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.