St. Louis Theatre Snob

FIDDLER ON THE ROOF • Fly North Theatricals

2026-04-26T14:06:00.004-05:00

After learning that there was going to be a production of Fiddler on the Roof at the Greenfinch Theater & Dive I thought, “Fiddler? In an 80-seat black box theatre?” Fly North Theatricals answered with a thunderous, “absolutely!”, offering a nimble, high-octane staging of this much-loved musical theatre classic. Set in the turn-of-the-century shtetl of Anatevka, Fiddler is teeming with equal measures of the joys and sorrows revolving around Tevye, a humble milkman, his wife Golde, and their five daughters, all living in the ominous shadow of Czarist Russia.

In arguably one of the best opening numbers ever written, “Tradition” doesn’t waste any time introducing the characters, their way of life and the show’s central themes. Anatevka starts off as a nearly bare stage, but quickly comes to life with the everyday activities of its residents as set pieces are brought onstage and frameworks of the shtetl’s buildings are rolled into place. The members of this community endure through their traditions, but change always looms just around the corner. When societal shifts happening in the world outside of Anatevka creep their way into town, the ground beneath Tevye’s feet starts to crumble. How far is he willing to adapt and bend long-held conventions for the sake of his daughters - three of whom have dared to find their own love interests without the help of the local matchmaker?

Tevye (Ryan Cooper).

Photo credit: Katie Orr

The cast sounds terrific, and features FNT students performing alongside professional actors. Leading the cast is an indominable Ryan Cooper, surging with energy as Tevye. The vocal range of the role seems to sit squarely in Cooper's sweet spot, resulting in strong-voiced, exuberant renditions of many of the show’s most popular numbers. He also shines in the moments where Tevye re-evaluates the old ways, like in “Tevye's Monologue”, where he literally pounds on his drum in an effort to beat back the unavoidable approach of modernity, as strains of “Tradition” struggle to win through. Rachel Bailey is the strong-willed matriarch, Golde. Bailey’s also got a great set of pipes and gives Golde a world-weariness that’s as terse as it is tender. Additional standouts include Sarah Lantsberger, who nails the comedic notes as the matchmaker Yente, and delivers a frightfully good Fruma-Sarah in a very creatively staged “Tevye's Dream”. FNT student Danielle Singleton is first-rate as Hodel, with stirring, gracefully controlled vocals that radiate in “Far From the Home I Love”. Jade Cash charms as the oldest daughter, Tzeitel, and Henry Schumacher and Milo Garlich are memorable as two prospective love interests, Perchik and Motel, who have their work cut out for them in wearing down the protective objections of Tevye.

Perchik (Henry Schumacher)
and Hodel (Danielle Singleton).
Photo credit: Katie Orr

Fiddler on the Roof’s score, one of my favorites, is heavily influenced by Klezmer music - instrumental folk music of Eastern European Jews, often featuring the clarinet, violin and accordion. Those distinctive modal scales, reminiscent of a synagogue cantor, lend a vibrant flavor to everything from the gentle, devotional melodies of "Sabbath Prayer" and the poignant “Sunrise, Sunset”, to the boisterous zest of “If I Were a Rich Man” and “To Life" (L'chaim). The actor-musicians - Fiona Brickey, Josh Baumgartner, Rachel Bailey, Colin Healy and Bradley Rohlf, handle the score beautifully. Director Caleb D. Long keeps the action humming along at a lively clip, and his fantastic Jerome Robbins-inspired choreography is woven through every bit of the show.

Yente (Sarah Lantsberger) and Golde (Rachel Bailey).
Photo credit: Katie Orr

Fly North Theatricals finds the comedy in every nook and cranny, and the emotional themes of family and perseverance resonate even more deeply within the intimate confines of the Greenfinch Theater. If you've seen Fiddler before, this is a mighty fine production to revisit, and if you’ve never seen it, what are you waiting for? It’s playing until May 3rd.

FIDDLER ON THE ROOF

Music by Jerry Bock

Lyrics by Sheldon Harnick

Book by Joseph Stein

Directed by Caleb D. Long

Greenfinch Theater & Dive, 2525 S. Jefferson Ave.

through May 3 | tickets: Tickets for this production of Fiddler on the Roof are priced as “Pay-What-You-Want” to the community as part of FNT’s Theater For All Initiative.

Performances Thursday through Saturday @ 7:30pm, Sundays @ 2:00pm.

Tevye (Ryan Cooper), Shprintze (Annie Miller),
Golde (Rachel Bailey), The Fiddler (Fiona Brickey),
and Bielke (Lacie Irby).
Photo credit: Katie Orr

Cast

(in order of appearance)

The Fiddler: Fiona Brickey

Nachum & Others: Josh Baumgartner

Tevye: Ryan Cooper

Mordcha & Others: Colin Healy

Rabbi & Others: Bradley Rohlf

Yente & Fruma-Sarah: Sarah Lantsberger

Lazar Wolf: Ken Haller

Mendel & Others: Callum Thompson*

Shprintze: Annie Miller*

Golde: Rachel Bailey

Hodel: Danielle Singleton*

Bielke: Lacie Irby*

Tzeitel & Grandma Tzeitel: Jade Cash

Chava: Zoe Klevorn

Motel: Milo Garlich

Perchik: Henry Schumacher*

Shaindel & Others: Maggie Nold

Fyedka: Kieran Thompson*

Constable: Scott MacDonald

Tzeitel (Jade Cash) and Motel (Milo Garlich).
Photo credit: Katie Orr

Crew

Choreographer: Caleb D. Long

Music Director: Colin Healy

Stage Manager: Reagan Posey-Mank

Costume Design: Jen Blum-Tatara

Sound Design: LP Guterman

Lighting Design: Ryan Thorp

Scenic Painting: Katie Orr

Set Design: Caleb D. Long, Bradley Rohlf & Colin Healy

Props Design: Caleb D. Long

Asst. Choreographer: Maggie Nold

Original Broadway Choreography: Jerome Robbins

*Denotes Student of Fly North Theatricals

Musicians

Violin: Fiona Brickey

Clarinet: Josh Baumgartner

Guitar: Rachel Bailey

Accordion, Piano: Colin Healy

Percussion: Bradley Rohlf

THE END OF THE WORLD CABARET • Upstream Theater

2026-04-19T01:11:00.000-05:00

When Earth, more specifically its inhabitants, disturb the cosmic balance, a comet is sent to annihilate those reckless humans and restore harmony to the solar system. That’s the set up for Austrian playwright, poet, journalist and political activist Jura Soyfer’s 1936 satire, Der Weltuntergang (The End of the World). By combining different versions of Soyfer’s surviving texts, Upstream Theater’s artistic director, Philip Boehm, has given Der Weltuntergang a smart, terribly relevant adaptation, continuing the season’s theme of “When Worlds Collide”. Soyfer’s play was performed in the basement cabarets of Vienna during a time of Austro-fascism, economic depression and the growing influence of Nazi Germany. The underground cabarets were one of the few places where Soyfer’s sharp criticisms of Austria’s authoritarian regime could be expressed. Similar to Netflix’s Don't Look Up, The End of the World Cabaret makes its point not in the impending extinction of humanity, but society’s reactions to it. Tyrants, diplomats, the well-heeled and the hard up are equally skewered, displaying a range of responses that pivot around foolish denial and an opportunistic resilience that would be admirable if it weren’t so depraved. Still, the playwright holds redemption for Earth within reach - a mercy that proved unattainable for Soyfer, who was deported to Dachau and later Buchenwald, where he died at only 26 years old, just days before his scheduled release.

Comet (Chris Tipp) and Earth (Sarah Wilkinson).
Photo credit: Patrick Huber

An ensemble of nine impressively cover over three dozen characters, and an aptly named Professor Peep (a fantastic Chris Tipp), seems to be the sole clear-eyed witness to humanity’s madness. He’s devised a machine that might alter the comet’s trajectory, but his appeals and warnings go unheeded. International broadcasts and musical numbers are peppered among bureaucratic buffoonery, the push to buy End-of-the-World bonds, and the day-to-day lives of folks who carry on in blind indifference. At one point, Peep says something along the lines of, “whoever holds truth in the highest esteem is destined to lose.” How's that for prophecy?

Preacher (Patrick Blindauer).
Photo credit: Patrick Huber

Upstream’s tireless players do a wonderful job trooping through a succession of characters, and Lizi Watt directs with an imaginative hand. Original music by Sleepy Kitty’s Paige Brubeck with Boehm’s lyrics provide some fine songs that complement the play’s tonal shifts, and Aidan Siliceo-Roman’s intricate sound design and Steve Carmichael’s lights contribute heavily to the production’s success. Meredith LaBounty and Anabel Weiland provide an eclectic mix of costumes, and Dawn Karlovsky’s choreography is uniquely distinct. Patrick Huber’s scenic design hides some nifty resourcefulness and Max Florida’s scenic paint features a floor adorned with the zodiac.

The End of the World Cabaret is an adventurous, refreshing change of pace that feels every bit like a cabaret. Its intimate setting, political parody and contemporary relevance make it well worth checking out. It’s playing at The Marcelle until May 3rd.

Auntie (Jane Paradise), Peep (Chris Tipp),
Street singers (Amarachi Kalu, John Flack, and Sarah Wilkinson).
Photo credit: Patrick Huber

THE END OF THE WORLD CABARET

Adapted from Jura Soyfer's Der Weltuntergang by Philip Boehm

Original music by Paige Brubeck

Directed by Lizi Watt

The Marcelle, 3310 Samuel Shepard Drive

through May 3 | tickets: $45 - Adult, $40 - Senior, $25 - Student, $15 - Bohemian Thursdays (April 23 & 30).

All shows 7:30pm except Sunday April 19 at 7pm, and April 26 and May 3 at 2pm.

Cast

Sun and others: Jane Paradise*

Moon and others: John Flack*

Comet / Peep: Chris Tipp*

Mercury and others: Caitlin Mickey*

Venus and others: Isaiah DiLorenzo

Earth and others: Sarah Wilkinson

Mars and others: Patrick Blindauer*

Saturn and others: Amarachi Kalu

Pluto and others: Ashwini Arora

Franzi the Dog (Ashwini Arora),
Ladies (Caitlin Mickey and Jane Paradise),
and Wilhemina the Dog (John Flack).
Photo credit: Patrick Huber

Crew

Music Director: Joe Schoen

Choreographer: Dawn Karlovsky

Adaptation: Philip Boehm

Composer: Paige Brubeck

Scenic Design: Patrick Huber

Costume Design: Meredith LaBounty and Anabel Weiland

Lighting Design: Steve Carmichael

Sound Design: Aidan Siliceo-Roman

Properties: Maria I. Straub

Scenic Painter: Max Florida

Wardrobe: Nola Buehler

Production Stage Manager: Patrick Siler*

Assistant Stage Manager: Jocelyn Padilla*

Production Manager: Gus Kickham

Technical Director: Sage Stith

Master Electrician: Jamey Pearson

Board Operator: Jake Santhuff

Sound Engineer: Aidan Siliceo-Roman

House Manager: Monica Roscoe

Sheet Music Transcription: John Dorhauer

Photographer: Patrick Huber

Graphic Art/ Website: Sleepy Kitty Arts

Microphone System: Assured Construction Compliance, LLC

Tech Crew: Tessa Renken, Alex Merkt, Walker Swann

KAF Facilities: Emily Hoffman, Soozi Mikulas

* Denotes member of Actors’ Equity Association, the Union of Professional Actors and Stage Managers in the United States

THE HALF-LIFE OF MARIE CURIE • St. Louis Actors' Studio

2026-04-06T22:06:00.002-05:00

Polish-born Maria Skłodowska-Curie, better known as Marie Curie, was a brilliant physicist and chemist. In 1903 the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences awarded Curie, her husband Pierre, and Henri Becquerel the Nobel Prize in Physics for their shared research in “radiation phenomena”, making her the first woman to receive a Nobel Prize. In 1911 she was awarded another Nobel Prize, in Chemistry this time, for the discovery of radium and polonium, earning her the distinction of being the only woman to win twice, and the only person to win in two different scientific disciplines. But that same year, an affair with a married man landed her in scandal. Her husband had died years earlier, but that didn’t matter. Curie’s adoptive home of France maligned her as a wicked, foreign homewrecker. Curie’s good friend, Hertha Ayrton, an electrical engineer and suffragette who was notable in her own right, came to the rescue and sped Curie away to her seaside home in England to escape the constant hounding from the public and press. This is the setting for St. Louis Actors' Studio’s current offering, co-produced with The Orange Girls theatre company, featuring Meghan Baker as Marie Curie and Michelle Hand as Hertha Ayrton.

Marie Curie (Meghan Baker)
and Hertha Ayrton (Michelle Hand).
Photo credit: Patrick Huber

The Orange Girls strove to find artistically challenging work for female actors, directors and designers, and it's fitting that they are co-producing Half-Life, since Baker and Hand (along with Brooke Edwards) were the founders of the company. The real-life chemistry (no pun intended) between these two actors is evident, and greatly elevates a play that keeps its characters confined to rather narrow registers. With both women excelling in the male-dominated arena of science, Curie and Ayrton could relate to one another on levels that few others could, and the slings and arrows that accompanied their successes made their alliance all the more vital. Hand’s sharp wit and outspoken nature plays well off of Baker’s melancholy, and watching them interact with each other is most engaging. But while there’s no question concerning the gender-biases they faced, playwright Lauren Gunderson's intentions are undisguised, reiterating these issues without providing much depth of character, and little exploration of what sparked their lofty scientific pursuits.

Hertha Ayrton (Michelle Hand)
and Marie Curie (Meghan Baker).
Photo credit: Patrick Huber

Luckily, Baker and Hand capably breathe as much life into the characters as the script allows, and director Nancy Bell works in some nice staging to give the play some movement. Patrick Huber’s set design was inspired by Anselm Kiefer’s Für Gregory Corso (currently on display at the St. Louis Art Museum), and was artfully lit by Denisse Chavez. Kristi Gunther’s sound design kept the proceedings grounded along with some nice touches like a clicking sound reminiscent of a Geiger counter, and Teresa Doggett’s costumes reflected early 20th century fashions.

The performances, creative touches and direction make this worth checking out, but Gunderson’s play doesn’t give these trailblazers the radiance they deserve. The Half-Life of Marie Curie is at The Gaslight Theater until the 19th.

Marie Curie (Meghan Baker)
and Hertha Ayrton (Michelle Hand).
Photo credit: Patrick Huber

THE HALF-LIFE OF MARIE CURIE

Written by Lauren Gunderson

Directed by Nancy Bell*

The Gaslight Theater, 358 N. Boyle Ave.

through April 19 | tickets: $62.13 - $67.40

Performances Thursdays to Saturdays at 8pm, Sundays at 3pm.

Cast

Marie Curie: Meghan Baker

Hertha Ayrton: Michelle Hand*

Crew

Managing Producer: Kristi Gunther

Stage Manager. Amy J. Paige*

Set Design: Patrick Huber

Lighting Design: Denisse Chavez

Sound Design: Kristi Gunther

Costumes Design: Teresa Doggett

Props Design: Maria I. Straub-David

Dresser: Lexy Witcher

Technical Director: Joshua Ortega

Scenic Paint: Andy Cross

Light Board Operator: Elena Garcia

Poster Art: Sophie Binder

House Manager: Lilian Claire Dodenhoff

* Denotes member of Actors’ Equity Association, the Union of Professional Actors and Stage Managers in the United States

ROSENCRANTZ AND GUILDENSTERN ARE DEAD • St. Louis Shakespeare Festival

2026-03-28T17:59:00.002-05:00

What to do when you’re a pair of minor characters in Shakespeare’s Hamlet, waiting in the wings with no idea why you’re there? In Tom Stoppard’s exceptional Tony Award-winner (1966), Hamlet is seen from the lowly perspective of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, two unexceptional courtiers situated along the fringes of the play. Here, they're placed front and center in the midst of a plot they don’t understand and adrift in an inevitable progression of events they can’t control. In association with Albion Theatre, St. Louis Shakespeare Festival kicks off its 2026 season with a striking production of Stoppard’s play that plumbs existential depths with an insight that is, remarkably, as comedic as it is profound.

