St. Louis theatre calendar for the week of January 25, 2021

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.

The Blue Strawberry presents Open Mic Night with Sean Skrbec and Patrick White Sundays at 7 pm. "Come on down and sing, come on down to play, or come on down to listen and enjoy." The club is operating under a "COVID careful" arrangement with restricted indoor capacity, mask requirements, and other precautions. The Blue Strawberry is on North Boyle in the Central West End. For more information: bluestrawberrystl.com.

Sya Collins

The Blue Strawberry presents Sya Collins in It’s My Birthday and I’ll Sing What I Want To! Saturday, January 30, at 7:30 pm.  "For her 23rd anniversary of life, Sya presents a night of her favorite songs, backed by a few of her favorite musicians (and people) in the world. Trained in classical and jazz performance, Sya brings a fresh, versatile show that will engage every audience member. You’ll hear both old and new school R&B/soul, with a sprinkle of jazz and musical theater. This is sure to be a night of great music, love, and celebration!” The club is operating under a "COVID careful" arrangement with restricted indoor capacity, mask requirements, and other precautions. The show will also be available via live video stream. The Blue Strawberry is on North Boyle in the Central West End. For more information: bluestrawberrystl.com.

Billy Stritch

The Cabaret Project presents Billy Stritch Sings Mel Tormé via live video stream Saturday at  7:30 pm, January 30. "Stritch has wowed audiences all over the world with his rich vocals and virtuosity on the keys. He does the same in this solo evening salute to one of the greatest American singers of all time - the legendary Mel Tormé. Tormé was a virtuoso whose talents ranged from swing to scat to lush ballads. Stritch embodies all of these gifts along with his own brilliance at the piano. Recorded specifically for The Cabaret Project of St. Louis at the historic Bidland nightclub in New York, Billy singing Mel features two great New York sideman and is not to be missed." For more information: thecabaretproject.org.

Circus Harmony in St. Louis and Circus Circuli in Stuttgart, St. Louis's German sister city, present Sister City Circus, on Circus Harmony’s YouTube page.  "Through a series of online meetings, workshops, and classes the two troupes created 6 different circus acts and then filmed them at iconic architectural locations in each of their cities." For more information, visit the Circus Harmony YouTube channel.

Look Into My Eyes

First Run Theatre presents an on-demand streaming version of Look Into My Eyes, a new play by Robb Willoughby, through the end of February 2021. The play can be viewed on First Run's YouTube channel as well as on the First Run Facebook page.

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.

Forgottonia

Fly North Theatricals will present Forgottonia, their new original musical about falling in love, coming of age, and seceding from the United States, streaming for free on YouTube through January 31. "Forgottonia is a 'historical half-truth' about the events surrounding a real life secessionist movement in rural Western Illinois beginning in 1968. While tempests like Nixon and Vietnam rage far from her hometown of Colchester, IL, on this island in the corn, Jane Horn, her peculiar brother Jack, and acting-school drop out Neal Gamm are stuck in the doldrums. However, life is up-ended when a train breaks down in the middle of town bringing the outside world to the middle of Colchester and teeing off a sequence of events that will lead Jane, Jack, and Neal far from home. Forgottonia will be shown exclusively on Fly North Theatricals’ YouTube channel via a series of ‘premiere videos’ set to mimic a normal theatre schedule: Tuesday-Saturday at 7:30 pm, Sundays at 2 pm. All performances will feature an intermission as well as a 'stage door' via Zoom after the performance featuring actors from the show. For more information: flynorththeatricals.com.

The Lemp Mansion Murder Mystery Dinner Theatre presents A Fistful of Hollers through May 8. "Gun slingers, dance hall girls, cowboys, gold diggers, cowboy boots and ten-gallon-hats will abound. Rowdy cowboys will duel to the death as the crooked sheriff watches with glee. But none of these characters are as dangerous as Nasty Nate, he’s the orneriest gun in the west and word is that he’s going to be stirring up trouble at the Lemp Mansion." The Lemp Mansion is at 3322 DeMenil Place in south city. For more information: www.lempmansion.com

Metro Theatre Company presents Jacked! streaming on demand through March 31. "From playwright Idris Goodwin (Ghost, And in this Corner: Cassius Clay) comes the Jack and the Beanstalk story with a modern-day twist. And it’s not just the story that has a fresh take. This all-new virtual production fuses storytelling and poetry with a smart, moving hip hop score and hand-drawn animation based on visuals by artist Nick Kryah – exploring the imaginative boundaries of theater, film, and animation. You and the children in your family join Jack for an adventure that might start with the beanstalk, but follows Jack and his mother as they struggle to live happily ever after." For more information: metroplays.org.

