St. Louis theatre calendar for the week of July 19, 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.

Alton Little Theater presents the musical The Full Monty through July 25 at 2450 North Henry in Alton, IL.  "Based on the cult hit film of the same name, the Tony Award Nominee is filled with honest affection, engaging melodies, and the most highly anticipated closing number of any show!." For more information, call 618.462.6562 or visit altonlittletheater.org.

Arts for Life presents an on-demand video stream of their fifth annual Theatre Mask Awards, honoring excellence in community theatre productions during 2020, on their YouTube channel. Act Two Theatre’s production of the farce “Who’s in Bed with the Butler?” leads this year’s Theatre Mask Awards nominations with nine. Alton Little Theater, with its two productions of “Inherit the Wind” and “The Miracle Worker,” earned 12 nominations in total – six for each. Two classic comedies by Clayton Community Theatre, “The Philadelphia Story,” and Monroe Actors Stage Company, “The Solid Gold Cadillac,” both received eight nominations apiece. Arts For Life announced the TMA nominations on March 12, during the nonprofit organization’s first-ever virtual trivia night. For more information: www.artsforlife.org

The Blue Strawberry presents a singers open mic hosted by Meghan Kirk with Ron Bowman at the piano Tuesday, July 20, from 7 to 9:30 pm. Singers are asked to bring music in their key. The Blue Strawberry is on North Boyle in the Central West End. For more information: bluestrawberrystl.com.

Meghan Kirk

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 Blue Strawberry is on North Boyle in the Central West End. For more information: bluestrawberrystl.com.

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." This and many other Circus Harmony videos are available at the Circus Harmony YouTube channel.

Circus Harmony offers Summer Circus Camps for ages 7-17 through August 13.  "Registration is open for our summer camps and classes for ages three through adult in our circus ring at City Museum! You can also schedule private lessons or book us to come and teach where you are!"  For more information: circusharmony.org.

ERA Theatre presents the radio play SHE by Nancy Bell with music by Joe Taylor and Lyrics by Nancy Bell via on-demand streaming  "SHE controls the radio station of the fascist regime in power. SHE's also the star of the broadcast. Her recording studio abounds with music and oysters. But in the nearby government camps full of misfits and would-be revolutionaries, only torture and starvation is thick on the ground. Tonight, however, SHE's realm feels different. The bombs sound closer. Time moves faster. But SHE will finish her radio show, and it will be her finest. If executing every number in the broadcast means some people need to die, so be it; it is a small sacrifice. The citizens need her and she will not let them down." SHE is available for digital purchase via bandcamp at eratheatre.bandcamp.com. For more information: www.eratheatre.org

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 Lemp Mansion Murder Mystery Dinner Theatre presents Clueless through August 28. "Welcome to the world of big business, old mansions and family politics. You’re invited To the birthday celebration of the oldest, (and richest), man in town. Lucky you! Some would kill for the opportunity to meet Barnabas Barnaby Baggs, the famous Pickle Baron. He sure has made a lot of enemies on his rise to the top! I hope none of his enemies tries to kill him tonight. But if they do, will you know who did it? Maybe his latest girlfriend? The angry ex-wife? the spoiled nephew? Perhaps the jealous competitor? …Or You? Regardless, you’ll have to figure it whodunnit because we’re Clueless!" The Lemp Mansion is at 3322 DeMenil Place in south city. For more information: www.lempmansion.com

Joe Hanrahan

The Midnight Company presents Joe Hanrahan in his one-man play Now Playing Third Base for the St. Louis Cardinals...Bond, James Bond Thursday through Saturday at 8 pm and Sunday at 2 pm, July 22-25. "Now Playing Third Base for the St. Louis Cardinals...Bond, James Bond concerns  a teen-age boy in 1964.  JFK’s assassination still casts a pall on the nation.  The Beatles’ emergence in February of ’64 starts to lighten the mood.  The Cardinals continue the good times in St. Louis with a mad dash toward the pennant.  And when a new movie hero hits the screens that summer, a bunch of boys on a baseball field have their first theatre experience, when one of their gang offers a spirited one-man show of FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE.  Throughout, the playwright draws links between what’s happened and happening -  from JFK to James Bond; from segregation in St. Louis to segregation in baseball’s Southern Leagues and at Florida stadiums where The Beatles played; WWII veterans from hardcore British film production crews to JFK hit squads; from the first cave man who stood up by the fire to the theatre musings of Peter Brook…most of it swirling in front of the eyes of a young boy, most of it sharp memories of the time it was." Performances take place at The Chapel, 6238 Alexander. For more information: midnightcompany.com.

Moonstone Theatre Company presents Moonstone Connections, a series of in-depth interviews with arts leaders by company founder Sharon Hunter. The latest episode features musical theatre composer and director Kevin Connors. New episodes air the third Tuesday of each month; see linktr.ee/moonstoneconnections for more information.

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. Louis Writers' Group presents a reading of the new play The Huddled Masses: Part 2, The Kike by Bradford Slavik on Tuesday, July 20 at 6:30 pm via live in person and via  Zoom. "The Huddled Masses is a cycle of four one-act plays telling the story of three families, the McFeeneys, the Rosensteins, the Tanakas, and the Bukharis through 160 years of American immigration and history. In Part 1 – The Kike Chiam Rosenstein arrives as an Ellis Island Immigrant in 1896. His experience as a Jew, knowing only the Ghettos of Polish Russia, is severely stressed by the bewildering assortment of races, ethnicities, and a written language he can’t read, that he encounters in his new home. The only thing familiar is the anti-Semitism of some Americans.In the end, America to him becomes the help and friendship from an unlikely source in the form of a young political Boss, Ian McFeeney." The reading takes place upstairs at Big Daddy's, 1000 Sidney in Soulard. For more information, visit the St. Louis Writers' Group Facebook page.

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.

Stray Dog Theatre’s Silver Stage Program presents an on-demand streaming audio version of Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar. The production features a cast of actors exclusively over the age of 55. For more information: straydogtheatre.org.

West End Players Guild holds auditions for the four plays in its upcoming 2021-2022 season on Saturday, July 24thh at the theatre in the Union Avenue Christian Church in the Central West End.  As a public health precaution, the auditions will be held in four separate sessions, beginning at 10 a.m. and ending at 6:00 p.m. For more information: westendplayers.org/auditions/

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.