Stage Left

Thursday, October 20, 2016

Chuck's Choices for the weekend of October 21, 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:

That Uppity Theatre Company presents Every 28 Hours, and evening of one-act plays inspired by the Black Lives Matter movement, on Monday, October 24, at 8 p.m. "The One-Minute Play Festival (Dominic D'Andrea, Producing Artistic Director), and Oregon Shakespeare Festival (Claudia Alick, Producer) collaborated to create a collection of 71 one-minute plays from across the country called “Every 28 Hours”. This national partnership focuses on the widely shared statistic that every 28 hours in America, a black person is the victim of systemic violence and is killed by the police, vigilante, or security guard. The performance takes place at the Loretto-Hilton Center on the campus of Webster University. For more information: uppityco.com.

My take: I think the importance of the issues dealt with here pretty much speaks for itself. I realize Monday isn't part of the weekend, but I wanted to make sure this got a shout out from me nevertheless.

Anna Blair

The Emerald Room at the Monocle and The Presenters Dolan present Anna Blair in I Am Reddy, Hear Me Roar on Friday, October 21, at 8 p.m. "This show will be a tribute to one of Anna's childhood heroes, Helen Reddy. Featuring the songs of Helen Reddy, some pop, some showtunes, some iconic, these songs will bring back memories of the 70's and 80's." The performance takes place in the Emerald Room at The Monocle, 4510 Manchester in the Grove neighborhood. For more information: www.themonoclestl.com/events-page.

My take: Anna and I have shared theatrical and cabaret stages numerous times over the last 15 years or so. She's as gutsy on stage as she is in real life and seeing her on stage is always a pleasure. Reviewing her Fran Landesman show back in 2009, Andrea Braun had this to say: "She has a supple, melodic voice, and she looks like she was born to wear a red dress (and proves that redheads needn't avoid that color) and lean against a baby grand. She is sultry, playful, sad, straight-forward, and she provides the audience with an altogether lovely evening." Anna was still relatively new to cabaret back then and has only gotten stronger over the years. I cant think of a more appropriate performer to celebrate the music of Helen Reddy.

The Rocky Horror Show

Stray Dog Theatre presents the rock musical The Rocky Horror Show through October 29. “The cult classic is back! After a flat tire has them stuck in a storm, sweethearts Brad and Janet come upon the eerie mansion of Dr. Frank-N-Furter. Once inside, a houseful of colorful characters take the couple on a bizarre journey they will never forget. This raucous musical is an over-the-top tribute to mid-20th century science fiction and horror B-movies." Performances take place at The Tower Grove Abbey, 2336 Tennessee. For more information, visit straydogtheatre.org or call 314-865-1995.

My take: Get ready for Halloween with this now venerable R-rated send-up of cheesy horror movies. Great art is ain't, but it is great fun if done well, and judging from Steve Allen's review for his Stage Door STL blog, the folks at Stray Dog have, in fact, done it well. "Nothing says Fall and Halloween better than a production of 'The Rocky Horror Show' and Stray Dog brings it back with all of the zaniness, crowd reactions and scantily clad lads and lassies. If you’re familiar with the stage show or the movie (and who isn’t?), you’ll have a great time." I was in Stray Dog's first production of this show back in 2009 and the audience was having at least as much fun as we were on stage. I'd expect the same this time around.

Storm Large

The Presenters Dolan presents Storm Large on Friday, October 21, at 8 p.m. as part of the Gaslight Cabaret Festival. "You sit back and you sometimes just can't believe what you are hearing. An astonishing singer and incandescent beauty who is this funny? With a killer band? In an extraordinary new show? It just never comes together like this!" The performances take place at the Gaslight Theater, 358 North Boyle. For more information: gaslightcabaretfestival.com.

My take: While I haven't seen this particular show, I did review Storm Large's appearance at the Gaslight Cabaret Festival this past November and was mightily impressed. Back then I described her as a one-woman entertainment conglomerate (rock star, author, actor, and songwriter whose work was entertaining, raucously and bawdily funny, entirely genuine and utterly theatrical. If you haven't seen her before, you really should not deprive yourself of the opportunity.

Until the Flood

Through November 6, the Repertory Theatre of St. Louis presents Until the Flood. Writer, performer and Pulitzer Prize finalist Dael Orlandersmith spent a week in St. Louis interviewing people from every corner of the region about recent social unrest. From these conversations, she has crafted a play that reflects the complexity of St. Louis. Performances take place at the Loretto-Hilton Center on the Webster University campus. For more information: repstl.org.

My take: While some reviews for this remarkable one-woman show have been mixed, I'm including it because it shines theatrical light on issues that have remained too long in the darkness in American in general and here in St. Louis in particular. "Through eight sharply drawn characters and a moving spoken word closing," writes Tina Farmer in a soon-to-be-published review at KDHX, "Orlandersmith challenges easy assumptions while making the case for continued conversation. As an actor, she is thoroughly engaging, with a clear purpose and focused action. Her characters are distinct and teeming with authenticity". This show is a remarkably courageous choice for the Rep's main stage and deserves our support.

Held Over:

Golda's Balcony
Photo: Eric Woolsey

Celebration
Photo: Jill Ritter Lindberg

New Line Theatre presents the musical Celebration Thursdays through Saturdays at 8 PM through October 22. "With words by Tom Jones and music by Harvey Schmidt (The Fantasticks, I Do! I Do!, 110 in the Shade), CELEBRATION tells a wild, adult fable set on New Year's Eve, centered on Orphan, an idealistic and cheerfully optimistic young man, who reminds the wealthy and jaded old man William Rosebud Rich of his younger self; Angel, a sweet but not so angelic erotic dancer who longs to be Somebody; and the cynical Potemkin, who serves as narrator, commentator, and instigator. At the story's core is the primal, often comic struggle between youth and old age, innocence and corruption, love and ambition, poverty and wealth, as Angel tries to decide if she would be better served by her feelings for Orphan or Rich's willingness to fulfill all her material dreams." Performances take place at the Marcelle Theater, 3310 Samuel Shepard Drive, three blocks east of Grand, in Grand Center. For more information, visit newlinetheatre.com or call 314-534-1111.

