St. Louis theatre calendar for the week of August 31, 2020

Now including both on-line and live events during the pandemic. To get your event listed here, send an email to calendar [at] stageleft.org.

MUTE: A Play for Zoom

St. Louis playwright Nancy Bell's MUTE: A Play for Zoom, which was performed live via Facebook on April 5, 2020, is available as a live stream at vimeo.com. "In a world much like ours, there exists a video conference call. And in this call, there are academics, confusion, fire and...one hamster. An experimental theatre piece that steals rabidly from Ionesco, Beckett, real life and Chekhov. The play was for performance on Zoom by Nancy Bell and directed by Lucy Cashion."

The Blue Strawberry presents a Pop-Up Piano Bar with Sir Stryker, "Piano Bar Star of the Holland America Cruise Line," Tuesdays through Sundays from 6 to 10 pm. There is no cover or minimum and sidewalk seating is available. The club is operating under a "COVID careful" arrangement with restricted indoor capacity and other precautions. The Blue Strawberry is at 364 N. Boyle. For more information: bluestrawberrystl.com/

Fly North Theatricals presents three new free digital series. Their new digital line up includes The Spotlight Series, the Grown-Up Theatre Kids Podcast, and Gin and the Tonic. The Spotlight Series highlights the Fly North family of students and actors performing songs from previous FNT shows. In the Grown-Up Theatre Kids podcast you can join Colin Healy and Bradley Rohlf every other Friday as they explore life after drama club and what it means to make a living in theatre far from the lights of broadway. Gin and the Tonic is a "reckless unpacking of music history’s weirdest stories hosted by Colin Healy.” The Spotlight Series and Gin and the Tonic are available at the Fly North Theatricals YouTube channel and the Grown-Up Theatre Kids podcast can also be found on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Sticher, other podcast platforms. All three are updated on a bi-weekly (every other week) basis.

Opera Theatre of St. Louis presents its 2020 Digital Festival with a variety of streaming content, including Opening Night Spotlights and the Spring Artists in Training Recital, available at www.opera-stl.org/season-and-events/thisisotsl-digital-festival as well as on its YouTube channel at www.youtube.com/user/OperaTheatreSTL.

The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis, in collaboration with Baltimore Center Stage, Long Wharf Theatre, The Public Theater and Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company, present Play at Home, a series of micro-commissioned short plays from some of the American theatre's most exciting and prominent playwrights. These new plays – which all run 10 minutes or less – are available for the public to download, read and perform at home for free at playathome.org.

The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis invites budding young writers throughout the nation to develop and submit plays to for inclusion in its all-new WiseWrite Digital Play Festival. “Through the incredible work of our education department, we've posted an online curriculum at repstl.org/wisewrite that teaches students how to construct plays and characters. We’re accepting submissions from students grades 4 through 12 from throughout the nation for inclusion in the festival, which will feature performances by professional actors.” Submissions will be accepted through August 31st. For more information:  repstl.org/wisewrite.

Hamlet vs. The State of Denmark

The St. Louis Shakespeare Festival presents streaming videos from the SHAKE20 festival, including re-imagined, condensed versions of classic Shakespeare plays and new takes on old favorites like the mock trial Hamlet vs. The State of Denmark, at the Shakespeare Festival Facebook page at www.facebook.com/STLShakesFest/

The St. Louis Shakespeare Festival is now taking reservations for A Late Summer Night’s Stroll, which will take place in Shakespeare Glen in Forest Park Tuesday through Sunday evenings through September 6. “See the park like you’ve never seen it before on this 80-minute jaunt full of poetry, music and art. Loosely inspired by Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, 'A Late Summer Night’s Stroll' puts you at the center of the story: four lovers’ escape to an enchanted wood and the magical night of transformation that follows. A socially-distant self-guided tour of iconic spots and hidden gems, featuring custom installations, open-air performances and charming vignettes.” The event is free and all time slots are currently taken, but a waitlist is available . For more information: stlshakes.org/production/stroll

The St. Louis Writers Group streams live recordings of previous play reading sessions at their Facebook page. For more information: facebook.com.

SATE, in collaboration with COCA and Prison Performing Arts, presents Project Verse: Creativity in the Time of Quarantine. Project Verse presents two new plays: Quatrains in Quarantine by e.k. doolin and Dream On, Black Girl: Reflections in Quarantine by Maxine du Maine. The performances are streamed free of charge on SATE’s website and Facebook page. For more information: slightlyoff.org.

