Theatre presents the musical The Color Purple through April 1. "The a soul-raising score of jazz, gospel, ragtime and blues, THE COLOR PURPLE gives an exhilarating new spirit to this Pulitzer Prize-winning story. Don't miss this stunning re-imagining of an epic story about a young woman's journey to love and triumph in the Ameri'one of the greatest revivals ever.' Experience the exhilarating power of this Tony-winning triumph!" The Fox is at 527 North Grand in Grand Center. For more information: fabulousfox.com.

CSZ St. Louis presents The ComedySportz Show on Saturday nights at 7:30 pm. The show is "action-packed, interactive and hilarious comedy played as a sport. Two teams battle it out for points and your laughs! You choose the winners the teams provide the funny!" Performances take place on the second floor of the Sugar Cubed, 917 S Main St. in St Charles, Mo. For more information: www.cszstlouis.com.

The Lemp Mansion Comedy-Mystery Dinner Theater presents The Comic Book Killer through April 14. The Lemp Mansion is at 3322 DeMenil Place. For more information: lempmansion.com.

The Bankside Repertory Theatre Company presents The Devil's Passion by Justin Butcher Friday and Saturday at 7 pm, March 30 and 31. "This thought-provoking, one-man "passion play" presents the story of Jesus through the eyes of Satan. And he's not happy. " Performances take place at The Principia School, 13201 Clayton Road. For more information: www.banksiderep.com.

The Sheldon Concert Hall presents Great Leading Ladies of Song with singer Deborah Sharn and pianist Carolbeth True Tuesday and Wednesday at 10 am. "St. Louis favorites, vocalist Deborah Sharn and pianist Carolbeth True, perform classic songs by Peggy Lee, Rosemary Clooney, Doris Day and other “great ladies of song.” Enjoy “Tenderly,” “Fever,” “Mambo Italiano,” “Over the Rainbow” and more!" Performances take place at the Sheldon Concert Hall on Wasghington in Grand Center. For more information: thesheldon.org.

The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis presents a staged reading of the play Hurricane Colleen on Wednesday and Thursday, March 28 and 29, at 7:30 pm. "Six months after their sister Colleen has died of cancer, two women rent a beach house in Melbourne, Fla., to scatter her ashes. But when a tropical depression suddenly turns into a hurricane and strange encounters with wildlife occur, the sisters struggle to ride out the storms both outside and inside. From the author of Molly's Hammer, developed in Ignite! and produced at The Rep in 2016." The Wednesday reading takes place in the Studio Theatre of the Loretto-Hilton Center on the Webster University campus while the Thursday reading takes place at UMSL at Grand Center, 3651 Olive. For more information: repstl.org.

The Bissell Mansion Murder Mystery Dinner Theatre presents Mayhem in Mayberry through April. "Welcome to the 10th annual Mayberry-fest. Everyone is looking forward to the highlight of this event - the Miss Mayberry contest. YOU and Sheriff Andy Trailer will judge the contestants (chosen from the audience) on beauty, poise, cookin' skills and a new category this year - Hog callin'. Will the next Miss Mayberry be the vivacious Dazey Doof from Hazzard County? Or the beautiful hillbilly, Elly May Klumpett? Or will it be the lovely Lois Lame from Smallville? Don't county out the charming Paris Hoosier from Hoosierville. She's the main reason the train stops at Petticoat Junction! Sheriff Andy, Deputy Blarney and Aint Bee invite you to join the fun and the mayhem in Mayberry cause it won't be the same without y'all." The Bissell Mansion is at 4426 Randall Place. For more information: bissellmansiontheatre.com.

