Opera Review: "This House" Has Great Bones at Opera Theatre

Composer Ricky Ian Gordon, along with librettists Ruby Aiyo Gerber and Lynn Nottage, deliver a gripping multi-generation family drama.

L-R: Briana Hunter, Brad Bickhardt.
Photo by Eric Woolsey.

The Opera Theatre of St. Louis (OTSL) production of This House is composer Ricky Ian Gordon’s third world premiere at company, and as far as I’m concerned, his third hit. With a libretto by renowned playwright Lynn Nottage and Nottage’s poet daughter Ruby Aiyo Gerber, This House is the engrossing and often surprising story of three generations of the Walker family and their brownstone house in Harlem’s Sugar Hill neighborhood, and the secrets it holds.

Those secrets unfold with a near-perfect mix of words, music, and stagecraft. This House is the kind of theatrical experiences that grows in one’s estimation with the passage of time. This may have been the world premiere, but I would expect to see many more performances of this remarkable work in the future.

Allen Moyer’s turntable set allows the focus to shift seamlessly between the outside and inside of the house—a fact that turns out to have an importance that goes beyond the initial visual impact. Outside it’s the present day. Inside the past and the present collide as The House, speaking through its ghosts, reveals the family secrets to Zoe, the daughter of family matriarch Ida.

A prosperous investment banker, Zoe and her husband Glenn are expecting their first child. Glenn is encouraging Zoe to reclaim and rehab the house for their planned family, but Zoe has her doubts. Those doubts come to the surface quickly as Zoe enters the house for the first time in years and immediately finds herself at odds with her mother and her artist brother Lindon over her plans.

As the opera progresses, the ghosts tell their stories. We learn how Minus Walker bought the house for cash in 1919 just as the Harlem Renaissance of the 1920s was heating up, and how it was nearly lost during the 1930s when Minus’s ne’er do well son Percy ran up against debts he couldn’t pay and underworld connections he couldn’t ignore. Percy’s formidable sister Beulah saves both the house and Percy’s life, but at a terrible cost.

In the 1960s we meet Young Ida and her sister Lucy. Ida thinks she has found happiness with Milton, a musician with a promising career, but Milton’s affair with the rebellious Lucy has tragic repercussions. Later we encounter Lindon’s lover Thomas who urges Lindon to abandon his unfinished painting and start a new life in Spain—a dream denied by Lindon’s progressive illness.

It all comes to a head with what the program describes as “one last stunning revelation” before Zoe makes peace with her family’s past and she and Glenn look to their future together. That revelation is as stunning to the audience as it is to Zoe, so you’ll get no spoilers from me.

All of this makes for a compelling multi-generational drama given added depth by Gordon’s score, a libretto that artfully combines prose and poetry, and James Robinson’s fluid staging. Yes, things can get a bit crowded up there at times with the house full of ghosts, but that’s not all bad. It is, for one thing, a constant reminder of the inescapable past they represent.

OTSL has assembled a terrific cast of singers, every one of whom is thoroughly invested in their characters, bringing them to vivid life.

Mezzo Briana Hunter’s commanding stage presence and powerful voice are ideally suited to the character of Zoe, conflicted but with the same steely core as her mother and grandmother. You can see and hear that in Soprano Adrienne Danrich’s Ida, and with particular force, in mezzo Krysty Swann’s Beulah. All three performers let us see the more vulnerable sides of their characters, but little doubt is left that these are women with whom you do not want to mess.

The libretto describes the role of the free-spirited Lucy as “soprano (Melismatic)” which presumably refers to the elaborate vocal filigree that perfectly captures the character’s romantic and somewhat flighty nature. Soprano Aundi Marie Moore’s voice clearly has the flexibility to handle that line, as well as the power to express her anguish when her life spins out of control.

Young Ida’s optimism veers close to naïveté at first but soprano Brandie Inez Sutton never lets her go there, and her grief at the outcome of Lucy’s affair with Milton is palpable.

The role of Milton gets a nuanced and musically solid performance from baritone Sankara Harouna. Tenor Victor Ryan Robinson brings a sinuous vibe to the role of Percy that reminded me Sportin’ Life in Porgy and Bess, living the “high life” without counting the cost. And bass-baritone Christian Pursell is a warm and sympathetic Thomas—a marked contrast with his swaggering Escamillo in OTSL’s Carmen in 2022.

The role of Glenn is small but critical to the story line, and tenor Brad Bickhardt gives the character real depth.

Last but definitely not least, baritone Justin Austin is heartbreakingly tragic as Lindon. The part is large and the emotional range is wide, but Austin more than does it justice.

Lightly infused with Essence of Copland, Gordon’s score is richly imaginative and creatively eclectic in its evocation of the music and sounds of over a century of American history. It’s filled with brilliant touches, many of which I expect I missed after only one hearing. Conductor Daniela Candillari, who collaborated with Gordon on the opera, leads members of the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra in what must be considered the authoritative performance of this music. Her program notes on the score are well worth reading for their insights into the piece.

Greg Emetaz’s video projections and Marcus Doshi’s lighting combine with Moyer’s set to make The House the living presence it’s meant to be. Costumes by Montana Levi Blanco expertly delineate time, place, and character.

Watching This House, I was reminded somewhat of Wagner’s concept of the Gesamtkunstwerk—the “total work of art”—in which all the elements of the stage combine to create a coherent, artistic whole. This House puts a contemporary (and less didactic) spin on that model that deserves all the praise it is sure to get. Don’t miss it.

This House runs through June 29th on the Browning Mainstage Theatre at the Loretto-Hilton Center on the Webster University campus. More information on times and tickets for the Opera Theatre season can be found at their web site.

This article originally appeared at St. Louis Arts Scene, where Chuck Lavazzi is the founder and principal critic.

Preview: "I'm not afraid of going for emotion," a conversation with composer Jeff Beal

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

Composer Jeff Beal

St. Louis Symphony Orchestra Conductor Laureate Leonard Slatkin leads the orchestra in the second of a pair of concerts this weekend, May 3 and 4, 2019. During his tenure with the orchestra, Mr. Slatkin championed new works and infrequently heard pieces by American composers, so it's not surprising that this weekend's concerts features one of each.

The concerts will open with the Symphony No. 1 by Samuel Barber. Composed in 1935 and 1936 in Rome, the work netted him the American Prix de Rome at the ripe old age of 25. It's expansive, dramatic music with a wide emotional range--the sort of thing that made some critics dismiss him as "conservative" at a time when serialism was all the rage and actual melodies were seen as somehow déclassé. It's great stuff.

Up next is the new work: "The Paper Lined Shack," a song cycle by contemporary American composer Jeff Beal that's getting its world premiere this weekend. Mr. Beal is probably best known for his music for the TV series "House of Cards," but he also has extensive film and, more recently, concert credits. I talked with him late last week.

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Chuck Lavazzi (CL): I'd like to start off with a little bit about your background. I know you were a jazz trumpeter before you started composing, and that you picked up the trumpet at a very early age.

Jeff Beal (JB): Yes, I was in grade school--probably third or fourth grade--and I went to a school assembly with my dad where musicians were demonstrating different instruments. This guy picked up the trumpet and I pointed and said, "that's the one!" It's funny how your fate might get sealed at an early age, but I love the trumpet. It's a vocal instrument in many ways and it has always been a big part of my voice. When I started composing, I think improvising and being a jazz trumpet player opened the doors for me to be a composer.