My take: Everybody knows Fantasticks, but other Jones/Schmidt shows like I Do, I Do and 110 in the Shade get less attention than they deserve, so it's good to see New Line take on this adventurous 1960s period piece. "Part fable, part love triangle, and part 1960s hippie/Brechtian/Fantasticks-style love-in," writes Richard Green at Talking Broadway, "this seldom-seen show succeeds brilliantly thanks to its post-Vietnam urgency, its post-Civil Rights egalitarianism, and perhaps even a soupçon of pre-Watergate naiveté—along with excellent leads and the sheer wit and exuberance of the whole ensemble."

Suspended
Photo: ProPhotoSTL

Upstream Theater presents the world premiere of Suspended by Israeli playwright Maya Arad Yasur, through October 23. "The play shows two refugees who have fled their war-torn country and have landed in a wealthy city where they work as window washers. As their day progresses we learn how deeply they are connected, and why they are suspended between a world they can see but cannot join, between a past scarred by violence and an uncertain future." Performances take place at the Kranzberg Arts Center, 501 North Grand in Grand Center. For more information, including show times: upstreamtheater.org.

My take: Upstream has presented some pretty inventive and daring theatre over the years, and their current production appears to be solidly in that same line. "As usual," writes Steve Allen at Stage Door St. Louis, "Upstream Theater brings us provocative and thoughtful theatre. “Suspended” is a story that unfolds slowly but gets to the heart of the matter. Thanks to two outstanding performances and excellent direction, “Suspended” becomes a show that you shouldn’t miss." At the Belleville News-Democrat, Lynn Venhaus says the show is "an absorbing character study with more layers than even the premise implies." Other critics have had good words for it as well.

Wednesday, October 19, 2016

Review: With Chicago Lyric Opera's Rheingold, the majesty is all in the music

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

The giants
Photo: Todd Rosenberg

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It's always good to see a well-sung and expertly played production of Wagner's Ring cycle, and the Lyric Opera of Chicago's mounting of Das Rheingold, which opens a four-season run through the entire thing, is certainly that. In addition, the libretto's focus on the cost of abusing power and personal trust feels very relevant in our current political environment.

A high-powered cast is led by bass-baritone Eric Owens, whose solid and voice and dramatic conviction give real gravitas to the role of Wotan, who wakes from his dream of power to learn that the giants Fasolt and Fafner have finished the construction of Valhalla. Bass-baritone Samuel Youn is also compelling as the dwarf Alberich. He's a complex character-an unscrupulous bully but also wronged by the gods and less deluded than they about the cost of the Ring's power-and Mr. Youn gives him real nuance.

The Rheinmaidens
Photo: Todd Rosenberg

Tenor Stefan Margita is a wonderfully wily Loge, making the most of the character's dry, self-aware humor. Mezzo Tanja Ariane Baumgartner gives impressive voice to Fricka's misgivings over her husband's infidelity and dubious bargains. And tenor Rodell Rosel makes a strong impression as the querulous dwarf Mime.

Soprano Laura Wilde as Freia, tenor Jesse Donner as Froh, and baritone Zachary Nelson as Donner round out the cast of gods very effectively. Soprano Diana Newman, mezzo Annie Rosen, and mezzo Lindsay Ammann perfectly captured the allure and cruelty of the Rheinmaidens. And mezzo Okka von der Damerau was appropriately ominous as Erda.

That said, I wish director David Pountney and his design team had taken the whole project a bit more seriously. They have elected to make all the mechanics visible, bunraku style, so that (for example) the Rheinmaidens in the first scene float around on massive metal platforms manipulated by visible stagehands.

Nibelheim
Photo: Todd Rosenberg

It works well there and in the Nibelheim sequence, which looks fittingly hellish; less so for the giants Fasolt and Fafner, who are nothing but huge platforms with plastic heads and inflatable arms that flop around absurdly. Fafner's murder of Fasolt ought to be chilling, as it's the first evidence of the ring's curse. Here, as the stagehands toss around inflated arms and boots, it just looks goofy. So does having Wotan tear Alberich's arm off to get the ring. Giving the audience a cheap laugh at that point makes no dramatic sense.

Other moments of imposed comedy feel equally out of place. But the concluding entry of the gods into Valhalla retains all of its musical and visual power, with the orchestra's brass ringing out as the gods literally ascend towards their gleaming (if skeletal) home. I'm willing to forgive a lot for that. Besides, the orchestra under the sure hand of Sir Andrew Davis does very well by Wagner's score throughout the evening, and that's a huge plus.

The gods enter Valhalla
Photo: Todd Roserberg

In an interview at the Lyric Opera web site, Mr. Pountney says that his staging of the Ring operas will be “united by a single theatrical device. We keep trying to go back to an empty stage to show, in the end, that this is all just a stage, just a theater. However splendid the effects are, when we roll them up and whisk them away, we go back to an empty stage." I'm not convinced that kind of Brechtian distancing serves Wagner all that well. We'll see how it works for Die Walküre next year.

Performances continue through October 22 at Lyric Opera's home in the magnificent Civic Opera House in the Chicago Loop. Information on Das Rheingold and the rest of the current season is available at their web site.

Symphony Preview: My favorite Beethoven

Christian Macelaru

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This weekend (October 21 - 23, 2016) a pianist popular with local audiences, Orli Shaham, returns to perform my favorite Beethoven piano concerto with the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra in a program that begins and ends with Russian music. Philadelphia-based conductor Cristian Macelaru is at the podium.

