Preview: Donna and Shirley invite you to "Say Yes."

L-R: Shirley Aschinger and Donna Weinsting

On Saturday June 15th at 8 pm, The Presenters Dolan offers "Say Yes," an unusual if not downright unique cabaret evening featuring actress Donna Weinsting and storyteller Shirley Aschinger. St. Louis cabaret luminary Ken Haller directs the show, with music direction by Webster University's Carol Schmidt. The performance takes place at the Kranzberg Arts Center in Grand Center. I talked with them about their upcoming cabaret adventure.

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Chuck Lavazzi (CL): You two have very different backgrounds as far as performing goes. Donna has a long career here as a stand-up comic and actress but Shirley just got the performing bug relatively recently. How did you meet?

Shirley Aschinger (SA): Chuck, I met you and Donna in the 2008 Cabaret Conference. You sang "The Vatican Rag" and Donna sang "The Way We Were". I sang "I Whistle A Happy Tune". It was my first time on stage since college. Like Donna, I had been singing, dancing and performing all of my life, but in my case it was to my overflowing imaginary audience. After I did the patter, and sang "Whistle", my friend of thirty years said, "I didn't know you did stand-up!" My answer, "I've been doing stand-up for years, but at four foot ten inches, who knew?"

CL: What made you decide to team up for a cabaret show?

Donna Weinsting (DW): When we met at the Cabaret Conference, I immediately felt Shirley was a kindred spirit and a fellow "golden oldie". I knew Shirley would like to break free and have her own cabaret and I thought doing it together would be a great way to break the ice and be a whole lot of fun for us both.

SA: The idea for this show began November 9, 2018. We were at the West End Grill having dinner, awaiting Katie Dunne McGrath's "Favorite Aunt of the Year" show at the Gaslight Theatre. Donna pulled up a chair next to me, sat down and said, "It's Hell to get old." I said, "I'm way older than you are and I feel fine." We talked a bit about getting older, and then she said, "We ought to do a show together!" I looked behind me to see who she was talking to. Oh, my goodness, Donna was talking to me. Even then, I thought that was just something to say pre-cabaret show, like "Let's do lunch", but a few weeks later I found out she was serious.

WOW! It has been a ball getting to know Donna better, and with Ken Haller, and Carol Schmidt, what could possibly go wrong?

CL: Yeah, Carol is a pretty amazing music director and arranger. I've known Ken for years as an actor and singer. What's he like as a director?

SA: This is my first experience with any show director, so I have no one to compare him to, other than the conference directors, - then again, as all of us know, Ken is beyond compare. Ken is organized, a quick problem solver, a pro on and off stage, and engaging with an eager smile, and facial expressions that would fill a phone book. He understands comedy, and how and why it works. Ken Haller and fun seem to go together nicely. I couldn't be happier working with Ken.

I can't remember when I started working with Carol - always a joy to have her get me ready for the Cabaret Conferences.

DW: Ken is a delight as a director. We have fun and he has great ideas that help make us better. He is a caring and excellent pediatrician and can use that bedside manner in handling a couple of women in their second childhoods. Lastly, as a seasoned and very talented cabaret performer he knows how to craft a show to showcase talent in the best possible way. Love our Ken!

CL: The title of the show is "Say Yes." Who picked that title and what does it mean for each of you?

DW: "Say Yes" is a song Shirley has In her repertoire and seemed perfect to us as life affirming and a battle cry as we enter the last leg of our journeys. We are saying yes to life, challenges and making dreams come true.

SA: Originally, I chose the song to sing as a solo. The lyrics spoke to me, because I was saying YES to so many things I never dreamed of even saying MAYBE to. I was saying yes to Cabaret, to Open Mike Night, to storytelling, to writing patter, to writing a story about my father that was published in Joe Holleman's book in 2009 called "Rollin' On The River - The Story Of The Admiral In St. Louis." By their actions on one evening cruise, in 1943, the Admiral saved my father's life.

In a similar way, I believe Cabaret saved mine, or certainly expanded it in a spectacular fashion. My surviving cancer gave me the courage to say YES to life in so many ways. I began at seventy-three, saying YES to the next song, the next Cabaret Conference, and knowing and partying with so many lovely people.

Most people my age are searching for a funeral director, so finding a show director named Ken, and playing with Carol, Donna and Ken in the Cabaret Sandbox, sounded much more exciting. Ken chose "Say Yes" as the show title, and thought it would be great as a duet. We agreed.

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For more information on "Say Yes," visit Metrotix.com.

Review: Katie McGrath does cabaret to perfection in 'Significant Others' at the Gaslight Theatre

This review originally appeared at 88.1 KDHX, where Chuck Lavazzi is the senior performing arts critic.

Rick Jensen and Katie McGrath

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If you wanted to write a "How to Do Cabaret" textbook, you could easily start with Significant Others, the latest show by former St. Louisan Katie McGrath, which had its local premiere at The Gaslight Cabaret Festival on Friday, November 10.

With a great song list ranging from Bon Jovi to Cole Porter, perfectly tailored arrangements by Rick Jensen, ideally paced direction by Lina Koutrakos, and Ms. McGrath's powerfully genuine stage presence, this was a show that hit all the right notes, literal and figurative.

From the moment Ms. McGrath stepped on stage in a sleek basic black outfit that nicely set off her striking blonde hair and silver earrings, she grabbed the audience's attention with the haunting lyrics Steve Porcaro wrote for the Michael Jackson hit "Human Nature": "Looking out / Across the nighttime / The city winks a sleepless eye." By the time she got to "If this town / Is just an apple / Then let me take a bite" there was little doubt that she was singing not just about her new home town of New York City, but about her entire approach to life as well -- a view confirmed by the next song, a giddy run through Frank Loesser's "If I Were a Bell" from Guys and Dolls. As we say over at the Church of the SubGenius, she's not just going to eat that apple, she's gong to eat the hell out of it.

I should pause here to point out that I have known Ms. McGrath for over a decade, going back to when we both attended an early edition of the St. Louis Cabaret Conference. Even then, before experience and training had allowed her to polish her craft, it was obvious that her singing had the immediacy and emotional truth that is at the heart of cabaret performance. No wonder that Gerry Geddes, in a review of the NYC debut of this show, wrote that Ms. McGrath has now "pursued, captured, and pretty much perfected cabaret performance."

The "significant others" of the title, as Ms. McGrath points out, goes back to the original psychological definition of the term as anyone who had a strong influence on one's self-concept. For her that includes not only her current partner Chet (the subject of a charming original song by Ms. McGrath and Alex Rybeck near the end of the show) but also her parents, her many siblings, her favorite babysitter, and even Sen. Kamala Harris, whose pointed questioning of Jeff Sessions she praised with Frank Loesser's "I Believe in You" (from How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying).

Memories of how her babysitter introduced her and her siblings to the joys of Motown in the 1960s led to an ingenious bit in which Ms. McGrath and Mr. Jensen sang only the backup parts of "Heat Wave" and "Come See About Me" (because only her babysitter could be Diana Ross or Martha Reeves) while she channeled her inner child trying (and failing) to execute the dance moves. That child stayed with us in the next song, Dar Williams's poignant "The Babysitter's Here," which views a failing relationship through the eyes of someone young enough to understand pain, but not yet old enough to understand its source.

