Chuck's Choices for the weekend of September 23, 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:

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Anna Skidis

The Presenters Dolan and the Emerald Room Cabaret present singer/actress Anna Skidis in Almost There on Saturday, September 24, at 8 p.m. "It feels great to set and achieve your dreams, but what about that bit in the middle? It's not as easy as a quick, musical montage like in the movies... but here's some music, anyway. Anna Skidis Vargas sings the songs of Radiohead, Katie Thompson, Etta James, Disney, and more." The performance takes place in The Emerald Room at The Monocle Bar, 4510 Manchester in The Grove neighborhood. For more information: themonoclestl.com.

My take: It's my view that some of the best cabaret comes from experienced actors. That's because a well-constructed cabaret show is much like a one-act play, with an emotional arc and a distinct sends of beginning, middle, and end. Actors are most likely to be familiar with that structure. Ms. Skidis is a well-established local actor, so I'd expect this to be a show well worth your attention.

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Stone Spiral Coffeehouse presents Jan Marra in a solo concert of original songs on Friday, September 23, at 8 p.m. "The Stone Spiral is in its ninth year of providing the friendliest and tastiest atmosphere in the neighborhood, with newspapers, coffee, tea, beer, wine and most especially espresso. Then there's all the nice plates of food and books to read and art to look at and buy." Stone Spiral Coffeehosue is at 2500 Sutton in Maplewood, MO. For more information: stonespiralcoffee.com.

My take: Jan provided us with some pretty amazing performances at the Cabaret Project's open mic night at the late lamented Tavern of Fine Arts over the years, so this should be a fascinating show. And Stone Spiral is a very funky and intimate setting (I have performed there myself in the past) with a nice selection of food and drink.

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Toy Hyams and Lisa Rothauser

The Presenters Dolan and the Emerald Room Cabaret present Tor Hyams and Lisa Rothauser in The Songs of Tor and Lisa: How we became successful musical theater writers in only four years, three months, twenty-two days and eleven hours... on Friday, September 23, at 8 p.m. "Grammy-nominated songwriter Tor Hyams and veteran Broadway performer Lisa Rothauser debut their favorite selections from the dynamic duo's four-year collaboration in musical theatre. This one-night-only event will showcase music from four of their original musicals currently in development (Stealing Time, Auburn, LIFE. Who Knew?, and Green Acres The Musical) and a few songs too early to tell what they are. Tor and Lisa met at a bar one night four years, three months, twenty- two days and eleven hours ago and the rest is this story." The performance takes place in The Emerald Room at The Monocle Bar, 4510 Manchester in The Grove neighborhood. For more information: themonoclestl.com.

My take: It's always interesting to hear from singer/songwriter teams. As a bonus, this show provides a behind-the-scenes look at some projects that are still in the development stage. And, let's face it, aren't you just a little bit intrigued by what Green Acres the Musical might sound like? As an added incentive, local musical theatre and cabaret star Ben Nordstrom will be opening for Hyams and Rothauser.

Held Over:

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Follies
Photo: Jerry Naunheim, Jr.

The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis presents Stephen Sondheim's musical Follies through October 2. “Featuring an all-star cast that includes three Tony nominees, Broadway stars and local favorites, Follies is the biggest Rep production in more than a decade. Join us for our 50th anniversary season opener as we present a breathtaking rendition of this Stephen Sondheim classic!” 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: Laurel wreaths are in order for director Rob Ruggiero and the cast and crew of this production of the utterly brilliant 1971 commercial flop by Stephen Sondheim and James Goldman (best known for his popular comedy/drama "The Lion in Winter"). Broadway and cabaret stars Christiane Noll and Emily Skinner head the large and impressive ensemble cast. This remarkable story of personal and cultural disintegration has always been an expensive challenge to produce, but the Rep has proved to be more than up to the task, getting their 50th season off to a rousing start. The big "mirror" production number, in particular, is a true coup de théâtre, as women of the ensemble execute Ralph Perkins' complex choreography with superhuman precision.

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A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder
Photo: Joan Marcus

The Fox Theatre presents the musical A Gentleman's Guide To Love And Murder opening Tuesday, September 13, and running through September 25. "Coming direct from New York, where a most gentlemanly NPR critic said he'd “Never laughed so hard at a Broadway musical," Gentleman's Guide tells the uproarious story of Monty Navarro, a distant heir to a family fortune who sets out to jump the line of succession by - you guessed it - eliminating the eight pesky relatives (all played by one fearless man) who stand in his way. All the while, Monty has to juggle his mistress (she's after more than just love), his fiancée (she's his cousin but who's keeping track?), and the constant threat of landing behind bars! Of course, it will all be worth it if he can slay his way to his inheritance... and be done in time for tea." The Fox is on North Grand in Grand Center. For more information: fabulousfox.com.

My take: Speaking of rave reviews, this hit Broadway musical has been gather them for some time now, copping the 2014 Tony for Best Musical along the way. This tour has gotten great notices locally. "Sometimes people complain that theater isn’t 'fun", writes Judy Newmark at STLToday.com. "These people need to see 'A Gentleman’s Guide to Love & Murder,' the blithe treat that opened Tuesday at the Fox Theatre. If that doesn’t make them change their minds, nothing will."

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Miss Julie, Clarissa and John
Photo: Phillip Hamer

The Black Rep presents the drama Miss Julie, Clarissa And John through September 25. "Inspired by August Strindberg's groundbreaking 1888 naturalistic drama Miss Julie, Mark Clayton Southers relocates the action from Sweden to a Reconstruction-era Virginia plantation.The dangerous attraction between the landowner's daughter and his top servant takes on new shades as its taboo nature expands from crossing boundaries of social class to also encompass racial lines. The situation is heightened further by Southers' extensive development of the third onstage character from Strindberg's play, who in this searing version becomes central to the conflict through her identity as the mulatto daughter of a slave woman. The result of the Midwest premiere production is an intense struggle that illuminates cultural dynamics of two key moments in U.S. history: then and now." Performances take place at the Edison Theatre on the Washington University campus. For more information: theblackrep.org

My take: Rewriting Strindberg's 1888 tragedy and moving it to the post-Civil War South could be an invitation to disaster, but Mr. Southers appears to have pulled it off, based on the reviews. At Stage Door STL, Steve Allen says the script is "is nothing short of brilliant" while the production itself is "powerful theatre, well directed and a splendid cast who exemplifies the quality and longevity of the Black Rep."

Symphony Preview: Ludwig van Beethoven, technology pioneer

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A vast chronological gulf separates three of the pieces on this St. Louis Symphony program this Saturday and Sunday (September 24 and 25, 2016) from the fourth. The works by Mozart, Haydn, and Beethoven on the program all date from the final decade of the 18th century while the music that opens the second half of the concert—George Benjamin's Viola, Viola—is from the final decade of the 20th.

Drawing of Mozart by Doris Stock, 1789

And yet, they all, somehow, get lumped under the category of "classical music." SLSO program annotator René Spencer Saller rightly decries the term as an "annoying lower-case catch-all term for the sort of thing that symphony orchestras do" but then goes on to remind us that Mr. Benjamin "might have been born 133 years after Beethoven's death, but he was still shaped by him. We all were. We all are.” So maybe the "classical" label isn't entirely bogus.

The concerts open, appropriately, with an overture-specifically, the one Mozart wrote for Die Zauberflöte ("The Magic Flute"). Written towards the end of the composer's sadly brief life (Mozart had only a few months to live when it premiered in September of 1791), Die Zauberflöte was intended not for an audience of nobles at court but rather for ordinary folks at a suburban theater that was closer in ambience to a tavern. A singspiel with spoken dialog instead of recitatives and a text in German instead of the fashionable Italian, the work is the fantastic and somewhat incoherent tale of romance, magic, and the triumph of love and reason over superstition.

