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.