St. Louis theatre calendar for the week of July 2, 2018

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The new shows this week are a Gilbert and Sullivan classic, a musical version of a Shakespeare comedy, and this year's LaBute New Play Festival.

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 Drowning Girls
Photo by Aaron Markham

Fourth Wall Down presents The Drowning Girls through July 14. 'The play gasps to life with Bessie, Alice, and Margaret (English women of the early 1900s) trying to remember their lives. Though fragmented, the tragic truth is slowly unraveled: each unassuming, lonely and on the cusp of 'spinsterhood', they're surprised to find Love, along with an avenue toward societal worth… Marriage to "a man of independent means".' Performances take place at Wild Carrot, 3901 Shaw in the Shaw Neighborhood. For more information: www.fourthwalldown.org.

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.

The Bissell Mansion Murder Mystery Dinner Theatre presents Get "Hitched" To A Redneck Or Die through July 29. The Bissell Mansion is at 4426 Randall Place. For more information: bissellmansiontheatre.com.

Union Avenue Opera presents Gilbert and Sullivan's H.M.S. Pinafore Fridays and Saturdays at 8 PM, July 6 - 14. Performances take place at the Union Avenue Christian Church, 733 Union at Enright in the Central West End. The opera is sung in English with projected English text. For more information, visit unionavenueopera.org or call 314-361-2881.

Southern Illinois University Edwardsville presents a musical version of the Shakespeare comedy A Midsummer Night's Dream, adapted and directed by Chuck Harper, Department Chair of Theater and Dance, Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30 pm and Sundays at 2 pm, July 6 - 15. Performances take place in the Metcalf Theater on the campus of SIU Edwardsville, next to the Student Fitness Center. For more information: siue.edu.

St. Louis Actors' Studio presents the Neil LaBute New Theater Festival, Part 1 July 6 - 15 at the Gaslight Theatre, 358 North Boyle. The festival features professional, new and previously unproduced one-act plays 45 minutes or less in length, chosen from submissions to the festival over the previous year. The plays in Part 1 are "4th Reich" by Neil LaBute, "Shut up and Dance"by Barbara Blumenthal-Ehrlich, "Advantage God" by Norman Kline, and "Hipster Noir" by James McLindon. For more information, call 314-458-2978 or visit stlas.org.

Take Two Productions the musical Rock of Ages Thursdays through Saturdays at 7:30 pm and Sundays at 2 pm through July 7. "It's the tail end of the big, bad 1980s in Hollywood, and the party has been raging hard. Aqua Net, Lycra, lace and liquor flow freely at one of the Sunset Strips last legendary venues, a place where sex machine Stacee Jaxx takes the stage and scantily clad groupies line up to turn their fantasies into reality. Amidst the madness, aspiring rock star (and resident toilet cleaner) Drew longs to take the stage as the next big thing (and longs for small-town girl Sherrie, fresh off the bus from Kansas with stars in her eyes). But the rock and roll fairy-tale is about to end when German developers sweep into town with plans to turn the fabled Strip into just another capitalist strip mall. Can Drew, Sherrie, and the gang save the strip - and themselves - before it's too late? Only the music of hit bands Styx, Journey, Bon Jovi, Whitesnake and more hold the answer." Performances take place at Southampton Presbyterian Church, 4716 Macklind. For more information, visit taketwoproductions.org.

Singin' in the Rain

The Muny presents the musical Singin' in the Rain opening on Wednesday, June 27, at 8:15 p.m. and running through July 3. "A timeless Muny favorite, Singin' in the Rain has all the makings of a Tinseltown tabloid headline - the starlet, the leading man, a love affair for the ages and the unexpected transition from the silent film era to "talkies." Known for its unforgettable hit-parade of Hollywood standards, splashy production numbers, hilarious situations and snappy dialogue, this Muny production is sure to be a downpour of pure delight." Performances take place on the Muny's outdoor stage in Forest Park. For more information: muny.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.