Theater/Film Reviews
-
The People’s Violin
The search for identity, a study of the past and dealing with Mom and Dad are mainstay subjects of theater. Especially Jewish theater. "The People's Violin," which deals with all of them, handles them mostly well in the New Jewish Theatre's production that opened last night at the Clayton High School Little Theatre, where it
-
The White Ribbon
This is a scary movie. No, make that a very scary movie. "The White Ribbon," written and directed by German-born Michael Haneke, is set in a small German town shortly before the outbreak of World War I, a time when the rumbles of change marking the arrival of the 20th century were just beginning to
-
44 Inch Chest
Macho gets highly manic in "44 Inch Chest," not a cinematic biography of Jayne Mansfield or Anna Nicole Smith but a tale of English would-be tough guys trying to make certain that a pal gets nasty revenge against the younger man who seduced his wife, not only into bed, but also out of their marriage.
-
H.M.S. Pinafore
The glorious Gilbert & Sullivan operetta, "H.M.S. Pinafore," sailed up the Mississippi yesterday, gathering "Showboat" and the Goldenrod show boat in its wake before it docked at the Touhill Performing Arts Center and added a perfect ending to a perfect early-spring day. NYGASP, or the New York Gilbert And Sullivan Players, is a group very
-
The Shape of Things
Neil LaBute writes with savage, biting humor that is anything but funny to the person who is its target. It's dangerous humor, too, because he comes very close to exposing what's far below the surface, down where primal emotions churn like vicious undertow beneath the surface of what look like quiet seas. The play opened
-
The Last Station
Leo Tolstoy was a genius, one of history's great writers. Sofya Tolstoy, his wife, is harder to describe, but she was married to him for 48 years, bore him 13 children — and made six hand-written copies of "War and Peace." The tale of the last days of his life, "The Last Station," which opens
-
Mamma Mia
A theatrical success story like few others, "Mamma Mia" made a triumphant return to St. Louis last night with a fast-paced, charming production that displayed its usual fine song and dance, but also offered a script and action that rapidly passed risque and nestled next to ribald on a number of occasions. It will run
-
Why Torture Is Wrong and the People That Love Them
Playwrights' minds are a little off center. Christopher Durang's is closer to the outside edge, and he happily takes large-caliber ammunition to arguments and diatribes about patriotism, terrorism, butterflies, marriage, motherhood and a host of other topics. Dysfunctional people are his favorite kind, and he lines up a goodly number for "Why Torture Is Wrong
-
The Diary of Anne Frank
Anne Frank was 13 years old in June, 1942, when she and her family went into hiding in an attic space in an office building in Amsterdam. They were hiding from the Nazis who had conquered the Netherlands and were busy putting Jews to death, as they did in all the countries they overran. The
-
Speech and Debate
High school students trying to be funny is practically a definition of "sophomoric humor," and there's an awful lot of that in "Speech and Debate," a production of the Stray Dog Theatre affiliate, [insert name here] Theatre Project. The satiric comedy, by Stephen Karam, opened last night at Tower Grove Abbey and will run through