St. Louis theatre calendar for the week of November 14, 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.

Touch Baseball and
Tim Shegitz

The Blue Strawberry presents A Night of Comedy Improv and Magic with Touch Baseball and Tim Shegitz Monday at 7:00 pm, November 14. “Direct from the Improv Shop, Touch Baseball is two-person, comedy improv team featuring long-time St. Louis improvisers Ryan Myers and Ashley Rube. After playing together on numerous teams for over 3 years, Ryan and Ashley formed Touch Baseball at the outset of the Covid-19 pandemic to find hope and distraction from the literal end of the world. Just back from headlining at House of Cards in Nashville, Tim Shegitz regularly performs at Hollywood’s Magic Castle and Las Vegas WonderGround. Timothy’s magic features mystery--wrapped around a story--with a comedy flair. " The Blue Strawberry is at 364 N. Boyle. For more information: bluestrawberrystl.com.

Chuck Lavazzi and Carol Schmidt

The Cabaret Project and The Blue Strawberry present a Singers Open Mic Tuesday, November 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. Medium/up-tempo songs are 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 at 364 N. Boyle. For more information: bluestrawberrystl.com.

Meghan Kirk

The Blue Strawberry presents Some Songs for You with singer Meghan Kirk and pianist Ron McGowan Wednesday at 7:00 pm, November 16. “Let the world disappear for a while, as song bird Meghan Kirk and pianist Ron McGowan take you on a musical journey through some of the greatest songs ever written." The Blue Strawberry is at 364 N. Boyle. For more information: bluestrawberrystl.com.

The Blue Strawberry presents Ben Jones: I Think We Should See Other People Saturday at 7:30 pm, November 19. “Ben Jones returns to Blue Strawberry with a funny, moving and deeply personal evening of classic standards, soaring showstoppers and modern hits, punctuated with raucous, side-splitting and devastatingly honest stories from his own love life. Serenading audiences with his 'extraordinary voice' (Night Life Exchange), Jones appears alongside his music director and collaborator, the legendary Ron Abel." The Blue Strawberry is at 364 N. Boyle. For more information: bluestrawberrystl.com.

The Lemp Mansion Murder Mystery Dinner Theatre and Jest Mysteries present A Dickens of a Killilng 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

The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis presents the second annual production of Michael Wilson’s adaptation of Dickens’s A Christmas Carol November 18 through December 30. “At long last, the ghosts of Ebenezer Scrooge’s past, present and future have caught up with him. Now London’s most infamous miser must face down his demons, reconcile the consequences of his choices and experience the power and joy of a miraculous redemption. This magical production will again be directed by Hana S. Sharif, Augustin Family Artistic Director at The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis and choreographed by Kirven Douthit-Boyd, Artistic Director at The Big Muddy Dance Company. The world of Charles Dickens’ will be brought to life by Tim Mackabee (Scenic Design), Dede Aytie (Costume Design), Seth Reiser (Lighting Design), and Hana S. Kim (Production Design). Chales Coles and Nathan Roberts provide the music and sound design, with musical direction by Tre’von Griffith.” Performances take on the main stage of the Loretto-Hilton Center on the Webster University campus.. For more information: www.repstl.org.

St. Louis Community College at Forest Park presents Mike Bartlett's Contractions on Friday, November 18, Saturday November 19 at 7:30pm, and Sunday November 20 at 2:00pm. "Emma’s been seeing Darren. She thinks she’s in love. Her boss thinks she’s in breach of contract. In a series of cordial but increasingly tense conversations, the two dissect the differences between “sexual” and “romantic,” negotiate the nature of Emma’s interoffice relationship, and face the consequences of shrinking privacy and binding contracts." Performances take place in the Theater at the Bastian Center for the Performing Arts on the Forest Park Campus. All performances are free of charge. For more information: stlcc.edu.

