St. Louis theatre calendar for the week of July 1, 2019

The Muny and Insight continue to celebrate revolution while the Actors' Studio opens its annual new play festival and Union Avenue Opera unveils a new production of Leonard Bernstein's often-revised Candide.

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1776
Photo courtesy of The Muny

The Muny presents the musical 1776 nightly at 8:15 through July 3rd. "With the American Revolution underway, a nation's independence is ready to be claimed. The three-time Tony Award-winning 1776 sets ablaze the historic signing of the Declaration of Independence and illuminates the personalities, passions and compromises that created a nation. Featuring a telling score that includes "Sit Down, John," "He Plays the Violin" and "Momma Look Sharp," this Muny production will mesmerize, delight and inspire you." Performances take place on the Muny's outdoor stage in Forest Park. For more information: muny.org.

Union Avenue Opera presents Leonard Bernstein's Candide Fridays and Saturdays at 8 PM, July 5 - 13. 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.

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 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 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.

St. Louis Actors' Studio presents the Neil LaBute New Theater Festival, Part 1 July 5 - 14 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 "Great Negro Works of Art" by Neil LaBute, "Color Timer" by Michael Long, "Privilege" by Joe Sutton, and "Kim Jong Rosemary" by Carter W. Lewis. For more information, call 314-458-2978 or visit stlas.org.

The St. Louis Writers' Group presents a reading of The Red Diary by Charlie Jacobsen on Monday, July 1, at 6:30 pm. "The red diary of Marilyn Monroe is the focus of this comedy adventure which takes place during an eventful afternoon in St. Louis. Why the diary was hidden here is another matter, but its exact location was encoded in a painting at the Art Museum. Many years later Charlie, the grandson of the man who hid it has taken job at the museum to search for the painting. Charlie’s AI assistant Eva and her agent Nikita join in the chase and everyone converges on the curator’s bookstore in a madcap ending." The event takes place upstairs at Big Daddy's, 1000 Sidney in Soulard. For more information: www.stlwritersgroup.com.

The Revolutionists
Photo by John Lamb

Insight Theatre Company presents The Revolutionists by Lauren Gunderson Thursdays through Saturdays at 8 pm and Sundays at 2 pm through July 14. "Four beautiful, badass women lose their heads in this irreverent, girl-powered comedy set during the French Revolution's Reign of Terror. Playwright Olympe de Gouges, assassin Charlotte Corday, former queen (and fan of ribbons) Marie Antoinette, and Haitian rebel Marianne Angelle hang out, murder Marat, and try to beat back the extremist insanity in 1793 Paris. This grand and dream-tweaked comedy is about violence and legacy, art and activism, feminism and terrorism, compatriots and chosen sisters, and how we actually go about changing the world. It's a true story. Or total fiction. Or a play about a play. Or a raucous resurrection…that ends in a song and a scaffold. " Performances take place at the Marcelle Theatre in Grand Center. For more information, call 314-556-1293 or visit insighttheatrecompany.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.