The concerto in question is Beethoven's Concerto No. 4 in G major, Op. 58, composed in 1806 and first performed in March 1807 at a private concert of the home of Prince Franz Joseph von Lobkowitz. The public got its first exposure to it at a concert on December 22nd of the following year at Vienna's Theater an der Wien, with the composer as both soloist and conductor.

The hall was freezing cold, the musicians poorly prepared, and program a four-hour monster, including the premieres of not only the fourth concerto but also the Choral Fantasy for piano, chorus and orchestra (a work often seen as a kind of "first draft" for the finale of his Symphony No. 9), the Symphony No. 5, and Symphony No. 6 (the "Pastorale"). Still, as audience member Johann Friedrich Reichardt (cited in program notes for the Los Angeles Philharmonic reported, the concerto made quite an impression: “[Beethoven] played with astounding cleverness and skill and at the fastest possible tempi. The Adagio [sic], a masterly movement of beautifully developed song, he sang on the instrument with a profound, thrilling melancholy.”

Orli Shaham

The Fourth is my favorite in part because it's so concise. I don't think there's a spare note in the entire work and everything is perfectly proportioned. It's also remarkably innovative for its time-beginning with the unusual opening, in which a short declaration by the solo piano is then taken up by the orchestra. Normal procedure would have been to have the orchestra state all the major themes before the piano made its first entrance. Instead, the movement seems to grow out of a dialogue between the soloist and the orchestra.

The second movement is a dialogue between the soloist and the band as well, but this time it's in the form of a call and response, in which dramatic pronouncements by the orchestra are met, at least initially, with more subdued and lyrical material by the soloist.

As Paul Schiavo writes in his program notes for these concerts, this unusual structure has given birth to "a tradition that equates the music with the mythic scene of Orpheus taming the Furies of the underworld with his song" (a notion first advanced by Beethoven's biographer Adolph Bernhard Marx in 1859). When I first heard this movement, though, I had a very different response to it. To my ears it's an argument (or maybe a debate), with the aggressive stance of the orchestra met, at first, with attempts at calm reason, then with agitation, and finally with a kind of resignation. It's as if, after trying in vain to calm and placate its orchestral partner, the piano finally sighs and say, "OK, OK, you win. Let's just drop it."

Anyone who has ever gotten into a political firefight on Facebook will recognize the progression.

It's hard to say what Beethoven actually had in mind. The great pianist Arthur Rubinstein once described the movement as having been “written by a man in mortal fear.” And Beethoven's pupil Carl Czerny (cited in program notes for the San Francisco Symphony) said that "in this movement (which, like the entire concerto, belongs to the finest and most poetical of Beethoven's creations) one cannot help thinking of an antique dramatic and tragic scene, and the player must feel with what movingly lamenting expression his solo must be played in order to contrast with the powerful and austere orchestral passages.” The bottom line is that when it comes to its tragic conclusion, I have always felt a need to exhale slowly to prepare myself for the jolly, Haydnesque Rondo finale.

Serge Rachmaninoff, circa 1936

After intermission, we get a work that's also tinged with a kind of calm resignation: Serge Rachmaninoff's Symphonic Dances from 1941.

When I first heard this piece (a 1961 LP recording by Eugene Ormandy, who conducted the work's world premiere), I was immediately struck by the “late night” feel of the music-and not just because of the chimes in the last movement. I was not surprised to learn, then, that Rachmaninoff had originally titled the three sections “Noon,” “Twilight,” and “Midnight”. This was the composer's last completed work (he died two years after its premiere), and there's a sense throughout of a life approaching its conclusion.

The composer dropped the titles, preferring the let the music speak for itself, and it does so eloquently. The work is filled with evidence of Rachmaninoff's genius as an orchestrator, with elaborate and complex string writing, inventive use of brasses and winds (including a short but poignant solo for alto sax), and an effective but never overwhelming use of the large percussion battery. This is dramatic music that is nevertheless steeped in fall melancholy-very appropriate given that we passed the autumn equinox a month ago.

This weekend's concerts will open with a work that will probably be unfamiliar to you unless, like me, you're a big fan of late 19th century virtuoso piano works. It's Islamey, an "Oriental Fantasy" written in 1869 and then revised in 1902 by Mily Balakirev. We'll be hearing the orchestral arrangement by Sergey Lyapunov, but the piano original is widely viewed as one of the most technically difficult works ever written for that instrument. "It is a score that demands the fanciest of finger work," observes Tim Page in his liner notes for the spectacular 1998 recording by Yefim Bronfman, "as well as an extraordinary range of tone color and a certain intensity of conviction to hold it all together." Check out Bronfman's recording on YouTube to hear what he means.

The orchestral version is pretty colorful as well, building over the course of nine minutes to what Mr. Schiavo accurately describes as an "animated coda that concludes the piece with a display of virtuoso orchestral fireworks." It's lively, fun stuff and an excellent way to open a concert.

Balakirev, by the way, was part of a group of Russian composers commonly referred to as the "Mighty Handful" (a.k.a. the "Russian Five") who were important in the formation of the Russian nationalist school of composition; César Cui, Modest Mussorgsky, Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov and Alexander Borodin were the other four. Balakirev, unfortunately, was far less prolific than his compatriots and less comfortable as a composer, although we're told he was a pretty spectacular pianist. These days Islamey is the only one of his works that gets any attention, but in his time he was remarkably influential. Here's how the Encyclopedia Britannica summarizes his legacy:

"It has been said that it was Balakirev, even more than Glinka, who set the course for Russian orchestral music and lyrical song during the second half of the 19th century. He developed an idiom and technique that he imposed on his disciples (above all on Rimsky-Korsakov and Borodin, and to some extent on Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky) not only by example but by constant autocratic supervision of their own earlier works. His music is superbly colourful and imaginative, but his creative personality was arrested in its development after 1871, and his later work is couched in the idiom of his youth."

