New this week: a drama based on the true story of an infamous hate crime, a comic look and food and maternal guilt, and the cabaret debut of the star of last year's hit,
Ragtime.
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New This Week:
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| Omega D. Jones |
The Monocle presents
I'ma Name My Daughter "Cabaret": A Night of Sass, Soul, and Simple Joys featuring
Omega D. Jones with
Colin Healy on piano, on Friday, October 12, at 8 pm. "It's been a long time coming, but Omega Jones is finally making his cabaret debut! Born and raised in St. Louis, he has been performing all of his life. Most recently, one might have seen him as Jesus in
Jesus Christ Superstar with Stray Dog Theatre, Molto in the world premiere of
The Gringo: A New Musical at St. Lou Fringe, and as Coalhouse Walker Jr. in
Ragtime, for which he was honored with the award for Leading Actor in a Musical at this year's St. Louis Theatre Circle Awards." The Monocle in on Manchester in the Grove. For more information:
eventbrite.com.
My take: Mr. Jones is a talented local actor and singer. He played Coalhouse Walker, Jr., in Stray Dog Theatre's production of "Ragtime" (in which I also performed) and knocked out critics and audiences alike. His cabaret debut is overdue and welcome.
Clayton Community Theatre presents the drama
The Laramie Project Thursdays through Saturdays at 8 p.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m., October 11 - 21. "Based on the true story of the death of Matthew Shepard, the 21-year-old victim of an anti-gay hate crime in 1998 in Laramie, Wyoming,
The Laramie Project unfolds through the words of people in Laramie who were interviewed by members of Tectonic Theater Company in the 18 months following Matthew Shepard's death, creating a portrait of the community and key individuals in the aftermath of the event and as the victim's killers were brought to trial and convicted." Performances take place at the Washington University South Campus Theatre. For more information, call 314-721-9228 or visit
placeseveryone.org.
My take: While crime in general continues to decrease in the USA,
hate crime is on the rise. The story of Matthew Shepard's murder may be two decades old, but the ugly thinking that prompted it is, if anything, more prevalent now than it was then.
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Raging Skillet
Photo by Eric Woolsey |
New Jewish Theater presents
Raging Skillet by Jacques Lemarre Wednesdays and Thursdays at 7:30 pm, Saturdays at 2 and 8 pm, and Sundays at 2 pm, through October 21. New Jewish Theatre serves up the opening entrée to its 21st season with a tasty adaptation of celebrity Chef Rossi's autobiographical memoir, Raging Skillet - equal parts book launch, cooking demonstration, heaping helping of comedy and a side of Jewish mother guilt. When Rossi's Jewish mother discovers the microwave, home-cooked meals become a thing of the past. What starts as a rebellion against her Orthodox parents, chauvinism in the kitchen and the pressures of conformity ends with Rossi becoming New York's #1 punk-rock, Jewish, Lesbian caterer. This hilarious and heartfelt new comedy is based on her true-life story." 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: With the opening of Raging Skillet, we now have two plays in town in which food is a central theme. Upstream's
Chef (see below) closes this weekend but the New Jewish show is only in its second weekend. In his review for
Ladue News, Mark Bretz
writes that this "humorous, pleasant skirmish between an iron-willed mother and her equally defiant daughter, who have more in common than they might think...All three of the performers are top-notch in their portrayals, keeping their audience transfixed with the over-the-top comedy as well as some surprising moments of poignancy. "
Held Over:
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Linda Kennedy in Chef
Photo by Peter Wochniak, ProPhotoSTL |
Upstream Theater presents
Chef by Sabrina Mahfouz Fridays and Saturdays at 8 pm and Sundays at 7 pm (except for October 14, which is at 2 pm), through October 14. "Upstream Theater is excited to host renowned Swiss director Marianne de Pury who will stage the US premiere of the award-winning CHEF by UK/Egyptian playwright and poet Sabrina Mahfouz-the gripping story of how one woman went from being a haute-cuisine head chef to a convicted inmate running a prison kitchen. Leading us through her world of mouth-watering dishes and heart-breaking memories, Chef questions our attitudes to food, prisoners, violence, love and hope." Performances take place at the Kranzberg Arts Center, 501 North Grand in Grand Center. For more information, including show times:
upstreamtheater.org.
My take: The thing about one-character shows is that the one character had better be interesting and the one actor had better know how to capture and hold an audience's attention. There's no question that Linda Kennedy, the one actor in question, knows how to do that; as evidence, I would offer
the great solo cabaret show she did back in 2015. And the play, as Richard Green notes in
his rave review for Talking Broadway, "first toured fringe festivals in Scotland and Britain in 2014, scooping up multiple awards." So you can hardly go wrong, can you?
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The Little Foxes
Photo by Patrick Huber |
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St. Louis Actors' Studio presents Lillian Hellman's drama
The Little Foxes Thursdays through Saturdays at 8 pm and Sundays at 3 pm through October 14. "Lillian Hellman's legendary play about greed and ambition. Set in Alabama in 1900, The Little Foxes follows Regina Giddens and her ruthless clan, including her sister-in-law Birdie, as they clash in often brutal ways in an effort to strike the deal of their lives. Far from a sentimental look at a bygone era, the play has a surprisingly timely resonance with important issues facing our country today.". Performances take place at the Gaslight Theatre, 358 North Boyle. For more information call 314-458-2978 or visit
stlas.org.
My take: In a New York Times article published the day before the October 31, 1949, premiere of
Regina, Mark Blitzstein's operatic treatment of Hellman's play, Leonard Bernstein observed that the principal characters were "ugly people engaged in ugly dealings with one another." That is, to say the last, an understatement. Hellman's blistering indictment of crony capitalism and unenlightened self-interest is, if anything, more relevant now than when it was written in 1939, as an appalling spectacle of shameless greed, unprincipled arrogance, moral bankruptcy, and overwhelming entitlement dominates the national political stage. The tragedy of
The Little Foxes isn't just American, it's also America's.
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