Lynn Venhaus

Total Post: 1132

Lynn (Zipfel) Venhaus has had a continuous byline in St. Louis metro region publications since 1978. She writes features and news for Belleville News-Democrat and contributes to St. Louis magazine and other publications. She is a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic, currently reviews films for Webster-Kirkwood Times and KTRS Radio, covers entertainment for PopLifeSTL.com and co-hosts podcast PopLifeSTL.com…Presents. She is a member of Critics Choice Association, where she serves on the women's and marketing committees; Alliance of Women Film Journalists; and on the board of the St. Louis Film Critics Association. She is a founding and board member of the St. Louis Theater Circle. She is retired from teaching journalism/media as an adjunct college instructor.

Archive Reviews Theatre
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7 min read

Down in the Marrow – Opera Theatre’s ‘Fire Shut Up in My Bones’ Breaks Hearts and Boundaries

By CB AdamsContributing WriterTo mix musical genres – and to begin with the finale of Fire Shut Up in My Bones – this new “opera in jazz” answers the same rhetorical question raised in “Alive and Kicking” by Simple Minds: “What’s it gonna take to make a dream survive? / Who’s got the touch to calm the storm inside?” The rhetorical answer in general is each of us and in particular, it is the opera’s hero-protagonist, Charles.

Opera Theatre of St. Louis premiered Fire Shut Up in My Bones, an opera that bends – if not downright breaks – the style, presentation and story arc of what we think of as traditional opera. If your idea of opera is a stage full of European white people voicing the story and words of some dead white dude, then Fire will surprise you in multiple ways – not the least of which is the all-African-American cast.

First is the source material. Fire is adapted
from the memoir of the same name by New York Times columnist Charles
Blow, rather than fables, fairy tales or fiction. Fire was created by
librettist Kasi Lemmons (director/writer/actress) and composer Terence
Blanchard (film score composer/noted jazz trumpeter). This is Blanchard’s
second commission from OTSL; the first was Champion presented in 2013.

The narrative is presented in a book-ended fashion, with the opening and concluding scenes set in Charles’ home. Correspondingly, the reason the Charles has returned to his hometown (physically and metaphorically) is explained at the beginning and reaches its resolution at the end. Within those bookends, Fire follows a linear timeline that satisfyingly links the beginning with the ending.

Jeremy Denis, Davone Tines and Karen SlackOf course, Fire is an opera and peddles the usual Big Themes (Love, Infidelity, Violence, Murder), but like the good gumbo that it is, it adds sexual molestation, sexual identity, abject poverty and fraternity hazing – not to mention the challenges and monotony of working in a chicken processing plant! Instead of Nordic mountains or an Italian villa, Fire is set in the rural idyll of Gibsland, Louisiana, with a set design that practically exudes the heat and humidity of the American South.

The music of Fire leans away from traditional Western European orchestration and into a unique patois of American jazz, folk, blues and big band performed by an orchestra/jazz combo hybrid, conducted by William Long.

Fire efficiently packs Blow’s entire memoir into a couple of captivating hours’ worth of opera. It cinematically – and efficiently – quick-cuts from scene to scene (home shack, porch, farm fields, chicken factory, farmland, molestation bed, college fraternity party) leading to the denouement and resolution of Charles’ conflicts. The success of OTSL’s Fire is attributable in no small part to the production – weighty and evocative without being heavy – helmed by director James Robinson, making his OTSL debut.

At the premiere, the talents of Allen Moyer (set
design), Christopher Akerlind (lighting design) and Greg Emetaz (video
projection engineer), cohered as the stage morphs from scene to scene using
movable set pieces in tempo with the music, singing and action (kudos, too, to
choreographer Seán
Curran and Tom Watson, wig and makeup design). The attention to telling details
extended to the palpable bloodiness of the chicken processors (more kudos to
James Schuette for costume design here and throughout). Even the table cloths
in a nightclub scene looked like old-fashioned bottle caps, evoking the
pleasure to be found there.

Equally impressive were the principal performers of Fire. Blanchard and Lemmons solved the
challenge of presenting the lead character from age six to adult (in sung
roles) by using both a child, the delightful Jeremy Denis as Char’es-Baby, and the
adult Charles, the bass-baritone Davóne Tines. They were often in scene together, with
Charles providing context and counsel like a sort of Jiminy Cricket to his own
younger self. Along with several other young actors, it was engaging to watch
children on stage do something more meaningful than add background.

One of the opera’s pivotal scenes is the molestation of
the Char’es-Baby by a cousin, and it was one of the highlights of this
production – harrowing and nauseating without being prurient, pervey or porny.

Some of the opera’s ensemble played multiple roles, the
most obvious of which was soprano Julia Bullock who played the Chorus-like Destiny
and Loneliness as well as Greta Charles’ love-interest for a time. Bullock
transitioned among these characters easily, without calling attention to her
ability to fully inhabit and portray them. No good Southern story is complete
without a sassy and strong mama, and soprano Karen Slack as Billie, Charles’s
mother, is no exception. Her performance commanded the audience to fully
experience her character rather than sit back passively and watch and listen.

Davone Tines, Karen Slack in “Fire Shut Up in My Bones.”In a way, it is Billie who has the last word in Fire as Charles seems to accept her recurring advice that “sometimes you gotta leave it in the road.” To mix musical genres again, there’s a similar sentiment in “The Wiz.” It’s the notion that “Don’t you carry nothing / That might be a load.” Fire leaves on the hopeful if unsung note that moving on in life Charles will indeed “Ease On Down the Road.”

Opera Theatre of St. Louis presented the world premiere of “Fire Shut Up in My Bones” June 15-29 at the Loretto-Hilton Center. Fore more information visit www.experienceopera.com

“Fire
Shut Up My Bones”
Opera Theatre of St. Louis
June 15 – June 29
Loretto-Hilton Centerwww.experienceopera.com
314-961-0644

Lynn Venhaus

She is a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic, currently reviews films for Webster-Kirkwood Times and KTRS Radio, covers entertainment for PopLifeSTL.com and co-hosts podcast PopLifeSTL.com…Presents.

She is a member of Critics Choice Association, where she serves on the women’s and marketing committees; Alliance of Women Film Journalists; and on the board of the St. Louis Film Critics Association. She is a founding and board member of the St. Louis Theater Circle.

She is retired from teaching journalism/media as an adjunct college instructor.

poplifestl.com

Archive Take Ten
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18 min read

Take Ten with John Flack

By Lynn Venhaus
Managing Editor
One of the most versatile and lauded actors in St. Louis, John Flack is
spending his summer working at what he loves, adding another comedy, drama and
musical to his extensive repertoire.

He has been a member of Actors’ Equity, for 30 years,
“right here in St. Louis,” and is grateful to be working in the profession.

“My real dream is to continue to be cast in any professional theatre production that will have me so I can have a job doing what I love while working with people I adore.”

Currently appearing in the critically acclaimed “Indecent,”
presented by Max and Louie Productions, he will be in a satirical romp through
American history, “The Almost True and Truly Remarkable Adventures of Israel
Potter,” July 18 – 27 at Bluff City Theater in Hannibal, Mo. Rehearsals start
July 2.

Then, he’ll play the Captain of the Inquisition in “Man of
La Mancha” in September, his only musical with Stages St. Louis this summer.

“Man of La Mancha” runs Sept. 6 to Oct. 6 and concludes
Stages’ 33rd season, its final one before they move into a new
Performing Arts Center in Kirkwood.

Flack has been working with Stages since 1990, when he
played the title role in “Snoopy!”
Ever since, he’s demonstrated his musical versatility in both comedy and drama,
playing such roles as the Underling, the butler in “The Drowsy Chaperone,” and
440-year-old Merlin in “Camelot.”

“I’ve been in about 65 (Stages musicals),” he said.

