Theater/Film Reviews
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The Realistic Joneses
Jennifer and Bob sit outside on a summer night. It’s quiet and pleasant. Soon, there’s a noise offstage, and then footsteps. It’s their new neighbors, John and Pony, who banged into the garbage can, uh, while they were listening to Jennifer and Bob. But politeness prevails, and it turns out that the new couple has
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Mamma Mia!
The original version of the movie Mamma Mia! looks better than ever now that the followup film continuing the story has been released. (You want irritable? Try The New York Times review of it.) Stages St. Louis currently shows off their version of the stage production on which the movie was based, and the smaller
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The Importance of Being Earnest
It’s hard to resist a play that includes probably the 19th Century’s greatest food scene. The Importance of Being Earnest is the current offering from Insight Theatre Company, scampering across the stage at the Grandel Theatre. It’s Oscar Wilde at his best, one funny line after another. One of the main reasons this production glows
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H.M.S. Pinafore
Ah, those staid Victorians…. H.M.S. Pinafore, now staged by the Union Avenue Opera Company puts the lie to many of the stereotypes we, uh, pin on them. It’s classic Gilbert and Sullivan, of course, and modern theatre-goers might be interested to know that their work bridged things into modern musical theatre as it began to
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Jersey Boys
Once upon a time, the then-Municipal Opera in St. Louis gave the audiences shows like Sigmund Romberg’s The Student Prince. Teenagers would wonder to themselves, Why are they doing stuff like that? Who wants to hear an operetta, for crying out loud? Of course, it was the people who paid for the tickets who wanted
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2018 LaBute New Theatre Festival, Set I
It’s time once again for the annual LaBute New Theater Festival at St. Louis Actors’ Theatre. This is the sixth year for the festival, and a good chance for theatre-goers who want to avoid The Same Stuff to see brand new work. As William Roth, SLAS Artistic Director, said on opening night, the short plays
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Singin’ in the Rain
Precipitation and the Muny are old friends. Last week’s opening of The Wiz had a rain delay, of course. The current show, Singin’ in the Rain, whose title has surely caused dozens of jokes among staff and audience alike, was prepared for more than just jokes, we’re sure. But the only rain that fell was
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The Wiz
It’s the Muny tradition, still continuing as they enter their second century: The show must go on. The Wiz began at 9.36 p.m. on opening night. They’d hoped for earlier but a second round of steady rain put things off again. Stalwart audience members stuck around though, mostly covered in the pavilions on either side
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Hedda Gabler
Hedda Gabler is on the boards at Stray Dog Theatre. It’s a sure winner for those who want something beyond the summer fluffies. Yes, it’s a major work; the title character is considered one of the most important dramatic roles in theater. It’s the sort of story that American soap operas can only hope to
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Blow, Winds: Full Review
One of the great things about theatre is how it manages to amalgamate so many disciplines into a single experience – or as Ed Kleban wrote to Marvin Hamlisch’s music, “One singular sensation”. Blow, Winds is singular, but far more than a single sensation. This year’s Shakespeare in the Streets production is about St. Louis