The Essentials: Cristian Macelaru conducts the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra, with piano soloist Orli Shaham, on Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m. and Sunday at 3 p.m. October 21 - 23. The concerts take place at Powell Symphony Hall, 718 North Grand in Grand Center. The Saturday concert will be broadcast live on St. Louis Public Radio.

Monday, October 17, 2016

St. Louis theatre calendar for the week of October 17, 2016

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YoungLiars present the world premiere of Burrow, an adaptation of Kafka's Der Bau adapted and performed by Jeff Skoblow, running through October 29. "Our nameless hero has at long last completed his elaborate secret burrow. Far beneath the ground he is safe from the predators and danger that lurk everywhere above. Or is he? That noise he hears just beyond the edges of the burrow...what is it? Have they found him? Is it the sound of some terrible beast digging relentlessly towards him? Or is it something even worse?" __Performances take place in in the hundred-year-old basement of the Centene Center for the Arts, 3547 Olive Street in Grand Center. For more information: youngliarsburrow.bpt.me.

Ken Haller

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 this week is singer and Cabaret Project board member Ken Haller. 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.

Celebration
Photo: Jill Ritter Lindberg

New Line Theatre presents the musical Celebration Thursdays through Saturdays at 8 PM through October 22. "With words by Tom Jones and music by Harvey Schmidt (The Fantasticks, I Do! I Do!, 110 in the Shade), CELEBRATION tells a wild, adult fable set on New Year's Eve, centered on Orphan, an idealistic and cheerfully optimistic young man, who reminds the wealthy and jaded old man William Rosebud Rich of his younger self; Angel, a sweet but not so angelic erotic dancer who longs to be Somebody; and the cynical Potemkin, who serves as narrator, commentator, and instigator. At the story's core is the primal, often comic struggle between youth and old age, innocence and corruption, love and ambition, poverty and wealth, as Angel tries to decide if she would be better served by her feelings for Orphan or Rich's willingness to fulfill all her material dreams." Performances take place at the Marcelle Theater, 3310 Samuel Shepard Drive, three blocks east of Grand, in Grand Center. For more information, visit newlinetheatre.com or call 314-534-1111.

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

The Playhouse at Westport Plaza presents the one-man show Defending the Caveman running through October 23. " Defending the Caveman, is the longest running solo show in Broadway history, is a hilariously insightful play about the ways men and women relate. This prehistoric look at the battle of the sexes is full of wonderful scenarios that celebrate the differences between men and women, making it a perfect entertainment option for couples or for a girls' night out. The show has also been seen and recommended by thousands of marriage and family therapists and counselors for its humorous look at the inherent differences between the sexes." The Playhouse at Westport Plaza is at 635 West Port Plaza. For more information: westportstl.com.

Variety Children's Theatre presents the musical Disney's Beauty and the Beast Friday through Sunday, October 21 - 23. Performances take place at the Touhill Performing Arts Center on the UMSL campus. For more information: www.varietychildrenstheatre.org.

Golda's Balcony
Photo: Eric Woolsey

New Jewish Theater presents Golda's Balcony through October 30 "This is a strong show about a strong woman, Israel's fourth Prime Minister, Golda Meir. We meet her as she struggles with what became known as the Yom Kippur War in 1973 and which was very nearly a disaster for the State of Israel. The play asks us to consider what happens when idealism becomes power." Performances take place in the Marvin and Harlene Wool Studio Theater at the Jewish Community Center, 2 Millstone Campus Drive in Creve Coeur. For more information: www.newjewishtheatre.org or call 314-442-3283.

The Emerald Room at the Monocle and The Presenters Dolan present Anna Blair in I Am Reddy, Hear Me Roar on Friday, October 21, at 8 p.m. "This show will be a tribute to one of Anna's childhood heroes, Helen Reddy. Featuring the songs of Helen Reddy, some pop, some showtunes, some iconic, these songs will bring back memories of the 70's and 80's." The performance takes place in the Emerald Room at The Monocle, 4510 Manchester in the Grove neighborhood. For more information: www.themonoclestl.com/events-page.

Clayton Community Theatre presents the thriller Night Must Fall Thursdays through Saturdays at 8 p.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m., October 20 - 30. "In this masterful thriller with humorous moments and sequences of sustained suspense, a woman's body is found behind a wealthy woman's house and all the while, the audience and most of the characters in the play think they know who did it. This person also happens to be right in front of you." Performances take place at the Washington University South Campus Theatre. For more information, call 314-721-9228 or visit placeseveryone.org.

Take Two Productions presents Peter and the Starcatcher through October 22. "Tony-winning Peter and the Starcatcher upends the century-old story of how a miserable orphan comes to be The Boy Who Would Not Grow Up (a.k.a. Peter Pan). A wildly theatrical adaptation of Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson's best-selling novels, the play was conceived for the stage by directors Roger Rees and Alex Timbers and written by Rick Elice with music by Wayne Barker. From marauding pirates and jungle tyrants to unwilling comrades and unlikely heroes, Peter and the Starcatcher playfully explores the depths of greed and despair and the bonds of friendship, duty, and love." Performances take place at Southampton Presbyterian Church, 4716 Macklind. For more information, visit taketwoproductions.org.