The fate of our hapless duo is spoiled in the title, but the slow realization of their ultimate end is the thing, as snippets of Hamlet play out sporadically in the background. Ros and Guil’s confusion runs so deep that they’re not even sure of their own names, and a game of coin flipping that comes up “heads” repeatedly sets the tone for the play’s absurdist suspension of natural laws.

Guildenstern (Ryan Omar Stack) and

Rosencrantz (Mitchell Henry-Eagles).

Photo credit: Phillip Hamer Photography

Rosencrantz (Mitchell Henry-Eagles) and Guildenstern (Ryan Omar Stack) approach their upended reality with an appealing contrast. An angst-ridden Guildenstern tries to reason it out with passionate, philosophical ramblings, while Rosencrantz goes with the flow of their inescapable loop in a cloud of naive, charming bewilderment. The one person who seems to have a clue is the Player (Jeff Cummings), the leader of a traveling troupe of actors called the Tragedians. He hints at the greater truths behind unfolding events, but the implications of these truths are completely lost on our stooges of Elsinore.

Guildenstern (Ryan Omar Stack), Player (Jeff Cummings)

and Rosencrantz (Mitchell Henry-Eagles).

Photo credit: Phillip Hamer Photography

One thing that is crystal clear is Tom Stoppard’s linguistic prowess, and Henry-Eagles, Stack and Cummings play the rhythms of his dialogue beautifully. These three are just so good. St. Louis Shakespeare Festival’s artistic director, Tom Ridgely, skillfully helms the production, keeping the weighty subject matter buoyant and accessible with thoughtful stage direction and a cadence that doesn’t miss a beat. Other members of the cast also handle the material quite well, with Tiélere Cheatem in a variety of roles and Sean C. Seifert’s Hamlet being standouts. Amanda Werre’s sound design is additionally notable with transitional music that is joyously spot on.

This production was sold out before it began. Due to popular demand, the run has been extended with a waiting list set up for tickets. I would try to nab one if I were you. It’s playing at the Kranzberg until April 12.

(Front l to r) Rosencrantz (Mitchell Henry-Eagles),
Claudius (Eric Nenninger) and Gertrude (Joy Christina Turner).
(Back l to r) Attendant 3 (Ian Miller), Attendant 2 (Mason Ramsey)
and Attendant 1 (Bryn McLaughlin).
Photo credit: Phillip Hamer Photography

ROSENCRANTZ AND GUILDENSTERN ARE DEAD

Written by Tom Stoppard

Directed by Tom Ridgely

Kranzberg Black Box Theater, 501 North Grand Blvd.

through April 12 | tickets: Discounted ticket types will require valid ID at the door. Standard General Admission: $55, Seniors (65+), Active Duty Military, & Educators: $45, Students: $20

Performances Saturdays at 2pm & 7pm, Wednesday, Thursdays and Fridays at 7pm, Sunday, April 12 at 2pm.

Polonius (Lynn Berg) and Hamlet (Sean C. Seifert).
Photo credit: Phillip Hamer Photography

Cast

Polonius/Ambassador: Lynn Berg

Ophelia: Danielle Bryden

Player King/Soldier/English King/Horatio: Tiélere Cheatem

Player/Lucianus: Jeff Cummings*

Alfred/Player Queen: India Eddy

Rosencrantz: Mitchell Henry-Eagles*

Spy/Laertes/Attendant 1: Bryn McLaughlin

Spy/Ambassador/Attendant 3: Ian Miller

Claudius: Eric Nenninger*

Poisoner/Fortinbras/Attendant 2: Mason Ramsey

Hamlet: Sean C. Seifert

Guildenstern: Ryan Omar Stack*

Gertrude: Joy Christina Turner

Rosencrantz (Mitchell Henry-Eagles)
and Guildenstern (Ryan Omar Stack).
Photo credit: Phillip Hamer Photography

Crew

Scenic/Lighting/ Props Design: Katherine Stepanek

Costume Design: Olivia Radle

Sound Design: Amanda Werre

Fight Coordinator: Bart Williams

Intimacy Coordinator: Nikki Green

Scenic Design Assistant: Claudia Emig

Stage Manager: Kathryn Ballard*

Assistant Stage Manager: Lexi Sims

Co-Producer: Robert Ashton

Co-Producer: Colin O’Brien

Production Company: Blank Slate

* Denotes member of Actors’ Equity Association, the Union of Professional Actors and Stage Managers in the United States

THE WOMAN IN BLACK • The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis

2025-10-11T23:53:00.000-05:00

There’s nothing like a good old-fashioned ghost story when the weather just starts to cool. This one ran for 33 years at the Fortune Theatre in London’s West End before taking its final bow in March of 2023. The Woman in Black, adapted by Stephen Mallatratt from Susan Hill’s 1983 novel, has been touring regionally and internationally for decades, and now the tale is being told here in a staging of the original London production, continuing The Rep’s 59th season.

A flustered Arthur Kipps (Ben Porter) arrives onstage with a lengthy account of ghastly events that took place years earlier. He intends to relate his experiences to his family with the hopes of providing a catharsis of sorts, and an end to his lingering nightmares. He’s hired a professional actor (James Byng) to help coach him in the telling of the story, which Kipps desperately needs. He initially mumbles his recollections in a timid blur of words, providing a fair bit of comedy in the first several minutes, but with the encouragement of the actor, Kipps is bitten by the acting bug and soon settles into the groove. The narrative concerns a lawyer, the young Mr. Kipps, who travels to the town of Crythin Gifford to attend the burial of Mrs. Drablow, his firm’s long-time client, and put her personal affairs in order. All of the familiar ghost story trappings are here, from murky marshes and an isolated mansion, to spectral sightings, secretive townsfolk and a twist. The actor decides to take on the role of the young Kipps himself, while Kipps plays just about everyone else and serves as the narrator. Mallatratt primes you by cleverly framing his adaptation as a play-within-a-play, enticing you to lean in. And as the actor impresses Mr. Kipps with a collection of pre-recorded sounds to help dramatize the tale, we too are reminded of how impactful the simple conventions of theatrical storytelling can be.

Ben Porter.
Photo credit: Jon Gitchoff

Michael Holt’s scenic design consists of nothing more than some drapes, a wicker trunk, and a few pieces of furniture. The sparseness plays well against Anshuman Bhatia’s lights that incorporate eerie shadows, focused spotlights and sudden darkness, while Sebastian Frost’s immersive sound plunges you amid pony-drawn carriages and fog-laden causeways. No lavish sets required when these elements and your imagination are in sync. Porter is relatable and engaging as Arthur Kipps, and portrays a variety of town locals, slipping into different dialects as easily as he slips into different coats. James Byng is keen as the Actor, and leads us through the harrowing chronicles of Mr. Kipps with creeping apprehension.

It’s the perfect time for ghost stories, and The Woman in Black offers the kind of shared theatre experience that elicits the nervous chuckles that follow extended silence and startled flinches. It’s playing at the Rep until the 26th.

Pictured L to R: Ben Porter and James Byng.
Photo credit: Jon Gitchoff

THE WOMAN IN BLACK

Adapted by Stephen Mallatratt

Directed by Robin Herford

Loretto-Hilton Center, 130 Edgar Road

through October 26 | tickets: $46 - $103

Rush Tickets: Available for students, seniors, educators, and theatre professionals by calling the Box Office at 314-968-4925, 1 - 2 hours prior to curtain time.

Performances Wednesdays to Fridays at 7:00pm; Wednesday, October 22 at 2:00pm, Saturdays at 4:00pm & 8:00pm, Sundays at 2:00pm, Sunday, October 26 at 7:00pm.

Cast

The roles of Arthur Kipps and The Actor are shared between three actors in repertory.

Arthur Kipps: David Acton

The Actor: James Byng
Arthur Kipps / The Actor: Ben Porter

Pictured L to R: James Byng and Ben Porter.
Photo credit: Jon Gitchoff

Crew
Tour Director: Antony Eden
Associate Director: Maggie Spanuello
Stage Manager: Kayleigh Laymon
Company Stage Manager: Neil Hillyer
Designer: Michael Holt
Lighting Designer: Anshuman Bhatia
Sound Designer: Sebastian Frost
Vision Productions: Imogen Finlayson
General Managers: Tim Smith & Annie Shea Graney for Pemberley Productions
Original UK Producer: PW Productions
North American Tour Producers: PW Productions & Pemberley Productions
Production Manager: Anshuman Bhatia
PA: Shavante Brogley

Pemberley Productions
Managing Members & General Managers: Tim Smith & Doreen Sayegh
General Manager: Annie Shea Graney
Associate General Manager: Terri Kohler
Associate General Manager: Rosie Bross-Rice
Associate General Manager: Florent Trioux
Associate General Manager: James P Yandoli
Assistant General Manager: Chris Devlin
Bookkeeper: Patricia Taylor
Immigration Consultant: Elise-Ann Konstantin

THE MINUTES • Stray Dog Theatre

2025-10-05T17:36:00.003-05:00

In the town of Big Cherry, members of the city council are trickling into their chambers (a wonderfully detailed set by director Justin Been) as Stray Dog Theatre’s smart production of The Minutes begins. There’s not much on earth more mind-numbing than the thought of sitting through exhaustive deliberations on parking spots and stolen bicycles. But the play that unfolds is a cunning orchestration from Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Tracy Letts, who brought us Killer Joe, Superior Donuts and most notably, August: Osage County. Letts settles you deep into the humor and tedium of small-town minutiae, while the eerie currents that swirl underneath slowly bubble to the surface to erupt in a razor-sharp reproach of how history’s narratives are shaped.

We’re introduced to the self-satisfied Mayor Superba, (Gerry Love) and nine other council officials -- all richly drawn by this first-rate cast (with telltale names). These include the diligent council clerk, Ms. Johnson (Rachel Hanks), complete with a permanent smile and sing-song voice, the politically incorrect Mr. Breeding (John Reidy), an abrasive Mr. Assalone (Jonathan Hey), the grandstanding Ms. Innes (Lavonne Byers) and the longest-serving, oft-muddled Mr. Oldfield (Will Shaw). There’s also Mr. Blake (Tawaine Noah), determined to get a steel cage match featured at the town’s upcoming heritage festival, the wayward Ms. Matz (Jan Niehoff) and Mr. Hanratty (Patrick Canute), who has some visual aids in tow to bolster his argument for the only agenda item that seems to have any real merit -- an accessible fountain in the park. Included in this mix is the eager newcomer to the area, Mr. Peel (Nick Freed). He missed the last meeting to attend his mother’s funeral, and notices that the chair for Mr. Carp (Stephen Peirick), the eleventh council member, is conspicuously empty.

The cast of The Minutes at Stray Dog Theatre.
Photo credit: Stray Dog Theatre

Further baffling Mr. Peel is the fact that the minutes from that meeting haven't been distributed. Continued requests for the missing minutes and an explanation of Mr. Carp's absence are met with increasingly aggressive evasions, distractions, and even a spontaneous, long-practiced reenactment of the town’s origin story, as rain lashes down and thunder booms outside.

Been’s not only provided the aforementioned scenic design and solid sound design (Stray Dog’s pre-show music is always on point), but has also directed with a calculated progression of tension. There are hilarious meanderings and petty rivalries and alliances along the way, but from the imagery on the town’s seal to the statue atop Mr. Hanratty’s proposed fountain, the question of whose stories are told and how lurks at the play's core.

John Reidy, Jan Niehoff and Lavonne Byers in
The Minutes at Stray Dog Theatre.
Photo credit: Stray Dog Theatre

The Minutes couldn’t possibly be more timely. From institutional reviews to presidential directives, a glance at recent headlines on this front bears it out. It’s the perfect time to catch this production, that illustrates with laughs and horrors how the pens that write foundational histories are held by a precious few. It’s playing at the Tower Grove Abbey until the 18th. Check it out!

THE MINUTES

Written by Tracy Letts

Directed by Justin Been

Tower Grove Abbey, 2336 Tennessee Ave.

through October 18 | tickets: $30 - $35

Performances Thursdays to Saturdays at 8:00pm, Sundays at 2:00pm

Tawaine Noah and Nick Freed in The Minutes
at Stray Dog Theatre.
Photo credit: Stray Dog Theatre

Cast

Mayor Superba: Gerry Love

Mr. Peel: Nick Freed

Ms. Johnson: Rachel Hanks

Mr. Breeding: John Reidy

Mr. Blake: Tawaine Noah

Mr. Hanratty: Patrick Canute

Mr. Assalone: Jonathan Hey

Ms. Innes: Lavonne Byers

Ms. Matz: Jan Niehoff

Mr. Oldfield: Will Shaw

Mr. Carp: Stephen Peirick

Crew

Artistic Director: Gary F. Bell

Associate Artistic Director: Justin Been

Choreographer: Kevin L. Corpuz

Costume Designer: Colleen Michelson

Cultural Consultant: Lizi Watt

Executive Director: Rob Ogden

Lighting Designer: Tyler Duenow

Production Director: Justin Been

Property Designer: Justin Been

Nick Freed, Tawaine Noah, Jonathan Hey and
Gerry Love in The Minutes at Stray Dog Theatre.
Photo credit: Stray Dog Theatre

Scenic Assistance: Snow Althen, Richard Brown, Soren Carroll, Sarah Gene Dowling, Jude Hagene, Chris Lenahan, Rob Lippert, Adam Rich

Scenic Designer: Justin Been

Sound Designer: Justin Been

Wig Designer: Sarah Gene Dowling

Advertising Sales: Lynn F. Pollak

Box Office Manager: Camille Fensterman

Marketing & Promotions: Sarah Gene Dowling

Social Media Content Creation: Grace Seidel

Graphic Designer: Justin Been

RAISIN • The Black Rep

2025-09-10T07:31:00.003-05:00

In a cramped apartment on Chicago’s South Side, the Youngers are about to receive a windfall from an insurance payout, and a couple members of the family have different ideas about how best to spend it. Based on Lorraine Hansberry’s remarkable landmark drama, A Raisin in the Sun, this Tony award-winning musical adaptation preserves all of the emotional beats of the play, with songs that add breadth to the lives of its characters, while only occasionally interrupting the momentum of the plot. But this is a quibble with the musical, and not the production. Under the direction of The Black Rep’s founder, Ron Himes, Raisin soars and dips through the aspirations and hardships of a working-class family living in the 1950s, when a piece of the American Dream glinted just inside the fringes of what seemed possible.

Lena Younger (Anita Michelle Jackson) and
Ruth Younger (Adrianna Jones).
Photos by Keshon Campbell.
Courtesy of The Black Rep.

