On his toes

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Who: Lara Teeter
What: Lucky To Be Me
When: April 25 and 26, 2014
Where: The Gaslight Cabaret Festival at the Gaslight Theatre

Gotta sing! Gotta dance! Gotta be a cabaret star! The Presenters Dolan closed out the Gaslight Cabaret Festival with Lara Teeter tripping the light fantastic in his cabaret debut "Lucky To Be Me." 

The show was high-energy entertainment from a veteran of the musical theatre stage both in the Big Apple and here in St. Louis, where Mr. Teeter has been a fixture at The Muny, our big outdoor venue, for over two decades as well as head of the musical theatre program at the Webster Conservatory for Theatre Arts since 2007.

As you might expect from someone with Mr. Teeter's credentials, his show relied heavily on classic songs from musical theatre and films.  He set the tone for the ensuing hour or so early on by using "Please Don't Monkey with Broadway" (from the film "Broadway Melody of 1940," where it was sung and danced by Fred Astaire and George Murphy) to comment on how the Great White Way had changed during his life from "a pornographic mess" in the late 1970s to the massive corporate billboard of today.  What followed was a high-level overview of his life and career, liberally illustrated with hits (and a few rarities) from the Great American Songbook.

Lara Teeter in the revival of
On Your Toes

So, for example, the title song from Rodgers and Hart's "On Your Toes" was used to reminisce about his Tony-nominated performance in the 1982 revival of that show, while "Once Upon a Time" (from Charles Strouse and Lee Adams's "All American," where it was sung by one of Mr. Teeter's heroes, Ray Bolger) became a reflection on how marriage and a family led to an unexpected career change.  "Life happens," he observed, and then went on to reflect on the joys of marriage and parenthood with "I Married an Angel" (another Rodgers and Hart title song) and Maury Yeston's lovely "New Words."

Throughout it all, Mr. Teeter matched his charming stage persona with the physical grace that comes from his years as a song and dance man.  A bit where he paid homage to the dancers that influenced him—Dick Van Dyke, Ray Bolger, Gene Kelly, and others—with quick impressions of their characteristic moves, was typical of the way in which he worked his dance background into the warp and woof of the show without coming across as a simple showoff.

Music director and pianist Greg Schweizer provided arrangements that supported Mr. Teeter well, although some of them seemed to push his voice higher than was entirely comfortable for him.  They had great stage chemistry, as was apparent when they turned a fluffed lyric in "Let's Do It, Let's Fall in Love" (which, to be fair, has an apparently bottomless well of words) into an opportunity for some good-natured byplay.  Director Tim Schall's influence was apparent in the show's sound structure and well–thought out blocking.

Mr. Teeter is taking "Lucky to Be Me" to New York City's 54 Below in July, by which time you can expect any minor hiccups to be gone.  I'd be surprised if it wasn't extremely well received in the city Mr. Teeter used to call home.  It certainly was in the city that he calls home now, where it put the cap on a highly successful inaugural spring season of the Gaslight Cabaret Festival.  The festival continues in the fall; see gaslightcabaretfestival.com for more information as it becomes available.

Chuck's Choices for the weekend of April 25, 2014

As always, the choices are purely my personal opinion. Take with a grain (or a shaker) of salt.

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New this week:

The Conservatory of Theatre Arts at Webster University presents the musical Into the Woods Wednesday through Sunday, April 23-27. Performances take place on the Browning Mainstage Theater at the Loretto-Hilton Center on the Webster University campus. For more information: www.webster.edu/fine-arts/departments/conservatory/index.html or call 314-968-7128.

My take: The Webster Conservatory does consistently excellent work and Into the Woods is one of Sondheim's more thoughtful and inventive shows. The second act is nearly always problematic, but if anyone can make a good case for it, they can.

The Presenters Dolan present Lara Teeter in Lucky to Be Me on Friday and Saturday, April 25 and 26, at 8 PM as part of the Gaslight Cabaret Festival. "Join Lara Teeter for his St. Louis cabaret debut, sharing his journey as artist, teacher, husband and dad. Claimed by both our town and Broadway (a Tony Nominee) as one of its own, Lara Teeter shows us just how fresh the songbook is in a master song and dance man's hands. And feet. " The performance takes place at the Gaslight Theater, 358 North Boyle. For more information: gaslightcabaretfestival.com.