Mozart was a Master Mason in the "Zur Neugekrönten Hoffnung" ("New Crowned Hope") lodge in Vienna, so both the overture and the opera are filled with Masonic musical references, including frequent uses of the number three in various combinations. You hear it immediately in the three solemn chords that open the overture, which quickly shifts gears to a sprightly and ingeniously constructed Allegro. "Mozart treats us to right away to fugue, transformation, delightful instrumental playfulness and an invigorating sense that something special is in store", writes Jeff Counts in program notes for the Utah Symphony. "This is the hopeful music of a man with plans for the future, not the last rites of someone who felt time slipping and assumed he had said enough. From this perspective, the Overture to The Magic Flute may well be the most rewarding six minutes in music."

Beethoven in 1803
Painted by Christian Horneman

Up next is Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 3 in C minor, Op. 37, a work which shows the composer in a role for which he is not, in my experience, always given enough credit: that of an "early adopter" of technology.

The technology in question is that of the piano. At the time Beethoven was writing the C minor concerto (around 1800, although he had ideas for it a few years earlier), major technological advances were being made in the design and construction of the instrument. It was becoming bigger and heavier, the sound was getting more robust, and the range of notes wider. When Beethoven began composing in the 1780s, the piano (then called the fortepiano) was basically an amped-up harpsichord with strings that were struck instead of plucked and a range of around four or five octaves. By the time he died in 1827, the piano had evolved into something closely resembling the contemporary concert grand, with a range of nearly eight octaves and the ability to produce the kind of thunderous climaxes that composers like Fanz Liszt loved so much.

A major player in this technological revolution was the English firm of John Broadwood and Sons. As part of their marketing campaign, they sent their new pianos to Haydn and Beethoven, with the result that Beethoven made use of the expanded range of notes for his new concerto. “As originally composed,” writes Ms. Saller, “his Third Concerto requires the soloist to play a high G, which is believed to be the earliest instance of that particular note in the piano repertory. In 1804, after trying out a new expanded keyboard design, Beethoven extended the range to include the C that sits over the fifth ledger line above the treble staff. Even though going higher and higher meant that his concerto could be played only on new, state-of-the-art pianos, Beethoven wanted his concerto to reflect these technological advancements.”

George Benjamin

Beethoven's technological innovations will be played this weekend by Yefim Bronfman, a celebrated performer whose "volcanic pianism" so impressed me when he performed the Tchaikovsky Concerto No. 1 five years ago. He has the chops to deliver the big dramatic moments along with the musical sensitivity required for the Largo second movement, with its improvisatory feel.

The second half of the concert opens with a local premiere: Viola, Viola. Written in 1997 by English composer George Benjamin (b. 1960), this intimate little piece for two violas is the product of a composer who, like Beethoven, continually revises and reworks his pieces until he's sure they're just right. Over the course of its ten minutes, the instruments converse, argue, and finally combine so seamlessly that it can be hard to tell them apart. Appropriately for such an intimate piece, the soloists will be the wife-and-husband team of Beth Guterman Chu (Principal Viola) and Jonathan Chu (Assistant Principal Viola).

The concerts end with the Haydn's Symphony No. 102 in B-flat major. It was part of a dozen symphonies (the last ones he wrote, in fact) Haydn composed for a pair of trips to London in the last decade of the eighteenth century. Those trips were highly successful, both in terms of critical reception and income. No. 102 was written for the second sojourn, by which time Haydn had a pretty good idea of what his audiences wanted.

Haydn in 1791
Painted by Thomas Hardy

Those audiences were no longer what they were a few decades earlier. Concerts were now public events for the masses, not private affairs for the nobility. Attendees were increasingly educated and middle class. And, as Trinity College's Tom Service writes in his analysis of the 102nd symphony for The Guardian, Haydn knew that this audience "understood and appreciated his invention, his games of expectation and surprise, his effortless manipulation of genre, affect, and expressivity. And he knew he could push them and himself even further when he came back, when his celebrity and status were even greater than before. That means these symphonies are, in effect, palimpsests of listening, pieces composed with their effectiveness for a musically literate audience in mind."

And so we get a symphony that's filled with surprises, invention, and the composer's trademark wit. "Haydn's 102nd, just like all of his London symphonies," writes Mr. Service, "consecrates a moment in symphonic history when this composer and his listeners were in excellent, mutually appreciative accord, a bond that's renewed every time this symphony is played or listened to today."

You can renew that bond this weekend at Powell Hall on Saturday at 8 p.m. or Sunday at 3 p.m. The Saturday concert will also be broadcast live on St. Louis Public Radio, but as always I recommend hearing it live.

Symphony Preview: Mostly Mozart, all familiar

Mozart in the 17702

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The Cardinals may be out of town battling the Reds in Cincinnati this weekend, but nevertheless the St. Louis Symphony has a double header of its own for you, with one program on Friday night (September 23, 2016) and a completely different one on Saturday and Sunday.

For now, let's talk about Friday. It's the first of the four "Music You Know" concerts spaced out during the new season. Sponsored by the Whitaker Foundation, "Music You Know" is a series devoted to relatively short works which will be familiar to SLSO regulars and very user-friendly to newcomers.

For this first concert, the focus is (with one big exception; see below) on the Greatest Hits of the 17th and 18th centuries, with easy-on-the-ears favorites by Pachelbel, Boccherini, and Mozart.

Pachelbel's famous Canon in D, with its increasingly elaborate variations unfolding over a simple tune in the bass line, surely needs no introduction. Nor does the charming "Minuet" movement from Boccherini's String Quintet, Op. 11, No. 5. The entire quintet is pretty fine stuff, for that matter, but that third movement has eclipsed the other three in popularity.

Mozart is represented by two works: the very familiar Eine Kleine Nachtmusik and the somewhat less celebrated Bassoon Concerto, K. 191, from 1774. The latter presented significant technical challenges for the relatively primitive bassoons available back then, but Friday's soloist—Principal Bassoon Andrew Cuneo—is likely to navigate them with ease. The concerto is also distinguished by a lyrical second movement which, to quote American Classical Orchestra founder Thomas Crawford, "would only have been known in ore or two examples from mature Haydn." Coming from a 21-year-old who was writing his first solo wind concerto, it's remarkable.

Andrew Cuneo

An interesting side note on Eine Kleine Nachtmusik: over the years the title has commonly been translated as "A Little Night Music". To Mozart's German-speaking contemporaries, though, it would have meant "A little serenade"-not a specific title, but simply a generic description. Mozart never gave it a title of its own and apparently didn't give it much thought. It's not clear when it was first performed and it wasn't even published until well after his death in 1827. One wonders what Mozart would have made of its enduring popularity.

Scored for an ensemble of two violins, viola, cello and optional double bass, Mozart's little serenade is now more commonly heard in an expanded version for string orchestra. That should make it a nice showpiece for the SLSO strings. For the true lover of orchestral strings, however, the gem on this weekend's program will likely be the closing work, Vaughan Williams's 1910 Fantasia on a Theme of Thomas Tallis.

This lush, rhapsodic meditation a on a 16th century psalm tune conjures up images of the lofty, echoing cathedrals of a bygone age, transforming the modest and mysterious original into an ecstatic celebration of sheer sound. Written for two string ensembles and a solo string quartet, the Fantasia can only be fully appreciated in a live performance. You can distinguish the separate groups sonically in a recording, but to truly understand Vaughan Williams's ingenious reworking of the multiple chorus techniques of the Renaissance (with their reliance on spatial separation), you need to be able to see the interaction among the three groups.

So head on over to Powell Hall and immerse yourself. There's only one performance of this "Music You Know" program on Friday, September 23, at 8 p.m.. Tickets are available at the SLSO web site.

