St. Louis theatre calendar for the week of February 28, 2022

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 Alpha Players present the comedy The Irish Wake of Patty O’Toole Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30 pm and Sundays at 2 pm  through March 6. Performances take place in the James J. Eagen Center in Florissant. For more information: alphaplayers.org.

Jeanna de Waal

The Blue Strawberry presents Broadway’s Jeanna de Waal on Friday at 7:30 March 4. “Straight from the roller coaster of Diana the Musical - a highly talked about new musical that told the story of Princess Diana and quickly developed a cult following - meet Jeanna de Waal. Hear Jeanna sing for her supper and tell jokes for her Negroni, as she wanders the theaters of the world telling vaudeville tales of the life of a theater actress in an unprecedented time."  The Blue Strawberry is operating under a "COVID careful" arrangement with mandatory vaccination and masking. The Blue Strawberry is at 364 N. Boyle. For more information: bluestrawberrystl.com.

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 on most major platforms including Spotify, Amazon Music, Apple Music, YouTube, and BandCamp. For more information: www.eratheatre.org

First Run Theatre presents Spectrum 2022: A Festival of Short Plays Fridays and Saturdays at 8 and Sundays at 2 pm, March 4-13. Performances take place at The Chapel, 6238 Alexander Drive in Clayton, MO. For more information: firstruntheatre.org   

The Lemp Mansion Murder Mystery Dinner Theatre and Jest Mysteries present Bullets in the Bathtub J through May 7. "Mob bosses, flappers, bootleggers and crooked cops will abound as event attendees are transported back in time to Trixie's speakeasy right in the heart of the roaring 20's. There will be plenty of rowdy characters at this fun, interactive event but none so dangerous as Harry "Bullets" Hyde. He’s the boss of the bosses and he is not too keen on "The Familys" taking over his territory. Parts will be passed out at the door and guests can participate as much or as little as they would like too. Some might be famous gangsters of the past, others may dodge the cops as they bootleg over state lines and a few might even be fun, flirty flappers. When a group like this gets together, it’s almost inevitable that somebody ends up "sleeping with the fishes." The Lemp Mansion is at 3322 DeMenil Place in south city. For more information: www.lempmansion.com

Head Over Heels
Photo: Jill Ritter Lindberg

New Line Theatre presents the musical Head Over Heels March 3-26. “Head Over Heels is the bold, sexy new musical comedy from the visionaries that rocked Broadway with American Idiot, Hedwig and the Angry Inch, Avenue Q and Spring Awakening. Conceived by Jeff Whitty, with an original book by Whitty, adapted by James Magruder, originally directed by Michael Mayer, based on a novel from 1580 (not kidding!) and set to the music of the iconic 1980s all-girl rock band The Go-Go's, this subversive, high-octane, laugh-out-loud love story includes hit songs like, “We Got the Beat,” “Our Lips Are Sealed,” “Vacation,” “Heaven is a Place on Earth” and “Mad About You.” The wild story follows the escapades of a royal family who set out on a journey to save their beloved kingdom from extinction -- only to discover the key to their realm’s survival lies within each of their own hearts. . . though not always in the way they expect. . . and in their willingness to let go of rigid tradition and change with the times.” Performances take place at the Marcelle Theater, 3310 Samuel Shepard Drive. For more information: newlinetheatre.com

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

Stick Fly
Photo by Phillip Hamer

The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis presents St. Louis premiere of Stick Fly by Lydia Diamond through March 6. “The LeVay family’s annual summer vacation to Martha’s Vineyard is thrown into a state of disarray by long-standing tensions, sibling rivalries and a drunken game of Scrabble. This Outer Critics Circle Nominee for Outstanding New Broadway Play explores class, race and generational dynamics through the eyes of a modern African-American family.” Performances take place on the Berges Mainstage Theatre at COCA in University City. For more information: www.repstl.org.

Fireflies

The St. Louis Black Repertory Company continues its 45th Anniversary Season with Fireflies, by Donja R. Love. The production runs through March 6. “Directed by Atlanta-based actor and director Andrea Frye, and featuring Zahria Moore and Eric Conners, the courageous work takes an intimate approach to exploring personal aspects of the Civil Rights Movement. Set in the Jim Crow South, Fireflies tells the story of Olivia, the inspiring speechwriter and force behind her charismatic husband Charles and his freedom movement. When four little girls are bombed in a church, the couple’s relationship is thrown into jeopardy as Olivia begins to believe ‘this world ain’t no place to raise a colored child’." This intimate performance allows viewers to experience the powerful drama from Olivia’s female-led perspective.” Performances take place at the Hotchner Studio Theatre on the Washington University campus. For more information: www.theblackrep.org

The St. Louis Writers' Group presents a reading of the The Piéta Trilogy by Richard Stimac on Tuesday, March 1, at 6:30 pm. “Richard Stimac is a published poet. The Pieta Trilogy of one-act plays is his first attempt at writing drama. One reader suggested Sam Shepard and Harold Pinter as role models, given Richard's tense domestic setting.” The reading takes place upstairs at Big Daddy's, 1000 Sidney in Soulard. For more information, visit the St. Louis Writers' Group Facebook page.

The Washington University Performing Arts Department presents the musical Rent Fridays and Saturdays at 8 pm, Sundays at 2 pm, February 25 – March 6. Performances take place in the Edison Theatre on the Washington University Campus. For more information: pad.wustl.edu.

Webster Conservatory presents The Learned Ladies by Molière, translated by Richard Wilbur, through March 6. “Molière’s timeless comedy satirizes pseudo-intellectualism and social climbing while celebrating the power of true love to expose and conquer hypocrisy. Wilbur’s “lighter-than-air verse upholds the idiom and letter of Molière,” describes a New York Times critic. The translator’s “rhymed couplets are always crisp and playable.” Guest artist Rebekah Scallet, Producing Artistic Director of the Arkansas Shakespeare Theatre from 2011 to 2020, directs. Performances take place in the Emerson Studio Theatre in the Loretto-Hilton Center on the Webster University campus in Webster Groves. For more information: www.webster.edu/conservatory

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.

Digital Symphony Review: The SLSOs Bryan Miller tribute concert comes to HD video

Last November 27 and 28, Gemma New, the former Resident Conductor of the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra (SLSO), returned to Powell Hall to conduct the first of a special pair of concerts honoring the life and work of the late St. Louis Post-Dispatch music critic Sarah Bryan Miller. A live HD video recording of that concert is now available from the orchestra’s web site.

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

A former professional mezzo-soprano and life-long singer, Bryan (as she preferred to be called) died on November 28, 2020 after a long and valiant battle with cancer. She left the SLSO a substantial bequest, which was used to establish the Sarah Bryan Miller Fund to support vocal soloists and performances of choral repertoire with the SLSO. That weekend’s concerts, which featured two works for solo mezzo-soprano, represented the first use of that fund. If you missed this exceptional program in 2021, this is a golden opportunity to experience it in the comfort of your own home.

Mezzo Sasha Cooke in Sea Pictures

The concert opens with the 1898 version of Elgar’s song cycle “Sea Pictures.” Although it uses poems by five different writers (including the composer’s wife, Alice), both the sea and mortality are consistent presences. The latter is often in the subtext or just in the dark orchestral colors of the lower strings and percussion, but it’s always there.

Still, there is a wide variety of moods and imagery in “Sea Pictures,” and mezzo Sasha Cooke (who was so very good in Bernstin's Symhony No. 2 here in 2019) masterfully does them all justice. Her voice is rich and fluid and her acting skills (as you would expect from someone with her opera credentials) vividly bring out the joy of “In Haven (Capri)” (text by Alice Elgar), the religious ecstasy of “Sabbath Morning at Sea” (text by Elizabeth Barrett Browning), and in Richard Garnett’s “Where Corals Lie,” that unfocused, distant stare of someone who is halfway between life and death. Principal Harp Allegra Lilly’s playing here strongly reinforces that feeling.

