Symphony Preview: We three (Stéphane, Lenonard, and me)

The St. Louis Symphony Orchestra (SLSO) concerts this weekend (October 1 and 2) open with an example of something that I have in common with Leonard Slatkin and Stéphane Denève—unlikely as that might seem.

Leonard Slatkin
Photo courtesy of the SLSO

Back when I was doing a weekly radio show on KDHX, one of my favorite things was to play two or more pieces one after the other, without pause, because I thought they made a logical unit and/or because doing so allowed listeners to hear them in a different light. It didn’t matter whether they were from the same period or the same genre, or much of anything else; music was music, and I wanted my listeners to appreciate that the arbitrary barriers created by marketing departments were meant to be demolished.

I no longer have a weekly show, but SLSO Conductor Laureate Leonard Slatkin has one called “The Slatkin Shuffle” that does much the same thing I used to do. Needless to say, I highly recommend it.

Current SLSO Music Director Stéphane Denève is fond of doing something similar, but on the concert stage. He finds works that go together musically and emotionally and then plays them attacca (without pause), creating something new that is more than the sum of its parts. We had a striking example of that in 2019, when he played Vaughan Williams’s “The Lark Ascending” and “Serenade to Music” together. The result, as I wrote back then, was “one of the most beautiful things I've ever head at Powell Hall.”

This weekend, Denève opens his SLSO concerts with a set of three works that work rather well as a matched set, even though they span nearly a century and reflect three very different approaches to composition: the string orchestra version of Caroline Shaw’s “Entr’acte” (2014), Charles Ives’s “The Unanswered Question” (1908), and Christopher Rouse’s “Rapture” (2000). “I was curious to see what happened if we played the first three pieces together, without a break,” Denève says in the orchestra’s program notes. “I love the idea that when you listen to something it influences the way you enter into the other musical worlds.”

Caroline Shaw
Photo: Kait Moreno

Last heard here in its original string quartet version as part of last year’s chamber music festival, “Entr’acte” is, among other things, a virtuoso study in just how much sonic variety a person can get out of a string section. There are some eerie harmonics, creative use of pizzicato, and at one point, something that sounds rather like an amiable conversation among a quartet of cats. On her publications web site, Shaw says "Ent'racte" "was written in 2011 after hearing the Brentano Quartet play Haydn’s Op. 77 No. 2—with their spare and soulful shift to the D-flat major trio in the minuet. It is structured like a minuet and trio, riffing on that classical form but taking it a little further." I'd say it takes the idea quite a bit further, and with intriguing results. You can hear the original quartet version as part of my custom Spotify playlist for this weekend’s concerts and the string orchestra version on YouTube in a 2019 performance by the Kaleidoscope Chamber Orchestra.

From the quiet end of “Entr’acte” we move to the quiet beginning of Charles Ives's enigmatic “The Unanswered Question,” which is essentially a six-minute contemplation of the difficulty in finding The Meaning of Life in a vast and possibly empty universe. Musically, the universe is played by the strings, which calmly play cosmic chords that Ives described as "the silences of the Druids." Against this harmonic vastness, the solo trumpet intones four notes constituting (in Ives's words) the "perennial question of existence." A quartet of flutes tries (and fails) to provide an answer, finally deteriorating into chaos and silence. The trumpet asks its question one final time, but (true to the title) there's no answer.

Christopher Rouse’s “Rapture” provides that answer, according to Denève, and the answer is “love—the ecstasy of love, the light of love.”

In this, he is supported by the composer’s own description of his work:

I used the word "rapture" to convey a sense of spiritual bliss, religious or otherwise. With the exception of my Christmas work, Karolju, this is the most unabashedly tonal music I have composed. I wished to depict a progression to an ever more blinding ecstasy, but the entire work inhabits a world devoid of darkness—hence the almost complete lack of sustained dissonance.

Christopher Rouse
Photo by Jeffrey Herman

If you listen to the performance by Alan Gilbert and the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra on my playlist, I think you’ll have to agree that his description could not be more accurate. Indeed, in the wild euphoria of its final moments, the work reminds me of nothing so much as a more concise and less lubricious version of a work with a similar title: the “Poem of Ecstasy” by Alexander Scriabin. They both cover very similar emotional ground, although Scriabin, a notorious womanizer, was more explicit about the kind of “ecstasy” he had in mind. Rouse’s rapture is more all-encompassing, in my view.

“One of my little quotes I use once in a while,” said Rouse in a 2018 interview, “is ‘man does not live by dread alone.’ So I don't want to write music that is always dark and probing…sometimes it's just nice to—I won't say "take a holiday" because there's never a point at which composing is a holiday—but I hope that the music sounds as though we're on holiday a bit.” In “Rapture,” it’s a holiday that includes one heck of a party.

Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 3 in D minor, Op. 30, closes the concerts this weekend. Fiercely difficult, it's a reminder of what a prodigious pianist Rachmaninoff was. For many years after its premiere, its only real advocate was the composer himself. Even the virtuoso to whom the piece is dedicated, Josef Hofmann, never attempted to perform it in public. It wasn't until the great Vladimir Horowitz recorded it in 1930 and began to actively promote it that it started to rise in popularity. These days it's so much a part of the standard repertoire that two of the finalists in the 2013 Van Cliburn International Piano Competition picked it for their final-round concerts.

Still, it's not the sort of thing a pianist takes on lightly. Fortunately the soloist this weekend is the justifiably celebrated Russian-born Yefim Bronfman, whose prodigious technique should be more than up to the task, as he has demonstrated in multiple past appearances with the SLSO.

An interesting local note: when the concerto had its St. Louis premiere on January 27, 1928, the soloist was Horowitz (the "young Russian pianist," to quote Post-Dispatch critic Thomas B. Sherman). The pianist had arrived in the USA just two weeks previously and had already created a sensation with the New York Philharmonic under Sir Thomas Beecham. Mr. Sherman loved Horowitz ("a powerful tone and a sparkling and expertly controlled technique") but hated the concerto, calling it "as dull a thing as the noted Muscovite expatriate has ever done". History has rather overruled him on that one.