St. Louis theatre calendar for the week of September 19, 2016

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The Presenters Dolan and the Emerald Room Cabaret present singer/actress Anna Skidis in Almost There on Saturday, September 24, at 8 p.m. "It feels great to set and achieve your dreams, but what about that bit in the middle? It's not as easy as a quick, musical montage like in the movies... but here's some music, anyway. Anna Skidis Vargas sings the songs of Radiohead, Katie Thompson, Etta James, Disney, and more." The performance takes place in The Emerald Room at The Monocle Bar, 4510 Manchester in The Grove neighborhood. For more information: themonoclestl.com.

Carol Schmidt

The Cabaret Project and The Monocle present cabaret open mic night every Wednesday from 7 to 10 PM. "Drop by and enjoy a night of great music from St. Louis cabaret artists, backed up by the guest music director Carol Schmidt on the baby grand." The master of ceremonies is Tim Schall, along with Chuck Lavazzi, senior performing arts critic at 88.1 KDHX, and special guests. If you're planning to sing, be prepared to do one or two songs and bring music, preferably in your key. At least one of your two songs should be a medium-or up-tempo number. It's also recommend that you have your song memorized. The Monocle is at 4510 Manchester in The Grove neighborhood. For more information: thecabaretproject.org.

The Bissell Mansion Murder Mystery Dinner Theatre presents CSI: Bissell through October 30. The Bissell Mansion is at 4426 Randall Place. For more information: bissellmansiontheatre.com

Follies
Photo: Jerry Naunheim, Jr.

The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis presents Stephen Sondheim's musical Follies through October 2. “Featuring an all-star cast that includes three Tony nominees, Broadway stars and local favorites, Follies is the biggest Rep production in more than a decade. Join us for our 50th anniversary season opener as we present a breathtaking rendition of this Stephen Sondheim classic!” 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.

The Monroe Actors Stage Company presents the Stephen Sondheim musical A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The Forum, Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30 and Sundays at 2:30 p.m. through September 25, in the Historic Capitol Theatre in downtown Waterloo, Illinois. For more information, visit www.masctheatre.org or call 618-939-7469.

A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder
Photo: Joan Marcus

The Fox Theatre presents the musical A Gentleman's Guide To Love And Murder running through September 25. "Coming direct from New York, where a most gentlemanly NPR critic said he'd “Never laughed so hard at a Broadway musical," Gentleman's Guide tells the uproarious story of Monty Navarro, a distant heir to a family fortune who sets out to jump the line of succession by - you guessed it - eliminating the eight pesky relatives (all played by one fearless man) who stand in his way. All the while, Monty has to juggle his mistress (she's after more than just love), his fiancée (she's his cousin but who's keeping track?), and the constant threat of landing behind bars! Of course, it will all be worth it if he can slay his way to his inheritance... and be done in time for tea." The Fox is on North Grand in Grand Center. For more information: fabulousfox.com.

KTK Productions presents the musical Gypsy through September 25. "Gypsy tells the story of the dreams and efforts of one hungry, powerhouse of a woman to get her two daughters into show business. Gypsy is loosely based on the 1957 memoir of famous striptease artist Gypsy Rose Lee, entitled Gypsy: Memoirs of America's Most Celebrated Stripper. The memoir and the musical focus on the story of Gypsy Rose Lee's mother, Rose, and earned Rose a place in the theatrical and literary canon as the quintessential, archetypal 'Stage Mother.'" Performances take place at Southampton Presbyterian Church, 4716 Macklind. For more information: kurtainkall.org or call 314-351-8984.

Stone Spiral Coffeehouse presents Jan Marra in a solo concert of original songs on Friday, September 23, at 8 p.m. "The Stone Spiral is in its ninth year of providing the friendliest and tastiest atmosphere in the neighborhood, with newspapers, coffee, tea, beer, wine and most especially espresso. Then there's all the nice plates of food and books to read and art to look at and buy." Stone Spiral Coffeehosue is at 2500 Sutton in Maplewood, MO. For more information: stonespiralcoffee.com.

The Looking Glass Playhouse presents the rock musical Joseph And The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat opening on Thursday, September 22, and running through October 2. "The Biblical saga of Joseph and his coat of many colors comes to vibrant life in this delightful musical parable. Joseph, his father's favorite son, is a boy blessed with prophetic dreams. When he is sold into slavery by his jealous brothers and taken to Egypt, Joseph endures a series of adventures in which his spirit and humanity are continually challenged. He is purchased by Potiphar where thwarting advances from Potiphar's wife lands him in jail. When news of Joseph's gift to interpret dreams reaches the Pharaoh (wryly and riotously depicted as Elvis), Joseph is well on his way to becoming second in command. Eventually his brothers, having suffered greatly, unknowingly find themselves groveling at the feet of the brother they betrayed but no longer recognize. After testing their integrity, Joseph reveals himself leading to a heartfelt reconciliation of the sons of Israel. Set to an engaging cornucopia of musical styles, from country-western and calypso to bubble-gum pop and rock 'n' roll, this Old Testament tale emerges both timely and timeless." Performances take place at 301 West St. Louis Street in Lebanon, Ill. For more information, visit www.lookingglassplayhouse.com.

Miss Julie, Clarissa and John
Photo: Phillip Hamer

The Black Rep presents the drama Miss Julie, Clarissa And John through September 25. "Inspired by August Strindberg's groundbreaking 1888 naturalistic drama Miss Julie, Mark Clayton Southers relocates the action from Sweden to a Reconstruction-era Virginia plantation.The dangerous attraction between the landowner's daughter and his top servant takes on new shades as its taboo nature expands from crossing boundaries of social class to also encompass racial lines. The situation is heightened further by Southers' extensive development of the third onstage character from Strindberg's play, who in this searing version becomes central to the conflict through her identity as the mulatto daughter of a slave woman. The result of the Midwest premiere production is an intense struggle that illuminates cultural dynamics of two key moments in U.S. history: then and now." Performances take place at the Edison Theatre on the Washington University campus. For more information: theblackrep.org

The Department of Music at Washington University presents Places, a song recital featuring Kara Baldus and Kelsey Klotz, on Sunday, September 25, at 2 p.m. "Join Kara and Kelsey for an afternoon thinking and dreaming about places: places that inspire us, that frighten us, or that contain curious mysteries. The recital will include selected musical pieces of a variety of genres-from jazz to pop music to show tunes to indie favorites-in a musical exploration of various places, whether physical, in our lives, or in our relationships with others." The concert takes place in the Pillsbury Theatre at the 560 Music Center, 560 Trinity in University City. For more information: music.wustl.edu.

Christ Memorial Productions presents Seussical the Musical Fridasy and Saturdays at 7:30 PM and Sundays at 2:30 PM, through September 25. "Seussical is a fun and popular musical that combines elements of several of the most popular works of Dr. Seuss with focus on the central theme: 'A person's a person no matter how small'." Performances take place at Christ Memorial Lutheran Church, 5252 South Lindbergh. For more information, visit CMPShows.org or call 314-631-0304.

Sister Act
Photo: Peter Wochniak

Stages St. Louis presents the musical Sister Act through October 9. "There's a real reason to rejoice this season for everybody's favorite nun, Deloris Van Cartier, is coming to STAGES to stir up her special brand of habit-forming fun! Join the happy multitudes who have made SISTER ACT one of Hollywood's favorite film comedies and enjoy all the fun, laughter, and irresistible music that packed pews all over America in this STAGES premiere event. Blessed with a rollicking new musical score from Alan Menken - the composer who brought us BEAUTY AND THE BEAST, THE LITTLE MERMAID, NEWSIES, and ALADDIN - this divine comedy about a sassy, low-rent lounge singer forced to hide out from the mob in the last place anyone would ever look for her - a convent - recently became one of Broadway's smash hit musicals and continues to attract flocks of faithful followers wherever it goes thanks to its soulful chorus of swingin' sisters." Performances take place in the Robert G. Reim Theatre at the Kirkwood Community Center, 111 South Geyer Road in Kirkwood. For more information, visit stagesstlouis.org or call 314-821-2407.