“I’m so grateful to Michael Hamilton and Jack Lane, and the
team at Stages, how they value the artists. Stages gives us Equity performers more
work weeks than any company in St. Louis in the summer. They make it possible
for us to get health insurance, and live and work here,” he said.

“Oklahoma” at Stages St. Louis 2018. Photo by Peter WochniakAnother benefit of being part of a company is the
friendships forged. For “Indecent,” he was fortunate to work with his longtime
friend, Ellen Isom, who choreographed the show. They’ve been friends since
1991.

“She is not only one of the absolute treasures of St. Louis
theater, but she’s first a terrific human being,” he said.

John has been active in several regional professional theaters, including The New Jewish Theatre, Upstream Theater, The Black Rep, Shakespeare Festival St. Louis and the former HotCity.

As Saul Mortera in “New Jerusalem” at New Jewish Theatre, with Rob Riordan.He appeared in three shows at The Muny — “My One and Only” (2008) and “Meet Me in St. Louis” and “Camelot” in 2009.

In 2015, St. Louis Post-Dispatch Go! Magazine List named him Best St. Louis Stage Actor.

“Indecent” is one of his biggest challenges – and one of
the finest productions he’s been part of to date, he said.

John plays The Elder: Otto, and then as part of the
ensemble, he performs various characters Yekel, Peretz, Schildkraut, Immigrant,
Bartender, Judge McIntyre and older Asch.

“What a role!” he said about Otto.

But he has seven others too. “I am on stage the entire
time,” he said.

Making each character different as part of the ensemble is
the daunting task.

“That’s the biggest challenge. They are from different times,
and to make sure they have different dialects. The play spans 50 years,” he said.
“They are all old guys like me. That’s the one thing they have in common.”

When the characters speak their native language, they speak
perfect English, but when they speak a second or third language, they speak
English with an accent.

A fierce indictment of censorship as well as a celebration
of art and love, “Indecent” combines theater, music, dance and poetry to make
an impact in an era of chaos. Flack is among the seven actors and three
musicians who play roles that span continents and decades.

By Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Paula Vogel,
“Indecent” is the true story of a groundbreaking scandalous play and the
courageous artists who risked their careers and lives to perform it. During its
2017 run on Broadway, it won

Sholem Asch’s drama, “God of Vengeance” debuted
on Broadway in 1923 at a time when waves of immigrants were changing the face
of America. A love story that celebrated Yiddish language and unconventional
passion, it was forced from the stage by a reactionary, fearful public. Its fate, and that of the actors who
cherished it even as they confronted the horrors of the Nazi onslaught, are the
subject of “Indecent.”

“It’s a lovely script, beautifully written and poetic, and it’s very prescient for our time,” he said.

“Indecent” by Max and Louie ProductionsProducing Artistic Director Stellie Siteman issued a
statement: “As a proud member of St. Louis’ vibrant LGBTQ, Jewish, and Theatre
communities, I can think of no better play at this moment in time that
dramatizes a message of inclusion, tolerance and love. The belief in the power
of art is a clarion call to action.”

Joanne Gordon directed. Ron McGowan is the musical
director. Ellen Isom choreographed. Besides Flack, “Indecent” stars Alyssa
Avery, Zoe Farmingdale, Katie Karel, TJ Lancaster, Judi Mann, Kris Pineda and
Tim Schall.

“It’s a wonderful cast, really a delightful group. I love
working with these people,” John said. “And the music is tremendous.”

He is also a fan of the renovated Grandel, where the show
has been staged.

“It’s a great space, and we have a lot of positive energy
here,” he said.

John Flack won a St. Louis Circle Award as Don.

He has worked with Max and Louie Productions before, in Ken
Page’s original play, “Sublime Intimacy.” Page not only wrote it but directed
the show in 2015.

“Sublime Intimacy” was the tale of five friends who were elevated,
touched and changed by their love of a dancer and his dance overlaps,
intertwines and informs each other.

John won a St. Louis Theater Circle Award for playing Don,
an ex-Hollywood actor – Outstanding Actor in a Supporting Role in a Drama.

As Dan in “Next to Normal” He has been nominated
four times for St. Louis Theater Circle Awards, for two HotCity productions –
as Ned in “The Normal Heart” in 2014 (which also tied for Outstanding
Production of a Drama) and Charles Busch’s “The Divine Sister” in 2012, and as the
husband Dan in Insight Theatre Company’s “Next to Normal” musical in 2017.

With Eric Dean White in “The Normal Heart
“Max and Louie
Productions like to present an eclectic mix,” he said. “Stellie and De love to
bring plays that they are passionate about to a St. Louis audience.”

A mere few days
after “Indecent” closes June 30, he starts rehearsals on Tuesday, July 2 for “The
Almost True and Truly Remarkable Adventures of Israel Potter,” directed by
Herbie Barnes, at the Bluff City Theater in Hannibal, Mo.

He joins an ensemble cast featuring Donna Weinsting,
Jennelle Gilreath-Owens, Brian Kim and Eric Geller, all playing multiple
characters, while Erick Lindsey is Israel Potter.

Based on a novel by Herman Melville, who supposedly rescued
a tattered journal from the trash in 19th century London. Potter, a
simple farmer, is drafted into the fledgling Continental Army of the United
States of America on the eve of his wedding. He’s captured by the British,
imprisoned in England and then escapes, wanting only to return to his waiting
bride and a peaceful life in America. What ensues instead is a madcap series of
improbable events that thrusts him into one grand adventure after another,
preventing his return home.

The order this summer is drama, comedy then musical – more
memorable additions to the resume.

What’s best about building an acting career in St. Louis is
the variety of work.

As Clarence Darrow in “Never the Sinner” at New Jewish TheatreJohn said St. Louis is great for not pigeonholing an actor.
If you want to do comedy but have been mainly cast in dramas, you can. Unlike
other cities where you get typecast and they think you can only do one thing.

Lavonne Byers and John Flack in “The Divine Sister”

“We feel very lucky in St. Louis to work on different stages,” he said.

Here is our “Take Ten” Questionnaire with John Flack

1. Why did you choose your profession/pursue the arts?

“Wait a minute… I had a choice? I don’t remember it that
way. In an early attempt at adulting, I tried three different career paths
outside of the arts. Each one ended in failure, disappointment, and heartache.
Then I needed a job, so I auditioned for a singing waiter gig on the old
Admiral riverboat. When that job ended, I auditioned for the next (Imaginary
Theatre Company at The Rep); and so-on and so-on. I’ve just been putting one
foot in front of the other, following my heart’s desire and staying a step
ahead of creditors ever since.”

2. How would your friends describe you?

“I don’t have financial wealth, but I am blessed with an
incredible wealth of dear friends and family. I don’t mean this to be glib or
cute; but I think one of the reasons I’ve been so fortunate in this regard is
because I was taught by my parents that what others think of me (or anything
else, really) is none of my business.”

3. How do you like to spend your spare time?

“I have a love/hate relationship with spare time. As a
free-lancer, empty space on my calendar is frightening to me, so I try to keep
as little open space as possible. When I do have spare time, I like to do
nothing. Take a break. Sit. Breath. Go on a hike with the dog. And, of course,
nap.”

4. What is your current obsession?

“Dachshunds. And napping.”

5. What would people be surprised to find out about
you?

“Considering my obsession, people might be very surprised
to learn that I like all dogs, not just Dachshunds. But I really, really like
wiener dogs.

6. Can you share one of your most defining moments in life?

“Oh, no! Why are all of my “defining moments” so
embarrassing? I’m going through them in my mind, and I think they ought stay
there. I really don’t think any of them are appropriate for print. Let’s go out
for cocktails, and I’ll tell you one or two choice ‘moments’ off the record.”

7. Who do you admire most?

“Those who remain calm, kind, and dignified under difficult
circumstances large and small.”

8. What is at the top of on your bucket list?

“Travel, travel, and more travel. Next up: The Eastern
Pacific rim next Spring. I can’t wait!”

