Theater/Film Reviews
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The Music Man
Has The Music Man, which opened Tuesday night at the Muny, become America’s favorite musical? Possibly. Certainly it must be among the most-performed, including a certain small-town Missouri high school in 1963, where I first saw it. But the score remains fresh and charming, and the zeal and innocence still capture us. This is a
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Company
Insight Theatre Company has taken on one of the big dogs to kick off its seventh season. Steven Sondheim’s Company, complete with a four-piece orchestra, arrives on a set more complicated than it looks and with a cast of fourteen to sing Sondheim’s work. Sondheim, too, is more complicated that he appears on first being
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42nd Street
How much fun is 42nd Street? Plenty. Certainly theater likes to do shows about itself, both musicals and straight plays, but this must be one of the earliest. It’s based on the 1933 Hollywood film (and a novel that preceded it, which has sunk into oblivion). Producer David Merrick, a native St. Louisan, turned it
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It Shoulda Been You
Something completely new has come to town at Stages St. Louis. It Shoulda Been You makes its first appearance in any regional theater. It ran on Broadway, with Tyne Daly, in 2015. Rebecca is getting married. There’s an old boyfriend from some years back – the whole family loved him and they have a few
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Five Women Wearing the Same Dress
Life is pretty serious these days. A few hours of froth is just what we need for a brief escape, and Stray Dog Theatre has stepped up to provide some. Five Women Wearing the Same Dress is not – as I had originally surmised – a story of women at a fancy party discovering that
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Atomic
Just because Atomic is a rock musical about atomic physicists doesn’t mean it’s a case of Mickey and Judy saying, “Hey, gang, let’s build a bomb!” The characters are based on real people who create the first and second atomic bomb. What? You never thought you’d see Edward Teller and Enrico Fermi sing and dance?
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A Midsummer’s Night Dream
Shakespeare rookies, we’ve got a good one for you. Sure, A Midsummer Night’s Dream is commonly offered as an easy option for newcomers to the work of Stratford-upon-Avon’s most famous resident. But Shakespeare Festival St. Louis’ 2016 offering, directed by Artistic and Executive Director Rick Dildine, is particularly easy-going and understandable. At times, it feels
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Broken Bone Bathtub
Theater in non-traditional settings is always a grabber. When a performer breaks the fourth wall, the invisible one between performer and audience, it adds yetanother element to the experience. Broken Bone Bathtub combines the two into an evening that’s quite remarkable. Brought to St. Louis by That Uppity Theatre Company and The Drama Club Stl,
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Jersey Boys
The boys from Jersey are back. Nah, it’s not the guys from the Bing. It’s Frankie Valli and his pals who made up the Four Seasons, in “Jersey Boys”, currently enthralling folks at the Fox. For my peers, it’s the soundtrack of our youth. The show was here two years ago, but this version turned
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Dough
Dough is the story of a kosher baker in a transitional neighborhood in London. He's a widower, his only child, a son, is a fancy-schmancy barrister and his apprentice has just politely resigned to go to work for the chain store next door. His grandfather started the business – what's a chap to do? Sell