The Essentials: Stéphane Denève conducts the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra and piano soloist Yefim Bronfman in Caroline Shaw’s “Entr’acte,” Ives’s “The Unanswered Question,” Christopher Rouse’s “Rapture,” and Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 3. Performances are Friday at 10:30 am and Saturday at 8 pm, October 1 and 2. There will also be a special “Crafted” series performance of Denève's rousing Tchaikovsky Symphony No. 4 Friday at 6:30 pm that includes “happy hour” drink specials at the SLSO bars.

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

P.S.: The titles of these preview articles are sometimes obscure reference to bits of cultural effluvia that my brain has accumulated over the decades. From now on I will footnote them if I think that’s advisable. The title of this article refers to the pop song “We Three (My Echo, My Shadow, and Me),” written in 1939 by Nelson Cogane, Sammy Mysels, and Dick Robertson. It was a #3 Billboard hit for both The Ink Spots and Frank Sinatra in 1940.

Symphony Review: The SLSO starts a new season with banners flying

The St. Louis Symphony Orchestra (SLSO) closed its 21/22 season opener last weekend (Saturday and Sunday, September 25 and 26) with a rouser of a Tchaikovsky Symphony No. 4 under the baton of Music Director Stéphane Denève. It was a performance that did not stint on the composer's high drama while still giving the quieter moments a sense of hushed intensity that I haven't always heard in this work.

[Find out more about the music with my symphony preview.]

Stéphane Denève

That strong contrast, of course, only made the big moments that much more compelling. The first movement coda, for example, was particular shattering, partly because of the incredibly wide dynamic and expressive range of everything that had gone before it. Indeed, the conclusion of the second movement and the opening of the third were so hushed as to be nearly inaudible, which proved very effective—the aural equivalent of an extreme close-up. This was a very different take on the Tchaikovsky Fourth from the high-energy, magisterial view John Storgårds took of it here in 2017, but it was every bit as rewarding. It was a reminder that this is no single "best of" interpretation of a great work.

The orchestra was in fine form, with many memorable solo performances and excellent work by the individual sections. The horns were powerful, and in the third movement the string pizzicati were pristine, and the woodwinds brought a balletic grace to the trio section. Principal Oboe Jelena Dirks’s solo in the opening of the second movement was a thing of beauty. Kudos also to Associate Principal Bassoon Andy Gott and (I think) Alan Stewart for his heroic delivery of the insanely fast cymbal part in the finale.

Composer/violinist
Jessie Montgomery

As has been customary for a while now for the season opener, the concert begins with an arrangement by John Philip Sousa and Walter Damrosch of “The Star Spangled Banner,” during which many of us in the audience join in and hope the key isn’t too high. Less customary was the work that followed this season’s first concert: Jessie Montgomery's brilliantly inventive "Banner." Written in response to a 2014 commission by the Sphinx Organization and the Joyce Foundation to celebrate the 200th anniversary of our national anthem, this imaginative work incorporates bits of our own national anthem with other anthems, including "Lift Every Voice and Sing." There are also evocations of marching bands, fiddle tunes, and even a Native American drum circle.

The piece often treats the first-chair string players as a kind of separate solo group, concerto grosso style, and provides a vigorous workout for everyone. It got an incisive, precise, and tremendously spirited reading by Denève and the orchestra.

Up next was another local premiere, Anna Clyne's moving cello concerto "Dance," performed for the first time with actual dancing, courtesy of members of The Big Muddy Dance Company and choreographer Kirven Douthit-Boyd. The cello soloist was Inbal Segev, for whom the work was written.

Inspired by the poem of the same name by 13th-century Persian poet Jalāl ad-Dīn Mohammad Rūmī (more commonly referred to as Rumi), “Dance” bases each of its five brief movements (4 to 6 minutes each) on a stanza of the poem:

Dance, when you're broken open.
Dance, if you've torn the bandage off.
Dance in the middle of the fighting.
Dance in your blood.
Dance, when you're perfectly free.

Clyne’s score renders the lines of the poem in powerful and often surprising ways that don’t always reflect the literal text. There’s the expected violence for “if you’ve torn the bandage off,” for example, but for “in the middle of the fighting” we’re transported not into the heat of battle but rather to the inner stillness that makes it possible to survive that battle. The dancers added another interpretative layer to it all, sometimes enhancing the music and sometimes creatively playing against it.

Inbal Segev
Photo by Grant Legan

The result was a rich musical and visual feast, highlighted by Segev’s extraordinary virtuosity in the solo role. The music calls for a wide range of techniques and makes demanding use of the cello’s range. Segev delivered it all, in a performance that seamlessly blended outstanding technique and intense emotional commitment.

In his introductory remarks, Denève noted that this inaugural program of the season was intended “to celebrate our resilience together” as a community in a difficult and challenging time. I think it succeeded.

Welcome back, SLSO. We have missed you. The season continues this weekend (October 1 and 2) as Yefim Bronfman returns for a concert featuring Rachmaninoff's titanic Piano Concerto No. 3. Note that proof of vaccination is required along with a picture ID, and you'll have to present both before you can enter Powell Hall. Masks are also required except when eating and drinking. And, yes, we're back to full-length concerts with an intermission, so you'll have plenty of chances to grab a drink or a snack at one of the Powell Hall bars.

For more information, visit the SLSO web site or download the SLSO app for iOS or Android. The SLSO site is also the place to go for a recording of Saturday evening's performance of the Tchaikovsky Fourth; just click on About—Radio Broadcasts. It will be available for until October 18 or thereabouts. "Banner" and "Dance" are not, alas, part of that stream, but you can find performances of both on my custom YouTube playlist.

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

Cabaret Review: Deano's back and Dean's got him

When I reviewed Dean Christopher’s Dean Martin tribute show, “Everybody Loves Somebody Some Time,” at the Blue Strawberry last March, I described it as “rock-solid entertainment.” Christopher brought it back to the Strawberry last Friday (September 24th) and, after seeing it again, I’m of no mind to change that assessment.

Dean Christopher as Dean Martin sings "Houston"
Photo by Chuck Lavazzi

The show was, for one thing, largely unchanged from last year. With one notable exception (see below) the song list was exactly the same. Christopher still has Martin's vocal quality and loose-limbed drunk act down pat. Pianist and music director Joe Dreyer is still the perfect musical and comic foil in his role as Kermit "Ken" Lane, who was the real Martin's pianist and music director on "The Dean Martin Show"—a fact which will surprise nobody who has seen Joe’s own cabaret act with his wife Rosemary.

