Preview: Donna and Shirley invite you to "Say Yes."

L-R: Shirley Aschinger and Donna Weinsting

On Saturday June 15th at 8 pm, The Presenters Dolan offers "Say Yes," an unusual if not downright unique cabaret evening featuring actress Donna Weinsting and storyteller Shirley Aschinger. St. Louis cabaret luminary Ken Haller directs the show, with music direction by Webster University's Carol Schmidt. The performance takes place at the Kranzberg Arts Center in Grand Center. I talked with them about their upcoming cabaret adventure.

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Chuck Lavazzi (CL): You two have very different backgrounds as far as performing goes. Donna has a long career here as a stand-up comic and actress but Shirley just got the performing bug relatively recently. How did you meet?

Shirley Aschinger (SA): Chuck, I met you and Donna in the 2008 Cabaret Conference. You sang "The Vatican Rag" and Donna sang "The Way We Were". I sang "I Whistle A Happy Tune". It was my first time on stage since college. Like Donna, I had been singing, dancing and performing all of my life, but in my case it was to my overflowing imaginary audience. After I did the patter, and sang "Whistle", my friend of thirty years said, "I didn't know you did stand-up!" My answer, "I've been doing stand-up for years, but at four foot ten inches, who knew?"

CL: What made you decide to team up for a cabaret show?

Donna Weinsting (DW): When we met at the Cabaret Conference, I immediately felt Shirley was a kindred spirit and a fellow "golden oldie". I knew Shirley would like to break free and have her own cabaret and I thought doing it together would be a great way to break the ice and be a whole lot of fun for us both.

SA: The idea for this show began November 9, 2018. We were at the West End Grill having dinner, awaiting Katie Dunne McGrath's "Favorite Aunt of the Year" show at the Gaslight Theatre. Donna pulled up a chair next to me, sat down and said, "It's Hell to get old." I said, "I'm way older than you are and I feel fine." We talked a bit about getting older, and then she said, "We ought to do a show together!" I looked behind me to see who she was talking to. Oh, my goodness, Donna was talking to me. Even then, I thought that was just something to say pre-cabaret show, like "Let's do lunch", but a few weeks later I found out she was serious.

WOW! It has been a ball getting to know Donna better, and with Ken Haller, and Carol Schmidt, what could possibly go wrong?

CL: Yeah, Carol is a pretty amazing music director and arranger. I've known Ken for years as an actor and singer. What's he like as a director?

SA: This is my first experience with any show director, so I have no one to compare him to, other than the conference directors, - then again, as all of us know, Ken is beyond compare. Ken is organized, a quick problem solver, a pro on and off stage, and engaging with an eager smile, and facial expressions that would fill a phone book. He understands comedy, and how and why it works. Ken Haller and fun seem to go together nicely. I couldn't be happier working with Ken.

I can't remember when I started working with Carol - always a joy to have her get me ready for the Cabaret Conferences.

DW: Ken is a delight as a director. We have fun and he has great ideas that help make us better. He is a caring and excellent pediatrician and can use that bedside manner in handling a couple of women in their second childhoods. Lastly, as a seasoned and very talented cabaret performer he knows how to craft a show to showcase talent in the best possible way. Love our Ken!

CL: The title of the show is "Say Yes." Who picked that title and what does it mean for each of you?

DW: "Say Yes" is a song Shirley has In her repertoire and seemed perfect to us as life affirming and a battle cry as we enter the last leg of our journeys. We are saying yes to life, challenges and making dreams come true.

SA: Originally, I chose the song to sing as a solo. The lyrics spoke to me, because I was saying YES to so many things I never dreamed of even saying MAYBE to. I was saying yes to Cabaret, to Open Mike Night, to storytelling, to writing patter, to writing a story about my father that was published in Joe Holleman's book in 2009 called "Rollin' On The River - The Story Of The Admiral In St. Louis." By their actions on one evening cruise, in 1943, the Admiral saved my father's life.

In a similar way, I believe Cabaret saved mine, or certainly expanded it in a spectacular fashion. My surviving cancer gave me the courage to say YES to life in so many ways. I began at seventy-three, saying YES to the next song, the next Cabaret Conference, and knowing and partying with so many lovely people.

Most people my age are searching for a funeral director, so finding a show director named Ken, and playing with Carol, Donna and Ken in the Cabaret Sandbox, sounded much more exciting. Ken chose "Say Yes" as the show title, and thought it would be great as a duet. We agreed.

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For more information on "Say Yes," visit Metrotix.com.

St. Louis theatre calendar for the week of May 27, 2019

This week's crowded calendar includes musicals from New Line and Stages, a Verdi opera at Opera Theatre, and a new one-man show by The Midnight Company.

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Be More Chill
Photo by Jill Ritter Lindberg

New Line Theatre presents the musical Be More Chill Thursdays through Saturdays at 8 PM, May 30 - June 22. "The Breakfast Club meets Little Shop of Horrors, as New Line closes its season by bringing you the new sci-fi rock musical BE MORE CHILL -- currently breaking records on Broadway! -- with music and lyrics by Joe Iconis and book by Joe Tracz, based on the bestselling novel by Ned Vizzini. It's an honest, fearless, funny look at life in the digital age, exploring teen depression, bullying, and other current issues through the comic lens of sci-fi films of the 50s, horror flicks of the 80s, and teen movies of the 90s. The show has been selling out everywhere it runs. Jeremy is just an average, nothing-special teenage nerd -- until he finds out about the Squip ("Super Quantum Unit Intel Processor"), a tiny Japanese supercomputer in a convenient pill, which promises to "upgrade" him and bring him everything he desires most: a date with Christine, an invite to the coolest party of the year, and a chance to survive life in his suburban New Jersey high school." 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.

Stages St. Louis presents the musical The Boy From Oz May 31 through June 30. "Dazzling and hilarious as the legendary Peter Allen himself, THE BOY FROM OZ follows the Australian singer-songwriter from his humble beginnings performing in backcountry pubs to his international stardom beside such Hollywood icons as Judy Garland and her daughter Liza Minnelli. ” 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.

The Midnight Company presents the St. Louis premiere of the one-person show Charlie Johnson Reads All of Proust Thursdays through Saturdays at 8 pm, May 30 - June 15. "Charlie Johnson Reads All Of Proust, which premiered in Chicago in January, 2019, at the Den Theatre, tells the story of an older man taking a break from Christmas shopping with his family at a Starbucks. Hungry for dinner, he tides himself over with the purchase of a small package of soft, spongy cookies. When he dips one in his coffee, his snooty daughter-in-law asks him if he's having his “Madeleine moment,” and then proceeds to lecture him about Marcel Proust and Remembrance of Things Past - the classic multi-volume novel inspired by the narrator dipping a madeleine cake into tea, with the taste bringing back memories of his boyhood, and leading to a retelling of his time in 19th/20th century aristocratic France. Charlie decides he's going to read that book (not realizing it's seven books) and be able to talk about it with his daughter-in-law next Christmas. And along the way, he discovers the epic that is his own life. " Performances take place at the Kranzberg Center, 501 N. Grand in Grand Center. For more information: midnightcompany.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 HIlton St. Louis Frontenac presents The Dinner Detective Murder Mystery Dinner Show through July 27. "Solve a hilarious crime while you feast on a fantastic dinner. Just beware! The culprit is hiding in plain sight somewhere in the room, and you may find yourself as a Prime Suspect before you know it!" For more information: https://www.thedinnerdetective.com/st-louis

The Monroe Actors Stage presents the comedy The Dixie Swim Club Thursdays through Saturdays at 7:30 and Sundays at 2:30 pm, May 31 - June 19. "Five Southern women, whose friendships began many years ago on their college swim team, set aside a long weekend every August to recharge those relationships. Free from husbands, kids and jobs, they meet at the same beach cottage on North Carolina's Outer Banks to catch up, laugh and meddle in each other's lives. The play focuses on four of those weekends and spans a period of thirty-three years." Performances take place in the Historic Capitol Theatre in downtown Waterloo, Illinois. For more information, visit www.masctheatre.org or call 618-939-7469.