When I saw this live, Cooke was sometimes overwhelmed by Elgar’s large orchestra, but that’s not an issue with the clear, well-balanced sound in this video, which also makes the lyrics more understandable than they were live. As a bonus, you get a close-up view of Cooke’s impassioned performance that was impossible in the original concert.

Balance issues are also absent in the next work, Jake Heggie’s “The Work at Hand” from 2015. Based on a poem of the same name by late Laura Morefield (1961-2011), who had just been diagnosed with cancer, “The Work at Hand” is, in the words of the composer, “about the difficult and deeply human experience of knowing it is time to say goodbye and let go.” He calls the poet’s language and imagery “particularly striking: origami, the yoga Warrior 1 position, and a shimmering reconnection to nature.”

Elizabeth Chung

Here, again, Cooke is always fully in the moment, making the complex and beautiful text truly live. And the combination of Heggie’s more transparent orchestration and the high quality of the audio engineering make it easy for her to be easily heard and understood. Closed captioning is available, but I doubt that most of you will need it.

Heggie’s arrangement of his own original for voice, cello and orchestra (the latter replacing the piano) is quite imaginative, treating each of the poem’s three stanzas as separate entities; a sensible decision, given their contrasting moods. His use of woodblocks and other “Japanese” touches sets the tone for “Part One: Original Origami”; the militaristic feel of “Part Two: Warrior One” reflects the poet’s vision of defiance; and the ethereal sounds of the harp, woodwinds, and vibraphone provide an otherworldly ambiance for the quiet acceptance of “Part Three: The Slow Seconds.” A transcendent violin solo by Concertmaster David Halen) adds to that sensibility.

SLSO cellist Elizabeth Chung is also a powerful presence here, especially in the highly dramatic solo part that opens and closes the first section.

Despite the fact that the Heggie work was a local premiere and that the Elgar might as well have been (it was last performed by the SLSO 35 years ago), New and the band do a grand job of bringing them to life. If you have seen New in action before, you know she is a theatrical conductor who engages on a very physical level with the score. Her big, sweeping gestures are a kind of 3-D metaphor for the music. The camera also allows you to see the way her deep involvement with the music is reflected in her face—a view normally available only to the musicians.

That striking visual presentation only works, though, because of the rigorous effort that has clearly gone into preparing the piece in advance. Much like a theatrical director, a conductor does the vast majority of their work out of sight of the audience.

Gemma New conducting Scheherazade

That same combination of discipline and visual drama also make Rimski-Korsakov’s popular "Scheherazade," the concluding work on the program, an experience to be savored and one which is likely to live long in my memory.

New is truly in her element here, with a majestic, high-energy rendition of the composer’s colorful fairy-tale world of the "One Thousand and One Nights.” The opening duet for harp and violin is magical, thanks to Lilly and Halen, and the main body of the movement, depicting “The Sea and Sinbad’s Ship,” carries with it an almost visceral sense of the vast ocean and the rocking vessel. “The Story of the Kalandar Prince” is filled with a sense of adventure,with outstanding opening and closing solos by Principal Bassoon Andrew Cuneo and Principal Oboe Jelena Dirks. “The Young Prince and Princess” has just the right amount of romance without a trace of treacle and with some graceful dancing from the muted trumpets, flute, and tambourine. The final movement is a high-definition, big-screen evocation of Rimsky-Korsakov’s rich collage of images: a fair in Baghdad (including some brilliant double- and triple-tonguing from the trumpet section); a shipwreck; and the final, gentle triumph of Scheherazade. Some of New’s tempos here are breathtakingly fast and pack a potent punch.

You will be less than astonished to know that it brings the entire house quickly to its feet. That included everyone in our party when we saw it live.

This video is part of a series of recordings of recent live concerts. Ticket information and a complete list of videos in the series is available at the SLSO 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 February 21, 2022

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 Alpha Players present the comedy The Irish Wake of Patty O’Toole Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30 pm and Sundays at 2 pm, February 25 through March 6. Performances take place in the James J. Eagen Center in Florissant. For more information: alphaplayers.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 on most major platforms including Spotify, Amazon Music, Apple Music, YouTube, and BandCamp. For more information: www.eratheatre.org

Mean Girls
Photo: Joan Marcus

The Fabulous Fox presents the musical Mean Girls, running through February 27.  “Cady Heron may have grown up on an African savanna, but nothing prepared her for the vicious ways of her strange new home: suburban Illinois. Soon, this naïve newbie falls prey to a trio of lionized frenemies led by the charming but ruthless Regina George. But when Cady devises a plan to end Regina’s reign, she learns the hard way that you can’t cross a Queen Bee without getting stung.” The Fabulous Fox is on North Grand in Grand Center. For more information: https://www.fabulousfox.com

The Lemp Mansion Murder Mystery Dinner Theatre and Jest Mysteries present Bullets in the Bathtub J through May 7. "Mob bosses, flappers, bootleggers and crooked cops will abound as event attendees are transported back in time to Trixie's speakeasy right in the heart of the roaring 20's. There will be plenty of rowdy characters at this fun, interactive event but none so dangerous as Harry "Bullets" Hyde. He’s the boss of the bosses and he is not too keen on "The Familys" taking over his territory. Parts will be passed out at the door and guests can participate as much or as little as they would like too. Some might be famous gangsters of the past, others may dodge the cops as they bootleg over state lines and a few might even be fun, flirty flappers. When a group like this gets together, it’s almost inevitable that somebody ends up "sleeping with the fishes." The Lemp Mansion is at 3322 DeMenil Place in south city. For more information: www.lempmansion.com

Last Stop of Market Street
Photo: Jennifer A. Lin

Metro Theater Company presents Last Stop on Market Street through February 27. “Get ready for a heart-thumpin’, toe-tappin’ joy ride in this Motown/hip-hop musical adaptation of New York Times bestselling and Newbery Medal-winning picture book Last Stop on Market Street! CJ is reluctantly staying with his Nana, in a world considerably different from the one he’s used to, always plugged in to his phone and tablet. Guided by his veritable force-of-nature Nana, CJ travels a little closer to his roots and sees that things are not always what they seem. With a spectacular, spirited score by Motown legend Lamont Dozier and his son Paris Ray Dozier, you might find yourself dancing in your seat as you enjoy this vibrant story about connecting to your community. “ Performances take place at the Grandel Theater in Grand Center and also via video stream beginning February 11. For more information: www.metroplays.org/marketstreet

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

Stick Fly
Photo by Phillip Hamer

The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis presents St. Louis premiere of Stick Fly by Lydia Diamond through March 6. “The LeVay family’s annual summer vacation to Martha’s Vineyard is thrown into a state of disarray by long-standing tensions, sibling rivalries and a drunken game of Scrabble. This Outer Critics Circle Nominee for Outstanding New Broadway Play explores class, race and generational dynamics through the eyes of a modern African-American family.” Performances take place on the Berges Mainstage Theatre at COCA in University City. For more information: www.repstl.org.