The Performing Arts Department at Washington University presents the musical Passing Strange October 21 - 30. "Passing Strange is a semi-autobiographical account of a young brother's encounters with sex, drugs, and rock and roll as he searches for "the real." A rock musical that is equal parts comedy and drama, Passing Strange follows “the Youth” on his pilgrimage of self-discovery from Los Angeles to Amsterdam, Berlin and beyond. Passing Strange breaks theatrical boundaries, crosses musical genres, and ultimately brings the audience home with a new understanding of personal and creative authenticity." The performances take place in Edison Theatre in the Mallinckrodt Student Center on the Washington University campus. For more information, call 314-935-6543 or visit pad.artsci.wustl.edu.

The Rocky Horror Show

Stray Dog Theatre presents the rock musical The Rocky Horror Show through October 29. “The cult classic is back! After a flat tire has them stuck in a storm, sweethearts Brad and Janet come upon the eerie mansion of Dr. Frank-N-Furter. Once inside, a houseful of colorful characters take the couple on a bizarre journey they will never forget. This raucous musical is an over-the-top tribute to mid-20th century science fiction and horror B-movies." Performances take place at The Tower Grove Abbey, 2336 Tennessee. For more information, visit straydogtheatre.org or call 314-865-1995.

The Presenters Dolan presents Storm Large on Friday, October 21, at 8 p.m. as part of the Gaslight Cabaret Festival. "You sit back and you sometimes just can't believe what you are hearing. An astonishing singer and incandescent beauty who is this funny? With a killer band? In an extraordinary new show? It just never comes together like this!" The performances take place at the Gaslight Theater, 358 North Boyle. For more information: gaslightcabaretfestival.com.

Suspended
Photo: ProPhotoSTL

Upstream Theater presents the world premiere of Suspended by Israeli playwright Maya Arad Yasur, through October 23. "The play shows two refugees who have fled their war-torn country and have landed in a wealthy city where they work as window washers. As their day progresses we learn how deeply they are connected, and why they are suspended between a world they can see but cannot join, between a past scarred by violence and an uncertain future." Performances take place at the Kranzberg Arts Center, 501 North Grand in Grand Center. For more information, including show times: upstreamtheater.org.

COCA presents the Lightwire Theatre production of The Ugly Duckling Saturday and Sunday at 1 and 5 p.m., October 22 and 23. "Lined with electroluminescent wire, the beloved story of The Ugly Duckling plays out on stage through a cutting-edge blend of full-body puppetry, technology and dance. With dazzling visuals, poignant choreography and the creative use of music ranging from classical to pop, this production brings this story into a new and brilliant light." . COCA is at 524 Trinity in University City. For more information: cocastl.org.

Through November 6, the Repertory Theatre of St. Louis presents Until the Flood. Writer, performer and Pulitzer Prize finalist Dael Orlandersmith spent a week in St. Louis interviewing people from every corner of the region about recent social unrest. From these conversations, she has crafted a play that reflects the complexity of St. Louis. Performances take place at the Loretto-Hilton Center on the Webster University campus. For more information: repstl.org.

Antonio Rodriguez

The Emerald Room at the Monocle and The Presenters Dolan present singer Antonio Rodriguez in A Wind-Up Toy in an Up-Down World on Saturday, October 22, at 8 p.m. " Exploring love and laughter on stage isn't different from exploring it at home. Through the music of Ben Folds, MIKA, Jason Robert Brown, Glen Hansard, and more, the monologues Rodriguez has used for auditions and in performance (and a few originals), the show is a reflection on the things that every person loses sleep over, whether it's a character on stage or the actor playing them - love, family, success, and the pursuit of happiness in a world of chaos." The performance takes place in the Emerald Room at The Monocle, 4510 Manchester in the Grove neighborhood. For more information: www.themonoclestl.com/events-page.

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.

Sunday, October 16, 2016

St. Louis classical calendar for the week of October 17, 2016

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The Collegium Vocale of St. Louis presents The Splendors of Rome: Music of the early 18th Century on Sunday, October 23, at 2 p.m. " The Collegium Vocale of St. Louis will present a concert of music heard in Rome in the early 18th century, featuring a performance of Francesco Durante's celebrated “Magnificat”, Other composers including Palestrina, Pitoni, Severi, and Stradella, The singers of Collegium Vocale of St. Louis will be supported by period instruments." The concert takes place at the Cathedral Basilica of St. Louis (Old Cathedral), 209 Walnut Street on the riverfront. For more information: CollegiumVocaleofSaintLouis.org.

The St. Louis Brass Band

The St. Louis Brass Band presents Bright, Bountiful, Brass on Sunday, October 23, at 2:30 p.m. " The first formal concert of the Saint Louis Brass Band will be presented at Lindbergh High School and will include a guest appearance by the Avon Indiana High School Brass Choir. The Brass Band will feature their English-style Brass Band mix of traditional and contemporary repertoire ranging from classical to marches to pop and jazz. Avon HS is one of the premiere high school music programs in the State of Indiana. The Brass Choir will perform several selections of their own and then the two groups will combine forces for a brass and percussion extravaganza." The concert takes place at Lindberg High School, 5000 S. Lindbergh Road in South County. For more information: stlbb.org.

Cristian Macelaru conducts the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra, with piano soloist Orli Shaham, on Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m. and Sunday at 3 p.m. October 21 - 23. "Stormy, serene, romantic and tranquil, Rachmaninoff's Symphonic Dances is a stunning virtuoso showpiece for orchestra. Acclaimed by the New York Times as a “brilliant pianist,” Orli Shaham and rising conductor Cristian M_celaru present Beethoven's dramatic Piano Concerto No. 4." The concerts take place at Powell Symphony Hall, 718 North Grand in Grand Center. For more information: stlsymphony.org.