The Bissell Mansion Murder Mystery Dinner Theatre presents Flaming Saddles through July 28 The Bissell Mansion is at 4426 Randall Place. For more information: bissellmansiontheatre.com

The Monocle presents The Hush-Hush Cabaret at 10 pm on Saturday, June 1. "Anything can happen at the HUSH HUSH, and you never know what sort of exciting acts you'll see! Booking a diverse line up of variety, burlesque, comedy, and so much more, Mimi Le Uke, the Madame of Mischief at the Monocle, guarantees to satisfy! " The performance takes place in the Emerald Room at The Monocle on Manchester in The Grove. For more information: themonoclestl.com.

I Now Pronounce
Photo by John Gitchoff

New Jewish Theater presents the St. Louis premiere of the comedy I Now Pronounce Wednesdays and Thursdays at 7:30 pm, Saturdays at 2 and 8 pm, and Sundays at 2 pm through June 2. "A play that mines disconnections. After Adam and Nicole's wedding culminates in an awkwardly timed fatality, the reception spins into an increasingly strange evening that leaves the bride and groom questioning just what it is they're celebrating. But there's no stopping the festivities: the flower girls are running amuck, the bridal party members are preoccupied with their own flailing relationships, and everyone needs to stop ordering the blue drinks. Comedies end in marriage. Tragedies end in death. This play begins with both." 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: newjewishtheatre.org.

The Kranzberg Center presents Jamie Sauerberger in Ironic, her first solo cabaret, on Saturday, June 1, at 8 pm. Ron McGowan is pianist and music director for the show, with Keith Bowman on drums and Black Mickens on bass. Meghan Kirk directs. The performance takes place at the Kranzberg Center, 501 N. Grand in Grand Center. For more information: https://www.metrotix.com/events/detail/annie-sauerburger-ironic.

Shakespeare Festival St. Louis presents the comedy Love's Labors Lost nightly except for Mondays, May 31 - June 23. "Belonging to Shakespeare's “lyrical” period, which also included Romeo and Juliet and A Midsummer Night's Dream, the play tells the story of the Princess of France and her ladies who arrive on a diplomatic mission to Navarre only to be met by a young king and his lords who have taken a vow not to see women. Affairs of state give way to affairs of the heart as Shakespeare reveals with great humor and compassion the way our culture sometimes doesn't fully prepare us for the realities of love and intimacy. A feast of language and theatrical virtuosity, Love's Labors Lost shimmers with all the passion and promise of a first kiss." Beginning at 6:30 the Green Show presents pre-play entertainment a variety of local performers on multiple stages. The play begins at 8 p.m. Performances take place in Shakespeare Glen next to the Art Museum in Forest Park. For more information, visit shakespearefestivalstlouis.org.

The Marriage of Figaro
Photo by Eric Woolsey

Opera Theatre of St. Louis presents Mozart's comedy The Marriage of Figaro running through June 29. "Life at court is about to get complicated. The maid Susanna is determined to wed her fiancé, Figaro, while the Count is equally determined to add her to his list of conquests. But Susanna and Figaro won't allow one self-entitled nobleman to ruin their happy ending! They each hatch their own plots to teach their master a lesson. What follows is a whirlwind day of romantic intrigue, cunning schemes, and uproarious fun. One of Mozart's most beloved masterpieces, The Marriage of Figaro reminds us all that love will always prevail, and forgiveness is always within reach." The opera runs three hours and ten minutes with one intermission and is sung in English with English supertitles. Performances take place at the Loretto-Hilton Center at 135 Edgar Road on the Webster University campus.  For more information: opera-stl.org call 314-961-0644.

The Lemp Mansion Comedy-Mystery Dinner Theater presents Muurder in Maaaybury! through July 27. The Lemp Mansion is at 3322 DeMenil Place. For more information: lempmansion.com.

Nina Simone: Four Women
Photo by Philip Hamer

The Black Rep presents Nina Simone: Four Women running through June 2. "Nina Simone's velvet voice was unafraid to sing lyrics that cut right to the truth. Her music and her life were a personal exploration branded in the kiln of the civil rights movement; so, in the aftermath of the 1963 bombing of the 16th Street Baptist Church and the tragic loss of the four little girls her powerful anthems, MISSIPPIPPI GODDAM, SINNERMAN, AND OLD JIM CROW, fueled the Civil Rights movement and changed her public persona from songstress to activist. From the iconic 'I PUT A SPELL ON YOU&" to FOUR WOMEN, of the title, Simone's lyrics weave a story of four women alienated from themselves and one another due to the color of their skin." Performances take place at the Edison Theatre on the Washington University campus. For more information: theblackrep.org.

LifeLight Youth Theatre presents Peter Pan Junior Thursday and Friday at 7 pm and Saturday at 2:30 and 7 pm, May 30 - June 1. "PETER PAN jr, based on the high-flying Tony© Award-winning Broadway musical, follows the adventures of Peter Pan and his mischievous fairy sidekick, Tinkerbell, as they visit the nursery of the Darling children late one night. With a sprinkle of pixie dust, they begin a magical journey across the stars that none of them will ever forget. From ticking crocodiles, to fierce warriors, bungling pirates and the villainous Captain Hook himself, this fun classic will delight all ages." Performances take place at Westminster Christian Academy, 800 Maryville Centre Drive in Town and Country. For more information: lifelightyouththeatre.com.

Opera Theatre of St. Louis presents Verdi's Rigoletto opening on Saturday, June 1, at 8 pm and running through June 30. "There is no purer love than that of a father for his daughter - and no more impossible task than protecting her from the world. Rigoletto is a bitter court jester who serves the Duke of Mantua, a lecherous womanizer. Together, they are despised throughout the city. But alone, Rigoletto is all tenderness when it comes to his innocent young daughter, Gilda. Little does he know that an ominous curse is about to take its toll. When the Duke seduces Gilda, only to then abandon her, the enraged father swears vengeance. Set to some of Verdi's most powerful music, this tale of innocence lost is wrenchingly poignant and all too human." The opera runs approximately two hours with one intermission and is performed in English with English supertitles. Performances take place at the Loretto-Hilton Center at 135 Edgar Road on the Webster University campus. All performances are sung in English with projected English text. For more information: experienceopera.org call 314-961-0644.