The Presenters Dolan and the Emerald Room Cabaret present Tor Hyams and Lisa Rothauser in The Songs of Tor and Lisa: How we became successful musical theater writers in only four years, three months, twenty-two days and eleven hours... on Friday, September 23, at 8 p.m. "Grammy-nominated songwriter Tor Hyams and veteran Broadway performer Lisa Rothauser debut their favorite selections from the dynamic duo's four-year collaboration in musical theatre. This one-night-only event will showcase music from four of their original musicals currently in development (Stealing Time, Auburn, LIFE. Who Knew?, and Green Acres The Musical) and a few songs too early to tell what they are. Tor and Lisa met at a bar one night four years, three months, twenty- two days and eleven hours ago and the rest is this story." The performance takes place in The Emerald Room at The Monocle Bar, 4510 Manchester in The Grove neighborhood. For more information: themonoclestl.com.

Alton Little Theater presents Steel Magnolias Thursdays through Sundays through September 25. "The celebrated Southern classic of family and friendship, this is the story of a group of strong and beautiful women who cluster around Truvy's Beauty Parlow in a small Louisiana parish. The story centers on Shelby, who moves fro wedding to childbirth to medical complications with a love of live and a willingness to face its possibilities bravely with support from steely southern sisterhood." Performances take place at 2450 North Henry in Alton, IL. For more information, call 618.462.6562 or visit altonlittletheater.org.

The Lemp Mansion Comedy-Mystery Dinner Theater presents Zombie Love through October 28. The Lemp Mansion is at 3322 DeMenil Place. For more information: lempmansion.com.

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.

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 Calendar.

St. Louis classical calendar for the week of September 19, 2016

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The Cathedral Concerts Chamber Music Series presents members of the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra in a program of music by Bach, Prokofiev, and Shostakovich on Monday, September 19, at 7:30 p.m. The concert takes place at St. Joan of Arc Catholic Church in South St. Louis City. For more information: www.cathedralconcerts.org.

The Cathedral Concerts Chamber Music Series presents members of the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra in a program of music by Bach, Prokofiev, and Shostakovich on Tuesday, September 20, at 7:30 p.m. The concert takes place at Sts. Joachim & Ann Catholic Church in St. Charles. For more information: www.cathedralconcerts.org.

David Robertson conducts the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra with soloists Andrew Cuneo, bassoon and Karin Bliznik and Jeffrey Strong, trumpets, on Friday at 8 p.m., September 23. "The amazing talent of STL Symphony musicians is on display with Mozart's Bassoon Concerto and Vivaldi's Concerto for Trumpets and Strings. Enjoy an evening of hometown virtuosity and familiar favorites that concludes with Pachelbel's Canon in D and Mozart's Eine kleine Nachtmusik." The concerts take place at Powell Symphony Hall, 718 North Grand in Grand Center. For more information: stlsymphony.org.

David Robertson conducts the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra with soloists Yefim Bronfman, piano, and Beth Guterman Chu and Jonathan Chu, violas, Saturday at 8 p.m. and Sunday at 3 p.m., September 24 and 25. "Kicking off our season featuring all five Beethoven piano concertos, Music Director David Robertson and renowned pianist Yefim Bronfman join together for Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 3 and Haydn's dream-like and adventurous Symphony No. 102." The concerts take place at Powell Symphony Hall, 718 North Grand in Grand Center. For more information: stlsymphony.org.

Chuck's Choices for the weekend of September 16, 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:

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Am I Black Enough Yet?
Photo: Brittanie Gunn

Tesseract Theatre Company presents Am I Black Enough Yet?, Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m. and Sundays at 4 p.m. through September 18. "Presented in skit comedy form, with titles of vignettes ranging from "Honorary Black Folk" to "Two Black Girls, One of Them White" to "International Slang Council", this play will get you laughing, but will also get you to thinking. Through the power of theatre the audience is transformed into an "all black" audience. The non-black audience members are now regular black audience members, while regular black audience members are now über-black, 'Shaft level black'. And with an all black audience anything can be talked about, mixed in to the conversation. Right?" Performances take place at the Regional Arts Commission, 6128 Delmar. For more information: tesseracttheatre.org.

My take: Tesseract has been tackling new and adventurous material for many years now. The company's current production is a reprise of the first show they ever presented, and it's getting good notices. "Still relevant," writes Tina Farmer at KDHX, "the entertaining show is the perfect choice to revisit as the company prepares for its next chapter, in the new .Zack Arts Incubator."

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Follies
Photo: Jerry Naunheim, Jr.

The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis presents Stephen Sondheim's musical Follies through October 2. “Featuring an all-star cast that includes three Tony nominees, Broadway stars and local favorites, Follies is the biggest Rep production in more than a decade. Join us for our 50th anniversary season opener as we present a breathtaking rendition of this Stephen Sondheim classic!” 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: One of Sonheim's more intellectualy ambitious works (the book is by James Goldman, best known for the brilliant Lion in Winter), Follies uses the age-old device of mismatched lovers to reflect on the fragmentation and disintegration of American culture in the years following World War II. It's a complicated and frankly expensive piece to produce, which is probably one reason why it hasn't been seen here since the original Broadway cast played the Muny in 1971. Reviews for the Rep production have been uniformly excellent and I'm looking forward to seeing this myself this weekend.

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A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder
Photo: Joan Marcus

The Fox Theatre presents the musical A Gentleman's Guide To Love And Murder opening Tuesday, September 13, and running through September 25. "Coming direct from New York, where a most gentlemanly NPR critic said he'd “Never laughed so hard at a Broadway musical," Gentleman's Guide tells the uproarious story of Monty Navarro, a distant heir to a family fortune who sets out to jump the line of succession by - you guessed it - eliminating the eight pesky relatives (all played by one fearless man) who stand in his way. All the while, Monty has to juggle his mistress (she's after more than just love), his fiancée (she's his cousin but who's keeping track?), and the constant threat of landing behind bars! Of course, it will all be worth it if he can slay his way to his inheritance... and be done in time for tea." The Fox is on North Grand in Grand Center. For more information: fabulousfox.com.

My take: Speaking of rave reviews, this hit Broadway musical has been gather them for some time now, copping the 2014 Tony for Best Musical along the way. This tour has gotten great notices locally. "Sometimes people complain that theater isn’t 'fun", writes Judy Newmark at STLToday.com. "These people need to see 'A Gentleman’s Guide to Love & Murder,' the blithe treat that opened Tuesday at the Fox Theatre. If that doesn’t make them change their minds, nothing will."

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Love? Actually...
Photo: Michael Young

R-S Theatrics presents Love? Actually..., an evening of three one-act musicals, Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m. and Sundays at 7 p.m. through September 18. Performances take place at The Westport Playhouse, 635 Westport Plaza. For more information: r-stheatrics.com.

My take: R-S continues to go its own unique way, this time with a trio of one-act musicals that take a wry look at love and its discontents. "Director Christina Rios and musical director Leah Luciano have put together an evening of completely engaging entertainment that looks at love from the failed perspective" writes Tina Farmer at KDHX.