Ms. McGrath touched on her family's struggle with alcoholism early on, but did so in a way that not only completely avoided self-pity, but also turned the pain into art with a wistful version of Irving Berlin's "Blue Skies." That led to a story about encountering Irving Berlin himself during a youthful trip to New York City, which in turn served as the basis for Rupert Holmes's "People That You Never Get to Love." It was an example of the solid dramatic structure of Significant Others, in which the experienced hand of Ms. Koutrakos was evident.

The show closed with a little something they didn't get in the Big Apple: James Taylor's "Sweet Baby James" sung in harmony with St. Louis singers Jeff Wright and Dionna Raedeke as a tribute to the late Neal Richardson, whose work as an arranger, music director, and educator enriched the lives of so many here in St. Louis before his own life was tragically cut short by illness earlier this year. It was a moment of true beauty.

Significant Others was, in short, a perfect blend of laughter and tears delivered by a singer who is now a master of her art, riding on Mr. Jensen's impeccably tailored arrangements. Our loss has been New York City's gain, and it was nice to see Ms. McGrath once again holding forth on her home turf. Let us hope she returns soon.

Significant Others was produced by The Presenters Dolan as part of the fall edition of the Gaslight Cabaret Festival, which concluded on November 11.

Review: The holiday doctor is in

This review originally appeared at 88.1 KDHX, where Chuck Lavazzi is the senior performing arts critic.

Ken Haller and Marty Fox

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The doctor is in, and he's got the cure for your holiday blues. All of them.

Happy Haller Days!, the latest show from singer/actor/pediatrician Ken Haller, is a romp through a full calendar year of three-day weekends, starting with Christmas and working around the calendar. Peppered with insights from Mr. Haller's life in medicine and theatre, the evening is fun and funny, but also touching and profound.

The song choices are varied and sometimes even inspired. Memories of the hard life of Mr. Haller's Swedish grandmother, for example, introduce an Independence Day segment that features a low-key version of Neil Diamond's "America." For Labor Day, reflections on his days as a resident physician on Manhattan's posh Upper West Side lead to Harburg and Lane's rarely heard "When the Idle Poor Become the Idle Rich" from Finian's Rainbow.

Perhaps the most emotional moment, though, comes with the return to Christmas, as Mr. Haller's thoughts on his decade as a pediatrician in poverty-stricken inner city East St. Louis, make way for an inspiring arrangement of "Light," from Next to Normal. Based on an arrangement for the Gateway Men's Chorus by the late Neal Richardson, it blends the voices of Mr. Haller and his pianist and music director Marty Fox in tight and powerful harmony. The song's hope that the light will make "wasted world we thought we knew...look brand new" feels particularly relevant in the context of today's bleak political landscape.

Balancing out the drama are some true comic gems, like "I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas," which the ten-year-old Gayla Peevey took to number 24 on the Billboard charts in 1963. Mr. Haller does an impressive job of channeling his own inner child in his charming performance. Perhaps the biggest laughs of the evening, though, came from the Valentine's Day entry, Marilyn Miller and Cheryl Hardwick's "Making Love Alone," a hymn of praise in beguine tempo to (ahem) taking matters into one's own hands. Bernadette Peters brought the house down with it on The Tonight Show in 1989. The Haller and Fox team got even more mileage out of it by taking it just a bit slower, giving the audience room to laugh at the song's many jokes.

As I have written previously, Mr. Haller never fails to deliver a combination of theatrical smarts and vocal authority that has made him one of our town's principal cabaret exports. He and Mr. Fox also have a great rapport on stage, something that was obvious in their last effort, The Medicine Show. Expert direction by Gaslight Cabaret Festival producer Jim Dolan kept everything moving at a good pace and helped insure the sense of a dramatic arc that, in my view, is a major characteristic of a well-designed cabaret performance. The capacity crowd at the Gaslight Theater clearly loved what they saw.

That said, I have to note that while it may be true that, as the old wheeze goes, an elephant never forgets, there's no escaping the fact that people do. On opening night, Mr. Haller occasionally got lost in a couple of lyric-heavy numbers, which suggests to me that there might be too many of those in the show. That's a very minor complaint, though, which is why it's at the very end of this review.

Ken Haller and Marty Fox will reprise Happy Haller Days! at 8 p.m. on Thursday, November 9, at the Gaslight Theater in the Central West End, as part of the Gaslight Cabaret Festival. It's a tremendously entertaining evening from one of our best and most prolific cabaret stars; go and enjoy.

Review: Alice Ripley's new show is fearless but could use a bit of fine tuning at the Gaslight Cabaret Festival, October 21 and 22, 2017

This review originally appeared at 88.1 KDHX, where Chuck Lavazzi is the senior performing arts critic.

Alice Ripley

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Broadway star Alice Ripley strikes me as fiercely courageous performer.

Back in 2010 at the Fox in a tour of Next to Normal, her Diana (a role she created on Broadway), was a dynamic and deeply troubled force of nature despite Ms. Ripley's audible vocal fatigue. You can argue about whether performing under vocal stress was a good idea or not, but there's no question that it took real guts.

I saw that same "go for broke" bravery in the opening number of her latest cabaret show, which had its world premiere at the Gaslight Cabaret Festival this weekend (Friday and Saturday, October 21 and 22). It was Leon Russell's soulful "A Song for You," expanded and extended to include volcanic outbursts of passion and even some idiosyncratic scatting. This was a kind of post-Wagnerian elaboration that left me wondering where the heck she was going with it and then being impressed with the destination. She broke the rules, took chances, and ultimately succeeded.

Which was essentially what she did for the entire evening.

At around ninety minutes, that evening was maybe a bit longer than it should have been, and if I were directing this show I'd suggest possibly making cuts in the first half, which consisted of dramatically charged renditions of pop songs from the sixties and beyond. Sometimes, as in a fiercely vulnerable version of Aaron Neville's 1966 "Tell It Like It Is," the results were gripping. But ultimately there were too many deeply felt ballads in a row for me and I began to tune out.

I tuned back in, though, for Ms. Ripley's chatty and engaging patter, which related the songs to her life without descending into the kind of embarrassingly personal details that sometimes mars that approach. At no point did I want to shout "too much information!" Good for her.

And I really tuned in for the second half, which consisted of piansit/music director Brad Simmons's beautifully arranged medleys from some of the many hit Broadway shows in Ms. Ripley's impressive resume. I was particularly taken with the three numbers from Sunset Boulevard, the show in which she played the role of Betty when it opened on Broadway in 1994. She said she'd love to play Norma Desmond now, and if the powerful way she delivered "With One Look" and "As If We Never Said Goodbye" is any indication, she is definitely ready for her close-up.

Brad Simmons
Photo: Kevin Alvey

The collection of tunes from the 1992 stage version of Tommy bubbled with raucous joy and Ms. Ripley's heartfelt performance of "I Miss the Mountains," Diana's first big number in Next to Normal, was a reminder of why she got that 2009 Tony award.

Mr. Simmons, it should be noted, contributed not only impeccably well-tailored arrangements but great vocals as well. When he and Ms. Ripley sang close harmony-as they did several times-it was such a thing of beauty that I was willing to ignore the fact that they were facing each other and not actively involving the audience. That should have been a turn-off, but wasn't. Their performance chemistry was irresistable.