The Fabulous Fox presents the St. Louis Musical High School Theatre Awards on Sunday, June 2, at 4 pm. The St. Louis High School Musical Theatre Awards are designed to celebrate outstanding achievement in high school musical theatre. Participating schools' musical productions are evaluated by a panel of theatre professionals.The June 2 awards ceremony will include exciting performances by talented young local artists selected from 37 area high schools. Award recipients will be announced in 14 categories (plus WOW! Moment and Special Recognition) including an Outstanding Actress and an Outstanding Actor who will go on to compete in The Jimmy Awards® / National High School Musical Theatre Awards® in New York City, presented by The Broadway League. The Fabulous Fox is at 527 N. Grand in Grand Center. For more information: fabulousfox.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.

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.

St. Louis classical calendar for the week of May 27, 2019

The week after Memorial Day features a new Friends of Music concert and a special preview from the St. Louis Symphony.

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Eliot Unitarian Chapel presents a Friends of Music concert on Sunday, June 2, at 7:30 pm. The program will feature string quartets performed by young artists participating in the Arianna Chamber Music Festival (ACMF), an international summer festival in St. Louis dedicated to the intensive study of chamber music under the guidance of the Arianna String Quartet. The concert takes place at Eliot Unitarian Chapel is at 100 South Argonne in Kirkwood. For more information: fomcstl.org.

Brent Havens

Brent Havens conducts the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra in Music of Led Zepplin on Saturday, June 1, at 7:30 pm. 'A one-of-a-kind performance comes to Powell Hall that bridges the gap between rock 'n' roll and classical music. Experience the SLSO and a full rock band performing the Music of Led Zeppelin featuring favorites including “Kashmir,” “Black Dog,” “Immigrant Song” and more.' The performance takes place at Powell Symphony Hall, 718 North Grand in Grand Center. For more information: stlsymphony.org.

Gemma New conducts the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra in a 2019/2020 Season Preview Concert on Sunday, June 2, at 3 pm. "Join the SLSO and Resident Conductor Gemma New for a 60-minute sneak peek of the 2019/2020 season highlighting selections from throughout the year. The matinee concert will explore musical themes from the 19/20 season crafted by incoming Music Director Stéphane Denève including the arch connecting French and American musical cultures, composers of our time, new concert experiences, and the music of dance. After the performance, you can visit with SLSO musicians, who can answer your questions and share recommendations for the upcoming season." The performance takes place at Powell Symphony Hall, 718 North Grand in Grand Center. For more information: stlsymphony.org.

Chuck's Choices for the weekend of May 24, 2019

A new play festival joins a hit musical at the Fox on the list this week.

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New This Week:

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Earworm
Photo by Brittanie Gunn

Tesseract Theatre Company presents Dates by Elizabeth Breed Penny, Earworm by Shaulee Cook, and Hoist by Erin Lane in rotating repertory through May 26 as part of the 2019 Festival of New Plays. Performances take place at The .ZACK, 3224 Locust in Midtown. For more information: tesseracttheatre.com.

My take: Jacob Juntunen has seen all three of the plays in the festival for us at KDHX and has been favorably impressed by all of them. He described Dates as "a significant production in the #metoo moment filled with impressive acting, humor, and intensity. " He writes that Hoist is a "powerfully addresses the rampant problem of sexual abuse in the military...a beautiful piece about deeply hurt characters." Earworm, on the other hand, "is a crowd-pleaser for sure, especially for anybody who's life has been changed by music." New works are always of interest, and Tesseract is to be commended for putting this on.

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Held Over:

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Come From Away

The Fabulous Fox Theatre presents the musical Come From Away opening on Tuesday, May 14, at 7:30 pm and running through May 26. "The New York Times Critics' Pick takes you into the heart of the remarkable true story of 7,000 stranded passengers and the small town in Newfoundland that welcomed them. Cultures clashed and nerves ran high, but uneasiness turned into trust, music soared into the night, and gratitude grew into enduring friendships." The Fabulous Fox Theatre in on N. Grand in Grand Center. For more information: fabulousfox.com.

My take: Some musicals are hits despite their books. Come From Away is a hit largely because of its tightly constructed and emotionally powerful book. With book, music, and lyrics by the team of Irene Sankoff and David Hein--whose charming My Mother's Lesbian Jewish Wiccan Wedding got such a wonderful production at New Jewish Theatre four years ago--Come From Away never fails to entertain, delight, and move.

Review: The wedding bell blues

Tasha Gordon-Solmon's farce "I Now Pronounce," the St. Louis premiere of which is on view at New Jewish Theatre thorough June 2nd, is a look at the Wedding From Hell.

L-R: Ryan Lawson-Maeski, Will Bonfiglio,
Graham Emmons
Photo by John Gitchoff

The nuptials of Nicole (Jessica Kadish) and Adam (Graham Emmons) get off to a less-than-ideal start as the aged Rabbi (Craig Neuman) collapses and dies during the ceremony. Nicole freaks out and hides in the restroom. Bridesmaid Michelle (Delaney Piggins) gets hopelessly tanked while her fellow bridesmaid Eva (Frankie Ferrari) tries to take charge with unsatisfactory results.

As Adam's doubts multiply, his sarcastic friend Dave (Will Bonfiglio) suggests that he take Dave's rental car and just leave, while his gloomy friend Seth (Ryan Lawson-Maeske) becomes increasingly despondent over the state of his own marriage, which started its downhill slide during the honeymoon. Meanwhile the flower girls (Millie Eidelman, Abby Goldstein, and Lydia Mae Foss) are trying to summon a ghost to dispel the spirit of the departed Rabbi, who they are sure is out to get them.

Frankie Farrari (top), Delaney Piggins
Photo by John Gitchoff

Meanwhile, most of the guests have fled, along with the band. No wonder Michelle is inhaling all those blue drinks Nicole designed to go with the blue dresses, blue tuxes, and blue cake--everybody has the blues.

When I saw the world premiere of "I Now Pronounce" at the Humana Festival back in 2017, I found it consistently hilarious and even a bit touching in spots. Some scenes needed a judicious editor, but it was great fun on the whole.

Seeing the local premiere at New Jewish Theatre this past weekend was a very different experience. The characters seemed more one-dimensional, the comedy less consistent, and the script's weaknesses more obvious. There are still plenty of funny moments, but there are some serious dead zones among them.

Part of the problem, I think, is that the pacing is not as brisk as it could be, an issue that's exacerbated by the many scene changes, some of which involve wheeling bits of scenery on and off David Blake's fairly realistic set. "This piece should feel fluid," writes the author in her preface to the original 2017 script. "Transitions between scenes should be smooth. Actors may move from one scene right into the next. There need not be lights up and down each time."

That doesn't happen in this production, for the most part, and it makes the play (which is performed without intermission) feel longer than its 100-minute run time. The addition of a prolonged dance number-cum-curtain call didn't help matters any.