Anita Michelle Jackson is the matriarch of the family, Lena Younger, anchoring the Youngers with an unassuming strength, and wowing with a powerful, "Measure the Valleys”. Duane Martin Foster’s full-bodied vocals were a standout as Walter Lee Younger, and Foster shared great chemistry with his wife, Ruth, here wonderfully acted by Adrianna Jones. Walter’s internal pressures and frustrations generate friction between them from time to time, but their squabbles are tempered by a closeness that’s evident once the dust settles. Beneatha is Walter Lee’s little sister -- eager to cultivate whatever interests strike her fancy, and Andrea Mouton lends a modernity to Beneatha that works well against the rest of the family. A cultural interest is sparked by her Nigerian boyfriend, Joseph Asagai, a charming and infectiously hopeful Robert McNichols, and Will Bonfiglio is pitch-perfect as the blundering representative of a neighborhood association. 11-year-old Jaron Bentley was fantastic as Walter Lee’s son Travis, and impressive in his scene-stealing turn in "He Come Down This Morning" along with his solo number, ”Sidewalk Tree".

Walter Lee Younger (Duane Martin Foster).
Photos by Keshon Campbell.
Courtesy of The Black Rep.

Tim Jones’s scenic design includes city silhouettes and the Younger’s dingy but orderly kitchen and living room, with lighting design by Tony Anselmo, broadly illuminating the set with ever-shifting backdrop colors, seeming to inform scene changes as opposed to shifts in the time of day. Gregory Horton’s terrific costumes hit the mark and Kirven Douthit-Boyd’s choreography is rousing, particularly the stirring “African Dance”, and his hard-working ensemble of dancers handle his moves nimbly. Raisin’s Grammy award-winning cast album combines traditional Broadway ballads with jazz, groove-centric funk and gospel. When set against today’s well-worn musical trends, this score’s pronounced 1970s flavor, under the tight musical direction of Jermaine Manor, is gladly received, and warmly nostalgic.

Walter Lee Younger (Duane Martin Foster),
Ruth Younger (Adrianna Jones) and
Beneatha Younger (Andrea Mouton).
Photos by Keshon Campbell.
Courtesy of The Black Rep.

It’s been over 50 years since Raisin premiered on Broadway, but its themes of poverty, dignity and racism remain relevant. But what also persists right alongside is a stoic determination to move forward and the uplifting devotion of familial ties -- making it impossible not to root for the Youngers. Now is the perfect opportunity to catch this rarely staged musical. It’s at the Edison Theatre until the 21st.

RAISIN

Book by Robert B. Nemiroff and Charlotte Zaltzberg

Music by Judd Woldin

Lyrics by Robert Brittan

Adapted from Lorraine Hansberry

Directed by Ron Himes**

Edison Theatre, 6465 Forsyth Blvd.

through Sept. 21 | tickets: $46.55 - $51.55

Performances Wednesdays and Thursdays at 7:00pm, Fridays and Saturdays at 8:00pm, Sundays at 3:00pm.

Cast of Raisin
Photos by Keshon Campbell.
Courtesy of The Black Rep.

Cast

Walter Lee Younger: Duane Martin Foster*

Lena Younger: Anita Michelle Jackson*

Ruth Younger: Adrianna Jones

Beneatha Younger: Andrea Mouton

Travis Younger: Jaron Bentley

Joseph Asagai/Ensemble: Robert McNichols*

Karl Lindner: Will Bonfiglio

Mrs. Johnson: De-Rance Blaylock

Ensemble/Dance Captain: Jorrell Lawyer-Jefferson

Ensemble: Demetrius Malik Lee

Willie Harris/Ensemble: Dwayne Moss III

Bobo/Ensemble: Adrian Rice

Althea/Ensemble: Aaliyah Weston

Ensemble: Tia René Williams

Ensemble: Damari Padilla

Lena Younger (Understudy): Denise Thimes

Travis Younger (Jaron Bentley) and
Ruth Younger (Adrianna Jones).
Photos by Keshon Campbell.
Courtesy of The Black Rep.

Creative

Musical Director: Jermaine Manor

Choreographer: Kirven Douthit-Boyd

Scenic Design: Tim Jones

Lighting Design: Tony Anselmo

Costume Design: Gregory Horton

Sound Design: Kareem Deanes

Stage Manager: Tracy Holliway-Wiggins*

Assistant Stage Manager: J. Samuel Davis*

Technical Director: Christian Kitchens

Props Designer: Mikhail Lynn

Costume Assistant: Joyous Celestine

Sound Board Operator: Vic Seay

Light Board Operator: Mondis Doyle

Carpenters: Christian Kitchens, Mondis Doyle, Vic Seay, Alan Phillips, Caleb Long

Teen Techs: Amorie Johnson, Jariagh Tucker

** SDC, The Director is a member of the Society of Stage Directors and Choreographers, Inc. an independent national labor union.

* Denotes member of Actors’ Equity Association, the Union of Professional Actors and Stage Managers in the United States

Musicians

Keys: Jermaine Manor

Bass: Willem Von Hombract

Percussion: James Belk

Drums: Des Jones

Trumpet: Mary Weber, Brady Lewis

Reed: Stan Coleman

Viola: Monet Royal; Adrian Walker

Guitar: David Glenn

EVITA • The Muny

2025-07-21T12:02:00.004-05:00

Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber’s 1979 rock opera begins with a death. 33 year-old Evita Perón’s (Katerina McCrimmon), coffin rests high on a mound of flowers above Argentine mourners who revered her as a saint. But the lamentations are interrupted by Che (Omar Lopez-Cepero), who sees Evita as a master manipulator.

Che (Omar Lopez-Cepero) and the cast of Evita
Phot credit: Phillip Hamer

Given the nickname "Evita" as a term of endearment, the conflicting narratives of Eva Perón’s legacy continue to persist because her rise from the slums of Argentina to the country’s first lady remain iconically universal. The events of Eva’s life are primarily told and not shown, with Rice and Lloyd Webber laying out the opposing accounts before us -- the hero of the working classes vs. the social-climbing tart despised by the elite, letting us walk away to come to our own conclusions.

Evita (Katerina McCrimmon)
Photo credit: Phillip Hamer

Lloyd Webber’s music is sweeping with unusual harmonies, tempo and style changes, and a skillful series of leitmotifs -- recurring musical themes that represent characters or situations. The most prominent of these is the melody of “Don't Cry for Me Argentina” -- a melody that we hear long before the famous balcony scene in Che’s disdainful "Oh What a Circus”. The score is also rangy as hell. Patti LuPone, who originated the role of Eva Perón in the 1979 Broadway production, famously said she thought Andrew Lloyd Webber hated women because “the score's written in a soprano's passaggio. If you think of a rubber band and you pull a rubber band, the weakest spot is in the middle. That's a passaggio. You have a chest voice and a head voice, and then right in the middle is where you have to negotiate changing gears and all of the high notes are written in that break.”

Evita (Katerina McCrimmon)
Photo credit: Phillip Hamer

Good thing we have Katerina McCrimmon in the title role. She’s got a potent vibrato that reminds me of Judy Garland, and a well-placed belt that shines (and sustains) in songs like “Buenos Aires” and “Rainbow High” -- each spanning two octaves. McCrimmon likewise handles the emotional demands of the character well, with the nuance in songs like, "I'd Be Surprisingly Good for You" and "The Actress Hasn't Learned the Lines” coming through even on the Muny’s enormous stage.

Evita’s antagonist, Che, serves as our narrator, and is a similarly demanding role. Lopez-Cepero has a strong, dynamic tenor and the vocal prowess to maintain a portrayal that’s charming and passionate. His "And the Money Kept Rolling In" and "Rainbow Tour” thrum with magnetic sarcasm.

The opening scene that’s typically set in a cinema is switched to a street scene, with slightly less impactful results. While the cinema would have been a great place to take advantage of the LED screens, it would have probably been harder to read on the Muny stage. A better exchange is the musical chairs number of “The Art of the Possible” that’s swapped out for rolling spotlights that are extinguished one by one as members of the military jockey for power. The man left standing is Colonel, and then President Juan Perón, played with ambitious gravitas by Paulo Szot. Szot’s delicious baritone stirs with confidence, and softens with warmth in the scenes with his wife, Eva.

Che (Omar Lopez-Cepero)
Photo credit: Phillip Hamer

Director and choreographer Josh Rhodes keeps the action moving along, as Rice and Lloyd Webber left hardly any room for breaks or applause, with the choreography of "And the Money Kept Rolling In" being a standout. Adam Koch’s scenic design incorporates impressive set pieces and Paige Seber’s lights set everything off beautifully and dramatically. Wonderful costumes courtesy of Brian C. Hemesath inform the players and tie everything together.

The Muny hasn’t staged Evita since 2001, and if you’ve never seen it, now’s the time. Even if you have seen it, with an amazing cast and an incredible score, this is a production well worth checking out. It’s at the Muny until the 24th.

EVITA

Lyrics by Tim Rice

Music by Andrew Lloyd Webber

Directed by Josh Rhodes

The Muny, 1 Theatre Drive, Forest Park

through July 24 | tickets: $21 - $145

Performances Monday to Sunday at 8:15pm

Juan Perón (Paulo Szot)
Photo credit: Phillip Hamer

Cast

Katerina McCrimmon: Eva

Paulo Szot: Juan Perón

Omar Lopez-Cepero: Che

Daniel Torres: Agustín Magaldi & Others

Sabrina Santana: Perón’s Mistress, Ensemble

Ensemble

Andrés Acosta

Leyla Ali

Marissa Barragán

Leah Berry

Patrick Blindauer

Jordan Casanova

Marilyn Caserta

Junior Cervila

Devin Cortez

Nicholas Cunha

Kyle de la Cruz Laing

Daniel Alan DiPinto

Kylie Edwards

Noelia Guerrero

Natalia Nieves-Melchor

Zibby Nolting

Arnie Rodriguez

Leann Schuering

Trevor Michael Schmidt

Noah Van Ess

Sharrod Williams

Evita (Katerina McCrimmon)
and Che (Omar Lopez-Cepero)
Photo credit: Phillip Hamer

Teen Ensemble

Laila Fantroy

Owen Hanford

Kameron Henry

Caroline Joyce

Adaeze Loynd

Jack Mullen

Gavin Nobbe

Leia Yogi

Youth Ensemble

Jaron Bentley

Kylie Egnatz

Bella Enriquez

Olivia Kniffen

Brynn Meyer

Eli Oster

Arden Powell

Cooper Scheessele

Gia Smith

Johann Uhl

Juan Perón (Paulo Szot, second from right)
and the cast of Evita
Photo credit: Phillip Hamer

Offstage Singers

Sarah Brown

Julia Gerling

Mark Hill

Drew Mathers

Sherrod Murff

Jackson Schertzer

Norah Ward

Julia Worley

Creative

Josh Rhodes: Director/Choreographer

Lee Wilkins: Associate Director/Choreographer

Ben Whiteley: Music Director/Conductor

Junior Cervila: Tango Choreographer

Adam Koch: Scenic Designer

Brian C. Hemesath: Costume Designer

Paige Seber: Lighting Designer

John Shivers: Sound Designer

David Patridge: Sound Designer

Steven Royal: Video Designer

Kelley Jordan: Wig Designer

Che (Omar Lopez-Cepero) and the ensemble of Evita
Photo credit: Phillip Hamer

Musicians

Violin

Tova Braitberg, Concertmaster

Beth Hoffman

Isabel Tannenbaum

Nathan Banks

Viola/Violin

Carolina Neves, Principal

Wendy Lea, Orchestra Manager

Cello

Nathan Hsu, Principal

Shannon Merciel

Bass

Tim Weddle, Principal

Woodwinds

Michael Buerk, Principal

Robert Hughes

Evita (Katerina McCrimmon),
Che (Omar Lopez-Cepero) and the cast of Evita
Photo credit: Phillip Hamer

Trumpet

Andy Tichenor, Principal

French Horn

Corbin Castro, Principal

Stephen Hanrahan

Trombone

Tom Vincent, Principal

Tyler Vahldick

Harp

Megan Stout

Guitar

Steve Schenkel

Percussion

Erin Elstner, Principal

Drums

Matthew Henry

Additional Musicians

Keyboard

Zach Neumann

Jason Eschhofen

Katie Kopffl

Trumpet

Jason Harris

HAMLET • St. Louis Shakespeare Festival

2025-06-01T21:04:00.006-05:00

When Michael Khalid Karadsheh’s black-suited, grief-stricken Prince delivers his first soliloquy in St. Louis Shakespeare Festival’s 25th Anniversary production of Hamlet, everyone else onstage freezes, and you just know things are likely to end badly for this young Danish royal, along with much of the cast for that matter. Whether it’s Robert Eggers’ The Northman or Disney’s The Lion King, the narrative backbone of these tales is similar; the protagonist is driven to vengeance after his father, the King, is murdered by his uncle, who usurps the throne and hastily marries the queen.

The storms that swept through St. Louis a couple of weeks ago caused considerable damage to the Festival's set and lights in Shakespeare Glen, but this excellent staging opened as scheduled thanks to the herculean efforts of the staff and volunteers who came together to repair and rebuild, with impressive results. Scott C. Neale’s distinctive T-shaped set is a bit of a marvel. Its upstage space is like an open, two-tiered hallway with painted murals against the walls, where cast members are poised at the top of the play - a striking tableau. Later, a modular center section draws your eye to a unique view of... well, a pivotal death. You’ll know it when you see it. And a patch of earth that lies at the foot of the thrust serves as a constant reminder of the sudden passing that sets everything into motion.

Brady Lewis (Trumpet Player),
Hamlet (Michael Khalid Karadsheh)
and Ghost (Larry Paulsen).
Photo credit: Phillip Hamer

When the ghost of Hamlet’s father charges him with avenging his death, Hamlet’s mind is sent reeling. He decides to feign madness to mask his attempts to uncover the truth of his father’s demise, and his introspective crisis of confidence begins. Karadsheh’s Hamlet is set apart by a performance that isn’t manic, but halting and apprehensive. Not brooding, but solemn. All without losing the ability bring out the character’s wit or to show flashes of nasty contempt. He’s accessible in a way that engages you from the start, and his "What a piece of work is a man!" monologue, that I’m admittedly more familiar with from the musical Hair, is fantastic.

Hamlet (Michael Khalid Karadsheh),
Gertrude (Jennifer Ikeda)
and Claudius (Glenn Fitzgerald).
Photo credit: Phillip Hamer

Glenn Fitzgerald is Claudius, the calculating new King of Denmark, whose ambition edges ahead of any moral qualms he might have about his actions. Jennifer Ikeda hits all of the right notes as Hamlet’s mother Gertrude, who sports dark sunglasses at the start, seemingly carried along in the current of her circumstances, but later bends under the cloud of suspicion that hangs over her first husband’s death, and concern for her son’s mental well-being. Ophelia is Hamlet’s love-interest and daughter of the King’s advisor, Polonius (a terrific Mark Nelson) and sister of Laertes (Grayson DeJesus, a last-minute replacement who stepped into the role with only a few hours of rehearsal time, and was superb). Sarah Chalfie deftly embodies the role, whether enduring harsh words hurled at her from Hamlet, or mournfully descending into her own madness. Horatio is Hamlet’s closest and most trusted friend, and Reginald Pierre perfectly personifies his steadfast alliance and level-headed concern.

Ophelia (Sarah Chalfie),
Laertes (Vaughn Pole, initially cast)
and Claudius (Glenn Fitzgerald).
Photo credit: Phillip Hamer

Though a fair bit of the actors’ lines suffered from missed cues on opening night, Brandon Wolcott’s sound design and jazzy score greatly complement the production, punctuating moments with ominous tones, with Brady Lewis adding his free-flowing musical flair as the Trumpet Player. Neale’s scenic design is beautifully lit by Denisse Chavez, with lighting that ranges from eerily dazzling to bold simplicity, while Oana Botez’s costumes inform the characters with vintage style.

Director Michael Sexton’s inspired vision and the designers’ execution is fluidly interwoven, and his actors give vocally eloquent, top-notch performances. Get thee to Shakespeare Glen, and take in St. Louis Shakespeare Festival's absorbing production of Hamlet.