St. Louis University Theatre presents Everybody, directed by guest artist Alicia Like, Thursday through Sunday, October November 17-20. “Everybody, a one-act play by Branden Jacobs-Jenkins, premiered Off-Broadway in 2017 at the Signature Theatre and was first published in 2018. It is a modern retelling of Everyman, the most well-known and anthologized example of a medieval morality play, which was adapted from a Dutch play by an anonymous 15th-century English writer. Morality plays first appeared in the 12th century, evolving from the Catholic Church’s cycle plays and liturgical dramas, which reenacted biblical scenes, and became popular in the late Middle Ages (15th/16th centuries). They began as religious allegories designed to teach the audience a moral lesson by representing abstract concepts and ideas as characters.” Performances take place at the Xavier Hall Main Stage on the campus at 3733 West Pine Mall in Grand Center. For more information: www.slu.edu.

Slaying Dragons presents Giving Mental Illness a Stage, the company’s 12th anniversary fund raiser, Friday at 7:30 pm, Saturday at 6:30 pm, and Sunday at 1:30 pm, November 18-20. The mission of Slaying Dragons is to destroy the sitgma of mental illness through theatre. The event features performances from three of the company’s previous shows and takes place at the Center for Spiritual Living in St. Louis. For more information: www.slayingdragons.org.

Tesseract Theatre Company presents the musical Ordinary Days by Adam Gwon Fridays and Saturdays at 8 pm and Sundays at 4 pm, November 18-27. “Ordinary Days tells the story of four young New Yorkers whose lives intersect as they search for fulfillment, happiness, love, and cabs. Through a score of vibrant and memorable songs, their experiences ring startlingly true to life. Ordinary Days is an original musical for anyone who's ever struggled to appreciate the simple things in a complex place. With equal doses of humor and poignancy, it celebrates how 8.3 million individual stories combine in unexpected ways to make New York City such a unique and extraordinary home.” Performances take place at the .ZACK, 3224 Locust in Grand Center. For more information: www.tesseracttheatre.com.

The Good Ship St. Louis

Upstream Theater presents the world premiere of The Good Ship St. Louis, a new play by Philip Boehm with original music by Anthony Barilla, 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.

The Washington University Performing Arts Department presents The Dust Thursday and Friday at 8 pm, Saturday at 2 and 8 pm, and Sunday at 2 pm, November 17-20. “Love and Mortality. Existence and Destruction. These are the tensions at play in Hsu Yen Ling’s ‘The Dust.’ The play presents a series of seemingly unrelated scenes unfolding at what the writer calls the “instant of explosion.” Explosion of a building? Of a city? Of individual lives? A mother meets an estranged son. A professional couple debate what they choose to know about how they will die. A surrogate mother imagines starting a new world with the birth father. The Dust presents fragments of lives hovering on the brink of annihilation, and yet, all these people are doing their very best to move beyond fear to live lives of authentic happiness. Annelise Finnegan’s translation gives Hsu’s beautiful work a clear theatrical voice. First produced in November of 2013 in Taiwan, this is the U.S. premiere of The Dust. Performances take place in the A.E. Hotchner Studio Theatreon the Washington University Campus. For more information: pad.wustl.edu.

La Rondine
Photo: Rebecca Haas

The Westport Playhouse presents Disbelief, and Evening of Wonder and Laughter on Friday, November 11th, at 7:30 pm. “Spend the evening being amazed and amused by three mysterious and hilarious magicians. You'll leave the theatre smiling and wondering, "how did they do that?"”. The Westport Playhouse is in the Westport Plaza Business and Entertainment District. For more information: thewestportplayhouse.com.

Winter Opera presents Puccini’s La Rondine Friday at 7:30 pm and Sunday at 2 pm, November 18 and 20. “Inspired by Viennese Operetta, La Rondine by Giacomo Puccini tells the story of true love between the courtesan Magda and a young modest boy named Ruggero. As a kept woman of Rombaldo, Magda leads a comfortable life in Paris, but will she decide on a life of luxury or love? Enjoy the lush melodies of Puccini in this timeless love story.” Performances take place at the Kirkwood Performing Arts Center, 201 E. Monroe in Kirkwood, MO. For more information: https://www.winteroperastl.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.