L-R: Graham Emmons, Jessica Kadish
Photo by John Gitchoff

The cast is mostly a fine one, fortunately. Mr. Emmons has Adam's comic befuddlement down pat, Mr. Bonfiglio is hilariously caustic as Dave, and Mr. Lawson-Maeske is the ideal nebbish as Seth. Ms. Kadish is an expert at the slow burn, Ms. Ferrari's Eva spins hilariously out of control, and Ms. Piggins does a fine job with Michelle's operatic levels of self-deception. Mr. Neuman gets all the laughs out of the Rabbi's opening monolog (although I thought his "old age" voice and body language were a bit overdone), and his return as a different character later in the play was extremely effective.

No, I can't tell you who that character is--spoilers and all that.

The bottom line is that New Jewish Theatre has done a great deal of excellent work over the years, but their presentation of "I Now Pronounce" lacks the polish I have come to expect from them. Performances continue through June 2nd in the Marvin and Harlene Wool Studio Theater at the Jewish Community Center, 2 Millstone Campus Drive in Creve Coeur.

St. Louis theatre calendar for the week of May 20, 2019

This week is your last chance for a hit musical at the Fox and Tesseract's new play festival, as well as the opening night for Opera Theatre's season.

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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.

Come From Away

The Fabulous Fox Theatre presents the musical Come From Away through May 26. "The New York Times Critics' Pick takes you into the heart of the remarkable true story of 7,000 stranded passengers and the small town in Newfoundland that welcomed them. Cultures clashed and nerves ran high, but uneasiness turned into trust, music soared into the night, and gratitude grew into enduring friendships." The Fabulous Fox Theatre in on N. Grand in Grand Center. For more information: fabulousfox.com.

Tesseract Theatre Company presents Dates by Elizabeth Breed Penny, running through May 26 as part of the 2019 Festival of New Plays. "Dates is a play about Caroline, a recently "unmarried" woman who has been finding it hard to live in the outside world: literally. Unable to leave her house, she attempts to reconnect with her friends, her therapist, and potential romantic interests through online dating, emails, and text messages. The reality is, her self-imposed isolation is merely a ploy to prevent herself from coming to terms with the abusive relationship she has just come out of." Performances take place at The .ZACK, 3224 Locust in Midtown. For more information: tesseracttheatre.com.

Tesseract Theatre Company presents Earworm by Shaulee Cook running through May 26 as part of the 2019 Festival of New Plays. "Earworm tells the story of Candles Out, a decade-old punk rock break up song seeking closure with five people whose lives she's entwined with in very different ways - Sasha and Jory, the two band members that wrote her; Trevor, the guy they wrote her about; Elise, Trevor's sister; and Kess, Trevor's new girlfriend … who also happens to be the song's biggest fan. A strange trip involving music and memory and how each affects the other." Performances take place at The .ZACK, 3224 Locust in Midtown. For more information: tesseracttheatre.com.

Alpha Players present the comedy Exit Laughing through May 26. Performances take place at The Florissant Civic Center Theater, Parker Rd. at Waterford Dr. in Florissant, MO. For more information: alphaplayers.org, call 314-921-5678.

The Bissell Mansion Murder Mystery Dinner Theatre presents Flaming Saddles through July 28 The Bissell Mansion is at 4426 Randall Place. For more information: bissellmansiontheatre.com

Tesseract Theatre Company presents Hoist by Erin Lane running through May 25 as part of the 2019 Festival of New Plays. "Sometimes you don't get to be the hero of the story... even when you sign up for it. In 2008, the war rages on in a basement bar in Chicago. Skyler, the bartender and an Afghanistan veteran, has left everything she knows behind in an attempt to survive. She struggles to gain control over her present life, but, day in and day out, discovers it lifeless at the bottom of a rocks glass. As she battles with violent demons, she finds there is no escape when someone from her past walks into the bar." Performances take place at The .ZACK, 3224 Locust in Midtown. For more information: tesseracttheatre.com.

I Now Pronounce
Photo by John Gitchoff

New Jewish Theater presents the St. Louis premiere of the comedy I Now Pronounce Wednesdays and Thursdays at 7:30 pm, Saturdays at 2 and 8 pm, and Sundays at 2 pm through June 2. "A play that mines disconnections. After Adam and Nicole's wedding culminates in an awkwardly timed fatality, the reception spins into an increasingly strange evening that leaves the bride and groom questioning just what it is they're celebrating. But there's no stopping the festivities: the flower girls are running amuck, the bridal party members are preoccupied with their own flailing relationships, and everyone needs to stop ordering the blue drinks. Comedies end in marriage. Tragedies end in death. This play begins with both." 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.

Opera Theatre of St. Louis presents Mozart's comedy The Marriage of Figaro opening on Saturday, May 25, and running through June 29. " Life at court is about to get complicated. The maid Susanna is determined to wed her fiancé, Figaro, while the Count is equally determined to add her to his list of conquests. But Susanna and Figaro won't allow one self-entitled nobleman to ruin their happy ending! They each hatch their own plots to teach their master a lesson. What follows is a whirlwind day of romantic intrigue, cunning schemes, and uproarious fun. One of Mozart's most beloved masterpieces, The Marriage of Figaro reminds us all that love will always prevail, and forgiveness is always within reach." The opera runs three hours and ten minutes with one intermission and is sung in English with English supertitles. Performances take place at the Loretto-Hilton Center at 135 Edgar Road on the Webster University campus.  For more information: opera-stl.org call 314-961-0644.

The HIlton St. Louis Frontenac presents The Dinner Detective Murder Mystery Dinner Show through July 27. "Solve a hilarious crime while you feast on a fantastic dinner. Just beware! The culprit is hiding in plain sight somewhere in the room, and you may find yourself as a Prime Suspect before you know it!" For more information: https://www.thedinnerdetective.com/st-louis

The Lemp Mansion Comedy-Mystery Dinner Theater presents Muurder in Maaaybury! through July 27. The Lemp Mansion is at 3322 DeMenil Place. For more information: lempmansion.com.

The Black Rep presents Nina Simone: Four Women running through June 2. "Nina Simone's velvet voice was unafraid to sing lyrics that cut right to the truth. Her music and her life were a personal exploration branded in the kiln of the civil rights movement; so, in the aftermath of the 1963 bombing of the 16th Street Baptist Church and the tragic loss of the four little girls her powerful anthems, MISSIPPIPPI GODDAM, SINNERMAN, AND OLD JIM CROW, fueled the Civil Rights movement and changed her public persona from songstress to activist. From the iconic 'I PUT A SPELL ON YOU” to FOUR WOMEN, of the title, Simone's lyrics weave a story of four women alienated from themselves and one another due to the color of their skin." Performances take place at the Edison Theatre on the Washington University campus. For more information: theblackrep.org.

Lion's Paw Theatre Company presents Plays on the Menu, a reading of the plays Change of Venue by Judd Lear Silverman; Turtles and Bulldogs by Scott C Sickles; and Man. Kind. by Don X Nguyen on Monday and Tuesday, March 21 and 22, at noon at The Hearth Room at The Hawken House, 1155 South Rock Hill Road. The readings include lunch. For more information: lionspawtheatre.org.

