St. Louis theatre calendar for the week of February 27, 2023

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.

The Alpha Players present J.B. Priestly’s An Inspector Calls through March 5. “It’s April 1912 at the home of the prosperous Birling family. Arthur Birling, his wife Sybil, their daughter Sheila and son Eric are in the drawing room just after dinner celebrating Sheila’s engagement to Gerald Croft, heir to a highly successful family business. Their cozy celebration is suddenly interrupted when the maid announces the unexpected arrival of Police Inspector Goole. The Inspector has come to the home as part of an inquiry into the death of a young woman. As the Inspector’s investigation unfolds, we find that each have secrets linking them to the tragedy.” Performances take place in the James J. Eagen Center in Florissant. For more information: www.alphaplayers.org

The Light
Photo: Phillip Hamer

The Black Rep, presents Loy A Webb’s The Light through March 5. “On their two-year dating anniversary, modern day couple Rashad and Genesis have plenty to celebrate—a marriage proposal and the promise of a new life together. But will their relationship survive when memories buried long ago are uncovered? The Light takes us on an emotional journey of love, laughter, and heartache as the two young adults reconcile their past and reaffirm their personal values to live in the truth.” Performances take place in the Hotchner Studio Theatre on the Washington University campus. For more information: www.theblackrep.org

The Blue Strawberry presents Claybourne Elder Thursday, March 2, at 7:30 pm. “In this candid show, one of Broadway’s brightest (and hunkiest!) stars, Claybourne Elder, shares his favorite songs – from Sondheim to French pop – along with reflections on romance, adventure, and growing up gay and Mormon in rural Utah. He'll also share theatre reminiscences from working with Stephen Sondheim to being on Broadway 8 times a week in his underwear. Get intimate with one of New York's favorite personalities in this hilarious and heartfelt solo show.” The Blue Strawberry is at 364 N. Boyle. For more information:  bluestrawberrystl.com

The Blue Strawberry presents Terry Barber in Mercury: The Music and The Life of Queen’s Freddie Mercury Saturday, March 4, at 8 pm. “Mercury is not as much a tribute to Queen as an exploration of the man’s life and work. When Farrokh “Freddie" Bulsara was eight years old, his parents sent him thousands of miles away to a boarding school in India. The family saw each other once a year. The very shy boy Freddie felt very much alone and lonely. He developed a protective skin. In music, he started to find a way out. The bravado developed at school became a big part of his stage persona. Part broken man and part rock god, Freddie Mercury showed it all on stage, and left if all there. In this new show about the man he reveres, Terry Barber sings Freddie’s songs, and explores the conflicts between his personal and public lives revealed by his music. Terry shares the story of each song, and locates its place in Freddie’s constellation of selves.” The Blue Strawberry is at 364 N. Boyle. For more information:  bluestrawberrystl.com

Ally Gia

The Blue Strawberry presents St. Louis's own Ally Gia in The Climb on Sunday, March 5, at 4 pm. “Join Ally Gia, a graduating senior musical theatre major at Webster’s Sargent Conservatory, as she guides you through an intimate night exploring her life journey towards the stage.” The Blue Strawberry is at 364 N. Boyle. For more information:  bluestrawberrystl.com

The Fabulous Fox presents Aaron Sorkin’s 2018 adaptation of Harper Lee’s novel To Kill a Mockingbird February 28 – March 12.  Richard Thomas plays Atticus Finch in this adaptation, directed by Bartlett Sher. The Fabulous Fox is on North Grand in Grand Center. For more information: fabulousfox.com

First Run Theatre presents the Spectrum 2023 Short Play Festival, Fridays and Saturdays at 8 pm and Sundays at 2 pm, March 3-12. The program consists of seven new one-act plays by local playwrights. Performances take place at The Chapel, 6238 Alexander Drive in Clayton. For more information: firstruntheatre.org/

Fly North Theatricals presents free performances of the musical Peter and the Starcatcher March 3 through 12. Performances take place at the Greenfinch Theater and Dive at 2525 S. Jefferson. For more information: www.flynorthmusic.com

The Kirkwood Theatre Guild presents the Agatha Christie’s The Mousetrap March 3 - 12. “After a local woman is murdered, the guests and staff at Monkswell Manor find themselves stranded. It soon becomes clear that the killer is among them, and the seven strangers grow increasingly suspicious of one another. A police detective interrogates the suspects: the newlyweds running the house; a spinster with a curious background; an architect who seems better equipped to be a chef; a retired Army major; a strange little man who claims his car has overturned in a drift; and a jurist who makes life miserable for everyone. When a second murder takes place, tensions and fears escalate!” Performances take place at the Robert Reim Theatre in Kirkwood, MO. For more information: ktg-onstage.org

The Lemp Mansion Murder Mystery Dinner Theatre and Jest Mysteries present Murder at the Abbey through May 6th. "Immerse yourself in a world full of aristocracy, old money a perhaps a touch of murder!  You’ve been invited to the dinner party held by the Earl of Grantham himself. Some would kill for the opportunity to meet the Crawley family.  They’ll all be there!  The Earl, his beautiful wife and three daughters…not to mention all your favorite characters in, and around, the Grantham house." The Lemp Mansion is at 3322 DeMenil Place in south city. For more information: www.lempmansion.com

Spells of the Sea
Photo: Jennifer Lin

Metro Theater Company presents the world premiere of the musical Spells of the Sea through March 5. “Finley Frankfurter is a 15-year-old fisherwoman who is terrible at fishing. H.S. Crank is a grumpy old lighthouse keeper who has been sitting for 20 years in the dark. Together, this unlikely pair begins an adventure through the ocean to find the Elixir of Life, an elusive remedy that will save Finley’s father from a mysterious illness. On their journey, the pair encounter mermaids and pirates, whirlpools and their worst fears, and finally a new understanding of the meaning of family, friendship, and trust in yourself.” Performances take place at the Grandel Theatre in Grand Center. The show is also available for video streaming beginning on Feburary 16.For more information: www.metroplays.org.