In short, everything about “Everybody Loves Somebody Some Time” that made it so much fun last March was still true this past Friday. So rather than repeat all praise I heaped on it back then, I’ll just refer you back to that original review. Same songs, same great fun.

Instead, let’s talk about what was different, focusing on that addition to the song list. The response from the audience, many of whom were clearly regular followers of Christopher’s show, was enthusiastic as usual—so much so, in this case, that Christopher broke with tradition by performing an actual encore.

And not just any encore. It was the 1967 Bob Thiele (a.k.a. “George Douglas“ and George David Weiss hit “What a Wonderful World.” Unlike the rest of numbers in the evening, “What a Wonderful World” was never recorded by Dean Martin.  But it was an international hit for Louis Armstrong—the first of the four (count ‘em, four) singers that Christopher impersonated with great success while singing it (the other three were Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis Jr., and of course, Martin himself).

Dean Christopher and Joe Dreyer
Photo by Chuck Lavazzi

That was impressive enough. What made it even more so was the fact that the encore was entirely unplanned. Dreyer gave Christopher a good key (E-flat) and Christopher just took off with it while Dreyer improvised the accompaniment. Christopher does something similar in his “Rat Pack Christmas" show in which he sings “The Twelve Days of Christmas” as a dozen different Hollywood personalities, but that’s scripted in advance. This was purely off the cuff, which is really rather amazing.

The only fly in the ointment was the wireless body mic the Strawberry had provided, which insisted on dropping in and out at random intervals during the evening. It’s the sort of thing that will throw even the most seasoned performer off his stride and while Christopher coped with it gracefully (and in character, no less), it did cause the energy to drop at times while the sound tech tried, without much success, to fix the problem.

To quote a lyric from one of Martin’s hits, “ain’t that a hole in the boat?” Fortunately, the S.S. Dean Martin Christopher appears to be as unsinkable as Molly Brown and a fine time was had by all.

Dean Christopher returns to St. Louis this November and December at The Sheldon Concert Hall with his not-to-be-missed “Rat Pack” show; see his web site for details.

Cabaret, jazz, and other music events continue at The Blue Strawberry on North Boyle. Currently the club requires proof of vaccination and masking, except when eating or drinking, and tables are spaced far enough apart to inspire confidence. For more information, visit the Blue Strawberry web site.

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

St. Louis theatre calendar for the week of September 27, 2021

Now including both on-line and live events during the pandemic. Your event information should be in text format (i.e. not part of a graphic), but feel free to include publicity stills. To get your event listed here, send an email to calendar [at] stageleft.org.

The Bissell Mansion Murder Mystery Dinner Theatre presents Class Reunions Can Be Murder through October 31st at the Bissel Mansion, 4426 Randall Place. For more information: www.bissellmansiontheatre.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.

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

First Run Theatre presents Spectrum 2021: A Festival of Short Plays Fridays and Saturdays at 8 and Sundays at 2 pm through October 3. "An evening of ten-minute plays is a rarity, and an evening of eight world premieres is rarer still, but that that is what First Run Theatre is offering this Fall. Throughout the year playwrights in the Midwest of the USA submit their best short work to FRT, who select the best of the best to produce.  A talented writer can write a beginning a middle and an end, a plot and memorable characters into a ten-page gem. You are invited to come and see for yourself." Performances take place at Theatre Guild of Webster Groves, 517 Theatre Lane, Webster Groves, MO. For more information: firstruntheatre.org.

The Lemp Mansion Murder Mystery Dinner Theatre and Jest Mysteries present The Haunted Hunter through through October 30th. "The rumors are true... this place is haunted!  And the word on the street is The Lemp Mansion’s most famous ghost is going to make an appearance tonight!  Lots of famous sleuths, detectives and ghost hunters from around the world will be here to catch a glimpse of our resident apparition.  But some seem to have more than just a passing interest in this paranormal investigation, could it be that they have something more sinister on their mind? Gee!  If someone gets whacked, we’ll have plenty of detectives to solve this Halloween whodunnit, won’t we? " The Lemp Mansion is at 3322 DeMenil Place in south city. For more information: www.lempmansion.co

Rock of Ages

Looking Glass Playhouse presents the musical Rock of Ages through October 3. “Rock of Ages is a jukebox musical built around classic rock songs from the 1980s, especially from the famous glam metal bands of that decade. The musical features songs from Styx, Journey, Bon Jovi, Pat Benatar, Twisted Sister, Steve Perry, Poison and Europe, among other well-known rock bands.” Performances take place at 301 West St. Louis Street in Lebanon, IL. For more information: lookingglassplayhouse.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 John O’Brien, who currently serves as Director of Programming for The Fabulous Fox Theatre in St. Louis, where he is responsible for programming the U.S. Bank Broadway Series.  New episodes air the third Tuesday of each month; see linktr.ee/moonstoneconnections for more information.

New Line Theatre presents the musical The Story of My Life September 30 through October 23. “Just two New Line actors, Chris Kernan and Jeffrey M. Wright, along with artistic director Scott Miller on keyboard, in one of the most intimate evenings of musical theatre in the company’s 30 year history, telling a story all about stories, and the effect we have on other lives, usually without realizing it. Neil Bartram and Brian Hill's THE STORY OF MY LIFE follows the friendship of Alvin and Thomas, two lifelong friends from a small town who are reunited after Alvin's mysterious death. Thomas struggles to write Alvin's eulogy, so Alvin shows up to help the two of them take an amazing journey back through the story of their friendship, as Alvin searches through the manuscripts and stories in Thomas' mind. And though Thomas is trying to write about his best friend, he ends up finding his own story in the process and coming to terms with the past.” Performances take place at the Marcelle Theater, 3310 Samuel Shepard Drive. For more information: newlinetheatre.com

Opera Theatre of St. Louis presents all six productions of its 2021 festival season, including I Dream a World, the special Juneteenth concert at the Missouri History Museum. streaming on demand through September 30th. Video streams are available on an individual or full season basis. For more information: opera-stl.org.

