Sunday, April 22, 2018

St. Louis theatre calendar for the week of April 23, 2018

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St. Louis University Theatre presents the rock musical Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson Thursday through Saturday at 8 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m., April 26 - 29. Performances take place in Xavier Hall, 3373 West Pine Mall. For more information, call 314-977-3327 or visit slu.edu/utheatre.

Circus Flora presents its new show, The Case of the Missing Bellhop through May 13. "The world-famous Balding Hotel has long been an exclusive getaway for dignitaries and nobility from around the world. A place where the staff and crew have unusual skills and where people can go about their business without many questions asked - making the hotel famous for luxury and impeccable service. But when a beloved bellhop goes missing, the Balding begins to attract attention. Secrets proliferate and questions abound! What happened to the bellhop, and who knew about it?" The show takes place at Circus Flora's new home at 3401 Washington in Grand Center. For more information: circusflora.org.

A Closer Walk With Patsy Cline
The Playhouse at Westport Plaza presents A Closer Walk With Patsy Cline through May 6. "The hit musical A Closer Walk with Patsy Cline is America's favorite Patsy Cline tribute starring Julie Johnson. This happy, loving tribute to country music's most enduring superstar traces the legendary singer's rise from her hometown in Winchester, Virginia to the Grand Ole Opry, Las Vegas and Carnegie Hall. Patsy Cline defined the term “crossover hit” by dominating country, blues, pop and gospel charts simultaneously in the 1950s and early '60s. Featuring 21 of Patsy's greatest hits." The Playhouse at Westport Plaza is at 635 West Port Plaza. For more information: playhouseatwestport.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.

St. Louis Actors' Studio presents The Dresser through Aprl 29. "Based on the author's own experiences as dresser to Sir Donald Wolfit, this bracing, heartbreaking drama is an elegy to a by-gone era. Backstage at a theatre in the English provinces during WWII, Sir, the last of the great breed of English actor/managers, is in a bad way tonight, as his dresser Norman tries valiantly to prepare him to go on stage as King Lear. Unsure of his lines as well as who and where he is supposed to be, Sir is adamantly determined to roar his last. With Herculean effort on the part of Norman, Sir finally makes it on stage and through the performance no thanks to an air raid courtesy of the Luftwaffe. Back in his dressing room after the performance, the worn out old trouper dies, leaving alone his company and the loyal dresser after one final bow." Performances take place at the Gaslight Theatre, 358 North Boyle For more information, call 314-458-2978 or visit stlas.org.

The Bankside Repertory Theatre Company presents Falling by Deanna Jent through April 28. " What constitutes a "normal" family? Jent's remarkable play presents the joys and challenges of real life family dynamics when one member is autistic." Performances take place at The Jacoby Arts Center, 627 E. Broadway in Alton, IL. For more information: www.banksiderep.com.

The Lemp Mansion Comedy-Mystery Dinner Theater presents A Fistful of Hollers through July 28. The Lemp Mansion is at 3322 DeMenil Place. For more information: lempmansion.com.

Jesus Christ Superstar
Photo by Justin Been
Stray Dog Theatre presents Andrew Lloyd Webber's Jesus Christ Superstar Thursdays through Saturdays through April 28. There will also be performances at 2 pm on Sunday, April 22, and 8 pm on Wednesday, April 18 and 25. "Jesus Christ Superstar has captivated audiences for more than 40 years. Loosely based on the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, this timeless rock opera follows the last week of Jesus' life, exploring his personal relationships and struggles with Judas Iscariot, Mary Magdalene, his disciples, and the Roman Empire" Performances take place at The Tower Grove Abbey, 2336 Tennessee. For more information, visit straydogtheatre.org or call 314-865-1995.

The Midnight Company presents Abby Mann's drama Judgment at Nuremberg Wednesday through Friday at 7:30 pm, Saturday at 2 and 7:30 pm, and Sunday at 2 pm, April 25 - 29. " JUDGMENT AT NUREMBERG depicts the second wave of Post World War II trials at Nuremberg, as influential judges who cooperated with the Nazis, including the character Ernst Janning, portrayed as one of the most eminent German legal minds of the pre war era, face a military tribunal." Performances take place in the auditorium at the Missouri History Museum in Forest Park. For more information: midnightcompany.com.

Act Two Theatre presents the comedy Leading Ladies Fridays ad Saturdays at 7:30 and Sundays a 2 p.m., April 25 - May 6. "In this hilarious comedy, two English Shakespearean actors, Jack and Leo, find their careers in a rut. They are currently performing “Scenes from Shakespeare” on the Moose Lodge circuit in the Amish country of Pennsylvania. When they hear that an old lady in York, PA is about to die and leave her fortune to her two long lost English nephews, the traveling actors resolve to pass themselves off as her beloved relatives and get the cash. Hilarity ensues when it turns out the relatives are actually nieces and not nephews. Things get even more complicated when Leo falls madly in love with the old lady's vivacious niece, Meg, who's engaged to the local minister." Performances take place in the St. Peters Cultural Arts Centre at 1 St Peters Centre Blvd, St. Peters, MO 63376. For more information: act2theater.com.

