St. Louis theatre calendar for the week of September 11, 2023

What's on St. Louis theater and cabaret stages this coming week. Please leave a comment if anything was wrong or got left out

Jeff Harnet

The Blue Strawberry presents A Collective Cy with Jeff Harnar on Friday, September 15 at 7:30 pm. "JEFF HARNAR salutes Emmy, Grammy, Tony winning songwriter CY COLEMAN in his award-winning, critically acclaimed show A COLLECTIVE CY originally performed at Feinstein’s in New York City. Expect to hear familiar standards like “The Best is Yet To Come,” “Witchcraft,” “Hey Look Me Over,” “When in Rome,” as well as surprises from Coleman’s six decade career that included Broadway hits like “Sweet Charity." ALEX RYBECK conducts The Rhythm of Life Quartet and the show is Directed by SARA LOUISE LAZARUS. ” The Blue Strawberry is at 364 N. Boyle. For more information: bluestrawberrystl.com.

Clayton Community Theatre presents The Cemetery Club Thursdays through Saturdays at 8 pm and Sundays at 2 pm, September 14 through 24.  “Three Jewish widows meet once a month for tea before going to visit their husbands’ graves. Ida is sweet tempered and ready to begin a new life; Lucille is a feisty embodiment of the girl who just wants to have fun; and Doris is priggish and judgmental, particularly when Sam the butcher enters the scene. He meets the widows while visiting his wife’s grave. This play is genuinely funny while with a serious subject matter. It runs through a range of emotions. There are secrets, some anger, a little bit of betrayal, but a lot of love too.” Performances take place at the Washington University South Campus Theatre, 6501 Clayton Rd. For more information: www.placeseveryone.org

Kineteic Tapestry Physical Theatre Company presents Space: A Celestial Circus Show through September 16. “A cosmic feast for the senses including unicycles, aerial acts, comedy, juggling, and acrobatics set to original music by St Louis composer Abbie Steiling against an incredible backdrop of space images by Frederick Steiling.” Performances take place at the Florissant Performing Arts Center in Florissant, MO. For more information: www.kinetictapestry.org/space

The Lemp Mansion Murder Mystery Dinner Theatre and Jest Mysteries present Zombie Love through November 4. "Calling all Zombies! Tired of being judged for munching on the occasional brain? So what if you're not really "alive" anymore. You can still enjoy socializing with the living and enjoying a hilarious show together. Well, we've got the perfect show for you. Drama! Comedy! Looove! ...And, of course, Zombies! But some zombie has ignored rule number one in the “Zombieing for Dummies” handbook…No biting.  Nina Tina Deena May will never be the same…do you know who’s to blame? And, no, it was not Mike Tyson! " The Lemp Mansion is at 3322 DeMenil Place in south city. For more information: www.lempmansion.com

Jennell Gilreath Owens

The Midnight Company presents You Made Me Love You: A Tribute to Judy Garland starring Jennelle Gilreath Owens through September 14. The show is written by Joe Hanrahan with a band headed by John and Lea Gerdes.  Performances take place at The Blue Strawberry is at 364 N. Boyle. .For more information: midnightcompany.com

Prism Theatre Company presents Wrens by Anne V. McGravie September 15 through 24.  “Wrens by Anne V. McGravie, celebrates the independence and courage of seven young women during World War II serving in the Women’s Royal Naval Service (WRNS). Set in 1945 on the eve of victory in Europe, this diverse group of women all struggle with personal feelings about what the end of the war will mean for their futures, and for the freedom and respect they have discovered serving in the Wrens. While wrestling with uncertainty, a sudden crisis forces them to come together to save one of their own. With humor, compassion, and strikingly real characters that touch our hearts, Wrens shines a light on a remarkable group of women who committed themselves to help change the world forever. Content Advisory: This play contains discussions of rape and abortion, and there is one very brief moment of partial nudity.” Performances take place at the black box theatre at the Kranzberg Center in Grand Center. For more information: www.prismtheatrecompany.org

The Lehman Trilogy
Photo: T. Charles Erickson

The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis presents The Lehman Trilogy through September 24. “Experience this epic tale of one family’s passionate pursuit of the American Dream and the piercing cost of greed, excess and unbridled power. In the late 1840s, three young brothers from Bavaria arrived in America with near-empty pockets but full of hope and ambition. Over the course of two centuries, their family business grew to unimaginable heights and ultimately collapsed into bankruptcy” Performances take place on the main stage of the Loretto-Hilton Center on the Webster University Campus. For more information: repstl.org

St. Louis Shakespeare Festival’s Shakespeare in the Streets presents The Game’s Afoot, a new play inspired by true stories from a century of soccer in St. Louis, Thursday and Friday at 8 pm and Saturday at 6 pm, September 14 – 16. The Game’s Afoot is written by Benjamin Hochman (St. Louis Post-Dispatch sports columnist) and adapted from Shakespeare’s historic saga of Henry V. Join Hal, Falstaff, and St. Louis soccer characters past and present to save the city in an epic battle on and off the pitch. The Game’s Afoot takes place on 22nd Street between Olive and Locust, directly across from City Park.  For more information: stlshakes.org/plan-your-visit

The St. Louis Writers' Group presents a Week 2 of its annual One-Act Play Festival on Tuesday, September 12, at 6:30 pm. The plays are First Love Second Chance by David Hawley, The Dark Shadow by David Hawley, Measure Twice, Cut Once by Peg Flach, Ibid by Dennis Fisher, and Purgatory by Robert Schmidt . The readings take place upstairs at Big Daddy’s in Soulard. For more information, visit the St. Louis Writers' Group Facebook page.

Stages St. Louis presents the musical Million Dollar Quartet through October 8. “The music industry stars truly aligned by pure happenstance when Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis, and Carl Perkins came together for an impromptu 1956 recording session at Sun Records in Memphis. This legendary session became known as the MILLION DOLLAR QUARTET and is the setting for this wildly entertaining audience favorite. Filled with such classic tunes as “Blue Suede Shoes”, “I Walk the Line”, “Hound Dog”, and “Great Balls of Fire”, MILLION DOLLAR QUARTET is sure to have you dancing in the aisles!” Performances take place at the Kirkwood Performing Arts Center in Kirkwood, MO. For more information: stagesstlouis.org

The Tennessee Williams Festival St. Louis presents Suddenly Last Summer through September 17. “This fresh retelling of Suddenly Last Summer, first performed in 1957, focuses on the life and death of closeted gay poet Sebastian Venable, who is brutally murdered while on a trip to Italy with his cousin Catharine. After the recent tragedy, Mrs. Venable will stop at nothing to keep her son’s (and her own) secrets safe. Generally accepted as a modern-day horror story, this play has autobiographical roots from Williams’ own family life.” Performances take place at the Berges Theatre at COCA in University City. For more information: twstl.org.

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

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.

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.