Theatre springs forward this week with The Aphra Behn festival, a jukebox musical at the Fox, musical theatre composer Jason Robert Brown at the Grandel, a world premiere at the Rep Studio,
Well at Mustard Seed, and the Gateway Men's Chorus spring concert.
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New This Week:
Slightly Askew Theatre Ensemble presents
The Aphra Behn Emerging Artists Showcase Friday through Sunday at 8 pm March 15-17. " Now in its third year, this year's festival will consist of three plays written and directed by promising female artists. The festival is named after Aphra Behn, the British playwright, poet, translator and fiction writer from the Restoration era. As one of the first English women to earn her living by her writing, Aphra Behn broke cultural barriers and served as a literary role model for later generations of women authors." Performances take place at The Centene Center for the Arts and Education, 3547 Olive in Grand Center. For more information:
brownpapertickets.com
My take: What could be more appropriate for Women's History Month than the Aphra Behn Showcase? SATE has an impressive track record of producing new and innovative theatre in St. Louis.
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| Beautiful, the Carole King Musical |
The Fabulous Fox Theatre presents
Beautiful, The Carole King Musical opening on Tuesday, March 12, at 7:30 pm and running through March 17. " BEAUTIFUL - The Carole King Musical tells the inspiring true story of King's remarkable rise to stardom, from being part of a hit songwriting team with her husband Gerry Goffin, to her relationship with fellow writers and best friends Cynthia Weil and Barry Mann, to becoming one of the most successful solo acts in popular music history. Along the way, she made more than beautiful music, she wrote the soundtrack to a generation." The Fabulous Fox Theatre in on N. Grand in Grand Center. For more information:
fabulousfox.com.
My take: As I wrote in my review of the 2016 tour,
Beautiful, The Carole King Musical is a bright, fast-paced jukebox of a show loosely based on the early years of Carole King's songwriting career, culminating with her emergence as a singer in her own right with her best selling Tapestry LP and subsequent Carnegie Hall concert in 1971. You won't get much in the way of insight into King's life or her songwriting process here, but with so many polished production numbers and a nostalgic score of '50s and '60s hits, that hardly matters. The show is pure fun, and the bits of pop music trivia in Douglas McGrath's book only add to the appeal.
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| Jason Robert Brown |
The Kranzberg Arts Foundation presents
Jason Robert Brown on Friday, March 15, at 7 pm. "Jason Robert Brown is the three-time Tony Award-winning composer and lyricist of
Songs for a New World (1995),
Parade (1998),
The Last Five Years (2002),
13 (2008),
The Bridges of Madison County (2013) and
Honeymoon In Vegas (2014). His shows are regularly performed on stages across the world, and his songs are regularly heard on television, film and recordings. Jason has recorded several albums, featuring his band The Caucasian Rhythm Kings, and is much in demand as a pianist, singer and conductor. He lives in New York City with his wife, Georgia Stitt, and his two daughters. For this unique performance, Tony Award-winning composer and lyricist Jason Robert Brown will incorporate an eclectic mix of material, featuring music from throughout his acclaimed career, along with works from his new album
How We React and How We Recover. The performance takes place at The Grandel, 2610 Grandel Square in Grand Center. For more information:
metrotix.com.
My take: Great musical theatre composers are not necessarily great or even good performers in their own right. Stephen Sondheim comes to mind as an example. Mr. Brown is one of those rare examples of a composer who is also a dynamic and appealing performer. The Grandel is where cabaret started in St. Louis many years ago with the Grandel Cabaret Series, and the newly remodeled theater space is just about ideal for this most intimate of musical theatre genres. Plus, there's a well-stocked bar and respectable food menu out in the lobby.
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Nonsense and Beauty
Photo: Jerry Naunheim, Jr. |
The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis presents the St. Louis premiere of
Nonsense and Beauty through March 24. "In 1930, the writer E.M. Forster met and fell in love with a policeman 23 years his junior. Their relationship, very risky for its time, evolved into a 40-year love triangle that was both turbulent and unique. Based on a true story,
Nonsense and Beauty captures the wit and wisdom of one of the last century's great writers. This world premiere, developed as part of The Rep's 2018 Ignite! Festival of New Plays, explores the power of love and forgiveness." Performances take place in the studio theatre at the Loretto-Hilton Center on the Webster University campus. For more information:
repstl.org.
My take: As I write in
my review of the show,
Nonsense and Beauty is a fundamentally sound work that could use with some fine tuning, largely around the character of Buckingham, but it's a worthy addition to the Rep's studio season nevertheless. The cast could hardly be better and Seth Gordon's direction is spot on.