The Town and Country Symphony Orchestra performs Space, the Final Frontier on Sunday, October 23, at 2:30 PM. "Our annual Halloween Concert will literally transport you to the magical world of outer space. Calling all Trekkies, Jedis, Astronauts, and other space junkies. Come in costume to enjoy some of the best movie music ever written and some classical tributes to space as well. Dr. Chiann-Yi Yawitz will be the soloist for Chopin's Piano Concerto No. 1" The performance takes place in Ridgway Auditorium at The Principia, 13201 Clayton Road. For more information: tcsomo.org.

The Perseid String Quartet

The Washington University Department of Music presents the Perseid String Quartet in Leipzig 1843: An Evening with the Schumanns on Thursday, October 20, at 7:30 p.m. " The Perseid String Quartet recreates a joint concert that Robert and Clara Schumann gave in Leipzig on January 8, 1843. Alexander Stefaniak, Assistant Professor of Musicology, will speak about the Schumann partnership, an intricate collaboration between a prominent composer-critic and one of the most significant virtuoso pianists of the nineteenth-century. His talk will draw upon his recent book,Schumann's Virtuosity: Criticism, Composition, and Performance in Nineteenth-Century Germany." The performance takes place in the Goldberg Formal Lounge at the 560 Music Center, 560 Trinity in University City. For more information: music.wustl.edu.

The Washington University Department of Music presents a bassoon recital and masterclas with Keith Sweger on Saturday, October 22, at 3 p.m. The performance takes place in the Goldberg Formal Lounge at the 560 Music Center, 560 Trinity in University City. For more information: music.wustl.edu.

Thursday, October 13, 2016

Chuck's Choices for the weekend of September 14, 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:

That Uppity Theatre Company presents Every 28 Hours, and evening of one-act plays inspired by the Black Lives Matter movement, on Saturday, October 15, at 8 p.m. "The One-Minute Play Festival (Dominic D'Andrea, Producing Artistic Director), and Oregon Shakespeare Festival (Claudia Alick, Producer) collaborated to create a collection of 71 one-minute plays from across the country called “Every 28 Hours”. This national partnership focuses on the widely shared statistic that every 28 hours in America, a black person is the victim of systemic violence and is killed by the police, vigilante, or security guard. The performance takes place at COCA, 524 Trinity in University City. For more information: uppityco.com.

My take: I think the importance of the issues dealt with here pretty much speaks for itself. If you miss this performance, it will be repeated on Monday the 24th at the Repertory Theatre of St. Louis stage at the Loretto-Hilton Center on the Webster University campus.

Golda's Balcony
Photo: Eric Woolsey

Marilyn Maye

The Presenters Dolan presents Marilyn Maye on Friday at 8 p.m. and Saturday at 2 and 8 p.m., October 14 and 15, as part of the Gaslight Cabaret Festival. "The queen of nightclub and cabaret singers, Marilyn Maye brings you a Best Of retrospective of the last 60 years. At 88, Marilyn Maye is an electrifying performer, a singer's singer and an artist for connoisseurs." Tedd Firth 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: A cabaret legend who appeared a record number of 76 times on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson, Maye has been packing them in at Carnegie Hall, New York’s 54 Below, Feinstein’s, Birdland, and in clubs and concert venues throughout the country. Reviewing her appearance here in 2007, I praised her "immediate and honest communication with the audience." "Maye’s boundless energy and obvious delight in her material," I wrote, "in combination with her cheerful, off-the-cuff repartee, establish an immediate bond with those of us on the other side of the spotlight." If you missed her appearance with Ann Hampton Callaway this past summer, here's a chance to see a real pro at work doing what she does best.

Suspended
Photo: ProPhotoSTL

Held Over:

Celebration
Photo: Jill Ritter Lindberg

Chuck's Choices for the weekend of September 14, 2016

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

Share on Google+:

New This Week:

Golda's Balcony
Photo: Eric Woolsey

Marilyn Maye

Suspended
Photo: ProPhotoSTL

Held Over:

Celebration
Photo: Jill Ritter Lindberg

Tuesday, October 11, 2016

Symphony Preview: The folk school

This weekend (October 14 - 16, 2016) guest conductor Hannu Lintu leads the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra in a program of works by composers with their roots firmly in the traditions of their native lands: Poland's Witold Lutoslawski (1913 - 1994), Czechoslovakia's Antonín Dvorák (1841 - 1904), and Russia's Igor Stravinsky (1882 - 1971).

Witold Lutoslawski
Photo: W. Pniewski and
L. Kowalski

Lutoslawski, whose music opens the program, embraced his Polish heritage in many of his early works, especially those written in the aftermath of World War II. But the time he wrote this weekend's opener, Chain 3, in 1986, the composer had, as Paul Schiavo writes in his program notes, "evolved into a modernist whose music is international in style". The piece is the last of a trio of Chain pieces that Lutoslawski wrote in the 1980s, each of which was written for very different musical forces. Chain 3 is scored for a large orchestra-just under 100 players this weekend. Like its two companion works, it consists of small musical ideas which overlap and combine, like the links of a chain, to create a larger aural whole.

As it builds towards its conclusion, Chain 3 creates an impressive "wall of sound" that would have done Phil Spector proud and incorporates elements of aleatoric or "chance" music in that (quoting Mr. Schiavo again) "certain passages to be played ad libitum, with only loose coordination among the players." That sounds like it might be a recipe for sonic chaos and to some extent it is, but it's controlled chaos and pretty compelling.

Up next is a masterpiece that leaves nothing to chance and offers great opportunities for a soloist willing to take on its technical and emotional challenges: Dvorák's Cello Concerto in B minor, Op. 104.

The cello doesn't appear in the symphonic spotlight that often. It's not that there aren't concerti out there (although far fewer than for violin or piano); it's just that most of them are relatively obscure. The Dvorák A minor concerto is probably the most popular-right up there with the Elgar-and justifiably so. Written during the composer's final year in America, it's nevertheless a work that is suffused with the dark romanticism of the Bohemian countryside that the composer loved so dearly.

