St. Louis theatre calendar for the week of October 31, 2022

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

Ken Haller

The Blue Strawberry presents Ken Haller: When I’m 68 Thursday at 8:00 pm, November 3. “Looking back on his life and looking forward to what’s ahead through songs from Broadway and the Great American Songbook by Jerome Kern, Johnny Mercer, Lerner and Loewe, Ira Gershwin, Harold Arlen,William Finn, and Stephen Sondheim among many others, Ken creates ‘…a varied and neatly balanced song list, just enough patter to let us know why the list made sense, and a perfect mix of the mirthful and the moving… ingenious [and] emotionally compelling [with]a heaping helping of humor!” (Chuck Lavazzi, KDHX).’" Nic Valdez is pianist and music director for the show. The Blue Strawberry is at 364 N. Boyle. The Blue Strawberry is at 364 N. Boyle. For more information: bluestrawberrystl.com.

Frozen
Photo: Deen Van Meer

The Fabulous Fox presents the musical Frozen, based on the Disney film, opening on Wednesday, November 2, at 7:30 pm and running through November 13. “From the producer of The Lion King and Aladdin, FROZEN, the Tony®-nominated Best Musical, is now on tour across North America and the critics rave, “It’s simply magical!” (LA Daily News). Heralded by The New Yorker as “thrilling” and “genuinely moving,” FROZEN features the songs you know and love from the original Oscar®-winning film, plus an expanded score with a dozen new numbers by the film’s songwriters, Oscar winner Kristen Anderson-Lopez and EGOT winner Robert Lopez. Oscar winner Jennifer Lee (book), Tony and Olivier Award winner Michael Grandage (director), and Tony winner Rob Ashford (choreographer) round out the creative team that has won a cumulative 16 Tony Awards. An unforgettable theatrical experience filled with sensational special effects, stunning sets and costumes, and powerhouse performances, FROZEN is everything you want in a musical: It’s moving. It’s spectacular. And above all, it’s pure Broadway joy.” The Fabulous Fox is on North Grand in Grand Center. For more information: fabulousfox.com.

The Hawthorne Players present The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time Fridays and Saturday at 7:30 pm, and Sundays at 2 pm, November 4-13. “Fifteen-year-old Christopher has an extraordinary brain. He is exceptional at mathematics but ill equipped to interpret everyday life. He has never ventured alone beyond the end of his road, he detests being touched, and he distrusts strangers. Now it is seven minutes after midnight, and Christopher stands beside his neighbor’s dead dog, Wellington, who has been speared with a garden fork. Finding himself under suspicion, Christopher is determined to solve the mystery of who murdered Wellington, and he carefully records each fact of the crime. But his detective work, forbidden by his father, takes him on a thrilling journey that upturns his world.” sPerformances take place in the Florissant Civic Center Theatre in Florissant, MO. For more information: www.hawthorneplayers.info

The Lemp Mansion Murder Mystery Dinner Theatre and Jest Mysteries present A Dickens of a Killilng November 4th through January 27th, 2023. "Death is in the air as guests join Marilyn Monroe, Babe Ruth, Baaaaa Huuuumbug!!! Ebenezer Scrooge will be back to his old tricks and is bound to make a few enemies at this Christmas Party chock full of Charles Dicken's Characters. Just when Beep (The Minstrel) gets everyone in the Holiday Spirit, Scrooge barges in and starts talking about gruel. Geez, hope no one snuffs Scrooge out before he stops bellowing! Guests will dive into the fictious world of Charles Dickens and join Pip, Martha Cratchit, Oliver Twist, The Ghost of Jacob Marley, Tiny Tim and so many more in this cheerful murder mystery parody of a Holiday Classic. Whether you want to participate a little or a lot, you're sure to have a jolly good time, in jolly olde England, where there is sure to be "A Dickens of a Killing!" The Lemp Mansion is at 3322 DeMenil Place in south city. For more information: www.lempmansion.com

Seedfolks
Photo: Jennifer A. Lin

Metro Theater Company presents Seedfolks live through November 6. “A vacant lot in a broken neighborhood in the middle of the city can become a lot of things. How could it ever be a source of hope? A dozen different characters and their stories come to life, beginning with Kim, a nine-year-old Vietnamese immigrant who plants six precious lima beans. One by one, the people of his community, many also immigrants, sow seeds of hope amid the dirt and grit, tending dreams to full bloom. As the garden grows, so does the community, blooming into something bigger, better, and beyond all expectations. As told by award-winning novelist Paul Fleischman, the garden draws neighbors out of their lonely isolation to rediscover and celebrate the community around them.” Performances take place at the Grandel Theatre in Grand Center and can also be viewed via streaming video beginning on October 19th. For more information: www.metroplays.org