Gertrude (Jennifer Ikeda) and
Hamlet (Michael Khalid Karadsheh).
Photo credit: Phillip Hamer

HAMLET

Written by William Shakespeare

Directed by Michael Sexton

Shakespeare Glen, Forest Park

through June 22 | tickets: FREE - $300

Performances Tuesday through Sunday, nightly at 8pm

Cast

Hamlet: Michael Khalid Karadsheh*

Guildenstern/Marcellus: CB Brown

Ophelia: Sarah Chalfie*

Captain/Ambassador: Max Fiorello

Horatio (Reginald Pierre), Gravedigger (Larry Paulsen)
and Hamlet (Michael Khalid Karadsheh).
Photo credit: Phillip Hamer

Claudius: Glenn Fitzgerald*

Player Queen/Lady: Daisy Held

Rosencrantz/Barnardo: Mitchell Henry-Eagles*

Gertrude: Jennifer Ikeda*

Brady Lewis: Trumpet Player

Fortinbras: Charlie Mathis

Polonius: Mark Nelson*

Ghost/Player King/Gravedigger: Larry Paulsen*

Horatio: Reginald Pierre

Laertes: Grayson DeJesus*

Voltemand/Priest/Lucianus: Ryan Omar Stack

Creative

Scenic Design: Scott C. Neale

Costume Design: Oana Botez

Sound Designer/Composer: Brandon Wolcott

Lighting Design: Denisse Chavez

Stage Manager: Sarah Luedloff*

Choreography: Sam Gaitsch

Props: Laura Skroska and Katie Orr

Intimacy & Fight Choreography: Zev Steinrock

Casting by Calleri Jensen Davis

Assistant Stage Manager: Britteny Henry*

Produced by Blank Slate

* Denotes member of Actors’ Equity Association, the Union of

Professional Actors and Stage Managers in the United States

LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE: THE MUSICAL • Fly North Theatricals

2025-04-27T15:29:00.001-05:00

The Hoovers are a hapless, paper-plate-and-KFC kind of family, all walking under a cloud of their own woes. The only exceptions might be Grandpa, (Ken Haller), recently banned from the area's retirement homes for drug use and lewdness, and youngest daughter Olive (Zoe Klevorn), who dreams of becoming the first Miss America from New Mexico. When a contestant from a local kid’s beauty pageant is disqualified, Olive has a shot to get a step closer to her goal by taking on the Little Miss Sunshine competition in California. And of course, a lot can happen on a road trip from Albuquerque, New Mexico to Redondo Beach, California.

Fly North Theatrical’s production is presented “pay-what-you-want” as part of their Theater for All Initiative (TFAI) - aiming to make seeing and learning the performing arts in St. Louis more financially accessible. This is something FNT’s Artistic Director Colin Healy and Managing Director Bradley Rohlf are passionate about, and the performances of the FNT students working alongside professional actors serve as a clear testament to the program. (You can read more about that here.)

The cast of LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE: THE MUSICAL.
Photo credit: Fly North Theatricals

Film-to-stage adaptations, a long-time trend that I’ve accepted isn’t going anywhere, can be tricky. It’s an interesting choice for the music and writing team, William Finn (Falsettos) and James Lapine (Into the Woods), to translate a film that largely takes place in an old VW van to the stage. But Healy’s direction keeps the action from becoming stagnant by making great use of yellow rolling chairs - particularly when the van breaks down and members of the Hoover clan have to run alongside it to jump in. It’s easy to imagine how the show would be swallowed up in a larger venue, but the Greenfinch Theater & Dive’s cozy theatre space is a great complement to the show’s vibe and heightens your engagement, while strong performances elevate a score that leans toward inertia.

Sheryl Hoover (Eileen Engel) and
Richard Hoover (Brian Mckinley)
Photo credit: Fly North Theatricals

Eileen Engel, armed with a clarion voice, is a standout as Sheryl Hoover, who shoulders the emotional load of the family as its matriarch. Her husband Richard is a motivational speaker struggling to sell his “10 Steps for Success” book, and Brian Mckinley nicely balances Richard’s attempts to inspire his family while trying to inspire himself. Klevorn is marvelous as Olive. Her onstage presence and solid vocals urge you to root for her character from the beginning, and she portrays Olive’s ups and downs with credibility and skill. Parker Collier, earnest in multiple roles, garners huge laughs whenever he’s onstage, and Dereis Lambert is memorable as Uncle Frank, a Proust scholar recovering from a failed suicide attempt. Connor Becker is impressive as Dwayne, Olive’s older brother, who has taken a vow of silence until he becomes a pilot. His reactions to Grandpa’s advice (a very funny and heartfelt Haller) to just “get laid” are priceless, and he delivers a notable second-act opening, “Dwayne”. The cast is rounded out by “mean girls”, Zy Beckley, Brynja Murphy, and Callum Thompson, who all give appealing performances.

Doctor (Parker Collier) and
Olive Hoover (Zoe Klevorn).
Photo credit: Fly North Theatricals

Catch it before it’s gone! It’s at the Greenfinch until May 4.

LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE: THE MUSICAL

Music/lyrics by William Finn

Book by James Lapine

Directed by Colin Healy

Greenfinch Theater & Dive, 2525 S. Jefferson Ave.

through May 4 | tickets: Tickets for this production of Little Miss Sunshine are priced as “Pay-What-You-Want.”

Performances Fridays and Saturdays @ 7:30pm, Sundays @ 2:00pm.

Cast

Grandpa Hoover: Ken Haller

Uncle Frank: Dereis Lambert

Sheryl Hoover: Eileen Engel

Dwayne Hoover: Connor Becker*

Richard Hoover: Brian Mckinley

Olive Hoover: Zoe Klevorn*

Jeff, Map B*tch & Others: Parker Collier*

Mean Girl/ D’borah: Zy Beckley*

Mean Girl/Bridget: Brynja Murphy*

Mean Girl/Tracee: Callum Thompson*

Dwayne Hoover (Connor Becker).
Photo credit: Fly North Theatricals

Creative

Music Director & Projection Design: Colin Healy

Tech Director, Lighting Design & Production Manager: Bradley Rohlf

Costume Design & Props Design: Kel Rohlf

Creative Consultation & Choreographer ("Shake My Badonkadonk"): Angela Healy

Set Painter: Katie Orr

Light Board Operator: Celeste Gardner

Production Assistant: Danielle Singleton*

* Denotes FNT Student

Band
Keyboard 1/Conductor: Colin Healy
Keyboard 2: Nikki Ervin
Horn: Jessica Poddig
Reeds: Brandon Thompson
Drums: Des Jones
Reeds (4/25): Joseph Hendricks
Horn (4/25): Sydney Reynolds
Drums (5/2-3): Joe Pastor

MEET ME AT DAWN • Upstream Theater

2025-04-13T12:23:00.004-05:00

In Upstream Theater’s unflinching season closer, a simple platform standing in for a sandbank, clusters of grass, a window fragment and long rolling clouds greet audiences walking into The Marcelle’s black box. But what plays out onstage is a surreal confrontation with a looming heartache that hangs over anyone who’s ever loved.

After washing up on an island after a brutal boating accident, Robyn (Lizi Watt) is primarily concerned with her girlfriend, Helen (Michelle Hand), and if she’s okay. Both of them seem to be in shock. Helen is soaking wet and surging with adrenaline at their survival while Robyn is disoriented and nauseous. How did they get here? Through their attempts to try to figure out exactly where they are and how they’ll find a way home, we get the sense that the island they’re marooned on is not exactly temporal.

Helen (Michelle Hand) and Robyn (Lizi Watt).
Photo credit: ProPhotoSTL.com

Intrigued by the myth of Orpheus and Eurydice, playwright Zinnie Harris’s 90 or so minute one-act, originally premiering in 2017 as part of the Edinburgh International Festival, treads into perilous territory. The script’s conversational style might have been conspicuous with lesser actors, but Watt and Hand handle the dialogue with an organic credibility, and are easily convincing as a long-time couple - finishing each others’ sentences, musing over an imagined future, and later arguing and exchanging rebukes about missing phone numbers and squandered opportunities.

Helen (Michelle Hand) and Robyn (Lizi Watt).
Photo credit: ProPhotoSTL.com

Watt navigates Robyn’s fragmented thoughts and shattering hunches with expert pitch, and Hand’s performance as Helen vibrates with gusto, providing some welcomed wisecracks and an intriguing, complementary Yin to Watt’s Yang. They’re also both absorbing and ethereal as they take turns briefly embodying a mysterious third woman offstage with whom they interact.

Patrick Huber’s minimal set and David Schuman’s scenic painting effectively characterize this intangible realm, and Kristi Gunther’s restrained sound design fluctuates between a rhythmic seascape and the domestic recollections of an overflowing sink, playing well alongside Tony Anselmo’s gentle, mood-shifting lighting design. Under Larissa Lury’s direction, each movement and moment flow seamlessly into the next, and the shifts between fractured narration, genuine laughs and foreboding confusion are handled fluently.

Helen (Michelle Hand) and Robyn (Lizi Watt).
Photo credit: ProPhotoSTL.com

Heart-wrenching, hopeful, and bolstered by a superb cast and first-rate direction, Upstream’s production of Meet Me at Dawn is a beautifully realized requiem to love and loss. It’s at The Marcelle until the 27th.

MEET ME AT DAWN

Written by Zinnie Harris

Directed by Larissa Lury†

The Marcelle, 3310 Samuel Shepard Drive

through April 27 | tickets: $45 Adult, $40 Senior, $25 Student, April 17: $15

All shows 8 p.m. except matinees.

Cast

Helen: Michelle Hand*

Robyn: Lizi Watt*

Robyn (Lizi Watt).
Photo credit: ProPhotoSTL.com

Creative

Scenic Design: Patrick Huber

Costume Design: Lou Bird

Lighting Design: Tony Anselmo

Sound Design: Kristi Gunther

Properties: Rachel Seabaugh

Scenic Painter: David Schuman

Production Stage Manager: Patrick Siler*

Intimacy Coordinator: Jocelyn Padilla

Board Operator: Xander Huber

House Manager: Monica Roscoe

Assistant Stage Manager: Esmé Schuman

Production Manager: Gus Kickham

Technical Director: Brian Macke

Master Electrician: Tony Anselmo

Social Media: Mona Sabau

Photographer: ProPhotoSTL

Graphic Art/Website: Sleepy Kitty/Paige Brubeck

Program Edit: Madison Bouse

Tech Crew: Xander Huber

KAF Facilities: Emily Hoffman, Mike Bell

* Denotes member of Actors’ Equity Association, the Union of

Professional Actors and Stage Managers in the United States

† Associate member, Stage Directors and Choreographers Society

THE BEAUTY QUEEN OF LEENANE • Albion Theatre

2025-03-16T11:34:00.001-05:00

The hail and strong winds that moved through St. Louis Friday night were no match for the storm brewing on the Kranzberg stage in Albion Theatre’s terrific production of The Beauty Queen of Leenane. In the first of playwright Martin McDonagh’s, “The Leenane Trilogy”, The Beauty Queen’s premise sounds pretty ordinary; 40-year-old Maureen is trapped as primary caregiver to her ailing mother Mag, when chance brings Pato, an old acquaintance of Maureen’s into the fray, posing as a beacon of hope for Maureen and an existential threat to Mag. But McDonagh doesn’t really do ordinary. Maureen, Mag, and much of the town it seems, are mired in the isolation of the rugged countryside village of Leenane in County Galway, Ireland, nursing long-held grudges. Playing out in the Folan family’s claustrophobic kitchen (provided by Chuck Winning’s nicely appointed set and Majorie Williamson’s set painting), the bleak state of affairs that McDonagh’s characters are stuck in unfold with reversals that seem inevitable, but still unsettle and disarm you with gasp-inducing jolts alongside surprising fragments of warmth. Martin McDonagh typically doesn’t waste time on lengthy exposition, so I'll try not to go into too much detail here. The less you know, the better. But all in all, it’s really kind of fucked up, but in the best, most captivating way possible.

Pato Dooley (Jason Meyers), Mag Folan (Teresa Doggett)
and Maureen Folan (Heather Matthews).
Photo credit: John Lamb

Mag depends on Maureen for everything from making her Complan (a powdered dietary supplement) to turning down the radio, and Teresa Doggett, consistently reliable in her ability to keep you in the palm of her hand, manipulates with needy demands, and contrives against her daughter in a cold, shameless bid to keep her close. Heather Matthews turns in an impressive performance as Maureen, lobbing increasingly menacing barbs at her mother, while she mindlessly flips through glossies and simmers in a stew of resentments. With steely side-eyed glances and a continuing war of words, Doggett and Matthews handle the play’s power shifts with precision, keeping you on the edge of your seat. Jason Meyers is a marvelously endearing Pato Dooley, who has a lovely moment at the top of the second act, and Austin Cochran’s Ray, Pato’s little brother, brings a welcome bit of levity to the proceedings, serving largely as a device to move the plot along, while he paces around the kitchen with surly agitation. And much to my delight, all of the “Oirish” dialects are bang-on.

Maureen Folan (Heather Matthews),
Pato Dooley (Jason Meyers) and
Mag Folan (Teresa Doggett).
Photo credit: John Lamb

Under Robert Ashton’s insightful direction, everyday routines smolder with mounting tension and tug your sympathies this way and that, and then, right before your eyes, the lines separating protagonist and antagonist vanish. Any opportunity to see one of McDonagh's plays should be snapped up, and Albion Theatre’s splendid production definitely shouldn’t be missed. It’s at the Kranzberg Black Box Theater until the 30th.

THE BEAUTY QUEEN OF LEENANE

Written by Martin McDonagh

Directed by Robert Ashton

Kranzberg Black Box Theater, 501 North Grand Blvd.

through March 30 | tickets: $34 + fees

Performances Thursdays: March 20 & 27 at 8:00 p.m.

Fridays and Saturdays: March 14,15, 21, 22, 28 & 29, 2025 at 8:00 p.m.

Sundays: March 16, 23 & 30, 2025 at 2:00 p.m.

Ray Dooley (Austin Cochran).
Photo credit: John Lamb

Cast

Mag Folan: Teresa Doggett

Maureen Folan: Heather Matthews

Ray Dooley: Austin Cochran

Pato Dooley: Jason Meyers

Radio Announcer: Paul Gutting

Creative

Asst. Director: CJ Langdon

Stage Mgr./Props: Gwynneth Rausch

Asst. Stage Mgr./Props: Jeanne Whitmire

Set Design & Build: Chuck Winning

Lighting Design: Eric Wennlund

Graphics & Set Painting: Majorie Williamson

Costumes: Tracy Newcomb

Sound Design: Ellie Schwetye

Board Operator: Denise Mandle

Fight/Intimacy Coordinator: Ryan Lawson-Maeske

CLYDE’S • The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis

2025-02-09T11:01:00.001-06:00

In playwright Lynn Nottage’s 2021 comedy, the ex-cons aiming for a fresh start working at Clyde’s have found themselves out of the frying pan and into the fire, more like purgatory, of a dingy truck stop sandwich joint. Their boss, who shares a criminal past and the sandwich shop’s name, strikes fear into the hearts of her crew and could perhaps best be described as evil incarnate.

Clyde (phyllis Yvonne Stickney)
Photo credit: Jon Gitchoff

Portrayed savagely by Phyllis Yvonne Stickney, Clyde berates, harasses, and growls at her cooks with cruel disdain, and Shevaré Perry’s shocking pink wig design and Haydee Zelideth’s skin-tight costumes complement Clyde’s diabolical nature. Word on the street is, Clyde’s deep in debt to some shady underworld folks, and she seems determined to keep her cooks in thrall though their prison stints are over.