The St. Louis Writers' Group presents the final round of its Playwright Slam on Monday, May 20 at 6:30 pm. "Get ready for a night of fun impromptu theater. The order of scripts to be read will be chosen at random. Actors to read will be chosen at random. Each script will be given a five minute read, and rated by a panel of judges based upon audience reaction. The judges will then select a winner." The event takes place upstairs at Big Daddy's, 1000 Sidney in Soulard. For more information: www.stlwritersgroup.com.

KTK Productions presents the musical Smoke on the Mountain Thursdays through Saturdays at 7:30 pm and Sundays at 2 pm through May 26. "Smoke on the Mountain tells the story of a Saturday Night Gospel Sing at a country church in North Carolina's Smoky Mountains in 1938. The show features two dozen rousing bluegrass songs played and sung by the Sanders Family, a traveling group making its return to performing after a five-year hiatus. Between songs, each family member “witnesses” - telling a story about an important event in their life. Though they try to appear perfect in the eyes of a congregation who wants to be inspired by their songs, one thing after another goes awry and they reveal their true - and hilariously imperfect - natures. By the evening's end, the Sanders family has endeared themselves to us by revealing their weaknesses and allowing us to share in their triumphs." Performances take place at St. John the Baptist Church, 4200 Delor. For more information: kurtainkall.org or call 314-351-8984.

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.

St. Louis classical calendar for the week of May 20, 2019

This week, the St. Louis Chamber Chorus gives us Hope, New Music Circle gives us a season finale, and the St. Louis Symphony Youth Orchestra closes its season with a concert classic.

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The St. Louis Chamber Chorus

The St. Louis Chamber Chorus presents Hope on Sunday, May 26, at 3 pm. "Romantic literature from Beethoven and Hugo Wolf are contrasted with more contemporary expressions of joy and triumph by Benjamin Britten and Darius Milhaud, while American composer William Schuman offers some humorous versions of advertisements originally placed in the Sears & Roebuck catalog! A highlight will be the world premiere of “Hope” written specially for the occasion by poet Charles Anthony Silvestri and our new Composer-In-Residence Mårten Jansson." The concert takes place at Congregation Shaare Emeth, 11645 Ladue Road. For more information: www.chamberchorus.org.

The New Music Circle presents Natural Information Society and Bitchin Bajas on Saturday, May 25, at 8 pm. "Natural Information Society is a shifting collective led by bassist, composer, and improviser Joshua Abrams. A long-time presence in the Chicago jazz and experimental music community, he's spent the past five years releasing albums-including Natural Information, Represencing, and the recent double LP Magnetoception-that have concentrated on meditative, pulse-driven music. Lead by Cooper Crain -of Chicago-based krautrock revivalists, Cave- Bitchin Bajas' music draws inspiration from the minimalist and new age records of the late '60s and '70s. Their group crafts patient and serene zone-out music that made heavy use of vintage synthesizers and tape loops." The performance takes place at Off Broadway, 3509 Lemp. For more information: www.brownpapertickets.com.

Gemma New

Gemma New conducts the St. Louis Symphony Youth Orchestra on Sunday, May 26, at 3 pm. The program includes Bruch's Scottish Fantasy, featuring concerto competition winner Theo Bockhorst, and Rimsky-Korsakov's Scheherazade. The performance takes place at Powell Symphony Hall, 718 North Grand in Grand Center. For more information: stlsymphony.org.

Review: Forever and a day

Kim Furlow and Jeanitte Perkins
Photo by Jill Ritter Photography

At the beginning of Lucas Hnath's troubling drama Death Tax at Mustard Seed Theatre, we meet Maxine. She's rich, dying and convinced Nurse Tina is trying to kill her. When she confronts Tina, her accusations have unforeseen and irrevocable consequences.

When I first saw Death Tax at the 2012 Humana Festival, I thought it could benefit from a bit of trimming. I still think so, but I also think it has undeniable dramatic punch, demonstrating forcibly the corrupting effects of money and power-and, for that matter, of want and powerlessness. It also raises disturbing questions: as medical science advances, will we become a race divided between those who can purchase virtual immortality and those who can't? And what will that mean? Death Tax suggests the answers might not be pleasant.

Death Tax unfolds mostly as a series of monologues with a few duet scenes, and provides one of the great monstrous characters of the stage in the character of Maxine. She ruthlessly manipulates everyone around her: Nurse Tina (who is not, in fact, trying to kill her), Tina's boss Todd, Maxine's daughter, and even, in a chilling final scene, a social worker and Maxine's grandson. She uses money and later guilt as weapons to prolong her life, destroying many others in the process. Like Sunset Boulevard, this is an American horror story without the supernatural.

In Mustard Seed's production, Kim Furlow gives Maxine an unexpected vulnerability, which makes the character less awful and the moral ambiguity of Hanth's script even more pronounced. Jeanitta Perkins's performance in dual roles of Nurse Tina and Candice is a tour de force, creating two characters so radically different that her on-stage transformation at the start of the last scene is almost a conjuring trick. Reginald Pierre creates less strongly but no less effectively contrasting characters as Tina and Maxine's grandson Charley. Kirsten Strom conveys the confused anger of Maxine's unnamed daughter perfectly.

Bess Moynihan's direction is clear and focused. The cumbersome wall units of Jamie Perkins's set impede the fast scene changes Hnath calls for in his script, but even so the show moves at a good clip, coming in at around 90 minutes with no intermission.

Death Tax continues through May 19th at Mustard Seed Theatre on the Fonbonne University campus. It's an important show and deserves to be seen.

Review: Long layover

The cast of Come From Away

Some musicals are hits despite their books. Come From Away, the national tour of which opened a two-week run at The Fabulous Fox on May 14th, is a hit largely because of its tightly constructed and emotionally powerful book. In some ways, it's not a traditional musical at all so much as a great play that just happens to tell its tale with music.

Based on the true story of what happened when the citizens of the small town of Gander, Newfoundland, suddenly found themselves playing host to the 7,000 passengers (and 19 companion animals) of 38 airplanes grounded because of the 9/11 attacks, Come From Away is an uplifting story of how disaster can bring out the best in humanity rather than the worst. Faced with the need to suddenly find food, clothing, and shelter for strangers from all over the world, the Newfoundlanders rose to the occasion with the stalwart resilience described in the energetic opening number "Welcome to the Rock."

Becky Gulsvig and the company

With book, music, and lyrics by the team of Irene Sankoff and David Hein--whose charming but far less substantial My Mother's Lesbian Jewish Wiccan Wedding got such a fine production at New Jewish Theatre four years ago--Come From Away never fails to entertain, delight, and move. There's not a false note or cliché to be seen. The energetic score, performed by a terrific seven-piece onstage band, prominently features traditional instruments such as Uilleann pipes, Irish flute, Bodhran, and harmonium--a reminder of Newfoundland's strong roots in Irish and English culture. If you go, be sure to stick around for the band's short, high-energy set after the curtain calls.

Everyone in the versatile twelve-member cast (plus six standbys) takes on a variety of roles in addition to those described below, creating the illusion of a much larger ensemble.