Fireflies

The St. Louis Black Repertory Company continues its 45th Anniversary Season with Fireflies, by Donja R. Love. The production runs through March 6. “Directed by Atlanta-based actor and director Andrea Frye, and featuring Zahria Moore and Eric Conners, the courageous work takes an intimate approach to exploring personal aspects of the Civil Rights Movement. Set in the Jim Crow South, Fireflies tells the story of Olivia, the inspiring speechwriter and force behind her charismatic husband Charles and his freedom movement. When four little girls are bombed in a church, the couple’s relationship is thrown into jeopardy as Olivia begins to believe ‘this world ain’t no place to raise a colored child’." This intimate performance allows viewers to experience the powerful drama from Olivia’s female-led perspective.” Performances take place at the Hotchner Studio Theatre on the Washington University campus. For more information: www.theblackrep.org

Good People

Stray Dog Theatre presents David Lindsay-Abaire’s Good People Thursdays through Saturdays at 8 pm through February 26. “Margie Walsh just lost her job, is now facing eviction, and can’t seem to catch a break.  When a successful ex-boyfriend from her past moves back to town, Margie hopes he may have the ticket she needs to turn her life around. Will Margie risk what little she has left to find out?” Performances take place at Tower Grove Abbey, 2336 Tennessee in Tower Grove East. Tickets are only offered in physically distanced groups of two or four. For more information: www.straydogtheatre.org

The Washington University Performing Arts Department presents the musical Rent Fridays and Saturdays at 8 pm, Sundays at 2 pm, February 25 – March 6. Performances take place in the Edison Theatre on the Washington University Campus. For more information: pad.wustl.edu.

Webster Conservatory presents The Learned Ladies by Molière, translated by Richard Wilbur, February 26 – March 6. “Molière’s timeless comedy satirizes pseudo-intellectualism and social climbing while celebrating the power of true love to expose and conquer hypocrisy. Wilbur’s “lighter-than-air verse upholds the idiom and letter of Molière,” describes a New York Times critic. The translator’s “rhymed couplets are always crisp and playable.” Guest artist Rebekah Scallet, Producing Artistic Director of the Arkansas Shakespeare Theatre from 2011 to 2020, directs. Performances take place in the Emerson Studio Theatre in the Loretto-Hilton Center on the Webster University campus in Webster Groves. For more information: www.webster.edu/conservatory

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 Review: The SLSO brings a message of peace, hope, and joy

Stéphane Denève opened the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra concert Saturday night (February 12) by declaring his hope that the evening would bring a feeling of “peace and hope and real spiritual joy” to all. I’d say that hope was fulfilled. It certainly was for my wife who, unlike yours truly, was raised Protestant (my dad was devoutly RCC) and attended a church school through sixth grade.

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

I mention that because the underlying non-musical theme was the Protestant Reformation. Indeed, the work that closed the program was Mendelssohn’s “Reformation” Symphony (the second he composed but the fifth and last published), which makes extensive use of Martin Luther’s hymn “Ein feste Burg ist unser Gott.” That’s not to say you had to be Protestant or even very religious to find the evening gratifying—I certainly did and (ahem) heaven knows I’m neither—but I think there was an extra layer of spiritual meaning for those who were.

Eva Kozma

The concert opened with a pair of works by 20th century arrangers/conductors Leopold Stokowski and Walter Damrosch based on Luther’s hymn. Stokowski’s contribution is an orchestration of the original that begins softly and moves the tune around among the different sections of the orchestra before ending with a proud declaration by the entire ensemble, complete with the horns held pavillons en l'air ("bells up" in English) for maximum effect. Overall, it’s less spectacular than his more famous arrangements and a marked contrast to Damrosch’s transcription of Bach’s elaborately contrapuntal “Ein feste burg” Chorale Prelude, BWV 720.

Playing them back to back without pause, as was done this weekend, produced a single, coherent work that opened with simple reverence and built to a jubilant climax. It was beautifully played, with a special shout-out due to Associate Principal Horn Thomas Jöstlein for his solo in the Stokowski and laurel wreaths to the whole band for playing Damrosch’s more complex orchestration with hi-def clarity.

Up next was an aural palette cleanser in the form of Haydn’s "Sinfonia concertante.” Written exactly 230 years ago (February and March 1792) for the first of the composer’s two visits to London, it was Haydn’s only essay in this popular late-18th century genre, which was essentially a concerto with multiple soloists. Haydn wrote his in response to a “Sinfonia concertante” for solo violin and viola by his former pupil Pleyel from the year before. He upped the ante by replacing the viola with a cello and adding solo parts for oboe and bassoon, thereby providing soprano and baritone double reeds to go with the soprano and baritone strings.

Jelena Dirks

The four soloists play off each other quite a bit, so ideally you want players who are comfortable working together. That’s what we had the last time the orchestra played this work in 2014 and it’s what we got this time as well, and for the same reason: the soloists were all members of our own SLSO. Assistant Principal Second Violin Eva Kozma had the most visible role, given the prominence of the violin part, and she filled it splendidly. Haydn gives the violinist some of the best bits, including a sequence in the finale that is either a mock operatic recitative or a bit of typical Haydn humor in which the violin has to restate the main theme three times before the orchestra "gets it."

Cellist Bjorn Ranheim had his share of neatly executed star turns as well, including some fast virtuoso passages and a bit in the end in which he and Kozma dash off short flourishes at the very tops of their registers just before the final chords. Haydn doesn’t give Principal oboe Jelena Dirks or Principal Bassoon Andrew Cuneo as many opportunities to show off, but they made the most of the ones they did have, with a fine combination of sagacity and sensibility. When they played together as a quartet, the result was so harmonious that they might have been, to paraphrase Mr. Keats, four souls with but a single thought.

At the podium, Denève pulled it all together with a reading that got all of Haydn’s fleet-footed elegance and good humor just right.

Bjorn Ranheim

The “spiritual joy” of which Denève spoke earlier was on full display in the second half of the concert, with radiant performances of the Act I prelude to Wagner’s “Parsifal” followed by Mendelssohn’s “Reformation” Symphony. The decision to pair them was inspired by the fact that both open with versions of the “Dresden amen”, a six-note phrase that was a popular way to sing “Amen” for both Catholic and Protestant congregations in the 19th century.

It turned out to be a sound decision. Denève led the band in a luminous reading of the “Parsifal” Prelude that displayed the transparent beauty of the SLSO strings and the burnished splendor of the brass sections. The segue from that to the quiet statement of the “Dresden Amen” in the majestic opening of Mendelssohn’s symphony felt entirely natural, even though the two works otherwise have as little in common as their creators.

Andrew Cuneo

Conducting from memory without a score, Denève led the SLSO in a joyous and uplifting Mendelssohn Fifth. Originally intended for a celebration, on June 25th 1830, of the 300th anniversary of the Augsburg Confession, the “Reformation” Symphony can easily come across as a triumphal affirmation of the victory of Protestantism over Catholicism. The final movement, with its heavy reliance on “Ein feste Burg,” certainly encourages that approach. But in Denève’s hands the feeling was more one of devotion than revanchism. The first movement, while not lacking in drama, lacked the angry energy that I have sometimes heard in other performances. The Allegro vivace second movement was more graceful than usual, with some pristine playing by the oboes in the trio, and the Andante third movement, with its carefully sculpted phrases, was just sentimental enough to be truly touching.

The final movement was the crowning glory of this “Reformation,” with a final Allegro maestoso statement of Luther’s hymn that felt not so much heroic as reverent. This was music of fellowship and healing—a “choral symphony without the chorus,” as Denève described it in his pre-concert remarks. It made me hear this familiar work in a different way. My congratulations.

Next at Powell Hall: The regular season pauses for a series of special events this coming weekend and next, including "Lift Every Voice," the annual Black History Month Celebration, on February 25th. Then Dmitry Sinkovsky makes his SLSO debut as conductor, violinist, and countertenor next month in a program of music by J.C. Bach, Antonio Vivaldi, and George Frideric Handel. The St. Louis Symphony Chorus, which has been unable to perform for some time due to the pandemic, returns in these concerts with Mozart’s “Requiem.” Performances are Friday at 7:30 pm, Saturday at 8 pm, and Sunday at 3 pm, March 4-6.

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 February 14, 2022

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.

