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

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 Dominique Morisseau's Skeleton Crew March 29 through April 16.  “The Great Recession threatens the future of one of the last auto stamping plants in Detroit, and with it—the future of those whose jobs are on the line. Each worker must grapple with how to move forward if the plant goes under. Skeleton Crew is the third of Dominique Morisseau's Detroit cycle trilogy” Performances take place at the Berges Theater at COCA in University City. For more information: www.theblackrep.org

Lianne Marie Dobbs

The Blue Strawberry presents Lianne Marie Dobbs in Why CAN’T a Woman…? Friday, March 31, at 7:30 pm. “New York stage & screen actor, Lianne Marie Dobbs, returns to St Louis, bringing her hit solo show from 54Below on tour. Join her to raise a glass to the musical strength and lyrical beauty of women through classic Broadway songs and sassy standards - many originally intended for the male voice - including “Something’s Coming”, “How to Handle a Woman”, and “I’ve Grown Accustomed to Her Face,” bookended by humorous and thought-provoking insights from celebrated feminists.” The Blue Strawberry is at 364 N. Boyle. For more information: bluestrawberrystl.com.

The Blue Strawberry presents Sara Shepherd in Around the Corner Saturday, April 1, at 7:30 pm. “This “choose your own adventure cabaret” will explore the life and times of Sara Sheperd, a Broadway performer with stories that will uplift, excite, and inspire…and the audience gets to choose the order! Come hear Broadway favorites such as “Gimme Gimme” from Thoroughly Modern Millie to hits from Carole King’s Tapestry. This is a night not to miss!” The Blue Strawberry is at 364 N. Boyle. For more information: bluestrawberrystl.com.

Matt Doyle

The Cabaret Project presents A Gala Evening with Tony Award Winner Matt Doyle on Friday, April 1, at 8:30 pm. “Doyle, who is making his St. Louis debut, won both the Tony Award and Drama Desk Award for his performance in last season's Broadway hit revival of Stephen Sondheim's classic show COMPANY. Before that he played the lead of Elder Price in THE BOOK OF MORMON on Broadway. Currently he's starring in the New York revival of LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS.”  The evening will begin with cocktails at 6 pm followed by dinner and an auction beginning at 6:45 pm. Tickets are available for the show only or for the full gala evening, which includes valet parking, VIP seating, and a post-show reception with Benanti. The event takes place at the Sheldon Concert Hall and Ballroom in Grand Center. Note that, for this event, masks will be required for all attendees. For more information: www.thecabaretproject.org.

Clayton Community Theatre presents Ordinary People Thursdays through Saturdays at 8 pm and Sundays at 2 pm through April 2.  “Conrad Jarrett had an older brother named Buck, and now Buck is gone. What's left of young Conrad's family, with his successful, well-intentioned father and his beautiful, organized and remote mother, is in terrible jeopardy, as is Conrad himself. They are all "ordinary people," and each is fighting a hard battle. This play goes to the essence of a young man, his friends, and family, their relationships and survival.” Performances take place at the Washington University South Campus Theatre, 6501 Clayton Rd. For more information: www.placeseveryone.org.

Tootsie the Comedy Musical

The Fabulous Fox presents Tootsie the Comedy Musical through April 2.  “This laugh-out-loud love letter to the theatre tells the story of Michael Dorsey, a talented but difficult actor who struggles to find work until one show-stopping act of desperation lands him the role of a lifetime.” 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

Metro Theater Company presents Go, Dog. Go!, adapted by Allison Gregory and Steven Dietz from the book by P.D. Eastman April 2 through April 16. “Yellow Dog, Blue Dog, Red Dog and dogs of all colors, shapes, and sizes live in a magical world where dogs are king. See them work, play, eat, sing, dance, play musical instruments, swim, skate, ride bikes, drive cars, and go for a boat ride. They do it all! They snorkel. They howl at the moon. They ride a Ferris wheel. They celebrate their world with a big party in a tree. It’s like a pop-up book that comes to life – and never stops.” Performances take place at the Big Top in Grand Center. For more information: www.metroplays.org

Just One Look
Photo: The Midnight Company

The Midnight Company presents Just One Look by Joe Hanrahan, starring Kelly Howe as Linda Ronstadt Wednesday at 7:30 pm, March 29 and again Wednesday through Friday April 12-14. “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 at The Blue Strawberry, 356 N. Boyle. For more information: bluestrawberrystl.com

Grand Horizons
Photo: John Gitchoff

Moonstone Theatre Company presents Grand Horizons by Bess Wohl  through April 2. “The comedy is sophisticated, funny, delightful, and sometimes provocatively honest, as it takes an intimate look at the unpredictable and enduring nature of love. Happily married for 50 years, Bill and Nancy practically breathe in unison. They anticipate each other’s sighs, sneezes and ends of sentences. But just as they settle into their new retirement home in Florida, Nancy wants out. As their two adult sons struggle to cope with the news, they’re forced to question everything they assumed about the people they thought they knew best.” Performances take place at the Kirkwood Performing Arts Center in Kirkwood, MO. For more information: moonstonetheatrecompany.com

New Jewish Theatre presents Duncan MacMillan's Every Brilliant Thing Fridays and Saturdays at 8 pm and Sundays at 2 pm through April 2 “You're 7-years old. Mom's in the hospital. Dad says she's "done something stupid." She finds it hard to be happy. So you start to make a list of everything that's brilliant about the world. Everything that's worth living for.  1. Ice cream.  2. Kung Fu movies.  3. Staying up past your bedtime and being allowed to watch TV.  4. The color yellow. You leave it on her pillow. You know she read it because she's corrected your spelling. Soon the list will take on a life of its own. A play about depression and the lengths we go to for those we love.” Performances take place at the SFC Performing Arts Center, 2 Millstone Campus Drive. For more information: jccstl.com/arts-ideas/new-jewish-theatre.