9. What is your favorite thing to do in St. Louis?

“Eat. The restaurant scene in St. Louis is on fire. In
fact, it reminds me a lot of the theatre scene here in that there are so many
creative, energetic people doing what they love with a strong commitment to the
art and passion for excellence. Plus, I love food.”

10. What’s next? “The Almost True and Truly Remarkable
Adventures of Israel Potter” at Bluff City Theatre in Hannibal, Mo., then
“Man of La Mancha” at Stages St. Louis. I ask you, am I a lucky guy?

As Col. Pickering in Stages St. Louis’ “My Fair Lady” along with good friend Zoe Vonder Haar.MORE ABOUT JOHN FLACK:

Name: John Flack
Age: 56
Birthplace: St. Louis
Current location: St. Louis
Family: Married to Michael Marvaso
Education: Parkway West High School (for you curious STL locals), attended The
Conservatory of Theatre Arts at Webster University
Day job: Equity Actor — which means I also have a list of side hustles the
length of my left arm
First job: Busboy at Le Soupcon, Famous-Barr
First role: Snoopy in “You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown” Parkway West
Jr High. Did you happen to catch it?
Favorite roles/plays: Snoopy in
“You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown” Parkway West Jr High and Scarecrow
in “The Wizard of Oz” Variety Club Theatre.

Dream role/play: Oh! So many! But my real dream is to continue to be cast in
any professional theatre productions that will have me so I can have a job
doing what I love while working with people I adore.
Awards/Honors/Achievements: Four Theatre Circle Award nominations, one award;
Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama: Ken Page’s “Sublime
Intimacy”, Max & Louie. Judy Award 2018 – Best Actor in a Drama: Rabbi
Mortera, “New Jerusalem”, New Jewish Theatre. St. Louis Post-Dispatch
– Go! Magazine List 2015 – Best St. Louis Stage Actor. Riverfront Times 2007 –
Best Actor in a Play; Quentin, “After the Fall”, Muddy Waters
Theatre.

Favorite quote/words to live by: “Row, row, row your
boat, gently down the stream; Merrily, merrily, merrily, merrily, Life is but a
Dream.”

A song that makes you happy: “Linus and Lucy” –
Vince Guaraldi Trio

John Flack in “Sublime Intimacy”Max and Louie Productions presents “Indecent” June
20-30 at The Grandel Theatre, 3610 Grandel Square, St. Louis, Missouri 63101.
Reserved seating is on sale at Metrotix.com or by phone, 314-534-1111, or at
the box office an hour before showtime. Visit www.maxandlouie.com for
more information.

Lynn Venhaus

She is retired from teaching journalism/media as an adjunct college instructor.

poplifestl.com

Archive Reviews Theatre
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10 min read

Vive la Revolution(ists) at Insight Theatre Company

By Joe GfallerContributing WriterWho lives, who dies, who tells your story. It’s the refrain that ends Hamilton. Even though the revolution is different, the sentiment carries beautifully into Paris in 1793 in Lauren Gunderson’s sparkling tragi-comedy The Revolutionists.

The play, presented by Insight Theatre Company, is at the Marcelle Theater through July 14.

Four bold, gutsy women of the French revolution meet in an imagined sequence of events in The Revolutionists. Three are real figures: Charlotte Corday (the assassin of Jean-Paul Marat), Olympe de Gouges (a feminist playwright), and Marie Antoinette (the deposed queen of France). One, Marianne Anglle, is a constructed amalgam of several free women of color who fought to end slavery in the French Caribbean.

That all four could ever have met – let alone built the relationships of trust, sympathy, and friendship constructed in the play – is impossible. The play acknowledges this directly before it ends. However, once you willingly suspend that disbelief and accept you are watching “a revolutionary dream fugue, as the play calls itself, you are quickly in for a treat.

Lauren Gunderson’s play is filled with a modern wit that captures the spirit of these women without ever trying to recreate the language of the period. “Chutzpah,” “high five,” and “work life balance” were probably never spoken in 18th century France – let alone some of the saltier 21st century language that these characters invoke. However, by pulling these women out of stilted period turns of phrase, the play makes them feel as vital and contemporary to audiences today as they would have felt to the people of France in their own day.

Where the play is at its best, The Revolutionists threads the playful and the profound. That is no better personified than in Laurie McConnell’s portrayal of Marie Antionette, who becomes at turns endearing and loveable, batty and self-absorbed. She can bring the house down by announcing “Gasp!” and then commenting “Sometimes I say it instead of doing it.” But, despite all the caricature, in the end, she finds her nobility in her humanity – knowing that, like most of our heroines, she is to face the guillotine and her own death. Her promise to deliver a message to the husband of another woman in the afterlife becomes one of the play’s most touching moments.

As Charlotte Corday, Samantha Auch gives the most
emotionally compelling performance in the production. She first bursts into de
Gouges’ parlor in search of a writer who can help her write her inevitable last
words at the guillotine. Full of self-righteous conviction, she can both
channel the innocence to believably call her plan to murder Marat “stabby stab
stab” and the icy certainty to comment on the sexual assault she eventually
receives in prison to confirm if she “is a virgin.” The beautiful clarion voice
with which she delivers the first of a few unexpected lines of music upon her
death filled the theater with hope in the play’s first great moment of despair.

Kimmie Kidd gives a solid portrayal of Marianne Angelle as a
dignified voice of reason, attempting to motivate her friend de Gouges to
harness her talents for the cause of abolition and women’s equality. In the one
scene of substantial dramatic stakes for these two, she and de Gouges abandon
their early witty banter and intellectual arguments for a fight that is grounded
in what feels to be true betrayal. As one who has lived the fight, Angelle’s
wounds are deep. “You can’t write it if you’re not in it,” Angelle bristles at
de Gouges, ultimately leaving the playwright on the floor, clutching the very
pages she was prepared to burn in order to save her own skin.

It is Olympe de Gouges’ journey that theoretically serves as
the arc of the play. Sadly, there are times in which the construct – of her as
writer that the other three women come to – feels like the engine of a plot
that is less about her and more about the others. In the spirit of Caryl
Churchill’s Top Girls, it’s as if we find ourselves at a prolonged
dinner party full of entertaining incident and careful, thoughtful character
studies. But the host herself feels hollow. We never learn how she and Angelle
have come to be as close as we’re told they are, so when their relationship
frays, it’s not one that we have found a way to invest in deeply. Their
struggle matters to them more than it matters to us.

In Jenni Ryan’s portrayal of de Gouges, some of the character’s artifice – constantly hiding behind arguments about the aesthetic value of theater and art – seem to bury the heart of this woman, who often can come across as a less-than-capable dilletante. (The real de Gouges seems to have been anything but.) Her struggle seems to be an intellectual one for three-quarters of the play – and when it finally becomes a real one, it seems to surprise the character as much as it does the audience.

Ultimately, in de Gouges’ final moments, Ryan transforms her into someone who is deeply sympathetic. One only wishes that transformation could have happened earlier in the evening.

Staging The Revolutionists in the round, Trish Brown does an elegant job of consistently using the space well and maintaining a level of energy and momentum that can make a somewhat heady play that relies more on great dialogue than plot continue to feel fresh, fun, and visceral. The simple impact of red flower petals as blood in the moment when Corday kills Marat was one of many beautiful grace notes she successfully incorporated into the staging.

The limited set design — a few pieces of furniture — by Leah McFall was complemented quite effectively by the periodic soundscapes of sound designers Trish Brown and Bob Schmit, and the strong lighting from designer Morgan Brennan. Julian King’s costume design also gave each of the four women signature looks for the entire evening. With a larger budget, one imagines that an occasional costume change would have given us a chance to see more of variety.

I could have lived without the periodic meta-theatrical comparisons to Les Miserables that peppered the script — particularly since the student revolution in that musical was an entirely different revolution than the one playing out in Paris in the 1790s.