CL: So you came to composing from the world of jazz. What was that transition like, moving from the freer atmosphere of jazz to composing for film and the concert hall?

JB: I think when you improvise in jazz, it really is a form of spontaneous composition. Also the other childhood connection that really influenced me was playing trumpet in the Oakland Youth Symphony Orchestra, which is a really fine youth orchestra. I'll never forget, we were playing Stravinsky's "The Rite of Spring," and I was listening to that incredible music, that mind of Stravinsky's, the colorful nature of it, and the fact that it was from a ballet so it had a narrative to it--and I knew that I wanted to write all kinds of music. Not just jazz but for the orchestra, to express my musical urges through composition.

CL: I was reading that you are something of a one-man band. You compose, orchestrate, and even engineer and record your own works. How does it feel to turn your artistic children out into the wild to be performed by others?

JB: That's a great question. Having done film for so long, I really missed that chance to connect back to the world of live performance. And I think I have relaxed a little bit. I'm 55 now and I'm more forgiving of the unpredictable nature of live performance. In fact, I really quite enjoy it.

One of the things I've discovered during these years of recording and producing my own scores is that often I prefer to use the first or second take, which is more like a live performance. So the energy of a live performance is one of the ultimate ways to not only have your work done but to listen to music.

I find myself going to a lot more concerts than when I was in the darkroom writing film scores. I think when you listen to music played live in a room by people something magical happens. For me it's like flying first class, especially with Hila Plitmann singing and Leonard Slatkin conducting. I couldn't be happier.

CL: The piece they're going to do is "The Paper Lined Shack," a song cycle. It's the world premiere. What has the experience been like working on that with the orchestra?

Soprano Hila Piltmann
Photo courtesy St. Louis Symphony Orchestra

JB: I had a session with Hila several weeks ago, and that was really useful. You always have a sense in your mind of what the piece is going to feel like and I do a little mock-up with the computers when I'm writing, but there's always something I learn when it really gets played by the orchestra and the way it lives and breathes in the room. I know I'm going to understand the piece in a different way, which is an enjoyable part of the experience for me. Whenever you're doing something for the first time, it has a life of its own and you're sort of discovering it, even if you wrote it. That's the amazing thing about music for me--it's a performance medium so I'm really looking forward to that.

One of things I like about Hila is that she always memorizes her music and she really takes on the story that she's singing. What she brings to it as a performer will be a powerful part of the piece.

CL: The text for "The Paper Lined Shack" is based on a diary by your great-grandmother Della that you found while unpacking some boxes.

JB: Yes, this was 20 years ago. My wife and I discovered it and she started reading it. I knew the general outline of what her story was, but reading it we thought "this is really special." There's some really beautiful writing, especially in the way she describes that crucial moment in her life when she was in Idaho pregnant with her sixth child and her husband got sick and died suddenly. She ended up raising these six kids on a farm by herself.

It was always in the back of my mind that it would be great to do something with this. I knew I wanted to have a strong female character for Hila because of her acting ability, something that really had dramatic weight, and that's when this came back to me. I read it with my wife Joan who helped me craft parts of this diary into a libretto. We both had similar ideas about the important images and parts of her life that we wanted in the song cycle.

CL: What made you think of this as a good choice for Leonard Slatkin and the SLSO?

JB: To me the St. Louis Symphony and Leonard Slatkin represent a very American take on culture and the part of the country that's dependent on the pioneer spirit, because anybody that didn't start on the East coast was a pioneer of some sort. Even though I grew up in San Francisco, I always felt that the West was part of the mythology of how I identified.

CL: I like the way your great-grandmother Della talks about her garden as part of the cycle of life.

JB: Yes, we bring that back in the last movement. I realized that's a really important part of my story as well. There's a documentary film I scored called "The Biggest Little Farm" opening May 10th. It's about a husband and wife that took over this farm in southern California, and I realized there's something powerful about that connection to the earth. There's something spiritual and mythical about it in a way, tapping into that universal part of the story.

This is a very personal text for me, but my hope is that, as a concert piece, it won't just be about my story. I hope that everybody will find something in Della that they can relate to. She was the only girl in a family of four brothers, so she was a kind of tomboy. This is the story of how she found her identity and a woman and became who she was. It's wonderful the humility she had and the lack of self-pity. It's a sort of Midwestern, Protestant work ethic that I find quite beautiful, hopeful, and not cynical.

I think we're living in such a horribly cynical time, politically and otherwise, so to me this isn't nostalgia. It's about values and celebrating the best we can be. The best of us.

CL: I think it also touches on something we seem very blind to in this country, which is our debt to the past. Americans seem to have this belief that the past doesn't matter and that we can reinvent ourselves every day, and that's just not real.

Della's paper lined shack

JB: I think that's a great point. I think inventiveness is great, but there's a danger in that. In fact, I rediscovered myself writing this.

I came up with the title based on a description of the house. It's really startling when you live in the modern era in a relatively wealthy country, it's a reality check to be reminded how so many people had so little and got by with so little and made it work.

CL: There's a picture of it in the program, so people will see it when the come.

JB: It has a kind of Ken Burns iconic look.

CL: Let's talk about the music. What are people going to hear when they experience "The Paper Lined Shack"?

JB: The music follows the beats of Della's life. It's somewhat chronological. So you first meet her as a young girl and the music has a childlike, playful character. There's energy and a definitely American sound. I'm really honored to be on the same program as Samuel Barber because his musical language is part of what I love.

The garden movement is much more lyrical and bittersweet. When Hila and I were rehearsing it we both started crying at a certain point because those are powerful words. I love music like that, that's cathartic. That probably goes back to my roots as a film composer. I'm not afraid of going for emotion in what I do. That part of what I love about being a composer, trying to communicate the feelings of an experience with somebody.

CL: I love these final words in the text: "It was love that we planted in the garden / There our hearts bloomed, / Our hearts opened. / Carry my heart." That feels like a wonderful way to close it.

JB: Thank you. I certainly hope people are moved by it.

CL: Is there anything more you want to communicate to the listeners?

JB: Well, Leonard Slatkin has been an important mentor in my life and I'm grateful to have him as a partner. His parents were very involved with film music, so he's not afraid to reach out to a film composer to write a piece of concert music. That's very special to me.

And I really feel--and I know Leonard feels this way too--that the more we can break down the barriers between "high" art and "low" art and the more we can have the story telling drive what gets played, I think that's the way music is going. I'm not the only one doing this and it's nice that this is starting to happen.

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The Essentials: Leonard Slatkin returns to conduct the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra and soprano soloist Hila Plitmann Friday at 10:30 am and Saturday at 8 pm, May 3 and 4 at Powell Hall in Grand Center. In addition to the Barber and Beal works, the concert features Tchaikovsky's Symphony No. 6 ("Pathetique"). In an interview with me last week, Mr. Slatkin said his interpretation "will perhaps remind audiences, sonically, of what that collaboration [with the SLSO] was like in the earlier days when I was music director. It has changed over the years, but for the next couple of weeks we old timers will show the kids how we used to play."

Review: The American plan

Cristian Macelaru

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Cristian Macelaru led the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra this weekend (November 16 and 17) in a program which demonstrated once again his impressive versatility as a conductor. I have been impressed in the past with his performances of Tchaikovsky, Beethoven, and Vaughan Williams. This time around he proved equally adept with an evening of American music, including a world premiere.

