Theater/Film Reviews
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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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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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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
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The Winslow Boy
Principles. A man has to have principles. He has to stand up for what is right. He has to be, if you will forgive a dip into the Dr. Phil playbook, a moral leader in his family. Terrence Rattigan's "The Winslow Boy", first produced in 1946, takes place in 1912-14, and at first we feel
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Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
One of the pleasures of theater-going is letting go of past experiences, whether it's with a particular script or an idea or one's own history – and that list could continue for probably an entire page. People familiar with "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?" are probably more apt to recall the Mike Nichols ground-breaking film
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God of Carnage
It's easy to get the idea initially that "God of Carnage" isn't a comedy. One couple visits another in their home. They're there to settle a dispute over a fight between their sons that's occurred on a nearby playground. Not surprisingly, there is a veneer of politeness on all concerned – these are, after all,
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Bashir Lazhar
You never know somebody's secrets. That's the theme of "Bashir Lahzar", currently on the boards at the Kranzberg Arts Center. It is, essentially, a one-man show, although there's a hidden voice in a loudspeaker and a tween-age girl, this weekend Aliyah Taliaferro, also participating, and the fine music provided live by Farsheed Soltanshahi on various