Theater/Film Reviews
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District Merchants
Overheard at District Merchants on its opening night at The New Jewish Theatre: “Shakespeare? I didn’t know this was Shakespeare!” The extraordinary production of Aaron Posner’s play, which riffs on The Merchant of Venice the way Posner did with Chekhov in Life Sucks! (a take on Uncle Vanya), requires no familiarity at all with the
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2019 Theater Circle Nominees
Here are the nominees for the 2019 Theater Circle Awards. We will announce the winners at the ceremony March 25 at the Rep. Tickets for what's been referred to as "theatre nerd prom" are at Brown Paper Tickets. Outstanding Supporting Actress in a ComedyKari Ely, Into the Breeches!, Shakespeare Festival St. LouisCarmen Garcia, Luchadora!,
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Wolves
A pack of young she-wolves are roaming the Studio Theatre at The Rep these days. They’re energetic, sometimes focused but often with short attention spans, and very yappy. The Wolves, by Sarah DeLappe, is about a girls’ soccer team called the Wolves. They’re high-school-aged, playing in an indoor league, some of them long-time acquaintances. The
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Love, Linda
Is it a love story or a cabaret act? Love, Linda is a combination of the two. Max & Louie Productions’ current offering brings us an interesting variation on what’s often referred to as the “And then I wrote…” genre. Linda Lee (her maiden name) Porter, a now-divorced Louisville belle, was married to Cole Porter.
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Canfield Drive
The Black Rep is premiering, not just a St. Louis premiere, but a world premiere, of Canfield Drive. For the rest of the world, the name may not evoke instant memories, but for St. Louisans, it can’t help but do so. Canfield Drive is where Michael Brown was shot in August of 2014. The play
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Alabama Story
Is Alabama Story just another play about racism? Hardly. History is basically story-telling – and then, as a retired history teacher said to me recently, “connecting the dots to see the bigger picture”. The closer the story is, whether it’s in terms of time or geography or sociology, the more relevant it is. Surely it’s
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The Most Fabulous Story Ever Told
Not all holiday plays are meant to be…um, family-friendly. The Most Fabulous Story Ever Told would work for some families, certainly, but not for those with smaller, curious children or who are offended by nudity or sexuality or even sexual orientation. Written by Paul Rudnick, who Ben Brantley, reviewing this play for The New York
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A Christmas Story
I admit I always think about A Christmas Story with a bit deeper nostalgia than some people. I, too, grew up in a small Midwestern town, but it’s not that commonality making me smile. I was, I believe, the only little girl in town with a Red Ryder carbine action air rifle – or, as
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An Act of God
To paraphrase Judy Blume, are you there, St. Louis? It’s Me, God. God’s decided to return to St. Louis, not that He ever left, but it seems He’s doing some revisions of the Ten Commandments. To make Himself manifest to us, He explains, He’s appearing as an actor named Alan Knoll. And that’s just the
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Shotspeare
Shotspeare is way not just for Shakespeare buffs. In fact, I’m sure that some Deeply Serious Shakespeare-ophiles will be Deeply Offended by it. But rowdy, indeed bawdy humor was common in Elizabethan times. Shotspeare fits right into that. The small venue that’s the Playhouse at Westport is pretty much perfect for a show that involves