Menopause the Musical

The St. Louis Theater Circle members in 2017
Photo by Jill Ritter Lindberg

The St. Louis Theater Circle presents the St. Louis Theater Circle Awards on Monday, March 26, at 7 PM. The awards recognize outstanding achievement in locally produced professional theatre as judged by local theatre critics who are members of the Circle. Presenters will include KDHX's own Chuck Lavazzi. Live music will be provided by Joe Dreyer. The ceremony is preceded by an optional buffet dinner at 5:30 PM from With Love Catering and takes place at the Loretto-Hilton Center on the Webster University campus. For more information: brownpapertickets.com.

Webster University's Conservatory of Theatre Arts presents the comedy She Kills Monsters Friday at 7:30 pm, Saturday at 2 and 7:30 pm, and Sunday at 2 pm, March 30 - April 1. "A comedic romp into the world of fantasy role-playing games, She Kills Monsters tells the story of Agnes Evans as she leaves her childhood home in Ohio following the death of her teenage sister, Tilly. When Agnes finds Tilly's Dungeons & Dragons notebook, however, she stumbles into a journey of discovery and action-packed adventure in the imaginary world that was Tilly's refuge. In this high-octane dramatic comedy laden with homicidal fairies, nasty ogres, and 90s pop culture, acclaimed playwright Qui Nguyen offers a heart-pounding homage to the geek and warrior within us all." Performances take place in the Studio Theatre of the Loretto-Hilton Center on the Webster University campus. For more information, www.webster.edu/conservatory/season or call 314-968-7128.

Inevitable Theatre Company presents the Risk Theatre Initiative production of Stiff: A Fast Paced Story About Moving Slow through April 1. "Award-winning Dallas actress Sherry Jo Ward chronicles her struggle with Stiff Person Syndrome, an incredibly rare disease which impairs her mobility and causes her unexplained pain. Part stand-up comedy, part PowerPoint presentation, STIFF is a "must-see" theatrical event - a unique and engaging first person account of what it means to re-assess one's own goals and ambition when confronted with a life-altering diagnosis." Performances take place in the black box theatre at the Kranzberg Arts Center, 501 N. Grand in Grand Center. For more information: inevitabletheatre.org.

Looking for auditions and other artistic opportunities? Check out the St. Louis Auditions site.

For information on events beyond this week, check out the searchable database at the Regional Arts Commission's Events Calendar.

Would you like to be on the radio? KDHX, 88.1 FM needs theatre reviewers. If you're 18 years or older, knowledgeable in this area, have practical theatre experience (acting, directing, writing, technical design, etc.), have good oral and written communications skills and would like to become one of our volunteer reviewers, send an email describing your experience and interests to chuck at kdhx.org. Please include a sample review of something you've seen recently.

Wednesday, March 21, 2018

Chuck's Choices for the weekend of March 23, 2018

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:

As It Is in Heaven
Photo by John Lamb

Born Yesterday
Photo by Jerry Naunheim, Jr.

The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis presents the classic comedy Born Yesterday through April 8. "Junkyard tycoon Harry Brock swaggers into Washington, D.C., determined to buy a senator or two. The monkey wrench in his schemes is Billie Dawn, his seemingly dim-witted ex-showgirl girlfriend. But when Brock hires a reporter to tutor Billie, she rapidly comes into her own as a force to be reckoned with. This sharp and snappy comedy hilariously skewers Beltway corruption." Performances take place at the Loretto-Hilton Center on the Webster University campus. For more information: repstl.org.

My take: A boorish bully who knows the price of everything and the value of noting blows into our nation's capital, corrupting everything he touches. No, it's not today's headlines, but rather the 1946 stage hit by Garson Kanin. The Rep's excellent production doesn't make any effort to draw the parallel with the current circus in our nation's capitol because it doen't need to; the quality of the acting, direction, and tech all speak for themselves and the issues addressed in the script are, sadly, timeless. If I have a complaint, it's that Kanin seems to have had a bit too much faith in the average citizen's ability to avoid being bamboozled. But maybe that makes it that much more important to see this play now.