The Tennessee Williams Festival St. Louis presents Something Spoken: Tennessee Williams On the Air alternating Saturdays at 5 pm on Classic 107.3 FM. Each episode will air live and then be available for streaming at classic1073.org until the day before the next episode is broadcast. Episodes include a production of a Williams one-act play, followed by commentary from Williams scholar Thomas Mitchell.  Currently Hello From Bertha is streaming until September 4. August at the Lake will begin streaming on September 5. For more information: www.twstl.org/something-spoken

Union Avenue Opera offers Sneak Peeks of its 2021 season operas Il barbiere di Siviglia (The Barber of Seville), Les Contes d'Hoffmann (The Tales of Hoffmann) and The Cradle Will Rock on its YouTube channel.

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 theatre calendar for the week of August 24, 2020

Now including both on-line and live events during the pandemic. To get your event listed here, send an email to calendar [at] stageleft.org.

MUTE: A Play for Zoom

St. Louis playwright Nancy Bell's MUTE: A Play for Zoom, which was performed live via Facebook on April 5, 2020, is available as a live stream at vimeo.com. "In a world much like ours, there exists a video conference call. And in this call, there are academics, confusion, fire and...one hamster. An experimental theatre piece that steals rabidly from Ionesco, Beckett, real life and Chekhov. The play was for performance on Zoom by Nancy Bell and directed by Lucy Cashion."

The Blue Strawberry presents a Pop-Up Piano Bar with Sir Stryker, "Piano Bar Star of the Holland America Cruise Line," Tuesdays through Sundays from 6 to 10 pm. There is no cover or minimum and sidewalk seating is available. The club is operating under a "COVID careful" arrangement with restricted indoor capacity and other precautions. The Blue Strawberry is at 364 N. Boyle. For more information: bluestrawberrystl.com/

Fly North Theatricals presents three new free digital series. Their new digital line up includes The Spotlight Series, the Grown-Up Theatre Kids Podcast, and Gin and the Tonic. The Spotlight Series highlights the Fly North family of students and actors performing songs from previous FNT shows. In the Grown-Up Theatre Kids podcast you can join Colin Healy and Bradley Rohlf every other Friday as they explore life after drama club and what it means to make a living in theatre far from the lights of broadway. Gin and the Tonic is a "reckless unpacking of music history’s weirdest stories hosted by Colin Healy.” The Spotlight Series and Gin and the Tonic are available at the Fly North Theatricals YouTube channel and the Grown-Up Theatre Kids podcast can also be found on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Sticher, other podcast platforms. All three are updated on a bi-weekly (every other week) basis.

Opera Theatre of St. Louis presents its 2020 Digital Festival with a variety of streaming content, including Opening Night Spotlights and the Spring Artists in Training Recital, available at www.opera-stl.org/season-and-events/thisisotsl-digital-festival as well as on its YouTube channel at www.youtube.com/user/OperaTheatreSTL.

The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis, in collaboration with Baltimore Center Stage, Long Wharf Theatre, The Public Theater and Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company, present Play at Home, a series of micro-commissioned short plays from some of the American theatre's most exciting and prominent playwrights. These new plays – which all run 10 minutes or less – are available for the public to download, read and perform at home for free at playathome.org.

The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis invites budding young writers throughout the nation to develop and submit plays to for inclusion in its all-new WiseWrite Digital Play Festival. “Through the incredible work of our education department, we've posted an online curriculum at repstl.org/wisewrite that teaches students how to construct plays and characters. We’re accepting submissions from students grades 4 through 12 from throughout the nation for inclusion in the festival, which will feature performances by professional actors.” Submissions will be accepted through August 31st. For more information:  repstl.org/wisewrite.

Hamlet vs. The State of Denmark

The St. Louis Shakespeare Festival presents streaming videos from the SHAKE20 festival, including re-imagined, condensed versions of classic Shakespeare plays and new takes on old favorites like the mock trial Hamlet vs. The State of Denmark, at the Shakespeare Festival Facebook page at www.facebook.com/STLShakesFest/

The St. Louis Shakespeare Festival is now taking reservations for A Late Summer Night’s Stroll, which will take place in Shakespeare Glen in Forest Park Tuesday through Sunday evenings through September 6. “See the park like you’ve never seen it before on this 80-minute jaunt full of poetry, music and art. Loosely inspired by Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, 'A Late Summer Night’s Stroll' puts you at the center of the story: four lovers’ escape to an enchanted wood and the magical night of transformation that follows. A socially-distant self-guided tour of iconic spots and hidden gems, featuring custom installations, open-air performances and charming vignettes.” The event is free and all time slots are currently taken, but a waitlist is available . For more information: stlshakes.org/production/stroll

The St. Louis Writers Group streams live recordings of previous play reading sessions at their Facebook page. For more information: facebook.com.