Moonstone Theatre Company presents Moonstone Connections, a series of in-depth interviews with arts leaders by company founder Sharon Hunter. New episodes air the third Tuesday of each month; see linktr.ee/moonstoneconnections for more information.

The Muny presents Attuned: Cast Me at the Muny, a nine-part podcast that "showcases audition tips and funny stories, while offering an inside look at what makes casting a Muny show so challenging." The series is available on demand at the Classic 107.3 web site. For more information: classic1073.org/podcasts

L-R: Angel Riley, Ryan Johnson in
The Pirates of Penzance

Opera Theatre of St. Louis presents an abridged, 30-minute version of Gilbert and Sullivan's The Pirates of Penzance designed to introduce children to the world of Opera. The Pirates of Penzance is available via on-demand streaming through February 6. "As a child, Frederic was accidentally apprenticed to a conscientious but hapless band of pirates. On the day of his 21st birthday, Frederic thinks he’s finally free to explore the world — and meet girls — but some fine print in his contract leads to a surprising twist." For more informtation: opera-stl.org/on-the-go.

The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis presents Cooking, Carols and Cocktails, a four-episode web series combining cooking classes by local chefs, musical performances, and tours of local restaurants, running through the end of January. "Join us in the kitchens of some of St. Louis’ master chefs as they guide us in creating a delectable seasonal spread. While your meal simmers, enjoy exclusive holiday music performances and a special cocktail taught by a guest mixologist. From appetizer to digestif, each of the four episodes in this series brings the best of St. Louis’ culinary and music scenes into your home for a festive feast." Tickets are available for individual episodes as well as for the full series. For more information: repstl.org.

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.

Adena Varner and family

The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis presents a live video stream of the WiseWrite Digital Play Festival running until the end of the Rep's 2020-2021 season. “Step into the imagination of three young playwrights as The Rep presents professional readings of their new plays.” The production is directed by Adena Varner, the Rep's Director of Learning and Community Engagement. For more information: repstl.org.

Deal Orlandersmith in
After the Flood

The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis and All Arts present Until the Flood, written and performed by Dael Orlandersmith, via on-demand streaming. "On August 9, 2014, Darren Wilson, a white police officer, shot and killed Michael Brown, an African American teenager in Ferguson, Missouri. The shooting ignited weeks of social unrest, propelled the Black Lives Matter movement and prompted a controversial investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice. Celebrated writer, performer and Pulitzer Prize finalist Dael Orlandersmith traveled to St. Louis and conducted interviews with dozens of people who were grievously shaken by Brown’s shooting and the turbulent aftermath. From these intimate conversations, Orlandersmith created eight unforgettable characters who embody a community struggling to come to terms with the personal damage caused by these events." For more information: allarts.org

R-S Theatrics presents While the Ghostlight Burns, a virtual discussion series featuring R-S Artistic Director Sarah Lynne Holt in conversation with St. Louis theatre artists, Mondays at 7 pm.  Conversations will be archived at the R-S Theatrics YouTube channel. For more information: r-stheatrics.com/while-the-ghostlight-burns.html

The St. Lou Fringe presents Matthew R. Kerna in original eight-minute solo performance adaptation of Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol, remastered for the virtual stage.  For more information: www.stlouisfringe.com/a-christmas-carol

Come Together

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 Joe Hanrahan's Come Together, at the Shakespeare Festival Facebook page at www.facebook.com/pg/STLShakesFest/videos

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.

Classic Mystery Game

SATE also offers streaming performances of the shows originally scheduled for live 2020 productions: The Mary Shelley Monster Show, As You Like It (produced for SHAKE20, Project Verse, and Classic Mystery Game. The shows are available on their YouTube channel.


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.