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Miss Julie, Clarissa and John
Photo: Phillip Hamer

The Black Rep presents the drama Miss Julie, Clarissa And John through September 25. "Inspired by August Strindberg's groundbreaking 1888 naturalistic drama Miss Julie, Mark Clayton Southers relocates the action from Sweden to a Reconstruction-era Virginia plantation.The dangerous attraction between the landowner's daughter and his top servant takes on new shades as its taboo nature expands from crossing boundaries of social class to also encompass racial lines. The situation is heightened further by Southers' extensive development of the third onstage character from Strindberg's play, who in this searing version becomes central to the conflict through her identity as the mulatto daughter of a slave woman. The result of the Midwest premiere production is an intense struggle that illuminates cultural dynamics of two key moments in U.S. history: then and now." Performances take place at the Edison Theatre on the Washington University campus. For more information: theblackrep.org

My take: Rewriting Strindberg's 1888 tragedy and moving it to the post-Civil War South could be an invitation to disaster, but Mr. Southers appears to have pulled it off, based on the reviews. At Stage Door STL, Steve Allen says the script is "is nothing short of brilliant" while the production itself is "powerful theatre, well directed and a splendid cast who exemplifies the quality and longevity of the Black Rep."

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Shakespeare Festival St. Louis presents Remember Me as its Shakespeare in the Streets 2016 production nightly at 8 PM, Friday through Sunday, September 16 - 18. "Local beer, donuts, bowling and the Bard will all come together as Shakespeare in the Streets heads to Maplewood. This year's production, Remember Me, will feature a mash-up of Hamlet, A Midsummer Night's Dream, and Macbeth, with a little Romeo and Juliet thrown in." The production will feature the combined talents of professional actors performing alongside local residents and students. Performances take place in the streets of Mapelwood, MO. For more information: sfstl.com

My take: The Shakespeare in the Streets project is a remarkable if not unique example of how theatre can be a community event. Each summer, the company produces an original script in and around the streets of a particular St. Louis neighborhood, relying heavily on the particular aspects of that neighborhood for inspiration. This time around there are Maplewood ghosts and, of course, live music by local performers.

St. Louis classical calendar for the week of September 12, 2016

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The Cathedral Concerts Chamber Music Series presents members of the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra in a program of music by Bach, Prokofiev, and Shostakovich on Monday, September 12, at 7:30 p.m. The concert takes place at Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church, 7148 Forsyth in University City For more information: www.cathedralconcerts.org.

The Cathedral Concerts Chamber Music Series presents members of the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra in a program of music by Bach, Prokofiev, and Shostakovich on Thursday, September 15, at 7:30 p.m. The concert takes place at St. Clement of Rome Catholic Church in Des Peres. For more information: www.cathedralconcerts.org.

First Presbyterian Church of Kirkwood presents a concert by The Metropolitan Orchestra of St. Louis on Sunday, September 18, at 7 p.m. "The Metropolitan Orchestra of Saint Louis is joined in concert with pianist Dominic Cheli and The 442's. Allen Carl Larson, Conductor Laureate, will conduct. On the program: Rossini's L'Italiana in Algeri Overture and Beethoven's Piano concerto No. 4." First Presbyterian Church is at 100 East Adams in Kirkwood. For more information: metro-orch.org.

Opera Theatre of St. Louis presents the contemporary chamber ensemble Alarm Will Sound performing Donnacha Dennehy's opera The Hunger on Saturday, September 17, at 8 PM. “Underdog history comes to life through new music and old Irish songs in composer Donnacha Dennehy's opera about the Great Famine of 1845-52, rooted in Asenath Nicholson's harrowing first-person account in Annals of the Famine in Ireland. Featuring acclaimed ensemble Alarm Will Sound and celebrated Irish folk singer Iarla Ó Lionáird, The Hunger imagines soprano Katherine Manley as Nicholson and Ó Lionáird as the voice of the voiceless, with instrumentalists integrated into the staging.” The performance takes place at the Touhill Performing Arts Center on the University of Missouri at St. Louis campus. For more information: touhill.org.

Brian Owens

David Robertson conducts the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra and vocal soloist Brian Owens in a free outdoor concert of popular classics in on Wednesday, September 14, beginning at 7 pm. "The performance features classical favorites capped off with a fireworks spectacular at the base of Art Hill. Pack a picnic, grab a blanket and invite your family and friends to one of St. Louis’ favorite musical events of the year!" The concert takes place on Art Hill in Forest Park. For more information: stlsymphony.org.

David Robertson conducts the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra and Chorus and vocal soloists Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m., September 16 and 17. "Opening weekend, celebrate the 90th anniversary of Lindbergh's historic flight across the Atlantic with the STL Symphony and Chorus. Inspired by the pilot's account of his solo flight, Kurt Weill brings to life that monumental achievement with The Flight of Lindbergh while Pierre Boulez's work Dialogue de l'ombre double evokes the feeling of solitude in flight. The program comes to a spectacular conclusion with Debussy's La Mer, depicting the beautiful waves and winds of the Atlantic in which the Spirit of St. Louis soared above triumphantly." The concerts take place at Powell Symphony Hall, 718 North Grand in Grand Center. For more information: stlsymphony.org.

The St. Louis Wind Symphony performs its opening concert of the season on Sunday, September 18, at 3 PM. "The Saint Louis Wind Symphony is the premier wind ensemble in the St. Louis area, dedicated to the quality performance of serious literature for wind groups of all sizes. Four major concerts, one chamber concerts, additional Christmas and summer concerts each year draw hundreds of listeners to a variety of venues and include compositions from classic and contemporary wind band composers including: Persichetti, Holst, Copland, Grainger, Reed, Spears, Sparke and many more. The finest literature for wind band, including overtures, transcriptions, symphonies, marches, and new pieces by renowned composers are available to audiences free of charge." The performance takes place in the Viragh Center on the Chaminade School campus in on North Lindbergh in Ladue. For more information: stlwindsym.org.

St. Louis theatre calendar for the week of September 12, 2016

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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 Calendar.

Tesseract Theatre Company presents Am I Black Enough Yet?, Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m. and Sundays at 4 p.m. through September 18. "Presented in skit comedy form, with titles of vignettes ranging from "Honorary Black Folk" to "Two Black Girls, One of Them White" to "International Slang Council", this play will get you laughing, but will also get you to thinking. Through the power of theatre the audience is transformed into an "all black" audience. The non-black audience members are now regular black audience members, while regular black audience members are now über-black, 'Shaft level black'. And with an all black audience anything can be talked about, mixed in to the conversation. Right?" Performances take place at the Regional Arts Commission, 6128 Delmar. For more information: tesseracttheatre.org.

Carol Schmidt

The Cabaret Project and The Monocle present cabaret open mic night every Wednesday from 7 to 10 PM. "Drop by and enjoy a night of great music from St. Louis cabaret artists, backed up by the guest music director Carol Schmidt on the baby grand." The master of ceremonies is Tim Schall, along with Chuck Lavazzi, senior performing arts critic at 88.1 KDHX, and special guests. If you're planning to sing, be prepared to do one or two songs and bring music, preferably in your key. At least one of your two songs should be a medium-or up-tempo number. It's also recommend that you have your song memorized. The Monocle is at 4510 Manchester in The Grove neighborhood. For more information: thecabaretproject.org.

The Theatre Guild of Webster Groves presents Tennessee Williams' Cat on a Hot Tin Roof Fridays through Sundays through September 18. "In a plantation house, a family celebrates the sixty-fifth birthday of Big Daddy, as they sentimentally dub him. The mood is somber, despite the festivities, because a number of evils poison the gaiety: greed, sins of the past and desperate, clawing hopes for the future spar with one another as the knowledge that Big Daddy is dying slowly makes the rounds." 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.