The Midnight Company presents Just One Look by Joe Hanrahan, starring Kelly Howe as Linda Ronstadt. “Linda Ronstadt ruled the pop charts and filled stadiums in the 70’s and 80’s. The reigning rock goddess of her era, she later took on light opera - Gilbert and Sullivan on Broadway - and The Great American Songbook with Nelson Riddle. Her involvement in social issues accelerated during her relationship with California Governor Jerry Brown, then running for President. But for Linda, it was always a search for the next great song. Kelly Howe will portray Linda Ronstadt and sing her sensational songs.” Performances take place Wednesdays at 7:30 pm, March 1 – 8 at The Blue Strawberry, 356 N. Boyle. For more information: bluestrawberrystl.com

Nine
Photo: Gerry Love

New Line Theatre presents the musical Nine Thursdays through Saturdays at 8 pm, March 2-25. “Based on filmmaking legend Federico Fellini’s iconic 1963 (semi-)autobiographical film 8 1/2, the musical NINE is a funny, crazy psychoanalytical roller coaster ride through the mind of a troubled, self-doubting genius who's suffering a midlife crisis. Underneath the comedy, it's a story about creation and creators, the sacrifices and compromises and demons, and the mysterious, delicate process of making great art.” .  Performances take place at the Marcelle Theatre in Grand Center. For more information: www.newlinetheatre.com

The Pageant presents the one-man show Men Are From Mars – Women Are From Venus LIVE! on Sunday March 5 at 3 pm. “Moving swiftly through a series of vignettes, the show covers everything from dating and marriage to the bedroom. This hysterical show will have couples elbowing each other all evening as they see themselves on stage. Sexy and fast paced, this show is definitely for adults, but will leave audiences laughing and giggling like little kids!” The Pageant is at 6161 Delmar. For more information: www.thepageant.com/

Confederates
Photo: Liz Lauren

The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis presents Confederates by Dominique Morisseau through March 5. “An enslaved rebel turned Union spy and a tenured professor in a modern-day private university are having parallel experiences of institutionalized racism, despite existing more than a century apart. MacArthur Genius Award-Winning Playwright, Dominique Morisseau, brilliantly bends the continuum of time and weaves together the stark realities of racial and gender bias both women face in this illuminating drama.” Performances take place on the main stage at the Loretto-Hilton Center on the Webster University campus. For more information: repstl.org.

Uncle Vanya
Photo: Patrick Huber

The St. Louis Actors’ Studio presents Chekov’s Uncle Vanya Fridays and Saturdays at 8 pm and Sundays at 3 pm, through March 5. “The visit of an elderly professor and his glamorous, much younger second wife, Yelena, to the rural estate that supports their urban lifestyle. Two friends—Vanya, brother of the professor's late first wife, who has long managed the estate, and Astrov, the local doctor—both fall under Yelena's spell, while bemoaning the ennui of their provincial existence. Sonya, the professor's daughter by his first wife, who has worked with Vanya to keep the estate going, suffers from her unrequited feelings for Astrov. Matters are brought to a crisis when the professor announces his intention to sell the estate, Vanya and Sonya's home, with a view to investing the proceeds to achieve a higher income for himself and his wife.”  Performances take place at The Gaslight Theater on North Boyle in the Central West End. For more information: www.stlas.org.

Variety STL presents its annual Curtain Call Revue Tuesday through Friday at 6 pm and Saturday at 7 pm, February 28 through March 4. The show features kids from ages 9 through 20 from the Curtain Call workshop program. Performances take place  at the Chesterfield YMCA. For more information: varietystl.org

The Washington University Performing Arts Department presents The Oresteia Fridays and Saturdays at 8 pm and Sundays at 2 pm, February 24 – March 5. “How can justice be achieved without piling new crimes on top of old ones? Ellen McLaughlin’s gripping adaptation of the trilogy by Aeschylus explores the intimacy of violence and the centrality of actions by women in this ancient Greek story about the foundations of the law.” Performances take place in the Edison Theatre on the Washington University Campus. For more information: pad.wustl.edu.

Webster Conservatory presents the musical Rain and Zoe Save the World Friday at 7:30 pm, Saturday at 2 and 7:30 pm, and Sunday at 2 pm, March 3-5. “Two teenage climate activists embark on an impulsive motorcycle journey to join a group of oil protesters. What begins as two young environmentalists’ longing to belong to something greater than themselves gives way to their discovering that the true danger in this world might just be growing up. This brand new play is a funny, sincere and profoundly moving adventure about the ethics of standing up for what you believe, whatever the cost.” Performances take place in the Emerson Studio Theatre on the Webster University campus in Webster Groves. For more information: www.webster.edu

Winter Opera presents Sigmund Romberg’s The Desert Song Friday at 7:30 pm and Sunday at 2 pm, March 3 and 5. “Explore the land of romance and adventure with the mysterious Red Shadow.” Performances take place at the Kirkwood Performing Arts Center, 201 E. Monroe in Kirkwood, MO. For more information: 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.

Symphony Review: Tessa Lark comes out on top in soloist reshuffle

Two weeks ago The St. Louis Symphony Orchestra got hit with what must be every professional orchestra’s headache: the sudden cancellation of a featured soloist due to illness. What made it a full-on migraine was the fact that the soloist, violinist Nicola Benedetti, was scheduled for a two-week residency during which she would play two violin concertos written for her and first performed by her: one by James MacMillan (who also conducted the first of the two concerts) and one by Benedetti’s husband Wynton Marsalis.

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

For the February 10th and 11th concerts the SLSO elected to substitute Mendelssohn’s “Hebrides” Overture rather than engage a new soloist on such short notice. This past weekend (February 18th and 19th), with SLSO Music Director Stéphane Denève at the podium, there was both a replacement soloist—the Grammy-nominated Tessa Lark—and not one but two works for violin and orchestra: the “Poème” Op. 25 by Ernest Chausson (1855–1899) and “Tzigane” by Maurice Ravel (1875–1937).

The bad news is that we’ll have to wait until a future date to see Benedetti perform both works live with the SLSO. The good news is that Lark’s performance was stunning and that the substitutions resulted in a program entirely by French composers that was also international in scope.

Allow me to explain.

It began with the “Marche écossaise sur un théme populaire” (“Scottish march on a popular theme”) by Claude Debussy (1862–1918). Originally written for two pianos and later orchestrated by the composer, the “Marche ecossaise” was commissioned by a man Debussy believed to be a Scottish General but who was, in fact, an American diplomat. In any case, this entertaining if trifling mix of the Gallic and the Caledonian is great fun to hear, especially when preceded by a performance of the original march by local bagpipe virtuoso Chris Apps.

Chris Apps

Decked out in traditional Highland gear, complete with beret and kilt, Apps cut a striking figure as he walked on stage Sunday afternoon to deliver a rousing rendition of the tune. Hearing that tune it its original form enhanced the pleasure of listening to Debussy’s transformation of it. Starting as a march and ending with a jig, it all sounds more like Delius than Debussy—especially in the calme (meno tempo) interlude—but that made it no less enjoyable.

Things became more lyrical with the entrance of Lark for Chausson’s “Poème.” Inspired by a Turgenev novella, the Poème” is a work of otherworldly beauty, and Lark’s intensely Romantic performance perfectly captured that. The slowly dying trills that end the Poème were especially effective, as were the two cadenzas the composer provided to showcase the soloist.