In direct contrast to Clyde is Montrellous - the resident guru, played by a placid Ron Himes, who doles out sage advice and inspires his colleagues with the challenge of envisioning the perfect sandwich. While Clyde insists the most basic ingredients are enough to satisfy her trucker clientele, Montrellous keeps the staff on their toes by nudging them towards more unique, mouth-watering creations.

Jason (Brendan D. Hickey), Letita (Essence Anisa
Tyler), Montrellous (Ron Himes) and
Rafael (Alfredo Antillon).
Photo credit: Jon Gitchoff

The other cooks include Letitia, a single mom trying to break out of a bad relationship with the father of her daughter, and is played endearingly by Essence Anisa Tyler. Her innocence stills lurks under a tough exterior. Rafael, who has a thing for Letitia, is played with energetic swagger by Rafael Alfredo Antillon, and Brendan D. Hickey is Jason, the prickly new member of staff fresh out of prison, complete with white supremacist tattoos and a mind to leave his past behind. Despite starting as an outsider, he softens and satisfyingly gets integrated into the group before too long.

Jean Kim’s detailed scenic design is spot on, with a big loudspeaker resting above kitchen prep stations, cold storage freezers and broken floor tiles, while lighting and sound design by Christina Watanabe and Michael Costagliola sprinkle elements of the surreal through the galley.

Photo credit: Jon Gitchoff

There’s no real plot here to speak of. Instead, Clyde’s presents more of a character study and examines the challenges of adjusting to life after imprisonment, but the bigger-than-life performances that director Josiah Davis opts for from his talented cast seemed a little overcooked. Whether it’s garnishing sandwiches with broad exaggerated movements or pacing those first scenes at a full tilt sitcom clip, I was initially kept at arm’s length. But when stories were shared of what landed them inside and the armor necessary to survive inside was slowly cast off, I was grateful to be pulled back into the story’s heart, though the tonal shifts often caught me off guard.

There's more going on at Clyde's than just slinging sandwiches, and more of a story surrounding Clyde, but despite her attempts to keep the staff demoralized and under her thumb, they all eventually find their way. And just to note, there’s a prolific amount of profanity here, so maybe leave the kids at home for this one. It’s playing at the Rep until March 2nd.

Cast of Clyde's
Photo credit: Jon Gitchoff

CLYDE’S

Written by Lynn Nottage

Directed by Josiah Davis

Loretto-Hilton Center, 130 Edgar Road

through March 2 | tickets: $40 - $95, plus fees

Cast

Clyde: Phyllis Yvonne Stickney*

Montrellous: Ron Himes*

Letitia: Essence Anisa Tyler*

Rafael: Alfredo Antillon*

Jason: Brendan D. Hickey*

Creative

Scenic Designer: Jean Kim*

Costume Designer: Haydee Zelideth*

Lighting Designer: Christina Watanabe*

Sound Designer: Michael Costagliola*

Wig Designer: Shevaré Perry

Intimacy Consultant: Delaney Piggins

Casting Director: Becks Redman

Artist Consultants: LaWanda Jackson, Eric Satterfield

Production Stage Manager: Emilee Buchheit*

* Denotes member of Actors’ Equity Association, the Union of

Professional Actors and Stage Managers in the United States

CAT ON A HOT TIN ROOF • Tennessee Williams Festival St. Louis

2024-08-13T19:36:00.009-05:00

TWF’s feature production begins with The Writer, an affably unhurried J. Samuel Davis, making his way down the aisles of the Grandel theatre, addressing the audience with a prologue that’s a combination of the play’s stage direction, and text devised by director Michael Wilson. It’s a clever way to set the scene, literally, as furniture, set decorations and props are brought onstage and placed to the playwright’s clear specifications. Great beginning to some classic Tennessee Williams.

Written in 1955, his Pulitzer Prize-winning three-act takes place over the course of an evening at the Pollitt Family Plantation in the Mississippi Delta, where all of the loved and detested family members are gathered to celebrate Big Daddy’s 65th birthday. This is the perfect setting for Williams to do what he does so well - to lay bare life’s knotty truths, and examine how his characters respond, with no punches pulled.

We start with Big Daddy’s second son, Brick (Brian Slaten*), an ex-star athlete who has broken his leg in late-night exploits on the local track field. His grief over a teammate, and his love for him, “the one great good thing in his life which was true”, has trapped Brick into a day-to-day pursuit of the peace that only the right level of alcohol in his bloodstream will bring. Meanwhile, his wife Maggie “the Cat” (Kiah McKirnan), saunters through the bedroom, prattling about her in-laws and trying to cajole any scrap of affection from Brick while they prepare for the birthday festivities. Brick keeps to the outskirts of the first act while Maggie takes center stage, but Slaten is able to lock down a solid presence, with a numb but somehow compelling indifference. This act really belongs to the titular “Cat”, as McKirnan’s Maggie rattles off a soliloquy of complaints and appeals. Though she’s slyly casual in her attempts at seduction, McKirnan’s almost too easy-going, as you wish she’d reveal a shade more desperation towards the husband who recoils from her touch.

Maggie (Kiah McKirnan) & Brick (Brian Slaten).

Photo credit: Suzy Gorman

A second act scene between Brick and his father, Big Daddy (Peter Mayer*) seems to be the heart of the play, where the subject of deception comes to the fore. Big Daddy is riding high after being given what he thinks is a clean bill of health, and Mayer embodies the Southern-fried confidence of a man who owns a ton of land, and is worth a ton of money. But is his favorite son worthy of it? He’s as fierce and brutal as a summer storm, but softens with almost sudden warmth in an effort to understand why Brick is drowning himself in whisky and shunning his marital bed. His casual cruelty often sends his wife, Big Mama (Kari Ely*), exiting the room in choked sobs, but her love for Big Daddy is real. She seems to revel in the busy pretense of happy families, but she’s an unwitting victim of deceptions herself, and Ely gives Big Mama the cautious fragility of an exposed nerve, with an affecting third act.

Eric Dean White* and Roxanne Wellington* round out the immediate family as Gooper, the firstborn son, and his wife, Mae. Stressing Mae’s fertility and Gooper’s stability, they’re primarily concerned with getting what’s theirs. Every family has a couple of those, right? Wonderful performances from both, with Wellington offering a welcome dose of humor.

Big Daddy (Peter Mayer)

& Brick (Brian Slaten).

Photo credit: Suzy Gorman

Watching how the deceits in this family play out is what makes this play essential Tennessee Williams, and whether you've seen it before or not, it’d be a shame to miss it. Check it out! It’s playing until the 18th. The festival offers a few things that might pique your interest!

CAT ON A HOT TIN ROOF

Written by Tennessee Williams

Directed by Michael Wilson

The Grandel Theatre, 3610 Grandel Square

through August 18 | tickets: $45 - $100

Performances 7:00 pm Thursday-Saturday, 3:00 pm Sunday.

Cast

Maggie: Kiah McKirnan

Brick: Brian Slaten*

Big Daddy: Peter Mayer*

Big Mama: Kari Ely*

Gooper: Eric Dean White*

Mae: Roxanne Wellington*

The Writer/Doc Baugh/ Rev Tooker: J. Samuel Davis*

Trixie: Kate Kappel

Dixie: Tatum Wilson

Sonny: Cooper Scheessele

Mae (Roxanne Wellington), Big Mama (Kari Ely)

& Gooper (Eric Dean White).

Photo credit: Suzy Gorman

Creative

Producer: Carrie Houk, CSA

Casting: Carrie Houk, CSA

Production Manager: Ethan Dudenhoeffer

Production Stage Manager: Tracy Holliway-Wiggins*

Assistant Stage Manager: Avery Harrison

Set Design: James Wolk

Costume Design: Teresa Doggett

Wig Design: Will Vicari/The Wig Associates

Lighting Design: Matt McCarthy

Sound Design: Phillip Evans

Hand Props Buyer: Mikhail Lynn

Assistant Director: Zachary Stefaniak

Fight Choreographer: Jack Kalan

Technical Director: Daniel Black

Master Electrician: Zak Metalsky

Painter: Zellie Laury

Carpenter: Will Higley

Sound Board Operator: Bekah Williams

Light Board Operator: Alice Anders

Wardrobe: Ariana Lapentti

Photographer: Suzy Gorman

* Denotes member of Actors’ Equity Association, the Union of

Professional Actors and Stage Managers in the United States

AS YOU LIKE IT • St. Louis Shakespeare Festival

2024-06-02T18:00:00.004-05:00

An hour-long rain delay wasn’t enough to daunt the opening night crowds at

St. Louis Shakespeare Festival’s charming production of As You Like It. All the hallmarks of a Shakespearean romantic comedy are there - sibling rivalries, gender-swapping disguises, unrequited love, the fools and the foolish. But director Nancy Bell’s take on the material is as refreshing as a spring breeze, and she’s got a cast that’s keen, with a knack for delivering the prose with clarity, making it more accessible and easier to follow along. Add to that an acoustic trio of musicians with original songs by a sweet-voiced Beth Bombara, a gilded age setting, and the always beguiling ambience of Shakespeare Glen, and you’ve got a show definitely worth checking out.

Forests tend to be transformative places in Shakespeare’s plays, and the Forest of Arden, unveiled after a simple but enchanting reveal, is no exception. There are lusty goatherds and lonely shepherds to spare in the woods, and it’s where many of the players retreat to after being exiled or to escape the perils of the city. The would-be lovers at the center are our heroine, Rosalind (Caroline Amos), lively and wise, and Orlando (Christian Thompson), stuck under the thumb of his older brother, Oliver (Greg Cuellar). Just as they start to fall for each other, Duke Frederick, Rosalind’s paranoid, usurping uncle, banishes her the same way he banished her mother, Duchess Senior (Michelle Hand), so Rosalind disguises herself as a boy and with her cousin and bestie, the Duke’s daughter, Celia (Jasmine Cheri Rush), along with the Duke’s fool, Touchstone (Ricki Franklin), they make their way to Arden. Meanwhile, Orlando learns that Oliver has some evil plans for him, so he, too, flees to the forest for his own safety.

Bianca Sanborn, Michelle Hand*,
Riley Carter Adams and Beth Bombara.
Photo credit: Phillip Hamer Photography

Amos is engaging as Rosalind - level-headed and plucky, but certainly not above the trappings of her all-consuming love for Orlando. Celia is as loyal a friend as Rosalind could ask for. They complement each other well, and Rush and Amos’s giggly chemistry is a hoot to watch. Thompson’s portrayal of Orlando is also a joy to watch. Whether he’s looking out for his elder manservant Adam who has joined him (the always excellent Joneal Joplin), engaging in a wrestling match, or pinning love notes to Rosalind onto the trees of the woods, Thompson embodies a young man who is brave and caring, but also brimming with unrealized potential. Positive in the face of her exile and generous to those she meets, Hand is reliably compelling as the Duchess Senior (a gender swap from the traditional Duke Senior), unfettered in her new surroundings. Wali Jamal is the pensive Jaques, an attendant of the Duchess, and delivers Shakespeare’s famed “Seven Ages of Man” monologue. Delivered with heartfelt solemnity, the crowd hushed the second they heard the words, “All the world’s a stage...”. Dottie Marshall Englis’s costume design clearly delineates the gilded age wealth of the city and the rustic comfort of the forest, with particularly colorful attire for Touchstone the fool. Scott C. Neale’s scenic design of slanted platforms is set off by an ornate proscenium with the alluring backdrop of Arden set behind it.

Jasmine Cheri Rush, Christian Thompson*,
Caroline Amos* and Wali Jamal.
Photo credit: Phillip Hamer Photography

By the end, between the magic of the woods and Rosalind’s wit, along with a forgivable measure of contrivance, couples are united and quarrels are squashed. Flee the hassles of the day and head to the delights of Arden in Shakespeare Glen! As You Like It is playing until the 23rd.

Incidentals

• At the start of the second act, an adorable little goat makes an appearance. I was quite distracted. Cheers to D Bar S Ranch!

Bianca Sanborn, Ricki Franklin and an adorable goat.

Photo credit: Phillip Hamer Photography

AS YOU LIKE IT

Written by William Shakespeare

Directed by Nancy Bell

Shakespeare Glen, Forest Park

through June 23 | tickets: FREE - $300

Performances Tuesday through Sunday, nightly at 8pm

Cast

Rosalind: Caroline Amos*

LeBeau/Corin: Kathryn A. Bentley*

Amiens: Beth Bombara

Silvius/Ensemble: CB Brown

Young Lady/Ensemble: Riley Carter Adams

Oliver: Greg Cuellar*

Touchstone: Ricki Franklin

Duchess Senior: Michelle Hand*

William/Ensemble: Isaiah Henry

Jaques: Wali Jamal*

Adam: Joneal Joplin*

Charles: Lenny Mephisto

Duke Frederick: Joel Moses

Celia: Jasmine Cheri Rush

Audrey/Ensemble: Bianca Sanborn

Orlando: Christian Thompson*

Phoebe/Ensemble: Molly Wennstrom

The cast of St. Louis Shakespeare Festival's
2024 production of "As You Like It".
Photo credit: Phillip Hamer Photography

Creative

Scenic Design: Scott C. Neale

Costume Design: Dottie Marshall Englis

Sound Design and Composer: Beth Bombara

Lighting Design: Denisse Chavez

Props Manager: Taylor Laine Abs

Artistic Producer: Delaney Piggins

Stage Manager: Sarah Luedloff*

Choreographer: Sam Gaitsch

Fight and Intimacy Choreographer: Rachel Flesher

* Denotes member of Actors’ Equity Association, the Union of

Professional Actors and Stage Managers in the United States

Musicians

Viola/Mandolin: Sam Golden

Percussion: Jeremy Reidy

TWELFTH NIGHT • St. Louis Shakespeare Festival

2023-06-03T20:07:00.008-05:00

The high times in Shakespeare’s romantic comedy are dialed up to eleven in St. Louis Shakespeare Festival’s Latin-spiced production of Twelfth Night. A distinctly “Miami Beach” inspired setting steps in for the Kingdom of Illyria, and the Bard’s four hundred year-old laughs are given a fresh take via Spanish lines peppered throughout, traditional Latin songs and electronic beats.

Viola (Gabriela Saker) and her twin brother Sebastian (Avi Roque) are shipwrecked and tossed up onto foreign shores. Exiled and separated from her brother, Viola decides to disguise herself as a man, change her name to Cesario, and try to get a job with soccer star, Duke Orsino (Felipe Carrasco). This is when her entanglement in the love lives of the locals sets the plot in motion. Viola, now Cesario, is employed as a page for the lovesick Orsino, who longs for the wealthy and glamorous Olivia (Jasmine Cheri Rush), who, grieving for her brother, pines for no one. Cesario, who has fallen for Orsino, is sent to woo Olivia, who couldn’t care less about Orsino but takes an immediate shine to Cesario. It’s a hot mess.

Orsino (Felipe Carrasco).
Photo credit: Phillip Hamer Photography

Saker distinguishes herself as one of the more introspective of the bunch as the cross-dressing Viola. She considers the reception her male guise affords her while suffering in silence, having to keep her true identity and passion hidden from the duke. Carrasco’s Orsino maintains a swagger even as he mopes around his chaise lounges, flanked by a couple of body guards. He manages a bit of fancy soccer footwork as well, ignoring his growing closeness to Cesario, preferring to stay lost in his indulgent melancholy. Rush’s Olivia is a diva with extra sauce on the side. Accompanied musically by Beyoncé’s “Crazy In Love” (chef’s kiss), Rush sashays, stomps and booty drops through her plush apartment, whether she’s relaxing with her entourage by the hot tub or quickly dabbing on makeup when Cesario comes calling on Orsino’s behalf.

