Theater/Film Reviews
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The Full Monty
It's nearly always a good sign when a show drags an audience member around between ugh and whee! That's pretty much what happened to me with The Full Monty, the final production of Stages St. Louis. The show is an adaptation of an Oscar-nominated British film about unemployed steel workers in England. They've moved it
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Spellbound
"Spellbound" is a work in progress. It's no secret. This is the world premiere showing of what is subtitled "a musical fable". Gary F. Bell. the artistic director of Stray Dog Theatre and co-author of the musical, talks about it as he welcomes the audience. "What you see tonight may well be different by
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Moon Over Buffalo
"Moon Over Buffalo" is a very funny play. Written by Ken Ludwig, it's full of good lines and a fair amount of physical comedy. It's one of those self-referential inside-theater things, but that doesn't make it less funny, and these days, most people who go to theater are there because they know and like theater,
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LaBute New Theater Festival Part 2
Four new one-act plays, plus "Kandahar", create the second half of this year's LaBute New Theater Festival. LaBute's "Kandahar" was also included in the first half with four other new plays. This batch's theme seems to be writers and the arts. Perhaps the best of the batch is "Homebody", a story about a mother and
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Anything Goes
Local lovers of lyrics are in luck this week. Perhaps the two greatest lyricists of the 20th Century are represented on stages in St. Louis, along with their music. Stages St. Louis is presenting Cole Porter's "Anything Goes", an absolute romp, and of course the Muny is offering "Into The Woods" right now. "Anything Goes"
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Into The Woods
A very young theater-goer and her father sat next to me at the Muny last night at the opening of "Into The Woods". They decided to leave at the end of the first act. It was another reminder of why this is a perfect show for the Muny. Take the little ones home at that
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LaBute New Theater Festival, part 1
The first half of St. Louis Actors' Studio's LaBute New Theater Festival is afoot – or, more accurately, astage. Six short plays, the opener being LaBute's "Kahdahar", all interesting in various ways. "Kandahar" is a monologue about a man who seems to be being interrogated. He's clearly Done Something, and when we first hear the
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St. Nicholas/The Good Thief
Joe Hanrahan is at it again. The St. Louis actor who revels in one-man plays is offering what is almost a double header at Herbie's Vintage 72. Yes, that's the restaurant. He's using the lower level as the venue for two plays he's done in the past, both by Irish author Conor McPherson. The plays
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The Killing Of Sister George
"The Killing Of Sister George" is one of those truly wicked comedies, funny and yet deeply uncomfortable to watch. Max & Louie Productions has it on the boards at the Wool Theatre of the Jewish Community Center in Creve Coeur. It's the tale of an actress in a BBC soap opera. Sister George –