The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis presents Agatha Christie’s Murder on the Orient Express, adapted for the stage by Ken Ludwig through April 9. “It’s 1934, just after midnight, and a snowstorm has stopped the opulent Orient Express sleeper train in its tracks. A wealthy American businessman is discovered dead, and the brilliant and beautifully mustachioed Hercule Poirot must solve the mystery before the murderer strikes again.” Performances take place on the main stage at the Loretto-Hilton Center on the Webster University campus. For more information: www.repstl.org

Stray Dog Theatre presents Sondheim’s Into the Woods Thursdays through Saturdays March 30 through April 22. There is an additional performance at 2 pm on April 16th.  “When fairy tales collide, familiar characters must brave the darkness of the woods in an effort to break a curse, conquer their fears, and find out if what they’ve always wished for is what they truly want. This Sondheim classic reminds us that life is an unpredictable journey and that no one is alone.” 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

Webster Conservatory presents the Mud by María Irene Fornés Friday at 7:30 pm, Saturday at 2 and 7:30 pm, and Sunday at 2 pm, March 31 through April 2. “A quintessential Fornes play, Mud won the OBIE Award for Best New Play in 1984. It is one of the playwright’s many explorations into humanity's darker side. In it, Mae seeks to escape the basic life she has been living with Lloyd through education. She befriends Henry, who offers to teach her, but he has a stroke and is forced to remain in the care of Mae and Lloyd. Mud challenges audiences with its uncompromising look at poverty, gender, and illiteracy.” Performances take place in the Stage III Auditorium on the Webster University campus in Webster Groves. For more information: www.webster.edu/conservatory

Looking for auditions and other artistic opportunities? Check out the St. Louis Auditions site.

For information on events beyond this week, check out the searchable database at the Regional Arts Commission's Events Calendar.

Would you like to be on the radio? KDHX, 88.1 FM needs theatre reviewers. If you're 18 years or older, knowledgeable in this area, have practical theatre experience (acting, directing, writing, technical design, etc.), have good oral and written communications skills and would like to become one of our volunteer reviewers, send an email describing your experience and interests to chuck at kdhx.org. Please include a sample review of something you've seen recently.

Opera Review: Rising stars highlight Opera Theatre's 'New Works Collective'

When Opera Theatre of St. Louis (OSTSL) concluded its al fresco 2021 season with the “New Works, Bold Voices Lab,” I opined that they had saved the best for last. The three 20-minute operas by emerging young composers and librettists were a reminder that opera is alive and well and ready for the next generation.

The project was back again this year. Retitled the “New Works Collective,” it ran for three performances March 16 through 18 at the Berges Theatre at COCA. OTSL promotional material described it as “three genre-bending world premiere operas by BIPOC creators” by “multi-disciplinary artists who are new, fresh, and exciting voices in opera.” That they certainly were, but they were also richly imagined, skillfully performed, and hugely entertaining. If this is what the future of opera will look like, all I can say is “bring it on!”

Cook Shack
Photo: Phillip Hamer

The program opened with “Cook Shack,” with music by Del’Shawn Taylor and a libretto by Samiya Bashir. It’s the story of 11-year-old Dayo (soprano Flora Hawk. Bullied by her schoolmates because of her insecurity, she takes refuge in an exhibit at the St. Louis Griot Museum of Black History on black female “Superheroes of Invention”: entrepreneur (and the first Black woman millionaire) Annie Turnbo Malone (soprano Ardeen Pierre), nurse and inventor of the first closed-circuit TV security system Marie Van Brittan Brown (soprano Kimwana Doner-Chandler), and ophthalmologist Dr. Patricia E. Bath (mezzo Olivia Johnson), whose patented Laserphaco Probe was a major advance in cataract surgery.

As she reads about their remarkable lives, their waxwork figures come to life and tell their stories. Their tales of triumph against the odds give Dayo the strength to stand up and recognize her own inner superhero.

Pierre, Doner-Chandler, and Johnson were all vocal powerhouses who imbued their characters with passion, assurance, and in Doner-Chandler’s case, righteous anger at injustice. Hawk made Dayo’s journey from self-effacement to self-assurance completely credible and was quite convincing as a gawky preteen.

Taylor has provided his three protagonists with music that reflects their personalities and their times. It’s not always a good fit for the realistic speech rhythms of Bashir’s libretto, though, making comprehension of that libretto difficult. Projected text would have been a big help here.

Up next was “Slanted: An American Rock Opera” by musician-activists Simon Tam and Joe X. Jiang, founding members of the Asian-American rock band The Slants. The opera is a somewhat surreal depiction of the 2017 Supreme Court case Matal v. Tam in which, without a trace of irony, Tam and his band were accused of engaging in hate speech by using an anti-Asian racial slur as the name for their band. Tam maintained that, as an Asian man himself, he had every right to re-appropriate the word and so defuse it.

Slanted: An American Rock Opera
Photo: Phillip Hamer

The opera follows the simple “ABA” structure of a standard pop song, with opening and closing courtroom arguments bracketing “That’s Not Me,” a long aria in which Tam (tenor Matthew Pearce) laments the way he and his band are being misrepresented by strangers. “Isn’t it just pure irony,” he sings, "That in this court, I’m fighting for freedom of speech / but no / no one can hear me.” Pearce’s clarion-clear head voice added a poignant edge to the character’s plea.

The return to the courtroom brings a repeat of the same rigid, declamatory rhymed couplets from the first section, punctuated by chants of “Free Speech, Hate Speech” by members of the court. Bass-baritone Keith Klein was an imposing Solicitor General here in the opening scene, potently matched by Ardeen Pierre as Tam’s lawyer.

Suddenly Ruth Bader Ginsburg (soprano Dorothy Gal), who has been seated upstage with her back to the audience, swings around. Illuminated by a spotlight, she begins a tender, lyrical solo. “Does it not matter,” Ginsburg asks,  “that they’re taking the sting from the word?... If you think that their speech is a problem, censorship is not the cure.” It was your classic Star Turn, and beautifully sung.

It soon turns into a duet with Tam (“I think I’m in love with a supreme court justice”), which builds into a massive if somewhat didactic hymn in praise of free speech and equal justice: “The constitution protects us all / It doesn’t matter who wrote it.” Finally, Tam is left alone on the stage for a last soliloquy that is both a warning and call to action: “If you only leave your rights to nine / Our books and bodies are on the line.”

Ultimately “Slanted” is agitprop but, as Marc Blitzstein proved decades ago, agitprop can make for powerful musical theatre. It certainly did with “Slanted,” and its message is one that needs to be heard.

The evening concluded with what was, for my money, the strongest of the three works: “Madison Lodge” by St. Louis’s own Tre’von Griffith. Set in 1928 Harlem—the time of the Harlem Renaissance—the story is best summarized by quoting from the program:

“X has just arrived in Harlem after a long trip from their home state of Alabama. When they reach their sister’s house, X explains that they left to find freedom and live their truth. Sister assures X that Harlem is the perfect place to realize those dreams, and hands X an address.”