Olivia (Jasmine Cheri Rush) and
Viola/Cesario (Gabriela Saker*).
Photo credit: Phillip Hamer Photography

But what would a Shakespearean love triangle be without a little drunken revelry thrown in? This is where show stealers Ricki Franklin and Cassidy Flynn as Toby and Aguecheek respectively, come in. Toby is Olivia’s cousin and Aguecheek is her flamboyant drinking buddy, and Franklin and Flynn paint clear, hilarious portraits of folks we all recognize -- always up for it, fun drunks. Their late-night bong wielding, line snorting debauchery keeps Olivia’s household up at night, causing headaches for the house mistress, Maria (Alisha Espinosa). They all eventually get up to no good plotting a wicked prank on Olivia’s no-nonsense, buzz-killing steward, Malvolio (Ryan Garbayo), who blindly falls for their brutal trap. And then there’s Olivia’s clever jester, Feste, played by a hard-working Esteban Andres Cruz. A silky-voiced Feste entertains the household and us, crooning Spanish tunes and playing the fool with great physical comedy, but his observations about the goings-on are among the wisest.

Feste (Esteban Andres Cruz*), Aguecheek (Cassidy Flynn),
Maria (Alisha Espinosa*) and Toby (Ricki Franklin).
Photo credit: Phillip Hamer Photography

Regina García’s marble-look set oozes nightclub swank with rooftop pools, and Danielle Nieves costumes the merrymakers in bright colors and loud patterns, Miami Vice-styled suits for the twins, lingerie for Olivia and solemn black and a cowboy hat for poor old Malvolio. It’s all set to the rhythms laid down by band leader, Clave Sol’s Philip Gomez.

There’s nothing like a little Shakespeare under the stars in Forest Park, so get yourself to the Glen, enjoy the food and drinks on hand to purchase from STL Barkeep and Steve's Hot Dogs, and settle in for the full-out entertainment offered up by Twelfth Night.

Malvolio (Ryan Garbayo*).
Photo credit: Phillip Hamer Photography

TWELFTH NIGHT

Written by William Shakespeare

Directed by Lisa Portes

Shakespeare Glen, Forest Park

through June 25 | tickets: FREE - $250

Performances Tuesday through Sunday, nightly at 8pm

Cast

Curio: Femi Aiyegbusi

Orsino: Felipe Carrasco

Feste: Esteban Andres Cruz*

Maria: Alisha Espinosa*

Fabian/Servant: Adam Flores

Aguecheek: Cassidy Flynn

Toby: Ricki Franklin

Malvolio: Ryan Garbayo*

Antonio/Valentine: Adam Poss*

Captain/Priest: Christina Rios

Sebastian: Avi Roque*

Olivia: Jasmine Cheri Rush

Viola: Gabriela Saker*

Viola/Cesario (Gabriela Saker*) and Orsino (Felipe Carrasco).
Photo credit: Phillip Hamer Photography

Creative

Scenic Design: Regina García

Costume Design: Danielle Nieves

Sound Design, Music Supervisor and Co-Arranger: David R. Molina

Lighting Design: John Wylie

Stage Manager: Emilee Buchheit*

Assistant Director: Christine Freije

Dialect Coach: Elisa Gonzales

Assistant Stage Manager: Britteny Henry*

Prop Master: Taylor Laine Abs

Costume Shop Manager: Michele Friedman Siler

Fight Choreographer: Michael Pierce

* Denotes member of Actors’ Equity Association, the Union of

Professional Actors and Stage Managers in the United States

Musicians

Band Leader/Piano: Philip Gomez

Bass: Tung

Congas: Thor Anderson

Timbales/Percussion: Herman Semidey

GRUESOME PLAYGROUND INJURIES • The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis

2023-04-22T11:37:00.002-05:00

Doug and Kayleen meet in the nurse’s office at school when they’re eight years old. He’s busted up his face after riding his bike off the school roof, and she’s got stomach problems. There’s a curious examination of each other’s wounds, external and internal, carried out with all of the contrary ardor and aversion of children, and a bond is formed. The play unfolds in non-chronological scenes spanning their decades-long friendship as they drift apart, reconnect, and attempt to mend the other’s hurts.

Gruesome Playground Injuries marks the return of the Steve Woolf Studio Series, and the intimate Strauss Black Box Theatre at the Kirkwood Performing Arts Center is a perfect spot for it. Playwright Rajiv Joseph balances humor and poignancy during his sequence of vignettes, but we don’t end up learning a ton about the hapless protagonists during its 80-minute exploration of shared damages. Luckily, the direction and performances keep the play from wearing out its welcome.

Kayleen (Jessika Williams*) and Doug (Brian Slaten*).
Photo credit: Philip Hamer Photography

Brian Slaten’s unfettered enthusiasm as our reckless daredevil, Doug, keeps the proceedings buoyant. Whether he’s been courting danger with fireworks or climbing telephone poles, Slaten’s goofy energy is infectious, and his attraction to Kayleen is intense and painfully evident from the start. Kayleen’s bruises are on the inside, and Jessika Williams keeps the emotional weight of her character’s struggles just below the surface. Her teenage petulance matures to compulsive evasion, but no matter how many times she tells Doug to “shut up” or sidesteps his overtures, she’s drawn to his side when he’s acquired a new injury.

Becks Redman’s direction keeps you invested in this pair of near lovers. Their fleeting interactions between scenes as they change costumes and apply fresh cuts are a very nice touch. Diggle’s set, flushed with red, makes a bold impression as you enter the theatre. There’s a reflective sphere at one end of the stage that the actors use on occasion, and it provides a fish-eyed depth to the space. The set is carpet covered (soft surfaces for the fragile), and reminiscent of a children’s romper room, with cleverly incorporated nooks and hutches for storing costumes and props.

Gruesome Playground Injuries isn’t really interested in tidy resolutions, but is worth checking out for a uniquely drawn character study. It’s playing until May 13th in Kirkwood.

Kayleen (Jessika Williams*) and Doug (Brian Slaten*).
Photo credit: Philip Hamer Photography

GRUESOME PLAYGROUND INJURIES

Written by Rajiv Joseph

Directed by Becks Redman

Kirkwood Performing Arts Center - Strauss Black Box Theatre, 210 E Monroe Avenue

through May 13 | tickets: $35 - $50

Post Show Talkbacks, April 27, 8pm & May 3, 7pm, Club Rep Night, April 27, Audio Described Performance, May 4, American Sign Language (ASL) Interpreted, May 6, 2pm, Open-Captioned Performance, May 7

Cast

Doug: Brian Slaten*

Kayleen: Jessika Williams*

Creative

Set Designer: Diggle

Costume Designer: Carolyn Mazuca

Lighting Designer: Anshuman Bhatia

Sound Designer: Kareem Deanes

Composer: David Gomez

Assistant Director: Matthew Cox

Stage Manager: Shannon B. Sturgis*

Production Assistant: Kentrell Jamison

Casting: Amelia Acosta Powell

* Denotes member of Actors’ Equity Association, the Union of

Professional Actors and Stage Managers in the United States

OTHELLO • St. Louis Shakespeare Festival

2021-08-07T15:19:00.003-05:00

Shakespeare, six actors, 24 parks and free admission? Oh, yeah. St. Louis Shakespeare Festival’s brand new regional touring initiative, “TourCo”, is bringing a 90-minute adaptation of Othello to 24 public parks across the bi-state area. The stops include each of the past nine neighborhoods featured in its Shakespeare in the Streets program, as well as spots from Clayton and Hermann, Missouri to Belleville and Brussels, Illinois. You can check out the full list by scrolling down a bit here.

These TourCo productions aim to bring Shakespeare to audiences who may not otherwise have access to it, while decoding the language, providing hints to themes and what to look out for, and zeroing in on context -- emphasizing the timeless nature of the Bard’s plays.

Speaking of timeless nature, what happens when a black man marries an upper-class white woman and rouses the green-eyed monster in a friend? In Othello, the answer is... well, nothing good really. Jason J. Little is dashing as Othello, a Moorish general in the Venetian army and newlywed to Desdemona (Courtney Bailey), the daughter of a local politician. She has eloped with Othello against her father’s wishes. When one of Othello’s lower-ranking soldiers, an ensign named Iago (Charlie Barron), is skipped over for a promotion he loses to Cassio (Jesse Muñoz), he vows to slander Cassio and crush Othello, with a plot to convince him that Desdemona has been unfaithful. Barron is perfectly villainous as Iago. Consumed by jealousy, he stalks back and forth, vaping and manipulating from the sidelines, sowing doubt in everyone Othello trusts, while hurling racial insults behind his back. Hannah Geisz is great as Roderigo, Iago’s willing stooge who helps move the duplicity along. Jesse Muñoz is persuasive as a framed and tarnished Cassio, and Ricki Franklin is Emilia, Iago’s outspoken wife, unwitting to his plans until it’s too late. Bailey, noticeably at ease with Shakespeare’s verse, is convincing as Desdemona, who finds herself completely unable to understand her husband’s sudden, harsh suspicions, and Little’s unraveling is palpable, as Othello goes from a confident military insider in a loving relationship, to an alienated “other”, eventually spiraling to murderous rage.

St. Louis Shakespeare Festival's TourCo production
of Othello in St. Louis Place Park

TourCo’s Othello begins with a quick character guide, which is helpful considering most of the cast pull double duty on roles. Smartly directed by Adam Flores, the characters are differentiated by the addition of a beret, a vest, or a crown, and simple set pieces of chain link fencing are arranged and rearranged to inform varying locations. Chances are this production will be coming to an area near you, so bring a blanket and check it out!

OTHELLO

Written by William Shakespeare

Directed by Adam Flores

Various Locations

through August 29 | tickets: Free, no reservations required.

Performances Tuesdays through Sundays @ 6:30pm unless otherwise noted.

Jason J. Little, Courtney Bailey, Jesse Muñoz,
Charlie Barron, Ricki Franklin and Hannah Geisz.

Cast

Desdemona: Courtney Bailey

Iago: Charlie Barron*

Emilia/Others: Ricki Franklin

Roderigo/others: Hannah Geisz

Othello: Jason J. Little

Cassio/Others: Jesse Muñoz*

Creative

Production Design: Laura Skroska

Costume Design: Vanessa Tabourne

Sound Design: Rusty Wandall

Stage Manager: Emily Clinger*

Fight Choreographer: Erik Kuhn

Producer: Colin O’Brien

* Denotes member of Actors’ Equity Association, the Union of

Professional Actors and Stage Managers in the United States

TINY BEAUTIFUL THINGS • Max & Louie Productions

2021-07-31T14:37:00.001-05:00

Based on letters compiled and turned into a best-selling book by author Cheryl Strayed after her 2 year stint as an advice columnist for an online magazine, Tiny Beautiful Things proves a wonderful choice for St. Louis audiences longing to return to live theatre.

Not long after a freelance writer and mother of two agrees to take over the advice column, “Dear Sugar”, her laptop starts to ding with incoming help seekers of all sorts. Whether it’s the indignity of a youngster being stuck with the uncool kids, or the indecision over trading in one lover for another, Sugar doles out advice that is clear-eyed -- the kind of attentive, candid guidance that can come from a stranger. More than once after hearing a letter, I thought to myself, “Ooo. Wonder how she’s gonna answer that one?” Light-hearted queries are sprinkled in among letters that deal with knottier subjects about love, loss, redemption and forgiveness. It’s these moments where Sugar recalls the mistakes and learned lessons from her own past with honest, relatable connections. These universal connections, elicited by strong performances, are the play’s biggest asset.

Letter Writer 2 (Wendy Renée Greenwood),

Letter Writer 3 (Abraham Shaw), Letter Writer 1 (Greg Johnston)

and Sugar (Michelle Hand).

Photo credit: Patrick Huber

There’s no traditional plot to speak of, but director Sydnie Grosberg Ronga keeps the action fluid and the actors keep us invested. The always engaging Michelle Hand is Sugar -- witty and thoughtful, while Greg Johnston, Wendy Renée Greenwood and Abraham Shaw deftly inhabit a variety of characters in Sugar’s orbit -- baring their souls one minute and challenging her proficiency the next.

Whether the messages in Sugar’s inbox are humorous or heavy, there’s familiarity in them, and encouraging affirmation in her replies, and after the year we’ve all had, that’s a really nice thing. It’s playing at the Grandel (with masks required) until August 8th.

Letter Writer 2 (Wendy Renée Greenwood),

Sugar (Michelle Hand) and Letter Writer 3 (Abraham Shaw).

Photo credit: Patrick Huber

TINY BEAUTIFUL THINGS

Based on the book by Cheryl Strayed

Adapted for the stage by Nia Vardalos

Directed by Sydnie Grosberg Ronga

The Grandel Theatre, 3610 Grandel Square

through August 8 | tickets: $35 - $50

Performances Sundays at 2pm, Wednesday and Thursday at 7:30pm, Friday and Saturday at 8pm

(Masks Required)

Cast

Sugar: Michelle Hand

Letter Writer 1: Greg Johnston

Letter Writer 2: Wendy Renée Greenwood

Letter Writer 3: Abraham Shaw

Letter Writer 1 (Greg Johnston) and Sugar (Michelle Hand).

Photo credit: Patrick Huber

Creative

Publicist/PR: Marla Stoker Ballenger

Production Manager: Kevin Bowman

Scenic Designer: Dunsi Dai

Assistant Stage Manager: Rachel DeNoyer

Costume Designer: Eileen Engel

Graphic Designer: Tovah Enger

Sound Designer/Audio Engineer: Phillip Evans

Production Stage Manager: Emily Ann Fluchel

Covid-19 Safety Officer: Lexie Godefroid

House & Box Office Manager: Taylor Gruenloh

First Electrician: Mason Hagarty

Lighting Designer: Patrick Huber

Managing Director: De Kaplan

Master Electrician: Zak Metalsky

Assistant Technical Director / Wardrobe Supervisor: Patrice J. Nelms

Props Designer/Scenic Painter: Katie Orr

Technical Director: Isabelle Scheibe

Producing Artistic Director: Stellie Siteman

ANGELS IN AMERICA PART TWO: PERESTROIKA • The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis

2019-09-28T20:30:00.000-05:00

“If the snake sheds his skin before a new skin is ready, naked he will be in the world, prey to the forces of chaos.” This is a line delivered by the “oldest living Bolshevik” at the start of Perestroika, Part Two of Angels in America. It’s a fitting image for the events that play out in the culmination of Tony Kushner’s Pulitzer Prize-winning play, as the folks we met in Part One continue to cross paths, forming unlikely and often hilarious duos, shoved into chaos by the unavoidable momentum of change.

Prior (Barrett Foa), weakened by sickness in body but not in spirit, is visited by the Angel of America (Gina Daniels) when we left off, and she crashes through the ceiling with a stern, desperate admonition for the earthbound, and speaks about humans with jealous disdain. The Angel and Prior both find themselves discarded, and their interaction yields more comedy than you might expect.

Prior Walter (Barrett Foa) and Hannah Pitt (Meredith Baxter).

