St. Louis theatre calendar for the week of July 8, 2024

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

King Headley II
Photo: Keshon Campbell

The Black Rep presents August Wilson’s King Hedley II through July 14.  “Peddling stolen refrigerators hoping to open a video store one day, King Hedley, an ex-con, toils with self-worth. Getting, spending, killing, and dying in a world where getting is hard and killing is commonplace are threads woven into this 1980s installment in the author’s renowned cycle of plays about the Black experience in America. Drawing on characters established in “Seven Guitars,” “King Hedley II” shows how shadows of the past can darken the present as King seeks retribution for his mother’s lies.” Performances take place at the Edison Theatre on the Washington University campus. For more information: www.theblackrep.org.

Clayton Community Theatre presents Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night, directed by Heather Sartin with an all female cast, Thursdays through Saturdays at 7:30 pm and Sundays at 2 pm, July 11 through 21.  Written between 1601-1602, the second play in Shakespeare’s Shipwreck Trilogy remains one of the Bard’s most familiar and best- loved comedies.  Sword fights, long lost twins, singing, dancing, and yellow socks all work together to weave a tale of restoration and love.  This will be a 90-minute, no-intermission production, and there will be a mini-concert preshow by the Reveler's Guild musical troupe.” Performances take place at the Washington University South Campus Theatre, 6501 Clayton Rd. For more information: www.placeseveryone.org

The Romanov Family Yard Sale
Photo: David Hackett

ERA presents The Romanov Family Yard Sale Thursdays through Saturdays at 8 pm through July 20. "It is July 1919, one year after the last ever Russian Tsar, Tsarina, and their children were murdered. The distant, and more importantly living, Romanov cousins have set up a yard sale in a formerly Tsar-sponsored Russian theatre wrecked by the Bolsheviks. No one cares about these Romanovs, but they are Romanovs nonetheless. Join them in a very real theatre play and a very real yard sale where everything must go!" Playing at The Kranzberg Blackbox, 501 N Grand Blvd in Grand Center. For more information: www.eratheatre.org.

The Midnight Company presents Harold Pinter’s Old Times Thursdays through Saturdays at 8 pm and Sundays at 2 pm, July 11 through 27. “There are three characters in Old Times, a man named Deeley, his wife Kate, and Anna, a friend of Kate’s whom they have not seen for twenty years. Beneath the surface of their taut, witty conversation lurks suggestions of darkness, until the present is overwhelmed with intimations of some frightening past.” Performances take place at The Chapel, 6238 Alexander Drive in University City. For more information: www.midnightcompany.com

Eileen Engel

The Midnight Company presents Eileen Engel in Jacey’s Jazz Joint on Sunday, July 14, at 7:30 pm. “Engel is Jacey.  You’re at her place, and she wants you to have the best time.  Jacey and her band will be performing some of the best songs you’ve ever heard, done in their inimitable Jacey’s Jazz style.  As the evening goes on, the songs will trigger memories, and Jacey will re-veal stories of where the money came from to open the joint (a guy named Johnny), how the thorny relationship with Johnny evolved, and the dangerous conclusion to their romantic journey.  The heartfelt songs Jacey sings echo the joy and pain of their love.” The show is written and directed by Joe Hanrahan with music direction by Colin Healy.   Performances take place at The Blue Strawberry, 364 N. Boyle in Midtown. For more information: bluestrawberrystl.com

The Muny presents The Little Mermaid July 8 through 16 at 8:15 pm.  “One of our most popular shows ever, Disney’s The Little Mermaid returns to the Muny stage for the third time. Howard Ashman and Alan Menken’s beloved tale centers on young Ariel, who yearns to venture beyond her underwater home and go where the people are, up on land. Theatregoers of all ages will want to be part of this world.”  For more information: muny.org.

The St. Louis Actors’ Studio presents the tenth annual LaBute New Theater Festival July 12 through 28. “STLAS received hundreds of submissions worldwide and selected four to be produced on the stage at The Gaslight Theater, along with a brand new piece by esteemed film director, screenwriter and playwright Neil LaBute, for whom the festival and is named and who serves on its creative team. This year's productions include the following works/playwrights: Grief & Woe by Paul Bowman of New Albany, Ind.; Cage by Barbara Blatner of New York, NY; Walrus by Brandt Adams of Brooklyn, NY; Love in the Time of Nothing by Jayne Hannah of North Providence, RI; and Who’s On First by Neil LaBute.” Performances take place at The Gaslight Theater on North Boyle in the Central West End. For more information: www.stlas.org

The St. Louis Writers Group presents Three Short Plays on  Monday, July 8, at 6:30 pm. The readings take place at the Square One Brewery and Distillery in Lafayette Square.  More information is available at the St. Louis Writers Group Facebook page.

Tesseract Theatre presents the musical My Heart Says Go opening on Thursday, July 11, and running through July 21st. “A celebration of risk-taking and the power of persistence, My Heart Says Go follows first-generation college student, Indigo, who defies his father and drops out of medical school to become a singer-songwriter. Indigo is accompanied on his journey by a new friend, Clara, who has her own struggles at home. Performances take place at the Marcelle Theatre in Grand Center. For more information: www.tesseracttheatre.com.

Carmen

Union Avenue Opera presents Bizet’s Carmen Fridays and Saturdays at 8 pm, through July 13. “Follow the fate of Don José, a naïve soldier who falls under the spell of the fiery Carmen, and abandons his duty and his love for Micaëla, a sweet country girl. But Carmen’s free spirit and seductive charms lead her to another man, the handsome bullfighter Escamillo, and drive José to jealousy and violence. With unforgettable melodies like the ‘Habanera’ and the ‘Toreador Song’, Carmen is a thrilling spectacle of love, lust, and betrayal. Come see why Bizet’s masterpiece of operatic romance and drama is one of history’s most popular operas ever written.” Performances are sung in French with projected English supertitles and take place at Union Avenue Christian Church, 733 Union at Enright in the Central West End. For more information: unionavenueopera.org

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

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