SATE, in collaboration with COCA and Prison Performing Arts, presents Project Verse: Creativity in the Time of Quarantine. Beginning on Friday, August 28, at 7 pm Project Verse presents two new plays: Quatrains in Quarantine by e.k. doolin and Dream On, Black Girl: Reflections in Quarantine by Maxine du Maine. The performances will be streamed free of charge on SATE’s website and Facebook page. For more information: slightlyoff.org.

The Tennessee Williams Festival St. Louis presents Something Spoken: Tennessee Williams On the Air alternating Saturdays at 5 pm on Classic 107.3 FM. Each episode will air live and then be available for streaming at classic1073.org until the day before the next episode is broadcast. Episodes include a production of a Williams one-act play, followed by commentary from Williams scholar Thomas Mitchell. Currently Hello From Bertha is streaming until September 4. August at the Lake will begin streaming on September 5. For more information: www.twstl.org/something-spoken

Union Avenue Opera offers Sneak Peeks of its 2021 season operas Il barbiere di Siviglia (The Barber of Seville), Les Contes d'Hoffmann (The Tales of Hoffmann) and The Cradle Will Rock on its YouTube channel.

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 theatre calendar for the week of August 17, 2020

Now including both on-line and live events during the pandemic. To get your event listed here, send an email to calendar [at] stageleft.org.

St. Louis playwright Nancy Bell's MUTE: A Play for Zoom, which was performed live via Facebook on April 5, 2020, is available as a live stream at vimeo.com. "In a world much like ours, there exists a video conference call. And in this call, there are academics, confusion, fire and...one hamster. An experimental theatre piece that steals rabidly from Ionesco, Beckett, real life and Chekhov. The play was for performance on Zoom by Nancy Bell and directed by Lucy Cashion."

The Blue Strawberry presents a Pop-Up Piano Bar with Sir Stryker, "Piano Bar Star of the Holland America Cruise Line," Tuesdays through Sundays from 6 to 10 pm. There is no cover or minimum and sidewalk seating is available. The club is operating under a "COVID careful" arrangement with restricted indoor capacity and other precautions. The Blue Strawberry is at 364 N. Boyle. For more information: bluestrawberrystl.com/

Fly North Theatricals presents three new free digital series. Their new digital line up includes The Spotlight Series, the Grown-Up Theatre Kids Podcast, and Gin and the Tonic. The Spotlight Series highlights the Fly North family of students and actors performing songs from previous FNT shows. In the Grown-Up Theatre Kids podcast you can join Colin Healy and Bradley Rohlf every other Friday as they explore life after drama club and what it means to make a living in theatre far from the lights of broadway. Gin and the Tonic is a "reckless unpacking of music history’s weirdest stories hosted by Colin Healy.” The Spotlight Series and Gin and the Tonic are available at the Fly North Theatricals YouTube channel and the Grown-Up Theatre Kids podcast can also be found on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Sticher, other podcast platforms. All three are updated on a bi-weekly (every other week) basis.

Lara Teeter and Company
at the Muny Centennial Gala (2018)
Photo by Phillip Hamer

The Muny presents the final episodes of The Muny 2020 Summer Variety Hour Live! on Monday and Thursday, August 18 and 21, at 8:15 pm at youtube.com/themunytv. "This week's episode includes archive video clips from A Chorus Line, Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Cinderella, Guys and Dolls, Gypsy, Meet Me In St. Louis, Thoroughly Modern Millie and The Muny Centennial Gala: An Evening with the Stars. The program will also feature new songs and dances from Muny artists across the U.S., a performance by Muny artists and real-life couple Erin Dilly and Stephen R. Buntrock, behind-the-scenes stories, a Broadway-style filmed-at-The-Muny dance piece from Singin’ in the Rain, conceived and choreographed by Broadway performer and St Louis native Richard Riaz Yoder, a live vocal performance from former Muny Kid and Teen, and two-time St. Louis High School Musical Theatre Awards Best Actress winner, Maggie Kuntz, an original video love letter dedicated to the behind-the-scenes Muny family written and performed by Broadway and The Muny’s Colby Dezelick, a series finale sing-along of “Auld Lang Syne,” The Muny Kids and Teens and so much more."  For more information: muny.org/varietyhour/

Opera Theatre of St. Louis presents its 2020 Digital Festival with a variety of streaming content, including Opening Night Spotlights and the Spring Artists in Training Recital, available at www.opera-stl.org/season-and-events/thisisotsl-digital-festivalas well as on its YouTube channel at www.youtube.com/user/OperaTheatreSTL.