Becky Gulsvig is a powerful presence as pilot Beverly Bass (the first female captain of an American Airlines plane), describing how her optimistic view of the world was changed by the attacks in "Me and the Sky." Danielle K. Thomas and Julie Johnson have many wonderful moments as passenger Hannah, worried about her first responder son back in New York, and sympathetic islander Beulah. Chamblee Ferguson is utterly charming as the geeky Brit Nick who finds unexpected romance with divorcée Diane, winningly played by Christina Toy Johnson.

Kevin Carolan, center, and the company

James Earl Jones II has great comic moments as Bob, who finds his hosts' friendliness disconcerting. Kevin Carolan is a big, affable delight as Mayor Claude, as is Harter Clingman as police constable Oz. Other members of this wonderful cast are Megan McGinnis (SPCA worker Bonnie), Emily Walton (local TV reporter Janice, suddenly in the spotlight), and Andrew Samonsky and Nick Duckart as Kevin T. and Kevin J., a gay couple whose relationship is damaged by the crisis. There's not a less than sterling performance in the bunch.

Beowulf Boritt's stark and simple scenic design of bare trees and a plank wall conjures up the rugged beauty of the island and makes scene changes lightning-fast. Wooden tables and chairs are the only set pieces, and they're quickly rearranged to create buses, airplanes, homes, and the local bar. At one point the chairs become the scenic overlook where Nick and Diane acknowledge their affection for each other. Kelly Devine's musical staging and Christopher Ahsley's direction capture the power and vigor of Newfoundland life.

Would a small town in America respond in the generous and openhearted way that Gander did? I don't know, but this is the kind of show that makes you think they might.

Performances of Come From Away continue through May 26th at The Fabulous Fox in Grand Center. If you're looking for a respite from the relentless torrent of bigotry and small-minded spite spewing from our nation's capitol (and no small number of state legislatures), this is surely the show for you.

Chuck's Choices for the weekend of May 17, 2019

This week, two productions at the Tennessee Williams Festival join the list along with a hit musical at the Fox.

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New This Week:

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Come From Away

The Fabulous Fox Theatre presents the musical Come From Away opening on Tuesday, May 14, at 7:30 pm and running through May 26. "The New York Times Critics' Pick takes you into the heart of the remarkable true story of 7,000 stranded passengers and the small town in Newfoundland that welcomed them. Cultures clashed and nerves ran high, but uneasiness turned into trust, music soared into the night, and gratitude grew into enduring friendships." The Fabulous Fox Theatre in on N. Grand in Grand Center. For more information: fabulousfox.com.

My take: Some musicals are hits despite their books. Come From Away is a hit largely because of its tightly constructed and emotionally powerful book. With book, music, and lyrics by the team of Irene Sankoff and David Hein--whose charming My Mother's Lesbian Jewish Wiccan Wedding got such a wonderful production at New Jewish Theatre four years ago--Come From Away never fails to entertain, delight, and move.

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A Lovely Sunday for Creve Coeur
Photo by Peter Wochniak

The Tennessee Williams Festival presents A Lovely Sunday for Creve Coeur Saturdays and Sundays at 1 and 5 pm through May 19. "Four eccentric and unforgettable women fry chicken, plan a picnic to Creve Coeur Lake, and cope with loneliness and lost dreams in an efficiency apartment on Enright Avenue in the Central West End circa the mid-1930s. Williams gives us more laughs than usual, but no less poetry or poignancy. Williams believed that growing up in St. Louis was essential to the shape of his work. A Lovely Sunday for Creve Coeur is one of his few plays set here, and was the inspiration behind TV's "The Golden Girls." Featuring an all-female cast, A Lovely Sunday for Creve Coeur will be directed by Kari Ely." Performances take place at the Grandel Theatre, 3610 Grandel Square in Grand Center. For more information: twstl.org.

My take: The Tennessee Williams Festival has had an admirable history of imaginative productions, and this one appears to be in keeping with that history. In her review for KDHX calls this "a funny, well-acted comedy that will likely leave you in good spirits." At Ladue News, Mark Bretz agree. "Delightful performances by a quartet of actresses under the loving direction of Kari Ely," he writes, "make this seldom-performed little gem by Tennessee Williams a rewarding encounter at the Tennessee Williams Festival St. Louis".

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Night of the Iguana
Photo by Peter Wochniak

The Tennessee Williams Festival St. Louis presents Night of the Iguana Thursdays through Saturdays at 7:30 pm and Sundays at 3 pm through May 19. "The steamy and startling Iguana is one of the most richly textured and dramatically satisfying plays written by Williams. At its center is Shannon, a pastor who has lost his flock, has lost his religion, and has-at the very least- misplaced his sanity and sense of decency. He takes refuge at a rundown resort owned by the lusty and busty Maxine, where they are soon joined by the beautifully refined but repressed Hannah, in the company of Nonno, her nonagenarian grandfather. These two may be scam artists, but they are artists all the same; as such, they offer some brief hope of redemption." Performances take place at the Grandel Theatre, 3610 Grandel Square in Grand Center. For more information: twstl.org.

My take: Speaking of the festival, Steve Callahan at KDHX calls this an "outstanding production...led by a stellar performance by James Butz as Shannon." It's a show packed with great work," writes Ann Lemmons Pollack. "Tim Ocel directed, clearly using a clear vision of what this ought to be, and he's delivered in spades." Night of the Iguana is one of Williams's stronger scripts, and it looks like the festival is doing it up right.

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Held Over:

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Death Tax
Photo by Jill Ritter Photography

Mustard Seed Theatre presents Death Tax by Lucas Hnath Thursdays through Saturdays at 8 pm and Sundays at 2 pm through May 19. "As Maxine nears the end of her life she is certain of three things: Death, Taxes and the Greed of her daughter who wants her to die quickly. A desperate nurse vows to keep her alive, but at what cost? Darkly comic, the play explores morality and forgiveness." 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: When I saw the world premiere of this play at the Humana Festival back in 2012, I wrote that it had a dramatic power that couldn't be denied, demonstrating forcibly the corrupting effects of money and power—and, for that matter, of want and powerlessness. Lucas Hnath's play raises disturbing questions: as medical science advances, will we become a race divided between those who can purchase virtual immortality and those who can't? And what will that mean? Death Tax suggests the answers might not be pleasant. I won't get to see this production until next week, but I'm going to recommend it anyway based on my admiration for Hnath's work as a playwright and on the quality Mustard Seed's work in general.

Review: Lucky charms

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

Bob Wetzel and the band

Bob Wetzel has been a lucky guy, a fact that cropped up as a recurring theme in his solo cabaret debut "Facing the Music," which had its first public performance last Saturday (May 12, 2019) at the Kranzberg Center.

The "wild winds of fortune" blew him a prosperous career in banking and then, late in life, a chance to follow the dream of public performance that he had pursued in college but was obliged to abandon for more quotidian concerns. It led to a dissolved marriage, the sheer terror of dating late in life, and finally the emergence of his inner cabaret star.

All this was described not so much in Mr. Wetzel's patter, which was minimal, as in his set list. It was a smart choice. He and his director Tim Schall--a cabaret performer and teacher with an impressive resume of his own--put together a perfectly paced show that told Mr. Wetzel's story in song rather than words, with the patter providing just the bare minimum of background to link everything together.