But, that aside, the wit and humor of the piece was frequently deeply satisfying and consistently surprising. Bringing back to life these four women in such a novel and engaging setting makes the production well worth a visit.

It’s no wonder that playwright Lauren Gunderson was recently among the most-produced playwrights in America and that her plays have so frequently graced St. Louis stages. She is a rare talent that, in this play, marries heart, humor, and history in a way that will make any audience member clamor to cry “Vive la revolution!”

Insight Theatre Company presents “The Revolutionists’ June 27 – July 14 at the Marcelle Theatre in the Grand Arts District, 3310 Samuel Shepard Drive. Performances are Thursday through Saturday at 8 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m. For more information, visit www.insighttheatrecompany.com or call 314-556-1293.

Lynn Venhaus

She is retired from teaching journalism/media as an adjunct college instructor.

poplifestl.com

News
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19 min read

Go See a Play! What’s Happening June 27 – July 3

By Lynn Venhaus Managing Editor As June winds down, several shows end their runs, so this is the final weekend for the Opera Theatre of St. Louis repertoire, Stages St. Louis’ opening show “The Boy from Oz” and their theater for young audiences 101 Dalmatians” and Circus Flora.

The Q Collective, Max and Louie Productions, SIUE, O’Fallon Theatre Works and Ozark Actors Theatre offer their second weekend of a summer shows. So, it’s the last chance.

This weekend is also the seventh annual Grand Center
Theatre Crawl, with 24 theater companies presenting short works Friday night
and Saturday afternoon and evening.

It’s also the opening of only two regional shows, “The
Revolutionists,” with its all-female cast, presented by Insight Theatre Company
at The Marcelle, and a youth production of “The Addams Family” by Gateway
Center for the Performing Arts.

The Muny offers “1776” for only the fourth time since 1972,
and not since 1999, perfect for the week leading up to Independence Day.

Then, theater, like many Americans, will be taking a
holiday break. Until then, Go See a Play!

Here’s the line-up:

“101 Dalmatians” Stages St. Louis Theatre for Young Audiences June 18 – 30 Robert Reim Theatre, 111 S. Geyer Road www.stagesstlouis.org

What It’s About: Condensed from the Disney animated film,
“101 Dalmatians” is about the evil Cruella DeVil and her two klutzy henchmen as
they trey to steal a litter of the cutest puppies ever to hit jolly old London
Town. But not to worry – thus fur-raising adventure ends happily with plenty of
puppy power to spare!

Director/Choreographer: Peggy Taphorn
Starring: Tyler Jent, Eric Michael Parker, Larissa White, Drew Humphrey, Dena
DiGiacinto, Laura Ernst, Ryan Cooper, Joshua Roach

“1776” The Muny June 27 – July 3, 8:15 p.m. Forest Park stagewww.muny.org What It’s About: With the American Revolution underway, a nation’s independence is ready to be claimed. The three-time Tony Award-winning “1776 “sets ablaze the historic signing of the Declaration of Independence and illuminates the personalities, passions and compromises that created a nation. Director: Rob Ruggiero, with music direction by James Moore and choreography by Enrique Brown Starring: Robert Petkoff (John Adams), Adam Heller (Benjamin Franklin) Keith Hines (Thomas Jefferson), Jenny Powers (Abigail Adams) and Ali Ewoldt (Martha Jefferson).

Additional members of the Continental Congress include
George Abud (James Wilson), Ryan Andes (Richard Henry Lee), Reed Armstrong (Dr.
Lyman Hall), Patrick Blindauer (Samuel Chase), Harry Bouvy (Andrew McNair),
Dean Christopher (Joseph Hewes), Bobby Conte Thornton (Edward Rutledge), Ben
Davis (John Dickinson), J.D. Daw (Robert Livingston), Gary Glasgow (Charles
Thomson), Philip Hoffman (Caesar Rodney), Michael Thomas Holmes (George Read),
Joneal Joplin (Stephen Hopkins), Brian Keane (Col. Thomas McKean), Benjamin
Love (A Leather Apron), Larry Mabrey (Lewis Morris), Ben Nordstrom (Dr. Josiah
Bartlett), Rich Pisarkiewicz (Painter), Alex Prakken (Courier), Michael James
Reed (John Hancock), Greg Roderick (Roger Sherman) and Jerry Vogel (Rev. John
Witherspoon).

“The Addams Family” Gateway Center for the Performing Arts June 28-30 Friday and Saturday at 7 p.m., Saturday and Sunday at 2 p.m. Emerson Theatre, Harris-Stowe University www.gcpastl.org

Rachel Tibbetts

“As You Like It” Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville June 21 – 30 Friday and Saturday at 7:30 p.m., Sunday at 2 p.m. Metcalf Theatre 618-650-2774 www.siue.edu

What It’s About: The theatrical and enchanting Shakespeare
that you have come to expect from SIUE Summer Theater continues; this beloved
romantic comedy moves from the magical Forest of Arden to the mysterious 1920’s
Ozark forests, complete with original, Old-Time Tunes. Our hero Rosalind,
finding herself on the run from the evils of the city with her best friend
Celia and her philosophical fool Touchstone, disguises herself as a young man
and begins a journey of self-discovery. Falling in love and learning who you
are by “acting the part” are the heart of this classic tale of
romance and reconciliation.
Director: Ellie Schwetye

“The Boy from Oz” May 31 – June 30 Stages St. Louis Robert G. Reim Theatre, Kirkwood Community Center 111 S. Geyer Road, Kirkwoodwww.stagesstlouis.org

What It’s About: Dazzling and hilarious as the legendary
Peter Allen himself, THE BOY FROM OZ follows the Australian singer-songwriter
from his humble beginnings performing in backcountry pubs to his international
stardom beside such Hollywood icons as Judy Garland and her daughter Liza
Minnelli.

Director: Michael Hamilton
Starring: David Elder as Peter Allen, Sarah Ellis as Liza Minnelli, Zach
Trimmer as Greg Connell, Corinne Melancon as Marion Woolnough, Michele Ragusa
as Judy Garland, Brad Frenette as George Woolnough, Steve Isom as Dick
Woolnough, Erik Keiser as Chris Bell, Nic Thompson as Mark Herron, Ben Iken and
Simon Desilets as Young Peter, Lydia Ruth Dawson, Bryn Purvis and Madison
Tinder as Trio, Frankie Thams as Trick, Nathanial Burich as Dealer and Ashley
Chasteen as Alice. Ensemble includes Kari Ely and Caleb Dicke.

“The Caper on Aisle 6” Circus Flora June 7 – June 30 Big Top Tent in Grand Center (air-conditioned)www.circusflora.org What It’s About: A trip to the grocery store is a place of intrigue and excitement when an ancient and powerful substance, long thought to be gone from the Earth, is found in the unlikeliest of places: aisle six of the local grocery store. What secrets does aisle six hold, and what adventures will it set in motion?“The Coronation of Poppea” Opera Theatre of St. Louis June 9 – 28 Loretto-Hilton Center, 135 Edgar Roadwww.experienceopera.org 314-961-0644

What It’s About: The fight for the throne is never
dignified. Poppea will stop at nothing to become Empress, no matter who she has
to blackmail, betray, or kill. And Emperor Nero, who is infatuated with Poppea,
is not thinking with his head. Separately, they’re bad enough. Together, they
will turn Rome upside down. Sexy, bloodthirsty, and unapologetic, this opera is
the best kind of political thriller.
Of Note: The opera runs 2 hours and 50 minutes with one intermission and is
performed in English with English supertitles.

“Fire Shut Up My Bones” Opera Theatre of St. Louis June 15 – June 29 Loretto-Hilton Centerwww.experienceopera.com 314-961-0644

What It’s About: When Charles discovers that his cousin has
returned to his Louisiana hometown, he races home from college to confront his
past. Memories and shadows surround Charles as he strives to move beyond a
cycle of violence and forge a brave new path.