Held Over:

Anything Goes
Photo by Jill Ritter Lindberg

New Line Theatre presents Cole Porter's Anything Goes Thursdays through Saturdays at 8 pm through March 24. "Anything Goes is a masterful mashup of musical comedy, gangster movie, screwball comedy, and social satire, because even in terms of form, anything goes. First opening in a time when John Dillinger, Bonnie and Clyde, Al Capone, and evangelists Aimee Semple McPherson and Billy Sunday were all national celebrities, this was potent, pointed satire; and it's just as subversive today. The show's evangelist turned nightclub singer Reno Sweeney is equal parts McPherson and infamous speakeasy hostess Texas Guinan (the model for Velma Kelly in Chicago). And though we never meet gangster Snake Eyes Johnson, he's seems a fair double for Dillinger." Performances take place at the Marcelle Theater, 3310 Samuel Shepard Drive, three blocks east of Grand, in Grand Center. For more information, visit newlinetheatre.com or call 314-534-1111.

My take: Cole Porter's 1934 hit has undergone at least three major revivals (and, to quote Tom Lehrer in a radically different context, "God knows how many between"), each one of which involved significant alternations in the script and score. The New Line production has apparently gone back to the original book (a collaborative effort among Guy Bolton, P. G. Wodehouse (of Jeeves and Wooster fame), Howard LIndsay, and Russel Crouse)—whch is perhaps the most radical thing one can do with this show at this point. It's apparently working; Steve Callahan at KDHX calls it a "triumph" while over at Ladue News, Mark Bretz says the production "blends silly comedy, stylish music and effervescent performances in a winning combination which cleverly utilizes all hands on deck." I guess I need to reserve a ticket.

Caught
Photo by Peter Wochniak

Menopause the Musical

Symphony Preview: On wings of song

This article originally appeared at 88.1 KDHX, where Chuck Lavazzi is the senior performing arts critic.

Einojuhani Rautavaara

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"Human music making," as music blogger Darren Giddings reminds us, "has been inspired by birdsong throughout history." If you doubt that, take a look at the program Resident Conductor Gemma New and the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra will be presenting this weekend (March 23-25, 2018).

The most obvious example of this is the second work on the program this weekend: "Cantus Arcticus, Concerto for Birds and Orchestra," written in 1972 by Finnish composer Einojuhani Rautavaara. A student of Finland's most celebrated composer, Jean Sibelius, Rautavaara (as René Spencer Saller points out in her program notes) "shared with his mentor a devotion to the natural world and the pleasures of tonality." Sibelius's admiration of the sounds of birdsong never got quite as literal as Rautavaara's does in this piece, though.

Commissioned by the University of Oulu to write a work for the school's first doctoral degree ceremony, Rautavaara responded not with the expected pomp and circumstance but rather with a work of lonely, ethereal beauty that uses recordings of bird songs from Oulu and the surrounding area as a major sonic element. You can find a more detailed description of the music by Chris Morrison at Allmusic.com, but rather than just reading about it, I'd like to recommend listening to it on line before you go. There's a performance by the Leipzig Radio Symphony Orchestra on YouTube that includes a synchronized display of the score--which will give you a sense of just how technically challenging this music is.

The other work in which recorded birdsong plays an important role is Ottorino Respighi's "The Pines of Rome," the second in his popular trilogy of tone poems evoking the sights and sounds of his native city--including the recorded song of a nightingale. Here's the composer himself (writing in the third person) describing what he had in mind (quoted in Dr. Richard E. Rodda's program notes for the National Symphony Orchestra):

While in his preceding work, Fountains of Rome, the composer sought to reproduce by means of tone an impression of nature, in Pines of Rome he uses nature as a point of departure, in order to recall memories and visions. The centuries-old trees which dominate so characteristically the Roman landscape become testimony for the principal events in Roman life.

"Pines" opens with children playing boisterously around "The Pines of the Villa Borghese," then changes to "The Pines Near a Catacomb," where a mysterious chant begins and then suddenly stops. Then the moon rises, and the music depicts the peaceful "Pines of the Janiculum" (a hill west of Rome with a spectacular view of the city), complete with the recorded nightingale.