So, yeah, this new show (the working title of which would appear to be "The Ripley Prescription") needs some fine tuning, but it's an impressive, theatrically potent piece already. For Ms. Ripley's fans, who were present in force the night I saw the show, The Ripley Prescription was just what the doctor ordered. For me, it was a demonstration of her vocal versatility and substantial acting chops. I expect that the show will be another feather in her already highly decorated cap before long.

The Gaslight Cabaret Festival continues through November 11th at the Gaslight Theatre in the Central West End. For more information: gaslightcabaretfestival.com.

Cabaret Review: Soulful and intense, Emily West brings a country sensibility to the Gaslight Cabaret Festival March 3 and 4, 2016

emilywestofficial.com

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Whenever someone asks me to come up with a definition of "cabaret," I'm often at a loss. A cabaret performance can be many things and the music can some from many sources. As Emily West demonstrated this past weekend at the Gaslight Theatre, it can be a dimly lit evening of slash-your-wrists ballads delivered with smoky intensity by a powerful singer/songwriter who has combined her childhood country influences with an urban storyteller's sensibility, creating her own unique sound in the process.

Ms. West is hard to classify, both as a singer and songwriter. Either on her own or in collaboration with her music director Kevin Rhoads, Emily West the songwriter seems to favor stories of lost love and lost hope, often shot through with self-aware irony and the kind of surreal imagery that you find in the lyrics of (say) Tom Waits. Emily West the singer delivers those numbers with smoldering passion and a wide-ranging voice that, like the voices of so many country singers, always seems just on the verge of tears.

That performance approach worked best in the original numbers that made a little over half of her eighteen-song set Friday night, the essence of which was captured in the torch song trilogy that opened the show. "Fallin'," which West has described as "an old-school kind of song that dealt honestly about situations in life," is about a woman who has fallen in love and can't get up. "Monsters Under My Bed" suggests that love changes people in ways that are rarely good. And "Why Do Lovers Leave?" suggests that the answer to the question might lie, at least in part, in the narrator's anger and self-pity.

That might sound like the beginning of a long evening and, at around an hour and twenty minutes, it probably could have done with either a bit of trimming or a bit more variety. But Ms. West is a wonderfully charismatic singer with an ingratiating sense of self-aware humor. That takes the edge off an show that might otherwise be a bit hard to take.

Still, I wish she had shown us more of that droll humor that came out in (for example) "Games." Written in collaboration with Mr. Rhoads, it's a funny and very true he said/she said story about an intentional first and accidental second date that illustrates how men and women can be from different planets. Their whimsical "That's How the Boy Gets the Girl in the Movies" was a welcome change of pace, as was "Puppy Dog, "a clever gloss on Leiber and Stoller's "Hound Dog". "You ain't nothin' but a puppy dog," goes the refrain, "And I ain't nothin' but a home / You're just tired of bein' out in the rain / And you just want a place where you can bury your bone."

I also enjoyed her cover versions of well-known tunes like Roy Orbison's "You Got It" and the Moody Blues hit "Nights in White Satin." She gave both of them a kind of seething power that suggested a volcano just minutes from exploding.

Mr. Rhoads accompanied on piano and guitar and often sang backup vocals. His keyboard arrangements had a kind of clean, almost classical elegance that I found very appealing, and which made for a nice contrast with Ms. West soulful and emotionally searing vocals.

If you've gotten this far, you will have realized that I never actually gave a definition of "cabaret." My preference is for the one my friend and fellow cabaret artist Dr. Ken Haller ("As Seen on TV") came up with: cabaret is the art of telling stories in song. Emily West is, by that definition, a fully paid-up member of the Cabaret Club. Her appearance here as part of the Gaslight Cabaret Festival was a reminder of just how much variety lurks behind that seven-letter word.

The Gaslight Cabaret Festival runs through April 9th at the Gaslight Theater on North Boyle. For more information, check out the festival web site.

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Join me at the Fourth Annual Award Ceremony of the St. Louis Theatre Circle at 7 p.m. on Monday, March 21, at the Skip Viragh Center for the Arts at Chaminade. If you can't make it to the ceremony, you can watch HEC-TV's live stream of the event at www.hectv.org.

St. Louis theatre calendar for the week of February 29, 2016

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

For information on events beyond this week, check out the searchable database at the Regional Arts Commission's events web site.

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Jeffrey M. Wright

The Presenters Dolan present Jeffrey M. Wright in The 40's: Theirs...And Mine on Saturday, March 5, at 8 PM as part of the Gaslight Cabaret Festival. "A very popular and immensely likable leading man, Jeff Wright comes back with his sold-out splash. Songs made famous by Comden and Green, Cole Porter, Garth Brooks, Jimmy Webb, U2 and Rodgers and Hammerstein." The performance takes place at the Gaslight Theater, 358 North Boyle. For more information: gaslightcabaretfestival.com.

New Line Theatre presents the musical American Idiot, based on the album by Green Day, Thursdays through Saturdays at 8 PM, March 3-26. " New Line continues its 25th season with the powerful, high-octane, rock fable AMERICAN IDIOT, based on the powerhouse album by Green Day, a scorching attack on what they saw as the hypocrisy and moral evils of the Bush Administration after the attacks of Sept. 11, as well as the increasingly submissive nature of the American public. The score includes every song from Green Day's hit album American Idiot, as well as several songs from their follow-up release, 21st Century Breakdown, with music by Green Day, lyrics by frontman Billie Joe Armstrong, a book by Armstrong and Michael Mayer, and musical arrangements and orchestrations by Broadway composer Tom Kitt (High Fidelity, Next to Normal, If/Then). The Toronto Star called the show 'the first great musical of the 21st century.'" 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.

The Bissell Mansion Murder Mystery Dinner Theatre presents And Away You Go through March 27. The Bissell Mansion is at 4426 Randall Place. For more information: bissellmansiontheatre.com.

Beautiful—The Carole King Musical
Photo: Joan Marcus

The Fox Theatre presents Beautiful—The Carole King Musical running through March 6. "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 Fox is on North Grand in Grand Center. For more information: fabulousfox.com. Read the 88.1 KDHX review!

The Lemp Mansion Comedy-Mystery Dinner Theater presents Clueless through April 16. The Lemp Mansion is at 3322 DeMenil Place. For more information: lempmansion.com

Disgraced
Photo: Peter Wochniak

The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis presents Disgraced by Ayad Akhtar through March 6. "Successful corporate lawyer Amir Kapoor comes from a Pakistani family, but he long ago distanced himself from his roots to embrace life as a slick New Yorker. On course to become a partner at his law firm, Amir's carefully constructed world begins to unravel when unexpected events cause him to question his own beliefs. Raw, turbulent and unsettling, this smart drama reveals hidden attitudes toward modern culture and faith. Winner of the 2013 Pulitzer Prize for Drama." Performances take place on the mainstage at the Loretto-Hlton Center, 130 Edgar Road in Webster Groves, MO. For more information, call 314-968-4925 or visit repstl.org. Read the 88.1 KDHX review!