Of Note: Writers are Terence Blanchard, composer of OTSL’s
sold-out hit “Champion,” teams up with screenwriter Kasi Lemmons (“Eve’s Bayou”)
for a haunting, powerful, and tender coming-of age story inspired by a memoir
celebrated as “stunning” (Essence), “riveting” (Chicago Tribune),
and “exquisite” (The New York Times).
The opera runs approximately two hours and 25 minutes with one intermission and
is performed in English with English supertitles.

“Grand Center Theater Crawl” St. Louis Public Radio June 28 and 29 Friday from 7 to 10 p.m., Saturday from 2 to 5 p.m. and 7-10 p.m. Grand Center Arts District www.stlouispublicradio.org What It’s About: The seventh annual Theatre Crawl offers free access to performances in and around Grand Center by 24 local theatre companies during a two-day pop-up experience. It’s a chance to get to know the groups shaping St. Louis’ arts scene. Performances are 15 minutes long, starting every hour and half hour. Audience members will rotate through 19 different venues and each session will include family-friendly performances.

There’s sure to be something for everyone with a mix of
musical numbers, select scene performances and improv. Transportation between
venues is provided by Paraquad. A program also grants participants access to food
specials at certain restaurants located around Grand Center.

Of Note: In 2018, the Theatre Crawl drew a variety of
people representing 112 zip codes and 13 states.

Featured theatre companies Equally Represented Arts,
Insight Theatre Company, Slightly Askew Theatre Ensemble, Prison Performing
Arts, R-S Theatrics, The Midnight Company, and West End Players Guild.

Sarah Gene Dowling and Luke Steingruby

“Hedwig and the Angry Inch”
The Q Collective
June 20-22 and 27-29; June 30 encore presentation at 8 p.m.
8 p.m. evenings Thursday – Saturday, with additional 10:30 p.m. performance
Saturdays
The Monocle, 4510 Manchester in The Grove
www.eventbrite.com

What It’s About:
John Cameron Mitchell and Stephen Trask’s groundbreaking, Obie-winning
Off-Broadway musical has the internationally ignored song stylist Hedwig
Schmidt, herself, tells us her wild life story, as a fourth-wall smashing East
German rock ‘n’ roll goddess who also happens to be the victim of a botched
sex-change operation. This outrageous and unexpectedly powerful story is
dazzlingly performed by Hedwig (née Hansel) in the form of a rock gig/stand-up
comedy backed by the hard-rocking band The Angry Inch. It’s a rocking ride,
funny, touching, and ultimately inspiring to anyone who has felt life gave them
an inch when they deserved a mile.

Director: Jordan
Woods with assistance by Camille Fensterman, music direction by Holly Barber

Starring: Luke Steingruby, Sarah Gene Dowling

Of Note: Thursday through Saturday 8 p.m. shows are sold out.

“Indecent” Max and Louie Productions June 20-23, June 27-30 Thursdays at 7:30 p.m., Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m., Sundays at 3 p.m. The Grandel Theatre, 3610 Grandel Square in Grand Centerwww.maxandlouie.com

What It’s About: Winner of numerous awards including an acclaimed Tony-winning run on Broadway, “Indecent” by Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Paula Vogel, is the true story of a groundbreaking scandalous play and the courageous artists who risked their careers and lives to perform it. Director: Joanne Gordon Starring: Paul Cereghino – Actor, Zoe Farmingdale – Actor, John Flack – Actor, Katie Karel – Actor, TJ Lancaster – Lemml, the Stage Manager, Judi Mann – Actor, Tim Schall – Actor; ;Musicians Alyssa Avery, Kris Pineda, Jack Thieling

Of Note: Special student discount for tickets. Students can show up at the box office with a Student ID and get $20 tickets June 27-30. $1 facility fee. Cash/check/credit/debit.

“The Marriage of Figaro” May 25 – June 29 Opera Theatre of St. Louis Loretto-Hilton Center 135 Edgar Road on Webster University campuswww.opera-stl.org 314-961-0644 What It’s About: Mozart’s comedy masterpiece is about complicated life at court and how love should always prevail. The maid Susanna is determined to wed her fiancé, Figaro, while the Count is equally determined to add her to his list of conquests. But Susanna and Figaro won’t allow one self-entitled nobleman to ruin their happy ending! They each hatch their own plots to teach their master a lesson. What follows is a whirlwind day of romantic intrigue, cunning schemes, and uproarious fun. The opera runs three hours and ten minutes with one intermission and is sung in English with English supertitles.

“Mary Poppins” Ozark Actors Theatre June 13 – June 30 Thursday at 7:30, Friday at 2 and 7:30, Saturday at 7:30, and Sunday at 2 p.m. 701 N. Cedar St., Rolla, MO 65401 https://www.ozarkactorstheatre.org/mary-poppins

What It’s About: She’s practically perfect in every way!
Join the world’s most famous nanny as she raises up the Banks children in this
musical adaptation of the classic film. Featuring such musical favorites as
Chim Chim Cheree, Let’s Go Fly a Kite, Feed the Birds, Spoonful of Sugar, and
Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious, this show is sure to delight the whole
family.
Director: Lee Anne Mathews, with music direction by Titus Kautz and
choreography by Illeana Kirven
Starring: Mary Poppins – Pauline Parkhurst; Bert – Quinn Cason; Mr. Banks –
Brett Ambler; Mrs. Banks – Mary Baron; Jane Banks – Jersy Stinson;Michael Banks
– Charlie Mathis; Admiral Boom/etc – John Contini; and Robertson Ay/Neleus –
Colin Stansky.

Ensemble – Jamey Pellegrini, Craig Phillips, Susan Holmes,
Carrie Klofach, Illeana Kirven, Amanda Ambler, Hannah Geisz, Jackson Buhr,
Nathan Haltiwanger, Christian Boyd, Anna Benoit, Brianna Justine

Of Note: They just completed massive renovations to the beautiful theater, including new floors, walls, bathrooms, stage, concession stand and seats, thanks to a grant. This is the opening show in the new space. “The Miracle Worker” O’Fallon Theatre Works June 21-23 and 28-30 Friday and Saturday at 7:30 p.m.; Sunday at 2 p.m. O’Fallon Municipal Centre, 100 Main St., O’Fallon, Mo. 636-474-2732

What It’s About: The story of teacher Annie Sullivan’s
affect on Helen Keller, blind and deaf after a fever as a baby, which has left
her unable to communicate, frustrated and angry. Sullivan is able to get
through to her pupil and they form a bond.

“The Revolutionists” Insight Theatre Company June 27 – July 14 Thursday through Saturday at 8 p.m., Sunday at 2 p.m. The Marcelle Theatre in Grand Centerwww.insighttheatrecompany.com 314-556-1293 What It’s About: Written by Lauren Gunderson, four beautiful, badass women lose their heads in this irreverent, girl-powered comedy set during the French Revolution’s Reign of Terror. Playwright Olympe de Gouges, assassin Charlotte Corday, former queen (and fan of ribbons) Marie Antoinette, and Haitian rebel Marianne Angelle hang out, murder Marat, and try to beat back the extremist insanity in 1793 Paris. This grand and dream-tweaked comedy is about violence and legacy, art and activism, feminism and terrorism, compatriots and chosen sisters, and how we actually go about changing the world. It’s a true story. Or total fiction. Or a play about a play. Or a raucous resurrection…that ends in a song and a scaffold.