Act Two Theatre presents the comedy Arsenic and Old Lace Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30 pm and Sundays at 2 pm, through February 20. “We meet the charming and innocent ladies who populate their cellar with the remains of socially and religiously acceptable roomers; the antics of their brother who thinks he is Teddy Roosevelt; and the activities of the other brother. The hero, Mortimer Brewster, is a drama critic who must deal with his crazy, murderous family and local police in Brooklyn, New York, as he debates whether to go through with his recent promise to marry the woman he loves, Elaine Harper, who lives next door and is the daughter of the local minister.” Performances take place at the St. Peters Cultural Center in St. Peters, MO. For more information: www.acttwotheatre.com

Chuck Lavazzi and Carol Schmidt

The Cabaret Project and The Blue Strawberry present a Singers Open Mic on Tuesday, February 15, from 7 to 9:30 pm. “Chuck Lavazzi is your host, with pianist and music director Carol Schmidt. If you plan to sing bring sheet music or a chart in your own key, and perform your favorite Broadway, pop, or jazz tunes. This month, off-center love songs are strongly encouraged but not required. Or you can just relax, have a drink and dinner or a snack, and enjoy the music. No admission or cover, but there is always a tip jar! All proceeds go to The Cabaret Project, a 501c3 non-profit dedicated to promoting, developing, and sustaining the art cabaret in St. Louis."   The Blue Strawberry is operating under a "COVID careful" arrangement with mandatory vaccination and masking.  The Blue Strawberry is at 364 N. Boyle. For more information: bluestrawberrystl.com.

Annie Sauerberger

The Blue Strawberry presents Annie Sauerburger in Brick by Brick on Saturday at 7:30 February 19th. " Pay attention to that woman behind the curtain: she’s going places! (hint: she’s not in Kansas anymore). Annie Sauerburger, accompanied and directed by Ron McGowan, will take you on a musical journey that reflects upon where she’s been, takes stock of where she is, and paves her way towards an uncertain future full of wonders more incredible than she can possibly imagine - and terrors to freeze her soul, accompanied by her faithful companion and the love and support of the people she’s gathered along the way. In short, it’s a cabaret about the precious things in life that are worth fighting for."  The Blue Strawberry is operating under a "COVID careful" arrangement with mandatory vaccination and masking.  The Blue Strawberry is at 364 N. Boyle. For more information: bluestrawberrystl.com.

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 on most major platforms including Spotify, Amazon Music, Apple Music, YouTube, and BandCamp. For more information: www.eratheatre.org

Mean Girls
Photo: Joan Marcus

The Fabulous Fox presents the musical Mean Girls, opening on Tuesday, February 14, at 7:30 pm and running through February 27.  “Cady Heron may have grown up on an African savanna, but nothing prepared her for the vicious ways of her strange new home: suburban Illinois. Soon, this naïve newbie falls prey to a trio of lionized frenemies led by the charming but ruthless Regina George. But when Cady devises a plan to end Regina’s reign, she learns the hard way that you can’t cross a Queen Bee without getting stung.” The Fabulous Fox is on North Grand in Grand Center. For more information: https://www.fabulousfox.com

The Lemp Mansion Murder Mystery Dinner Theatre and Jest Mysteries present Bullets in the Bathtub J through May 7. "Mob bosses, flappers, bootleggers and crooked cops will abound as event attendees are transported back in time to Trixie's speakeasy right in the heart of the roaring 20's. There will be plenty of rowdy characters at this fun, interactive event but none so dangerous as Harry "Bullets" Hyde. He’s the boss of the bosses and he is not too keen on "The Familys" taking over his territory. Parts will be passed out at the door and guests can participate as much or as little as they would like too. Some might be famous gangsters of the past, others may dodge the cops as they bootleg over state lines and a few might even be fun, flirty flappers. When a group like this gets together, it’s almost inevitable that somebody ends up "sleeping with the fishes." The Lemp Mansion is at 3322 DeMenil Place in south city. For more information: www.lempmansion.com

Last Stop of Market Street
Photo: Jennifer A. Lin

Metro Theater Company presents Last Stop on Market Street through February 27. “Get ready for a heart-thumpin’, toe-tappin’ joy ride in this Motown/hip-hop musical adaptation of New York Times bestselling and Newbery Medal-winning picture book Last Stop on Market Street! CJ is reluctantly staying with his Nana, in a world considerably different from the one he’s used to, always plugged in to his phone and tablet. Guided by his veritable force-of-nature Nana, CJ travels a little closer to his roots and sees that things are not always what they seem. With a spectacular, spirited score by Motown legend Lamont Dozier and his son Paris Ray Dozier, you might find yourself dancing in your seat as you enjoy this vibrant story about connecting to your community. “ Performances take place at the Grandel Theater in Grand Center and also via video stream beginning February 11. For more information: www.metroplays.org/marketstreet

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 Repertory Theatre of St. Louis presents St. Louis premiere of Stick Fly by Lydia Diamond through March 6. “The LeVay family’s annual summer vacation to Martha’s Vineyard is thrown into a state of disarray by long-standing tensions, sibling rivalries and a drunken game of Scrabble. This Outer Critics Circle Nominee for Outstanding New Broadway Play explores class, race and generational dynamics through the eyes of a modern African-American family.” Performances take place on the Berges Mainstage Theatre at COCA in University City. For more information: www.repstl.org.

The St. Louis Black Repertory Company continues its 45th Anniversary Season with Fireflies, by Donja R. Love. The production runs through February 27. “Directed by Atlanta-based actor and director Andrea Frye, and featuring Zahria Moore and Eric Conners, the courageous work takes an intimate approach to exploring personal aspects of the Civil Rights Movement. Set in the Jim Crow South, Fireflies tells the story of Olivia, the inspiring speechwriter and force behind her charismatic husband Charles and his freedom movement. When four little girls are bombed in a church, the couple’s relationship is thrown into jeopardy as Olivia begins to believe ‘this world ain’t no place to raise a colored child’." This intimate performance allows viewers to experience the powerful drama from Olivia’s female-led perspective.” Performances take place at the Hotchner Studio Theatre on the Washington University campus. For more information: www.theblackrep.org

St. Louis Shakespeare presents William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet through February 20, including a special school matinee at 10 am on February 18. “When is love more keenly felt than by the young? How can love breach the boundaries of feudal animosity and politics? Shakespeare’s most iconic love story unravels the mysteries of these questions and more. Set in a climate of families at odds with each other, youthful passion leads to ardor, conflict, homicide, revenge, suicide, and bereavement. The Bard takes us on a journey through the many hearts of society, reflecting both past and present. What can we learn to instruct the future?” Performances take place at the Reim Auditorium at the Kirkwood Community Center, 111 S Geyer Rd, in Kirkwood, MO. For more information: https://www.stlshakespeare.org

Stray Dog Theatre presents David Lindsay-Abaire’s Good People Thursdays through Saturdays at 8 pm through February 26, with an additional performance on Sunday, February 20, at 2 pm. “Margie Walsh just lost her job, is now facing eviction, and can’t seem to catch a break.  When a successful ex-boyfriend from her past moves back to town, Margie hopes he may have the ticket she needs to turn her life around. Will Margie risk what little she has left to find out?” Performances take place at Tower Grove Abbey, 2336 Tennessee in Tower Grove East. Tickets are only offered in physically distanced groups of two or four. For more information: www.straydogtheatre.org

Hillary and Clinton
Photo: Mark Abels

West End Players Guild presents Lucas Hnath’s Hillary and Clinton through February 20. “Set in a budget motel room on a wintry night in early 2008, it’s the story of a woman who looks destined to be the first female president of the United States.  But, she’s having trouble getting her campaign off the ground and her husband, himself an ex-President, isn’t helping much.  You may think you know these people and what’s going to happen but, as playwright Hnath says, you don’t.  Is his story historical fact, historical fantasy, or something in-between?” 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.

