Chuck's Choices for the weekend of August 1, 2019

This week, the showcase of the next generation of stars joins La Bohème on the list.

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New This Week:

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The Fox Performing Arts Charitable Foundation presents the Rising Stars Showcase on Sunday, August 4, at 2 pm. "Join us for an afternoon of amazing talent from the Finalists and Nominees of both the St. Louis Teen Talent Competition and the St. Louis High School Musical Theatre Awards. This event is FREE and open to the public." The show takes place at the Sheldon Concert Hall in Grand Center. For more information: https://www.foxpacf.org/event/rising-stars-showcase-2/

My take: The Teen Talent Competition provides a showcase for the best of our up-and-coming local performers, and that's very good indeed. Here's your chance to see the next generation of theatre stars in action.

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Held Over:

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La Bohème
Photo by Dan Donovan

Union Avenue Opera presents Puccini's La Bohème Fridays and Saturdays at 8 PM, July 26 - August 2. Performances take place at the Union Avenue Christian Church, 733 Union at Enright in the Central West End. The opera is sung in Italian with projected English text. For more information, visit unionavenueopera.org or call 314-361-2881.

My take: By the time Puccini and his librettists got around to translating Henri Murger’s episodic 1849 novel Scènes De La Vie Bohème into the 1896 opera La Bohème, it had already enjoyed a considerable European vogue, so it’s not surprising that La Bohème has gone on to become a favorite of opera companies around the world. The classic tearjerker has been produced many times here in St. Louis (most recently by Opera Theatre in 2016), but a good production is always worth seeing, and given Union Avenue's track record, I expect this one to be solid.

TPTBT (The Place to Be Tonight): Friday, April 12

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What: The Third Annual St. Louis Teen Talent Competition
When: Tonight at 8 PM
Where: The Fox Theatre
Why: "On Saturday, March 2nd,  37 metro area high schools acts continued their journey toward college scholarships, prizes and performance opportunities by competing in the St. Louis Teen Talent Competition Semi-finals.  Performing arts professionals judged the groups and narrowed the acts to 12 who will move on to the finals.... The final competition is a Broadway-style show that is FREE and open to the public.  Tickets are required and available now at no charge at The Fox box office and through Metrotix." The show is written and directed by Broadway actor, director and choreographer Tony Parise with choreography by Yvonne Meyer Hare (both St. Louis natives).  The jury includes Steve Woolf from the Repertory Theatre of St. Louis, Mike Isaacson of the Muny, and Adam Sage of Missouri Ballet Theatre.

Local talent is always worth celebrating.  And many of the kids on the stage tonight could be the stars of tomorrow.