The world premiere in question was the Bassoon Concerto by Christopher Rouse (b. 1949), who seems determined to work his way through the orchestra with a solo work for every instrument. In an interview I did with Mr. Rouse last week, he described the concerto as a genial work designed to "engage the ears of the listener and provide some pleasure," and now that I've heard it, I'd say he has achieved his goal.

The first movement bubbled with a kind of Haydnesque good humor, the haunted second with its ominous tympani rolls brought to mind the "Scène aux Champs" movement from Berlioz's "Symphonie Fantastique," and the headlong finale was a veritable "Mr. Toad's wild ride," requiring the soloist to play what sounded like very challenging volleys of rapid-fire passages. SLSO Principal Bassoon Andrew Cuneo handled it all with aplomb, delivering a flawless performance Saturday night that brought the audience to its feet. A shout-out is also due to Mr. Cuneo's fellow bassoonists Andrew Gott and Felicia Foland who were at times called upon to play together with the soloist to create what Mr. Rouse calls a "mega bassoon" sound.

I don't know whether or not the concerto will become part of the standard orchestral repertoire, but it's certainly a lively and appealing piece, which should count for something. And once you get past the Baroque and Classical eras, it's not like there's a wealth of solo material for the instrument.

Andrew Cuneo

The concert opened with a work which, while not a local premiere, is still a relative rarity on the concert stage: "Medea's Meditation and Dance of Vengeance," from the score Samuel Barber wrote for a 1946 Martha Graham ballet based on the Greek Medea myth. It's powerful music, to say the least, with an ominous opening that eventually gives way to a wild and violent finale, and it got a tremendously exciting reading from Mr. Macelaru and the orchestra.

The percussion section, including pianist Peter Henderson, got quite a workout here, and Cally Banham really killed it (you should pardon the expression) in the heartfelt solo that leads from the meditation into the dance. Like many listeners, I expect, I know this work primarily because of recordings (in my case, the 1959 recording for Mercury by composer Howard Hanson and the Eastman-Rochester Orchestra), but this performance was potent enough to supplant that recording in my memory.

The concert concluded with a work last heard here a little over four years ago, the Symphony No. 3 by Aaron Copland. A product of the final years of World War II, the symphony perfectly captures the forward-looking optimism that characterized America Victorious. As Copland writes in his autobiography, the Third "was a wartime piece--or, more accurately, and end-of-war piece--intended to reflect the euphoric spirit of the country at the time." The work's open harmonies are a perfect musical reflection of a time when the American character was marked by optimism and engagement.

At a time when the national character is becoming infected with pessimism and paranoia, Copland's music is a welcome reminder of a time when we thought better of ourselves and of our place in the world. It's majestic music and got a powerfully magisterial reading from Mr. Macelaru and excellent playing from the orchestra. The opening moments of the Molto moderato first movement had a reverential quality that served as an effective contrast to the grand statement of the main theme that followed. The rapid syncopation of the Allegro molto second movement was executed with great precision and the transparency string sound added real weight to the emotionally intense third movement. The final movement with its confident opening fanfare based on Copland's 1942 hit "Fanfare for the Common Man" wrapped everything up in fine, exuberant style.

There was plenty of impressive solo work throughout the symphony. Mr. Macelaru singled out all of the first chair players for well-earned curtain calls, but I'd like to direct some applause as well to Jennifer Nichtman and Ann Choomack for their fine playing of the important piccolo parts.

Next at Powell Hall:  Michael Francis
--> conducts the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra and violinist Joshua Bell Friday and Saturday at 8 pm and Sunday at 3 pm, November 23-25. The program consists of Elgar's overture In the South (Alassio), Bruch's Violin Concerto No. 1, and Vaughan Williams' Symphony No. 2 ("A London Symphony"). Performances take place at Powell Hall in Grand Center.

Chuck's Choices for the weekend of November 16, 2018

New items include a Disney musical at the Fox, the return of a holiday favorite at Mustard Seed, and the closing shows in the fall Gaslight Cabaret Festival season.

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New This Week:

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Disney's Aladdin

The Fabulous Fox presents Disney's Aladdin running through November 25. "From the producer of The Lion King comes the timeless story of ALADDIN, a thrilling new production filled with unforgettable beauty, magic, comedy and breathtaking spectacle. It's an extraordinary theatrical event where one lamp and three wishes make the possibilities infinite." The Fox is at 527 North Grand in Grand Center. For more information: fabulousfox.com.

My take: The Disney organization has had a remarkably good track record when it comes to turning their hit animated films into his stage musicals, and judging from the reviews this is yet another colorful feather in the company's cap. "The national touring production of Aladdin," writes Mark Bretz at Ladue News, "pulls out all the stops in a brightly festooned, lavish spectacle of a show filled with entertaining music, lots of laughs and an eye-popping array of razzle-dazzle special effects and glittering costumes." Sounds like a good time to me.

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All is Calm

Mustard Seed Theatre presents the acappella musical All is Calm Thursdays through Sundays, November 15 - December 16. "Join us in celebrating the power of peace in this acapella musical based on the true story of soldiers during World War I who for one night, put down their arms and played soccer instead of exchanging bullets." 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: All is Calm has become an annual winter tradition at Mustard Seed. With a script by Peter Rothstein and musical arrangements by Erick Lichte and Timothy C. Takach, this story of the remarkable Christmas truce of 1914—a spontaneous outbreak of peace that occurred at multiple points along the trenches in France—combines splendid and often quite complex acappella singing with readings of letters from soldiers and other historical documents. At a time when opportunistic politicians are pushing an agenda of hate, fear, and eternal war, this is a play that everyone needs to see. As we used to ask back in the 1960s, "what if they gave a war and nobody came?

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Christina Bianco

The Gaslight Cabaret Festival presents Christina Bianco in Diva Moments on Friday and Saturday, November 16 and 17, at 8 pm. "So Shonda Rhimes tweets a link to this Celebrity Impression Video, and 24 million youtube views later, Christina Bianco makes her St. Louis debut. She takes us on a musical comedy journey through the iconic songs that made divas out of the women who sang them. And we also get to hear that which makes Christina a diva in her own right." The performance takes place at the Gaslight Theater, 358 North Boyle. For more information: gaslightcabaretfestival.com.

My take: No, I haven't seen this show yet—I'm going on Friday— and I haven't seen Ms. Bianco on stage in the past, but I'm putting this on the list just because it looks like great fun. And she comes to us with a raft of rave reviews from such diverse sources at the New York Times, Playbill, Huffington Post, and Broadwayworld.com, so I suspect I'm on safe ground here.

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Doctor Faustus
Photo by Joey Rumpell

Slightly Askew Theatre Ensemble presents Doctor Faustus, or the Modern Prometheus by Marlowe as adapted by John Wolbers. Wednesdays through Saturdays at 8 pm through November 17. "Doctor Faustus, or the Modern Prometheus is a modern day retelling of the age-old bargain for limitless control over ones own fate. The brilliant Doctor Faustus grows weary of those in charge abusing their power; so, with the noblest of intentions, sells her soul to save the world. Thus begins an epic journey of seduction and love, justice and mercy, despair and hope, and ultimately damnation and redemption. Along the way Faustus must choose between good, evil and the compromise known as humanity. Playwright, John Wolbers, retains much of Christopher Marlowes original poetry, but reframes the story to examine: How does one effect change in an increasingly complex world? What is the value of a soul in todays modern age? And what holds us back from transcending our baser instincts to become our best selves?" Performances take place at The Chapel Venue, 6238 Alexander Drive. For more information: slightlyoff.org.