The evening started out with a medley of two songs closely associated with Fred Astaire, "Let's Face the Music and Dance" and "Change Partners." It was the first of a series of jazzy arrangements by music director/pianist Carol Schmidt, impeccably played by Ms. Schmidt and her fellow musicians Ric Vice (bass), Kevin Gianino (drums), and Steve Schenkel (guitar).

Taken together, the lyrics reflected on the inevitability of change and the importance of taking joy in the here and now--an idea reinforced by the following medley of "Luck Be a Lady" (from "Guys and Dolls"), "It's Today" (from "Mame"), and the Cole Porter standard "Just One of Those Things." That last song changed meaning in this context, making it more of a reflection on life's randomness than a wistful rumination on lost love.

Carol Schmidt

And so it went for the next hour or so, with a succession of individual songs and insightfully arranged sets taking us through Mr. Wetzel's transformation from straight-laced banker to unbuttoned cabaret singer. Dave Frishberg's "I'm Hip," for example, got additional parody lyrics added at the beginning ("I'm stiff") to reflect the decision to take that leap of faith. The changes in Mr. Wetzel's romantic life were illustrated in a long set beginning with the 1960 Sinatra's "Nice and Easy" and ending with a lovely mix of Simon and Garfunkel's "For Emily" and "Like a Lover," the English-language version of "O Cantador," first recorded by Sergio Mendes in 1968.

Probably the most unexpected set was a combination of Johnny Mercer's "Something's Gotta Give" and James Taylor's "Steamroller Blues." Taylor wrote the song as a parody, and Mr. Wetzel gave it just the right touch of ironic detachment, balanced by Mr. Schenkel's solidly rock and roll guitar solo. It was a delightful surprise, and much appreciated by the packed house.

Mr. Wetzel sang all of this with that same combination of suave assurance and personal charm that he displayed in his first cabaret outing "A Fine Bromance," a duet show with his long-time friend Craig Becker. It's never too late to deal yourself into the cabaret game, and Mr. Wetzel is a welcome addition at the table.

I should note, for the record, that Mr. Wetzel and I both sit on the board of The Cabaret Project, a local non-profit. I know Carol Schmidt and Tim Schall professionally as well.

"Facing the Music" was presented by Robert Breig's Mariposa Artists. A solid singer in his own right, Mr. Breig has been instrumental in recent years in bringing many local and national singers to the St. Louis scene. Check out the Mariposa Facebook page for information on upcoming shows.

St. Louis theatre calendar for the week of May 13, 2019

There's a lot of new theatre this week, including local premieres at New Jewish Theatre and the Black Rep, a new Play Festival at Tesseract, and cabaret shows at the Sheldon and Jazz St. Louis, along with the monthly singers open mic.

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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.

Come From Away

The Fabulous Fox Theatre presents the musical Come From Away opening on Tuesday, May 14, at 7:30 pm and running through May 26. "The New York Times Critics' Pick takes you into the heart of the remarkable true story of 7,000 stranded passengers and the small town in Newfoundland that welcomed them. Cultures clashed and nerves ran high, but uneasiness turned into trust, music soared into the night, and gratitude grew into enduring friendships." The Fabulous Fox Theatre in on N. Grand in Grand Center. For more information: fabulousfox.com.

Tesseract Theatre Company presents Dates by Elizabeth Breed Penny, opening on Friday, May 17, at 8 pm and running through May 26 as part of the 2019 Festival of New Plays. "Dates is a play about Caroline, a recently "unmarried" woman who has been finding it hard to live in the outside world: literally. Unable to leave her house, she attempts to reconnect with her friends, her therapist, and potential romantic interests through online dating, emails, and text messages. The reality is, her self-imposed isolation is merely a ploy to prevent herself from coming to terms with the abusive relationship she has just come out of." Performances take place at The .ZACK, 3224 Locust in Midtown. For more information: tesseracttheatre.com.

Death Tax
Photo by Jill Ritter Photography

Mustard Seed Theatre presents Death Tax by Lucas Hnath Thursdays through Saturdays at 8 pm and Sundays at 2 pm through May 19. "As Maxine nears the end of her life she is certain of three things: Death, Taxes and the Greed of her daughter who wants her to die quickly. A desperate nurse vows to keep her alive, but at what cost? Darkly comic, the play explores morality and forgiveness." 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.

Tesseract Theatre Company presents Earworm by Shaulee Cook, opening on Wednesday, May 15, at 7 pm and running through May 26 as part of the 2019 Festival of New Plays. "Earworm tells the story of Candles Out, a decade-old punk rock break up song seeking closure with five people whose lives she's entwined with in very different ways - Sasha and Jory, the two band members that wrote her; Trevor, the guy they wrote her about; Elise, Trevor's sister; and Kess, Trevor's new girlfriend … who also happens to be the song's biggest fan. A strange trip involving music and memory and how each affects the other." Performances take place at The .ZACK, 3224 Locust in Midtown. For more information: tesseracttheatre.com.

Alpha Players present the comedy Exit Laughing May 17 - 26. Performances take place at The Florissant Civic Center Theater, Parker Rd. at Waterford Dr. in Florissant, MO. For more information: alphaplayers.org, call 314-921-5678.

Tesseract Theatre Company presents Hoist by Erin Lane, opening on Thursday, May 16, at 7 pm and running through May 25 as part of the 2019 Festival of New Plays. "Sometimes you don't get to be the hero of the story... even when you sign up for it. In 2008, the war rages on in a basement bar in Chicago. Skyler, the bartender and an Afghanistan veteran, has left everything she knows behind in an attempt to survive. She struggles to gain control over her present life, but, day in and day out, discovers it lifeless at the bottom of a rocks glass. As she battles with violent demons, she finds there is no escape when someone from her past walks into the bar." Performances take place at The .ZACK, 3224 Locust in Midtown. For more information: tesseracttheatre.com.

I Now PronouncePhoto: Eric Woolsey

New Jewish Theater presents the St. Louis premiere of the comedy I Now Pronounce Wednesdays and Thursdays at 7:30 pm, Saturdays at 2 and 8 pm, and Sundays at 2 pm, May 16 - June 2. "A play that mines disconnections. After Adam and Nicole's wedding culminates in an awkwardly timed fatality, the reception spins into an increasingly strange evening that leaves the bride and groom questioning just what it is they're celebrating. But there's no stopping the festivities: the flower girls are running amuck, the bridal party members are preoccupied with their own flailing relationships, and everyone needs to stop ordering the blue drinks. Comedies end in marriage. Tragedies end in death. This play begins with both." 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.

Tim Schall

The Sheldon Concert Hall presents singer Tim Schall and pianist Carol Schmidt in Let's Go to the Movies Tuesday and Wednesday, May 14 and 15 at 10 am. "Vocalist Tim Schall takes listeners back to those magic moments, sitting in a darkened theatre, hearing these cinematic masterpieces for the first time! Enjoy some of the greatest songs from Hollywood's most beloved films of all time by songwriters such as Henry Mancini, Andrew Lloyd Webber, Lerner & Lowe, Rodgers & Hammerstein and Irving Berlin.” The Sheldon Concert Hall is on Washington in Grand Center. For more information: thesheldon.org.