Director: Trish Brown
Starring: Sam Auch, Kimmie Kidd, Laurie McConnell, Jenni Ryan

“Rigoletto” Opera Theatre of St. Louis June 1 – June 30 8 p.m. Loretto-Hilton Center 135 Edgar Roadwww.experienceopera.org 314-961-0644 What It’s About: Verdi’s powerful “Rigoletto” is a tale of innocence lost, wrenchingly poignant and all too human, presented in English with English supertitles. Rigoletto is a bitter court jester who serves the Duke of Mantua, a lecherous womanizer. Together, they are despised throughout the city. But alone, Rigoletto is all tenderness when it comes to his innocent young daughter, Gilda. Little does he know that an ominous curse is about to take its toll. When the Duke seduces Gilda, only to then abandon her, the enraged father swears vengeance.“The Selfish Giant” Christ Memorial Productions June 28 – 30 Friday and Saturday at 7:30 pm and Sunday at 2:30 pm www.CMPShows.org 314-631-0304

What It’s About: This narrated retelling of the endearing
story will feature physical arts including mime, dance, gymnastics and other
circus arts, and it is set to powerful orchestration by composer Dan Goeller.

Lynn Venhaus

She is retired from teaching journalism/media as an adjunct college instructor.

poplifestl.com

Archive Reviews Theatre
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9 min read

Mid-Life Crisis Rages in Absurd Comedy ‘Sylvia’ — A Mix of Tricks and Treats

By Lynn Venhaus
Managing Editor
Oh, that puppy love. American playwright A.R. Gurney’s absurd comedy “Sylvia” presents
a marital conflict caused by a pretty pooch. In this case, the mutt takes on
human form and talks in perfect English. To buy into the conceit is to believe
the female fur child in its interaction with her male best friend, and it’s apparent
they are a tad too close.

That’s the premise in this drawing-room comedy, originally set in the 1980s, which first appeared off-Broadway in 1995, starred Matthew Broderick and Annaleigh Ashford in a limited Broadway engagement in 2015 and has become a favorite of adventurous theater troupes and dog lovers everywhere.

In Stray Dog Theatre’s production, energetic Susie Lawrence is expressive as the preening and prancing puppy that Greg takes a shine to in NYC’s Central Park. Wearing knee pads and modern girlie outfits, Sylvia — the name’s on her tag — happily makes herself at home in an Upper West Side apartment where an empty-nest couple have started the second chapter of their life, now that the kids are grown.

Kate and Greg are a cookie-cutter WASP pair, married 22 years. Likeable Kay Love and Tim Naegelin are the longtime married couple whose relationship begins to unravel when the dog comes between them. Is he just going through a mid-life crisis or does the obsession signal more? It could be construed as a romantic triangle on the icky side.

The trouble with the husband and wife characters is that
they’re bland. And there is not much to like about the generic one-note Kate,
who is back to work teaching and working on a master’s degree in English. Irritated
the minute she’s introduced, Kate takes an immediate dislike to the dog and
tried to veto it becoming part of the family. She refers to the dog as Saliva,
which is no longer funny after the first reference.
Greg appears adrift and gains no sympathy as he does nothing to repair things
with his wife. He has lost his mojo as a financial analyst after the kids left.
He doesn’t much like his job, quarrels with his boss, and starts spending more
and more time doting on Sylvia. Playing with a dog outdoors is healthy for all,
right?

Well, not exactly, because the affection becomes creepy when Greg would rather be with the flirty dog than with humans. And it’s the only time vanilla Greg lights up.

Kate doesn’t ring true about her all-consuming hatred of the dog right away, while Greg’s bizarre behavior would alarm a therapist much quicker than when he eventually gets to one. Kate’s aggravation at the dog should grow as Sylvia chews shoes, sheds all over the couch, leaves puddles and encroaches on her personal space. The exasperation needed to build, not be at the same level as the beginning.

Photo by John LambAs the therapist in the second act, a New Age eccentric named Leslie who purposely does not want to be defined by any gender, Melissa Harlow is a hoot – and the visual sight gag of her tacky velour purple top and gold-print black palazzo pants is as amusing as her goofy accent, not unlike Martin Short as the wedding planner in “Father of the Bride.”

In fact, with her comic flair Harlow steals the whole shebang portraying three characters, two in the first act. Experienced at interactive comedy shows and mystery dinner theater where she works in St. Louis, she is the breakout star here.

Melissa Harlow and Kay Love. Photo by John Lamb

Laugh-out-loud funny as Phyllis, a typical but high-strung socialite who becomes unnerved by Sylvia’s over-enthusiastic greeting, Harlow had the audience howling as she became more agitated and unglued. The gifted comic actress recalls the classic sketches on “The Carol Burnett Show” or “Saturday Night Live.”

Her first character, Tom, is a ‘bro,’ a guy in the park who shares way too much information with Greg about interpersonal relationships and dog psychology.

Harlow is believable as all three – and it’s customary for one person to play them all. She brightened every scene she’s in, for as two acts progress in nearly two and a half hours, the play gets repetitive and somewhat tedious. Gurney could have tied everything up in a one-act because basically it’s an extended one-joke play and drags getting to its predictable conclusion.

Because she’s so animated, Lawrence is in contrast with the dull couple. That’s why Harlow’s antics are such a bright spot as well.

In the larger picture, Gurney, famous for his piercing look at the privileged Manhattanites in such works as “The Cocktail Hour” and “The Dining Room,” is making a bigger statement about humans’ desperate need to connect in an impersonal world, even if it’s with an animal.

Now that rings true. Gurney, whose best-known play is “Love Letters,” inexplicably falls back on tired clichés. The play could have benefited from more biting wit and frank social analysis.

Director Gary F. Bell has updated its time, now in 2000. He makes use of the Tower Grove Abbey’s small confines well, allowing frisky Lawrence to scamper about in scenic designer Miles Bledsoe’s suitable living quarters interior, with interesting skyline pieces as background.

Without opening up the play, it could be claustrophic. The outdoor scenes help change the scenery.

Bell dedicated the show to his own canine companion, Oliver Ogden Bell, and includes some choice quotes in the program as director’s notes, including this gem from John Steinbeck: “I’ve seen a look in dogs’ eyes, a quickly vanishing look of amazed contempt, and I am convinced that basically dogs think humans are nuts.”

No one is credited with sound, but the selection of music interludes is always pitch-perfect, whether it was Bell or Associate Artistic Director Justin Been. Use of the Cole Porter song, “Ev’ry Time We Say Goodbye,” which is included with the script, is a lovely rendition because the cast has good voices.

If you are a ‘dog person,’ you might not mind the contrasts in tone, or the depicted fantasy. “Sylvia” is one of those plays that divides people, depending on their point of view. The cast and crew put forth a terrific effort, but to me, the playwright barks up the wrong tree.

Tim Naegelin and Susie Laawrence. Photo by John LambStray Dog Theatre presented “Sylvia” June 6 –
June 22 at the Tower Grove Abbey. For more information about the professional
theater troupe and their new season, which starts in August, visit
www.straydogtheatre.org

Lynn Venhaus

She is retired from teaching journalism/media as an adjunct college instructor.

poplifestl.com

Archive Reviews Theatre
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6 min read

Comical and Cute, Stages ‘101 Dalmatians’ Is a Splendid Treat for All

By Lynn Venhaus
Managing Editor
The dogs have their day in an inspired young audience production of Disney’s
beloved “101 Dalmatians” at Stages St. Louis.

This 40-minute condensed version sparkles in every aspect,
from the cut-to-the-chase story, merry melodies, precious puppies and cheerful
cast, who enlist the audience to help them solve the clever caper. You can’t
get much higher on the Cute Meter.

Ever since Walt Disney snapped up Dodie Smith’s 1956 novel
and turned it into an adorable animated feature released in 1961, which became
the highest-grossing film that year, we’ve been smitten with spots. Author Smith
used her own dog’s 15-pup litter as the basis for a family-friendly heist tale,
then Disney’s animators visually amped up one of the all-time great cartoon
villains, Cruella de Vil. She’s just as memorable in this live-action edition.

Photo by Peter WochniakIn a two-tone hair wig, Tyler Jent plays up the exaggerated
mannerisms of Cruella as she tries to buy the puppies, but owners Roger and
Anita turn her down. Little do they realize that she wants their pelts for an
elaborate fur coat and has collected 86 other Dalmatians.
Cruella hatches a diabolical plot to steal the pups by using their favorite
treat, Kanine Krunchies, to lure them away. With his comically expressive face accented
with bold makeup, Jent is deliciously dastardly in musical numbers “Cruella’s
Scheme,” “The Fur Vault” and “My Beautiful Coat.”