My take: On the one hand, a contemporary reboot of Marlowe's original is a provocative idea, especially when it flips gender roles by making Dr. Faustus female. On the other hand, if you're going to tinker with an established classic, you had better come up with something that works as well as the original, lest you be accused of hubris. The critical verdict on Doctor Faustus, or the Modern Prometheus looks a bit mixed but is generally pretty positive. Ann Lemmons Pollack, for example, writes that she found it "curiously refreshing" and "a surprisingly satisfying two hours." Paul Friswold at the RFT is even more enthusiastic. "Driven by smart writing and quality performances from star Ashley Bauman and the cast," he writes, "director Ellie Schwetye's production is a thought-provoking, engrossing play that examines modern problems through the lens of the seventeenth century's cosmology." SATE has an enviable track record when it comes to innovative work, so I'm going to recommend this for those of you looking for something out of the ordinary this weekend.

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Held Over:

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The Great Seduction
Photo by John Lamb

The West End Players Guild continues its 108th season with the St. Louis premiere of the comedy The Great Seduction by Vladimir Zelevinsky Fridays and Saturdays at 8 PM and Sundays at 2 PM, November 9 - 18. "In the mid-19th century, the prolific French playwright and author Alexandre Dumas penned a five-act bedroom farce Mademoiselle de Belle Isle. It was a tasteful telling of the story of an arrogant Duke, a randy Countess, a young stud of a chevalier and an innocent maiden freshly arrived from the provinces, seasoned with generous dollops of low humor and decolletage. Well, okay. It wasn't exactly tasteful. But it was a rollicking and bawdy smash hit.A century and a half later, playwright Vladimir Zelevinsky decided it was time for the Madmoiselle to return to the stage. His new play, The Great Seduction, retains all the wit and charm of Dumas's original work in a tighter two-act format and with a different and surprising climax that adds a clever twist to one of the most important moments in French history." There will also be a show on Thursday, November 15, 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: Vladimir Zelevinsky surely has one of the most unusual resumes of any playwright. A native of Siberia who emigrated to the USA with his family, Zelevinsky has degrees in nuclear physics from MIT and a number of software patents to his credit along with this theatre credits. His Manifest Destiny (which had its St. Louis premiere by West End, where I'm a board member, back in 2016) was a brilliant distillation of the American immigrant experience. The Great Seduction goes off in a totally different direction with a sly take on the classic costume sex farce that turns out to be about much more than that. In a 2016 interview for STLToday with Judy Newmark, the playwright said that he liked working with small companies because "that's where the interesting work is done." He has certainly provided some provocative pieces for those small companies to produce. Reviews have been very positive.

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Ken Haller

The Gaslight Cabaret Festival presents Ken Haller in Happy Haller Days on Saturday, November 18, at 8 p.m. "In his take on the holidays, Ken promises to be surprising, funny, personal, moving, great company and just a little exasperating. Just like all our holidays!" Marty Fox is pianist and music director for the show. The performances take place at the Gaslight Theater, 358 North Boyle. For more information: gaslightcabaretfestival.com.

My take: In my review of Ken's last production, The Medicine Show, I noted that he "delivered the goods with that combination of theatrical smarts and vocal authority that has made him one of our town's principal cabaret exports." He and Marty Fox have done another first rate job this time around; check out my review of this show for details.

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Into the Breeches!
Photo by Philip Hamer

Shakespeare Festival St. Louis presents Into the Breeches! through Sunday, November 18. "Written by the award-winning playwright of Grounded, which starred Anne Hathaway in its New York run, Into the Breeches! is a hilarious and heartwarming look at the WWII home front and a group of ladies who band together to keep the local theater going with their very own production of Henry V." Performances take place at the Kranzberg Arts Center, 501 N. Grand in Grand Center. For more information, including dates and times: sfstl.com.

My take: The idea of Into the Breeches! idea sounds like great fun and the Shakespeare Festival has had a rather good track record for many years now. Reviewing the play's world premiere earlier this year, the Providence (Rhode Island) Journal called it "a gem of a play, one of the sweetest nights of theater you're likely to see". Locally, Ann Lemmons Pollack calls it an "absolutely delightful piece of work" while Calvin Wilson at the Post-Dispatch says it's "a delightful and thoroughly engaging comedy-drama about persevering in the face of unfair obstacles and overcoming cultural prejudices that undercut the promise of the American dream."

Symphony Preview: 'Man does not live by dread alone'

Christopher Rouse
Photo by Jeffrey Herman

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This weekend (Friday and Saturday, November 16 and 17), guest conductor Cristian Macelaru conducts the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra in an all-American program of music by Copland and Barber, along with the world premiere of the Bassoon Concerto by contemporary composer Christopher Rouse (b. 1949).

I had the opportunity to chat with Mr. Rouse this past weekend. Here's our conversation, with a few nips and tucks for the sake of clarity.

Chuck Lavazzi (CL): I see that your bio talks about an early interest in both classical and popular music. Who are the rock performers that you admired?

Christopher Rouse (CR): I listened to quite a bit in the mid 50s-Little Richard and Elvis Presley, for example-but then I sort of lost interest when Frankie Avalon and so on came along. But then I got interested again when the Beatles happened, so really the period for me was the mid and late 60s into the 70s.

There are so many bands that I really loved. Obviously the Beatles, they're in a special class, but also the Byrds, Jefferson Airplane, a lot of the West Coast bands-Spirit, Love, Moby Grape. And then continuing on into the 70s, I loved Led Zepplin, for example, and Steeleye Span (laughs). Most people will think it's a misprint for Steely Dan.

CL: Yeah, I know Steeleye Span; one of the great British folk rock groups.

CR: And they're still going. So a lot of that-I began to lose interest in the mid-80s; I think maybe that corresponds with when my own career began. So I haven't followed it terribly much the last few decades. What I hear for the most part doesn't appeal to me.

CL: To what extent do you think your early interest in rock influenced your composing style?

CR: Not too much. There are a few pieces that do pay a kind of overt or direct homage to that repertoire, but for the most part I think one would struggle in vain to hear very specific references to that. The fact that I got to be known for writing loud, fast music is perhaps a more general kind of connection to rock. But for me for the most part they're kind of distinct and discrete entities.

CL: Speaking of things you have written, I see that you have multiple symphonies but only one concerto per instrument so far. I was wondering why that is.

CR: I pretty much respond to what I'm asked to write. If someone wants a concerto and I think I can do a good job I'll take it on. But apparently nobody has ever thought to ask twice (laughs). I have been approached about writing another flute concerto, but I really kind of feel that I put everything I had to say into the one that I already wrote. I'm pretty content to have written just one for each instrument. And of course there are a lot I still haven't written for. I don't have a horn concerto or a viola concerto. That may or may not happen in the future, who knows?

CL: Composers have often used performers as consultants when preparing concertos. Did you do that with this one?


CR: No. Usually I feel comfortable enough with an instrument so that I can write on my own. And in some cases I can't even get hold of my soloist. If you write a concerto for, you know, Yo-Yo Ma, he's hard to track down. So basically what I do is write the piece and then have the soloist tell me if there are things that I should change or simplify or whatnot.

SLSO Principal Bassoon Andrew Cuneo
Photo courtesy of the SLSO

The one exception to that was my guitar concerto where I was dealing with an instrument I really did not understand at all, so my soloist (Sharon Isbin) and I got together every six weeks or so and she would play through what I had written and see if it was at all practical or not. But that's the only time I have really worked with a soloist before actually finishing the piece.