My take: Lara Teeter has a been an important force on the musical theatre and cabaret scene locally for many years. He and Neal Richardson have done impressive work with the musical theatre students at the Webster Conservatory, as anyone who has seen their annual cabaret night can attest. It will be interesting to see what his own show looks like.

Equally Represented Arts presents Make Hamlet, April 21 through May 3. "This experimental, theatrical production re-envisions Shakespeare's iconic play. It uses the play's inherent meta-theatricality to explore its theme of fractured identity. Shakespeare's tragic text, ERA's ensemble-driven ideals, and the ritual of performance collide as six actors Make Hamlet." Performances take place at The Chapel Venue, 6238 Alexander Drive. For more information: equallyrepresentedarts.com.

My take: Non-traditional approaches to Shakespeare's classics can be a risky proposition, but as Steve Callahan notes in his review for 88.1 KDHX, this production "powerfully captures all the fears, doubts, anxieties and philosophical wonderings in which Shakespeare's play is so rich. This production expects much of its audience: it expects intelligence; it expects a good familiarity with Shakespeare's play; it expects an open mind; it expects a sense of humor. But if you have these things then ERA's production of 'Make Hamlet' is certainly for you." The Chapel Venue is non-traditional in its own way. It offers the space free of charge to performers and volunteers run the bar at the back of the house. It's definitely worth supporting that kind of attitude.

Shakespeare Festival St. Louis presents Shake 38, a city wide performance festival in which all 38 of Shakespeare's plays are performed by 38 different groups in a variety of neighborhoods and locations. Performances take place Wednesday through Sunday, April 23-27. For a complete schedule: sfstl.com.

My take: Speaking of non-traditional approaches to The Bard, Shake 38 provides more Shakespeare than you can (ahem) shake a stick at ("if that's your idea of a good time," to quote Groucho). Want to see Titus Andronicus at a hookah bar? Or Romeo and Juliet at a juvenile detention center? How about Julius Caesar at City Hall, Pericles at a coffee house, or Henry V at The Stage @ KDHX? All this and more will unfold this weekend; check out the web site for a complete schedule

Held Over:

Mustard Seed Theatre presents Falling, written and directed by Deanna Jent. "Fresh from its off-Broadway run, Falling returns with the original St. Louis cast. The New York Post writes: "This heartfelt and nuanced family drama is shot through with dark humor. Falling soars!" While Falling explores hard truths within a family dealing specifically with autism, the story is really about loving someone who is hard to love." Performances take place through May 4 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: St. Louis doesn't export that much theatre, so when it does it's worth taking notice. In his review for 88.1 KDHX, Steve Callahan says that "you can count your lucky stars that right now it is again playing in St. Louis. This is the most powerful, moving new play I've seen in years." I think you can take that to the bank, as they say.

Photo: Stewart Goldstein

The Black Rep presents Wole Soyinka's The Trials of Brother Jero through April 27. This Nobel Prize-winning play "depicts the delightful day in the life on an evangelical con man, forced to deal with creditors, politicians, and the endless temptation of beautiful women." Performances take place at the Emerson Performance Center on the campus of Harris-Stowe State University. For more information: theblackrep.org.

My take: Once again, the Black Rep has brought us a rarely-seen show from the pen of a noted playwright—in this case Nigeria's Wole Soyinka. "This play might have come from the pen of an archaic Aristophanes," writes Steve Callahan in his review for 88.1 KDHX. "But this little play is awash in quite beautiful dance and music and ravishing African rhythms. There is African song with gorgeous harmonies. At one moment, in a frenzy of prayer, there is a shrill ululation—the most thrilling sound in the world. All of this music and dance is so exquisitely done. And it so beautifully supports the feeling of stylization—the feeling that this is an ancient folk tale." If that doesn't sound fascinating, you must be fascination proof.