Ann Lemons Pollack
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Guys
As we approach the 10th anniversary of Sept. 11, 2001, it’s only proper that “The Guys,” the first play to react to the terrible day, receive a St. Louis production. It’s a good one, too, with Alan Knoll and Laurie McConnell offering excellent work. The play opened last night in a Crestwood Court performance space,
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Our Idiot Brother
Ned is so innocent and trusting that he counts his money on the New York subway and then, when something distracts him, he hands it to a total stranger to hold while he deals with the distraction. No wonder he’s the title character in “Our Idiot Brother,” a charming, very funny comedy that opens here
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The Names of Love
Sara Forestier, a very cute, young French actress who won her country's equivalent of an Oscar for her performance in this delightfully bawdy comedy, infuses "The Names of Love" with an insouciant sexiness and a total lack of embarrassment. She doesn't flaunt her body so much as she does not pay attention to it. If
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Magic Trip
Ah, the 60s. . . . I guess I was too old for them. As the decade began, I was preparing children for kindergarten, and though I spent a little time in San Francisco in 1960 and 61, and enjoyed a shoe shine from a bare-breasted wench, and was a Gaslight Square regular, and was
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London: Yauatcha
We would never visit London for longer than 48 hours without having a Chinese meal. While it probably can no longer boast it has the best Chinese food in the world, the city continues to offer interesting choices, and seemingly familiar things have different looks and flavors than they show at home. Looking for dinner
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Half & Half
Half & Half could be in San Francisco or London if its tables were closer together. The white walls, the cabinetry behind the bar, which clearly had a previous life, the busy-ness, all feel crisp and morning-esque. Open only for breakfast and lunch, adding brunch specials on the weekend, chef-owner Mike Randolph’s restaurant is clearly
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The Fox and Hounds
Civilization has returned to the corner of Clayton Road and Clayton Avenue. The Fox and Hounds bar in the Cheshire has reopened, looking amazingly like it did in the 1950s and 60s, when the late Mark Pollman held forth behind the bar. His book, “Bottled Wisdom,” is for sale, and a small plaque pays tribute.
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Mistakes Were Made
Joe Hanrahan is a man of considerable talent, enough to carry a piece of rather lightweight fluff like "Mistakes Were Made," a long way. In what is basically a one-man show, Hanrahan finds the charm and humor, and the pain, too, in juggling 10 telephone lines while trying to produce a Broadway hit. The play,
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Point Blank
Although the individual chase sequences don’t match “Bullitt” or “The French Connection” for thrilling action, the overall effect of “Point Blank” leaves a viewer staggering from the sheer impact. The French movie, which opens today, is practically a single, 84-minute chase, and the cumulative effect is simply amazing. Director and co-writer Fred Cavaye shows a
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Vincent Wants the Sea
An anorexic girl, a young man who is obsessive-compulsive and another who has Tourette's syndrome will never be mistaken for the Three Musketeers, but there are a few times during "Vincent Wants the Sea," when director Ralf Huettner makes a pretty good case for it. A poor translation of a German pun makes for an