The Bissell Mansion Murder Mystery Dinner Theatre presents Mayhem in Mayberry through April 30. "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.

Florissant Fine Arts Council presents the National Players production Shakespeare's Othello on Sunday, April 29, at 1:30 pm at the Florissant Civic Center Theatre at Parker Road at Waterford Drive in Florissant, MO. " This classic tale of identity, bigotry and deceit is examined with contemporary clarity, combining Shakespeare's language with modern clothing to transform the drama into a powerful story for America today." For more information, call 314-921-5678 or visit florissantfinearts.com

KTK Productions presents the comedy Over the River and Through the Woods Thursdays through Saturdays at 8 p.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m., April 27 - May 6. " Nick is a single, Italian-American guy from New Jersey. His parents retired and moved to Florida. That doesn't mean his family isn't still in Jersey. In fact, he sees both sets of his grandparents every Sunday for dinner. This is routine until he has to tell them that he's been offered a dream job. The job he's been waiting for-marketing executive-would take him away from his beloved, but annoying, grandparents. He tells them. The news doesn't sit so well. Thus begins a series of schemes to keep Nick around. How could he betray his family's love to move to Seattle, for a job, wonder his grandparents? Well, Frank, Aida, Nunzio and Emma do their level best, and that includes bringing to dinner the lovely-and single-Caitlin O'Hare as bait…we won't give the ending away here.” Performances take place at Southampton Presbyterian Church, 4716 Macklind. For more information: kurtainkall.org or call 314-351-8984.

Lion's Paw Theatre Company presents Plays on the Menu, a reading of the plays Fortune is a Cowboy by M. G. Elsey, Today a Little Extra by Michael Kassin, and The Long Retreat by Julius Saltzman, on Tuesday, April 24, at noon at The Hearth Room at The Hawken House, 1155 South Rock Hill Road. The readings include lunch. For more information: lionspawtheatre.org.

Lion's Paw Theatre Company presents Plays on the Menu, a reading of the plays Fortune is a Cowboy by M. G. Elsey, Today a Little Extra by Michael Kassin, and The Long Retreat by Julius Saltzman, on Wednesday, April 25, at noon at St. Louis Artists' Guild, 12 North Jackson in Clayton. The readings include lunch. For more information: lionspawtheatre.org.

The St. Louis Writers' Group presents a reading of the play Shamhat by Brad Slavik on Monday, April 23, at 6:30 pm. "The epic of Gilgamesh has been told and retold for four millennia, but not from the view point of one of its minor though most important characters, the prostitute Shamhat. This is her side of the story from the taming of the wild man Enkidu to the battles with demons and monsters and finally the departing of the one person who cared for her." The event takes place upstairs at Big Daddy's, 1000 Sidney in Soulard. For more information: www.stlwritersgroup.com.

The Rogue Theatre Company presents Stop Kiss Fridays through Sundays at 7:30 pm, April 27 - May 6. " After Callie and Sara unexpectedly fall in love, a violent attack changes everything. Though you never see the actual assault, our journey takes the audience back and forth through time to highlight it's impact on the players and their intertwined connections with each other." Performances take place at 1320 Milton Rd. in Alton IL. For more information: riverbender.com

The Black Rep presents the world premiere of Torn Asunder by Nikkole Salter running through April 29th. "TORN ASUNDER is set in Prince George's County, MD, 1859. Hannah, a relatively contented enslaved woman, has her world rocked when her master dies and she, for the first time, is separated from her family, new husband, and baby. But, just as she begins to lose all hope to ever see her husband and child again, the seceded south falls to the Union, slavery is abolished with the 13th Amendment, and Hannah has the opportunity to put her family back together...if she can find them. TORN ASUNDER dramatizes true stories of newly emancipated African Americans trying to overcome the ever-present vestiges of chattel slavery to reconnect with their families. Based on the research of Prof. Heather Andrea Williams in her book HELP ME TO FIND MY PEOPLE. Nikkole Salter was commissioned by Prof. Heather Andrea Williams and Kathy A. Perkins to write the script." Performances take place at the Edison Theatre on the Washington University campus. For more information: theblackrep.org.

A Tree Falling
Photo by Virginia Harold
Upstream Theater presents the U.S. premiere of A Tree Falling Fridays and Saturdays at 8 pm and Sundays at 7 pm (except for April 29, which is at 2 pm) through April 29. "Octogenarian Lenny was once a busy physician at the epicenter of a vibrant family who now has no recollection whatever of his earlier life. These days his chief adventure is the daily tracking down of the remote control-at least until a friendly social worker named Lola shows up. Try as she might to help Lenny recover his memory, though, he continues to live within the moment, and the poignancy of his plight forces Lola to question the meaning of her own past as well as her future." Performances take place at the Kranzberg Arts Center, 501 North Grand in Grand Center. For more information, including show times: upstreamtheater.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.

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