Next, Lark had a chance to demonstrate her technical prowess in Ravel’s “Tzigane.” Inspired by the playing of the Hungarian-born violinist Jelly d’Arányi, “Tzigane” is an outrageously difficult piece. The slow, smoldering romanticism of the opening eventually gives way to a wildly energetic finale that will test the skill of the best violinists. Lark proved more than equal to both the intense passion of the long solo introduction and the wild, fiery finale. If you missed her performance last weekend, never fear: classical radio station WQXR has provided a YouTube video of her playing the original violin and piano version.

The second half of the program consisted of two popular orchestral blockbusters: Debussy’s sunny “Ibéria” and Ravel’s apocalyptic “La Valse.” This is music that Maestro Denève clearly knows well—he conducted both without a score—and clearly loves. I know I loved what he did with both of them and, judging from the response, so did the audience.

Tessa Lark and Stéphane Denève
Photo: Chuck Lavazzi

Although Debussy never spent more than a few hours in Spain, he nevertheless had plenty of exposure to Spanish music and dance. That, and his imagination, were all he needed to conjure up this Ivesian collage of day and night in the town of San Sebastián, just a few miles from the Spanish-French border. It’s colorful music with constantly shifting melodic and harmonic perspectives, rather like a French “New Wave” film.

That means there is a plethora of opportunities for individuals and whole sections to move in and out of sonic focus. A few examples include the languorous oboes and English horn in the second movement (“The Fragrances of the Night”), the solo by Concertmaster David Halen in the third movement (“The Morning of a Festival Day”), and the piquant sound of the strings in the first movement (“In the Streets and Byways”). Debussy subdivided the first and second violins into multiple groups here, producing an unusually complex sound.

The way the entire orchestra seems to breathe in a dreamlike state during the second movement is also impressive. The SLSO hasn’t played this music since 1997, but under Denève’s direction they performed with their accustomed precision.

This weekend's concerts concluded with Ravel's “La Valse,” a work that began in 1911 with the title “Wein” (“Vienna”). Before it could be completed, however, World War I (in which the composer served as an ambulance driver) intervened, and by the time it premiered in 1920 it had become something far more profound. Beginning in darkness at the very bottom of the orchestra, “La Valse” rises to what at first seems to be a gleaming homage to the 19th century Vienna of the Strauss family. Over the course of the next ten minutes or so, though, it becomes less joyous and more frenzied. The violent, crashing finale has always made me think of a huge, ornate machine spinning faster and faster until it hurls itself to pieces.

Denève last conducted “La Valse” with the SLSO in 2018, shortly after his appointment as Music Director. Back then I called his performance “dramatic, subtly shaded, and exceptionally effective.” It was certainly all of that Sunday afternoon, with the hushed opening (basses playing pianissimo and muted) starting in the near silence Denève achieved by holding the first downbeat until everyone had settle down and stopped coughing. From there the inexorable build to the frankly horrifying conclusion was masterfully done and beautifully played.

Denève, in his pre-concert remarks, described “La Valse” as “dancing on a volcano…which, I guess, means a lot today.” I can’t disagree. I was reminded, not for the first time, of Barbara W. Tuchman’s “The March of Folly.” Sometimes, it seems, the dance macabre can be a waltz.

Next at Powell Hall: The regular season takes a break for some “one of” concerts. Kevin McBeth conducts the orchestra, the IN UNISON Chorus, and soloist Kennedy Holmes in a “Lift Every Voice: A Black History Month Celebration” on Friday, February 24 at 7:30 pm. Brent Havens conducts the orchestra and vocalist Nick Adams in “The Music of the Rolling Stones” on Saturday the 25th at 7:30 pm. And Stephanie Childress conducts the SLSO Youth Orchestra on Sunday the 26th at 3:00 pm in “Music Without Boundaries,” an immersive 45-minute concert for children ages 5–10. Soloists include Rulin Olivia Zhang (erhu), Amir Salesevic (accordion), and the UMSL Percussion Ensemble under Matthew Henry.

The regular season resumes Friday at 7:30 pm and Saturday at 10:30 am, March 3 and 4, as Stephanie Childress conducts the orchestra in music of Haydn, Schumann, and Oswald Huỳnh.

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 20, 2023

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.

The Alpha Players present J.B. Priestly’s An Inspector Calls February 24 – March 5. “It’s April 1912 at the home of the prosperous Birling family. Arthur Birling, his wife Sybil, their daughter Sheila and son Eric are in the drawing room just after dinner celebrating Sheila’s engagement to Gerald Croft, heir to a highly successful family business. Their cozy celebration is suddenly interrupted when the maid announces the unexpected arrival of Police Inspector Goole. The Inspector has come to the home as part of an inquiry into the death of a young woman. As the Inspector’s investigation unfolds, we find that each have secrets linking them to the tragedy.” Performances take place in the James J. Eagen Center in Florissant. For more information: www.alphaplayers.org

The Light
Photo: Phillip Hamer

The Black Rep, presents Loy A Webb’s The Light through March 5. “On their two-year dating anniversary, modern day couple Rashad and Genesis have plenty to celebrate—a marriage proposal and the promise of a new life together. But will their relationship survive when memories buried long ago are uncovered? The Light takes us on an emotional journey of love, laughter, and heartache as the two young adults reconcile their past and reaffirm their personal values to live in the truth.” Performances take place in the Hotchner Studio Theatre on the Washington University campus. For more information: www.theblackrep.org

The Cabaret Project and The Blue Strawberry present a Singers Open Mic Tuesday, February 21, 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: thecabaretproject.org.

The Lemp Mansion Murder Mystery Dinner Theatre and Jest Mysteries present Murder at the Abbey through May 6th. "Immerse yourself in a world full of aristocracy, old money a perhaps a touch of murder!  You’ve been invited to the dinner party held by the Earl of Grantham himself. Some would kill for the opportunity to meet the Crawley family.  They’ll all be there!  The Earl, his beautiful wife and three daughters…not to mention all your favorite characters in, and around, the Grantham house." The Lemp Mansion is at 3322 DeMenil Place in south city. For more information: www.lempmansion.com

Spells of the Sea
Photo: Jennifer Lin

Metro Theater Company presents the world premiere of the musical Spells of the Sea through March 5. “Finley Frankfurter is a 15-year-old fisherwoman who is terrible at fishing. H.S. Crank is a grumpy old lighthouse keeper who has been sitting for 20 years in the dark. Together, this unlikely pair begins an adventure through the ocean to find the Elixir of Life, an elusive remedy that will save Finley’s father from a mysterious illness. On their journey, the pair encounter mermaids and pirates, whirlpools and their worst fears, and finally a new understanding of the meaning of family, friendship, and trust in yourself.” Performances take place at the Grandel Theatre in Grand Center. The show is also available for video streaming beginning on Feburary 16.For more information: www.metroplays.org.