Elephant's Graveyard
Photo: Joe Angeles

The Performing Arts Department at Washington University presents Elephant's Graveyard Fridays and Saturdays at 8 PM and Sundays at 2 PM, February 26 - March 6. "Something went very wrong when Sparks Traveling Circus arrived in the small Appalachian town of Erwin, Tennessee in 1916. Join us for this unbelievable, yet true, story about the desire for spectacle and Old Testament-style retributive justice in America." Performances take place in the Edison heatre in the Mallinckrodt Student Center on the Washington University campus. For more information, visit pad.artsci.wustl.edu or call 314-935-6543.

The Presenters Dolan presents Emily West on Thursday and Friday, March 3 and 4, at 8 PM as part of the Gaslight Cabaret Festival. "A finalist in the 2014 America's Got Talent show, a grad of the Grand Olde Opry and the chicest rooms on both coasts, Emily West is as stunning with a plaintive ballad as she is with a powerhouse anthem. " The performances take place at the Gaslight Theater, 358 North Boyle. For more information: gaslightcabaretfestival.com.

The Improv Shop presents Heartbreak running through March 19. "Heartbreak is an improvised serial show where we explore, in depth, the stages of doomed relationships. Watch characters go from strangers to friends, friends to lovers, and from lovers to heartbreakers. Heartbreak. It doesn't happen all at once." The Improv Shop is at 510 North Euclid in the Central West End. For more information on this and other Improv Shop shows: theimprovshop.com.

St. Charles Community College presents the comedy Lend Me a Tenor Wednesday through Sunday, March 2-6. "The harried impresario, the haughty socialite Board Chair, the Italian superstar opera singer, his shrewish wife, the young lovers ... all get farcical treatment in this non-stop, door-slamming, hilarious comedy. Set in a fancy hotel suite in 1934, the Cleveland Opera Company is poised to present the world-famous tenor, Tito Morelli, as the lead in their history-making production of Othello.” Performances take place in the FAB Theater in the Donald D. Shook Fine Arts Building on the campus at 4601 Mid Rivers Mall Drive in Cottleville, MO. For more information, call 636-922-8050 or visit stchas.edu.

Robert Breig

The Presenters Dolan present Robert Breig in Making Every Moment Count-The Music of Peter Allen on Sunday, March 6, at 3 PM as part of the Gaslight Cabaret Festival. "Robert Breig celebrates the life and times of Peter Allen, a giant of live performance in the 70s and 80s. Judy Garland discovered him in 1964, at age 20, performing in a trio at the Hong Kong Hilton. (Allen was Australian.) He left immediately to go on tour with Garland, and soon after married her daughter, Liza Minelli. Thus anointed, he started performing in small cabarets in New York, including Reno Sweeney, the Continetental Baths and the Bitter End. His grew so popular that he regularly sold out the 6,000-seat Radio City Music Hall. His signature songs were "I Go to Rio" and "Quiet Please, There's a Lady Onstage." If you don't know his music or performance genius, check out the video of Peter Allen below." The performance takes place at the Gaslight Theater, 358 North Boyle. For more information: gaslightcabaretfestival.com.

The St. Louis Art Museum presents a high-definition video broadcast of the Metropolitan Opera's production Puccini's Manon Lescaut on SaturdayMarch 5, at 11:55 a.m. "Soprano Kristine Opolais and tenor Roberto Alagna join forces in Puccini's obsessive love story. Opolais sings the title role of the country girl who transforms herself into a Parisian temptress, while Alagna is the dashing student who desperately woos her. Director Richard Eyre places the action in occupied France in a film noir setting. “Desperate passion” is the phrase Puccini himself used to describe the opera that confirmed his position as the preeminent Italian opera composer of his day. Met Principal Conductor Fabio Luisi leads the stirring score." The live digital HD video broadcast from New York takes place in The Farrell Auditorium at the Art Museum in Forest Park. For more information: slam.org.

The Hettenhausen Center for the Arts presents the Mcendree College Theatre Department production of Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream on Thursday through Saturday, March 3-5. The Hettenhausen Center for the Arts is at 701 College Rd., at Alton St. on the McKendree University campus in Lebanon, IL. For more information: www.thehett.com.

Christ Memorial Productions presents Once Upon a Tree Friday sand Saturday at 7:30 PM and Sunday at 2 PM, March 4-6. "Once Upon a Tree is an original dramatic production that presents glimpses into the life of Christ with an emphasis on Christ's sacrificial gift of love for all people. Once Upon a Treeuses powerful musical scores and a full orchestra to bring the dramatic interpretation of The Greatest Story Ever Told to life. The production focuses on the Gospel as recorded by Luke, and depicts a world of passion, faith, deceit, truth, power, murder, and undying love. Pepper Choplin's musical scores and other powerful songs are incorporated into this dramatic musical presentation, and is directed by Dianne Mueller." Performances take place at Christ Memorial Lutheran Church, 5252 South Lindbergh. For more information, visit CMPShows.org or call 314-631-0304.

Zi

The Emerald Room Cabaret presents magician Zi in Playing With Impossibilities on Friday and Saturday, March 4 and 5, at 8 p.m. "When was the last time you were truly blown away by a Magic show? Curious about what Mentalism means? There will be no rabbits in hats or doves from sleeves here! Instead, come experience jaw-dropping moments as Zi amazes and delights with feats of the mind, and makes you reconsider the true depths of what we are capable of! Watch as everything from how we think to how we connect with each other become charged with an element of the supernatural, and come witness as things happen that should be utterly impossible. Watch as the impossible becomes a playground. " The performances take place in the Emerald Room at The Monocle, 4510 Manchester in the Grove neighborhood. For more information: buzzonstage.com/st-louis

On Saturday, March 5, from 1 to 2:30 p.m., Opera Theatre of St. Louis presents author Salman Rushdie, composer Jack Perla, and OTSL General Manager Timothy O'Leary in a panel discussion of the opera Shalimar the Clown, based on Mr. Rushdie's novel. Opera Theatre will be presenting the world premiere the opera as part of its 2016 season in June. The event takes place at the Sheldon Concert Hall, 3648 Washington. For more information: opera-stl.org/shalimarevents.

Winter Opera St. Louis presents Verdi's Il Trovatore Friday at 8 PM and Sunday at 3 PM, March 4 and 6. Performances take place at The Skip Viragh Center for the Arts at Chaminade College Preparatory School, 425 S. Lindbergh. For more information, visit winteroperastl.org.

The Theatre Guild of Webster Groves presents the comedy The Underpants by Carl Sternhiem, as adapted by Steve Martin, March 4-13. "Louise and Theo Markes, a couple whose conservative existence is shattered when Louise's bloomers fall down in public. Though she pulls them up quickly, Theo thinks the incident will cost him his job as a government clerk. Even though it does not result in the feared scandal, it does attract two infatuated men, each of whom wants to rent the spare room in the Markes' home. Oblivious of their amorous objectives, Theo splits the room between them, happy to collect rent from both of them." Performances take place in the Guild theatre at Newport and Summit in Webster Groves, MO. For more information: theatreguildwg.org or call 314-962-0876.

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.

Chuck's Choices for the weekend of February 26, 2016

As always, the choices are purely my personal opinion. Take with a grain (or a shaker) of salt.  I'm publishing early this week since some of these shows

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New This Week:

Beautiful—The Carole King Musical
Photo: Joan Marcus

The Fox Theatre presents Beautiful—The Carole King Musical opening on Tuesday, February 23, and running through March 6. "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 Fox is on North Grand in Grand Center. For more information: fabulousfox.com.