That address turns out to be the titular Madison Lodge, a “modest-but-grand” drag club where preparations are underway for a masquerade ball. There X (Namarea Randolph-Yosea) meets the flamboyant Club Owner (a bravura performance by baritone Kyle Oliver) and finds out that Sister (Olivia Johnson) is the Drag King, complete with a spectacular white tux, top hat, and cane.

Madison Lodge
Photo: Phillip Hamer

The club is raided by bigoted cops before the show gets off the ground and Sister is arrested. The experience inspires X to find their own identity, and when Sister is finally bailed out by the Club Owner, they discover X performing in a sparkling white gown that parallels Sister’s own outfit. X has embraced Harlem “and even more importantly, has embraced themselves.”

Of the three operas, “Madison Lodge” is the one that most cries out for expansion into a full-length work. The characters have a richness and back stories that could easily be fleshed out in more detail. And it addresses themes of racial and gender identity that are both timely and completely relevant to the Harlem of a century ago. “Black queer folx have felt unseen, unheard, and unprotected,” writes Griffith. “I feel very fortunate to collaborate with our brilliant cast…to share this beautiful story with you.”

How right he is. Randolph-Yosea’s transformation from conflicted teen to confident drag queen was nicely done, and Johnson was a strong, confident presence as Sister. The ensemble of performers from the other two operas was solid dramatically and vocally, while Drag Artists Teonia M. Steele and Vontez Williams added a touch of sinuous authenticity. Congratulations to all.

Darwin Aquino conducted the small but versatile orchestra with assurance and Rajendra Ramoon Maharaj’s direction kept the action clear and focused. Tom Ontiveros’s video designs did a splendid job setting the scenes, although there were times at which the flood of moving images in the background distracted from the drama more than it amplified it.

The same was true of dancers Ka Thomas and Kelly Marsh. Their graceful presence on stage often added visual emphasis but at other times just pulled focus from the singers. Minor quibbles, these, which is why they’re at the end of the review.

Finally: if OTSL plans to present additional shows at the Berges, it should seriously consider dispensing with wireless body microphones and adding projected text capability. It’s even possible that dispensing with the mics might be enough. The kind of singers OTSL employs don’t need them and they just add distortion.

Performances of the “New Works Collective” are history now, of course, but I expect to see more from the talented and innovative team responsible for these three operas. Hope for the future often seems elusive these days. But for a couple of hours last Friday, at least, it felt like it just might be possible.

Opera Theatre’s 2023 season kicks off with "The Road to Freedom," special concert that celebrates the 61st anniversary of the Freedom Riders, followed by a new production of Joplin’s “Treemonisha” on May 20. For season information, visit the OTSL web site.

This article originally appeared at 88.1 KDHX, where Chuck Lavazzi is the senior performing arts critic.

Symphony Review: The St. Louis Symphony says 'bon voyage' with a big night of orchestral showpieces

It was a veritable love fest at Powell Hall last Thursday, March 16th. Stéphane Denève professed his love for pianist Víkingur Ólafsson. Ólafsson declared his love for the musicians of the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra and the audience. And the audience demonstrated their love for all of them with multiple standing ovations. To top it off, the opening work on the program was Prokofiev’s “Love for Three Oranges” suite.

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

Denève conducts the SLSO
Photo courtesy of the SLSO

The occasion for this outpouring of affection was a special “bon voyage” concert in which Denève and the band presented the program that they and Ólafsson will be playing on their four-country, five-city European tour March 21 through 31. In addition to the Prokofiev, that program consists of Grieg’s Piano Concerto, Rachmaninoff’s valedictory “Symphonic Dances,” and encores by Bernstein and Bizet. If it goes as well on the tour as it did Thursday night, St. Louis will be well represented on the other side of the Atlantic.
 
Denève said that he chose the suite Prokofiev created from the score for his 1921 opera “The Love for Three Oranges” because it was a showcase for the excellence of the SLSO musicians. He then proved that point with a performance of this wildly colorful score that reflected all its many eccentric moods. The second movement, “Magician Celio and Fata Morgana Play Cards,” was a perfect combination of menace and mock pomposity, with great crashes of sound from the brass and percussion. The fourth movement “Scherzo” was light, fleet, and a striking study in contrasts. And in “The Prince and Princess” (the fifth movement) the voice of the strings was both romantic and uneasy.

Prokofiev composed both the opera and the suite with an American audience in mind, which may be one reason why the music sounds like a cross between a circus and a lunatic asylum. It is, in any case, flashy and entertaining and gave every member of the band a chance to show why the SLSO can be fairly described as an orchestra of virtuosos.

Vikingur Ólafsson plays the Grieg Concerto
Photo courtesy of the SLSO

Up next was Grieg’s enormously popular Piano Concerto. This dependable old warhorse is so well known that you’d think it would be difficult to find anything new in it. But Icelandic pianist Víkingur Ólafsson demonstrated that it can still be done.

When Ólafsson last played the concerto with Denève and the SLSO in 2021 I was struck by the originality and energy of his approach. This was especially true in the first movement cadenza, which was something of a microcosm of the performance as a whole. Both then and this past Thursday, it was a study in extremes, nearly coming to a complete halt before building steadily to the boiling power of the big restatement of the main theme.

Ólafsson was less physically demonstrative than he was when he made his debut here in 2021, but no less artistically and technically solid. The near-capacity house rewarded him with warm applause, and he reciprocated with a subtly beautiful encore: Ólafsson’s own arrangement of the “Ave Maria” by his fellow countryman Sigvaldi Kaldalóns (1881–1946). Those of you keen on hearing it again can find it on Ólafsson’s 2022 album “From Afar” on Spotify.
 
The concert concluded with Rachmaninoff’s “Symphonic Dances,” another large-scale work that also showed off the band to good advantage. Unlike Prokofiev’s frenetic suite, though, this was not a soundscape drenched in bright primary colors. The sonic world of the “Symphonic Dances” is one of encroaching shadows and nocturnal imagery. Not surprisingly, it was the last thing Rachmaninoff wrote.

Denève conducts the SLSO
Photo courtesy of the SLSO

Denève last conducted this in 2019. At the time I felt that he had brought a wide variety of expression to the work, with tempos on the slow side, a feeling of intense emotional commitment, and recognition of the way the composer used silence as a musical element. That was still true this time around, although there were some tweaks here and there. The Non allegro first movement, for example, got off to a brisker start than I recall, but that could just be my memory playing me false.