The Playhouse at Westport Plaza presents a live performance by magician and illusionist Siegfried Tieber via Zoom on Saturday, August 22, at 7:30 pm. "Siegfried Tieber is one of the world’s great illusionists. He’s been featured on television shows such as Penn and Teller, now he explores magic and illusion in the virtual arena performing his mind-bending magic for intimate audiences.  Thanks to the technology, every attendee becomes an active participant. With plenty of “twists and turns”, his innovative, interactive show will have you scratching your head for days." For more information and reservations: www.metrotix.com.

The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis, in collaboration with Baltimore Center Stage, Long Wharf Theatre, The Public Theater and Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company, present Play at Home, a series of micro-commissioned short plays from some of the American theatre's most exciting and prominent playwrights. These new plays – which all run 10 minutes or less – are available for the public to download, read and perform at home for free at playathome.org.

The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis invites budding young writers throughout the nation to develop and submit plays to for inclusion in its all-new WiseWrite Digital Play Festival. “Through the incredible work of our education department, we've posted an online curriculum at repstl.org/wisewrite that teaches students how to construct plays and characters. We’re accepting submissions from students grades 4 through 12 from throughout the nation for inclusion in the festival, which will feature performances by professional actors.” Submissions will be accepted through August 31st. For more information:  repstl.org/wisewrite.

Hamlet vs. The State of Denmark

The St. Louis Shakespeare Festival presents streaming videos from the SHAKE20 festival, including re-imagined, condensed versions of classic Shakespeare plays and new takes on old favorites like the mock trial Hamlet vs. The State of Denmark, at the Shakespeare Festival Facebook page at www.facebook.com/STLShakesFest/

The St. Louis Shakespeare Festival is now taking reservations for A Late Summer Night’s Stroll, which will take place in Shakespeare Glen in Forest Park Tuesday through Sunday evenings through September 6. “See the park like you’ve never seen it before on this 80-minute jaunt full of poetry, music and art. Loosely inspired by Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, 'A Late Summer Night’s Stroll' puts you at the center of the story: four lovers’ escape to an enchanted wood and the magical night of transformation that follows. A socially-distant self-guided tour of iconic spots and hidden gems, featuring custom installations, open-air performances and charming vignettes.” The event is free and all time slots are currently taken, but a waitlist is available . For more information: stlshakes.org/production/stroll

The St. Louis Writers Group streams live recordings of previous play reading sessions at their Facebook page. For more information: facebook.com.

The Tennessee Williams Festival St. Louis presents Something Spoken: Tennessee Williams On the Air alternating Saturdays at 5 pm on Classic 107.3 FM. Each episode will air live and then be available for streaming at classic1073.org until the day before the next episode is broadcast. Episodes include a production of a Williams one-act play, followed by commentary from Williams scholar Thomas Mitchell.  Currently Hello From Bertha is streaming until September 4. August at the Lake will begin streaming on September 5. For more information: www.twstl.org/something-spoken

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 theatre calendar for the week of August 10, 2020

Now including both on-line and live events during the pandemic. To get your event listed here, send an email to calendar [at] stageleft.org.

St. Louis playwright Nancy Bell's MUTE: A Play for Zoom, which was performed live via Facebook on April 5, 2020, is available as a live stream at vimeo.com. "In a world much like ours, there exists a video conference call. And in this call, there are academics, confusion, fire and...one hamster. An experimental theatre piece that steals rabidly from Ionesco, Beckett, real life and Chekhov. The play was for performance on Zoom by Nancy Bell and directed by Lucy Cashion."

Leslie Craig

The Blue Strawberry presents Leslie Craig with An Amy Winehouse Tribute on Friday, August 14, at 8 pm. “Amy Winehouse gets an acoustic and intimate tribute from the incredible Leslie Craig, who does Amy justice.”  Regarding coronavirus safety, The Blue Strawberry says: “Aerosol scientists suggest that singing is an activity associated with an increased risk of audience exposure to the SARS-CoV2, the virus that causes COVID-19. In order to minimize that risk, the singers in shows presented at Blue Strawberry starting this August will all perform from as far upstage as possible. Our stage is 10 feet deep, and they will perform at the very back of the stage next to the wall. Supporting musicians will all be masked. We will also pull back our front row of seats 4 feet from the lip of the stage. This will create at least 12 feet of space between the singer and the front row of audience members. We have also reduced our inside capacity from 100 to fewer than half that number.” The Blue Strawberry is at 364 N. Boyle in the Central West End. For more information: bluestrawberrystl.com.