CL: On a different subject, it seems to me that in the last century a gulf has been opening between the musical vocabulary of many composers and that of most audiences. Do you see that as an issue and if so how to you deal with it in your work?

CR: There's no question that it happened back in the 20th century. Adventurousness kind of put some composers in a place rather far beyond what most listeners were really ready to grapple with. And the 20th century was also a kind of very "objective" time; some composers were kind of anti-Romantic, so the idea of expressivity in music was demoted, and I think that was equally to blame.

The so-called "new Romanticism" that started in the late 1960s, which was about re-asserting expressiveness as the paramount reason to compose music was, I think, a very healthy development. Some of that involved going back to tonality, but not always. I think there's a lot of music that is not definably tonal but still is clearly meant to be expressive, and I guess that would apply to more than a little of my music. And the most important thing, I find, is the expressive content rather than how chromatic or diatonic it is.

You know, there are some listeners who just see that a piece is written after 1900 or 1910 and just kind of shut down automatically. I like to write for what I refer to as the open-minded lay listener. I'm not writing just for other professionals-other musicians and composers-I'm writing for that more general audience but I do need them to be open minded enough to meet me half way. (laughs) So that's who I'm trying to address when I write music.

CL: Yes, very different from Milton Babbitt's famous question "Who cares if you listen?"

CR: Right. Of course, he always said that wasn't his title, that was one the magazine imposed on the article.

CL: High Fidelity Magazine, yes.

CR: But, true, there is that period in which music as a kind of form of scientific research reached its zenith and that was the time of the broadest gulf between the composer and the listener.

CL: So the pendulum is obviously swinging back the other way.

CR: Very much so. And now particularly younger composers-you asked about pop music influences, for example-composers of the generation following me are much more open to really using anything and everything, a real amalgamation or fusion of all kinds of music, so I think that potentially can increase the accessibility of the music even more.

CL: Is there anything more you'd like the audience to know about the Bassoon Concerto?

CR: You know, it's what I call one of my "genial" works. I realize I have a reputation for writing a certain kind of very intense music but every once in a while I do enjoy writing a piece that really is meant to be appealing and not some dark exploration of the night of the soul. And this is one of those pieces. I don't want to say it's light hearted-the middle movement, the slow movement, gets a bit more serious-but I think for the most part it's music that's really meant to be enjoyed.

And, again, I ask the audience to meet me half way because the language of the piece is not always reassuringly tonal. As in a lot of my music, it kind of swings back and forth between very consonant elements and more dissonant ones. But it's music that's meant to, I hope, engage the ears of the listener and provide some pleasure. I know that's not something that one hears so much there days, perhaps.

One of my little quotes I use once in a while is "man does not live by dread alone." So I don't want to write music that is always dark and probing. I have certainly written plenty of those pieces, but sometimes it's just nice to-I won't say "take a holiday" because there's never a point at which composing in a holiday-but I hope that the music sounds as though we're on holiday a bit.

CL: And there's already quite a bit of darkness in the world today.

CR: Well, the thing is, you'll be accused of being in denial if you don't acknowledge it somehow, but a composer just generally has to be open to doing all sorts of things. One piece may be very light hearted and fun and the next piece may be much more serious and probing. A composer who only does one thing for his or her whole life I think is really limiting him or herself, and I think a composer needs to be a little more broad in their expression, anyway.

CL: Because if you just do the same thing over and over there's no growth.

CR: Well, yeah, because otherwise at a certain point you're just kind of rubber-stamping things. People hear you new piece and they say "oh, he's done the same thing again; we've been there, we've done that." And that means you're getting stale as a composer. So it's important to always keep looking at what you're doing and trying to come up with new ways of doing what you what you want to do.

The Essentials: Christian Macelaru conducts the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra and SLSO Principal Bassoonist Andrew Cuneo Friday at 10:30 am and Saturday at 8 pm, November 16 and 17. The program consists of Medea's Meditation and Dance of Vengeance by Samuel Barber, Aaron Copland's Symphony No. 3, and the world premiere of the Bassoon Concerto by Christopher Rouse. On Sunday, November 18, at 3 pm, Gemma New conducts the St. Louis Symphony Youth Orchestra in Dvorak's Carnival Overture, Sibelius's Finlandia, and the Brahms Symphony No. 1. All performances take place at Powell Hall in Grand Center.

Chuck's Choices for the weekend of September 29, 2017

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

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The Department of Music at Washington University and Winter Opera present the world premiere of Harold Blumenfeld's opera Borgia Infami Saturday at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday at 3 p.m., September 30 and October 1. " Borgia Infami depicts the lives, loves and crimes of the notorious Borgia family. The opera focuses upon Rodrigo, who becomes the brilliant and corrupt Pope Alexander VI; his son Cesare, whose ruthless pursuit of power is immortalized in Machiavelli's writings; and, finally, Lucrezia, the Duchess of Ferrara, Rodrigo's beautiful daughter, and alleged poisoner of the family's enemies. The action unfolds on dual levels, alternating historical fact with Victor Hugo's hyper melodramatic portrayal of Lucrezia." Performances take place in the Edison Theatre on the Washington University campus. For more information: edison.wustl.edu.

My take: I haven't seen this and won't have the opportunity to do so, but I would if I could. Winter Opera does good work and it's always worthwhile to see a new work by a local composer.

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Kyle Dean Massey

Jazz St. Louis and The Cabaret Project present Kyle Dean Massey on Wednesday and Thursday, September 27 and 28, at 7:30 p.m. "Kyle Dean Massey is an American actor best known for his work on Broadway in Pippin, Next to Normal, Wicked and Xanadu and to television audiences as Kevin Bicks from ABC's Nashville. As a vocalist Kyle Dean has performed across the country in pops concerts with symphony orchestras and in more intimate cabaret settings with his one man show. He also tours with his concert group The Broadway Tenors." Performances take place at the Ferring Jazz Bistro on Washington just east of the Fox in Grand Center. For more information: jazzstl.org.

My take: If you haven't had a chance to check out the remodeled bistro in Grand Center, now is your chance. It's a great music venue and an excellent size for cabaret. As for Mr. Massey, the Cabaret Scenes review of his 2015 appearance at Feinstein's noted that he "succeeded on every level in this well-crafted, charming show." Sounds like a winner to me.

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Webster University's Conservatory of Theatre Arts presents the musical [title of show] Wednesdays through Saturdays at 7:30 p.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m., September 27 - October 8. "Jeff and Hunter, two self-confessed nobodies in New York, make a pact: They will write an original musical and submit it to a festival. The only catch? The deadline is in three weeks! They gather their friends, Susan and Heidi, and their trusted accompanist and set off. With the team assembled, Jeff and Hunter hit another roadblock-- what should they write about? Jeff and Hunter decide to follow the old saying, “write what you know,” and set off on a unique musical adventure: writing a musical about writing a musical. As the deadline looms, insecurities creep in and jealousies flare. Will the team succeed with their musical? Could it even win a Tony?! Frequently hilarious, occasionally heartbreaking, and thoroughly inspiring, [title of show] is a love story celebrating individuality and creativity." Performances take place on the Browning Mainstage Theatre at the Loretto-Hilton Center on the Webster University campus. For more information, www.webster.edu/conservatory/season or call 314-968-7128.