No matter: it was still a grand performance with important solo moments finely rendered. That includes, among many others, Michael Weiss-Holmes’s melancholy alto sax solo in the first movement and Concertmaster David Halen and English horn Cally Banham in the second. There was some darned fine playing throughout by Peter Henderson on piano, Principal Harp Allegra Lilly, and the flutes under Matthew Roitstein. Congratulations to all.

But, wait: there was more!  The orchestra is bringing along a pair of high-energy encores: the overture to Leonard Bernstein’s 1956 opera/operetta/musical (it has been through multiple revisions over the years) “Candide” and the “Farandole” from Bizet’s incidental music for the play “L'Arlésienne.” The latter, with its insistent percussion and quotes from the Provençal Christmas carol “La Marche des rois,” is always a guaranteed rouser. They both got an enthusiastic reception Thursday night, despite coming as surprises at the end of a long concert.

More information about the SLSO’s upcoming tour is available at the orchestra’s web site, including pictures from Thursday’s concert.

Next at Powell Hall: Powell will be dark while the band is away, except for a concert by bluegrass banjo virtuoso Béla Fleck on Friday March 31 at 7:30 pm. St. Louis Speakers Series presents Anthony Ray Hinton on Tuesday, April 11 at 8 pm. One of the longest-serving death row prisoners in Alabama history, Hinton was released after 30 years of time for a crime he did not commit.

Regular concerts resume in mid-April. Note, however, that the Powell Hall lot will be closed as of March 20th as the renovation and expansion of Powell Hall begins. More information about parking is available at the SLSO web site.

This article originally appeared at 88.1 KDHX, where Chuck Lavazzi is the senior performing arts critic.

St. Louis theatre calendar for the week of March 20, 2023

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.

Albion Theatre presents Harold Pinter’s The Birthday Party Fridays and Saturdays at 8 pm and Sundays at 2 pm through March 26. “In a small boarding house at the English seaside.  Stanley, the only lodger, has a secret.  Two mysterious strangers arrive with a job to do.  Nothing is what it appears to be but what happens at Stanley’s birthday party changes everyone’s lives.  Combining realism and absurdism, humor and menace, this classic of British theater remains as powerful as it did when first performed in 1958.” Performances take place at the Kranzberg Arts Center 501 N. Grand in Grand Center. For more information: albiontheatrestl.org.

Chuck Lavazzi and Carol Schmidt

The Cabaret Project and The Blue Strawberry present a Singers Open Mic Tuesday, March 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.

Call to Conscience Interactive Theater for Social Change presents Say it Flo, written and performed by Michelle T. Johnson, Thursday through Saturday at 7 pm, March 23 – 25. “Say it Flo pays homage to Missouri born Florynce Kennedy. An Attorney/Activist Florynce worked as an activist for feminism and civil rights on cases that not only damaged black people, but they also damaged women, gay people, ex-prison inmates, prostitutes, children, old people, handicapped people, and native Americans. Kennedy was one of the lawyers in the Abramowitz v. Lefkowitz case, the class action suit that wanted to repeal New York's strict abortion laws which used women who suffered from illegal abortions as expert witnesses instead of relying on physicians. These tactics were eventually used in the Roe v. Wade case, in 1973, which overturned restrictive abortion laws.” Performances take place in the Legend Room at the National Blues Museum, 615 Washington. For more information:     acalltoconscience.org

Clayton Community Theatre presents Ordinary People Thursdays through Saturdays at 8 pm and Sundays at 2 pm, March 23 – April 2.  “Conrad Jarrett had an older brother named Buck, and now Buck is gone. What's left of young Conrad's family, with his successful, well-intentioned father and his beautiful, organized and remote mother, is in terrible jeopardy, as is Conrad himself. They are all "ordinary people," and each is fighting a hard battle. This play goes to the essence of a young man, his friends, and family, their relationships and survival.” Performances take place at the Washington University South Campus Theatre, 6501 Clayton Rd. For more information: www.placeseveryone.org.

Tootsie the Comedy Musical

The Fabulous Fox presents Tootsie the Comedy Musical opening on Tuesday, March 21 and running through April 2.  “This laugh-out-loud love letter to the theatre tells the story of Michael Dorsey, a talented but difficult actor who struggles to find work until one show-stopping act of desperation lands him the role of a lifetime.” 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

Just One Look
Photo: The Midnight Company

The Midnight Company presents Just One Look by Joe Hanrahan, starring Kelly Howe as Linda Ronstadt Wednesdays at 7:30 pm through March 29 and again Wednesday through Friday April 12-14. “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 at The Blue Strawberry, 356 N. Boyle. For more information: bluestrawberrystl.com

Grand Horizons
Photo: John Gitchoff

Moonstone Theatre Company presents Grand Horizons by Bess Wohl  through April 2. “The comedy is sophisticated, funny, delightful, and sometimes provocatively honest, as it takes an intimate look at the unpredictable and enduring nature of love. Happily married for 50 years, Bill and Nancy practically breathe in unison. They anticipate each other’s sighs, sneezes and ends of sentences. But just as they settle into their new retirement home in Florida, Nancy wants out. As their two adult sons struggle to cope with the news, they’re forced to question everything they assumed about the people they thought they knew best.” Performances take place at the Kirkwood Performing Arts Center in Kirkwood, MO. For more information: moonstonetheatrecompany.com

New Jewish Theatre presents Duncan MacMillan's Every Brilliant Thing Fridays and Saturdays at 8 pm and Sundays at 2 pm, through April 2 “You're 7-years old. Mom's in the hospital. Dad says she's "done something stupid." She finds it hard to be happy. So you start to make a list of everything that's brilliant about the world. Everything that's worth living for.  1. Ice cream.  2. Kung Fu movies.  3. Staying up past your bedtime and being allowed to watch TV.  4. The color yellow. You leave it on her pillow. You know she read it because she's corrected your spelling. Soon the list will take on a life of its own. A play about depression and the lengths we go to for those we love.” Performances take place at the SFC Performing Arts Center, 2 Millstone Campus Drive. For more information: jccstl.com/arts-ideas/new-jewish-theatre.