Dreaming Zenzile

The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis presents Dreaming Zenzile through October 3rd. “At her final concert, South African musical legend and activist Miriam Makeba delivers the performance of her life, raising the conscience and the consciousness of a people. But the ancestors are calling—transporting her through the music and fractured memories of her past on a spiritual journey of reconciliation. Written and performed by Grammy-nominated international music sensation Somi Kakoma, this world-premiere musical is an electrifying portrait of a revolutionary artist’s singular voice and vision.” Performances take place on the Emerson Main Stage at the Loretto-Hilton Center on the Webster University campus. For more information: www.repstl.org

The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis presents St. Louis premiere of The Gradient October 1 through 24. “In this world premiere satire set in the not-so-distant future, a new facility promises to take men accused of sexual misconduct and rehabilitate them into responsible citizens. Steph Del Rosso’s bold new play asks: Can we mass-produce forgiveness?” Performances take place on the Berges Mainstage Theatre at COCA in University City. For more information: www.repstl.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

Zoo Story
Photo by Patrick Huber

The St. Louis Actors’ Studio presents the one-act plays Zoo Story by Edward Albee and The Dumbwaiter by Harold Pinter Fridays and Saturdays at 8 pm and Sundays at 3 pm through October 3. Performances take place at The Gaslight Theater on North Boyle in the Central West End. For more information: stlas.org.

The St. Louis Writers' Group presents the third and final installment of its Festival of One-Act Plays on Tuesday, September 21, at 6:30 pm. The plays are The Girl with the Terry Wall Tattoo by Terry Wall, Brick by David Hawley, Angel  by Aahron Young,  Five Minutes by David Hawley, Downer’s Grove by CJ Zander, and Pirouette by Mario Farewell. The readings take place upstairs at Big Daddy's, 1000 Sidney in Soulard and will also be available via Zoom. 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.

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.

Stages St. Louis presents the musical Jersey Boys running through October 24. ‘Take an exhilarating journey into the music of the cultural phenomenon’s Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons, with JERSEY BOYS, the Tony Award-winning Best Musical! Featuring 30 show stopping performances of the 60s hits that took the group all the way to the top of the charts, including: “Sherry,” “Big Girls Don’t Cry,” “Can’t Take My Eyes Off of You,” Dawn,” and “My Eyes Adored You,” JERSEY BOYS will have you dancing in the aisles and shouting for more!’ Performances take place at The Ross Family Theatre at the Kirkwood Performing Arts Center. For more information: stagesstlouis.org.

Valhalla Cemetery and The Hawthorne Players present Voices Of Valhalla 2021 Fridays at 6:30 pm and Saturdays at 4 and 7:30 pm, October 1 through 9.  Hayrides through Valhalla Cemetery depart every fifteen minutes beginning at 6:30 each evening; matinees take place indoors at the Chapel. In Voices of Valhalla, actors portray some of the noted locals buried in Valhalla.  This  year's characters will include the Superintendent of the Morgue, a mountain man and fur trader, two sisters who were famous photographers at the time of the World's Fair, a conductor of German-American singing societies, a Civil War Medal of Honor recipient, and a beauty queen with a sad story. Valhalla Cemetery is located at 7600 St. Charles Rock Road.  For more information, visit www.hawthorneplayers.info

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.

Symphony Preview: A fall of spring

“Aprils have never meant much to me,” wrote Truman Capote in “Breakfast at Tiffany’s,” “autumns seem that season of beginning, spring.” Anyone involved with the performing arts would have to agree. Fall is when the new season starts; spring is just a continuation.

The arts missed their autumnal spring in 2020 because of the pandemic, although a few of the organizations with deeper pockets—our own St. Louis Symphony Orchestra (SLSO), for one—forged ahead after implementing HVAC upgrades and strict infection control measures, along with much smaller and physically distanced audiences.

Stéphane Denève conducts the SLSO
Photo courtesy of the SLSO

The pandemic is still with us thanks in part to people who would rather spend money on questionable and/or phony “treatments” than get a free vaccine, but with over half the population protected so far, the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra is open for business once again.  

It’s not business as usual, of course. Audience members must show proof of vaccination and wear masks except when eating or drinking, but the programs are back to their original two-hour length, the bars are open, and Powell Hall has been cleared for full occupancy. And, after a year of scaled-back concerts and digital offerings, it will be good to see and hear the band at full force.

For a look ahead at what the season will bring, check out my video interview with Music Director Stéphane Denève on my YouTube channel. If you want to know what’s on tap for the opening weekend concerts (Saturday and Sunday, September 25 and 26), read on.

As has been customary for a while now for the season opener, the concert begins with an arrangement of “The Star Spangled Banner” during which many of us in the audience join in and hope the key isn’t too high. The arrangement, as is also customary, is by American musical icon John Philip Sousa and long-time New York Symphony Orchestra conductor Walter Damrosch (he led the world premieres of Gershwin's "Concerto in F" and "An American in Paris").

Violinist and composer
Jessie Montgomery

The work that comes next, however, is anything but customary: “Banner” for chamber orchestra, written by Jessie Montgomery in 2014 in response to a commission by the Sphinx Organization and the Joyce Foundation to celebrate the 200th anniversary of our national anthem. Running around eight minutes, this inventive piece combines quotes from “The Star Spangled Banner” (or, to be more accurate, from John Stafford Smith’s “Anacreontic Song,” whence cometh Francis Scott Key’s melody) along with the uplifting “Lift Every Voice and Sing” (often referred to as “the Back National Anthem”) and, as the composer writes in notes for the Los Angeles Philharmonic, “historical sources from various world anthems and patriotic songs”.

There are also evocations of marching bands, a Native American drum circle, and even a brief, discordant parody of a crowd attempting to sing “The Star Spangled Banner” “each in his own key, of course” (to quote Tom Lehrer in a different context).  Charles Ives routinely did this sort of thing, and were he with us today, I think he’d enjoy the hell out of Montgomery’s work. You can check it out in advance in a fine performance by Gustavo Dudamel and the LA Philharmonic as part of a custom YouTube playlist I assembled for this weekend’s concert.

If Montgomery’s name is familiar to you, it might be because this is the third time her name has appeared on a SLSO program in the last year. The orchestra performed her sparkling “Starburst” last October and her exuberant “Strum” for string quartet in November as part of the orchestra’s chamber music festival. Montgomery’s music has also started to pop up on classical radio programs like MPR’s “Performance Today,” so her star is clearly on the rise, and justifiably so.