My take: Abby Mueller shines in the title role of this bright, fast-paced jukebox musical 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 in 1971. The performers playing pop idols like The Drifters, The Shirelles, Little Eva, and The Righteous Brothers, though, really steal the show. There's just enough plot to keep things going without getting in the way of a nostalgic score that highlights hits by King and her first songwriting partner (and first husband) Gerry Goffin as well as equally well-known tunes by their fellow songwriters at Adlon Music, Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil. Go and enjoy.

Webster University's Conservatory of Theatre Arts presents Molière's comedy The Miser Wednesdays through Sundays through February 28. "Molière's classic comedy introduces us to Harpagon, a man so consumed by greed that he is set on sacrificing the happiness of his children in marriages of convenience. But Harpagon's son and daughter, Valère and Mariane, will plot against their father to marry those they love instead. Molière treats the age-old conflict between love and money with unparalleled and sparkling wit." Performances take place in the studio theatre at the Loretto-Hilton center on the Webster University campus. For more information, events.webster.edu or call 314-968-7128.

My take: The Webster Conservatory is one of the best college theatre groups in town, often producing work of real professional quality. As Steve Callahan writes in his review for KDHX, "director Rick Dildine and his student cast are placing before us a toothsomely light soufflé...As usual with Conservatory productions there are very strong performances—and excellent diction—from the student actors."

The Presenters Dolan present Ken Haller in The TV Show on Friday, February 26, at 7 p.m. "Ken performs songs written for TV from "Sesame Street" to "Smash," from "Cinderella" to "Animaniacs," from "Moonlighting" to "The Monkees." And of course, there will be songs with lyrics you love ("Mary Tyler Moore"), lyrics you never knew existed ("Bewitched"), and lyrics you can't get out of your head (the Barry Manilow Commercial Jingle Extravaganza!). KDHX's Chuck Lavazzi calls it "a tremendously entertaining and often extremely funny romp through TV land." The performance takes place in The Emerald Room at The Monocle Bar, 4510 Manchester in The Grove neighborhood. For more information: presentersdolan.com.

My take: A cabaret show based on classic TV songs and themes? Like activating the Bolonium Interface Device on "Star Trek", it's a crazy idea but it just might work! Since Ken has already quoted me in his promotional material, you might as well read the complete review of the first performance of this show in 2012 at the KDHX web site. Ken has been a fixture of the local cabaret scene for a while now and is one of our most reliably polished performers.

The Stage@KDHX presents Tim Schall: 1961 on Friday, February 26, at 8 PM. "In 1961 the Beatles debuted at the Cavern Club in Liverpool, Bob Dylan entered the Greenwich Village folk scene, 19 year old Carole King wrote her first #1 hit, Moon River won the Oscar for Best Song and in February of that year Tim Schall was born! Join Tim as he celebrates his birthday in a show dedicated to the music of his natal year." Carol Schmidt is pianist and music director for the show, with Michele Isam on percussion, vocals, and sax and Ben Wheeler on bass. The Stage@KDHX is in the KDHX building at 3524 Washington in Grand Center. For more information: ticketfly.com.

My take: I saw this show the first time around back in 2014. It was a polished, well-paced, and exceptionally entertaining evening back then. Since then Tim and music director Carol Schmidt have been refining the arrangements and have added the multi-talented Michele Isam (with Ms. Schmidt, the other half of the local jazz/pop/rock duo Jasmine from many years ago), so this is clearly one you don't want to miss.

Held Over:

And in This Corner...Cassius Clay

Metro Theatre Company and the Missouri History Museum present And in This Corner...Cassius Clay by Idris Goodwin through February 28. "This is the story of young Muhammad Ali as he struggles with racism and segregation in Jim Crow Louisville, Kentucky, how a chance encounter with police officer Joe Morgan (later to become his first coach) sets him on the path toward becoming a legendary boxer and how finally he learns that it is not enough to achieve personal success, one must also work for the good of others." Performances take place in the Lee Auditorium at the Missouri History Museum in Forest Park. For more information: mohistory.org.

My take: "Goodwin's script is crafted to draw in audience members of all ages," writes Shannon Cothran at KDHX, "and he has succeeded with "In This Corner...." A mixture of poetry and prose, the play manages to tell the story of a boy who becomes a champion despite living within a culture of hate while showing us the flaws that make him human." I've been very impressed with Goodwin's work at the Humana Festival in Louisville in 2012 and in 2014, so I'm not surprised to hear that the playwright has struck gold again.

Disgraced
Photo: Peter Wochniak

The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis presents Disgraced by Ayad Akhtar through March 6. "Successful corporate lawyer Amir Kapoor comes from a Pakistani family, but he long ago distanced himself from his roots to embrace life as a slick New Yorker. On course to become a partner at his law firm, Amir's carefully constructed world begins to unravel when unexpected events cause him to question his own beliefs. Raw, turbulent and unsettling, this smart drama reveals hidden attitudes toward modern culture and faith. Winner of the 2013 Pulitzer Prize for Drama." Performances take place on the mainstage at the Loretto-Hlton Center, 130 Edgar Road in Webster Groves, MO. For more information, call 314-968-4925 or visit repstl.org.

My take: The playwright who gave us the brilliant Invisible Hand at the Rep Studio back in 2012 it again with a powerful portrayal of the problems immigrants face, especially when they're part of a demonized and poorly understood minority. How much can you assimilate before you lose your own identity? And is it ever enough for people who will always see you as the "other" no mater what you do or say? We learn from history that we do not learn from history, which makes this a very relevant play these days.

The Dispute
Photo: Valerie Goldston

YoungLiars present The Dispute: A Spectacle for Lovers and Fighters running through February 26. "It's 1744 (sort of) and an exasperated playwright with a wicked case of writer's block accidentally launches the world's first reality entertainment. Four self-absorbed teenagers, raised in total isolation, are turned loose on each other to figure out who committed the first infidelity - men or women. Baroque Farce, Euro-Dance, and The Dandy Warhols collide in this new adaptation of Marivaux's classic comedy where Courtship Etiquette turns into Mortal Combat and the only true love is the one in the mirror. The creative team that brought you Whammy! The Seven Secrets to a Sane Self and other HotCity favorites make their debut as YoungLiars. Performances take place in the fourth floor ballroom at the Centene Center for Arts and Education, 3547 Olive Street in Grand Center. For more information: youngliarsdispute.brownpapertickets.com.

My take: Composed largely of young actors who were part of the late HotCity Theatre, YoungLiars is certainly taking risks with this innovative first production, which decants an 18th century comedy into some colorful new bottles. "All in all," writes Steve Callahan at KDHX, "this debut promises great things from The Young Liars. It's filled with quite wonderful style and artifice. "

Gidion's Knot
Photo: John Lamb

St. Louis Actors' Studio presents Gidion's Knot through February 28 at the Gaslight Theatre, 358 North Boyle. "Over the course of a parent/teacher conference, a grieving mother and an emotionally overwhelmed primary school teacher have a fraught conversation about the tragic suicide of the mother's son, Gidion. Gidion may have been bullied severely-or he may have been an abuser. As his story is slowly uncovered, the women try to reconstruct a satisfying explanation for Gidion's act and come to terms with excruciating feelings of culpability." For more information, call 314-458-2978 or visit stlas.org.