Symphony Preview: Variations on a theme of Martin Luther

Looking over the program for the concert Stéphane Denève will conduct with the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra this weekend (Friday and Saturday, February 11 and 12), it strikes me that there are three themes running through it. Two are musical and one is religious.

[Preview the music with my commercial-free Spotify playlist.]

Let’s get religion out of the way first. All of the composers on the program were Christian but the wide range of their beliefs demonstrates that there can be, indeed, many mansions in that house. Haydn was a devout Roman Catholic. Mendelssohn was a Reformed Christian by conversion (his family was Jewish), Wagner was technically Christian but disdained key parts of the religion (including the Ten Commandments), and Bach was a devout Lutheran.

Leopold Stokowski in a classic pose

That brings us to the first musical theme of the evening, Martin Luther’s hymn “Ein feste Burg ist unser Gott” (“A Mighty Fortress is Our God”). It and other Lutheran hymns were key components of many of Bach’s most admired works, including the “St. Matthew Passion,” his 200-plus cantatas, and the many chorale preludes he wrote based on those hymns. These were elaborate contrapuntal fantasies on tunes that his audience would have known well, including the one that forms the basis for the first two works in this concert: Bach’s Chorale Prelude on “Ein feste Burg ist unser Gott,” BWV 720. Get used to hearing Luther’s tune, as it makes a triumphant reappearance at the end of the evening.

We won’t be hearing Bach’s original organ work but rather two very different arrangements of it, played attacca (back to back, without pause). The first is by the famed conductor and arranger Leopold Stokowski and the second by someone far less celebrated: German-born American composer and conductor Walter Damrosch. Both Stokowski and Damrosch were tireless promoters of classical music to the public at large, so it seems only right for them to be combined here.

In short, we get Martin Luther by way of Bach as arranged by Stokowski and Damrosch. Assuming, of course, that Bach wrote BWV 720 in the first place. The original is, as the folks at the Netherlands Bach Society point out, “a one-off, undated piece, whose authorship is even doubted by some.” No matter; it’s eight minutes of orchestral color and, in the case of the Stokowski arrangement, a local premiere.

Up next is Haydn’s "Sinfonia concertante.” It dates from a time when the form of the solo concerto was not as well established as it would later become, so works for multiple solo instruments and orchestra were common. Haydn wrote his exactly 230 years ago (February and March 1792) for the first of his two visits to London, a city that embraced him both artistically and financially (“I made four thousand guilders this evening,” wrote Haydn after the 1795 premiere of his 104th symphony).

The work’s genesis lay in a bit of commercial and personal rivalry. As Scott Fogelsong wrote in the San Francisco Examiner in 2009, Haydn’s former student Ignatz Pleyel (who went on to fame and fortune as the founder of piano manufacturers Pleyel et Cie) “had been making waves in the London concert scene during the same season, and quite possibly Haydn's work was a direct response to Pleyel's popular works.” In fact, Pleyel had been engaged by a rival concert promoter seeking to grab some of Haydn’s audience. “A bloody harmonious war will commence between master and pupil,” wrote Haydn. “The newspapers are all full of it, but it seems to me that there will soon be an armistice.”

Haydn was right. The commercial battle never became personal, and the two remained friends.

It might have helped that Haydn’s piece was a hit. It’s light, entertaining, and shows off the solo instruments to great advantage. Audiences loved it, as did the press. "A new concertante from HAYDN combined with all the excellencies of music," gushed the Morning Herald the next day; "it was profound, airy, affecting, and original, and the performance was in unison with the merit of the composition." The soloists playing those "excellencies" this weekend are all members of the home team: Principal oboe Jelena Dirks, Principal Bassoon Andrew Cuneo, Assistant Principal Second Violin Eva Kozma, and cellist Bjorn Ranheim. It's always good to see the local folks in the spotlight.

The "Dresden Amen"

The concerts conclude with a pair of works that share a common musical motif: a six-note progression known as the “Dresden amen." Composed by Johann Gottlieb Naumann (1741-1801) for use in Dresden’s court chapel in the late 1700s, it became a popular way to sing “Amen” for both Catholic and Protestant congregations in the 19th century. It was also quoted by a wide range of composers, from Louis Spohr to the decidedly non-Christian Alexander Scriabin.

Richard Wagner uses the “Dresden Amen” as a recurring leitmotif to represent the Holy Grail in “Parsifal,” his last opera, the Prelude to which opens the second half of the program. Reverent and majestic, the Prelude uses silence and harmonic ambivalence to establish an unearthly sense of space and the sense of time slowing down that one often encounters in the symphonies of Bruckner. The quiet restatement of the “Dresden Amen” at the end is a perfect segue into the opening of the final work on the program, Mendelssohn’s Symphony No. 5 (“Reformation”), which opens with an equally quiet version of the “Amen” in the strings and closes with a joyous restatement of our old friend “Ein Feste Burg.”

The symphony’s nickname—which comes not from Felix Mendelssohn but rather from his sister Fanny—refers to the fact that it was originally intended for a celebration of the 300th anniversary of the presentation of the Augsburg Confession to Holy Roman Emperor Charles V. The document is a cornerstone of the Lutheran faith, and the celebration in Berlin on June 25th, 1830 was a Very Big Deal, backed up by the Prussian King Frederick William III. Having a new symphony played as part of the festivities would have been a major coup for the 21-year-old composer.

Sadly, it was not to be. Mendelssohn started work on the symphony in January of 1830 and would have had it ready in time for the festivities had it not been for a case of measles—a serious business in those days before vaccines. Possible consequences of measles infections in adults include hearing loss, which would have been a disaster for a composer, Beethoven’s example to the contrary.

Fortunately, Mendelssohn made a full recovery, but not in time to submit the work for the big event. The composer tried to get it performed in Paris, but it was rejected as “too learned” (whatever that may mean). As R. Larry Todd suggested in Mendelssohn—A Life in Music, it might also have been seen as too Protestant. Mendelssohn finally conducted the premiere in Berlin in 1832 but reviews were unenthusiastic and the composer himself ultimately turned against it, declaring the only one of his compositions he “would most like to see burnt.”

Portrait of Mendelssohn by
James Warren Childe
(1778–1862), 1839
en.wikipedia.org

History’s verdict has been a bit kinder. As Janet E. Badell writes in notes for the Boston Symphony, it’s a “stirring, richly contrapuntal work” that “has finally come into its own as one of Mendelssohn's most frequently performed scores.” It might not be quite as popular as the “Italian” or “Scotch” symphonies, but it probably but it probably deserves to be, as it has much to offer.

The opening movement, after the Andante statement of the “Dresden Amen” in D major, quickly modulates to a dramatic Allegro con fuoco in D minor that bristles with an angry energy suggesting the conflict between the established Catholic church and Luther’s protest movement. The conflict is resolved in a triumphant restatement of Luther’s hymn in the final movement, while the graceful Allegro vivace second movement and the lyrical Andante third act as calm interludes between storms. Its programmatic intent notwithstanding, it’s a wonderfully varied and appealing work that seems to me to be a perfect way to wrap up the concert.

The Essentials: Stéphane Denève conducts the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra along with soloists Jelena Dirks (oboe), Andrew Cuneo (bassoon), Eva Kozma (violin), and Bjorn Ranheim (cello) in arrangements of Bach’s Choral Prelude "A Mighty Fortress is Our God," BWV 720, Haydn’s “Sinfonia Concertante in B-flat major, the Prelude to Act I from Wagner’s “Parsifal,” and Mendelssohn’s Symphony No. 5 in D major (“Reformation”). Performances are Friday at 10:30 and Saturday at 8 pm, February 11 and 12, at Powell Symphony Hall in Grand Center. Saturday’s concert will also be broadcast live on St. Louis Public Radio and Classical 107.3 both over the air and on the Internet.

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 February 7, 2022

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.