The last (and most spectacular) movement is "The Pines of the Appian Way." "The tragic country is guarded by solitary pines," writes Respighi. "Indistinctly, incessantly, the rhythm of innumerable steps. To the poet's fantasy appears a vision of past glories; trumpets blare, and the army of the Consul advances brilliantly in the grandeur of a newly risen sun toward the Sacred Way, mounting in triumph the Capitoline Hill." It's exceptionally thrilling music that will get the surround-sound treatment in Powell Hall this weekend, with extra brass players sounding forth from the balcony.

Erkki-Sven Tüür
Photo by Ave Maria Mõistlik

Opening the second half of this weekend's concerts will be a 2017 work by Estonian composer Erkki-Sven Tüür in which nature also plays a major role. Co-commissioned by the SLSO, the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, and the London Philharmonic, "Solastalgia for Piccolo Flute and Orchestra" is described by the composer (quoted in Ms. Saller's program notes) as expressing "the distress that is produced by environmental change impacting on people while they are directly connected to their home environment":

Where I live, the impact of global climate change manifests itself in that winters are no longer winters and summers no longer summers. In my childhood it was ordinary for cars to drive to mainland on a 25 kilometer ice bridge in the winter. There was a lot of snow. And summers were so warm that swimming in the sea was the most natural thing in the world. Today's reality is that the difference between winter and summer equinoxes is often only 4 to 5 degrees. There is no place to hide from the ubiquitous environmental change caused by human activity.

At a time when, at least in this country, a depressingly large percentage of the population continues to loudly deny the reality Mr. Tüür describes in his words and his music, this piece feels very timely.

The piccolo soloist this weekend will be Ann Choomack who, when she's not playing in the SLSO flute section, is a faculty member at the Eastern Music Festival in Greensboro, North Carolina. Solo works for her instrument are not all that common, so it's good to see her take the spotlight.

The concerts will open with Rimski-Korsakov's popular "Capriccio espagnol" from 1887. Its title not withstanding, the work was actually composed entirely in Russia. "It reflects the composer's research and imagination," notes Ms. Saller "more than his travels as an officer in the Imperial Navy." It also reflects the composer's remarkable skill as an orchestrator--an area in which he was largely self-taught. He got so good at it that he went on to write a book on the subject--"Principles of Orchestration." The tome was begun in 1873 and completed posthumously by Maximilian Steinberg in 1912, who would finally publish it in 1922. The book is still available today, in both print and digital editions, from Dover Books.

The "Capriccio" is lively and colorful music, with plenty of opportunities for individual sections of the orchestra to show off, and includes a virtuoso violin solo that leads into the spirited "Fandango asturiano" finale. It should be a good high-energy start for the concert.

The essentials: Gemma New conducts the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra and piccolo soloist Ann Choomack Friday at 10:30 am, Saturday at 8 pm, and Sunday at 3 pm, March 23-25. The concerts take place at Powell Symphony Hall, 718 North Grand in Grand Center.

Sunday, March 18, 2018

St. Louis theatre calendar for the week of March 19, 2018

Anything Goes
Photo by Jill Ritter Lindberg

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New Line Theatre presents Cole Porter's Anything Goes Thursdays through Saturdays at 8 pm through March 24. "Anything Goes is a masterful mashup of musical comedy, gangster movie, screwball comedy, and social satire, because even in terms of form, anything goes. First opening in a time when John Dillinger, Bonnie and Clyde, Al Capone, and evangelists Aimee Semple McPherson and Billy Sunday were all national celebrities, this was potent, pointed satire; and it's just as subversive today. The show's evangelist turned nightclub singer Reno Sweeney is equal parts McPherson and infamous speakeasy hostess Texas Guinan (the model for Velma Kelly in Chicago). And though we never meet gangster Snake Eyes Johnson, he's seems a fair double for Dillinger." Performances take place at the Marcelle Theater, 3310 Samuel Shepard Drive, three blocks east of Grand, in Grand Center. For more information, visit newlinetheatre.com or call 314-534-1111.