The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis presents Agatha Christie’s Murder on the Orient Express, adapted for the stage by Ken Ludwig through April 9. “It’s 1934, just after midnight, and a snowstorm has stopped the opulent Orient Express sleeper train in its tracks. A wealthy American businessman is discovered dead, and the brilliant and beautifully mustachioed Hercule Poirot must solve the mystery before the murderer strikes again.” Performances take place on the main stage at the Loretto-Hilton Center on the Webster University campus. For more information: www.repstl.org

The St. Louis Writers' Group presents Bits and Pieces, an open workshop for playwrights Tuesday, March 21, at 6:30 pm. "If you are an aspiring writer of work for performance, then this evening is for you. We invite anyone with some work that they have at any stage of development, whether complete or not to come along.  The intention is for ideas to be explored, discussion of concepts, part-completed scripts to be read by experienced actors so writers can hear what they sound like, plots to be evaluated, or indeed any bits and pieces that you have to be brought out.  To ensure that there is plenty of scope, we are setting a limit of 20 pages on any material submitted."
 The reading takes place upstairs at Big Daddy's, 1000 Sidney in Soulard. For more information, visit the St. Louis Writers' Group Facebook page.

Take Two Productions presents the Stephen Schwartz musical Godspell through March 25. “A small group of people help Jesus Christ tell different parables by using a wide variety of games, storytelling techniques and hefty doses of comic timing. An eclectic blend of songs, ranging in style from pop to vaudeville, is employed as the story of Jesus' life dances across the stage. Dissolving hauntingly into the Last Supper and the Crucifixion, Jesus' messages of kindness, tolerance and love come vibrantly to life.” Performances take place at Third Baptist Church, 620 N. Grand in Grand Center. For more information: www.taketwoproductions.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: The Grand Tour

Music Director Stéphane Denève and the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra are off on their annual European concert tour on March 21st. But before they leave, they’re offering a one night only “bon voyage” concert of the music they’ll be playing on the tour on Thursday, March 16, at 7:30 pm.

[Preview the music with the SLSO's Spotify playlist.]

It all starts with the lively and acerbic suite Sergei Prokofiev (1891 – 1953) created in 1924 from the score for his 1921 opera “L'amour des trois oranges” (“The Love for Three Oranges”).  Prokofiev wrote both the music and the libretto for the opera, which was commissioned by the Chicago Opera Association during the composer’s 1918 visit to the USA. He based it on the 1761 commedia dell’arte farce “L'amore delle tre melarance” by Carlo Gozzi (1720 – 1806) which was itself based on the fairy tale of the same name by 16th century Italian poet Giambattista Basile (1583 – 1632).

Prokofiev in New York, 1918
Photo by Bain News Service

“The story,” writes Benjamin Pesetsky in this week’s program notes, “is too silly to dwell on.” He’s right, so we won’t (although Wikipedia has a detailed synopsis for the curious). Let’s just say Prokofiev combined his ancient Italian sources with a jigger or two of sarcasm, a pinch of surrealism, shook the whole thing vigorously and served it over ice to an audience which found it somewhat baffling.

The suite is great fun, though, combining the composer’s quirky sense of humor, inventive orchestration, and rhythmic drive to create a colorful musical circus complete with acrobats, clowns, and strutting sorcerers. The third movement “March” was once quite well-known, having been appropriated as the theme for the CBS radio crime drama “The FBI in Peace and War,” which ran from 1944 through 1958. If you’re curious as to what that sounded like, the GSMC Classics podcast network offers all 88 episodes via Apple Podcasts. And probably via every other podcast platform as well.

Denève last conducted the suite with the band in 2007. Sadly, I missed that concert, so I’m looking forward to this one.

Up next is the popular Piano Concerto in A minor, op. 16, written in 1868 by Edvard Grieg (1843 – 1907). It was his first and only piano concerto. Indeed, it was his only completed concerto of any kind.

The interior of Grieg's hut at Troldhaugen

That’s because Grieg was fundamentally a miniaturist. He was at his best in short forms like his “Lyric Pieces” and other works for the piano. Longer works like his “Symphonic Dances,” the “Lyric Suite,” and his incidental music for Ibsen’s gargantuan drama “Peer Gynt” are, ultimately, little more than a collection of short pieces. It’s what he did, and he did it darned well.

It’s not surprising, then, that his piano concerto tends to sound a bit episodic. The episodes are all entrancing, though, and the concerto was an instant hit at its 1869 Copenhagen premiere by the Royal Danish Orchestra with Edmund Neupert as soloist. Neupert, to whom the concerto was dedicated, wrote to Grieg (who was unable to attend because of a scheduling conflict) describing the happy event:

The triumph I achieved was tremendous. Even as early as the cadenza in the first movement, the public broke into real storm. The three dangerous critics, [composer Niels] Gade, [pianist/composer Anton] Rubenstein, and [composer Emil] Hartmann, sat in the stalls and applauded with all their might. I am to send you greetings from Rubenstein and say that he is astounded to have heard a composition of such genius. (Cited in program notes by Robert C. Bagar and Louis Biancolli for the Philharmonic-Symphony Society of New York).

Our soloist this Thursday (and at every performance on the tour) will be Icelandic pianist Víkingur Ólafsson, who has earned praise for his recordings of everything from Bach to Philip Glass. He was the soloist the last time Denève and the SLSO presented the Grieg concerto in 2021. At the time I wrote that he made “a stunning impression…with a performance that blended nuance and poetry with virtuoso flair.”

Rachmaninoff in 1921
Public Domain, Wikimeida Commons

During the intermission that follows, you’ll have the opportunity to see why taking an orchestra on tour is just a major logistical effort the SLSO production team assembles large cargo trunks in the foyer. Immediately after this concert, large instruments will be packed into trunks and begin their journey to Europe on Friday.

This evening concludes with the "Symphonic Dances" by Sergei Rachmaninoff (1873 – 1943). It’s a work I have found oddly compelling since I first heard it on a 1961 LP recording by the Philadelphia Orchestra under Eugene Ormandy, who conducted the work's first performance in 1941. I was immediately struck by the "late night" feel of the piece--and not just because of the chimes in the last movement. It was only later that I learned that Rachmaninoff had, in fact, originally titled the three sections "Noon," "Twilight," and "Midnight." The composer dropped the titles, preferring the let the music speak for itself, and it does so eloquently.