Confederates
Photo: Liz Lauren

The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis presents Confederates by Dominique Morisseau through March 5. “An enslaved rebel turned Union spy and a tenured professor in a modern-day private university are having parallel experiences of institutionalized racism, despite existing more than a century apart. MacArthur Genius Award-Winning Playwright, Dominique Morisseau, brilliantly bends the continuum of time and weaves together the stark realities of racial and gender bias both women face in this illuminating drama.” Performances take place on the main stage at the Loretto-Hilton Center on the Webster University campus. For more information: repstl.org.

Uncle Vanya
Photo: Patrick Huber

The St. Louis Actors’ Studio presents Chekov’s Uncle Vanya Fridays and Saturdays at 8 pm and Sundays at 3 pm, through March 5. “The visit of an elderly professor and his glamorous, much younger second wife, Yelena, to the rural estate that supports their urban lifestyle. Two friends—Vanya, brother of the professor's late first wife, who has long managed the estate, and Astrov, the local doctor—both fall under Yelena's spell, while bemoaning the ennui of their provincial existence. Sonya, the professor's daughter by his first wife, who has worked with Vanya to keep the estate going, suffers from her unrequited feelings for Astrov. Matters are brought to a crisis when the professor announces his intention to sell the estate, Vanya and Sonya's home, with a view to investing the proceeds to achieve a higher income for himself and his wife.”  Performances take place at The Gaslight Theater on North Boyle in the Central West End. For more information: www.stlas.org.

St. Louis University Theatre presents The Wolves, directed by Nancy Bell, Thursday through Sunday, February 23-26. “In this contemporary slice-of-life play written by Sarah DeLappe, an indoor soccer team, named The Wolves, practices drills as they prepare for a succession of games. As they warm up and talk about life, the players navigate the politics of their personal lives as well as the larger world, gossiping about things like war, menstrual products, genocide, sports, pop culture and their relationships. Each character struggles to define their own individuality while being a part of a team. They bond over a bag of orange slices and personal traumas.” 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

Singnasium presents Broadway Our Way!: A Showcase of STL Based Cabaret Singers on Monday, February 20 at 7:00 pm. “Singnasium's Broadway Our Way is a showcase of STL-based cabaret singers, the culmination of a high-level weekend "bootcamp" taught by New York's Lennie Watts and Steven Ray-Watkins. Join singers Anna Blair, Steve Brammeier, Beverly Brennan, Journee Carter, Gary Cox, Ethan Edwards, Katie McGrath, Angie Nicholson, Donna O'Riordan and Samantha Rodgers.. The show is directed by Lennie Watts with musical direction by Steven Ray-Watkins. The performance takes place at The Blue Strawberry, 364 N. Boyle. For more information: bluestrawberrystl.com.

Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
Photo: John Lamb

Stray Dog Theatre presents Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? Thursdays through Saturdays through February 25. “George and Martha, the American theater’s most notoriously dysfunctional couple, have invited the young and naive Nick and Honey over for drinks. What begins as harmless patter escalates to outright marital warfare, with the provincial newcomers caught in the crossfire.” 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.

Tesseract Theatre Company presents Jason Robert Brown’s two-character musical The Last Five Years Fridays and Saturdays at 8 pm and Sundays at 4 pm through February 26. “This modern musical ingeniously chronicles the five-year life of a marriage, from meeting to break-up and from break-up to meeting. An emotionally powerful and intimate musical about two New Yorkers in their twenties who fall in and out of love over the course of five years, the show's unconventional structure consists of Cathy, the woman, telling her story backwards while Jamie, the man, tells his story chronologically.” Performances take place at the .ZACK, 3224 Locust in Grand Center. For more information: www.tesseracttheatre.com.

The Washington University Performing Arts Department presents The Oresteia Fridays and Saturdays at 8 pm and Sundays at 2 pm, February 24 – March 5. “How can justice be achieved without piling new crimes on top of old ones? Ellen McLaughlin’s gripping adaptation of the trilogy by Aeschylus explores the intimacy of violence and the centrality of actions by women in this ancient Greek story about the foundations of the law.” Performances take place in the Edison Theatre on the Washington University Campus. For more information: pad.wustl.edu.

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: French connections

“O Fortuna / velut luna / statu variabilis / semper crescis / aut decrescis” (O Fortune, / like the moon / you are changeable, / ever waxing / ever waning”). Thus opens Carl Orff’s popular “Carmina Burana,” based on the collection of 13th century Latin poems of the same name. It’s a reminder of the role sheer blind luck plays in human affairs—something too many people these days seem determined to deny.

[Preview the music with my Spotify playlist.]

The changes in the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra programs this weekend and last are a prime example. The illness of the violinist Nicola Benedetti, who was scheduled to play both programs, forced the orchestra to drop the local premieres of contemporary violin concertos by James MacMillan (last week) and Wynton Marsalis (this week).

John Meredith Read
Photo by Edward Carpenter 
Public Domain

Last weekend the SLSO elected to substitute Mendelssohn’s “Hebrides” Overture rather than engage a new soloist on such short notice. This weekend we have a replacement soloist—the Grammy-nominated Tessa Lark—and not one but two works for violin and orchestra: the “Poème” Op. 25 by Ernest Chausson (1855–1899) and “Tzigane” by Maurice Ravel (1875–1937). Add in the originally scheduled pieces by Ravel and Claude Debussy (1862–1918) and you have a program that’s all French, but with an international flair.

It all begins with a Debussy bijou that the SLSO hasn’t performed since 1925, the “Marche écossaise sur un théme populaire” (“Scottish march on a popular theme”). Originally written for two pianos, it was, As Stephen Walsh writes in Debussy, a Painter in Sound, “one of a brace of salon pieces composed in 1890 with a view, presumably, to a quick sale to a publisher, the Choudens brothers.” The march was composed on a commission from "General" Meredith Read, who wanted a setting of a march tune associated with the Ross clan, of which he claimed to be a descendant.

I say "claimed" because a little digging into history reveals that Read (not "Reid," as his name has been misspelled by nearly everyone) was neither Scottish nor an actual General—at least in the military sense. He was, in fact, J. Meredith Read (1837—1896), an American diplomat who was the former consul-general for France and Algeria. Despite having lived in Paris for years, Meredith spoke no French and so, as Marie Rolf writes in the summer-fall 2012 issue of the Musical Quarterly, "his meeting with Debussy allegedly required the translation skills of Alphonse Allais at the nearby Bar Austin." Whether Read misrepresented himself or Debussy simply misunderstood becasue of the way Read's words were translated is unknown.

In any case Read was, according to Tim Munro’s program notes, not especially happy with the result, but Debussy apparently liked it enough to create the 1908 orchestral version we’ll hear this weekend. It’s certainly a bit of an odd duck, with the Highland sounds of the march, the composer’s shimmering orchestration, and what Walsh calls “some mild whole-tonerie” all blended into a kind of Gallic/Caledonian fantasy.