She is accompanied by bumbling henchmen Jasper (Ryan Cooper)
and Horace (Joshua Roach), who are goofy sight gags on their own. They demonstrate
their slapstick skills as they botch the job and succumb to defeat after “The
Chase.”

Photo by Peter WochniakThe dog network helps– as does a few other furry critters –
using the “Twilight Bark.” With the help of the savvy “Dogs of London – Boxers
(Carson Davis, Caden Michael Self), Poodles (Trenay Labelle, Anna Wright),
Scotties and Chihuahuas (Laura Ernst and Mitchell Holsclaw) — they nab the
burglars, returning the pups to Roger and Anita, and their parents Pongo and Perdita.

Light-hearted Eric Michael Parker and Larissa White are lovely
as the couple while Drew Humphrey and Dena DiGiacinto are lively as the proud
parental pooches.

Immensely likeable pairs, they lead the upbeat group
numbers, with peppy music direction by Tali Allen. That catchy “Cruella de Vil”
will again be stuck in your head. Their fine voices blend in sweet harmony and
captivate the audience, young and old, as they encourage interaction.

Laura Ernst plays the kind Nanny besides donning doggie
costumes, with Jacob Flekier as Sergeant Tibbs and Mitchell Holsclaw doubles as
a police officer.

In addition to professional actors, twelve students from
Stages Performing Arts Academy are included in the cast as puppies. Among the
house brood are Thomas Woodrow as Pepper, Luke Swaller as Patch, Hallie Fisher
as Penny, Aaron (AJ) Bentley as Spot and Sophie Gorgen as Dot, with Arden
Dickson and Dan Wolfe.

Director Peggy Taphorn has kept the show breezy and choreographed
the dances to be appealing and fun, starting out with a “Dalmatian Conga” and
wrapping it up with “Dalmatian Plantation” before the finale.

With the same attention to detail that they put into the
mainstage productions, Stages’ crackerjack creative team has crafted a charming
and delightful show suitable for youngsters and just as enjoyable for the
adults who accompany them.

Visually, scenic designer James Wolk has drawn warm and
whimsical rooms in a storybook way, and the smaller set neatly fits inside the current
mainstage show, with “The Boy from Oz” light grid framing the stage. Sean M.
Savoie’s lighting design takes advantage of the bright color scheme.

Snazzy outfits were designed with flair by resident costume designer Brad Musgrove, and every familiar character is immediately identifiable. With his penchant for glittery over-the-top garments, he has a ball with Cruella’s flamboyant ruby-and-fur (fake) diva attire.

Each puppy, covered in black-and-white print, is distinct to bring out their personality, whether it’s a hat or a piece of their ensemble that helps them stand out. A bow tie! A propeller cap! Those darling little tails!

This short-and-sweet affair is a jolly good time in old
London town, and you’ll be enchanted with puppy power – and the expert human
performers who bring this entertaining musical to merry life.

Photo by Peter WochniakStages St. Louis presents Disney’s “101
Dalmatians”as the Emerson Family Theatre Series from June 18 to June 30 at the
Robert G. Reim Theatre in Kirkwood. For showtimes, tickets or more information,
visit www.StagesStLouis.org.

Lynn Venhaus

She is retired from teaching journalism/media as an adjunct college instructor.

poplifestl.com

News
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24 min read

Go See a Play! What’s Happening June 20-26

By Lynn Venhaus Managing EditorShow me Summertime! It’s here, the official start of summer, and there are 20 plays, musicals and operas, plus one circus, to enjoy this weekend. (Is this a record?)Outdoors, Shakespeare Festival St. Louis closes out its park run of “Love’s Labors Lost,” this weekend, while “Kinky Boots” at the Muny is the second show of the second century, ending Tuesday.It’s the last chance to see “Be More Chill” at New Line — OK, the run is sold-out, but there are still student tickets and a waiting list that they manage to get in most of the time.

Others ending their run include the A.R. Gurney comedy “Sylvia” at Stray Dog Theatre, and Act Inc. in St. Charles, with their double header, “Travels with My Aunt” and “Leaving Iowa.”The Opera Theatre of St. Louis is in repertory with their four summer offerings. The midwest premiere of “The Boy from Oz” continues at Stages St. Louis.New offerings include Shakespeare’s “As You Like It” at SIUE, “101 Dalmatians” for young audiences at Stages St. Louis, “Hedwig and the Angry Inch” by the Q Collective and “Indecent” by Max and Louie Productions.

In Community Theatre, Looking Glass Playhouse’s Youth Show is “Singin’ in the Rain” and O’Fallon Theatre Works presents “The Miracle Worker.”

Whatever your preference, go see a play and kick off a summer of fun.

“101 Dalmatians” Stages St. Louis Theatre for Young Audiences June 18 – 30 Robert Reim Theatre, 111 S. Geyer Road, Kirkwood www.stagesstlouis.org

What It’s About: Condensed from the Disney animated film, “101
Dalmatians” is about the evil Cruella DeVil and her two klutzy henchmen as they
trey to steal a litter of the cutest puppies ever to hit jolly old London Town.
But not to worry – thus fur-raising adventure ends happily with plenty of puppy
power to spare!

Director/Choreographer: Peggy Taphorn
Starring: Tyler Jent, Eric Michael Parker, Larissa White, Drew Humphrey, Dena
DiGiacinto, Laura Ernst, Ryan Cooper, Joshua Roach

“An Amazing Story: German Abolitionists of Missouri” Gitana Productions June 20-23 Thursday through Saturday at 7:30 p.m., Sunday at 3 and 5:30 p.m. Kranzberg Arts Center, 501 N. Grand www.gitana-inc.org.

What It’s About: This provocative original play is inspired
by the amazing stories of such remarkable individuals as Friedrich Munch, Judge
Arnold Krekel and August Boernstein; German immigrants and leading
abolitionists in the State of Missouri. Through the lens of history, we will
bring to life the elements of what it means to strive for social justice for
“others” when advocating within and outside of one’s own cultural
group. While many Germans who came to the Midwest were staunch defenders of a
“color-blind” democracy some immigrants set aside their values in
order to survive and be accepted during the period before and after the Civil
War. As is the case with most Americans there are often contradictions in our
beliefs often colliding and challenging us to clarify what is most important.
The German story is an important American story…where the ideal of Democracy brings
together unlikely and diverse champions.

“As You Like It” Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville June 21 – 30 Friday and Saturday at 7:30 p.m., Sunday at 2 p.m. Metcalf Theatre 618-650-2774 www.siue.edu

What It’s About: The theatrical and enchanting Shakespeare that you have come to expect from SIUE Summer Theater continues. This beloved romantic comedy moves from the magical Forest of Arden to the mysterious 1930’s Ozark forests, complete with original Old-Time Tunes. Our hero Rosalind, finding herself on the run from the evils of the city with her best friend Celia and her philosophical fool Touchstone, disguises herself as a young man and begins a journey of self-discovery. Falling in love and learning who you are by “acting the part” are the heart of this classic tale of romance and reconciliation.

Songwriters Summer Baer, Lisa Hinrichs, Lizzie Weber and Christopher Sears are featuring lots of Old Time music and original tunes inspired by the genre. Guitars, ukuleles, a cello and a fiddle, a couple of banjos, a cajon drum, rounded out with tambourine and washboard, will be performing the music.

Director: Ellie Schwetye Cast:

Photo by Jill Ritter Lindberg“Be More Chill” May 30-June 22 Thursday – Sunday, 8 p.m. New Line Theatre The Marcelle Theatre, 3310 Samuel Shepard Drive www.newlinetheatre.org 314-534-1111 What It’s About: “The Breakfast Club” meets “Little Shop of Horrors” in the new sci-fi rock musical, “Be More Chill,” with music and lyrics by Joe Iconis and book by Joe Tracz, based on the bestselling novel by New Vizzini. It’s a look at life in the digital age, exploring teen depression, bullying and other current issues through the comic lens of sci-fi films of the 50s, horror flicks of the 80s and the teen movies of the 90s.