The work is filled with evidence of Rachmaninoff's genius as an orchestrator, with elaborate and complex string writing, inventive use of brasses and winds (including a short but poignant solo for alto sax), and an effective but never overwhelming use of the large percussion battery. This is dramatic music that is nevertheless steeped in autumnal melancholy. The final movement is a struggle between the “Dies Irae” and the “Resurrection” theme from Rachmaninoff’s 1915 “All-night Vigil” which, while emphatically resolved in favor of the latter, still seems to carry the sense of a life approaching its conclusion.

In the program notes for the SLSOs last performance of the work in 2019, Denève described it as “redeeming--it's a piece of hope. The ending is an Alleluia, a triumph over death. It was his last work, and maybe, because he composed this piece, he felt he could die."

The Essentials: Stéphane Denève conducts the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra and pianist Vikingur Ólafsson in a one-night-only preview of the program they will take on the orchestra's March European tour. The concert consists of Prokofiev's "The Love for Three Oranges" Suite, Grieg's Piano Concerto, and Rachmaninoff's "Symphonic Dances." The concert takes place on  Thursday, March 16, at 7:30 pm. Stephanie Childress will conduct the SLSO Youth Orchestra and Concerto Competition winner Ayan Amerin in the Allegro non troppo from the Violin Concerto in D major by Brahms and the Symphony No. 5 by Shostakovich on Sunday, March 19 at 3 pm. The regular concert season resumes in mid-April.

This article originally appeared at 88.1 KDHX, where Chuck Lavazzi is the senior performing arts critic.

Symphony Review: Nicholas McGegan brings a pair of theatrical hits by Beethoven and Mendelssohn to Powell

As our little group approached Powell Hall Friday night (March 10th), a tour bus pulled up with what appeared to be a group of students who were there to take in a St. Louis Symphony Orchestra concert. If so, their chaperones made a good choice.

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

With early music guru Nicholas McGegan (who has a long association with the SLSO) at the podium, this fast-paced and entertaining pair of works for orchestra and chorus by Beethoven and Mendelssohn would certainly have made for an ideal introduction to classical music and the whole SLSO experience. At just over 90 minutes (including intermission), it was a bit shorter than the typical evening at the symphony (normal run time is around 2 hours or so) and the music was listener friendly. No experience was required, and a good time was had by all.

Sarah Price

The evening began with the Beethoven’s “Selections from Egmont,” op. 84, composed on commission for an 1810 revival of Goethe’s 1788 tragedy. The play is a fictionalized account of the execution of Lamoral, Count of Egmont, Prince of Gavere (1522–1568), who was beheaded for resisting Spanish rule and the imposition of the Inquisition on the Netherlands. Running around a half-hour, Beethoven’s Op. 84 consists of a noble and emotionally charged overture along with two songs (for the fictional character of Clärchen, Egmont’s love interest), four entr’actes (scene change music), two bits of underscoring, and a final “Victory Symphony.” That last bit is essentially a repeat of the final 90 seconds of the overture and follows Egmont’s call for independence.

McGegan approached all this with that combination of unbridled joy and meticulous attention to detail which has characterized his work here in the past. The opening of the overture set the tone for the performance overall. Marked Sostenuto ma non troppo (“Sustained, but not too much,” literally), it was majestically slow—which made the gradual build to the main theme all the more commanding. The two-note “execution” violin motif just before the Allegro con brio coda was striking decisive and the coda itself was stirring, with nice accents by Ann Choomack on piccolo.

After a long pause for latecomers (who had, perhaps, not noticed that the concert started at 7:30 rather than 8) soprano Danielle Yilmaz gave a defiant performance of “Die Trommel gerühret” (“Beat the drums”), in which Clärchen declares her love and support for Egmont in militaristic terms. Clärchen’s other song, “Freudvoll und leidvoll” (“Full of joy, full of sorrow”), got an equally strong performance from soprano Sarah Price. She let us hear the emotional ambiguity of the lyrics, which move from waver between doubt (Andante con moto) and ecstasy (Allegro assai vivace) before finally settling on the latter.

Enrico Lagasca
Photo: Jiyang Chen

The entr’actes and underscore pieces were all neatly done, with some fine oboe solos by Jelena Dirks and excellent playing by the horns, especially in “Clärchen’s death.” The “Victory Symphony” brought it all to an electrifying finish.

The second half of the concert belonged to Mendelssohn’s 1843 revision of his setting for chorus and orchestra of Goethe’s 1799 dramatic poem “Die Erste Walpurgisnacht” (“The First Walpurgis Night”). In what was, surprisingly, the work’s first performance here, McGegan led the orchestra and chorus in a real barnburner of a performance. It was sung in English, as many of Mendelssohn’s choral works were even in his day. The multi-lingual composer knew he was a Hot Property in Britain and made sure his music would work just as well in English or German.

The story deals with a group of German Druids who prefer to celebrate Beltane eve in the old-fashioned way, without interference from Christian authorities. Their solution is to scare the Christian forces away by disguising themselves as assorted imps, devils, and demons. The opportunities for high drama here are obvious, and Mendelssohn made the most of them in a score filled with big, commanding choruses and an orchestra unusually rich in brass and percussion parts. “It’s very high energy music,” observed McGegan in an interview for my video blog. “Mendelssohn lives in the era before decaf.”

The sturm und drang gets off to a rousing start with the turbulent “Overture: bad weather.” The “dark and stormy night” tone painting is reminiscent of the “Hebrides” Overture—not exactly surprising, since it was written at around the same time—and McGegan’s reading was so vivid you could almost feel the wind and rain. His entire podium presence, in fact, was a wonderful mix of precise cueing and physical enthusiasm.

There are a few solo numbers in “The First Walpurgis Night,” but the chorus is the real star of the show. Under the direction of Webster University’s Trent Patterson, the SLSO singers displayed just the right mix of power and precision that’s called for here. Their enunciation was admirably crisp, although it wasn’t obvious just how good it was until I heard the Saturday night broadcast, since Powell Hall’s acoustics can muddy things a bit.

That said, the soloists were impressive as well. Tenor Thomas Cooley was a radiant Druid welcoming the spring as well as a comically petrified Christian soldier who decided “onward” is not his preferred direction. Bass-baritone Enrico Lagasca was an imposing Priest, although he was having a bit of trouble with his high notes on Friday (I suspect allergies might have been the issue). In any case, he sounded fine in Saturday night’s broadcast.