Janet Evra

The Blue Strawberry presents Janet Evra with A Night of Joni Mitchell on Saturday, August 15, at 8 pm. “British-Americanjazz singer Janet Evra returns to Blue Strawberry to perform her favorite tunesfrom her favorite singer-songwriter: Joni Mitchell.  This special showwill feature Joni's hits including "A Case of You", "Both SidesNow", "Woodstock", "Little Green", as well as somedeeper cuts.  Janet will talk about her lifelong love for Joni and shareher insights into Joni's wonderful songwriting and storytelling, and she willplay guitar and bass, performing some songs solo and others with her acoustictrio featuring Will Buchanan on guitar and Drew Weiss on drums.”  Regarding coronavirus safety, The Blue Strawberry says: “Aerosol scientists suggest that singing is an activity associated with an increased risk of audience exposure to the SARS-CoV2, the virus that causes COVID-19. In order to minimize that risk, the singers in shows presented at Blue Strawberry starting this August will all perform from as far upstage as possible. Our stage is 10 feet deep, and they will perform at the very back of the stage next to the wall. Supporting musicians will all be masked. We will also pull back our front row of seats 4 feet from the lip of the stage. This will create at least 12 feet of space between the singer and the front row of audience members. We have also reduced our inside capacity from 100 to fewer than half that number.” The Blue Strawberry is at 364 N. Boyle in the Central West End. For more information: bluestrawberrystl.com.

The Blue Strawberry presents a Pop-Up Piano Bar with Sir Stryker, "Piano Bar Star of the Holland America Cruise Line," Tuesdays through Sundays from 6 to 10 pm. There is no cover or minimum and sidewalk seating is available. The club is operating under a "COVID careful" arrangement with restricted indoor capacity and other precautions. The Blue Strawberry is at 364 N. Boyle. For more information: bluestrawberrystl.com/

Fly North Theatricals presents three new free digital series. Their new digital line up includes The Spotlight Series, the Grown-Up Theatre Kids Podcast, and Gin and the Tonic. The Spotlight Series highlights the Fly North family of students and actors performing songs from previous FNT shows. In the Grown-Up Theatre Kids podcast you can join Colin Healy and Bradley Rohlf every other Friday as they explore life after drama club and what it means to make a living in theatre far from the lights of broadway. Gin and the Tonic is a "reckless unpacking of music history’s weirdest stories hosted by Colin Healy.” The Spotlight Series and Gin and the Tonic are available at the Fly North Theatricals YouTube channel and the Grown-Up Theatre Kids podcast can also be found on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Sticher, other podcast platforms. All three are updated on a bi-weekly (every other week) basis.

The Fox Performing Arts Foundation presents the 10th annual St. Louis Teen Talent Competition Finals on Monday, August 10, at 8 pm on PBS Nine. “The final round of the competition was originally scheduled to be performed in front of a live audience in April at the Fox but it was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Thanks to a partnership with Nine PBS, the finalists were provided the opportunity to compete and perform on the Fox Stage for a special broadcast.” For more information:  www.foxpacf.org/

Mark Ballas and company in Jersey Boys (2018)
Photo by Phillip Hamer

The Muny presents The Muny 2020 Summer Variety Hour Live! on Monday and Thursday, August 3 and 6, at 8:15 pm at youtube.com/themunytv. This week's episode includes archive video clips from “Jerome Robbins’ Broadway,” “Jersey Boys,” and “The Unsinkable Molly Brown”; Muny artists and real-life couple Jason Gotay and Michael Hartung performing “Song on the Sand” from “La Cage aux Folles”; members of The Muny’s 2018 cast of “Meet Me In St. Louis reuniting via the Internet to sing the famous title song; and "Do-Re-Mi," a special, filmed-at-The-Muny song and dance performance featuring members of The Muny Kids and Teens.  For more information: muny.org/varietyhour/

Opera Theatre of St. Louis presents its 2020 Digital Festival with a variety of streaming content, including Opening Night Spotlights and the Spring Artists in Training Recital, available at www.opera-stl.org/season-and-events/thisisotsl-digital-festival as well as on its YouTube channel at www.youtube.com/user/OperaTheatreSTL.

The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis, in collaboration with Baltimore Center Stage, Long Wharf Theatre, The Public Theater and Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company, present Play at Home, a series of micro-commissioned short plays from some of the American theatre's most exciting and prominent playwrights. These new plays – which all run 10 minutes or less – are available for the public to download, read and perform at home for free at playathome.org.

