Ann Lemons Pollack
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Kansas City: Webster House
Just by Kansas City's Kauffman Center is Webster Hall. It's an old school building, an 1885 Richardson Romanesque charmer of a place, surprisingly airy and light despite its advanced age. The first floor is a multi-room boutique with everything from art clothing to cookbooks. (Some online reviews describing it as an antique store. It's definitely
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Gidion’s Knot
Do not go see "Gidion's Knot" at St. Louis Actors' Theater if you're looking for lighthearted entertainment. It's a play that slowly, carefully, grabs the audience by the throat and drags them onstage in an act of vicarious shock. Oh, we don't actually see any blood or violence. This is several days after the fact,
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The Dispute
Going to see "The Dispute" is an experience in itself before the audience takes their seats. It's the initial production from a new theatre collective called YoungLiars, pretty much pure experimental theatre. The piece, adapted by the group's producing directors Maggie Conroy and Chuck Harper, began with what the program describes as "a semi-literal Google
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Disgraced
"Disgraced" is not quite ripped from the headlines, a la "Law and Order". But it surely is timely piece of work, given this political year. And unlike "All the Way", which opened the Rep season and which looked at the past and how it influences the present, "Disgraced" is about the present and how it
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I’ll Be Back Before Midnight
Only the other day, I said to a friend, "Whatever happened to negligees?" I can now report that at least one survives. It's currently on view at Stray Dog Theatre. "I'll Be Back Before Midnight" is a murder mystery taking place in that classic setting, a creepy country house. This one is far from baronial,
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Byrd and Barrel
Surely I am not the only one that finds deep, almost unsettling irony in Byrd and Barrel's location. It's in an old Popeye's Fried Chicken building. Years ago I, not once but twice, knew the neighborhood well – it was close to several hospitals. They've even kept the drive-through, but the inside is far more
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Shameless Self-Promotion. Or At Least Partially.
I'm on the board of the St. Louis Media History Foundation. That's because they have a scholarship in Joe's name and I'm honored to have a finger in that pie. Now the folks at 1111 Mississippi have put together a dinner that celebrates Chef Bob Colosimo's win as chef of the year from the local
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Vaguely Caesarian Dip
Another addition to my collection of things to go with crudites, yes. I don't think this is quite as good with corn or potato chips, although pita chips might do. It all began with a recipe on the net that offered a Caesar salad dressing made with smoked oysters. Smoked oysters are pretty intense. I
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Morning Food at the Ritz-Carlton
It's the Ritz. They've set their own standard from the time they first opened their doors in Clayton, and long before that at their earlier outposts. (Some may remember Pollack's First Law: Restaurants set their own standards by the way they price themselves. It's just as true with hotels.) So when they discontinued their opulent
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Shining City
Everybody in "Shining City" has a problem. But that makes for good drama, and author Conor McPherson's work, now on display at Upstream Theater, takes full advantage of the human condition. Set in a small and obviously low-budget – beware the door – office in Dublin, a newly-minted therapist has begun to see patients. So