Act Two Theatre presents the comedy Arsenic and Old Lace Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30 pm and Sundays at 2 pm, February 11-20. “We meet the charming and innocent ladies who populate their cellar with the remains of socially and religiously acceptable roomers; the antics of their brother who thinks he is Teddy Roosevelt; and the activities of the other brother. The hero, Mortimer Brewster, is a drama critic who must deal with his crazy, murderous family and local police in Brooklyn, New York, as he debates whether to go through with his recent promise to marry the woman he loves, Elaine Harper, who lives next door and is the daughter of the local minister.” Performances take place at the St. Peters Cultural Center in St. Peters, MO. For more information: www.acttwotheatre.com

The Blue Strawberry presents presents Shelby Ringdahl: From the Midwest to Manhattan (and all the songs in between) on Saturday at 7:30 pm, February 12th. “From cows to cabs and tractors to trains, come hear all your Broadway favorites from Missouri native and former Miss Missouri turned New Yorker, Shelby Ringdahl. Her two act solo show features music from Wicked, My Fair Lady, Beauty and the Beast, Dolly Parton, Elton John, and so much! Her songs are incredible, but the stories are what will capture your heart as she shares moments from growing up in Missouri, her brief journey in pageantland, love, loss, and surviving it in the craziest city on earth. It's a show you won't want to miss! Pianist- Carter Datz."  The Blue Strawberry is operating under a "COVID careful" arrangement with mandatory vaccination and masking.  The Blue Strawberry is at 364 N. Boyle. For more information: bluestrawberrystl.com.

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 on most major platforms including Spotify, Amazon Music, Apple Music, YouTube, and BandCamp. For more information: www.eratheatre.org

The Kirkwood Theatre Guild presents Tennessee Williams’s Cat on a Hot Tin Roof through February 13. “After Brick Pollitt injures himself while drunkenly revisiting his high school sports-star days, he and his tempestuous wife, Maggie, visit his family’s Mississippi plantation for the 65th birthday of his hot-tempered father, Big Daddy. Cantankerous even with declining health, Big Daddy demands to know why Brick and Maggie haven’t yet given him a grandchild, unlike Brick’s brother Gooper and his fecund wife, Mae. By evening’s end, Maggie’s ingenuity, fortitude, and passion set things right, and Brick’s love for his father, never before expressed, will retrieve him from his path of destruction.” Performances take place at the Kirkwood Performing Arts Center at 210 E. Monroe Avenue in Kirkwood, MO. For more information: www.ktg-onstage.org

The Lemp Mansion Murder Mystery Dinner Theatre and Jest Mysteries present Bullets in the Bathtub J through May 7. "Mob bosses, flappers, bootleggers and crooked cops will abound as event attendees are transported back in time to Trixie's speakeasy right in the heart of the roaring 20's. There will be plenty of rowdy characters at this fun, interactive event but none so dangerous as Harry "Bullets" Hyde. He’s the boss of the bosses and he is not too keen on "The Familys" taking over his territory. Parts will be passed out at the door and guests can participate as much or as little as they would like too. Some might be famous gangsters of the past, others may dodge the cops as they bootleg over state lines and a few might even be fun, flirty flappers. When a group like this gets together, it’s almost inevitable that somebody ends up "sleeping with the fishes." The Lemp Mansion is at 3322 DeMenil Place in south city. For more information: www.lempmansion.com

Last Stop of Market Street
Photo: Jennifer A. Lin

Metro Theater Company presents Last Stop on Market Street through February 27. “Get ready for a heart-thumpin’, toe-tappin’ joy ride in this Motown/hip-hop musical adaptation of New York Times bestselling and Newbery Medal-winning picture book Last Stop on Market Street! CJ is reluctantly staying with his Nana, in a world considerably different from the one he’s used to, always plugged in to his phone and tablet. Guided by his veritable force-of-nature Nana, CJ travels a little closer to his roots and sees that things are not always what they seem. With a spectacular, spirited score by Motown legend Lamont Dozier and his son Paris Ray Dozier, you might find yourself dancing in your seat as you enjoy this vibrant story about connecting to your community. “ Performances take place at the Grandel Theater in Grand Center and also via video stream beginning February 11. For more information: www.metroplays.org/marketstreet

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 Repertory Theatre of St. Louis presents St. Louis premiere of Stick Fly by Lydia Diamond February 11 through March 6. “The LeVay family’s annual summer vacation to Martha’s Vineyard is thrown into a state of disarray by long-standing tensions, sibling rivalries and a drunken game of Scrabble. This Outer Critics Circle Nominee for Outstanding New Broadway Play explores class, race and generational dynamics through the eyes of a modern African-American family.” Performances take place on the Berges Mainstage Theatre at COCA in University City. For more information: www.repstl.org.

The St. Louis Black Repertory Company continues its 45th Anniversary Season with Fireflies, by Donja R. Love. The production opens on February 11, preceded by previews on February 9 and 10, and runs through February 27. “Directed by Atlanta-based actor and director Andrea Frye, and featuring Zahria Moore and Eric Conners, the courageous work takes an intimate approach to exploring personal aspects of the Civil Rights Movement. Set in the Jim Crow South, Fireflies tells the story of Olivia, the inspiring speechwriter and force behind her charismatic husband Charles and his freedom movement. When four little girls are bombed in a church, the couple’s relationship is thrown into jeopardy as Olivia begins to believe ‘this world ain’t no place to raise a colored child’." This intimate performance allows viewers to experience the powerful drama from Olivia’s female-led perspective.” Performances take place at the Hotchner Studio Theatre on the Washington University campus. For more information: www.theblackrep.org

St. Louis Shakespeare presents William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet February 10-20, including two special school matinees at 10 am on February 10 and 18. “When is love more keenly felt than by the young? How can love breach the boundaries of feudal animosity and politics? Shakespeare’s most iconic love story unravels the mysteries of these questions and more. Set in a climate of families at odds with each other, youthful passion leads to ardor, conflict, homicide, revenge, suicide, and bereavement. The Bard takes us on a journey through the many hearts of society, reflecting both past and present. What can we learn to instruct the future?” Performances take place at the Reim Auditorium at the Kirkwood Community Center, 111 S Geyer Rd, in Kirkwood, MO. For more information: https://www.stlshakespeare.org

Stray Dog Theatre presents David Lindsay-Abaire’s Good People Thursdays through Saturdays at 8 pm, February 10-26, with an additional performance on Sunday, February 20, at 2 pm. “Margie Walsh just lost her job, is now facing eviction, and can’t seem to catch a break.  When a successful ex-boyfriend from her past moves back to town, Margie hopes he may have the ticket she needs to turn her life around. Will Margie risk what little she has left to find out?” Performances take place at Tower Grove Abbey, 2336 Tennessee in Tower Grove East. Tickets are only offered in physically distanced groups of two or four. For more information: www.straydogtheatre.org

Hillary and Clinton
Photo: Mark Abels

West End Players Guild presents Lucas Hnath’s Hillary and Clinton February 11-20. “Set in a budget motel room on a wintry night in early 2008, it’s the story of a woman who looks destined to be the first female president of the United States.  But, she’s having trouble getting her campaign off the ground and her husband, himself an ex-President, isn’t helping much.  You may think you know these people and what’s going to happen but, as playwright Hnath says, you don’t.  Is his story historical fact, historical fantasy, or something in-between?” 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.

The St. Louis Theater Circle announces its 2022 awards ceremony

[NOTE: Much of this information comes from yesterday's St. Louis Theater Circle press release. Any opinions expressed, on the other hand, are mine alone.]

Members of the Circle in 2017

As I have noted in the past, the last couple of years have been rough for performing arts institutions. That includes ancillary organizations like the St. Louis Theater Circle, which had to cancel its 2021 awards ceremony and held a bare-bones version of its 2020 ceremony on line.