Photo credit: Jon Gitchoff

Prior’s ex-lover, Louis (Ben Cherry), starts a fling with his co-worker Joe (Jayson Speters), but opposing political views soon start to rip at the seams of their relationship. Joe’s wife Harper (Valeri Mudek) is comfortably safe within her Valium-induced delusions when she’s not being fussed at or fussed over by Joe’s mother Hannah (Meredith Baxter), who’s left Salt Lake and taken a job at the Mormon Visitors Center in NYC. She becomes an unexpected salve for Prior when he’s most vulnerable, just as Belize (David Ryan Smith), a friend of Louis and Prior’s, winds up being the unlikely nurse charged with tolerating racist insults while trying to soothe Roy Cohn (Peter Frechette), a closeted lawyer who is loudly dying from AIDS, and guarding a hoard of AZT like a dragon on a mountain of gold. He’s getting spectral visits of his own from Ethel Rosenberg (Baxter), who was executed for being a Communist spy in 1953 -- an execution Cohn proudly takes responsibility for having a hand in.

Belize (David Ryan Smith) and Roy M. Cohn (Peter Frechette).

Photo credit: Jon Gitchoff

The performances of the cast members remain strong across the board, and getting to see how these characters complete their journeys after they “shed their skins” is extremely satisfying. Baxter has some wonderful moments as a steely Hannah Pitt, as well as Ethel Rosenberg, who takes pleasure in taunting Cohn about his questionable status as a lawyer while anxiously awaiting his death, and Frechette’s portrayal as Cohn, vicious as a dog in a corner, gets even more impressive as he physically deteriorates. Smith’s Belize continues to eloquently provide a cold, unclouded vision of the world, and Daniels is hard to take your eyes off of, whether she’s wrestling with Prior as the Angel (thanks in part to the great work by ZFX, Inc's flying effects) or schooling Harper as a Mormon pioneer woman from a diorama come to life. Kushner’s beautifully fearless script does right by every one of them, championing leaps of faith as the abandoned gain strength, sharing disparate but idealistically universal connections.

Mormon Mother (Gina Daniels) and Harper Pitt (Valeri Mudek).

Photo credit: Jon Gitchoff

With a top-notch cast and creative design, director Tony Speciale paints Kushner’s grand ideas in grand fashion, making the quiet, human moments just as mesmerizing as the spectacular ones. The Rep’s dazzling production, offering repertory and marathon showings, is as visceral and compelling a production as you’re likely to see, and it’s only around for one more week. Don’t miss it.

ANGELS IN AMERICA: PART TWO: PERESTROIKA

Written by Tony Kushner

Directed by Tony Speciale

Loretto-Hilton Center, 130 Edgar Road

through October 6 | tickets: $20 - $97.50

Performances Tuesdays at 7pm, Wednesdays at 7pm, selected Wednesdays at 1pm, Thursdays and Fridays at 7pm, selected Saturdays at 4pm, Sunday, September 22 (Part Two) at 1pm

Marathon performances Sept. 15, 18, 21, 28 and 29 and Oct. 5 and 6:

Part One: Millennium Approaches at 1pm

Part Two: Perestroika at 7pm

Louis Ironson (Ben Cherry) and Joseph Pitt (Jayson Speters).

Photo credit: Jon Gitchoff

Cast

Rabbi Isidor Chemelwitz, Henry, Hannah Pitt, Ethel Rosenberg, Aleskii Antedilluvianovich, Asiatica: Meredith Baxter*

Roy M. Cohn, Prior 2, Antarctica: Peter Frechette*

Joseph Pitt, Prior 1, Europa: Jayson Speters*

Harper Pitt, Martin Heller, Africanii: Valeri Mudek*

Mr. Lies, Belize, Oceania: David Ryan Smith*

Louis Ironson, Australia: Ben Cherry*

Prior Walter, The Man in the Park: Barrett Foa*

The Angel, Emily, Sister Ella Chapter, Homeless Woman, Mormon Mother: Gina Daniels*

Hannah Pitt (Meredith Baxter).

Photo credit: Jon Gitchoff

Creative

Scenic Designer: Timothy Mackabee

Costume Designer: Dede Ayite

Lighting Designer: Xavier Pierce

Original Music and Sound Design: Broken Chord

Projection Designer: Alex Basco Koch

Associate Director/Violence, Intimacy and Movement Director: Tommy Rapley

Dramaturg: Gad Guterman

Voice and Dialect Coach: Joanna Battles

Associate Costume designer: Jake Poster

Casting By: Pat McCorkle, CSA, Katja Zarolinski, CSA, McCorkle Casting Ltd.

Stage Manager: Emilee Buchheit

Associate Stage Manager: Lorraine LiCavoli

Production Assistant: Makenzie Clark

Flying Effects Provided By: ZFX, Inc

* Denotes member of Actors’ Equity Association, the Union of

Professional Actors and Stage Managers in the United States

ANGELS IN AMERICA PART ONE: MILLENNIUM APPROACHES • The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis

2019-09-12T03:22:00.000-05:00

It’s been over 25 years since Tony Kushner’s Angels in America opened on Broadway, but the Rep’s season opening production of this two-part epic is confirmation of its enduring potency. It’s set in the 1980s during the apex of the AIDS crisis (and the Reagan administration’s lack of urgency in responding to it), but like most classics, there are far-sighted echoes throughout that resonate today. From anxiety about the environment and the cruelty of personal and political self-interests, to the little triumphs of hopeful persistence in the face of fear and uncertainty, the characters in Kushner’s script navigate individual turmoil between the blurred lines of cold realities and fantastical visions, taking on a heavy load, but never straying from a sharp sense of humor. The subtitle, A Gay Fantasia on National Themes, winks at the play’s overall topics, but gives no hint of its remarkable ability to be as expansive as it is intimate. Under Tony Speciale’s graceful direction and a superb cast, Angels in America: Millennium Approaches, stimulates the senses.

Louis Ironson (Ben Cherry) and Prior Walter (Barrett Foa).

Photo credit: Peter Wochniak

Two couples whose relationships are crumbling are at the core. There’s Prior Walter (Barrett Foa), defiantly buoyant despite having recently discovered the first lesions of Kaposi's sarcoma, and his boyfriend Louis Ironson (Ben Cherry), a word processor whose feelings for Prior are tested by his partner’s AIDS diagnosis, which was, in the 80s, as good as a death sentence. Prior refuses to be anything less than fabulous even though his body is being ravaged, and Foa’s performance sways nimbly between effortless charm and indignation, without losing the current of fear under the surface. Louis blunts his guilt with long-winded, pious notions about the ills of the country, and Cherry’s portrayal is an attentive one of fits and starts. Their mutual friend, nurse and ex-drag queen Belize, played by an unyielding and endearing David Ryan Smith, is the stable, clear-eyed center between Prior and Louis -- doling out compassionate attention and hard truth as the needs arise.

Harper Pitt (Valeri Mudek) and Joseph Pitt (Jayson Speters).

Photo credit: Peter Wochniak

Then we’ve got Joseph Pitt (Jayson Speters), a law clerk and devout Mormon struggling to tend to his Valium-addicted wife, Harper (Valeri Mudek). She wants to flee to Antarctica and escape suspicions about her husband, while Joe wants to bury his desires in his work with Reagan-era optimism. Mudek’s work as Harper is strong, adeptly striking a balance between someone trying as desperately to detach as she is to connect. Speters, genuine as her loving husband and torn in his appetite for career advancement, finds himself latched to real-life lawyer and fixer, Roy Cohn (Peter Frechette). And what can you say about Frechette’s performance as Roy Cohn?

Roy M. Cohn (Peter Frechette)

and Joseph Pitt (Jayson Speters).

Photo credit: Peter Wochniak

Yes, that Roy Cohn. Kushner based his character on the real-life brute of the right wing, known for contentious questioning of suspected Communists while serving as chief counsel to Senator Joseph McCarthy. Frechette, satisfyingly, wears his power and influence as comfortably as a glove -- driven to conquer and ferociously deny anything that threatens his stamp on the world, regardless of his bleak view of it.

Meredith Baxter and Gina Daniels round out the knock-out cast as Joe’s mother, Hannah Pitt, and Nurse Emily respectively, but these two (whom we’ll see more of in Part Two), and just about everyone else in the cast, double and triple up on roles.

Hannah Pitt (Meredith Baxter)

and Homeless Woman (Gina Daniels).

Photo credit: Peter Wochniak

The two parts of the play -- Millennium Approaches and Perestroika, will run in repertory and can be seen separately, but for you hard-core types, the Rep is offering marathon performances on Sept. 15, 18, 21, 28 and 29 and Oct. 5 and 6, with Part One running at 1pm and Part Two running later that day at 7pm. You can check the performance schedule below or visit repstl.org for more details.

If you’ve never seen this play before, now’s the time. And if you have seen this play before, now’s the time to see it again. Seriously.

Harper Pitt (Valeri Mudek), Joseph Pitt (Jayson Speters),

Prior Walter (Barrett Foa) and Louis Ironson (Ben Cherry).

Photo credit: Peter Wochniak

ANGELS IN AMERICA: PART ONE: MILLENNIUM APPROACHES

Written by Tony Kushner

Directed by Tony Speciale

Loretto-Hilton Center, 130 Edgar Road

through October 6 | tickets: $20 - $97.50

Performances Tuesdays at 7pm, Wednesdays at 7pm, selected Wednesdays at 1pm, Thursdays and Fridays at 7pm, selected Saturdays at 4pm, Sunday, September 22 (Part Two) at 1pm

Marathon performances Sept. 15, 18, 21, 28 and 29 and Oct. 5 and 6:

Part One: Millennium Approaches at 1pm

Part Two: Perestroika at 7pm

Louis Ironson (Ben Cherry) and Belize (David Ryan Smith).

Photo credit: Peter Wochniak

Cast

Rabbi Isidor Chemelwitz, Henry, Hannah Pitt, Ethel Rosenberg, Aleskii Antedilluvianovich, Asiatica: Meredith Baxter*

Roy M. Cohn, Prior 2, Antarctica: Peter Frechette*

Joseph Pitt, Prior 1, Europa: Jayson Speters*

Harper Pitt, Martin Heller, Africanii: Valeri Mudek*

Mr. Lies, Belize, Oceania: David Ryan Smith*

Louis Ironson, Australia: Ben Cherry*

Prior Walter, The Man in the Park: Barrett Foa*

The Angel, Emily, Sister Ella Chapter, Homeless Woman, Mormon Mother: Gina Daniels*

Harper Pitt (Valeri Mudek) and Joseph Pitt (Jayson Speters).

Photo credit: Peter Wochniak

Creative

Scenic Designer: Timothy Mackabee

Costume Designer: Dede Ayite

Lighting Designer: Xavier Pierce

Original Music and Sound Design: Broken Chord

Projection Designer: Alex Basco Koch

Associate Director/Violence, Intimacy and Movement Director: Tommy Rapley

Dramaturg: Gad Guterman

Voice and Dialect Coach: Joanna Battles

Associate Costume designer: Jake Poster

Casting By: Pat McCorkle, CSA, Katja Zarolinski, CSA, McCorkle Casting Ltd.

Stage Manager: Emilee Buchheit

Associate Stage Manager: Lorraine LiCavoli

Production Assistant: Makenzie Clark

Flying Effects Provided By: ZFX, Inc

* Denotes member of Actors’ Equity Association, the Union of

Professional Actors and Stage Managers in the United States

OSLO • The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis

2019-02-14T22:10:00.000-06:00

In a White House Rose Garden ceremony in 1993, the Oslo I Accord, an effort that sought to bring an eventual end to the ongoing conflict between Israel and Palestine, was signed. A play about the events that led up to the Accords may seem like dry material, but any qualms about that will be gone minutes into the first scene. Under Steven Woolf’s tight direction of a dynamic cast, the Rep’s production of playwright J.T. Rogers’ partially fictionalized retelling is a thriller that takes you underneath what was happening on the surface -- to back-channel diplomacy and sky-high stakes, with a perfect measure of humor.

Mona Juul (Kathleen Wise)

and Terje Rød-Larsen (Jim Poulos).

Photo credit: Peter Wochniak

The American sponsored talks that were churning in an attempt to bring the Palestine Liberation Organization and the Israeli government to the table to lay peacemaking groundwork were going nowhere. But in Oslo, Norwegian social sciences academic Terje Rød-Larsen (Jim Poulos), and his wife Mona Juul (Kathleen Wise), a diplomat, believed that Norway’s neutral stance and Terje’s theory of gradual trust-building could be enough to broker a peace between both sides. They had their work cut out.

Negotiations began with a couple of Israeli economics professors (John Rensenhouse and Michael James Reed) opposite PLO finance minister Ahmed Qurie, played by Rajesh Bose, whose frosty trepidation is disarmed by warm rapport and the safety of the gathering’s remote location. Later the group is joined by Uri Savir, an Israeli foreign ministry director -- a leather jacket in a sea of suits, played by a swaggering Ben Graney. Israeli deputy foreign minister, Yossi Beilin is played by Jerry Vogel, who has apprehensions about letting the news of the covert meetings reach the higher-ups too soon, as small advances suffer nagging setbacks.

Uri Savir (Ben Graney), Yossi Beilin (Jerry Vogel)

and Joel Singer (Jim Shankman).

Photo credit: Peter Wochniak

Poulos possesses enough contagious affability to win over any leery foreign delegate, and Wise, embodying Mona’s level-headed diplomatic skill, also serves as our guide through the play’s nimble shifts in time and place. The actors all give sharp performances, with a few doubling and tripling up on roles, including Jonathan Gillard Daly who plays the stern Norwegian minister of foreign affairs, and Michelle Hand, who plays his wife and Toril Grandal, the cook at the chateau whose old family recipe for waffles soothes ragged nerves and calms hot tempers. Nathan W. Scheuer’s projections inform location and depict newsreel footage of the bloodshed along the Gaza Strip, while Michael Ganio’s sparse set looms tall, dominated by a huge doorway with rubble laying beyond it.

Ahmed Qurie (Rajesh Bose) and Uri Savir (Ben Graney).

Photo credit: Peter Wochniak

The peace achieved by the Oslo Accords didn’t last long. But knowing the outcome doesn’t rob the play of its vigorous tension, and emphasizes how enemies can be brought together by intimate connection and common ground. Don’t miss it.

OSLO

Written by J.T. Rogers

Directed by Steven Woolf

Loretto-Hilton Center, 130 Edgar Road

through March 3 | tickets: $29 - $102

Performances Tuesdays at 7pm, Wednesdays at 7pm, selected Wednesdays at 1:30pm, Thursdays and Fridays at 8pm, Saturdays at 4pm, selected Saturdays at 8pm, Sundays at 2pm, selected Sundays at 7pm

The cast of Oslo

Photo credit: Peter Wochniak

Cast

Terje Rød-Larsen: Jim Poulos*

Marianne Heiberg/Toril Grandal: Michelle Hand

Johan Jorgen Holst/Finn Grandal: Jonathan Gillard Daly*

Mona Juul: Kathleen Wise*

Yossi Beilin: Jerry Vogel*

Ahmed Qurie: Rajesh Bose*

Yair Hirshfeld/Shimon Peres: John Rensenhouse*

Ron Pundak/Jan Egeland: Michael James Reed*

Hassan Asfour: Amro Salama*

Uri Savir: Ben Graney*

Trond/Ensemble: Chaunery Kingsford Tanguay

Thor/American Diplomat: Jeff Cummings*

Joel Singer: Jim Shankman*

Mona Juul (Kathleen Wise) and Terje Rød-Larsen (Jim Poulos).