Innovation continues with “Dance” for cello and orchestra by another composer whose work has been gracing the Powell Hall stage since 2012, Anna Clyne.  Inspired by the poem of the same name by 13th-century Persian poet Jalāl ad-Dīn Mohammad Rūmī (more commonly referred to as Rumi), “Dance” bases each of its five brief movements (4 to 6 minutes each) on a stanza of the poem:

Dance, when you're broken open.
Dance, if you've torn the bandage off.
Dance in the middle of the fighting.
Dance in your blood.
Dance, when you're perfectly free.

In a 2020 video on her YouTube channel Clyne, herself a cellist, talks about what a pleasure it was to get back to writing for her instrument and what a positive experience it was to collaborate with Inbal Segev, who gave the work its world premiere with Marin Alsop and the London Philharmonic that same year and who is also the soloist this weekend. The short video is well worth watching, since it gives you a concise and fascinating description of how she set each line to music. It’s an ideal appetizer for Segev’s recording of the piece, which is also available on YouTube on the London Philharmonic’s channel as well as in my custom playlist.

Anna Clyne
Photo: Christina Kernohan

Personally, I find myself returning repeatedly to “Dance” and admiring the powerful and often surprising way in which Clyne has taken inspiration from the each of the five lines. She often does so in ways that are inventive and far from obvious. The phrase “when you’re broken open,” for example, finds expression in serene music in which the solo line floats over static chords in the orchestra, creating what the composer calls “a still, almost ethereal sound world,” as though light were shining through some of those broken fragments. There’s the expected violence for “if you’ve torn the bandage off,” but for “in the middle of the fighting” we’re transported not into the heat of battle but rather to the inner stillness that makes it possible to survive that battle.

In a 2019 interview, Maestro Denève said that it was “very important that the audience understand that the new music we will perform is music that I believe they can love.” I think you’ll find that promise fulfilled once again with his musical choices this weekend.

This weekend’s performances of “Dance” are not only the first to the heard in St. Louis, by the way. They are also the first ever to be accompanied by actual dancing, courtesy of choreographer Kirven Douthit-Boyd and a quintet of dancers from St. Louis’s own Big Muddy Dance Company.

The concerts will conclude with my favorite Tchaikovsky symphony—his Fourth, in F minor, last heard in Powell Hall in 2017 when John Storgårds was on the podium.  He began writing it during a winter of discontent (to paraphrase Shakespeare) in 1876-77.  "Since we last met," he wrote to his friend Klimenko, "I am very much changed—especially mentally.  Not a kopek's worth of fun and gaiety is left in me.  Life is terribly empty, tedious, and tawdry.  My mind turns towards matrimony, or indeed any other steady bond.  The only thing that has not changed is my love for composing.  If the conditions of my life were different, if my desire to create were not balked at every step…I might write something really decent."

His disastrous attempt at marriage in 1877 to a former student, Antonina Miliukova didn't help matters any.  He was gay, she didn't get it, and the entire business collapsed after only a few months.  The following year, Tchaikovsky would refer to his marriage in a letter to his brother Anatoly as "my brief insanity. That man who in May took it into his head to marry Antonina Ivanovna, who during June wrote a whole opera as though nothing had happened, who in July married, who in September fled from his wife, who in November railed at Rome and so on—that man wasn't I, but another Pyotr Ilyich".

Still, by the beginning of 1878, all that Sturm und Drang had resulted in the creation of "something really decent."  Although initially dismissed by critics who were baffled by the first movement's length of (at just over 17 minutes, it takes up about half of the symphony's total time) and unusual structure, the Fourth would gradually gain acceptance and acclaim.  It's now one of Tchaikovsky's most popular symphonies.

As well it should be.  The composer poured all of his hope and despair into this most compact and dramatically expressive of all his symphonies.  From the commanding "fate" motive first intoned by the brasses at the beginning to the nearly hysterical triumph of the finale, this is a piece that grabs you by the lapels and doesn't let go until the end.  I've loved this work from the first time I heard it in a recording by Sir John Barbirolli and the Halle Orchestra on my parents' old console stereo over fifty years ago.  I think you will as well.

The essentials: Stéphane Denève conducts the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra with cellist Inbal Segev and dancers from the Big Muddy Dance Company on Saturday at 8 p.m. and Sunday at 3 p.m., September 25 and 26.  The program consists of Jessie Montgomery’s “Banner,” Anna Clyne’s “Dance,” and Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 4. The concerts take place at Powell Symphony Hall, 718 North Grand in Grand Center.  The Saturday performance will be broadcast live on St. Louis Public Radio.

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

Cabaret Review: Emily Skinner's return to The Blue Strawberry is cause for celebration

When I reviewed Emily Skinner's last appearance at The Blue Strawberry in January 2020, I described it as "a show that did everything right and nothing wrong…it was simply nonpareil."  Having seen her new show, "A Broad with a Broad, Broad Mind,” at the Strawberry last Friday (September 17th), I’m tempted to just file the serial numbers off last year’s review and plagiarize it.

Emily Skinner

Because, despite a Plague Year of enforced idleness, Skinner and her pianist, music director, and long-time friend John Fischer were just as brilliant as they were last January. Skinner still has a powerful and versatile voice that she can use to belt or purr as the material demands. Her acting skills, honed from years on the musical theatre stage (she most recently appeared here as Matron "Mama" Morton in "Chicago" at The Muny in August), remain impressive. And her choice of material was just as wide-ranging and artfully assembled.

That’s not to say there weren’t differences this time around. Inspired by Skinner’s experience as a performer who couldn't perform for over a year, "A Broad with a Broad, Broad Mind” was both more bawdy and more reflective in places than her "Broadway My Way" show last year. And this time around, Fischer got a chance to sing with her, most notably and hilariously in “Schadenfreude” (from “Avenue Q”). Here, and in many other moments during the evening, their rapport and easy camaraderie made their work together a joy to behold.

The placement of “Schadenfreude” in the show also demonstrated the meticulousness with which the set list has been assembled. It followed hard upon a beautifully tender rendition of Billy Barnes’ "(Have I Stayed) Too Long at the Fair," with its rueful reflection on what happens when the music stops and the piper has rendered his invoice. The opening lines of “Schadenfreude”—“Right now you are down and out and feeling really crappy / And when I see how sad you are it sort of makes me happy”—offered a perfect way to make an abrupt transition back to comedy that also made dramatic sense. It was smart and it worked.