The Theater Circle is back his year with a virtual ceremony that will be streamed at 7 p.m. on Monday, March 28, 2022 on HEC’s YouTube channel and web site. Unlike the 2020 ceremony, which had to be assembled quickly, this one will be professionally recorded at and produced by HEC-TV at their studios.

Nominees in more than 30 categories will vie for honors covering comedies, dramas, musicals and operas produced by local professional theater and opera companies in the combined calendar years of 2020 and 2021.

In an attempt to represent the gender diversity of both roles and actors, the Circle has revised the categories of its acting awards. Those categories now are based on genders of the characters in the scripts rather than by the genders of the performers. For example, the category formerly titled “Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy” now is termed “Outstanding Lead Performer in a Comedy, Female or Non-Binary Role.”

Because the pandemic brought about the cancellation of so many productions by virtually all local professional theater companies, approximately 75 productions have been considered for nominations for the combined years of 2020 and 2021. This compares to roughly 120 to 130 productions normally considered in one year alone.

For this ninth annual ceremony, members of the St. Louis Theater Circle considered nominees from shows produced in the first three months of 2020 and the last eight months of 2021 combined. In addition, a few shows produced between April 2020 and May 2021 were included. The total number of shows considered from the years 2020 and 2021 combined amounted to about 75 shows.

The nominees for the ninth annual St. Louis Theater Circle Awards are:

Outstanding Supporting Performer in a Comedy, Female or Non-Binary Role
•    Nicole Angeli, It Is Magic, The Midnight Company
•    Ani Djirdjirian, The Thanksgiving Play, Repertory Theatre of St. Louis
•    Colleen Heneghan, Bloomsday, West End Players Guild
•    Jennifer Theby-Quinn, Flanagan’s Wake, Playhouse at Westport Plaza
•    Chrissie Watkins, It Is Magic, The Midnight Company

Outstanding Supporting Performer in a Comedy, Male or Non-Binary Role
•    Chuck Brinkley, The Thing – A Live Parody, Cherokee Street Theatre Company
•    Stephen Cefalu Jr., The Gradient, Repertory Theatre of St. Louis
•    Joe Hanrahan, It Is Magic, The Midnight Company
•    Carl Overly Jr., It Is Magic, The Midnight Company
•    Jonathan Spivey, The Thanksgiving Play, Repertory Theatre of St. Louis

Outstanding Leading Performer in a Comedy, Female or Non-Binary Role
•    Shayna Blass, The Thanksgiving Play, Repertory Theatre of St. Louis
•    Michelle Hand, It Is Magic, The Midnight Company
•    Stephanie Machado, The Gradient, Repertory Theatre of St. Louis
•    Ellie Schwetye, Tinsel Town, The Midnight Company
•    Jennifer Theby-Quinn, Jake’s Women, Moonstone Theatre Company

Outstanding Leading Performer in a Comedy, Male or Non-Binary Role
•    Jeff Cummings, Jake’s Women, Moonstone Theatre Company
•    Adam Flores, The Thanksgiving Play, Repertory Theatre of St. Louis
•    Jeremy Goldmeier, Art, Stray Dog Theatre
•    Jordan Moore, Dress the Part, St. Louis Shakespeare Festival
•    Garrett Young, Dress the Part, St. Louis Shakespeare Festival

Outstanding Lighting Design in a Play
•    Joe Clapper, Spell #7, The Black Rep
•    Mextly Couzin, The Gradient, Repertory Theatre of St. Louis
•    Jasmine Lesane, Mlima’s Tale, Repertory Theatre of St. Louis
•    Seth Reiser, A Christmas Carol, Repertory Theatre of St. Louis
•    John Wylie, King Lear, St. Louis Shakespeare Festival

Outstanding Sound Design
•    Avi Amon, Mlima’s Tale, Repertory Theatre of St. Louis
•    David R. Molina, King Lear, St. Louis Shakespeare Festival
•    Sadah Espii Proctor, The Gradient, Repertory Theatre of St. Louis
•    Nathan A. Roberts and Charles Coes, A Christmas Carol, Repertory Theatre of St. Louis
•    Rusty Wandall, Dress the Part, St. Louis Shakespeare Festival

Outstanding Costume Design in a Play
•    Dede Ayite, A Christmas Carol, Repertory Theatre of St. Louis
•    Mika Eubanks, King Lear, St. Louis Shakespeare Festival
•    Elizabeth Henning, Tinsel Town, The Midnight Company
•    Christina Leinecke, Dress the Part, St. Louis Shakespeare Festival
•    Brandin Vaughn, Spell #7, The Black Rep

Outstanding Set Design in a Play
•    Wilson Chin, King Lear, St. Louis Shakespeare Festival
•    Tim Jones, Sweat, The Black Rep
•    Carolyn Mraz, The Gradient, Repertory Theatre of St. Louis
•    Margery & Peter Spack, The Ville: Avengeance, St. Louis Shakespeare Festival
•    Margery & Peter Spack, Two Trains Running, The Black Rep

Outstanding Supporting Performer in a Drama, Female or Non-Binary Role
•    Kelly Howe, Sweat, The Black Rep
•    Amy Loui, My Name Is Asher Lev, The New Jewish Theatre
•    Alma Martinez, Mojada: A Medea in Los Angeles, Repertory Theatre of St. Louis
•    Elizabeth Teeter, The Glass Menagerie, Tennessee Williams Festival St. Louis
•    Sharisa Whatley, Two Trains Running, The Black Rep

Outstanding Supporting Performer in a Drama, Male or Non-Binary Role
•    Allen Gilmore, King Lear, St. Louis Shakespeare Festival
•    Brian McKinley, Spell #7, The Black Rep
•    Shane Signorino, A Piece of My Heart, West End Players Guild
•    Chauncy Thomas, The Glass Menagerie, Tennessee Williams Festival St. Louis
•    Chuck Winning, My Name Is Asher Lev, The New Jewish Theatre

Outstanding Leading Performer in a Drama, Female or Non-Binary Role
•    Velma Austin, Sweat, The Black Rep
•    Kari Ely, Comfort, St. Louis Actors’ Studio
•    Debby Lennon, Songs for Nobodies, Max & Louie Productions
•    Michelle Hand, Tiny Beautiful Things, Max & Louie Productions
•    Laurie McConnell, Annapurna, St. Louis Actors’ Studio

Outstanding Leading Performer in a Drama, Male or Non-Binary Role
•    Andre De Shields, King Lear, St. Louis Shakespeare Festival
•    Kambi Gathesha, Mlima’s Tale, Repertory Theatre of St. Louis
•    John Pierson, Annapurna, St. Louis Actors’ Studio
•    Spencer Sickmann, Comfort, St. Louis Actors’ Studio
•    James A. Williams, Two Trains Running, The Black Rep

Outstanding New Play
•    Comfort, by Neil LaBute, St. Louis Actors’ Studio
•    The Gradient, by Steph Del Rosso, Repertory Theatre of St. Louis
•    Madam, by Colin Healy, Fly North Theatricals
•    Now Playing Third Base for the St. Louis Cardinals…Bond, James Bond, by Joe Hanrahan, The Midnight Company
•    Tinsel Town, by Joe Hanrahan, The Midnight Company

Outstanding Achievement in Opera
•    Sean Curran, Gianni Schicchi, Opera Theatre of St. Louis
•    Levi Hernandez, Gianni Schicchi, Opera Theatre of St. Louis
•    Karen Kanakis, La Fanciulla del West, Winter Opera St. Louis
•    Patricia Racette, La Voix Humaine, Opera Theatre of St. Louis
•    Leonard Slatkin, Highway 1, U.S.A., Opera Theatre of St. Louis