The Bissell Mansion Murder Mystery Dinner Theatre presents CSI: Bissell through October 30. The Bissell Mansion is at 4426 Randall Place. For more information: bissellmansiontheatre.com

Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville presents The Coldharts performing Edgar Allan at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, September 15, as part of Xfest: 4 Days of Experimental Theater. "Eleven year old Edgar Allan has only one goal: to be the most remarkable boy at boarding school. He has only one obstacle: Edgar Allan. A manic lullaby inspired by the childhood and short stories of Edgar Allan Poe. Edgar Allan is a two¬-person musical created and performed by Katie Hartman and Nick Ryan. It follows eleven year old Edgar Allan in his first year at Manor House School (the finest boarding school in all of England,) as he seeks to gain academic ascendancy over the student body. All goes to plan, until another boy named Edgar Allan arrives in class... which complicates his schemes of dominance. Edgar Allan is a dark, comedic riff on the childhood, the mania, and the insanity that haunted the life and work of America's first professional writer." The performance takes place in the Metcalf Theater on the campus in Edwardsvile, IL. For more information, call 618-650-2774 or visit siuexfest.com.

The Presenters Dolan and the Emerald Room Cabaret present singer Tammy McCann in Ella Loves Gershwin on Saturday, September 17, at 8 p.m. "Nelson Riddle was at the peak of his arranging powers matched only by the exquisite, lilting voice of Ella Fitzgerald and together they created a masterful tribute to George and Ira Gershwin. Ella brought sophistication, taste and sheer musicality to the standards that she made her own. Come hear how Tammy McCann, one of today's premiere jazz stylists, brings her one of a kind voice to these classic love songs. Firmly rooted in the tradition of the great singers of the past, but with her own modern flair. Tammy McCann's sensitivity and her artistry are brilliantly on display as she conjures up a time when great singing was in the service of romance." The performance takes place in The Emerald Room at The Monocle Bar, 4510 Manchester in The Grove neighborhood. For more information: themonoclestl.com.

Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville presents the Chicago Dance Crash presentation of Evil and Good at 7:30 p.m. on Friday, September 16, as part of Xfest: 4 Days of Experimental Theater. "Inspired by a growing demand for Chicago Dance Crash's street dance aesthetic, Evil & Good utilizes the company's signature blend of concert dance and hip-hop, offering a boiled down alternative to its summer annual movement play: sheer, pulse-raising dance. Evil & Good is choreographed and directed by Deahr with additional choreography by CDC Senior Company Kaitlin Webster and Culture Shock Chicago Artistic Director Christopher Courtney. Throwing CDC's movement capacity into overdrive, Deahr, Webster and Courtney team up to choreograph this explosive full-length conceptual piece featuring a hip-hop blend and is inspired by the world's constant struggle between its angels and demons." The performance takes place in the Dunham Hall Theatre on the campus in Edwardsvile, IL. For more information, call 618-650-2774 or visit siuexfest.com.

Follies
Photo: Jerry Naunheim, Jr.

The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis presents Stephen Sondheim's musical Follies through October 2. “Featuring an all-star cast that includes three Tony nominees, Broadway stars and local favorites, Follies is the biggest Rep production in more than a decade. Join us for our 50th anniversary season opener as we present a breathtaking rendition of this Stephen Sondheim classic!” 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.

The Monroe Actors Stage Company presents the Stephen Sondheim musical A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The Forum, Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30 and Sundays at 2:30 p.m., September 16 - 25, in the Historic Capitol Theatre in downtown Waterloo, Illinois. For more information, visit www.masctheatre.org or call 618-939-7469.

The Fox Theatre presents the musical A Gentleman's Guide To Love And Murder opening Tuesday, September 13, and running through September 25. "Coming direct from New York, where a most gentlemanly NPR critic said he'd “Never laughed so hard at a Broadway musical," Gentleman's Guide tells the uproarious story of Monty Navarro, a distant heir to a family fortune who sets out to jump the line of succession by - you guessed it - eliminating the eight pesky relatives (all played by one fearless man) who stand in his way. All the while, Monty has to juggle his mistress (she's after more than just love), his fiancée (she's his cousin but who's keeping track?), and the constant threat of landing behind bars! Of course, it will all be worth it if he can slay his way to his inheritance... and be done in time for tea." The Fox is on North Grand in Grand Center. For more information: fabulousfox.com.

KTK Productions presents the musical Gypsy September 16 - 25. "Gypsy tells the story of the dreams and efforts of one hungry, powerhouse of a woman to get her two daughters into show business. Gypsy is loosely based on the 1957 memoir of famous striptease artist Gypsy Rose Lee, entitled Gypsy: Memoirs of America's Most Celebrated Stripper. The memoir and the musical focus on the story of Gypsy Rose Lee's mother, Rose, and earned Rose a place in the theatrical and literary canon as the quintessential, archetypal 'Stage Mother.'" Performances take place at Southampton Presbyterian Church, 4716 Macklind. For more information: kurtainkall.org or call 314-351-8984.

Opera Theatre of St. Louis presents the contemporary chamber ensemble Alarm Will Sound performing Donnacha Dennehy's opera The Hunger on Saturday, September 17, at 8 PM. “Underdog history comes to life through new music and old Irish songs in composer Donnacha Dennehy's opera about the Great Famine of 1845-52, rooted in Asenath Nicholson's harrowing first-person account in Annals of the Famine in Ireland. Featuring acclaimed ensemble Alarm Will Sound and celebrated Irish folk singer Iarla Lionáird, The Hunger imagines soprano Katherine Manley as Nicholson and Lionáird as the voice of the voiceless, with instrumentalists integrated into the staging.” The performance takes place at the Touhill Performing Arts Center on the University of Missouri at St. Louis campus. For more information: touhill.org.

Love? Actually...
Photo: Michael Young

R-S Theatrics presents Love? Actually..., an evening of three one-act musicals, Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m. and Sundays at 7 p.m. through September 18. Performances take place at The Westport Playhouse, 635 Westport Plaza. For more information: r-stheatrics.com.

The Touhill Performing Arts Center presents Miriam Makeba: Mama Africa The Musical Thursday and Friday at 7:30 p.m., Saturday at 2 and 7:30 p.m., and Sunday at 2 p.m., September 15 - 18. "The North American premiere of Miriam Makeba: Mama Africa the Musical will open September 15th at the Touhill Performing Arts Center in St. Louis. The production tells the story of activist and Grammy award-winning musician Miriam Makeba, outlining her role in bringing down apartheid, her varied musical career, betrayals, failed marriages and death of her only daughter while in exile. Set in Africa, the USA and Belgium, this musical is an inspirational and universal story that will appeal to multi-generational audiences worldwide. The story is set to tapestry of Miriam Makeba's solo penned works, lending and rendering a spiritual experience as the story unfolds and concludes, a rare and uncommon listening opportunity for those who know and love the work of Miriam Makeba. For those discovering Miriam Makeba an inspiring journey to the soul of this great woman is to be found forever touching one." The Touhill Performing Arts Center is on the University of Missouri St. Louis campus. For more information: touhill.org.

The Black Rep presents the drama Miss Julie, Clarissa And John through September 25. "Inspired by August Strindberg's groundbreaking 1888 naturalistic drama Miss Julie, Mark Clayton Southers relocates the action from Sweden to a Reconstruction-era Virginia plantation.The dangerous attraction between the landowner's daughter and his top servant takes on new shades as its taboo nature expands from crossing boundaries of social class to also encompass racial lines. The situation is heightened further by Southers' extensive development of the third onstage character from Strindberg's play, who in this searing version becomes central to the conflict through her identity as the mulatto daughter of a slave woman. The result of the Midwest premiere production is an intense struggle that illuminates cultural dynamics of two key moments in U.S. history: then and now." Performances take place at the Edison Theatre on the Washington University campus. For more information: theblackrep.org

Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville presents the Equally Represented Arts presentation of R+J: A Telephone Play - or - Don't Drink the Milk at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday, September 13, as part of Xfest: 4 Days of Experimental Theater. "R + J: A Telephone Play is the performance of six new plays created through the context of a game of telephone. Telephone (also known as “don't drink the milk”) is a game in which one person whispers a message to another person. The message is passed through a line of people until the last player announces the message to the entire group. The original message for this particular game of telephone is the last scene of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. We created an audio recording of this scene and sent it to the first playwright in the line. The playwright listened to the recording and wrote what he/she heard in the form of a play. Then, we sent an audio recording of this new play to the next playwright in the line, and so on..." The performance takes place in the Metcalf Theater on the campus in Edwardsvile, IL. For more information, call 618-650-2774 or visit siuexfest.com.