Barefoot in the Park
Photo: Carla Gibson

Moonstone Theatre Company presents Neil Simon’s comedy Barefoot in the Park through November 13. “The romantic comedy Barefoot in the Park tells the story of Paul and Corie Bratter, who are newlyweds in every sense of the word. He’s a straight-as-an-arrow lawyer, and she’s a free spirit always looking for the latest kick. Their new apartment is her most recent find – too expensive with bad plumbing and in need of a paint job. After a six-day honeymoon, they get a surprise visit from Corie’s loopy mother and decide to play matchmaker during a dinner with their neighbor-in-the-attic, Velasco, where everything that can go wrong does. Paul just doesn’t understand Corie, as she sees it. He’s too staid, too boring.  She just wants him to be a little more spontaneous – and running “barefoot in the park” would be a start.” Performances take place at the Kirkwood Performing Arts Center in Kirkwood, MO. For more information: moonstonetheatrecompany.com.

The St. Louis Writers' Group presents a reading of the screenplay The Curse of Father Hitchens by Joe Link on Tuesday, November 1 at 6:30 pm. An urban gritty crime drama with a supernatural twist. A Tarantinoesk screenplay that tells the story of a recently released convict, a hardworking cobbler, a coke dealer, the pushers that work for him, a certain bag of cocaine and the importance of having the right pair of shoes.The reading takes place at Big Daddy’s in Soulard. For more information, visit the St. Louis Writers' Group Facebook page.

The Theatre Guild of Webster Groves presents the thriller Deathtrap Fridays and Saturday at 8 pm and Sunday at 2 pm, November 4-13. “Sidney Bruhl, a successful writer of Broadway thrillers, is struggling to overcome a dry spell which has resulted in a string of failures. A possible break in his fortunes occurs when he receives a script from a student in the seminar he has been conducting at a nearby college – a thriller that Sidney recognizes as a potential Broadway smash. Sidney’s plan is to offer collaboration to the student for co-credit. Or is it?” Performances take place at the Guild theatre at 517 Theatre Lane, at the corner of Newport and Summit in Webster Groves. For more information: theatreguildwg.org.

Upstream Theater presents the world premiere of The Good Ship St. Louis, a new play by Philip Boehm with original music by Anthony Barilla., opening on November 3 and Running through November 20.“ On May 13, 1939, a ship left Hamburg flying the German Nazi flag and carrying over 900 Jewish refugees. They held valid visas for Cuba and most planned to emigrate to the United States. But when they reached Havana their documents were declared invalid, and the US declined to admit them. The ship returned to Europe, where the refugees were caught up in the tide of war and occupation. The ship was the MS St. Louis, and we are taking this voyage a starting point for a soulful examination of the basic human right to asylum by linking its story to the history of our city with the same name, known for welcoming refugees from the former Yugoslavia in the 1990s”. Performances take place at the Marcelle Theatre, 3310 Samuel Shepard Dr. in Grand Center. For more information: upstreamtheater.org.

Webster Conservatory presents Sueño, translated and adapted by José Rivera from the play by Pedro Calderón de la Barca, November 4-13. “Sueño is Obie Award–winning playwright José Rivera’s sharp translation and adaptation of Calderón de la Barca’s Golden Age classic Life Is a Dream. Sueño follows the life of young Prince Segismundo, heir to the Spanish throne, who is imprisoned at birth when astrologers predicted his reign as king would result in the country’s ruin. When his father King Basilio finds his own life ending without a legitimate heir, he releases Segismundo and places him on the throne. If Segismundo is gentle, he will be allowed to reign. If he is as barbaric as the stars predicted, he'll be sent back to his imprisonment and told that his brief moment of freedom and power was only a dream. In this brisk, contemporary adaptation, Rivera asks the question that haunted Calderón: If life is a dream, who is dreaming us?” Performances take place in the Emerson Studio Theatre in the Loretto-Hilton Center on the Webster University campus in Webster Groves. For more information: 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.