The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis invites budding young writers throughout the nation to develop and submit plays to for inclusion in its all-new WiseWrite Digital Play Festival. “Through the incredible work of our education department, we've posted an online curriculum at repstl.org/wisewrite that teaches students how to construct plays and characters. We’re accepting submissions from students grades 4 through 12 from throughout the nation for inclusion in the festival, which will feature performances by professional actors.” Submissions will be accepted through August 31st. For more information:  repstl.org/wisewrite.

Hamlet vs. The State of Denmark

The St. Louis Shakespeare Festival presents streaming videos from the SHAKE20 festival, including re-imagined, condensed versions of classic Shakespeare plays and new takes on old favorites like the mock trial Hamlet vs. The State of Denmark, at the Shakespeare Festival Facebook page at www.facebook.com/STLShakesFest/

The St. Louis Shakespeare Festival is now taking reservations for A Late Summer Night’s Stroll, which will take place in Shakespeare Glen in Forest Park Tuesday through Sunday evenings, August 12 – September 6. “See the park like you’ve never seen it before on this 80-minute jaunt full of poetry, music and art. Loosely inspired by Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, 'A Late Summer Night’s Stroll' puts you at the center of the story: four lovers’ escape to an enchanted wood and the magical night of transformation that follows. A socially-distant self-guided tour of iconic spots and hidden gems, featuring custom installations, open-air performances and charming vignettes.” The event is free and all time slots are currently taken, but a waitlist is available . For more information: stlshakes.org/production/stroll

The St. Louis Writers Group streams live recordings of previous play reading sessions at their Facebook page. For more information: facebook.com.

The Tennessee Williams Festival St. Louis presents Something Spoken: Tennessee Williams On the Air alternating Saturdays at 5 pm on Classic 107.3 FM. Each episode will air live and then be available for streaming at classic1073.org until the day before the next episode is broadcast. Episodes include a production of a Williams one-act play, followed by commentary from Williams scholar Thomas Mitchell.  Currently A Perfect Analysis Given By A Parrot is streaming until August 21. Hello From Bertha will begin streaming on August 22. For more information: www.twstl.org/something-spoken

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.

Review: The Muny's YouTube Variety Hour is just the thing mourning Muny fans

If you’re a fan of The Muny and have not yet had a chance to see an episode of “The Muny 2020 Summer Variety Hour” on their YouTube channel, then, to paraphrase John Adams in “1776”: “Good God, what in the hell are you waiting for?”

Laura Michelle Kelly and the cast of
South Pacific (2013)
Photo by Phillip Hamer

Presented live every Monday and Thursday night at 8:15, the “Variety Hour” (which aired its first episode the week of July 20) isn’t so much a substitute for the postponed 2020 season as it is a logical extension and expansion of the Muny’s commitment to musical theatre. Running around 75 to 90 minutes (including a seven-minute intermission), each episode features archived video clips from previous Muny shows along with a wealth of new material, both live and recorded, by The Muny Kids, Muny Teens, and performers who have made previous appearances on the big Forest Park stage.

It is, in short, a kind of re-invention of the classic Vaudeville show for the digital age, with the additional wrinkle that all the performers are physically distanced—often by many miles. Technically, it’s impressive as hell, and consistently entertaining.

Les Misérables (2013)
Photo by Phillip Hamer

The quality of the archived video clips, while variable, is generally quite good. The sound, which was apparently pulled straight from the mixing board, is excellent, and the single camera often zooms in to give you a view of the performers normally available from only the closest box seats. The August 3rd show, for example, included a performance of “I’m in Love With a Wonderful Guy” (from “South Pacific,” 2013) that brought us right up on stage with Laura Michelle Kelly’s irresistibly charming and fleet-footed Nellie Forbush, while still providing a good view of the ensemble. “One More Day,” the Act I finale of “Les Misérables” from that same year, captured the sweep and grandeur of the 81-member cast while allowing the complex counterpoint of the music to come through with a clarity that is difficult to achieve in a live performance.

And you’re guaranteed a comfortable seat with no rain or oppressive humidity or planes flying overhead. Also no crowds of people walking to the exits during the curtain call. What’s not to like?

Dancer/choreographer
Chloe O. Davis

The best parts of the “Variety Hour,” though, have been the new pieces staged specifically for the show. I have been most impressed with the dance numbers by Muny cast members.

