Friday, August 17, 2018

Chuck's Choices for the weekend of August 17, 2018

New on the list: Rarely-seen musicals by Union Avenue Opera and R-S Theatrics, along with the annual St. Lou Fringe festival.

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New This Week:

The Light in the Piazza
Photo by Michael Young
R-S Theatrics presents the musical The Light in the Piazza Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m. and Sundays at 7 p.m. through August 26. "Winner of numerous Tony Awards in 2005, this musical tells the story of a young American woman vacationing with her mother in Florence in the 1950s. When the woman falls for a local Italian man, uncomfortable truths come to light about what was past and what may be future." Performances take place at The Marcelle Theatre in Grand Center. For more information: r-stheatrics.com.

My take: Corporate Broadway, like corporate Hollywood, has become a place for high-stakes gambling, where big producers spend bigger money on huge shows in the expectation of massive returns on their investments. In such an environment, it's remarkable that a modest, romantic show like Adam Guettel's The Light in the Piazza was produced at all. That it also ran over 500 performances and garnered a raft of awards in the process is downright miraculous. The book, by noted playwright Craig Lucas, handles this tale of “love among the ruins” with great warmth and, when appropriate, good humor. The score, by third-generation theatre composer Adam Guettel, is lavish and romantic without being saccharine. The R-S production has gotten good notices, so I have no hesitation in recommending it. At KDHX, for example, Tina Farmer calls it a "lovely gem of a show that finds a silver lining in a bittersweet tale of parental and romantic love." At Ladue News, Mark Bretz writes that it is "charming and beautifully sung." Performances of this piece are rare; don't miss it."


Lost in the Stars
Photo by John Lamb
Union Avenue Opera presents Kurt Weill's Lost in the Stars Fridays and Saturdays at 8 PM, August 17 - 25. Lost in the Stars is "a provocative work which addresses the weighty moral issues of racism and injustice, relevant now more than ever in St. Louis. For his final Broadway score, Kurt Weill gave passionate voice to this powerful, uncompromising social indictment of apartheid South Africa. The stirring story is of two aging men - a black country parson and a white British planter - drawn into friendship by a shared grief. The parson's faith is challenged by his son's unintentional murder of the planter's son, while the planter acquires faith through the loss of his son. Sadly, the years have not diminished the timeliness of the theme, which is the tragedy of all people." 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.

My take: I'm a member of the cast of this show, so I'm hardly a disinterested party, but if you look through my reviews you'll see that I have had plenty of positive things to say about Union Avenue's work in the past. And this is a powerful work that is, I'm sorry to say, as relevant now as it was when it first appeared on Broadway in 1949. Check out my preview article and come see this remarkable masterpiece of musical theatre. There hasn't been a local production since St. Louis Community College at Forest Park presented it back in the last 1970s and I don't think there has ever been a locally produced professional production. This could be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.


The St. Lou Fringe Festival runs through August 26 at multiple venues in the Grand Center area including the Kranzberg Arts Center, Grandel Theatre and the .ZACK Arts Center. Performances include traditional theater, dance, music, comedy, circus arts, performance art, cabaret, and burlesque, with acts from St. Louis and around the country. "Fringe features an array of original material-meant to celebrate all of the arts. Tech is minimal and time is a factor at our festivals. Shows are often kept brief (Fringes most frequently have shows right around 60 minutes in length) and technical requirements kept simple (minor sets, streamlined cues, nothing elaborate)." For a complete schedule, visit stlouisfringe.com.

My take: From its humble beginnings as a loosely organized experiment back in 2012, the St. Lou Fringe has evolved into a major performing arts festival, featuring both national touring acts and local performers. It have, in short, come a long way, baby. The Fringe has garnered national media attention and has also formed partnership with many local arts and education organizations. No wonder festival founder Em Piro got a special award from the St. Louis Theater Circle back in 2014 for the Fringe's contribution to the local performing arts scene. There's no better time to fringe.

Held Over:

Mamma Mia!
Photo by Peter Wochniak
Stages St. Louis presents the musical Mamma Mia!, based on the music of ABBA, through August 19. "The ultimate feel-good show, MAMMA MIA! uses the music of ABBA to tell the hilarious and touching tale of a teen's search for her birth father on a Greek Island paradise. See why 54 million people all around the world have fallen in love with this pop-music phenomenon of a mother, a daughter, three possible dads, and an unforgettable trip down the aisle! Chock full of explosive dance numbers, you'll want to unleash your inner "Dancing Queen" with such ABBA hits as "Winner Takes It All," "Take A Chance On Me," and the smash title tune, "Mamma Mia." This enchanting tale of love between mothers and daughters, laughter between old friends, and a celebration of newly found family is a guaranteed non-stop party that you won't want to miss!!" 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: As I wrote in my review of the 2002 USA tour of this show on its first visit to the Fox, I am not now nor have I ever been a fan of the 1970s pop quartet ABBA. When they were cranking out hits like "Dancing Queen", I was sneering at them and listening to Elvis Costello and The Ramones. But when I first saw Mamma Mia! in London back in 2001 surrounded by wildly enthusiastic Brits (who apparently feel about ABBA the way the French feel about Jerry Lewis), I had to admit it was great fun. I found it a completely captivating evening of musical theatre, mostly because Judy Craymer, director Phyllida Lloyd and playwright Catherine Johnson (all from Britain, where this show began) have put together a fast-paced, funny, and occasionally even touching show that can send even a die-hard ABBA hater like yours truly out of the theatre with a smile on his face and a handful of those bouncy, hook-laden melodies rattling around in his brain. So enjoy it, already.


The Robber Bridegroom
Photo by John Lamb
Stray Dog Theatre presents the musical The Robber Bridegroom Thursdays through Saturdays through August 18. This rousing, bawdy Southern fairytale comes from the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Driving Miss Daisy. Set in Mississippi, the show follows Jamie Lockhart, a rascally robber of the woods, as he courts Rosamund, the sole daughter of the richest planter in the country. Thanks to a case of double-mistaken identity, the entangled relationship begins to unravel. Throw in an evil stepmother, her pea-brained henchman, and a hostile talking head-in-a-trunk, and you have a rollicking country romp." Performances take place at The Tower Grove Abbey, 2336 Tennessee. For more information, visit straydogtheatre.org or call 314-865-1995.

My take: Stray Dog has been racking up an enviable record of successes lately with its musicals and judging from the reviews this one is no exception. "The songs are catchy and swinging," writes Tina Farmer at KDHX, "and the action is fast, furious and funny, ensuring plenty of laughter and toe-tapping good time for all." At Limelight, Lynn Venhaus concurs. "For a rooting-tooting time at the theater," she says, "head yonder to the Tower Grove Abbey, where wacky hi-jinx are afoot in the Southern-fried 'The Robber Bridegroom'." "Stray Dog Theatre strikes gold," writes Mark Bretz at Ladue News "with its hilarious, high-kicking good time of a production of this infectious musical written by Driving Miss Dais

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