As It Is in Heaven
Photo by Gerry Love

Mustard Seed Theatre presents the drama As It Is in Heaven Fridays and Saturdays at 8 pm and Sundays at 2 pm through March 31. "The tranquility of women living in an 1830's Shaker community in Kentucky is threatened by the arrival of newcomers claiming to see angels." Performances take place at the Fontbonne Fine Arts Theatre, 6800 Wydown Blvd. For more information, call (314) 719-8060 or visit the web site at www.mustardseedtheatre.com.

The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis presents the classic comedy Born Yesterday through April 8. "Junkyard tycoon Harry Brock swaggers into Washington, D.C., determined to buy a senator or two. The monkey wrench in his schemes is Billie Dawn, his seemingly dim-witted ex-showgirl girlfriend. But when Brock hires a reporter to tutor Billie, she rapidly comes into her own as a force to be reckoned with. This sharp and snappy comedy hilariously skewers Beltway corruption." Performances take place at the Loretto-Hilton Center on the Webster University campus. For more information: repstl.org.

Caught
Photo by Peter Wochniak

The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis presents Caught through March 25. "In the era of 'fake news,' Caught creates a bracingly unique experience that will keep you wondering what's real and what's theatre. An art exhibition by a Chinese dissident is the first phase of a multi-layered puzzle, which presents the audience with an ever-changing set of rules. Chen's piece deftly examines the blurred lines between truth and artifice, both in the theatre and in life." Performances take place in the studio theatre at the Loretto-Hilton Center on the Webster University campus. For more information: repstl.org.

The Fox Theatre presents the musical The Color Purple opening on Tuesday, March 20, and running through April 1. "The a soul-raising score of jazz, gospel, ragtime and blues, THE COLOR PURPLE gives an exhilarating new spirit to this Pulitzer Prize-winning story. Don't miss this stunning re-imagining of an epic story about a young woman's journey to love and triumph in the Ameri'one of the greatest revivals ever.' Experience the exhilarating power of this Tony-winning triumph!" The Fox is at 527 North Grand in Grand Center. For more information: fabulousfox.com.

CSZ St. Louis presents The ComedySportz Show on Saturday nights at 7:30 pm. The show is "action-packed, interactive and hilarious comedy played as a sport. Two teams battle it out for points and your laughs! You choose the winners the teams provide the funny!" Performances take place on the second floor of the Sugar Cubed, 917 S Main St. in St Charles, Mo. For more information: www.cszstlouis.com.

The Lemp Mansion Comedy-Mystery Dinner Theater presents The Comic Book Killer through April 14. The Lemp Mansion is at 3322 DeMenil Place. For more information: lempmansion.com.

Alton Little Theater presents the comedy Exit Laughing Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30 pm and Sundays at 2 pm through March 25. "EXIT LAUGHING by Paul Elliott has been likened to be part "Golden Girls" and part "Designing Women" in that it relies on characters who are well - 'characters'. And yes the play's initial premise is that we lose good friends and things can get difficult in the later years of life - but WAIT - the play is not at all about death but about living life to the fullest. When the biggest highlight of your life for the past thirty years has been your weekly card night out with the girls, what do you do when one of your foursome inconveniently dies? If you're Connie, Leona and Millie, three southern ladies from Birmingham you do the most daring thing you've ever done. You "borrow" the ashes from the funeral home for one last card game and the wildest, most exciting night of their life begins with a police raid, a stripper, mega-laughs and a whole new way of looking at all the fun you can have when you're truly living. And it turns out that the departed Mary has a lot to say through messages and gifts she has arranged to arrive after her death---she sets in motion a new beginning for her friends and even a recalcitrant daughter comes to understand the difference between living and just existing." Performances take place at 2450 North Henry in Alton, IL. For more information, call 618.462.6562 or visit altonlittletheater.org.

