Theater/Film Reviews
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The Ride Down Mount Morgan
For those whose view of Arthur Miller doesn't go much beyond Death of a Salesman and his fabled marriage to Marilyn Monroe, let us offer The Ride Down Mount Morgan. St. Louis Actors' Studio has it on the boards currently, and it's a worthwhile offering. A study in how hormones make people crazy, it shows
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Solemn Mockeries
Joe Hanrahan has run another of his one-man shows up the flagpole. Should we salute again? He's offering "Solemn Mockeries" at Tower Grove Abbey, a new play about an 18th Century forger. Not too promising a subject? Oh, please. Con men are almost inevitably fascinating, and given Hanrahan's ability to inhabit his characters, the audience
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Elf
The latest Christmas fluff to open is "Elf", playing at the Fox. A full contingent of kiddos was on hand for opening night, including at least one babe in arms, and one can never complain about them being introduced to live theater. They surely were familiar with the movie on which the musical is based.
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The Mousetrap
Another Christmas tradition from the Repertory Theatre of St. Louis has been unwrapped. This year, it's Agatha Christie's "The Mousetrap", the longest-running play in the history of theater. It opened in London in November of 1952, and is still running, moving only once and then to the theater next door, without missing a performance. Richard
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The Butterfingers Angel, Mary & Joseph, Herod the Nut, and the Slaughter of 12 Hit Carols In a Pear Tree
Comes now relief from the plethora of goopy Christmas-ness. Stray Dog Theatre is giving us "The Butterfingers Angel, Mary & Joseph, Herod the Nut, and the Slaughter of 12 Hit Carols In a Pear Tree". It's hard to believe that this goofy semi-satirical piece of work came from William Gibson, the man who wrote "The
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Freud’s Last Session
Don't go to the new Rep Studio production of "Freud's Last Session" expecting an evening of light comedy. The fact that there are several laughs in Mark St. Germain's play doesn't take away from the intellectual challenge of the imaginary meeting between Freud and C.S.Lewis, the author and lay theologian. Freud is in the last
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Woman In Black
Yes, Halloween is done. But autumn is overall the spookiest time of year. Things are dying, empty branches scrape windows, the days dwindle down. Some people feel that this is when the line between this world and the next becomes thin, even permeable. Some of us are intrigued by this sort of thing. Othes find
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Fly
Let me add my voice to the others lauding "Fly", currently at the Repertory Theatre of St. Louis. Just in terms of its format, there will be few in the audience who have seen anything like it before. But it all begins with the story. Even those of us somewhat familiar with the Tuskeegee Airmen
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Diary of a Madman
It's a shame that Upstream Theater's Diary of a Madman has opened in the midst of a pennant run. In St. Louis, this brings down attendance at everything from cultural events to PTA meetings, and in the case of Diary of a Madman attention should be paid. Indeed, in the month's second example of work
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The Good Doctor
Sometimes a cook may use the best ingredients and equipment, exercise the utmost care and yet the resulting dish is only meh. That may be the case for "The Good Doctor," which opened last night at The New Jewish Theatre. It's the recipe – or in this case, the script. It's Anton Chekhov by way