My take: True confession: I'm a musical theatre geek. I love performing in musicals and I love seeing a good one. [title of show] is a massive musical theatre in joke. On paper and CD, the concept looks a bit flimsy: a talented songwriter and author want to write a new, completely original musical but can’t come up with a topic, so they decide (in the song “Two Nobodies from New York”) to write a new musical about a talented songwriter and author trying to write a new musical. The result is a show that’s about only itself and its creators – “talking to a mirror talking to himself”, to quote A Neil Innes lyric. It’s a potentially deadly idea if not handled with skill. But skill, happily, is something creators Jeff Bowen and Hunter Bell clearly have in abundance, along with talent, a self-deprecating sense of humor, and a true love of musical theatre. If you love musical theatre—heck, if you just love theatre—go and enjoy.

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The Curious Incident of the
Dog in the Night-Time
Photo: Jerry Naunheim, Jr.

The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis presents the drama The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time throiugh October 1. "The 2015 Tony Award winner for Best Play, The Curious Incident is an immersive adventure that puts audiences in the shoes of 15-year-old sleuth Christopher. He's a brilliant young man, but struggles to process everyday information. Suspected of killing his neighbor's dog, Christopher journeys into London to track down the true culprit. But can he withstand the sensory overload of the big city?" Performances take place at the Loretto-Hilton Center on the Webster University campus. For more information: repstl.org.

My take: Critics have been mining their stock of superlatives for this show. At KDHX, for example, Tina Farmer calls it "a spectacular theatre experience." Steve Allen at Stage Door St. Louis says it's a "beautiful, powerful and heart-wrenching experience," while Judy Newmark at the Post-Dispatch praises the "fluid, crystal-clear production." I could go on, but you get the idea. We saw it last weekend and were completely captivated. The title, FYI, comes from the Sherlock Homes story Silver Blaze, and refers to the importance of something that didn't happen as a clue in a murder case.

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South Pacific
Photo: Peter Wochniak, ProPhotoSTL

Stages St. Louis presents Rodgers and Hammerstein's South Pacific through October 8. "One of the most powerful musicals of all time, this multi-award- winning classic from Rodgers and Hammerstein will sweep you away with its tale of love and loss in the SOUTH PACIFIC. Based on the Pulitzer Prize winning book by James Michener and featuring some of the finest music ever written for the American stage, SOUTH PACIFIC spins a dangerously romantic tale centered around young American soldiers and nurses stationed on a tropical naval base during the Second World War. Seeking respite from the battles around them, they find refuge in the two groups as romance blooms in this lush tropical paradise." Performances take place in the Robert G. Reim Theatre at the Kirkwood Community Center, 111 South Geyer Road in Kirkwood. For more information: stagesstlouis.org.

My take: It is, I think, easy to forget that this theatrical classic is not just a musical, but a drama as well. In South Pacific, boy gets girl, boy abandons girl, boy dies and everybody else goes off to war. For audiences that know South Pacific largely as a high-gloss widescreen musical from 1958, the show's occasionally trenchant commentary on the folly and futility of war, issues of racism, and what Emile De Becque, in a moment of despair, refers to as "a mean little world / Of mean little men" might come as a surprise. Sadly, current events are reminding us of just how right he was. The Stages production is being lauded by darn near everybody. A good example is Chris Gibson at Broadwayworld. "Sparked by an excellent cast," he writes, "this is an incredibly touching testament to the power this work still wields." Similarly glowing reviews can be found at Ladue News and the Post-Dispatch. We saw it last weekend and loved it.

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Unsuspecting Susan

Inevitable Theatre Company makes its St. Louis performance debut with the regional premiere of Stewart Permutt's one-woman play Unsuspecting Susan, through September 30. "Unsuspecting Susan portrays the tranquil village life of upper-class Hampshire divorcée Susan Chester, whose hobbies include amateur dramatics, raising Sealyham Terriers, and collecting the juiciest gossip about her neighbors. After Susan's troubled son, Simon, moves to London, her seemingly perfect world is rocked by an unspeakable act of violence." Performances take place at The Chapel on Alexander Drive in Clayton. For more information: inevitabletheatre.org.

My take: I have known this show's star, Donna Weinsting, for many years now. She's a warm, funny person and a tremendously talented actress. Local directors obviously think so as well since they keep casting her, and this one-woman show appears to be a real triumph for her. At Ladue News, for example, Mark Bretz praises the "touching and revelatory performance by Donna Weinsting in this affecting, one-character drama." Other critics have been equally positive.

Chuck's Choices for the weekend of April 21, 2017

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

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Dancing at Lughnasa

Mustard Seed Theatre presents Brian Friel's Dancing at Lughnasa Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m., through April 30. “Set in 1936 Ireland, the play explores the potential for romance and the lure of pagan rituals in a family's day-to-day life.” There is no performance on Easter Sunday, April 16. 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: Brian Friel's 1990 memory play of life in rural Ireland has always been highly regarded, and it looks like Mustard Seed has mounted a very successful production. At Ladue News, Mark Bretz describes it as "a heart-rending rendition of Brian Friel’s haunting Irish drama, featuring superb performances by an ensemble cast given affecting direction by Gary Barker." Ann Lemmons Pollack agrees. "Mustard Seed Theatre has put together an ensemble for Brian Friel’s 1990 play that enlivens an already sparkling script," she writes at her St. Louis Eats and Drinks blog. There's basic benevolence at the heart of Dancing at Lughnasa that makes it a welcome antidote to the toxic spite that dominates the daily news cycle these days.

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The Drowsy Chaperone
Photo: Eric Woolsey

Webster University's Conservatory of Theatre Arts presents the musical The Drowsy Chaperone Friday and Saturday at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m., April 21-23. "It all starts with a man in a chair, who is feeling a little bit blue. To cure his sadness, he throws on one of his old favorite records: the original cast recording of the fictitious 1928 musical The Drowsy Chaperone. He paints us the picture of a hilarious wedding between famous actress Janet Van De Graaf and oil tycoon Robert Martin. The wedding is expected to run smoothly, but toss in an aspiring starlet, a desperate Broadway producer, a couple of suspicious pastry chefs, an erroneous womanizer, and a rather tipsy chaperone and well...things get a little complicated. Sit back and cure any of your 'non-specified sadness,' with this wildly humorous, Tony Award-winning musical." Performances take place on the Browning Mainstage Theatre at the Loretto-Hilton Center on the Webster University campus. For more information, www.webster.edu/conservatory/season or call 314-968-7128.

My take: There are actually two productions of this delightful "musical within a play" this weekend but I'm giving the nod to the one on this side of the river (the other is at SIU-Edwardsville) with musical direction by the estimable Larry Pry. Possibly the most elaborate insider gag ever placed on the stage, The Drowsy Chaperone is a very smart and very funny parody of musical theatre and, to a certain extent, the very concept of theatre itself. Don't think you have to be a musical theatre geek to enjoy it, though; the in-jokes are general enough to appeal to just about anyone who has ever seen a Fred Astaire film or a Rogers and Hammerstein show. I expect that includes most of you.

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The Lion King
Photo: Daniel Murphy

The Fox Theatre presents Disney's The Lion King running through May 7. "Giraffes strut. Birds swoop. Gazelles leap. The entire Serengeti comes to life as never before. And as the music soars, Pride Rock slowly emerges from the mist. This is Disney's The Lion King, making its triumphant return to the Fabulous Fox. More than 85 million people around the world have experienced the awe-inspiring visual artistry, the unforgettable music, and the uniquely theatrical storytelling of this Broadway spectacular - one of the most breathtaking and beloved productions ever to grace the stage." The Fox in at 527 North Grand in Grand Center. For more information: fabulousfox.com.