O'Fallon TheatreWorks presents The Great Gatsby at the O'Fallon Municipal Centre auditorium Fridays and Saturdays at 8 pm and Sundays at 2 pm through March 25. "Based on the classic American novel, The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald, the O'FallonTheatreWorks' production brings the breathtaking glamour and decadent excess of the Jazz Age to life with an original soundtrack and award-winning set designers. Synopsis: In this Simon Levy adaptation of the novel, self-made millionaire Jay Gatsby passionately and obsessively pursues Daisy Buchanan, the wife of another wealthy man." The O'Fallon Municipal Centre is located at 100 North Main Street in O'Fallon, MO. For more information, visit www.ofallon.mo.us or call 636-379-5606.

Laura Michelle Kelly
Photo by Paul Smith

Muny Magic at the Sheldon presents Laura Michelle Kelly Wednesday and Thursday, March 21 and 22, at 7:30 p.m. "After enchanting audiences in The Muny's productions of The King and I (2012) and South Pacific (2013), Kelly is currently starring in the Lincoln Center national tour of The King and I. Join her for an evening of song, story and laughs at Muny Magic at The Sheldon." Performances take place at the Concert Hall in Grand Center. For more information: muny.org.

Missouri Baptist University presents Shakespeare's Macbeth "Macbeth tells the story of a brave Scottish general who receives a prophecy that one day he will become King of Scotland. Consumed with ambitious thoughts and spurred to action by his wife, Macbeth seizes the throne and becomes a tyrannical ruler who is forced to commit terrible acts to protect himself from enmity and suspicion." Performances take place in the Pillsbury Chapel on the campus at 1 College Park Drive in west St. Louis country. For more information: calendar.mobap.edu

The Bissell Mansion Murder Mystery Dinner Theatre presents Mayhem in Mayberry through April. "Welcome to the 10th annual Mayberry-fest. Everyone is looking forward to the highlight of this event - the Miss Mayberry contest. YOU and Sheriff Andy Trailer will judge the contestants (chosen from the audience) on beauty, poise, cookin' skills and a new category this year - Hog callin'. Will the next Miss Mayberry be the vivacious Dazey Doof from Hazzard County? Or the beautiful hillbilly, Elly May Klumpett? Or will it be the lovely Lois Lame from Smallville? Don't county out the charming Paris Hoosier from Hoosierville. She's the main reason the train stops at Petticoat Junction! Sheriff Andy, Deputy Blarney and Aint Bee invite you to join the fun and the mayhem in Mayberry cause it won't be the same without y'all." The Bissell Mansion is at 4426 Randall Place. For more information: bissellmansiontheatre.com.

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.

Lindenwood University presents the student improv comedy troupe The Nick of Time Players on Sunday, March 25, at 7:30 pm " The Nick of Time Players are directed by Theatre Program Professor Larry Quiggins. The troupe has several performances throughout the year that are sure to leave your sides splitting!" The performances take place in the Emerson Black Bos Theatre at the J. Scheidegger Center for the Arts on the Lindenwood campus in St. Charles, MO. For more information, call 636-949-4433 or visit www.lindenwood.edu/center.

Alpha Players present Neil Simon's comedy The Odd Couple through March 25. "This classic comedy opens as a group of the guys assemble for cards in the apartment of divorced Oscar Madison. And if the mess is any indication, it's no wonder that his wife left him. Late to arrive is Felix Unger, who has just been separated from his wife. Fastidious, depressed, and none too tense, Felix seems suicidal, but as the action unfolds, Oscar becomes the one with murder on his mind when the clean freak and the slob ultimately decide to room together with hilarious results as The Odd Couple is born." Performances take place at The Florissant Civic Center Theater, Parker Rd. at Waterford Dr. in Florissant, MO. For more information: alphaplayers.org, or call 314-921-5678.