Photo credit: Peter Wochniak

Ensemble

Jack Theiling

Tom Wethington

Creative

Scenic Designer: Michael Ganio

Costume Designer: Dorothy Marshall Englis

Lighting Designer: Rob Denton

Sound Designer: Fitz Patton

Projections Designer: Nathan W. Scheuer

Associate Director: Michael Fling

Stage Manager: Emilee Buchheit*

Assistant Stage Manager: Lorraine LiCavoli*

* Denotes member of Actors’ Equity Association, the Union of

Professional Actors and Stage Managers in the United States

INTO THE BREECHES! • Shakespeare Festival St. Louis

2018-11-04T16:24:00.000-06:00

Since 2001, Shakespeare Festival St. Louis has been chiefly known for thrilling audiences with its annual, free summer productions in Forest Park, and its education/touring program, In the Schools, has been in place since that first season, exposing kids to Shakespeare with performances and workshops. 2012 brought In the Streets, featuring an original work based on one of Shakespeare’s plays, performed in and thematically tailored to reflect the character of highlighted neighborhoods, and of course there’s Shake 38, launched in 2010 -- a marathon five day festival with various companies staging all of Shakespeare's 38 plays in a variety of locations around the city.

Winnifred (Katy Keating), Ellsworth (Gary Wayne Barker)

and Maggie (Michelle Hand).

Photo credit: Phillip Hamer Photography

Its new program, In the Works, showcases contemporary American plays with a kinship to Shakespeare, and George Brant’s heartening and heroic Into the Breeches! makes its regional debut as the Festival’s inaugural headliner. Also featured are family matinees of A Most Outrageous Fit of Madness, inspired by The Comedy of Errors and written by the Festival’s playwright-in-residence, actor and director Nancy Bell, along with staged readings of Michael Sáenz’s coming-of-age story, The Thousand Natural Shocks.

Into the Breeches! is set during WWII, and while the men are off fighting, the Oberon Play House has been left with its season interrupted. The theatre’s resident director is also overseas, but his wife, Maggie (Michelle Hand), is struck with the idea of putting on Henry IV, parts 1 and 2, and Henry V, with a cast of women (and eventually one man). The resident prima donna, Celeste (Kari Ely), gets behind the idea, but Oberon Play House executive, Ellsworth (Gary Wayne Barker) has his doubts. After a minimal group of women are cast, Maggie starts to encounter and overcome the societal obstacles of the day, and that’s where the heart of this play resides.

Celeste (Kari Ely), Winnifred (Katy Keating),

Ida (Jacqueline Thompson), June (Mary McNulty)

and Maggie (Michelle Hand).

Photo credit: Phillip Hamer Photography

Within Brant’s spirited comedy, you also have Ida (Jacqueline Thompson), the troupe’s costume designer, who’s turned away from the blood bank because they have enough “negro” blood, and Stuart, (Ben Nordstrom), Oberon’s stage manager, whose desire to serve his country is refused because he looks like he might be a “swish.” Though Maggie tries to drag the community’s backstage players into the footlights, she’s brushed off for indulging in folly, while Celeste, an illustrious member of the company, is not paid for her work.

Stuart (Ben Nordstrom) and Ida (Jacqueline Thompson).

Photo credit: Phillip Hamer Photography

Bell’s direction is impeccable, and the show is superbly cast. Irrepressible and introspective, a valiant Hand anchors the players as Maggie, their fearless leader, and Ely gracefully endows the divalike Celeste with depths under her humorous affectation. Barker’s adorably obstinate Ellsworth hides a loving heart of gold even though he’s mired in the 40’s-era status quo, and Thompson is resilient as Ida, pushed off to the margins because of her race. Nordstrom is in top form as a dynamic but ostracized Stuart, and a priceless Katy Keating is excellent as Ellsworth’s wife, Winnifred, who makes a delightful turn in the part she’s offered to play. Laura Resinger is Grace, struggling with the absence of overseas letters from her husband, and Mary McNulty is a very funny and genial June, busily holding scrap metal drives to contribute to the war effort.

Celeste (Kari Ely) and Maggie (Michelle Hand).

Photo credit: Phillip Hamer Photography

Into the Breeches! was originally set in Providence, Rhode Island where it debuted in January at the Trinity Repertory Company, but there have been several local references included, adding a charming touch. Joe Clapper’s lights gently focus the audience’s attention, nicely setting off Margery and Peter Spack’s skillfully realized backstage set design.

With an invigorating assertion of the ability of the arts to bridge divides and a warm embrace of diversity and common ground, we’re lucky to have this play right now. Go see it. It’s at the Grandel Theatre until the 24th.

Grace (Laura Resinger).

Photo credit: Phillip Hamer Photography

Incidentals

• Michael Sáenz’s The Thousand Natural Shocks -- two staged readings are scheduled at 10am on Wednesday and Thursday, Nov. 6-8

• Nancy Bell’s A Most Outrageous Fit of Madness -- matinee performances are scheduled at 4pm on Saturdays (Nov. 10, 17, 24).

INTO THE BREECHES!

Written by George Brant

Directed by Nancy Bell

The Grandel Theatre, 3610 Grandel Square

through November 24 | tickets: $20 - $40

Performances Wednesdays and Thursdays at 7pm, Fridays and Saturdays at 8pm, and Sundays at 2pm

June (Mary McNulty).

Photo credit: Phillip Hamer Photography

Cast

Ellsworth: Gary Wayne Barker*

Celeste: Kari Ely*

Maggie: Michelle Hand

Winnifred: Katy Keating

June: Mary McNulty*

Stuart: Ben Nordstrom*

Grace: Laura Resinger

Ida: Jacqueline Thompson*

Creative

Scenic Design: Margery and Peter Spack

Costume Design: Michele Friedman Siler

Lighting Design: Joe Clapper

Sound Design: Rusty Wandall

Production Manager: Tom Martin

Stage Manager: Kathryn Ballard*

Props Master: Meg Brinkley

Dramaturg/Assistant Director: Kelley Abel

Assistant Stage Managers: Avery Lowe and Orevia Vongsa

* Denotes member of Actors’ Equity Association, the Union of

Professional Actors and Stage Managers in the United States

MACBETH: COME LIKE SHADOWS • Rebel And Misfits Productions

2018-10-28T22:15:00.001-05:00

Rebel And Misfits transports audiences to the middle of a pulsing, modernized interpretation of Macbeth in the third installment of its Immersive Theatre Project, where a roughly 10 minute bus ride lands you at Inverness -- a historic, red brick Gothic chancel of graffiti, brick piles and half pipes. Shakespeare’s 17th century tragedy is well known -- a prophesy delivered to Generals Macbeth and Banquo by three witches sets Macbeth and his wife on a murderous pursuit of the crown. This production is a magical but dystopian one, that bends toward the political themes in the play and emphasizes the destructive trappings of power, while filling out a backstory on the players, giving you different perspectives on familiar characters. Its immersive component places you within the performance itself, meaning you’ll be on your feet wandering amongst the cast, where you may have a warning whispered in your ear, a note placed in your hand, or find yourself with a seat at the royal table.

Macbeth (Sean Patrick Higgins)

and Lady Macbeth (Kelly Hummert).

Photo credit: Eric Woolsey

You can grab a quick drink after you arrive at your destination, but remember that it is a time of civil war. Soldiers walk around with daggers along with service rifles and tactical vests, and entry to the Macbeth’s castle comes only after a quick process authorizes your status as a citizen. Once welcomed inside by sound designer Adam Frick-Verdine’s thumping soundtrack, you’ll have time to roam around an expansive chamber and admire striking murals of our hosts (courtesy of Tiélere Cheatem), eavesdrop on snatches of conversation between friends, or witness arguments that break out between antagonists.

Witches (Alison Linderer, Cynthia Pohlson

and Tiélere Cheatem).

Photo credit: Eric Woolsey

Before long, the witches (Alison Linderer, Cynthia Pohlson and Tiélere Cheatem) set the plot in motion planning their meetup with Macbeth (a dynamic Sean Patrick Higgins). Aisles are gently created amidst the onlookers through which the actors bolt from place to place, and the fog that hangs in the air, flushed with gorgeous lights by Jon Ontiveros, makes for some arresting tableaus throughout, whether it’s the witches spinning about like the queen of sorcery herself was chanting in their ears, or the Macbeths being swept up in the immediate gratification of fame after they’re coronated king and queen. A cursory familiarity with Macbeth will be helpful, as the tall echoey ceilings swallow up much of the dialogue, despite the cohesion of a strong group of actors.

The cast of Macbeth: Come Like Shadows.

Photo credit: Eric Woolsey

Kelly Hummert’s Lady Macbeth is sorrowful in her inability to give her husband a son, but intense with ambition, while Higgins' Macbeth shows an almost immediate regret after they spill their first blood, and the intimacy they share is sweltering. These two also co-direct the production. Spencer Sickmann is a marvelous Macduff, imparting a palpable grief after he learns the fate of his family, and Shane Signorino’s Banquo grins ominously when his ghost appears to haunt Macbeth at a royal banquet. Aarya Sara Locker and Phil Leveling are commanding addressing the crowd as Scottish Thanes Lennox and Caithness, and Jeff Cummings is a stern King Duncan whose ghost oversees the action from the top of one of the half pipes after he meets his end. Paul Cereghino engages thoughtfully as the slain King Duncan's oldest son, Malcolm, and the supporting cast members remain as absorbed in the action as we do.

Ross (Reginald Pierre) and Macduff (Spencer Sickmann).

Photo credit: Eric Woolsey

If you’ve seen Macbeth before, Macbeth: Come Like Shadows presents an opportunity to experience it like you never have before. Go see it.

Incidentals

• The show does include a violence, gunshots, strobe lighting and fog warning. Perfect for Halloween.

• Wear comfortable shoes, dress to stay warm, and take the plunge!

Doctor (Phil Leveling) and Lady Macbeth (Kelly Hummert).

Photo credit: Eric Woolsey

MACBETH:
COME LIKE SHADOWS

Written by William Shakespeare, adapted by Kelly Hummert and Sean Patrick Higgins

Directed by Sean Patrick Higgins and Kelly Hummert

First destination, 1615 South Broadway (the parking lot for DB’s and Jimmy Johns)

through November 10 | tickets: $35 - $45

Performances Wednesdays through Saturdays *arrive no later than 7:20pm to board the bus at 7:30pm

Lucas (Tiélere Cheatem), Young Soldier (Kevin Corpuz)

and Malcolm (Paul Cereghino).

Photo credit: Eric Woolsey

Cast

Angus: Jeremey Branson

Malcolm: Paul Cereghino

Witch/Lucas: Tiélere Cheatem

Fleance/Young Soldier: Kevin Corpuz

Duncan: Jeff Cummings

Bianca: Patrice Foster

Macbeth: Sean Patrick Higgins

Lady Macbeth: Kelly Hummert

Caithness, Doctor: Phil Leveling

Witch: Alison Linderer

Lennox: Aarya Sara Locker

Lady Macduff: Hailey Medrano

Ross: Reginald Pierre

Witch, Understudy for Lady Macbeth: Cynthia Pohlson

Macduff: Spencer Sickmann

Banquo: Shane Signorino

Head of Security: Jordan Woods

Creative

Assistant Director and Choreographer: Jordan Woods

Stage Manager: Megan Cahill

Lighting: Jon Ontiveros

Set: Joe Novak

Sound: Adam Frick-Verdine

Costumes: Eileen Engel

The Coming Out Play Festival • The Q Collective

2018-10-24T20:34:00.000-05:00

There’s a new theatre company in town, newly launched by local actor Sean Michael -- a familiar face to New Line Theatre audiences. The Q Collective will explore gender, sexuality, and orientation, with an emphasis on the development of local playwrights and composers. They take up the torch ignited by Briefs, a short play festival developed by Joan Lipkin, artistic director of That Uppity Theatre Company. Produced in partnership with Vital VOICE Magazine, Briefs featured LGBT-centric works and staged dozens of new plays during its 6 years. The Q Collective’s inaugural festival included eight short plays, culled from 66 submissions, exploring the coming out experience.

Rose (Eleanor Humphrey)

and Max (Elon Ptah) in Lisa Meyers’ Two Sugars.

A few of the plays cover the childhood friends visiting old attractions territory, like Two Sugars, written by Lisa Meyers. In it, Rose reconnects with her childhood friend, now called Max after gender reassignment, over coffee. Talk of their favorite swing and confessions of latent crushes lead to how they’ve both changed, though their chemistry remains. In Michael Pisaturo’s Where the Fireworks Come From, a recent drunken hook up between Gabe and Tony draws a sharp contrast in their reactions. It has rekindled old feelings for Tony, who’s on his way to basic training, while Gabe dismisses their periodic hook ups as insignificant.

Eric (Luke Steffen), Guy (Marshall Jennings),

Gal (Isabel Garcia) and Becca (Amanda Brasher)

in Nicholas Vasilios Pappas’ Weird.

Weird, written by Nicholas Vasilios Pappas, is a lightning fast look at the changes of a friendship over the course of 20 years, and Vincent Terrell Durham’s Baby Black Jesus: Play Four, centers on the decision of Richard’s to return to his religious roots, resulting in a breakup with his blindsided boyfriend Darryl. Elizabeth Breed Penny’s Something Old opens with Molly, who has recently cancelled her wedding to an abusive fiancé, terrified of facing her ice-cold mother after all of the money that’s been spent. Instead, she's shocked to learn that her mother respects and understands her decision more than Molly would have ever guessed. J. Joseph Cox’s Grindrd was a humorous and slightly disturbing vignette about a young man who finds out his potential online date is his own father, while Dorothy LaBounty stands out in Adam Szudrich’s Slow Dating, as a woman who’s starting to let go of her terminally ill husband, sticks a toe in the dating pool, and spends an unexpected night with a woman. The evening ended with Scott Mullen’s Cow, that featured two bad-ass gay women of color, who also happen to be superheroes.

Richard (Marshall Jennings) and Darryl (William Humphrey)

in Vincent Terrell Durham’s Baby Black Jesus: Play Four.

In addition to having a good mix of comedy and drama, the plays selected cast a broad net, covering more than the issues that concern the LGBT community specifically. In doing so, it nicely underlines a universality in the process of all kinds of self-disclosure. The Q Collective already has plans for next year, so keep your eyes peeled for its next venture.

The Coming Out Play Festival

The Monocle, 4510 Manchester Ave.

Run concluded

Ester (Dorothy LaBounty) in Adam Szudrich’s Slow Dating.

Two Sugars

Written by Lisa Meyers

Directed by Shualee Cook

Cast

Max: Elon Ptah

Rose: Eleanor Humphrey

Where the Fireworks Come From

Written by Michael Pisaturo

Directed by Taylor Gruenloh

Cast

Tony: Maxwell Gass

Gabe: David Zimmerman

Something Old

Written by Elizabeth Breed Penny

Directed by Carl Overly, Jr.

Cast

Molly: Amanda Brasher

Jade: Rachel Hanks

Leanna: Helen Pancella

Wendy (Isabel Garcia) and Quinn (Eleanor Humphrey)

in Scott Mullen’s Cow.

Grindrd

Written by J. Joseph Cox

Directed by Taylor Gruenloh

Cast

Steve Carew: Maxwell Gass

Kari: Stasia Kroeger

Mr. Carew: Donald Miller

Baby Black Jesus: Play Four

Written by Vincent Terrell Durham

Directed by Carl Overly, Jr.

Cast

Darryl: William Humphrey

Richard: Marshall Jennings

Slow Dating

Written by Adam Szudrich

Directed by Shualee Cook

Cast

Ester: Dorothy LaBounty

Weird

Written by Nicholas Vasilios Pappas

Directed by Sarah Lynne Holt

Cast

Becca: Amanda Brasher

Eric: Luke Steffen

Gal: Elizabeth Rajchart

Guy: Marshall Jennings

Cow

Written by Scott Mullen

Directed by Sarah Lynne Holt

Cast

Quinn: Eleanor Humphrey

Wendy: Isabel Garcia