Theater/Film Reviews
-
Feast
What becomes a legend most? That was one of advertising’s most famous lines from the mid-Twentieth Century. The campaign for Blackglama mink used wonderful Richard Avedon photos of celebrities who – mostly – qualified as legends. All of them, of course were in the dark, lush and hard-to-photograph fur. Fur coats were probably a given
-
Highway 1, U.S.A.
It’s a very different Opera Theatre of St. Louis this year as they emerge from the COVID months. Sitting – safely distanced – on the parking lot of Webster University facing a stage that looked like those set up on athletic fields for rock concerts becomes, however briefly, one of those am I really in
-
Mlima’s Tale
Aaaaand…we’re off!!!!! Live theatre is back, and for many of us, Mlima’s Tale is the kickoff. It’s the initial offering of the season from The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis, and it looks like they’re heading right for the end zone. If you’ve heard this is a story about an elephant, don’t make the mistake
-
Food and Music: The Great Combination
And now, as the old Monty Python title goes, for something completely different. The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis, dark because of the virus, is putting out a series of four cooking-and-music videos. They’re being released on successive Fridays, the first one, which I’m going to talk about, already out, the next on Friday, December
-
Hello From Bertha
Theatre is a very different thing these days, of course, and there’s another chapter in what the Tennessee Williams Festival St. Louis is doing this year. They’re giving us radio plays that we can pick up online either when they’re run on Classic 107.3 FM on alternating Saturdays at 5 p.m. or later via the
-
This Property is Condemned
Another sign that society operates in circles has appeared in St. Louis. Eighty years ago, people listened to drama on the radio. That would be 1940 or so, the year Tennessee Williams’ play Battle of Angels was professionally produced in Boston. (It didn’t go over well.) Nevertheless, Williams persevered. And so has the Tennessee Williams
-
Theatre in the Year(s? I hope not plural!) of the Plague
Things are starting to stir a little, which is exciting. Here's a chance to livestream something new, make a contribution if you choose, and avoid the potential for being Zoombombed. ERA is presenting MOSCOW!, Chekhov with vodka. Yes, it's Three Sisters with alcohol, livestreamed with social distancing. Because why not? Three performances for each of two weekends,
-
Awards!
Finally, we have news about the St. Louis Critics Circle Awards for 2020. We will be livestreaming the awards on HEC TV on April 7, at 7 p.m. We will be practicing social distancing so we won't be hanging out in the studio reading and laughing and celebrating, but we are, with the help of
-
Awards!
Finally, we have news about the St. Louis Critics Circle Awards for 2020. We will be livestreaming the awards on HEC TV on April 7, at 7 p.m. We will be practicing social distancing so we won't be hanging out in the studio reading and laughing and celebrating, but we are, with the help of
-
Annapurna
Things come in cycles sometimes, don’t they? I’ve found myself in the midst of one that involves people from the past coming together again and resolving, at least, halfway, their questions. It’s been all around me. First-person stories in the New York Times, tales from people I know, episodes in literature, even in my personal