There were many other wonderful moments like this in the unfailingly entertaining package that is "A Broad with a Broad, Broad Mind.” There were so many, in fact, that I will limit myself to highlighting just a few that I found particularly delightful.

Let’s start with the opening and closing numbers by Sir Elton John: “The Bitch is Back” and “Thank You for Being a Friend.” Performed with unabashedly campy joy, complete with silly eyeglasses, they were the perfect bookends for the show. There was also more fun than you can shake a stick at (“if that’s your idea of a good time,” to quote Groucho) in Skinner’s “Stumble Along” (from “The Drowsy Chaperone”), which she introduced by noting that “in the last ten years I have played three raging alcoholics. And I don’t even drink.”

John Fischer and Emily Skinner channel
Sir Elton

I loved the simple tenderness of Fred Rogers’ “It’s You I Like” (introduced on “Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood” in 1984) and the perfect combination of lubriciousness and regret in Rodgers and Hart’s “Bewitched” (a.k.a. “Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered”) from “Pal Joey.” Skinner used the suggestive lyrics from the 1940 original (“horizontally speaking, he’s at his very best”) along with a few I didn’t recognize, possibly from one of the revivals. In any case, it lived up to her advance billing as her “favorite sexy standard.”

And speaking of sex, let us rejoice that Skinner once again gave us a Mae West song, done in a way that perfectly captured West’s style and vocal delivery. This time it was West’s pointed attack on censorship “That’s All Brother, That’s All.” West's original recording of it is a treasured part of my LP collection

Wrapping everything up was Susan Werner’s “May I Suggest,” with its inspiring reminder that “this is the best part of your life.”  Skinner introduced it as “something for you to consider in your week ahead,” but I’d broaden that to say it’s something consider every day that remains to you. As Walt Kelly’s Porkypine once noted, "The best break anybody ever gets is in bein' alive in the first place. An' you don't unnerstan' what a perfect deal it is until you realizes that you ain't gone be stuck with it forever, either."

I called Emily Skinner’s appearance here last year a "knockout". So was this. Thanks to Jim Dolan for bringing her back again.

Cabaret, jazz, and other music events continue at The Blue Strawberry on North Boyle. Currently the club requires proof of vaccination and masking, except when eating or drinking, and tables are spaced far enough apart to inspire confidence. For more information, visit the Blue Strawberry web site. For information on Emily Skinner's upcoming appearances, check out her web site.

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

St. Louis theatre calendar for the week of September 20, 2021

Now including both on-line and live events during the pandemic. Your event information should be in text format (i.e. not part of a graphic), but feel free to include publicity stills. To get your event listed here, send an email to calendar [at] stageleft.org.

The Bissell Mansion Murder Mystery Dinner Theatre presents Class Reunions Can Be Murder through October 31st at the Bissel Mansion, 4426 Randall Place. For more information: www.bissellmansiontheatre.com

Dean as Dean

The Blue Strawberry presents  Dean Christopher's Rat Pack: Everybody Loves Somebody Some Time Friday September 24th at 7:30 pm. “In Blue Strawberry's opinion, there is no better or funnier Dean Martin impressionist on earth than Dean Christopher, no one better at mixing it up with his audience, and no one with more affection or admiration for Dino. Cabaret? Theater piece? Vegas act?  You decide as you journey through the music and humor of one of the most beloved entertainers of the 20th century - Dean Martin. Brought to life by award winning actor, singer, and impressionist Dean Christopher, featuring Joe Dreyer at the piano.” The Blue Strawberry on North Boyle requires proof of vaccination and masking as part of its COVID careful environment. 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.

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

First Run Theatre presents Spectrum 2021: A Festival of Short Plays Fridays and Saturdays at 8 and Sundays at 2 pm, September 24 through October 3. "An evening of ten-minute plays is a rarity, and an evening of eight world premieres is rarer still, but that that is what First Run Theatre is offering this Fall. Throughout the year playwrights in the Midwest of the USA submit their best short work to FRT, who select the best of the best to produce.  A talented writer can write a beginning a middle and an end, a plot and memorable characters into a ten-page gem. You are invited to come and see for yourself." Performances take place at Theatre Guild of Webster Groves, 517 Theatre Lane, Webster Groves, MO. For more information: firstruntheatre.org.

The Lemp Mansion Murder Mystery Dinner Theatre and Jest Mysteries present The Haunted Hunter through through October 30th. "The rumors are true... this place is haunted!  And the word on the street is The Lemp Mansion’s most famous ghost is going to make an appearance tonight!  Lots of famous sleuths, detectives and ghost hunters from around the world will be here to catch a glimpse of our resident apparition.  But some seem to have more than just a passing interest in this paranormal investigation, could it be that they have something more sinister on their mind? Gee!  If someone gets whacked, we’ll have plenty of detectives to solve this Halloween whodunnit, won’t we? " The Lemp Mansion is at 3322 DeMenil Place in south city. For more information: www.lempmansion.co

Rock of Ages

Looking Glass Playhouse presents the musical Rock of Ages September 23 through October 3. “Rock of Ages is a jukebox musical built around classic rock songs from the 1980s, especially from the famous glam metal bands of that decade. The musical features songs from Styx, Journey, Bon Jovi, Pat Benatar, Twisted Sister, Steve Perry, Poison and Europe, among other well-known rock bands.” Performances take place at 301 West St. Louis Street in Lebanon, IL. For more information: lookingglassplayhouse.com.

Opera Theatre of St. Louis presents all six productions of its 2021 festival season, including I Dream a World, the special Juneteenth concert at the Missouri History Museum. streaming on demand through September 30th. Video streams are available on an individual or full season basis. For more information: opera-stl.org.

Prison Performing Arts presents Elsinore by David Nonemaker and Eric Satterfield, Friday and Saturday at 8 and Sunday at 2 pm, September 24-26. “Years before Hamlet uttered, ‘To be or not to be,’ things were not yet rotten in the State of Denmark. In Elsinore, an inspired prequel to Shakespeare's classic, both family and kingdom are poisoned by power, lust, envy, betrayal, and murder.  Elsinore imagines the years before Hamlet avenges his fathers' murder - allowing us to experience the precise moment before Hamlet begins - so we empathize even more how the noble prince is made distraught and melancholy by his father’s death and fueled to avenge Claudius' marriage to his mother and succession to the throne.” Performances take place at The Chapel, 6238 Alexander Drive. For more information: www.prisonperformingarts.org.