In the first episode, St. Louis native and Muny regular Lara Teeter danced with athletic grace and perky humor through a deserted Muny to “Take Me Away.” The second episode brought us dancer/choreographer Chloe O. Davis (another St. Louis native and Muny veteran) performing a tribute to Black dance legends like Katherine  Dunham, George Faison, Debbie Allen, Hope Clarke, Gregory Hines, Donald Byrd,  Bill T. Jones and Camille A. Brown. Titled “My Tribute to Black Broadway and Black Choreography: I Thrive Now Because You Dared Then,” this bravura piece mixed audio and video clips from the original stars with Ms. Davis’s flawless recreations of their signature moves. I found it totally compelling and was sorry it wasn’t twice as long.

The August 3rd edition, though, brought us the most idiosyncratic and beautifully ambiguous work to date: “undefeat,” by dancer and choreographer Jon Rua (also a Muny vet, but probably best known for his work on the original production of "Hamilton"). Performed to the “Prelude” of Bach’s Cello Suite No. 1, it alternated video of Mr. Rua dancing on the roof of his apartment building with close-ups of him fighting off depression while “sheltering in place” from the pandemic. It was touching and brilliantly conceived.

Beth Leavel and Adam Heller in Gypsy (2018)
Photo by Phillip Hamer

There have been many other highlights over the last few weeks—far too many for a complete list. My favorite moments have included:

• The Muny Kids singing and signing “Happiness” from “You’re a Good Man Charlie Brown”; totally adorable.
• The Muny Teens in a high-energy mashup of “Not While I’m Around” and “Climb Ev’ry Mountain,” from “Sweeney Todd” and “The Sound of Music,” respectively
• Ken Page’s powerful live performance, from the Culver Pavillion just outside the east entrance, of “Memory” from “Cats”
• The cast of 2019's rewritten version of "Paint Your Wagon" singing the rousing "How Can I Wait?"
• Muny artists and real-life couple Beth Leavel and Adam Heller in their home with a thoroughly heartwarming version of “You’ll Never Get Away From Me” from “Gypsy,” which they did together at The Muny in 2018.

As this is being written, you can still see the third episode of “The Muny 2020 Summer Variety Hour” Thursday, August 6, at 8:15 pm on the Muny YouTube channel. It and other Thursday webcasts will include closed captioning as well as descriptive audio.

Mark Ballas and company in Jersey Boys (2018)
Photo by Phillip Hamer

The fourth installment, which airs August 10 and 13, includes archive video clips from “Jerome Robbins’ Broadway,” “Jersey Boys,” and “The Unsinkable Molly Brown”; Muny artists and real-life couple Jason Gotay and Michael Hartung performing “Song on the Sand” from “La Cage aux Folles”; members of The Muny’s 2018 cast of “Meet Me In St. Louis reuniting via the Internet to sing the famous title song; and "Do-Re-Mi," a special, filmed-at-The-Muny song and dance performance featuring members of The Muny Kids and Teens. If it’s anything like the first three, it should be a must see for musical theatre fans in general and lovers of The Muny in particular.

For more information on the “The Muny 2020 Summer Variety Hour,” visit The Muny’s web site.

St. Louis theatre calendar for the week of August 3, 2020

Now including both on-line and live events during the pandemic. To get your event listed here, send an email to calendar [at] stageleft.org.

St. Louis playwright Nancy Bell's MUTE: A Play for Zoom, which was performed live via Facebook on April 5, 2020, is available as a live stream at vimeo.com. "In a world much like ours, there exists a video conference call. And in this call, there are academics, confusion, fire and...one hamster. An experimental theatre piece that steals rabidly from Ionesco, Beckett, real life and Chekhov. The play was for performance on Zoom by Nancy Bell and directed by Lucy Cashion."

Robert Nelson

The Blue Strawberry presents Robert Nelson: Return to Love on Saturday, August 8, at 8 pm. “Return To Love is an intimate evening of classic love songs that capture the elegance of Ellington's Harlem jazz era, the finger snapping cool jazz of the 50's and 60's, and a return to jazz inspired interpretations of soulful contemporary classics.”  Regarding coronavirus safety, The Blue Strawberry says: “Aerosol scientists suggest that singing is an activity associated with an increased risk of audience exposure to the SARS-CoV2, the virus that causes COVID-19. In order to minimize that risk, the singers in shows presented at Blue Strawberry starting this August will all perform from as far upstage as possible. Our stage is 10 feet deep, and they will perform at the very back of the stage next to the wall. Supporting musicians will all be masked. We will also pull back our front row of seats 4 feet from the lip of the stage. This will create at least 12 feet of space between the singer and the front row of audience members. We have also reduced our inside capacity from 100 to fewer than half that number.” The Blue Strawberry is at 364 N. Boyle in the Central West End. For more information: bluestrawberrystl.com.