Ernest Chausson ca.1897
Photo by Guy & Mockel
Public Domain

By way of contrast, Chausson’s 1896 “Poème” is purely French and lavishly Romantic. Inspired by Turgenev's 1881 novella The Song of Love Triumphant, the “Poème” originally had the same title as the book, but Chausson changed it before the piece was published, apparently to avoid associating it too closely with the novel. I think it was a wise decision; this music has a haunting beauty that doesn't need any extra-musical references.

The “Poème” has been massively popular with violinists ever since it was first performed by the great composer/violinist Eugène Ysaÿe, who commissioned the piece and may have helped with some of the details of the violin part. "When Ysaÿe introduced the Poème in Paris," writes Michael Steinberg in The Concerto: A Listener's Guide, "the applause rang on and on. Chausson's friend the novelist Camille Mauclair recalled that the bewildered composer kept repeating, 'I can't get over it.'"

Sadly, it wouldn't last; only two years after the work's 1897 premiere, Chausson died when he lost control of a bicycle and smashed into the wall of his country villa. He was only 44. Chausson is a composer whose music does not, in my view, get quite as much attention as it deserves. His Symphony in B flat (1890) is a particular favorite of mine, but live performances seem to be rare.

Jelly d’Arányi
By Unknown author,
Public Domain

Next, it’s Ravel’s 1924 high-wire act “Tzigane.”  The title is French for "gypsy," and while this fiercely difficult piece for violin and orchestra doesn't use any actual Hungarian folk tunes, it certainly conjures up the feel of that kind of music. The slow, smoldering romanticism of the opening eventually gives way to a wildly energetic finale that will test the skill of the best violinists.

Ravel was inspired to write the work after hearing the Hungarian-born violinist Jelly d’Arányi in a private performance of Ravel’s Sonata for Violin and Cello. Although she was a classically trained performer, Ravel asked her to play some “gypsy” music. She responded with what William E. Runyan calls “a dazzling informal improvisation in the Gypsy style,” and Ravel was hooked.

Tessa Lark does not appear to have recorded the “Poème,” but she did record the Ravel, albeit in its original violin and piano form rather than the orchestral version we’ll hear this time. My Spotify playlist includes both her recording as well as Nicola Benedetti’s recordings of both “Tzigane” and the “Poème.”

Debussy in 1908
en.wikipedia.org

Debussy returns in the second half of the evening with a more famous and much more substantial work: “Ibéria,” the second of his three “Images” for orchestra (the other two, “Gigues” and “Rondes de Printemps,” are heard less often). Walsh calls it “an almost cinematic stretch of musical footage, a twenty-minute travelogue that depends for its effect on the multiple layering of different colours and the rapid intercutting of quasi-visual images and slices of musical life.”

As capsule descriptions go, that’s a winner. The three short movements of “Ibéria” do, in fact, feel like the musical equivalent of the mid-20th-century school of French cinema known as “La Nouvelle Vague” (“The New Wave”) with its odd mix of realism, subjectivity, and fragmented narrative. Themes appear and  disappear, and then emerge once more in subtly altered forms, sometimes when you least expect them. For a more detailed description, allow me to recommend Michael Steinberg’s excellent program notes for the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra.

This weekend's concerts will conclude with Ravel's “La Valse,” a work that began in 1911 with the title “Wein” (“Vienna”). And, in fact, a bit of it shows up in a piece from that same year, the “Valses nobles et sentimentales.” Before it could be completed, however, World War I (in which the composer served as an ambulance driver) intervened, and by the time “La Valse” was submitted to (and foolishly rejected by) Diaghilev for the Ballets Russes in 1919, it had become something far more profound.

Maurice Ravel in 1925
en.wikipedia.org

"At the close of World War I," writes Carl E. Schorske in Fin-De-Siecle Vienna: Politics and Culture, "Maurice Ravel recorded in La valse the violent death of the nineteenth-century world. The waltz, long the symbol of gay Vienna, became in the composer's hand a frantic danse macabre.” Ravel himself, though, resisted anything that specific. “It is a dancing, whirling, almost hallucinatory ecstasy,” he said in a 1922 interview for a Dutch newspaper, “an increasingly passionate and exhausting whirlwind of dancers, who are overcome and exhilarated by nothing but ‘the waltz.’”

That said, I can't hear it without envisioning a huge, ornate machine spinning faster and faster until it hurls itself to pieces—as the complex structure of 19th-century Europe did in the so-called "war to end all wars". The piece is, needless to say, brilliantly orchestrated, and its crashing finale is thrilling—but also a bit unnerving. It reminds me of the old joke about the problem with history being that every time it repeats itself, the price goes up.

So there you have it: a program of musique très française that’s also part Scottish, Russian, Spanish, and Viennese. Now if only they had some actual French wines at the bar….

The Essentials: Stéphane Denève conducts the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra and violin soloist Tessa Lark in music by Debussy, Chausson, and Ravel Saturday at 8 pm and Sunday at 3 pm, February 18 and 19. The Saturday concert will be broadcast live on St. Louis Public Radio and Classic 107.3. There will also be a special “Crafted” happy hour performance of Debussy’s “Ibéria” and Ravel’s “La Valse” on Friday, February 17. Doors open at 5:30 pm for drink samples and snacks from local vendors, with the concert starting at 6:30.

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 13th, 2023

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.

The Black Rep, presents Loy A Webb’s The Light through February 26.  “On their two-year dating anniversary, modern day couple Rashad and Genesis have plenty to celebrate—a marriage proposal and the promise of a new life together. But will their relationship survive when memories buried long ago are uncovered? The Light takes us on an emotional journey of love, laughter, and heartache as the two young adults reconcile their past and reaffirm their personal values to live in the truth.” Performances take place in the Hotchner Studio Theatre on the Washington University campus. For more information: www.theblackrep.org

The Lemp Mansion Murder Mystery Dinner Theatre and Jest Mysteries present Murder at the Abbey through May 6th. "Immerse yourself in a world full of aristocracy, old money a perhaps a touch of murder!  You’ve been invited to the dinner party held by the Earl of Grantham himself. Some would kill for the opportunity to meet the Crawley family.  They’ll all be there!  The Earl, his beautiful wife and three daughters…not to mention all your favorite characters in, and around, the Grantham house." The Lemp Mansion is at 3322 DeMenil Place in south city. For more information: www.lempmansion.com

Spells of the Sea
Photo: Jennifer A. Lin

Metro Theater Company presents the world premiere of the musical Spells of the Sea through March 5. “Finley Frankfurter is a 15-year-old fisherwoman who is terrible at fishing. H.S. Crank is a grumpy old lighthouse keeper who has been sitting for 20 years in the dark. Together, this unlikely pair begins an adventure through the ocean to find the Elixir of Life, an elusive remedy that will save Finley’s father from a mysterious illness. On their journey, the pair encounter mermaids and pirates, whirlpools and their worst fears, and finally a new understanding of the meaning of family, friendship, and trust in yourself.” Performances take place at the Grandel Theatre in Grand Center. The show is also available for video streaming beginning on Feburary 16.For more information: www.metroplays.org.

