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Fox Theatre - runs through September 26th
I will confess that I wasn't too hyped to see Shrek: The Musical. I loved the movie and couldn't see how a stage version could tell the story any better. But I was (as I so often am) wrong. It IS the same story as the DreamWorks film: a lonely ogre and must save a feisty princess in order to get the deed to his swamp from a vertically challenged lord desperate to become a king. But the music is all new for the stage. Many of the better jokes from the film are intact, and they've added s some ...
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Kranzberg - runs through September 25th
Equus is one of those shows you've probably heard about: a teenage boy is accused of injuring a stable of horses...oh and there's nudity! That's all I knew about it for years, but I finally read the darn thing, and it's a really good script. And director Doug Finlayson and his cast at HotCity do a fine job with a very fine play. This isn't a fluff piece. It's serious and raw and creepy and sad and smart. It asks questions about worship and who our idols are, about what it means to be civilized, about parenting, about sex, about ...
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Dramatic License Productions in Chesterfield - runs through August 22nd
If you played team sports in high school, you may know the bond you form with your teammates. And often that bond lasts well into adulthood, even if there's not much else in common among you. That's the premise of Jason Miller's Pulitzer Prize-winning play "That Championship Season."
High school basketball teammates get together with their coach every year to celebrate their state championship win two decades ago. But the Most Popular Guy in School has become the soon-to-be-ousted town mayor, the Sexy Guy is still getting it done, but with his friends' wives, to tragic result, and the ...
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Muny - runs through Sunday, August 8th
It's the next to the last show for this Muny season, and the teens are taking over with "Footloose," based on the Kevin Bacon flick from 1984.
A high school boy and his newly-single mom leave Chicago for the small (in mind and geography) town life. And the young man, Ren, has a little trouble fitting in, especially when he discovers the town is ruled with an iron fist by a preacher who's banned dancing. And it doesn't help Ren's situation that he falls for the minister's hot daughter, Ariel, who's nothing but trouble. Ren fights 'the man' to get ...
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Muny - runs through Sunday, August 1st
I have to confess that, whenever The Muny produces one of the "golden oldies" of musical theatre, I head to Forest Park with dread. I think, "I cannot see another production of this show!" And then I get there, and I love it! Those classic shows are classics BECAUSE they're good. And I smiled and cried and hummed along (quietly, I promise) all night, despite a few raindrops.
You know the story, of course. Maria thinks she wants to be a nun, but the other nuns at Nonnberg Abbey think God might have other plans for her, so they ask ...
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Muny - runs through Sunday, July 18th
Damn Yankees combines two of St. Louis' favorite things: summer nights at the Muny and baseball.
An aging Washington Senators fan would give up his soul if his beloved team could finally beat those damn Yankees and win the pennant. And, the devil just so happens to make his wildest dreams come true. Old Joe Boyd becomes 22-year-old long-ball phenom Shoeless Joe from Hannibal, MO, but he has to leave his wife and his life behind to do it.
The musical is fun, with songs I’m sure you've heard time and again, like "Heart" (you know: Ya gotta have heart....all ...
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Muny - runs through July 11th
The story of the ill-fated maiden journey of the Titanic is a tragic one: the allegedly unsinkable ship did sink, quickly, killing more than 1500 passengers and crew. There weren't enough life boats because they didn't want to take away deck space from the first class passengers, and those boats weren't even completely filled once they were deployed, because there had never been an emergency drill and chaos ruled the day. "Titanic: The Musical" introduces us to some of those passengers, the wealthy and the poor ones, the people who survived and those who didn't, and the battle among the owner ...
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Muny - runs through June 30th
It was a nice opening to The Muny's 92nd season last night with "Beauty and the Beast." The Muny does something better than any other theatre in the world, I think. They know how to fill the stage with big voices, little children, great big sets and amazing costumes. Add their spectacular orchestra, and the famous "Be Our Guest" number has never been better.
You probably already know the plot from the hugely successful Disney animated film. A bookish young girl doesn't fit in in her little village; her inventor father doesn't either. And, just past a forest teeming with ...
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Circus Flora - runs through June 27th
I am constantly in awe of Circus Flora. They just get better and better every year: better set and costumes, and more and more talent.
I was never fond of the circus as a kid; I was always too far away to see much, and the clowns scared me a little. Well, Circus Flora is a very different experience.
Under the air-conditioned tent in the Powell Hall parking lot is a one-ring, more European style of show. The clown is Nino, a loveable, silly guy with major talents and not too much scary makeup or big red nose. This year, ...
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New Jewish Theatre - runs through June 20th
Imagine it's the 1950s and you have a job writing a tv variety show starring a guy like Sid Caesar. Imagine the writers' room is full of talent like Carl Reiner, Mel Brooks, Woody Allen, Imogene Coca, Larry Gelbart, and Neil Simon.
That's what Simon was thinking about when he penned "Laughter on the 23rd Floor," a hilarious play about the craziness of the golden age of television and the bizarre behavior that crops up when you lock a group of mad geniuses together in one room. (Think "30 Rock" meets "The Dick van Dyke Show.")
Simon lived this life ...
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