St. Louis theatre calendar for the week of July 15, 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.

Tim Schall and Joe Dreyer

The Blue Strawberry presents Sunday Standard Time with Tim Schall and Joe Dreyer on Sunday July 21 at 6 pm. “Join Tim Schall (vocals) and Joe Dreyer (piano) in the lounge for a casual, classy Sunday evening of jazz standards, a little sophisticated pop and a dash of classic Broadway. Tim is no stranger to the theater and concert stages of St. Louis, Chicago and New York's Lincoln Center. Joe has a rich history of entertaining St. Louis audiences as musician and singer. Together they will help you wind down your weekend with timeless music and a lot of irreverent dry humor.”   The Blue Strawberry is at 364 N. Boyle. For more information: bluestrawberrystl.com

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 through July 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 Improv Shop presents an improvised musical by The One Four Fives on Saturday, July 20 at 8 pm. “It’s the opening (and err, closing) night of a Broadway-style musical, completely made up on the spot! Based on an audience suggestion, The One Four Fives create a musical that has never been seen before. Every performance is a unique experience full of drama, comedy, emotions, and of course, songs.” The Improv Shop is at 3960 Chouteau, just east of The Grove in Midtown. For more information: theimprovshop.com.

Old Times

The Midnight Company presents Harold Pinter’s Old Times Thursdays through Saturdays at 8 pm and Sundays at 2 pm through July 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

The Little Mermaid
Photo: Phillip Hamer

The Muny presents The Little Mermaid through July 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 Muny presents Fiddler on the Roof July 19 through July 25 at 8:15 pm. "The legendary musical tells the story of Tevye the milkman, who clings to the Jewish customs of Anatevka, his hometown in pre-Revolutionary Russia". For more information: muny.org.

Cthulhu: the Musical

Puppeteers for Fears, Oregon's only dedicated puppet musical horror troupe, presents its original show, Cthulhu: the Musical!, on Tuesday, July 16, at 7:30 pm. “Far from the lo-fi puppet show stereotype, the production features a full cast of five actors with elaborate custom-made puppets, a full-rock band, and projected multimedia backgrounds for an immersive and engaging theatrical experience. The play is adapted from the 1929 short story, The Call of Cthulhu,” by horror icon, H.P. Lovecraft, and tells the story of his most famous creation: Cthulhu, a giant, malevolent, octopus-faced elder god who hibernates beneath the ocean, communicating to humans through their dreams, slowly driving them mad.” The performance takes place at City Winery in The Foundry in Midtown. For more information: puppeteersforfears.com. [Watch the video interview on Chuck's Culture Channel.]

The LaBurte New Theater Festival

The St. Louis Actors’ Studio presents the tenth annual LaBute New Theater Festival through July 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

My Heart Says Go

Tesseract Theatre presents the musical My Heart Says Go 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.

Tesseract Theatre presents the musical Cascade’s Fire opening on Friday, July 19th, and running through July 28th. “A young woman returns to her old university to investigate the mysterious death of her ex-girlfriend. Unsure of who to trust and who to help, she finds herself trying to uncover a conspiracy that could burn the whole town to the ground.”  Performances take place at the Marcelle Theatre in Grand Center.For more information: www.tesseracttheatre.com.

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

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