Mustard Seed Theatre presents Feminine Energy by Jacqueline Thompson through February 19 .  “In this comedy, three long-time friends navigate their fertility, their relationships, and their womanhood. Content Warning: Feminine Energy contains mature themes that may not be suitable for younger audiences. Sensitive themes include: pregnancy and childbirth, medical trauma and illness, discrimination, eating disorders, and conversations on death and dying.” Performances take place in the theatre on the Fontobnne College campus, 6800 Wydown. For more information: https://www.mustardseedtheatre.com/

The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis presents Confederates by Dominique Morisseau through March 5. “An enslaved rebel turned Union spy and a tenured professor in a modern-day private university are having parallel experiences of institutionalized racism, despite existing more than a century apart. MacArthur Genius Award-Winning Playwright, Dominique Morisseau, brilliantly bends the continuum of time and weaves together the stark realities of racial and gender bias both women face in this illuminating drama.” Performances take place on the main stage at the Loretto-Hilton Center on the Webster University campus. For more information: repstl.org.

Side by Side by Sondheim

The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis presents the musical revue Side by Side by Sondheim  through February 19. “Celebrate legendary composer and lyricist Stephen Sondheim as the Rep revisits some of his most poignant, powerful and witty contributions to the American musical theatre canon. This cabaret-style revue features a variety of Sondheim’s most notable songs, including a collection of rarely performed numbers straight from the cutting-room floor. Side by Side by Sondheim explores the breadth of Sondheim’s acclaimed career, including numbers from Follies, West Side Story, Company, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, Anyone Can Whistle, Pacific Overtures, Gypsy and more.” Performances take place on the Berges Mainstage Theatre at COCA in University City. For more information: repstl.org.

The St. Louis Actors’ Studio presents Chekov’s Uncle Vanya Fridays and Saturdays at 8 pm and Sundays at 3 pm, February 17 through March 5. “The visit of an elderly professor and his glamorous, much younger second wife, Yelena, to the rural estate that supports their urban lifestyle. Two friends—Vanya, brother of the professor's late first wife, who has long managed the estate, and Astrov, the local doctor—both fall under Yelena's spell, while bemoaning the ennui of their provincial existence. Sonya, the professor's daughter by his first wife, who has worked with Vanya to keep the estate going, suffers from her unrequited feelings for Astrov. Matters are brought to a crisis when the professor announces his intention to sell the estate, Vanya and Sonya's home, with a view to investing the proceeds to achieve a higher income for himself and his wife.”  Performances take place at The Gaslight Theater on North Boyle in the Central West End. For more information: www.stlas.org.

Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
Photo: John Lamb

Stray Dog Theatre presents Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? Thursdays through Saturdays through February 25. “George and Martha, the American theater’s most notoriously dysfunctional couple, have invited the young and naive Nick and Honey over for drinks. What begins as harmless patter escalates to outright marital warfare, with the provincial newcomers caught in the crossfire.” 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.

Tesseract Theatre Company presents Jason Robert Brown’s two-character musical The Last Five Years Fridays and Saturdays at 8 pm and Sundays at 4 pm, February 17-26. “This modern musical ingeniously chronicles the five-year life of a marriage, from meeting to break-up and from break-up to meeting. An emotionally powerful and intimate musical about two New Yorkers in their twenties who fall in and out of love over the course of five years, the show's unconventional structure consists of Cathy, the woman, telling her story backwards while Jamie, the man, tells his story chronologically.” Performances take place at the .ZACK, 3224 Locust in Grand Center. For more information: www.tesseracttheatre.com.

Webster Conservatory presents A Bright Room Called Day by Tony Kushner Friday at 7:30 pm, Saturday at 2 and 7:30 pm, and Sunday at 2 pm, February 17-19. “From the Pulitzer Prize–winning author of Angels in America comes this powerful portrayal of individual dissolution and resolution in the face of political catastrophe. A Bright Room Called Day centers on a group of Berlin artists and the changes in their lives as Nazism rises in Germany. The audacious play urges us to contend with the present as it narrates a story set in the early 1930s.” Performances take place in the Emerson Studio Theatre on the Webster University campus in Webster Groves. For more information: www.webster.edu

Outside Mullingar
Photo: John Lamb

West End Players Guild presents John Patrick Shanley’s Outside Mullingar through February 19. “It’s the story of the somewhat awkward romance of Anthony and Rosemary, two 40-ish adults who are the only children of two Irish families living on small adjacent farms outside Mullingar, County Westmeath, Ireland.  Both have spent their entire lives on the farm and have known each other as long as they can remember.  Both are painfully shy in affairs of the heart.  Each quietly yearns for the other, but neither can muster the courage to express those desires.  And so they live, side by side but apart, watching the years slip away, hoping something will happen – and, eventually, it does.  It’s a very Irish love story – not simply about the love between two people, but also about love of the Irish countryside.  It’s also one of the most delightful romantic comedies you’ll ever see.” 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: Darkest before the dawn

“The best laid schemes o’ Mice an’ Men,” wrote Robert Burns back in 1785, “Gang aft agley.” Today I might add “and of symphony orchestras as well.”

[Preview the music with my Spotify playlist.]

This weekend, composer/conductor Sir James MacMillan (b. 1959) was originally scheduled to conduct the St. LouisSymphony Orchestra in a program that would have included two of his own compositions: “The World’s Ransoming” for English horn (cor anglais) and orchestra, with SLSO Principal English horn Cally Banham as soloist, and his Violin Concerto No. 2 with Nicola Benedetti, who gave the work its world premiere last fall.

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

The good news is that Banham is still on the program. The bad news is that Benedetti is not, due to illness. Replacing the concerto will be “The Hebrides (Fingal's Cave),” op. 26 by Felix Mendelssohn (1809–1847). Given that both MacMillan and the inspiration for Mendelssohn’s overture are Scottish, that seems appropriate.

Last heard here in 2017, Mendelssohn's overture powerfully summons up the wild and brooding Scottish islands that the composer visited in 1829. His specific inspiration was a visit to Fingal’s Cave on the uninhabited island of Staffa. “With its echoing acoustics, which emphasised the sound of rumbling waves,” writes Hannah Neplova of the BBC Music Magazine, “Fingal's Cave made a deep impression on Mendelssohn, who later sent his sister Fanny a postcard, with the work's opening theme, that read: 'In order to make you understand how extraordinarily the Hebrides affected me, I send you the following, which came into my head there.'”