Tesseract Theatre Company presents the world premiere of Purple Heart City, Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m. and Sundays at 4 p.m. through March 25. "Nobody has seen Daniel in eighteen months. When he suddenly returns home, hoping to pick life up where he left it, he finds a family hesitant to forgive him and a community that is tired and haunted by a past of having nuclear waste contaminating its creeks and backyards." Performances take place at The .ZACK, 3224 Locust in Midtown. For more information: tesseracttheatre.org.

Kirkwood Theatre Guild presents Ruby Sunrise through March 25. "Illuminating two fascinating moments in America's cultural and political history the play sets off from a farm in Indiana in 1937, as a young girl named Ruby struggles to turn her dream of the first all-electrical television system into a reality. Move to 1957, to a McCarthy-era New York TV studio as Lulu, Ruby's daughter, attempts to get her mother's story told through the medium of television. Groff's script is filled with humor and irony as the story charts the course of the phenomenon of television: from early idealism and sparks of genius, to promises fulfilled and compromises brokered, and beyond." Performances take place in the Robert G. Reim Theatre of the Kirkwood Community Center, 111 South Geyer Road. For more information, call 314-821-9956 or visit ktg-onstage.org.

Inevitable Theatre Company presents the Risk Theatre Initiative production of Stiff: A Fast Paced Story About Moving Slow March 22 - April 1. "Award-winning Dallas actress Sherry Jo Ward chronicles her struggle with Stiff Person Syndrome, an incredibly rare disease which impairs her mobility and causes her unexplained pain. Part stand-up comedy, part PowerPoint presentation, STIFF is a "must-see" theatrical event - a unique and engaging first person account of what it means to re-assess one's own goals and ambition when confronted with a life-altering diagnosis." Performances take place in the black box theatre at the Kranzberg Arts Center, 501 N. Grand in Grand Center. For more information: inevitabletheatre.org.

Ari Axelrod

New Jewish Theater presents Ari Axelrod in his cabaret show Taking the Wheel on Saturday, March 24, at 8 pm. In a show that explores his personal story and Jewish journey, Axelrod will perform songs from the Molly Picon musical Milk and Honey, “Shiksa Goddess” from Jason Robert Brown's The Last 5 Years, as well as songs from Les Mizperformed in Hebrew along with many others. His director for the Cabaret is Tony award winner, Actress/Singer and, Faith Prince." The performance takes 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.

The St. Louis Writers' Group presents a reading of a The Thomascantor of Leipzig, a new play by Steve Clark, on Monday, March 19, at 6:30 pm. "In 1721, Leipzig needs a new music director, and they want Telemann, Germany's superstar composer...not J.S.Bach, a second-rate mediocrity. Can Telemann make a deal?" The event takes place upstairs at Big Daddy's, 1000 Sidney in Soulard. For more information: www.stlwritersgroup.com.

Looking for auditions and other artistic opportunities? Check out the St. Louis Auditions site.

For information on events beyond this week, check out the searchable database at the Regional Arts Commission's Events Calendar.

Stage Left

Saturday, March 31, 2018

St. Louis classical calendar for the week of April 2, 2018

Thursday, March 29, 2018

Humana Festival 2018: Habits of highly defective people

Humana Festival 2018: Turning the tables

Humana Festival 2018: One degree of separation

Chuck's Choices for the weekend of March 29, 2018

Tuesday, March 27, 2018

Humana Festival 2018: Not much sympathy for the Devil

Humana Festival 2018: Family feud

Sunday, March 25, 2018

St. Louis theatre calendar for the week of March 26, 2018

Wednesday, March 21, 2018

Chuck's Choices for the weekend of March 23, 2018

Symphony Preview: On wings of song

Sunday, March 18, 2018

St. Louis theatre calendar for the week of March 19, 2018

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