The Dvorák family in New York, 1893

This is mature and deeply felt music of genuinely symphonic proportions. It's also technically challenging without being superficially flashy. There are no cadenzas, for example, and the demands on the soloist's technique arise naturally out of the concerto's dramatic narrative.

To play this concerto well, then, you need not only nimble hands but also a warm heart. This is music of deep sorrow and overflowing joy. The soloist had better be open to all of it.

The cellist this weekend is Germany's Alban Gerhardt, a man praised as "one of the finest cellists around" by The Guardian and dubbed "Ein Kantabilitätszauberer und Meister virtuoser Rasanz" ("a magician of cantabile playing and a master of virtuosic panache" by Der Tagesspiel. "His gift for shedding fresh light on familiar scores," says his SLSO program bio, "along with his appetite for investigating new repertoire from centuries past and present, truly set him apart from his peers." All of which suggests that he has the right combination of skills to not only make the most of the concerto, but to offer some fresh insights into it as well.

The concerts this weekend close with a work in which folk influences are visual as well as auditory: the 1947 version of Stravinsky's Petrushka ballet, originally presented by Serge Diaghilev's Ballets Russes in Paris in 1911 with the legendary Pierre Monteux in the orchestra pit. Stravinsky was struck by the idea for the ballet while he was in the midst of working on the score for what would prove to be his most (in)famous Diaghilev collaboration, Le Sacre du Printemps.

Here's the composer describing his inspiration (as quoted in program notes for the Minnesota Orchestra): "I had in my mind a distinct picture of a puppet, suddenly endowed with life, exasperating the patience of the orchestra with diabolical cascades of arpeggi. The orchestra in turn retaliates with menacing trumpet-blasts. The outcome is a terrific noise which reaches its climax and ends in the sorrowful and querulous collapse of the poor puppet." Even without the dancers and scenery, this is tremendously descriptive music. If you're unfamiliar with it, I think you'll find it easy to play the story out in your mind's eye. Depending on your imagination, it might even be more vivid than the real thing.

Nijinsky as Petrushka

When Diaghilev discovered that Stravinsky had stopped work on Sacre for Petrushka he was indignant, but as soon as the composer began to play the score on his piano, the impresario was smitten. With the great Vaslav Nijinsky in the title role, the ballet was well received and went on to be one of the most popular items in the company's repertory and in Stravinsky's catalog.

Originally conceived as a work for piano and orchestra, Petrushka retains a prominent role for that instrument-a role emphasized even more in the 1947 revision you'll hear this weekend. At the keyboard will be Peter Henderson who, while not officially a member of the orchestra, nevertheless frequently appears as an ensemble keyboard player with them and has occasionally even been in the solo spot-something I wish would happen more often. I recall with fondness his remarkable performance of Frederic Rzewski's daunting The People United Will Never Be Defeated! at the Pulitzer Foundation back in 2012.

I also recall conductor Hannu Lintu's previous appearances with the SLSO fondly. He's a commanding and visually compelling figure on the podium. His big gestures are striking, but he can also coax delicate sounds with a minimum of physical display. He has, in short, a nearly ideal mixture of romantic intensity and intellectual control-which should work well for a program this varied.

The Essentials: Hannu Lintu conducts the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra, with cello soloist Alban Gerhardt, on Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m. and Sunday at 3 p.m. October 14 - 16. The concerts take place at Powell Symphony Hall, 718 North Grand in Grand Center. The Saturday concert will be broadcast live on St. Louis Public Radio.

Sunday, October 09, 2016

St. Louis theatre calendar for the week of October 10, 2016

Ari Axelrod

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The Emerald Room at the Monocle and The Presenters Dolan present singer Ari Axelrod and pianist/music director Ron McGowan on Thursday, October 13, at 7 p.m. "An entertaining and moving journey of a young man in his prime, overcoming obstacles, straddling two world's only to find out that he belongs to both. From Broadway, to Hebrew Folk Music to Sondheim, you're in for quite an exciting ride." The performance takes place in the Emerald Room at The Monocle, 4510 Manchester in the Grove neighborhood. For more information: buzzonstage.com/st-louis.

The Emerald Room at the Monocle presents Joe Posa as Joan Rivers in The Bitch is Back on Friday and Saturday, October 14 and 15, at 8 p.m. " Celebrity female impersonator, Joe Posa teams up with comedic writer Tony Tripoli of Fashion Police to bring the legendary Joan Rivers back to the stage in 'The Bitch is Back!' This ninety minute comedy show will have you rolling in the bawdy humor of the late Joan Rivers just the way she left it! Joe's performances have be referred to by The New York Times 'as one of the best...'" The performances take place in the Emerald Room at The Monocle, 4510 Manchester in the Grove neighborhood. For more information: buzzonstage.com/st-louis.

Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville presents Noël Coward's comedy Blithe Spirit Wednesday through Saturday at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m., October 12 - 16. The play "offers up laughs a plenty through the fussy, cantankerous novelist Charles Condomine, his current wife, Ruth, and his deceased, ex-wife Elvira. Elvira's ghost, who is accidentally “called up” by Madame Arcati, a happy medium, makes Charles' life miserable. As the worldly and unworldly personalities clash, Charles' current situation goes from bad to worse in a surprise ending that leaves the audience chuckling." Performances take place in the Dunham Hall Theater on the campus in Edwardsville, IL. For more information, call 618-650-2774 or visit siue.edu.