The SLSO Chorus
Photo: Dilip Vishwanat for the SLSO

For my money, though, the most impressive performance was that of alto Victoria Carmichael (of the SLSO Chorus) as “An aged woman of the people” warning of the violence that can be expected from the Christians if the Druids are discovered: “On their ramparts they will slaughter / Mother, father, son, and daughter!” That’s potent stuff that calls for exactly the kind of forceful delivery it got from Carmichael.

It was good to see and hear the chorus in action again, especially in music that gives them a chance to display their strength as an ensemble. And I have always found McGegan to be a welcome presence on the podium. His association with the SLSO goes back a long way—to a 1986 “Messiah” in fact—so his rapport with the band has, by now, a kind of cozy familiarity.

Next at Powell Hall: Stéphane Denève conducts the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra and pianist Vikingur Ólafsson in a one-night-only preview of the program they will take on the orchestra's March European tour. The concert consists of Prokofiev's The Love for Three Oranges Suite, Grieg's Piano Concerto, and Rachmaninoff's "Symphonic Dances." The concert takes place on Thursday, March 16, at 7:30 pm. Stephanie Childress will conduct the SLSO Youth Orchestra and Concerto Competition winner Ayan Amerin in the Allegro non troppo from the Violin Concerto in D major by Brahms and the Symphony No. 5 by Shostakovich on Sunday, March 19 at 3 pm. The regular concert season resumes in mid-April.

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 March 13, 2023

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.

Albion Theatre presents Harold Pinter’s The Birthday Party Fridays and Saturdays at 8 pm and Sundays at 2 pm through March 26. “In a small boarding house at the English seaside.  Stanley, the only lodger, has a secret.  Two mysterious strangers arrive with a job to do.  Nothing is what it appears to be but what happens at Stanley’s birthday party changes everyone’s lives.  Combining realism and absurdism, humor and menace, this classic of British theater remains as powerful as it did when first performed in 1958.” Performances take place at the Kranzberg Arts Center 501 N. Grand in Grand Center. For more information: albiontheatrestl.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

Just One Look
Photo: The Midnight Company

The Midnight Company presents Just One Look by Joe Hanrahan, starring Kelly Howe as Linda Ronstadt Wednesdays at 7:30 pm through March 29. “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 at The Blue Strawberry, 356 N. Boyle. For more information: bluestrawberrystl.com

Moonstone Theatre Company presents Grand Horizons by Bess Wohl March 16 through April 2. “The comedy is sophisticated, funny, delightful, and sometimes provocatively honest, as it takes an intimate look at the unpredictable and enduring nature of love. Happily married for 50 years, Bill and Nancy practically breathe in unison. They anticipate each other’s sighs, sneezes and ends of sentences. But just as they settle into their new retirement home in Florida, Nancy wants out. As their two adult sons struggle to cope with the news, they’re forced to question everything they assumed about the people they thought they knew best.” Performances take place at the Kirkwood Performing Arts Center in Kirkwood, MO. For more information: moonstonetheatrecompany.com

New Jewish Theatre presents Duncan MacMillan's Every Brilliant Thing Fridays and Saturdays at 8 pm and Sundays at 2 pm, March 16 – April 2 “You're 7-years old. Mom's in the hospital. Dad says she's "done something stupid." She finds it hard to be happy. So you start to make a list of everything that's brilliant about the world. Everything that's worth living for.  1. Ice cream.  2. Kung Fu movies.  3. Staying up past your bedtime and being allowed to watch TV.  4. The color yellow. You leave it on her pillow. You know she read it because she's corrected your spelling. Soon the list will take on a life of its own. A play about depression and the lengths we go to for those we love.” Performances take place at the SFC Performing Arts Center, 2 Millstone Campus Drive. For more information: jccstl.com/arts-ideas/new-jewish-theatre.

Nine
Photo: Gerry Love

New Line Theatre presents the musical Nine Thursdays through Saturdays at 8 pm, through March 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

Opera Theatre of St. Louis presents the New Works Collective Friday through Sunday, March 16 - 18 at 7:30 pm. “Experience the future of opera with three all-new 20-minute works! Last winter, more than 130 artists applied to create new operas with OTSL. Ultimately, just three multi-genre teams were selected by a panel of St. Louis artists, advocates, and community leaders. Now, those three teams are about to prove just how innovative, inclusive, and fun opera can be. These stories will whisk audiences from 1920s Harlem to the modern-day Supreme Court, and from the exuberance of drag ball culture to the empowerment of a young female inventor. Get ready for a night full of boundary-breaking surprises and joyful voices as we celebrate diverse cultures, stories, and the power of the human spirit!”  The performance are sung in English with projected English supertitles and takes place at the Berges Theater at COCA in University City For more information: opera-stl.org

The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis presents Agatha Christie’s Murder on the Orient Express, adapted for the stage by Ken Ludwig, March 17 – April 9. “It’s 1934, just after midnight, and a snowstorm has stopped the opulent Orient Express sleeper train in its tracks. A wealthy American businessman is discovered dead, and the brilliant and beautifully mustachioed Hercule Poirot must solve the mystery before the murderer strikes again.” Performances take place on the main stage at the Loretto-Hilton Center on the Webster University campus. For more information: www.repstl.org

The St. Louis Writers' Group presents a free reading of Act II of Broom by Mario Farwell Wednesday at 6:30 pm “Broom is an experimental play dealing with the origins and ramifications of police brutality in America. The play is structured around the events of the brutal assault on a Haitian American by the New York Police Department. Abner Louima was arrested in1997 and charged with disorderly conduct and resisting arrest. He was taken to the 70th precinct in Brooklyn, NY, and soon after his arrival at the precinct was taken to a bathroom and sodomized with a broomstick by two of the arresting officers.." The reading takes place at The High Low, 3301 Washington. For more information, visit the St. Louis Writers' Group Facebook page.

Take Two Productions presents the Stephen Schwartz musical Godspell March 17 - 25. “A small group of people help Jesus Christ tell different parables by using a wide variety of games, storytelling techniques and hefty doses of comic timing. An eclectic blend of songs, ranging in style from pop to vaudeville, is employed as the story of Jesus' life dances across the stage. Dissolving hauntingly into the Last Supper and the Crucifixion, Jesus' messages of kindness, tolerance and love come vibrantly to life.” Performances take place at Third Baptist Church, 620 N. Grand in Grand Center. For more information: www.taketwoproductions.org.