My take: This appears to be a good weekend for hard-nosed dramatic examinations of big social and political issues, with both this show and the Rep's Disgraced. "Director Lee Anne Mathews has tackled the difficult script with sensitivity and a subdued confrontational approach," writes Steve Allen at Stage Door St. Louis. "It works well in easing the audience into this slippery subject matter and gives the proper amount of tension on stage. Playwright Johanna Adams has fashioned a difficult script that opens a lot of conversation about a problem that is all too often ignored- the high suicide rate among younger people." "Playwright Johnna Adams has written a compelling and riveting if also highly disturbing drama that pushes the two performers in its one act and 75 minutes to emotional exhaustion, along with the audience," writes Mark Bretz at Ladue News.

St. Louis theatre calendar for the week of February 22, 2015

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

For information on events beyond this week, check out the searchable database at the Regional Arts Commission's events web site.

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The Bissell Mansion Murder Mystery Dinner Theatre presents And Away You Go through March 27. The Bissell Mansion is at 4426 Randall Place. For more information: bissellmansiontheatre.com.

And in This Corner...Cassius Clay

Metro Theatre Company and the Missouri History Museum present And in This Corner...Cassius Clay by Idris Goodwin through February 28. "This is the story of young Muhammad Ali as he struggles with racism and segregation in Jim Crow Louisville, Kentucky, how a chance encounter with police officer Joe Morgan (later to become his first coach) sets him on the path toward becoming a legendary boxer and how finally he learns that it is not enough to achieve personal success, one must also work for the good of others." Performances take place in the Lee Auditorium at the Missouri History Museum in Forest Park. For more information: mohistory.org. Read the 88.1 KDHX review!

Beautiful—The Carole King Musical
Photo: Joan Marcus

The Fox Theatre presents Beautiful—The Carole King Musical opening on Tuesday, February 23, and running through March 6. "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 Fox is on North Grand in Grand Center. For more information: fabulousfox.com.

The Lemp Mansion Comedy-Mystery Dinner Theater presents Clueless through April 16. The Lemp Mansion is at 3322 DeMenil Place. For more information: lempmansion.com

St. Louis University Theatre presents The Dead, "a charming, intimate musical based on the James Joyce short story," through February 28. Performances take place in Xavier Hall, 3373 West Pine Mall. For more information, call 314-977-3327 or visit slu.edu/utheatre.

Disgraced
Photo: Peter Wochniak

The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis presents Disgraced by Ayad Akhtar through March 6. "Successful corporate lawyer Amir Kapoor comes from a Pakistani family, but he long ago distanced himself from his roots to embrace life as a slick New Yorker. On course to become a partner at his law firm, Amir's carefully constructed world begins to unravel when unexpected events cause him to question his own beliefs. Raw, turbulent and unsettling, this smart drama reveals hidden attitudes toward modern culture and faith. Winner of the 2013 Pulitzer Prize for Drama." Performances take place on the mainstage at the Loretto-Hlton Center, 130 Edgar Road in Webster Groves, MO. For more information, call 314-968-4925 or visit repstl.org. Read the 88.1 KDHX review!

YoungLiars present The Dispute: A Spectacle for Lovers and Fighters running through February 26. "It's 1744 (sort of) and an exasperated playwright with a wicked case of writer's block accidentally launches the world's first reality entertainment. Four self-absorbed teenagers, raised in total isolation, are turned loose on each other to figure out who committed the first infidelity - men or women. Baroque Farce, Euro-Dance, and The Dandy Warhols collide in this new adaptation of Marivaux's classic comedy where Courtship Etiquette turns into Mortal Combat and the only true love is the one in the mirror. The creative team that brought you Whammy! The Seven Secrets to a Sane Self and other HotCity favorites make their debut as YoungLiars. Performances take place in the fourth floor ballroom at the Centene Center for Arts and Education, 3547 Olive Street in Grand Center. For more information: youngliarsdispute.brownpapertickets.com. Read the 88.1 KDHX review!

The Performing Arts Department at Washington University presents Elephant's Graveyard Fridays and Saturdays at 8 PM and Sundays at 2 PM, February 26 - March 6. "Something went very wrong when Sparks Traveling Circus arrived in the small Appalachian town of Erwin, Tennessee in 1916. Join us for this unbelievable, yet true, story about the desire for spectacle and Old Testament-style retributive justice in America." Performances take place in the Edison heatre in the Mallinckrodt Student Center on the Washington University campus. For more information, visit pad.artsci.wustl.edu or call 314-935-6543.

KTK Productions presents Farce of Nature through February 28. "From the successful writing team of Jones Hope Wooten, comes the Texas premiere of the newest, Southern-fried comedy! Meet the Wilburn family of Mayhew, Arkansas, and spend an outrageously funny day at The Reel 'Em Inn--finest little fishing lodge in the Ozarks. Can the lodge be saved from gangsters, love-starved females, jealous husbands, ruthless corporate executives, bad Swedish accents, a cranky, senior citizen maid packing heat, a jittery man masquerading as a woman, and vicious critters right outside the door? By the delightfully chaotic climax of this one remarkable day, love has blossomed, truths have been revealed and the lives of all - family, guests and gangsters alike - change in incredible and surprising ways in this laugh-'til-your-sides ache comedy!" Performances take place at Southampton Presbyterian Church, 4716 Macklind. For more information: kurtainkall.org or call 314-351-8984.

Gidion's Knot
Photo: John Lamb

St. Louis Actors' Studio presents Gidion's Knot through February 28 at the Gaslight Theatre, 358 North Boyle. "Over the course of a parent/teacher conference, a grieving mother and an emotionally overwhelmed primary school teacher have a fraught conversation about the tragic suicide of the mother's son, Gidion. Gidion may have been bullied severely-or he may have been an abuser. As his story is slowly uncovered, the women try to reconstruct a satisfying explanation for Gidion's act and come to terms with excruciating feelings of culpability." For more information, call 314-458-2978 or visit stlas.org. Read the 88.1 KDHX review!

The Improv Shop presents Heartbreak running through March 19. "Heartbreak is an improvised serial show where we explore, in depth, the stages of doomed relationships. Watch characters go from strangers to friends, friends to lovers, and from lovers to heartbreakers. Heartbreak. It doesn't happen all at once." The Improv Shop is at 510 North Euclid in the Central West End. For more information on this and other Improv Shop shows: theimprovshop.com.

The Florissant Fine Arts Council presents the one-woman play The Lady With All the Answers on Sunday, February 28, at 2 p.m. at the Florissant Civic Center Theatre at Parker Road at Waterford Drive in Florissant, MO. "For decades, renowned advice columnist Ann Landers answered countless letters from lovelorn teens, confused couples and a multitude of others in need of advice. No topic was off-limits. Landers regaled her readers with direct, insightful and often humorously honest responses. Over the course of a long night in 1975 Chicago, "the lady with all the answers" for others grapples with a dilemma of her own. While revisiting favorite columns on such topics as nude housekeeping and the correct way to hang toilet paper, Ann composes the most important letter of her life. As she shares her struggles to complete the column with us, we learn as much about ourselves as we do about the wise, funny, no-nonsense woman whose daily dialogue with America helped shape the social and sexual landscapes of the last half-century." For more information: florissantfinearts.com.