YoungLiars present the world premiere of Burrow, an adaptation of Kafka's Der Bau adapted and performed by Jeff Skoblow opening on Friday, October 14, and running through October 29. "Our nameless hero has at long last completed his elaborate secret burrow. Far beneath the ground he is safe from the predators and danger that lurk everywhere above. Or is he? That noise he hears just beyond the edges of the burrow...what is it? Have they found him? Is it the sound of some terrible beast digging relentlessly towards him? Or is it something even worse?" __Performances take place in in the hundred-year-old basement of the Centene Center for the Arts, 3547 Olive Street in Grand Center. For more information: youngliarsburrow.bpt.me.

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 this week is singer and Cabaret Project board member Amy Ogle. 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.

Celebration
Photo: Jill Ritter Lindberg

New Line Theatre presents the musical Celebration Thursdays through Saturdays at 8 PM through October 22. "With words by Tom Jones and music by Harvey Schmidt (The Fantasticks, I Do! I Do!, 110 in the Shade), CELEBRATION tells a wild, adult fable set on New Year's Eve, centered on Orphan, an idealistic and cheerfully optimistic young man, who reminds the wealthy and jaded old man William Rosebud Rich of his younger self; Angel, a sweet but not so angelic erotic dancer who longs to be Somebody; and the cynical Potemkin, who serves as narrator, commentator, and instigator. At the story's core is the primal, often comic struggle between youth and old age, innocence and corruption, love and ambition, poverty and wealth, as Angel tries to decide if she would be better served by her feelings for Orphan or Rich's willingness to fulfill all her material dreams." Performances take place at the Marcelle Theater, 3310 Samuel Shepard Drive, three blocks east of Grand, in Grand Center. For more information, visit newlinetheatre.com or call 314-534-1111.

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

The Playhouse at Westport Plaza presents the one-man show Defending the Caveman running through October 23. " Defending the Caveman, is the longest running solo show in Broadway history, is a hilariously insightful play about the ways men and women relate. This prehistoric look at the battle of the sexes is full of wonderful scenarios that celebrate the differences between men and women, making it a perfect entertainment option for couples or for a girls' night out. The show has also been seen and recommended by thousands of marriage and family therapists and counselors for its humorous look at the inherent differences between the sexes." The Playhouse at Westport Plaza is at 635 West Port Plaza. For more information: westportstl.com.

Golda's Balcony
Photo: Eric Woolsey

Macbeth
Photo: John Lamb

St. Louis Shakespeare presents Shakespeare's tragedy Macbeth Thursday at 7:30 p.m., Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m., and Sunday at 2 p.m., October 13 - 16. Performances take place at the Ivory Theatre, 7620 Michigan in the Carondelet neighborhood. For more information, call 314-361-5664 or visit stlshakespeare.org.

Over Due Theatre presents musical Once Upon a Mattress Fridas and Saturday at 7:30 PM and Sunday at 2 PM, October 14 - 16. Performances take place at the Olivette Community Center, 9723 Grandview Drive, in Olivette, MO. For more information, call 314-210-2959 or visit overduetheatrecompany.com.

Take Two Productions presents Peter and the Starcatcher October 14 - 22. "Tony-winning Peter and the Starcatcher upends the century-old story of how a miserable orphan comes to be The Boy Who Would Not Grow Up (a.k.a. Peter Pan). A wildly theatrical adaptation of Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson's best-selling novels, the play was conceived for the stage by directors Roger Rees and Alex Timbers and written by Rick Elice with music by Wayne Barker. From marauding pirates and jungle tyrants to unwilling comrades and unlikely heroes, Peter and the Starcatcher playfully explores the depths of greed and despair and the bonds of friendship, duty, and love." Performances take place at Southampton Presbyterian Church, 4716 Macklind. For more information, visit taketwoproductions.org.

Stray Dog Theatre presents the rock musical The Rocky Horror Picture Show October 13 - 29. “The cult classic is back! After a flat tire has them stuck in a storm, sweethearts Brad and Janet come upon the eerie mansion of Dr. Frank-N-Furter. Once inside, a houseful of colorful characters take the couple on a bizarre journey they will never forget. This raucous musical is an over-the-top tribute to mid-20th century science fiction and horror B-movies." Performances take place at The Tower Grove Abbey, 2336 Tennessee. For more information, visit straydogtheatre.org or call 314-865-1995.

Suspended
Photo: ProPhotoSTL

Upstream Theater presents the world premiere of Suspended by Israeli playwright Maya Arad Yasur, through October 23. "The play shows two refugees who have fled their war-torn country and have landed in a wealthy city where they work as window washers. As their day progresses we learn how deeply they are connected, and why they are suspended between a world they can see but cannot join, between a past scarred by violence and an uncertain future." Performances take place at the Kranzberg Arts Center, 501 North Grand in Grand Center. For more information, including show times: upstreamtheater.org.

Opening Wednesday, October 12, at 8 p.m. and running through November 6, the Repertory Theatre of St. Louis presents Until the Flood. Writer, performer and Pulitzer Prize finalist Dael Orlandersmith spent a week in St. Louis interviewing people from every corner of the region about recent social unrest. From these conversations, she has crafted a play that reflects the complexity of St. Louis. Performances take place at the Loretto-Hilton Center on the Webster University campus. For more information: repstl.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.

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.

Stage Left

Thursday, October 20, 2016

Chuck's Choices for the weekend of October 21, 2016

Wednesday, October 19, 2016

Review: With Chicago Lyric Opera's Rheingold, the majesty is all in the music

Symphony Preview: My favorite Beethoven

Monday, October 17, 2016

St. Louis theatre calendar for the week of October 17, 2016

Sunday, October 16, 2016

St. Louis classical calendar for the week of October 17, 2016

Thursday, October 13, 2016

Chuck's Choices for the weekend of September 14, 2016

Chuck's Choices for the weekend of September 14, 2016

Tuesday, October 11, 2016

Symphony Preview: The folk school

Sunday, October 09, 2016

St. Louis theatre calendar for the week of October 10, 2016

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