The actual overture would take three years to write, with the final revised version getting its first performance in Berlin in 1833, with the composer at the podium. Given the overture’s enduring popularity, it looks like it was worth the wait.

The dark and stormy atmosphere of “The Hebrides” turns out to be a good prelude to the musical darkness of “The World’s Ransoming.” Composed in 1995/96 on a commission from the London Symphony Orchestra, it is as the composer relates in his program notes, the first of a series of three works related to the events and liturgies of the Easter Triduum—Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and the Easter Vigil:

The World’s Ransoming focuses on Maundy Thursday and its musical material includes references to plainsongs for that day, Pange lingua and Ubi caritas as well as a Bach chorale (Ach wie nichtig) which I have heard being sung in the eucharistic procession to the altar of repose. The cor anglais part emerges from the orchestra to carry the lamenting ritual through a long, slow and delicately scored introduction and then through a process of metric gear-changes as the music becomes more animated.

Sir James MacMillan
Photo courtesy of the SLSO

The title of the work refers to the final lines of Pange lingua (by St. Thomas Aquinas) which describe Christ’s blood “shed for the world’s ransoming.”

The sense of anxiety and lamentation is strong in this music, enhanced by the dark and melancholy sound of the English horn. The piece opens with angry growling sixteenth notes in the low woodwinds that quickly expand to the flutes and brass sections. Violent interjections from the tympani lead to a massive dissonant outburst that quickly subsides to make way for the elaborately melismatic solo line of the English horn. More violent outbursts pop up as well as a weird setting of the Bach chorale for muted brass, wood blocks, and agogo bells that has an unsettling feel of Shostakovich-style mockery.

It all ends with a flurry of sixteenth and thirty-second notes in the woodwinds, a last despairing solo from the cor anglais, and finally, a few measures of whacks on large plywood cubes. The composer says that these “[set] the scene for the next piece in the cycle, the Cello Concerto.” Heard all by themselves, they bring the work to an oddly enigmatic conclusion.

The Easter theme continues after intermission with the “Russian Easter Overture,” Op. 26, written by Nicolai Rimsky-Korsakov (1844–1908) in 1888, the same year as his Greatest Hit, “Scheherazade”.  Like both “The Hebrides” and “The Ransoming of the World,” this is music that begins in sonic darkness—in this case, the darkness of Passion Saturday, which precedes the unbridled celebration of Easter Sunday, the major holiday of the Orthodox Christian year.

The work is so well-known and so vividly described by the composer in chapter 20 of his autobiography “My Musical Life” (where it title is given as the “Easter Sunday Overture" in the 1923 Judah A. Joffee translation) that I’m going to just refer you there. It’s quite an interesting read, especially the part wherein the composer (who was not a believer) points out that his sonic description of Easter is as much about the holiday’s pagan origins as it is about its importance in the Christian calendar:

And all these Easter loaves and twists and the glowing tapers…. How far a cry from the philosophic and socialistic teaching of Christ! This legendary and heathen side of the holiday, this transition from the gloomy and mysterious evening of Passion Saturday to the unbridled pagan-religious merry-making on the morn of Easter Sunday, is what I was eager to reproduce in my Overture.

Portrait of Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov in 1898
by Valentin Serov (detail)
en.wikipedia.org

He went on to add that “in order to appreciate my Overture even ever so slightly, it is necessary that the hearer should have attended Easter morning-service at least once and, at that, not in a domestic chapel, but in a cathedral thronged with people from every walk of life with several priests conducting the cathedral service.” Most of us haven’t had that experience, but at least you can hear a fine performance of it by Yuri Termirkanov and the New York Philharmonic on my Spotify playlist. Or, if you want a closer look, check out the YouTube performance by USSR Symphony Orchestra conducted by Evgeny Svetlanov, which comes with a synchronized score.

Christianity—or at least Dante’s version of it in the “Inferno” section of his “Divine Comedy”—pops up again in the evening’s Big Finish, “Francesca Da Rimini: Symphonic Fantasy after Dante,” op. 32, composed in 1876 by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840–1893). “I wrote it with love and love has turned out pretty well, I think,” he wrote to his brother Modest in October of that year. Audiences have generally agreed; this big, highly charged tone poem is often performed and is well represented on recordings.

Francesca Da Rimini (original name Francesca Da Polenta) was a real noblewoman in 13th-century Italy. The daughter of Guido da Polenta, ruler of Ravenna, Francesca was married off to one Gianciotto Malatesta, whose family ran the show in Rimini, just to the south. As is sometimes the case in marriages of political convenience, this union was not an especially happy one, and Francesca became embroiled in an affair with Gianciotto’s brother Paolo. Giancotto discovered the pair in flagrante delicto and, in a classic display of poor impulse control, murdered them both.

Tchaikovsky circa 1872
en.wikipedia.org

In the medieval moral universe, this meant that Francesca and Paolo were condemned to the second circle of Hell. In Canto V of “inferno” Dante (in the John Ciardi translation) describes this as:

a place stripped bare of every light
And roaring on the naked dark like seas
Wracked by a war of winds. Their hellish flight
Of storm and counterstorm through time foregone,
Sweeps the souls of the damned before its charge.

Here are “those who sinned in the flesh, the carnal and lusty / Who betrayed reason to their appetite.”  This does not, apparently, include guys like Giancotto, who simply betrayed reason for a little casual murder.

But I digress.

Tchaikovsky’s tone poem opens and closes with a vivid depiction of Dante’s “storm and counterstorm” in which strings and winds swirl madly over blasts of brass and percussion. This brackets a lavishly romantic section in which, as in Dante’s original, Francesca tells the story of her ill-fated romance. Dante is so moved that:

I felt my senses reel
And faint away with anguish. I was swept
By such a swoon as death is, and I fell,
As a corpse might fall, to the dead floor of Hell.

Tchaikovsky translates that into an especially violent and impassioned coda, with multiple brass chords and cymbal crashes depicting the poet’s collapse.

The Essentials: James MacMillan conducts the orchestra along with SLSO Principal English Horn Cally Banham in Mendelssohn’s “The Hebrides,” Rimsky-Korsakov’s “Russian Easter Overture,” Tchaikovsky’s “Francesca da Rimini,” and MacMillan’s “The World’s Ransoming.” Performances are Friday at 7:30 pm and Saturday at 8 pm, February 10 and 11, at Powell Symphony Hall in Grand Center. The Saturday performance will be broadcast live on St. Louis Public Radio and Classic 107.3.

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 6, 2023

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.