The Tennessee Williams Festival presents A Lovely Sunday for Creve Coeur Saturdays and Sundays at 1 and 5 pm through May 19. "Four eccentric and unforgettable women fry chicken, plan a picnic to Creve Coeur Lake, and cope with loneliness and lost dreams in an efficiency apartment on Enright Avenue in the Central West End circa the mid-1930s. Williams gives us more laughs than usual, but no less poetry or poignancy. Williams believed that growing up in St. Louis was essential to the shape of his work. A Lovely Sunday for Creve Coeur is one of his few plays set here, and was the inspiration behind TV's "The Golden Girls." Featuring an all-female cast, A Lovely Sunday for Creve Coeur will be directed by Kari Ely." Performances take place at the Grandel Theatre, 3610 Grandel Square in Grand Center. For more information: twstl.org.

Alton Little Theater presents the musical Mamma Mia! Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30 pm and Sundays at 2 pm through May 19. "The most romantic musical comedy comes to the ALT stage just as the popular movie sequel hits the screens summer 2018. Love, mishaps, and music by ABBA will have audiences dancing in the aisles again as they feel transported to the Greek Island of Kalokairi on the eve of a wedding!" Performances take place at 2450 North Henry in Alton, IL. For more information, call 618.462.6562 or visit altonlittletheater.org.

The Lemp Mansion Comedy-Mystery Dinner Theater presents Muurder in Maaaybury! through July 27. The Lemp Mansion is at 3322 DeMenil Place. For more information: lempmansion.com.

The Playhouse at Westport Plaza presents Men Are From Mars, Women Are From Venus Live Friday at 8 pm and Saturday at 4 and 8 pm, May 17 and 18. "The Off-Broadway hit comedy Men Are From Mars - Women Are From Venus LIVE!, is a one-man fusion of theatre and stand-up, and is a light-hearted theatrical comedy based on the New York Times #1 best-selling book of the last decade by John Gray. Moving swiftly through a series of vignettes, the show covers everything from dating and marriage to the bedroom. This hysterical show will have couples elbowing each other all evening as they see themselves on stage. Sexy and fast paced, this show is definitely for adults, but will leave audiences laughing and giggling like little kids! " The Playhouse at Westport Plaza is at 635 West Port Plaza. For more information: playhouseatwestport.com.

Night of the Iguana
Photo by ProPhotoSTL

The Tennessee Williams Festival St. Louis presents Night of the Iguana Thursdays through Saturdays at 7:30 pm and Sundays at 3 pm through May 19. "The steamy and startling Iguana is one of the most richly textured and dramatically satisfying plays written by Williams. At its center is Shannon, a pastor who has lost his flock, has lost his religion, and has-at the very least- misplaced his sanity and sense of decency. He takes refuge at a rundown resort owned by the lusty and busty Maxine, where they are soon joined by the beautifully refined but repressed Hannah, in the company of Nonno, her nonagenarian grandfather. These two may be scam artists, but they are artists all the same; as such, they offer some brief hope of redemption." Performances take place at the Grandel Theatre, 3610 Grandel Square in Grand Center. For more information: twstl.org.

The Black Rep presents Nina Simone: Four Women opening on Wednesday, May 15, and running through June 2. "Nina Simone's velvet voice was unafraid to sing lyrics that cut right to the truth. Her music and her life were a personal exploration branded in the kiln of the civil rights movement; so, in the aftermath of the 1963 bombing of the 16th Street Baptist Church and the tragic loss of the four little girls her powerful anthems, MISSIPPIPPI GODDAM, SINNERMAN, AND OLD JIM CROW, fueled the Civil Rights movement and changed her public persona from songstress to activist. From the iconic 'I PUT A SPELL ON YOU” to FOUR WOMEN, of the title, Simone's lyrics weave a story of four women alienated from themselves and one another due to the color of their skin." Performances take place at the Edison Theatre on the Washington University campus. For more information: theblackrep.org.

The St. Louis Writers' Group presents the second round of its Playwright Slam on Monday, May 6 at 6:30 pm. "Get ready for a night of fun impromptu theater. The order of scripts to be read will be chosen at three, held on May 20" The event takes place upstairs at Big Daddy's, 1000 Sidney in Soulard. For more information: www.stlwritersgroup.com.

The Kirkwood Theatre Guild presents Recipes for Ice, their monthly improv show, on Friday, May 17, at 8 and 10:30 pm at The Steamboat Room, 314 S. Clay in Kirkwood, MO. "Join Adam and his crew for an interactive night of fun and laughter. Beer, wine and food available from Kirkwood Station Brewery." For more information: ktg-onstage.org.

Jazz St. Louis and The Cabaret Project present Shoshana Bean on Wednesday and Thursday at 7:30 and 9:30 pm, May 15 and 16. "Shoshana Bean's three independent solo releases have all topped the iTunes R&B and Blues charts in the US and UK, with her fourth, and most recent project, SPECTRUM, debuting at #1 on the Billboard Jazz charts. Bean has sold out solo concerts around the globe, lent her voice to countless films and TV shows, amassed millions of YouTube views, and performed with artists like Ariana Grande and Michael Jackson. Shoshana is a veteran of the Broadway stage having made her debut in the original cast of Hairspray and starring as the very first replacement for Elphaba in Wicked. She won a IRNE Award forher performance as Fanny Brice in Funny Girl and earned a Jeff Award nomination for her portrayal of CeeCee Bloom in the pre-Broadway musical production of Beaches." Performances take place at the Ferring Jazz Bistro on Washington just east of the Fox in Grand Center. For more information: thecabaretproject.org.

Chuck Lavazzi

The Cabaret Project presents its weekly Singers Open Mic Night on Wednesday, May 15, from 7 to 10 pm. Drop by and enjoy a night of great music from St. Louis cabaret artists, backed up by pianist and music director Carol Schmidt and hosted by 88.1 KDHX's Chuck Lavazzi. If you're planning to sing, be prepared to do one or two songs and bring music, preferably in your key. It's also recommend that you have your song memorized. The event takes place at Sophie's Artist Lounge on the second floor of the .ZACK performing arts space at 3226 Locust in Grand Center. For more information: thecabaretproject.org.

KTK Productions presents the musical Smoke on the Mountain Thursdays through Saturdays at 7:30 pm and Sundays at 2 pm, May 17-26. "Smoke on the Mountain tells the story of a Saturday Night Gospel Sing at a country church in North Carolina's Smoky Mountains in 1938. The show features two dozen rousing bluegrass songs played and sung by the Sanders Family, a traveling group making its return to performing after a five-year hiatus. Between songs, each family member “witnesses” - telling a story about an important event in their life. Though they try to appear perfect in the eyes of a congregation who wants to be inspired by their songs, one thing after another goes awry and they reveal their true - and hilariously imperfect - natures. By the evening's end, the Sanders family has endeared themselves to us by revealing their weaknesses and allowing us to share in their triumphs." Performances take place at St. John the Baptist Church, 4200 Delor. For more information: kurtainkall.org or call 314-351-8984.

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.