The Blue Strawberry presents a Pop-Up Piano Bar with Sir Stryker, "Piano Bar Star of the Holland America Cruise Line," Tuesdays through Sundays from 6 to 10 pm. There is no cover or minimum and sidewalk seating is available. The club is operating under a "COVID careful" arrangement with restricted indoor capacity and other precautions. The Blue Strawberry is at 364 N. Boyle. For more information: bluestrawberrystl.com/

Fly North Theatricals presents three new free digital series. Their new digital line up includes The Spotlight Series, the Grown-Up Theatre Kids Podcast, and Gin and the Tonic. The Spotlight Series highlights the Fly North family of students and actors performing songs from previous FNT shows. In the Grown-Up Theatre Kids podcast you can join Colin Healy and Bradley Rohlf every other Friday as they explore life after drama club and what it means to make a living in theatre far from the lights of broadway. Gin and the Tonic is a "reckless unpacking of music history’s weirdest stories hosted by Colin Healy.” The Spotlight Series and Gin and the Tonic are available at the Fly North Theatricals YouTube channel and the Grown-Up Theatre Kids podcast can also be found on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Sticher, other podcast platforms. All three are updated on a bi-weekly (every other week) basis.

Les Misérables at the Muny (2013)
Photo by Phillip Hamer

The Muny presents The Muny 2020 Summer Variety Hour Live! on Monday and Thursday, August 3 and 6, at 8:15 pm at youtube.com/themunytv. “The show will include All Shook Up, Les Misérables, Newsies and South Pacific. The program will also feature new songs and dances from Muny artists across the U.S., a performance by Muny artists and real-life couple Beth Leavel and Adam Heller, and a cast reunion sing-along to “Tomorrow” with members of The Muny’s 2018 cast of Annie.  For more information: muny.org/varietyhour/

Opera Theatre of St. Louis presents its 2020 Digital Festival with a variety of streaming content, including Opening Night Spotlights and the Spring Artists in Training Recital, available at www.opera-stl.org/season-and-events/thisisotsl-digital-festival as well as on its YouTube channel at www.youtube.com/user/OperaTheatreSTL.

The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis, in collaboration with Baltimore Center Stage, Long Wharf Theatre, The Public Theater and Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company, present Play at Home, a series of micro-commissioned short plays from some of the American theatre's most exciting and prominent playwrights. These new plays – which all run 10 minutes or less – are available for the public to download, read and perform at home for free at playathome.org.

The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis invites budding young writers throughout the nation to develop and submit plays to for inclusion in its all-new WiseWrite Digital Play Festival. “Through the incredible work of our education department, we've posted an online curriculum at repstl.org/wisewrite that teaches students how to construct plays and characters. We’re accepting submissions from students grades 4 through 12 from throughout the nation for inclusion in the festival, which will feature performances by professional actors.” Submissions will be accepted through August 31st. For more information:  repstl.org/wisewrite.

Hamlet vs. The State of Denmark

The St. Louis Shakespeare Festival presents streaming videos from the SHAKE20 festival, including re-imagined, condensed versions of classic Shakespeare plays and new takes on old favorites like the mock trial Hamlet vs. The State of Denmark, at the Shakespeare Festival Facebook page at www.facebook.com/STLShakesFest/

The St. Louis Shakespeare Festival is now taking reservations for A Late Summer Night’s Stroll, which will take place in Shakespeare Glen in Forest Park Tuesday through Sunday evenings, August 12 – September 6. “See the park like you’ve never seen it before on this 80-minute jaunt full of poetry, music and art. Loosely inspired by Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, 'A Late Summer Night’s Stroll' puts you at the center of the story: four lovers’ escape to an enchanted wood and the magical night of transformation that follows. A socially-distant self-guided tour of iconic spots and hidden gems, featuring custom installations, open-air performances and charming vignettes.” The event is free, but time slots must be reserved in advance. For more information: stlshakes.org/production/stroll

The St. Louis Writers Group streams live recordings of previous play reading sessions at their Facebook page. For more information: facebook.com.

The Tennessee Williams Festival St. Louis presents Something Spoken: Tennessee Williams On the Air alternating Saturdays at 5 pm on Classic 107.3 FM. Each episode will air live and then be available for streaming at classic1073.org until the day before the next episode is broadcast. Episodes include a production of a Williams one-act play, followed by commentary from Williams scholar Thomas Mitchell.  Currently This Property in Condemned is streaming until August 7, when A Perfect Analysis Given By A Parrot will air. For more information: www.twstl.org/something-spoken

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.