Shakespeare Festival St. Louis presents Remember Me as its Shakespeare in the Streets 2016 production nightly at 8 PM, Friday through Sunday, September 16 - 18. "Local beer, donuts, bowling and the Bard will all come together as Shakespeare in the Streets heads to Maplewood. This year's production, Remember Me, will feature a mash-up of Hamlet, A Midsummer Night's Dream, and Macbeth, with a little Romeo & Juliet thrown in." The production will feature the combined talents of professional actors performing alongside local residents and students. Performances take place in the streets of Mapelwood, MO. For more information: sfstl.com

Christ Memorial Productions presents Seussical the Musical Fridasy and Saturdays at 7:30 PM and Sundays at 2:30 PM, September 16 - 25. "Seussical is a fun and popular musical that combines elements of several of the most popular works of Dr. Seuss with focus on the central theme: 'A person's a person no matter how small'." Performances take place at Christ Memorial Lutheran Church, 5252 South Lindbergh. For more information, visit CMPShows.org or call 314-631-0304.

Stages St. Louis presents the musical Sister Act through October 9. "There's a real reason to rejoice this season for everybody's favorite nun, Deloris Van Cartier, is coming to STAGES to stir up her special brand of habit-forming fun! Join the happy multitudes who have made SISTER ACT one of Hollywood's favorite film comedies and enjoy all the fun, laughter, and irresistible music that packed pews all over America in this STAGES premiere event. Blessed with a rollicking new musical score from Alan Menken - the composer who brought us BEAUTY AND THE BEAST, THE LITTLE MERMAID, NEWSIES, and ALADDIN - this divine comedy about a sassy, low-rent lounge singer forced to hide out from the mob in the last place anyone would ever look for her - a convent - recently became one of Broadway's smash hit musicals and continues to attract flocks of faithful followers wherever it goes thanks to its soulful chorus of swingin' sisters." Performances take place in the Robert G. Reim Theatre at the Kirkwood Community Center, 111 South Geyer Road in Kirkwood. For more information, visit stagesstlouis.org or call 314-821-2407.

Alton Little Theater presents Steel Magnolias Thursdays through Sundays, September 16 - 25. "The celebrated Southern classic of family and friendship, this is the story of a group of strong and beautiful women who cluster around Truvy's Beauty Parlow in a small Louisiana parish. The story centers on Shelby, who moves fro wedding to childbirth to medical complications with a love of live and a willingness to face its possibilities bravely with support from steely southern sisterhood." Performances take place at 2450 North Henry in Alton, IL. For more information, call 618.462.6562 or visit altonlittletheater.org.

The Kirkwood Theatre Guild presents Twisted Improv on Friday, September 16, at 8 p.m. at The Steamboat Room, 314 S. Clay in Kirkwood, MO. "Join Adam and his crew for an interactive night of fun and laughter.Beer, wine and food available from Kirkwood Station Brewery." For more information: ktg-onstage.org.

The Lemp Mansion Comedy-Mystery Dinner Theater presents Zombie Love through October 28. The Lemp Mansion is at 3322 DeMenil Place. For more information: lempmansion.com.

Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville presents Seattle's theatre simple presentation of A Zombie Odyssey at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday, September 14, as part of Xfest: 4 Days of Experimental Theater. "Our hero, Brian Smith, embarks on an epic quest to reunite with his wife after his "demise". This intensely physical theatrical experience questions, "What is human, and what makes a monster?" while playing between humor and horror in this zombie radiodrama/physical theater mashup. Love zombies? It's got all the fights, sex, gore, and nerd references you crave. Hate zombies? Come anyway! This risky, highly-physical show serves up helpings of drama, humor, horror, and humanity-examining philosophy." The performance takes place in the Metcalf Theater on the campus in Edwardsvile, IL. For more information, call 618-650-2774 or visit siuexfest.com.

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.

St. Louis theatre calendar for the week of September 5, 2016

Share on Google+:

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 Calendar.

Tesseract Theatre Company presents Am I Black Enough Yet?, Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m. and Sundays at 4 p.m., September 9 - 18. "Presented in skit comedy form, with titles of vignettes ranging from "Honorary Black Folk" to "Two Black Girls, One of Them White" to "International Slang Council", this play will get you laughing, but will also get you to thinking. Through the power of theatre the audience is transformed into an "all black" audience. The non-black audience members are now regular black audience members, while regular black audience members are now über-black, 'Shaft level black'. And with an all black audience anything can be talked about, mixed in to the conversation. Right?" Performances take place at the Regional Arts Commission, 6128 Delmar. For more information: tesseracttheatre.org.

The Theatre Guild of Webster Groves presents Tennessee Williams' Cat on a Hot Tin Roof Fridays through Sundays, September 9 - 18. "In a plantation house, a family celebrates the sixty-fifth birthday of Big Daddy, as they sentimentally dub him. The mood is somber, despite the festivities, because a number of evils poison the gaiety: greed, sins of the past and desperate, clawing hopes for the future spar with one another as the knowledge that Big Daddy is dying slowly makes the rounds." 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.

The Bissell Mansion Murder Mystery Dinner Theatre presents CSI: Bissell through October 30. The Bissell Mansion is at 4426 Randall Place. For more information: bissellmansiontheatre.com

The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis presents Stephen Sondheim's musical Follies September 7 - October 2. “Featuring an all-star cast that includes three Tony nominees, Broadway stars and local favorites, Follies is the biggest Rep production in more than a decade. Join us for our 50th anniversary season opener as we present a breathtaking rendition of this Stephen Sondheim classic!” 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.

Love? Actually...
Photo: Michael Young

R-S Theatrics presents Love? Actually..., an evening of three one-act musicals, Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m. and Sundays at 7 p.m. through September 18. Performances take place at The Westport Playhouse, 635 Westport Plaza. For more information: r-stheatrics.com.

The Black Rep presents the drama Miss Julie, Clarissa And John September 7 - 25. "Inspired by August Strindberg's groundbreaking 1888 naturalistic drama Miss Julie, Mark Clayton Southers relocates the action from Sweden to a Reconstruction-era Virginia plantation.The dangerous attraction between the landowner's daughter and his top servant takes on new shades as its taboo nature expands from crossing boundaries of social class to also encompass racial lines. The situation is heightened further by Southers' extensive development of the third onstage character from Strindberg's play, who in this searing version becomes central to the conflict through her identity as the mulatto daughter of a slave woman. The result of the Midwest premiere production is an intense struggle that illuminates cultural dynamics of two key moments in U.S. history: then and now." Performances take place at the Edison Theatre on the Washington University campus. For more information: theblackrep.org

Stray Dog Theatre's New Works Lab presents the world premiere of Monsters by St. Louis playwright Stephen Peirick Thursday through Saturday at 8 PM, September 8 - 10. “Jeremy and Davis are brothers who have masterminded a plan to commit the perfect crime. When Davis' wife finds a distraught man tied up in their basement, the fool proof plan immediately begins to unravel. In this fast_paced comedy/thriller, impulsive decisions and poorly kept secrets have dire consequences." Performances take place at The Tower Grove Abbey, 2336 Tennessee. For more information, visit straydogtheatre.org or call 314-865-1995.

