Ann Lemons Pollack
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Briefs 2015
St. Louis is having to learn all over again about diversity. It's not just us, of course – hello, Indiana? – but it's here, and we're here, and society has to get over its need to feel superior to a world of people who may very well not resemble us. This weekend at the Centene
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How Hot Is That Chicken?
Yes, Nashville-style hot (as in spicy) chicken is coming to St. Louis. But how about a shout-out to chicken that tastes good long after it leaves the fryer? Or do you think that's gross? Read more about it here, where I ponder the question.
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Kinky Boots
"Kinky Boots" seems the offspring of a chance mating of "The Full Monty" and "Priscilla Queen of the Desert". "La Cage aux Folles" was its godmother. The show, a dance musical with more sequins and spangles than a Mardi Gras ball, opened Tuesday night at the Fox. A struggling shoe factory in the English Midlands
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Cod Squad 2015, Part 4
Is it technically a Lenten Fish Fry if it's held at a nonreligious institution? En route to the Rep, I stopped by VFW Post 3500 on Big Bend in Richmond Heights. It's a folksy place, reminding me of similar spots where I grew up in outstate Missouri. The bar is smoky, but the food is
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Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike
A couple of generations ago, there was an ad campaign in New York City for a local bakery. The ads featured portraits, including an Asian lad, a native American, a broad-faced cop, Buster Keaton each with a piece of bread, a bite taken out of it. On each ad was the slogan, "You don't have
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Flashback: The Lettuce Leaf
I never thought I'd be one to get misty-eyed over salads, but when I reflect back on the Lettuce Leaf, it's hard not to become nostalgic. I wrote about it in St. Louis Magazine, and here it is on their website.
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Jerry Springer The Opera
For those who haven't been around St. Louis theater very long, let us explain that Scott Miller, artistic director and founder of New Line Theatre, pretty much lives for off-the-wall musical theater. It's almost an invasion of privacy to imagine what his shuddering delight must have been like upon discovering "Jerry Springer The Opera". This
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Buyer & Cellar
Sometimes the soul cries out for an evening of art that isn't Socially Significant. Laughter promotes endorphin release, like another activity we won't go into here, and it's good for your immune system. One walks out of "Buyer & Seller" at the Rep Studio considerably healthier than one walked in. The only bad news is
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Sight Unseen
This blog began with food and only wandered into theater. Therefore, it's only proper that we begin the review of "Sight Unseen" at The New Jewish Theatre by pointing out that the main character in the play, Jonathan Waxman is not the trombonist who became one of the early and then leading chefs of the
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Afflicted: Daughters of Salem
Metro Theater Company, which most of us think of as presenting children's theater, is bringing us "Afflicted: Daughters of Salem", a play that's aimed at "adults and young people age 10 and up", per their website. The Laurie Brooks play is, in many ways, a prequel to "The Crucible", dealing with the group of young