The Gateway Men's Chorus presents
Seasons of Love on Friday and Saturday, March 15 and 16, at 8 p.m. "Our spring concert is the perfect time to take you through a year of infatuation, passion, happiness, betrayal, heartbreak, and hope: the unpredictability of love. You will be utterly absorbed listening to GMC's specially chosen collection of ballads, blues, and Broadway, as well as the concert's namesake "Seasons of Love" from
Rent." The concert takes place at Union Avenue Christian Church, 733 Union at Enright in the Central West End. For more information:
gmcstl.org.
My take: The Gateway Men's Chorus has been a local cultural treasure for three decades now, and deserves our support. And with hatred seemingly pressing in on us from all sides these days, we can certainly use a celebration of love right now, don't you think?
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Well
Photo by Ann Aurbach |
Mustard Seed Theatre presents
Well by Lisa Kron Thursday through Saturday at 8 and Sunday at 2 pm through March 17. "Lisa's experimental play intends to explore racial and religious integration and cultural concepts of health. She does NOT want to talk about her Mother, who unexpectedly joins her on stage. What could possibly go wrong?" Performances take place at the Fontbonne Fine Arts Theatre, 6800 Wydown Blvd. For more information, call (314) 719-8060 or visit the web site at
www.mustardseedtheatre.com.
My take: Based on the reviews, I should have included this one earlier, but better late than never. "A fine 95 minutes of intellectual exercise,"
says Ann Lemmons Pollack. "Unexpectedly charming and heartfelt,"
writes Lynn Venhaus, "the experimental but relatable “Well”
breaks the fourth wall just enough to easily win over the audience." At STLToday, Calvin Wilson
describes it as "exuberantly imaginative and smartly funny." And this weekend is your last chance to see it.
Held Over:
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Avenue Q
Photo by John Flack |
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The Playhouse at Westport Plaza presents the musical
Avenue Q running through March 17 (extended from March 3rd). "Part flesh, part felt and packed with heart, AVENUE Q is a laugh-out-loud musical telling the timeless story of a bright-eyed college grad named Princeton. When he arrives in the city with big dreams and a tiny bank account, he has to move into a shabby apartment all the way out on AVENUE Q. Still, the neighbors seem nice. There, he meets Kate (the girl next door), Lucy (the slut), Rod (the Republican), Trekkie (the internet entrepreneur), superintendent Gary Coleman (yes, that Gary Coleman) and other new friends! Together, they struggle to find jobs, dates, and their ever-elusive purpose in life." The Playhouse at Westport Plaza is at 635 West Port Plaza. For more information:
www.playhouseatwestport.com.
My take: A smart, hip, and very funny parody of Sesame Street,
Avenue Q is also an entertaining (if R-rated) story of college-educated twentysomethings--both flesh and foam rubber--coming to grips with the economic, political and sexual facts of life. The show is good, not-so-clean fun and always worth seeing. This production is "outrageously funny" (
Calvin Wilson, STLToday). "A blend of national and local talent brings zest, exquisite precision and rampant enthusiasm to this delightful version of the Tony Award-winning musical melange of puppeteered optimism at its finest," writes Mark Bretz
at Ladue News.
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La Cage aux Folles
Photo by Jill Ritter Lindberg |
New Line Theatre presents the musical
La Cage aux Folles Thursdays through Saturdays at 8 PM through March 23. "What happens when the son of a middle-aged gay couple brings home the daughter of an arch-conservative politician -- and her parents -- for dinner? Musical comedy ensues. Come join us on the French Riviera for a night of love, laughs, illusions and truths, and the triumph of family over bullies and bigots." Performances take place at the Marcelle Theater, 3310 Samuel Shepard Drive, three blocks east of Grand, in Grand Center. For more information, visit
newlinetheatre.com or call 314-534-1111.
My take: I have always been a great admirer of this show. Although it's over thirty years old now,
La Cage feels relevant all over again in a time when obsessive culture warriors are denouncing loving long-term relationships like that of Georges and the flamboyant Albin as an existential threat to family life when, in fact, they are an affirmation of it. Jerry Herman's score is one of his strongest, with a French pop-music flavor reminiscent of Jacques Brel or Edith Piaf. Songs like "The Best of Times", "With Anne on My Arm", and "La Cage Aux Folles" are both irresistible and unforgettable. And the book by Tony–award winning playwright Harvey Fierstein is both witty and wise. The current New Line production apparently benefits from what Lynn Venhaus
calls a "tour-de-force performance from Zachary Allen Farmer as the drag diva Zaza/Albin." Mark Bretz agrees, calling Mr. Farmer's work "triumphant."
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