Webster University's Conservatory of Theatre Arts presents Molière's comedy The Miser Wednesdays through Sundays through February 28. "Molière's classic comedy introduces us to Harpagon, a man so consumed by greed that he is set on sacrificing the happiness of his children in marriages of convenience. But Harpagon's son and daughter, Valère and Mariane, will plot against their father to marry those they love instead. Molière treats the age-old conflict between love and money with unparalleled and sparkling wit." Performances take place in the studio theatre at the Loretto-Hilton center on the Webster University campus. For more information, events.webster.edu or call 314-968-7128. Read the 88.1 KDHX review!

Gitana Productions presents New World, an original one-act play by Lee Patton Chiles about three refugee women from Afghanistan, Bosnia and the Republic of the Congo. The play is based on interviews and documented accounts of three women who came to St. Louis hoping to create a new world by healing old world wounds. Performances are Thursday, February 25, at noon at St. Louis Community College at Meramec in the Meramec Theater, 11333 Big Bend; and Sunday, February 28, at 4:30 p.m. at Parkway United Church of Christ, 2841 North Ballas Road, in Town and Country. A Q and A session with the participation by the Center for Survivors of Torture and War will follow each performance. For more information: gitana-inc.org.

The Monocle presents an open mic night Wednesdays from 9:00pm to midnight. "Musical Theater actor? Cabaret singer? Balladeer? Belter? Coloratura soprano? Crooner? Student? Teacher? Performer? Fan? Come on down and sing. All are welcome. Ron Bryant is your accompanist. Bring your sheet music"." The monocle is at 4510 Manchester in The Grove neighborhood. For more information: themonoclestl.com.

Lion's Paw Theatre Company presents Plays on the Menu, a reading of the plays Johnny and Rosie by Quincy Long, Prague Summer by Rich Orloff, and The Way to Miami by Donald Steele, on Tuesday, February 23, at noon at The Hearth Room at The Hawken House, 1155 South Rock Hill Road; and on Wednesday, February 24, at noon at St. Louis Artists' Guild, 12 North Jackson in Clayton. The readings include lunch. For more information: lionspawtheatre.org.

The Emerald Room Cabaret presents The Rocky Horror and a Little Bit More Cabaret on Friday and Saturday, February 26 and 27, at 8 p.m. "Enjoy the hits of the "Rocky Horror Picture Show" live! Now a monthly tradition at The Emerald Room at The Monocle! " The performances take place in The Emerald Room at The Monocle Bar, 4510 Manchester in The Grove neighborhood. For more information: www.buzzonstage.com/st-louis.

Jefferson College presents the Shakespeare's The Taming of the Shrew Thursday through Sunday, February 25-28. The performance takes place at the Jefferson College Fine Arts Theatre on the campus in Hillsboro, MO. For more information, visit jeffco.edu or call 636-481-3369 or 636-789-3000 ext. 3369.

The Presenters Dolan present Ken Haller in The TV Show on Thursday, February 25, at 8 p.m. "Ken performs songs written for TV from "Sesame Street" to "Smash," from "Cinderella" to "Animaniacs," from "Moonlighting" to "The Monkees." And of course, there will be songs with lyrics you love ("Mary Tyler Moore"), lyrics you never knew existed ("Bewitched"), and lyrics you can't get out of your head (the Barry Manilow Commercial Jingle Extravaganza!). KDHX's Chuck Lavazzi calls it "a tremendously entertaining and often extremely funny romp through TV land." The performance takes place in The Emerald Room at The Monocle Bar, 4510 Manchester in The Grove neighborhood. For more information: presentersdolan.com.

The Stage@KDHX presents Tim Schall: 1961 on Friday, February 26, at 8 PM. "In 1961 the Beatles debuted at the Cavern Club in Liverpool, Bob Dylan entered the Greenwich Village folk scene, 19 year old Carole King wrote her first #1 hit, Moon River won the Oscar for Best Song and in February of that year Tim Schall was born! Join Tim as he celebrates his birthday in a show dedicated to the music of his natal year." Carol Schmidt is pianist and music director for the show, with Michele Isam on percussion, vocals, and sax and Ben Wheeler on bass. The Stage@KDHX is in the KDHX building at 3524 Washington in Grand Center. For more information: ticketfly.com.

Lindenwood University presents the musical Violet through February 27. "As a girl, Violet was struck by a wayward axe blade when her father was chopping wood, leaving her with a visible scar across her face. With enough money finally saved she's traveling across the 1964 Deep South towards a miracle - the healing touch of a TV evangelist that will make her beautiful. Though she may not succeed in having the scar on her face healed, Violet is able to repair those that are lying deeper than her skin, and on the way she meets a young African-American Soldier whose love for her reaches far past her physical 'imperfections.'" Performances take at the black box theatre at the J. Scheidegger Center for the Arts on the Lindenwood campus in St. Charles, MO. For more information, call 636-949-4433 or visit lindenwood.edu/center.

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.

Chuck's Choices for the weekend of February 19, 2016

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:

And in This Corner...Cassius Clay

Metro Theatre Company and the Missouri History Museum present And in This Corner...Cassius Clay by Idris Goodwin through February 28. "This is the story of young Muhammad Ali as he struggles with racism and segregation in Jim Crow Louisville, Kentucky, how a chance encounter with police officer Joe Morgan (later to become his first coach) sets him on the path toward becoming a legendary boxer and how finally he learns that it is not enough to achieve personal success, one must also work for the good of others." Performances take place in the Lee Auditorium at the Missouri History Museum in Forest Park. For more information: mohistory.org.

My take: "Goodwin's script is crafted to draw in audience members of all ages," writes Shannon Cothran at KDHX, "and he has succeeded with “In This Corner....” A mixture of poetry and prose, the play manages to tell the story of a boy who becomes a champion despite living within a culture of hate while showing us the flaws that make him human." I've been very impressed with Goodwin's work at the Humana Festival in Louisville in 2012 and in 2014, so I'm not surprised to hear that the playwright has struck gold again.

Disgraced
Photo: Peter Wochniak

The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis presents Disgraced by Ayad Akhtar through March 6. "Successful corporate lawyer Amir Kapoor comes from a Pakistani family, but he long ago distanced himself from his roots to embrace life as a slick New Yorker. On course to become a partner at his law firm, Amir's carefully constructed world begins to unravel when unexpected events cause him to question his own beliefs. Raw, turbulent and unsettling, this smart drama reveals hidden attitudes toward modern culture and faith. Winner of the 2013 Pulitzer Prize for Drama." Performances take place on the mainstage at the Loretto-Hlton Center, 130 Edgar Road in Webster Groves, MO. For more information, call 314-968-4925 or visit repstl.org.

My take: The playwright who gave us the brilliant Invisible Hand at the Rep Studio back in 2012 it again with a powerful portrayal of the problems immigrants face, especially when they're part of a demonized and poorly understood minority. How much can you assimilate before you lose your own identity? And is it ever enough for people who will always see you as the "other" no mater what you do or say? We learn from history that we do not learn from history, which makes this a very relevant play these days.