Outstanding Production of an Opera
•    Gianni Schicchi, Opera Theatre of St. Louis
•    Highway 1, U.S.A., Opera Theatre of St. Louis
•    La Fanciulla del West, Winter Opera St. Louis
•    La Voix Humaine, Opera Theatre of St. Lousi
•    Les Contes d’Hoffmann, Union Avenue Opera

Outstanding Musical Director
•    Charlie Alterman, Chicago, The Muny
•    Colin Healy, Madam, Fly North Theatricals
•    Jeremy Jacobs, Jersey Boys, Stages St. Louis
•    Herve Samb, Dreaming Zenzile, Repertory Theatre of St. Louis
•    Nicolas Valdez, Head Over Heels, New Line Theatre

Outstanding Choreographer
•    William Carlos Angulo, On Your Feet!, The Muny
•    Kirven Douthit-Boyd, A Christmas Carol, Repertory Theatre of St. Louis
•    Marjani Forte-Saunders, Dreaming Zenzile, Repertory Theatre of St. Louis
•    Denis Jones, Chicago, The Muny
•    Dana Lewis, Jersey Boys, Stages St. Louis

Outstanding Supporting Performer in a Musical, Female or Non-Binary Role
•    Tielere Cheatem, Head Over Heels, New Line Theatre
•    Natascia Diaz, On Your Feet!, The Muny
•    Bryonha Marie Parham, The Sound of Music, The Muny
•    Elizabeth Teeter, The Sound of Music, The Muny
•    Zoe Vonder Haar, Always…Patsy Cline, Stages St. Louis

Outstanding Supporting Performer in a Musical, Male or Non-Binary Role
•    Brent Michael DiRoma, Jersey Boys, Stages St. Louis
•    Jason Michael Evans, Jersey Boys, Stages St. Louis
•    Adam Heller, Chicago, The Muny
•    Ryan Jesse, Jersey Boys, Stages St. Louis
•    Mykal Kilgore, Smokey Joe’s Café, The Muny

Outstanding Lighting Design in a Musical
•    Rob Denton, Chicago, The Muny
•    Shelby Loera, The Sound of Music, The Muny
•    Sean M. Savoie, Always…Patsy Cline, Stages St. Louis
•    Sean M. Savoie, Jersey Boys, Stages St. Louis
•    Yi Zhao, Dreaming Zenzile, Repertory Theatre of St. Louis

Outstanding Set Design in a Musical
•    Edward E. Haynes Jr. and Kevan Loney, Smokey Joe’s Café, The Muny
•    Tim Mackabee and Shawn Duan, Chicago, The Muny
•    Tim Mackabee and Kate Ducey, On Your Feet!, The Muny
•    Michael Schweikardt and Caite Hevner, Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, The Muny
•    James Wolk, Jersey Boys, Stages St. Louis

Outstanding Costume Design in a Musical
•    Leon Dobkowski, On Your Feet!, The Muny
•    Eileen Engel, Madam, Fly North Theatricals
•    Courtney Gibson and Sarah Porter, Head Over Heels, New Line Theatre
•    Sully Ratke, Smokey Joe’s Café, The Muny
•    Emily Rebholz, Chicago, The Muny

Outstanding Leading Performer in a Musical, Female or Non-Binary Role
•    Diana DeGarmo, Always…Patsy Cline, Stages St. Louis
•    J. Harrison Ghee, Chicago, The Muny
•    Kimmie Kidd-Booker, Madam, Fly North Theatricals
•    Kate Rockwell, The Sound of Music, The Muny
•    Somi, Dreaming Zenzile, Repertory Theatre of St. Louis

Outstanding Leading Performer in a Musical, Male or Non-Binary Role
•    Christopher Kale Jones, Jersey Boys, Stages St. Louis
•    Chris Kernan, The Story of My Life, New Line Theatre
•    James T. Lane, Chicago, The Muny
•    Omar Lopez-Cepero, On Your Feet!, The Muny
•    Jeffrey M. Wright, The Story of My Life, New Line Theatre

Outstanding Ensemble in a Comedy
•    Art, Stray Dog Theatre
•    Dress the Part, St. Louis Shakespeare Festival
•    It Is Magic, The Midnight Company
•    The Thanksgiving Play, Repertory Theatre of St. Louis
•    Wildfire, Upstream Theater

Outstanding Ensemble in a Drama
•    King Lear, St. Louis Shakespeare Festival
•    Mlima’s Tale, Repertory Theatre of St. Louis
•    Spell #7, The Black Rep
•    Sweat, The Black Rep
•    Two Trains Running, The Black Rep

Outstanding Ensemble in a Musical
•    Chicago, The Muny
•    Head Over Heels, New Line Theatre
•    Jersey Boys, Stages St. Louis
•    Madam, Fly North Theatricals
•    Smokey Joe’s Café, The Muny

Outstanding Director of a Comedy
•    Eddie Coffield, Jake’s Women, Moonstone Theatre Company
•    GQ and JQ, Dress the Part, St. Louis Shakespeare Festival
•    Suki Peters, It Is Magic, The Midnight Company
•    Amelia Acosta Powell, The Thanksgiving Play, Repertory Theatre of St. Louis
•    Rachel Tibbetts, Tinsel Town, The Midnight Company

Outstanding Director of a Drama
•    Carl Cofield, King Lear, St. Louis Shakespeare Festival
•    Ron Himes, Sweat, The Black Rep
•    Brian Hohlfeld, The Glass Menagerie, Tennessee Williams Festival St. Louis
•    Annamaria Pileggi, Annapurna, St. Louis Actors’ Studio
•    Ed Smith, Two Trains Running, The Black Rep

Outstanding Director of a Musical
•    Marcia Milgrom Dodge, Smokey Joe’s Café, The Muny
•    Michael Hamilton, Always…Patsy Cline, Stages St. Louis
•    Michael Hamilton, Jersey Boys, Stages St. Louis
•    Denis Jones, Chicago, The Muny
•    Scott Miller and Mike Dowdy-Windsor, Head Over Heels, New Line Theatre

Outstanding Production of a Comedy
•    Dress the Part, St. Louis Shakespeare Festival
•    It Is Magic, The Midnight Company
•    Jake’s Women, Moonlight Theatre Company
•    The Thanksgiving Play, Repertory Theatre of St. Louis
•    Tinsel Town, The Midnight Company

Outstanding Production of a Drama
•    The Glass Menagerie, Tennessee Williams Festival St. Louis
•    King Lear, St. Louis Shakespeare Festival
•    Mlima’s Tale, Repertory Theatre of St. Louis
•    Sweat, The Black Rep
•    Two Trains Running, The Black Rep

Outstanding Production of a Musical
•    Always…Patsy Cline, Stages St. Louis
•    Chicago, The Muny
•    Head Over Heels, New Line Theatre
•    Jersey Boys, Stages St. Louis
•    Smokey Joe’s Café, The Muny

The mission of the St. Louis Theater Circle is to honor outstanding achievement in St. Louis professional theater. Other cities around the country, such as Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, San Diego, San Francisco and Washington, D.C., pay tribute to their own local theatrical productions with similar awards programs.

Members of the St. Louis Theater Circle include Steve Allen (stagedoorstl.com); Mark Bretz (Ladue News); Bob Cohn (St. Louis Jewish Light); Tina Farmer (KDHX); Michelle Kenyon (snoopstheatrethoughts.com); Gerry Kowarsky (Two on the Aisle, HEC-TV); Chuck Lavazzi (KDHX); Rob Levy (Broadwayworld.com); Judith Newmark (judyacttwo.com); Ann Lemons Pollack (stlouiseats.typepad.com); Lynn Venhaus (St. Louis Limelight Magazine); Bob Wilcox (Two on the Aisle, HEC-TV); and Calvin Wilson (St. Louis Post-Dispatch). Eleanor Mullin, local performer and arts supporter, is group administrator.

For more information, visit the St. Louis Theater Circle Facebookpage.