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.