Dreaming Zenzile

The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis presents Dreaming Zenzile through October 3rd. “At her final concert, South African musical legend and activist Miriam Makeba delivers the performance of her life, raising the conscience and the consciousness of a people. But the ancestors are calling—transporting her through the music and fractured memories of her past on a spiritual journey of reconciliation. Written and performed by Grammy-nominated international music sensation Somi Kakoma, this world-premiere musical is an electrifying portrait of a revolutionary artist’s singular voice and vision.” Performances take place on the Emerson Main Stage at the Loretto-Hilton Center on the Webster University campus. For more information: www.repstl.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

Sweat
Photo by Philip Hamer

The St. Louis Black Repertory Company opens its 45th Anniversary Season with Sweat by Lynn Nottage through September 26th. “As timely as ever, this Pulitzer Prize winner addresses the complexities of race, class and friendship at a pivotal moment in America. This deeply heartfelt drama is crafted with generous humor and tells the story of a group of co-workers who find friendship working together on a factory floor. When layoffs and picket lines enter the picture, these friends must decide if they should look out for each other — or prioritize themselves.” Performances take place at the Edison Theatre on the Washington University campus. For more information: www.theblackrep.org

Zoo Story
Photo by Patrick Huber

The St. Louis Actors’ Studio presents the one-act plays Zoo Story by Edward Albee and The Dumbwaiter by Harold Pinter Fridays and Saturdays at 8 pm and Sundays at 3 pm, September 24 through October 3. Performances take place at The Gaslight Theater on North Boyle in the Central West End. For more information: stlas.org.

The St. Louis Writers' Group presents the third and final installment of its Festival of One-Act Plays on Tuesday, September 21, at 6:30 pm. The plays are The Girl with the Terry Wall Tattoo by Terry Wall, Brick by David Hawley, Angel  by Aahron Young,  Five Minutes by David Hawley, Downer’s Grove by CJ Zander, and Pirouette by Mario Farewell. The readings take place upstairs at Big Daddy's, 1000 Sidney in Soulard and will also be available via Zoom. 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.

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.

Stages St. Louis presents the musical Jersey Boys opening on Friday, September 24, at 8 pm and running through October 24. ‘Take an exhilarating journey into the music of the cultural phenomenon’s Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons, with JERSEY BOYS, the Tony Award-winning Best Musical! Featuring 30 show stopping performances of the 60s hits that took the group all the way to the top of the charts, including: “Sherry,” “Big Girls Don’t Cry,” “Can’t Take My Eyes Off of You,” Dawn,” and “My Eyes Adored You,” JERSEY BOYS will have you dancing in the aisles and shouting for more!’ Performances take place at The Ross Family Theatre at the Kirkwood Performing Arts Center. For more information: stagesstlouis.org.

The Washington University Performing Arts Department presents the A.E. Hotchner Playwriting Festival Friday at 7 pm and Saturday at 2 and 7 pm, September 24 and 25. “This year three aspiring playwrights will take part in a two-week workshop to develop their plays from the page to the stage. Guest dramaturg, Liza Birkenmeier AB '08, a recent playwright-in-residence at New York talent hub Ars Nova will mentor the writers during the workshop, supported by faculty directors and PAD actors.  We invite you to become a part of the playwriting process at the script-in-hand staged reading of each play.  After each presentation there will be a post-show discussion with the playwright and guest dramaturg in which you, the audience, are an integral part of the process and an ongoing participant in the development of each play.” The readings take place at the A.E. Hotchner Studio Theatre on the Washington University Campus. For more information: pad.wustl.edu.

Bloomsday

West End Players Guild presents Steven Dietz's Bloomsday Thursday through Saturday at 8 pm and Sunday at 2 pm, September 23rd through 26th. “Set in James Joyce’s Dublin, the play takes place 35 years ago, and also on one day last June.  Robert, a 55-year-old American college professor, has spent an academic career studying and teaching Joyce’s masterwork, Ulysses.  His interest in the novel dates from one magical day when he was twenty and he met Caithleen, a 20-year-old tour guide for the James Joyce’s Dublin walking tour.  Caithleen won young Robbie’s heart that day and he very nearly took her away to America, but in the end it was not to be. Robert has returned to Dublin for a reunion with Caithleen, now known as Cait.  But when he arrives for his planned rendezvous with Cait, it is Caithleen he finds instead, having somehow traveled back through the years to that day of their first and only meeting.  Caithleen, Cait, Robert and Robbie do a slow dance back and forth through time, reliving younger days, imagining what might have been and wondering if it still might be.” West End Players Guild this season will employ touchless ticketing, socially-distanced seating and indoor masking of all patrons and front-of-house staff and volunteers. Performances take place at the Union Avenue Christian Church, 733 Union in the Central West End. For more information: westendplayers.org.

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 September 13, 2021

Now including both on-line and live events during the pandemic. Your event information should be in text format (i.e. not part of a graphic), but feel free to include publicity stills. To get your event listed here, send an email to calendar [at] stageleft.org.

Alton Little Theater presents Gloria’s Guy Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30 pm and Sundays at 2 pm through September 19. Performances take place at The Showplace, 2450 N. Henry St. in Alton, IL. For more information: https://altonlittletheater.org

The Bissell Mansion Murder Mystery Dinner Theatre presents Class Reunions Can Be Murder through October 31st at the Bissel Mansion, 4426 Randall Place. For more information: www.bissellmansiontheatre.com

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 at 356 North Boyle requires proof of vaccination and masking as part of its COVID careful environment. For more information: bluestrawberrystl.com.

Emily Skinner

The Blue Strawberry presents  Emily Skinner: A Broad with a Broad, Broad Mind Friday at 8 pm and Saturday at 4 and 8 pm, September 17th and 18th.  “In this, her all-new and captivatingly all-in cabaret show, Tony-nominated Broadway star Emily Skinner (Side Show, Billy Elliot, The Full Monty, The Cher Show, Jekyll & Hyde, Dinner at Eight, James Joyce’s The Dead) takes us on a tour of her neighborhood. You don’t get to be a Broadway leading lady without being strong willed. In this show, she lets us see the fight she has (and lets us feel the fight we have) for what she wants and what she believes. A favorite at The Rep in Follies and The MUNY in The Little Mermaid.” John Fischer is the pianist and music director. The Blue Strawberry on North Boyle requires proof of vaccination and masking as part of its COVID careful environment. For more information: bluestrawberrystl.com.