The Dispute
Photo: Valerie Goldston

YoungLiars present The Dispute: A Spectacle for Lovers and Fighters running through February 26. "It's 1744 (sort of) and an exasperated playwright with a wicked case of writer's block accidentally launches the world's first reality entertainment. Four self-absorbed teenagers, raised in total isolation, are turned loose on each other to figure out who committed the first infidelity - men or women. Baroque Farce, Euro-Dance, and The Dandy Warhols collide in this new adaptation of Marivaux's classic comedy where Courtship Etiquette turns into Mortal Combat and the only true love is the one in the mirror. The creative team that brought you Whammy! The Seven Secrets to a Sane Self and other HotCity favorites make their debut as YoungLiars. Performances take place in the fourth floor ballroom at the Centene Center for Arts and Education, 3547 Olive Street in Grand Center. For more information: youngliarsdispute.brownpapertickets.com.

My take: Composed largely of young actors who were part of the late HotCity Theatre, YoungLiars is certainly taking risks with this innovative first production, which decants an 18th century comedy into some colorful new bottles. "All in all," writes Steve Callahan at KDHX, "this debut promises great things from The Young Liars. It’s filled with quite wonderful style and artifice. "

Educating Rita
Photo: John Lamb

The West End Players Guild continues their 105th season with Willy Russell's comedy Educating Rita Thursday through Saturday at 8 PM and Sunday at 2 PM, February 18-21. "Frank is a tutor of English in his fifties whose disillusioned outlook on life drives him to drink and to bury himself in his books. Enter Rita, a forthright 26-year-old hairdresser who is eager to learn. After weeks of cajoling, Rita slowly wins over the very hesitant Frank with her innate insight and refusal to accept no for an answer. Their relationship as teacher and student blossoms, ultimately giving Frank a new sense of self and Rita the knowledge she so craves." There will also be a show on Thursday, February 18, at 8 PM. Performances take place at the Union Avenue Christian Church, 733 North Union at Enright in the Central West End. For more information, call 314-367-0025 or visit www.westendplayers.org.

My take: Looking for something uplifting amidst the vitriol and spite of contemporary politics? West End has a tonic for you in this story about learning and renewal. "Thanks to director Jan Meyer and performers Tom Kopp and Maggie Winninger," writes Mark Bretz at Ladue News, "it’s an infectiously delightful study of two people meeting at a point in their lives where one’s ascent coincides with the other’s decline, albeit risking all for a fresh look at life."

Eve Seltzer

The Presenters Dolan present Eve Seltzer: Going Back to Gaslight Square: A History of St. Louis Jazz in Song on Thursday, February 18, at 8 p.m. "Eve makes her St. Louis cabaret debut. She has performed at The Metopolitan Room, Sylvana and Jules in NYC." The performance takes place in The Emerald Room at The Monocle Bar, 4510 Manchester in The Grove neighborhood. For more information: presentersdolan.com.

My take: Eve has been jazzing it up at the Cabaret Project open mic (which I host) for quite a while now and is also, with her group Franglais, a familiar figure on the local restaurant and bar scene. So you could hardly ask for a better guide to our fair city's rich jazz scene. And the Emerald Room is a very cool cabaret space.

Gidion's Knot
Photo: John Lamb

St. Louis Actors' Studio presents Gidion's Knot through February 28 at the Gaslight Theatre, 358 North Boyle. "Over the course of a parent/teacher conference, a grieving mother and an emotionally overwhelmed primary school teacher have a fraught conversation about the tragic suicide of the mother's son, Gidion. Gidion may have been bullied severely-or he may have been an abuser. As his story is slowly uncovered, the women try to reconstruct a satisfying explanation for Gidion's act and come to terms with excruciating feelings of culpability." For more information, call 314-458-2978 or visit stlas.org.

My take: This appears to be a good weekend for hard-nosed dramatic examinations of big social and political issues, with both this show and the Rep's Disgraced. "Director Lee Anne Mathews has tackled the difficult script with sensitivity and a subdued confrontational approach," writes Steve Allen at Stage Door St. Louis. "It works well in easing the audience into this slippery subject matter and gives the proper amount of tension on stage. Playwright Johanna Adams has fashioned a difficult script that opens a lot of conversation about a problem that is all too often ignored- the high suicide rate among younger people." "Playwright Johnna Adams has written a compelling and riveting if also highly disturbing drama that pushes the two performers in its one act and 75 minutes to emotional exhaustion, along with the audience," writes Mark Bretz at Ladue News.

Held Over:

Eleemosynary
Photo: John Lamb

Mustard Seed Theatre presents the comedy Eleemosynary Thursdays through Saturdays at 8 p.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m. through February 21. "Both funny and poignant, this play examines the subtle and often perilous relationship between three remarkable women: a young girl, her mother, and her grandmother. Artie abandons her daughter Echo to be raised by Echo's grandmother, Dorothea. But when Dorothea's health begins to fail, can Artie and Echo move beyond the superficiality of words and begin to build a deeper relationship?" 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: Les Blessing's play has been around for a while now and seems to be a perinneal favorite for small theatre companies. Writing for Stage Door St. Louis, Steve Allen says that he's seen several productions and "the current presentation at Mustard Seed Theatre is definitely one of the best. Three powerful actresses manage to energize us, empower us and tug at the old heart strings." At KDHX, Shannon Cothran calls it "solid and moving" while Mark Bretz at Ladue News says it's "a gentle and caring excursion into the magical and sometimes hazardous reaches of the mind and its mysterious powers."

I'll Be Back Before Midnight
Photo: John Lamb

Stray Dog Theatre presents the thriller I'll Be Back Before Midnight Thursdays through Saturdays at 8 PM through February 20. "Having suffered a nervous breakdown, Jan retreats with her husband to an old, country farmhouse where the owner delights in telling gruesome ghost stories. Before long, eerie sounds and visions are tormenting Jan. Is she suffering another breakdown or is someone trying to drive her mad?" Performances take place at The Tower Grove Abbey, 2336 Tennessee. For more information, visit straydogtheatre.org or call 314-865-1995.

My take: What could be better for a cold winter night than a tidy thriller? At KDHX, Tina Farmer says this one is "filled with enough twists and dark comedy to hold the attention of even the most jaded of mystery fans. Clues are casually dropped along the way and then neatly tied in a bow, and each character's motivations are called into question as this tale winds its way to a satisfying conclusion." Other local critics are less positive, but since I've generally been impressed by Stray Dog's work over the years, I'm going to give them the benefit of the doubt and include this on the list.

The cast of The Weir

Cocktails and Curtain Calls presents The Weir, the award-winning play by Irish playwright Conor McPherson, Monday through Thursday at 8:00pm through February 18. It will be the first local production to utilize the new Members' Project Code, under the auspices of the Actors' Equity Association. All profits from ticket sales go directly to the artists. Performances will take place at McGurk's Irish Pub and Dressel's in the Central West End. For details on performance times and locatsions, visit CocktailsandCurtainCalls.com.

My take: We saw McPherson's play many years ago in London, and found it a rattling good ghost story: well written with plausible characters. In his review for KDHX, Steve Callahan says that "Cocktails and Curtain Calls company gives us what, to me, must be the definitive production of this beautiful play." At Ladue News, Mark Bretz writes that the company "makes an impressive debut with a grand regaling of Irish playwright Conor McPherson's chilling drama...Setting the production in an actual tavern enhances the atmosphere immensely and, combined with director Kari Ely's careful direction of a top-rate cast, makes The Weir a fanciful tale and a tonic for a deep winter's night."