The Black Rep, presents Loy A Webb’s The Light through February 26.  “On their two-year dating anniversary, modern day couple Rashad and Genesis have plenty to celebrate—a marriage proposal and the promise of a new life together. But will their relationship survive when memories buried long ago are uncovered? The Light takes us on an emotional journey of love, laughter, and heartache as the two young adults reconcile their past and reaffirm their personal values to live in the truth.” Performances take place in the Hotchner Studio Theatre on the Washington University campus. For more information: www.theblackrep.org

Ken Haller

The Blue Strawberry presents a Singers Open Mic on Tuesday, February 7, from 7 to 9:30 pm. “Focusing on Pop, Standards old and new, Broadway and Musical Theater. But Anything Goes! Bring sheet music in your key.” Ken Haller is your host with Ron McGowan at the piano. The Blue Strawberry is at 364 N. Boyle. For more information: bluestrawberrystl.com.

The Blue Strawberry presents presents a Concert For Valentine's Weekend  with tenor Anthony Nunziata with pianist and music director Jeff Franzel on Friday, February 10, at 7:30 pm. “Tenor Anthony Nunziata brings a show specially crafted for Valentine’s, a time for expressing your love with acts of love: gifts, flowers, an evening out with food, drink and music. The set list features the dazzling arias and anthems “Somewhere,” “Some Enchanted Evening,” “Can’t Help Falling in Love,” “Unchained Melody,” “O Sole Mio” and “The Prayer”, and many romantic ballads. Anthony’s soaring, beautiful tenor connects you and your Valentine to the things that matter most in life.”  The Blue Strawberry is at 364 N. Boyle. For more information: bluestrawberrystl.com.

Jonathan Karrant

The Blue Strawberry presents presents Songs of the Heart: A Valentine's Celebration with cabaret/jazz singer Jonathan Karrant on Saturday, February 11, at 7:30 pm. “Acclaimed singer Jonathan Karrant takes the stage at Blue Strawberry to perform some of the greatest love songs of all time. Songs of the Heart is a Valentines celebration and it's all about the LOVE. You are sure to be enchanted by Jonathan's dynamic voice and charming wit.”  The Blue Strawberry is at 364 N. Boyle. For more information: bluestrawberrystl.com.

The Fabulous Fox presents Blue Man Group on Tour Thursday through Sunday, February 9-12.  “It’s everything you know and love about BLUE MAN GROUP—signature drumming, colorful moments of creativity and quirky comedy—the men are still blue but the rest is all new! Featuring pulsing, original music, custom-made instruments, surprise audience interaction and hilarious absurdity, join the Blue Men in a joyful experience that unites audiences of all ages.” The Fabulous Fox is on North Grand in Grand Center. For more information: fabulousfox.com

The Lemp Mansion Murder Mystery Dinner Theatre and Jest Mysteries present Murder at the Abbey through May 6th. "Immerse yourself in a world full of aristocracy, old money a perhaps a touch of murder!  You’ve been invited to the dinner party held by the Earl of Grantham himself. Some would kill for the opportunity to meet the Crawley family.  They’ll all be there!  The Earl, his beautiful wife and three daughters…not to mention all your favorite characters in, and around, the Grantham house." The Lemp Mansion is at 3322 DeMenil Place in south city. For more information: www.lempmansion.com

Spells of the Sea
Photo: Jennifer A. Lin

Metro Theater Company presents the world premiere of the musical Spells of the Sea through March 5. “Finley Frankfurter is a 15-year-old fisherwoman who is terrible at fishing. H.S. Crank is a grumpy old lighthouse keeper who has been sitting for 20 years in the dark. Together, this unlikely pair begins an adventure through the ocean to find the Elixir of Life, an elusive remedy that will save Finley’s father from a mysterious illness. On their journey, the pair encounter mermaids and pirates, whirlpools and their worst fears, and finally a new understanding of the meaning of family, friendship, and trust in yourself.” Performances take place at the Grandel Theatre in Grand Center. The show is also available for video streaming beginning on Feburary 16.For more information: www.metroplays.org.

Mustard Seed Theatre presents Feminine Energy by Jacqueline Thompson through February 19 .  “In this comedy, three long-time friends navigate their fertility, their relationships, and their womanhood. Content Warning: Feminine Energy contains mature themes that may not be suitable for younger audiences. Sensitive themes include: pregnancy and childbirth, medical trauma and illness, discrimination, eating disorders, and conversations on death and dying.” Performances take place in the theatre on the Fontobnne College campus, 6800 Wydown. For more information: https://www.mustardseedtheatre.com/

The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis presents Confederates by Dominique Morisseau February 11 through March 5. “An enslaved rebel turned Union spy and a tenured professor in a modern-day private university are having parallel experiences of institutionalized racism, despite existing more than a century apart. MacArthur Genius Award-Winning Playwright, Dominique Morisseau, brilliantly bends the continuum of time and weaves together the stark realities of racial and gender bias both women face in this illuminating drama.” Performances take place on the main stage at the Loretto-Hilton Center on the Webster University campus. For more information: repstl.org.

Side by Side by Sondheim

The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis presents the musical revue Side by Side by Sondheim  through February 19. “Celebrate legendary composer and lyricist Stephen Sondheim as the Rep revisits some of his most poignant, powerful and witty contributions to the American musical theatre canon. This cabaret-style revue features a variety of Sondheim’s most notable songs, including a collection of rarely performed numbers straight from the cutting-room floor. Side by Side by Sondheim explores the breadth of Sondheim’s acclaimed career, including numbers from Follies, West Side Story, Company, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, Anyone Can Whistle, Pacific Overtures, Gypsy and more.” Performances take place on the Berges Mainstage Theatre at COCA in University City. For more information: repstl.org.

Stray Dog Theatre presents Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? Thursdays through Saturdays February 9-25. There is an additional performance at 2 pm on February 19th. “George and Martha, the American theater’s most notoriously dysfunctional couple, have invited the young and naive Nick and Honey over for drinks. What begins as harmless patter escalates to outright marital warfare, with the provincial newcomers caught in the crossfire.” 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.

Outside Mullingar
Photo: Mark Abels

West End Players Guild presents John Patrick Shanley’s Outside Mullingar February 10-19. “It’s the story of the somewhat awkward romance of Anthony and Rosemary, two 40-ish adults who are the only children of two Irish families living on small adjacent farms outside Mullingar, County Westmeath, Ireland.  Both have spent their entire lives on the farm and have known each other as long as they can remember.  Both are painfully shy in affairs of the heart.  Each quietly yearns for the other, but neither can muster the courage to express those desires.  And so they live, side by side but apart, watching the years slip away, hoping something will happen – and, eventually, it does.  It’s a very Irish love story – not simply about the love between two people, but also about love of the Irish countryside.  It’s also one of the most delightful romantic comedies you’ll ever see.” 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.