A Call to Conscience Inc. presents Celebration of Survival Friday and Saturday, September 17 and 18, at 7 pm. “Artistic Director Fannie Belle Lebby, describes the show as a ‘choreopoem,’ a phrase coined in 1975 by African American playwright, Ntozake Shange. It is a form of dramatic expression that combines poetry, dance, music, and song. Basically, it’s an opportunity for audiences to hear, share and engage in conversations to help cope with stress and anxiety brought on by more than 17 months of unprecedented living during a global pandemic.” Performances take place at the Centene Center at Grand and Olive in Grand Center. For more information: acalltoconscience.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." This and many other Circus Harmony videos are available at the Circus Harmony YouTube channel.

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

The Lemp Mansion Murder Mystery Dinner Theatre and Jest Mysteries present The Haunted Hunter through through October 30. "The rumors are true... this place is haunted!  And the word on the street is The Lemp Mansion’s most famous ghost is going to make an appearance tonight!  Lots of famous sleuths, detectives and ghost hunters from around the world will be here to catch a glimpse of our resident apparition.  But some seem to have more than just a passing interest in this paranormal investigation, could it be that they have something more sinister on their mind? Gee!  If someone gets whacked, we’ll have plenty of detectives to solve this Halloween whodunnit, won’t we? " The Lemp Mansion is at 3322 DeMenil Place in south city. For more information: www.lempmansion.com

Monroe Actors Stage Company presents Lillian Hellman’s Watch on the Rhine through September 19. “Watch on the Rhine tells the story of an idealistic German who, with his American wife and two children, flees Hitler’s Germany and finds sanctuary with his wife’s family in the United States. He hopes for a respite from the dangerous work in which he has been involved, but his desire for personal safety soon comes into conflict with the deeply-held beliefs which have made him an active anti-Nazi. Told in compelling, human terms, the play is an eloquent and stirring tribute to the brave men and women who, despite all odds, struggled early on to stem the tide of fascism which was soon to spread throughout Europe and the world.” Performances take place at the Capitol Theatre in Waterloo, IL. For more information: www.masctheatre.org.

Opera Theatre of St. Louis presents all six productions of its 2021 festival season, including I Dream a World, the special Juneteenth concert at the Missouri History Museum. streaming on demand through September 30th. Video streams are available on an individual or full season basis. For more information: https://opera-stl.org/streaming.

Somi Kakoma

The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis presents Dreaming Zenzile through October 3rd. “At her final concert, South African musical legend and activist Miriam Makeba delivers the performance of her life, raising the conscience and the consciousness of a people. But the ancestors are calling—transporting her through the music and fractured memories of her past on a spiritual journey of reconciliation. Written and performed by Grammy-nominated international music sensation Somi Kakoma, this world-premiere musical is an electrifying portrait of a revolutionary artist’s singular voice and vision.” Performances take place on the Emerson Main Stage at the Loretto-Hilton Center on the Webster University campus. For more information: www.repstl.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. Louis Black Repertory Company opens its 45th Anniversary Season with Sweat by Lynn Nottage through September 26th. “As timely as ever, this Pulitzer Prize winner addresses the complexities of race, class and friendship at a pivotal moment in America. This deeply heartfelt drama is crafted with generous humor and tells the story of a group of co-workers who find friendship working together on a factory floor. When layoffs and picket lines enter the picture, these friends must decide if they should look out for each other — or prioritize themselves.” Performances take place at the Edison Theatre on the Washington University campus. For more information: www.theblackrep.org

The St. Louis Actors’ Studio presents the one-act plays Zoo Story by Edward Albee and The Dumbwaiter by Harold Pinter Fridays and Saturdays at 8 pm and Sundays at 3 pm, September 17 through October 3. Performances take place at The Gaslight Theater on North Boyle in the Central West End. For more information: stlas.org.

The St. Louis Writers' Group presents a Festival of One-Act Plays on Tuesday, September 14, at 6:30 pm. The plays are Hole in the Ceiling by Andrew Black,  It’s Not Your Fault by Cherie Sampson, Cabin Fever by Aahron Young, The Park Bench by Taylor Kelly, and A Deadly Sin’s Last Supper by Michael Stuart. The readings take place upstairs at Big Daddy's, 1000 Sidney in Soulard and will also be available via Zoom. 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.

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.

The Theatre Guild of Webster Groves presents the comedy Six Rms Riv Vu by Bob Randall through September 19th. “A vacant apartment with six rooms and a river view is open for inspection by prospective tenants, and among them are a man (Paul) and a woman (Anne), strangers when they meet. As the last to leave, they find themselves locked in and though both are happily married, discover a mutual attraction as they wait out the long night ahead.” Performances take place at 517 Theatre Lane at the corner of Newport and Summit in Webster Groves. For more information, visit the Gild's Facebook page.

Bloomsday

West End Players Guild presents Steven Dietz's Bloomsday September 17 through 26. “Set in James Joyce’s Dublin, the play takes place 35 years ago, and also on one day last June.  Robert, a 55-year-old American college professor, has spent an academic career studying and teaching Joyce’s masterwork, Ulysses.  His interest in the novel dates from one magical day when he was twenty and he met Caithleen, a 20-year-old tour guide for the James Joyce’s Dublin walking tour.  Caithleen won young Robbie’s heart that day and he very nearly took her away to America, but in the end it was not to be. Robert has returned to Dublin for a reunion with Caithleen, now known as Cait.  But when he arrives for his planned rendezvous with Cait, it is Caithleen he finds instead, having somehow traveled back through the years to that day of their first and only meeting.  Caithleen, Cait, Robert and Robbie do a slow dance back and forth through time, reliving younger days, imagining what might have been and wondering if it still might be.” West End Players Guild this season will employ touchless ticketing, socially-distanced seating and indoor masking of all patrons and front-of-house staff and volunteers. Performances take place at the Union Avenue Christian Church, 733 Union in the Central West End. For more information: westendplayers.org.

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.