My take: How could I not include this? Making its fourth or fifth trip (but who's counting?) to our city since its first appearance here in 2003, this ingenious stage adaptation of the popular Disney film remains a stunning piece of theatre. For those of you who have yet to see this remarkable show, know that the spectacular opening number sets the tone for the entire evening. As a giant red-orange sun rises over the African plain, the first sounds you hear are not those of Elton John and Tim Rice’s Anglo-American pop, which makes up the majority of the score, but rather the distinctly African melodies of Lebo M. Led the baboon Shaman Rafiki and answered by actors high in the side balconies, the call and response changes into “The Circle of Life” as the animals gather at Pride Rock, which slowly rises from the center of the stage. Tall, elegant giraffes, a lumbering elephant, leaping gazelles, a graceful cheetah, colorful birds—they stream in from every aisle and across the stage, surrounding the audience in light, sound, and color. And that's just the beginning of this extraordinary bucket of brilliance from the seemingly bottomless well of Julie Taymor’s genius. Go, take the kids, and enjoy.

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Oedipus Apparatus
Photo: John Lamb

The West End Players Guild continues its 106th season with the world premiere of Oedipus Apparatus, written and directed by Lucy Cashion, based on Sophocles' Oedipus Tyrannus, Fridays and Saturdays at 8 PM and Sundays at 2 PM, April 21-30. There will also be a show on Thursday, April 27, at 8 PM. "Lucy Cashion is one of St. Louis's most exciting and creative young theatre artists. Her Equally Represented Arts Theatre Company is well-known for cutting edge works such as Trash Macbeth, Make Hamlet and The Residents of Craigslist. Now Lucy brings to our stage the world premiere Oedipus Apparatus, her original work inspired by Sophocles' Oedipus Tyrannus. It is most definitely NOT the version of this classic tale you read in freshman English!" 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: [Full disclosure: I'm on the board of West End but have not worked on this show.] This wildly inventive and wholly original potpourri combines the general outline of the Oedipus legend (including bits and pieces of the Sophocles tragedy) with classical Newtonian mechanics, plane geometry, Freudian psychology (naturally!) and contemporary pop culture. A site-specific piece composed with West End’s location in mind, Oedipus Apparatus includes live Philip Glass-ish music by Joe Taylor (who also, of course, plays Apollo), ritualistic dance that reminded me of Pina Bausch, a mobile industrial set by Kristin Cassidy and Jacob Francis, live video, and pretty much everything but the kitchen sink. Although there might have been one of those in the loopy junk-shop set from which the oracles of Delphi broadcast their vacuous chat show in a style reminiscent of "The View" or "Fox and Friends," with Athena the oleaginous hostess. At just under two hours with no intermission, it could use some editing, but as this is a world premiere that's not very surprising. It gets superb performances, in any case, from a very fine ensemble cast. You might love it or hate it, but you won't soon forget it.

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A 2014 Shake 38 show
Photo: J. David Levy

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 19-23. For a complete schedule: sfstl.com.

My take: For sheer variety, it's hard to beat Shake 38, the Shakespeare Festival's annual city-wide celebration of The Bard on the week of his birthday. There are performances of the plays themselves at local venues, including Anthony and Cleopatra at Crossroads College Prep, Henry VII at St. Paul United Church of Christ, and Love's Labours Lost at St. Louis Univeristy. But there are also less conventional productions, such as Two Gentlemen of Lebowski at Ryder's Tavern and Equally Represented Arts' twelfth period at the Centene Center. And this week there's a parallel food festival, 38 Eats, with 38 dishes inspired by themes in the plays and created by local chefs For a complete list (because, trust me, there's a lot more): www.sfstl.com/in-the-streets/shake-38.

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Seven Guitars

The Black Rep presents the drama Seven Guitars by August Wilson through April 23. "Set in 1948 in the backyard of a Pittsburgh apartment house, Seven Guitars follows Floyd " Schoolboy" Barton's circle of friends and neighbors-the play's seven voices-as they spin a rich tale of the deck that's stacked against them, what they've lost and all they dream of. Part murder mystery, part memory play, Seven Guitars depicts the events leading up to the untimely death of Floyd "Schoolboy" Barton, a gifted blues guitarist. Released from jail after serving time for the crime of "worthlessness," Floyd tries to retrieve his guitar and get to Chicago to make a record. He believes he is on the brink of a career breakthrough, but bad decisions and worse luck prevent him from leaving Pittsburgh. " Performances take place in the Emerson Performance Space on the campus of Harris-Stowe State University in midwotn. For more information: theblackrep.org.

My take: The Black Rep has always done well by the deep, literate works of August Wilson, and this production appears to be no exception. "As always with Wilson," writes Bob Wilcox at KDHX, "Seven Guitars satisfies with its rich language and its deep humanity." In her review at stltoday.com, Judy Newmark praises the acting ensemble and singles out Black Rep founder Ron Himes as "giving the performance of his career."

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Sweeney Todd
Photo: John Lamb

Stray Dog Theatre presents Stephen Sondheim's Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street Thursdays through Saturdays through April 22. "A macabre musical tells the tale of Sweeney Todd, an unjustly exiled barber, who returns to London seeking vengeance. The road to revenge leads Todd to Mrs. Lovett, proprietress of a failing pie shop, whose luck improves when the demon barbers thirst for blood inspires a new ingredient for her meat pies. Londoners start queuing up for a taste of her unique delectable treats!" Performances take place at The Tower Grove Abbey, 2336 Tennessee. For more information, visit straydogtheatre.org or call 314-865-1995.

My take: I suppose I shouldn't be including this. It's not that the reviews haven't been great; exactly the opposite in fact. Tina Farmer at KDHX seems to be speaking for the majority. "Gleefully discordant and filled with strong performances," she writes, "anchored by outstanding leads from Jon Hey and Lavonne Byers, the tragically comic musical is fantastic and fun." No, the reason I probably shouldn't include this is that all performances are now sold out. Still, people do cancel and I expect they'll be happy to put you on a waiting list. A good production of this rattling great yarn is worth waiting for, in my book.

Variety is the spice of the 2017 Humana Festival of New American Plays

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

Photo: Justin Philalack

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It's spring, and once again yours truly and a coterie of local theatre folk made our annual pilgrimage to the Humana Festival of New American Plays at Actors Theatre of Louisville. As we have done for the past few years, my fellow KDHX critic Tina Farmer and I posted instant video blog mini-reviews from the festival on YouTube. Unlike previous years, however, Tina and I have agreed to split up the written reviews.

Over the course of last weekend (March 31 - April 2), we saw six plays: Tasha Gordon-Solmon's comedy I Now Pronounce, Jorge Ignacio Cortiñas' drama Recent Alien Abductions, Chelsea Marcantel's Airness (a love letter to air guitar), the comedy/dramas We're Gonna Be Okay by Basil Kreimendahl and Cry it Out by Molly Smith Metzler, and The Many Deaths of Nathan Stubblefield, a collection of eleven mini-plays written for the acting interns of the ATL Professional Training Company. Tina is reviewing the first three and I'm covering the others.