Dominic Dowdy-Windsor

The Presenters Dolan and the Emerald Room Cabaret present Dominic Dowdy-Windsor in My Favorite Sings: Songs from MY Broadway Anthology on Friday, September 9, at 8 p.m. "Join Dominic Dowdy-Windsor for a night laughs, tears, songs, and entertainment as he opens up and shares his favorite songs from the great white way. You'll hear songs from such shows and composers as COMPANY, KINKY BOOTS, Cole Porter, Stephen Schwartz,and many more. This is sure to be a night of new and familiar songs and a laugh or two." The performance takes place in The Emerald Room at The Monocle Bar, 4510 Manchester in The Grove neighborhood. For more information: themonoclestl.com.

Clinton County Showcase presents Night of the Living Dead, based on the cult film classic, September 8 - 11. "Fall out from a satellite probe shot to Venus returns to Earth carrying a mysterious radiation that transforms the unburied dead into flesh-eating zombies. Seven people trapped in an isolated farmhouse, held hostage by the ravenous ghouls, begin to turn on each other as the dead encroach. A gripping terror-filled monochromatic play that brings all the fright of the cult classic to life. This blend of thrilling horror laced with touches of black humor envelops the audience in the action and unfolds into a shocking theatrical ending." Performances take place at the Avon Theater, 525 North 2nd Street Breese IL. For more information, visit ccshowcase.com.

Stages St. Louis presents the musical Sister Act September 9 - October 9. "There's a real reason to rejoice this season for everybody's favorite nun, Deloris Van Cartier, is coming to STAGES to stir up her special brand of habit-forming fun! Join the happy multitudes who have made SISTER ACT one of Hollywood's favorite film comedies and enjoy all the fun, laughter, and irresistible music that packed pews all over America in this STAGES premiere event. Blessed with a rollicking new musical score from Alan Menken - the composer who brought us BEAUTY AND THE BEAST, THE LITTLE MERMAID, NEWSIES, and ALADDIN - this divine comedy about a sassy, low-rent lounge singer forced to hide out from the mob in the last place anyone would ever look for her - a convent - recently became one of Broadway's smash hit musicals and continues to attract flocks of faithful followers wherever it goes thanks to its soulful chorus of swingin' sisters." Performances take place in the Robert G. Reim Theatre at the Kirkwood Community Center, 111 South Geyer Road in Kirkwood. For more information, visit stagesstlouis.org or call 314-821-2407.

The Emerald Room Cabaret presents comic Leslie Jordan in Straight Outta Chattanooga Saturday at 8 p.m. and Sunday at 7:30 p.m., September 10 and 11. "Don't miss an opportunity to get up-close and personal with a side-splitting dose of SOUTHERN CHARM with the one and only Leslie Jordan." The performances take place in The Emerald Room at The Monocle Bar, 4510 Manchester in The Grove neighborhood. For more information: themonoclestl.com.

The Lemp Mansion Comedy-Mystery Dinner Theater presents Zombie Love through October 28. The Lemp Mansion is at 3322 DeMenil Place. For more information: lempmansion.com.

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.

St. Louis classical calendar for the week of September 5, 2016

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The Chamber Project St. Louis presents American Renegades on Friday, September 9, at 8 PM. "Rebels with a cause come together for this all-American program. The program begins with a feisty work by Pulitzer prize-winning composer Jennifer Higdon followed by “Murder Ballades” by Bryce Dessner, who is the lead guitarist for The National and scored the music for the blockbuster film The Revenant. Copland's iconic Appalachian Spring in it's original scoring for 13 musicians finishes up this exciting program." The performance takes place at the 560 Music Center, 560 Trinity in University City. For more information: www.chamberprojectstl.org.

The Arianna String Quartet

The Touhill Performing Arts Center presents The Arianna String Quartet in "Perfect Storm" on Friday, September 9, at 8 PM. "The ASQ embarks on its 25th season with one of their favorites; Felix Mendelssohn's cherished Op.13 string quartet, a work that balances turbulent brilliance with an inner fragility, unique to Mendelssohn, and beloved by audiences." The program also includes music by Philip Glass and Beethoven. The Touhill Performing Arts Center in on the University of Missouri at St. Louis campus. For more information: touhill.org.

The St. Louis Symphony Orchestra presents a showing of the film Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone with the John Williams score performed live by the orchestra and chorus conducted by Justin Freer, Friday at 7 p.m. and Saturday at 11 am.m and 7 p.m., and Sunday at 2 p.m., September 9-11. The showings take place at Powell Symphony Hall, 718 North Grand in Grand Center. For more information: stlsymphony.org.

Chuck's St. Louis theatre choices for the weekend of September 2, 2016

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

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The Heir Apparent
Photo: John Lamb

St. Louis Shakespeare presents the comedy The Heir Apparent by Jean-François Regnard, as adapted by David Ives, Thursday at 7:30 p.m., Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m., and Sunday at 2 p.m., September 1- 4. " Paris, 1708. Eraste, a worthy though penniless young man, is in love with the fair Isabelle, but her forbidding mother, Madame Argante, will only let the two marry if Eraste can show he will inherit the estate of his rich but miserly Uncle Geronte. Unfortunately, old Geronte has also fallen for the fair Isabelle, and plans to marry her this very day and leave her everything in his will-separating the two young lovers forever. Eraste's wily servant Crispin jumps in, getting a couple of meddling relatives disinherited by impersonating them (one, a brash American, the other a French female country cousin)-only to have the old man kick off before his will is made! In a brilliant stroke, Crispin then impersonates the old man, dictating a will favorable to his master (and Crispin himself, of course)-only to find that rich Uncle Geronte isn't dead at all and is more than ever ready to marry Isabelle! The multiple strands of the plot are unraveled to great comic effect in the streaming rhyming couplets of French classical comedy, and everyone lives happily, and richly, ever after." Performances take place at the Ivory Theatre, 7620 Michigan in the Carondelet neighborhood. For more information, call 314-361-5664 or visit stlshakespeare.org.

My take: I have seen (and acted in) many St. Louis Shakespeare shows over the decades, and their track record with farce, in particular, has been quite good. As Tina Farmer writes in her review for KDHX, director and company founder Donna Northcott "has always had a fondness for farce. When armed with a witty, rhyming script and a standout cast that's ready for any challenge, she's an unstoppable force. As a result, The Heir Apparent is a fabulously good time even when the audience generally knows that a happy ending is certain." David Ives, who adapted the script, is no stranger to the comedy world himself, with many very clever and hilarious shows to his credit, including Venus in Fur and All in the Timing.

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Held Over:

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Kindertransport
Photo: John Lamb

Mustard Seed Theatre presents Kindertransport, Thursdays through Saturdays at 8 p.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m., through September 4. “During 1938-39, almost ten thousand children, mostly Jewish, were sent from families at risk in Nazi occupied Germany to safety in Britain. Samuel's play explores the lives of mothers and daughters torn apart and brought together by this “Kindertransport.” ” 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: The road to hell, says the cliche, is paved with good intentions. The intentions behind the British Movement for the Care of Children seemed good enough; it tried to save children from the horrors of Nazi concentration camps. But the emotional scars were significant, and they're all on display in the Diane Samuels script, based on recollections of actual kindertransport children. "Director Deanna Jent has taken the raw emotions laid out by the playwright and spilled them out over two acts," writes Steve Allen at his Stage Door STL blog, "each encompassing less than an hour each. The lives affected are often hard to watch but Jent’s powerful lead brings us a story that we won’t soon forget."