The Theatre Guild of Webster Groves presents the drama Stranger in the Attic. “Brian, a true crime writer, receives a late-night visitor claiming to have all the details of a murder that has not happened yet. Defying pleas from his wife and his own better judgement to report this to the police, Brian decides to interview the stranger. Dana, Brian’s wife, becomes fearful Brian may be sympathizing with the murderer, as Brian helplessly allows himself to be drawn deeper into the plot.”  Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30 pm and Sundays at 2 pm through March 19. 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.

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: All Goethe all the time

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749–1832) was, as the late Philip Weller notes in the Grove Dictionary of Music, “[O]ne of the most important literary and cultural figures of his age…recognized during his lifetime for his accomplishments of almost universal breadth.” This weekend (Friday and Saturday, March 10 and 11) Nicholas McGegan will conduct the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra, Chorus, and vocal soloists in a pair of big, dramatic works inspired by Goethe.

[Preview the music with my Spotify playlist.]

Goethe age 38 by Angelica Kauffmann
commons.wikimedia.org

The works in question are the overture and incidental music Beethoven composed on commission for an 1810 revival of Goethe’s 1788 tragedy “Egmont” and Mendelssohn’s 1843 revision of his setting for chorus and orchestra of the 1799 dramatic poem “Die Erste Walpurgisnacht” (“The First Walpurgis Night”). The two works have much in common, including the fact that they both deal with the issues of political and religious freedom. Which makes them rather relevant right now.

The protagonist of Goethe’s play is the historical Lamoral, Count of Egmont, Prince of Gavere (1522–1568), who was beheaded for resisting Spanish rule and the imposition of the Inquisition on the Netherlands. In Goethe’s fictionalized version of events, Egmont becomes a heroic defender of individual freedom who, before his execution, delivers a rousing speech demanding national independence.  

The story appealed tremendously to Beethoven, a dedicated republican (in the classical sense of “anti-monarchist”) who was chafing at the occupation of Vienna by the French in 1809. That appeal and Beethoven’s great admiration for Goethe combined to produce a noble and emotionally charged overture along with two songs (for the fictional character of Klärchen, Egmont’s love interest), four entr’actes (scene change music), two bits of underscoring, and a final “Victory Symphony.” That last bit is essentially a repeat of the final 90 seconds of the overture and follows Egmont’s call for independence.

In an interview on my YouTube channel, McGegan described the entire score as “top-rate Beethoven…right up there in the vintage period of middle Beethoven.” Chronologically it falls between the Sixth (“Pastoral”) Symphony and the exuberant Seventh, which the authors of the Grove entry on Beethoven describe as time of “ever-increasing technical virtuosity.” Certainly the combination of high drama, lyricism, and tragedy in these ten short movements is immensely appealing even if you’re not familiar with the play. Which, of course, most of us are not.

Goethe loved the music but was less impressed by Beethoven himself when they finally met in the summer of 1812 at Teplitz. McGegan notes that he found the composer “a little bit feral,” while Beethoven, for his part, found the elegant writer “too much of a toady…too courtly for his taste.” It’s a reminder, I suppose, that it’s not always wise to meet one’s heroes in person.

Beethoven in 1803
Painted by Christian Horneman

After intermission the full chorus joins the band for the local premiere of the English language version of “The First Walpurgis Night." Once again the issue is freedom in general and freedom from religious persecution in particular.

But first a bit of history. “Walpurgis Night” refers to the evening of the feast day of Saint Walpurga, a British healer who (to quote McGegan) “ended up in Germany as a sort of missionary to the Goths and all those tribes who wore horns on their heads.” After her canonization her name was tacked on to the ancient Celtic festival of Beltane, traditionally celebrated on May 1st. It’s one of the old cross-quarter days, so called because they fall between the equinoxes and solstices. Beltane comes between the Vernal Equinox and the Summer Solstice.

The business of rebranding the old pagan holidays was common as the early Church went about the business of “Christianizing” the heathens. As marketing decisions go it was pretty smart. It’s much easier to convert folks if you don’t mess with their holidays. As the Encyclopedia Britannica relates:

Walburga [sic] is traditionally associated with May 1 because of a medieval account of her being canonized upon the translation of her remains from their place of burial to a church circa 870. Although it is likely that the date of her canonization is purely coincidental to the date of the pagan celebrations of spring, people were able to celebrate both events under church law without fear of reprisal.

“The First Walpurgis Night” deals with a group of German Druids who prefer to celebrate Beltane eve in the old-fashioned way, without interference from Christian authorities. Their solution is to scare the Christian forces away by disguising themselves as assorted imps, devils, and demons. “Help, my comrades,” sings a Christian guard (naturally, he’s a tenor), “see a legion / Yonder comes from Satan’s region!” Thrown into panic by the combination of the Druid’s costumes and their own imaginations, the would-be persecutors take it on the lam, leaving the Druids free to celebrate spring in their own way, thanks very much.

All this unfurls in nine scenes plus an overture that sets the scene. There are parts for solo alto, tenor, and bass-baritone, but for the most part the story of “The First Walpurgis Night” is told by the chorus. “It’s a really good sing for the choir,” observes McGegan. “It’s very high energy music…Mendelssohn lives in the era before decaf.” It’s also quite an entertaining and highly theatrical work, so it will be good to hear it sung in English.  Projected translations are great, but they can create a slight distance between the music and the audience.

Portrait of Mendelssohn by
James Warren Childe, 1839
en.wikipedia.org

About the English translation: it's not clear whether the chorus will be singing the one the multilingual Mendelssohn had prepared when he composed the work or the one William Bartholomew did in 1899. Either way, it will make the work that much more accessible.

The guest choral conductor this weekend is Trent Patterson, Director of Choral Studies and Music Education at the Webster University Department of Music.  Patterson is also the choral director at Emmanuel Episcopal Church in Webster Groves, where four Webster music students serve as Scholar Singers in the Emmanuel Choir.

The Essentials: Nicholas McGegan conducts the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra and Chorus in Beethoven’s overture and incidental music to “Egmont” and Mendelssohn’s “The First Walpurgis Night.” Soloists in the Beethoven are sopranos Sarah Price and Danielle Yilmaz. For the Mendelssohn the solo singers are alto Victoria Carmichael, tenor Thomas Cooley, and bass-baritone Enrico Lagasca. Performances are Friday at 7:30 pm and Saturday at 8 pm, March 10 and 11 at Powell Symphony Hall in Grand Center. The Saturday concert 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.