Cry it Out by Molly Smith Metzler

Andrea Syglowski and Jessica Dickey
Photo: Bill Brymer

The best of my three was unquestionably Cry it Out. The play is set in Manorhaven, a Long Island village described in the script as "directly on the ocean, heavily populated, and, depending on the block, either middle-class or quite rundown." The action takes place in the back yard of Jessie (Jessica Dickey) a new mother who left a job as a high-powered lawyer to start a family and now isn't sure whether or not she wants to go back —a thought she has yet to share with her husband.

The yard behind hers belongs to Lina (Andrea Syglowski), a brassy but loveable community college dropout. She and her husband are living with his alcoholic mother. Jessie and Nate are comfortably upper-middle class; Lina and John are barely holding on to blue collars. But Jessie and Lina had bonded in the Stop and Shop over the joys and woes of infant care and are now getting acquainted over coffee in the no-man's land between their houses where the coverage of their baby monitors overlaps.

The play starts out as a smart, funny, and completely believable story of two very different women thrown together by the demands of motherhood and drawing strength from each other while growing in the process. That all by itself would be enough to recommend it, but things get more complex when Mitchell (Jeff Biehl) drops in on one of their meetings with a request that they invite his wife Adrienne (Liv Rooth) to join them. She's also a new mom and he thinks "it would do her a lot of good to get out and talk to some moms like you."

Mitchell and Adrienne live in Sands Point, the über-wealthy neighborhood on the cliff above town ("we look down on you," says Mitchell, a phrase he immediately regrets), and while Mitchell is affable, Adrienne proves to be a bundle of hostile snobbery inside of which is a woman who is not at all sure she likes being a mother.

The play that spins out of these complications addresses issues of social class, economic disparity, lack of access to health care, and the confusing expectations placed on American women without ever becoming preachy or even directly bringing any of these issues up. This is a play that asks you to think about its message instead of beating you over the head with it—for which I was very grateful.

I was grateful as well for the fine performances of the cast. Ms. Dickey and Ms. Syglowski, in particular, did a marvelous job of distinguishing their characters both verbally and physically. As soon as they appeared on stage, their body language made it obvious that Lina was an outgoing free spirit while Jessie was more reserved and even a bit defensive. Ms. Rooth's Adrienne, like Pooh-Bah in The Mikado, was apparently "born sneering" and Mr. Biehl's Mitchell was clearly hiding something behind his affability. David McCallum's direction was precise and sure-footed. Cry it Out is, in short, a first-rate play that is likely to have a life after Humana.

We're Gonna Be Okay by Basil Kreimendahl

The cast of We're Gonna Be Okay
Photo: Bill Brymer

Basil Kreimendahl's We're Gonna Be Okay, on the other hand, seems unlikely to survive the festival — partly because its technical requirements are significant, but mostly because it's simply not a very good play.

Set during the run-up to the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis, We're Gonna Be Okay is, in some ways, similar to Cry it Out in that it concerns neighboring families whose economic circumstances are very different. Efran (Sam Breslin Wright) is a middle-class motor mouth who browbeats his more taciturn blue-collar neighbor Sul (Scott Drummond) into cooperating with him on the construction of the bomb shelter because, Efran is convinced, "it ain't a matter of 'if' but a matter of 'when'" nuclear war breaks out. Their interactions were so reminiscent of the 1960s comedy routines of Burns and Schreiber that I have a sneaking suspicion Mr. Kreimendahl might have been inspired by them.

Adding to the comic mix are Efran's wife Leena (Kelly McAndrew) with her bottomless bag of arts and crafts projects, Sul's quietly desperate wife Mag (Annie McNamara), Efran's sexually confused son Jake (Andrew Cutler), and Sul's daughter Deanna (Anne-Marie Trabolsi). Described in the script as "feminine but a little rock and roll masculine," she comes complete with sardonic attitude and a guitar.

Efran's verbosity is sometimes grating but overall the first act of We're Gonna Be Okay is often quite funny and, Efran aside, Mr. Kreimendahl's characters are endearing, if a bit superficial.

All that changes in the second act, which moves the action from the front yards to the bomb shelter where both families have fled in what feels like oddly chaotic haste immediately after President Kennedy's speech announcing the presence of missiles in Cuba. The shelter isn't fully stocked or completely finished (although it has somehow acquired a surface door that wasn't there at the end of the first act) and over the ensuing few days conflicts within and between the families erupt as secrets are shared and everyone but Deanna begins to question their life decisions.

None of this really goes anywhere or resolves, and after a while it begins to become repetitious. By moving his characters below ground, Mr. Kreimendahl has left them nowhere to go, both literally and dramatically. He has also left himself with no convincing way to end the play, and his final scene makes very little sense given what has gone before.

As is usually the case with Actors Theatre, though, the play got very strong performances from a fine ensemble cast. The younger actors were particularly impressive, and Ms. Trabolsi's musical contributions added a great deal. Her "Break It to Me Gently" was a welcome high point of the second act.

Director Lisa Peterson made the best possible case for this script, although the many anachronisms in both the dialog and costuming sometimes made it difficult for someone like me, who actually lived through the missile crisis, to take it all very seriously. This one needs to go back to the drawing board.

The Many Deaths of Nathan Stubblefield by Jeff Augustin, Sarah Delappe, Claire Kiechel, And Ramiz Monsef

Henriettas
Photo: Bill Brymer

The Many Deaths of Nathan Stubblefield is also unlikely to have a life after the festival, but that's mostly by design. Every year, the festival commissions an evening of short one-acts to be performed by the acting interns. The plays are always performed without pause and always deal with a common theme. Last year's Wondrous Strange, for example, dealt with the supernatural, while 2015's That High Lonesome Sound was a tribute to Kentucky bluegrass music.

The theme for this year's show was a bit more vague. As described in Jessica Resse's program notes, it's all about "the slippery nature of innovation, and the myths we tell about it." A secondary theme is the state of Kentucky itself. The titular character, for example, was a Kentucky farmer who came up with the principle of wireless telephony but failed to capitalize on it and died in obscurity.

Other plays approach the topic in more indirect ways. In Sarah DeLappe's Henriettas, for example, four hilariously decrepit elderly ladies named Henrietta rattle off an increasingly silly list of inventions for which they didn't get credit.

I Will Survive
Photo: Bill Brymer

The relevance of some of the plays is a bit harder to discern. Ms. DeLappe's I Will Survive, for example, seems to be about the quick rise and fall of "roller disco," as company members quickly alternate between gliding around the stage in spangled outfits and tediously assembling disco balls while dressed in jump suits. As the play progresses, the ensemble shrinks until it's down to just one actress (Alice Wu) who turns to the audience and says "It's definitely lonely." Although I never cared much for disco, I found it a curiously touching piece. Its connection to the theme felt tangential until I learned (via Twitter) that Louisville was the disco ball manufacturing center of the USA back in the day.

That's a minor complaint, though. As has always been the case with the PTC shows, The Many Deaths of Nathan Stubblefield benefitted from very solid performances from a cast of performers who, while still learning their craft, are already extremely talented and professional. Eric Hoff's fluid direction pulled it all together nicely.

The 2017 Humana Festival of New American Plays concluded on Sunday, April 9, but the Actors Theatre of Louisville's regular season continues with the New Voices Young Playwrights Festival April 24-26. For St. Louis theatre fans willing to make the four and one-half hour drive, ATL is well worth a visit, and the Louisville area has many other tourist attractions to divert you when you're not in the theatre.