Directors: Scott Miller and Mike Dowdy-Windsor, with music
direction by Nicolas Valdez
Starring: Jayde Mitchell (Jeremy), Dominic Dowdy-Windsor (Squip), Kevin Corpuz
(Michael), Zachary Allen Farmer (Jeremy’s Dad), Melissa Felps (Brooke), Evan
Fornachon (Rich), Isabel Cecilia Garcia (Jenna), Grace Langford (Christine),
Ian McCreary (Jake), and Laura Renfro (Chloe).

Of Note: “Be More Chill” made its world premiere at the Two
River Theater in Red Bank, New Jersey in 2015, it’s now being produced across
the country, and it just opened on Broadway in March. Received a Tony Award
nomination for music and lyrics.

“The Boy from Oz” May 31 – June 30 Stages St. Louis Robert G. Reim Theatre, Kirkwood Community Center 111 S. Geyer Road, Kirkwoodwww.stagesstlouis.org

Photo by Eric Woolsey“The Coronation of Poppea” Opera Theatre of St. Louis June 9 – 28 Loretto-Hilton Center, 135 Edgar Roadwww.experienceopera.org 314-961-0644

Jeremy Denis and Davóne Tines, with Michael Redding, “Fire Shut Up My Bones” Opera Theatre of St. Louis June 15 – June 29 Loretto-Hilton Centerwww.experienceopera.com 314-961-0644

Of Note: Writers are Terence Blanchard, composer of OTSL’s sold-out hit “Champion,” teams up with screenwriter Kasi Lemmons (“Eve’s Bayou”) for a haunting, powerful, and tender coming-of age story inspired by a memoir celebrated as “stunning” (Essence), “riveting” (Chicago Tribune), and “exquisite” (The New York Times). The opera runs approximately two hours and 25 minutes with one intermission and is performed in English with English supertitles.

Luke Steingruby as Hedwig“Hedwig and the Angry Inch”The Q CollectiveJune 20-22 and 27-298 p.m. evenings Thursday – Saturday, with additional 10:30 p.m. performance SaturdaysThe Monocle, 4510 Manchester in The Grovewww.eventbrite.com

What It’s About: John Cameron Mitchell and Stephen Trask’s groundbreaking, Obie-winning Off-Broadway musical has the internationally ignored song stylist Hedwig Schmidt, herself, tells us her wild life story, as a fourth-wall smashing East German rock ‘n’ roll goddess who also happens to be the victim of a botched sex-change operation. This outrageous and unexpectedly powerful story is dazzlingly performed by Hedwig (née Hansel) in the form of a rock gig/stand-up comedy backed by the hard-rocking band The Angry Inch. It’s a rocking ride, funny, touching, and ultimately inspiring to anyone who has felt life gave them an inch when they deserved a mile.Director: Jordan Woods with assistance by Camille Fensterman, music direction by Holly Barber

Starring: Luke Steingruby as Hedwig, Sarah Gene Dowling as Yitzhak

“Indecent”Max and Louie ProductionsJune 20-23, June 27-30Thursdays at 7:30 p.m., Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m., Sundays at 3 p.m.The Grandel Theatre, 3610 Grandel Square in Grand Centerwww.maxandlouie.com

What It’s About: Winner of numerous awards including an acclaimed Tony-winning run on Broadway, “Indecent” by Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Paula Vogel, is the true story of a groundbreaking scandalous play and the courageous artists who risked their careers and lives to perform it. Director: Joanne GordonStarring: Paul Cereghino – Actor, Zoe Farmingdale – Actor, John Flack – Actor, Katie Karel – Actor, TJ Lancaster – Lemml, the Stage Manager, Judi Mann – Actor, Tim Schall – Actor; ;Musicians Alyssa Avery, Kris Pineda, Jack Thieling

Photo by Phillip Hamer“Kinky Boots”The MunyJune 17-25, evenings at 8:15 p.m.www.muny.orgWhat It’s About: The owner of a failing shoe factory teams up with a drag queen to fill a niche market — high-heeled thigh-high boots for drag queens.Director: DB Bonds, recreating Jerry Mitchell’s direction, and choreographer Rusty Mowery recreating his choreography, with music direction by Ryan Fielding GarrettStarring: J. Harrison Ghee, Graham Scott Fleming, Taylor Louderman, Paul Whitty,

Leaving Iowa. Photo by John Lamb“Leaving Iowa” Act Inc. June 14-16, Friday and Saturday at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m., June 21-22, Friday at 7:30 p.m. and Saturday at 2 p.m. Emerson Black Box Theatre J. Scheidegger Cener for the Arts on the Lindenwood campus in St. Charles www.actincstl.com

What’s It All About: Remember the family road trip? Sure
do! Mom, Dad and the kids all packed up in the car with maps and snacks. Road
games, billboards, gift shops and the ultimate rest stops and Motel 6. Giggles
and battles, smiles and tears. Those were the days! Columnist Don Browning decides
to bury his Dad’s ashes at the old family farm. When he discovers that the
homestead is now the site of a supermarket he embarks upon a journey of
reconciliation and discovery in his quest for the perfect resting place for Dad
in the middle of the USA. If you are interested in the perfect “staycation”
look no further. “Leaving Iowa” is a delightful postcard that will leave you
with a smile on your face and a spring in your step.

Director:
Starring:

“Love’s Labors Lost” May 31 – June 23 Shakespeare Festival St. Louis 8 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday Shakespeare Glen, Forest Park www.shakespearefestivalstlouis.org

What It’s About” Belonging to Shakespeare’s “lyrical”
period, which also included Romeo and Juliet and A Midsummer Night’s Dream, the
play tells the story of the Princess of France and her ladies who arrive on a
diplomatic mission to Navarre only to be met by a young king and his lords who
have taken a vow not to see women. Affairs of state give way to affairs of the
heart as Shakespeare reveals with great humor and compassion the way our
culture sometimes doesn’t fully prepare us for the realities of love and
intimacy. A feast of language and theatrical virtuosity, Love’s Labors Lost
shimmers with all the passion and promise of a first kiss.

Director: Tom Ridgely
Starring: Philip Hernandez as Don Adriano de Armado, Bradley James Tejeda (Duc
de Biron), Kea Trevett (Princess of France), Sky Smith (King of Navarre),
Patrick Blindauer (Costard), Katy Keating (Nathaniel), Michael James Reed
(Forester/Marcadé), Jeffery Cummings (Boyet); Carl Howell (Dull), Carine
Montbertrand (Holofernes), Randolph (Moth), Laura Sohn (Rosaline), Molly Meyer
(Jaquenetta), Sam Jones (Longueville), Vivienne Claire Luthin (Maria), Kiah
McKirnan (Catherine), and Riz Moe (DuMaine).

“The Marriage of Figaro” May 25 – June 29 Opera Theatre of St. Louis Loretto-Hilton Center 135 Edgar Road on Webster University campuswww.opera-stl.org 314-961-0644

What It’s About: Mozart’s comedy masterpiece is about complicated life at court and how love should always prevail. The maid Susanna is determined to wed her fiancé, Figaro, while the Count is equally determined to add her to his list of conquests. But Susanna and Figaro won’t allow one self-entitled nobleman to ruin their happy ending! They each hatch their own plots to teach their master a lesson. What follows is a whirlwind day of romantic intrigue, cunning schemes, and uproarious fun. The opera runs three hours and ten minutes with one intermission and is sung in English with English supertitles. “The Miracle Worker” O’Fallon Theatre Works June 21-23 and 28-30 Friday and Saturday at 7:30 p.m.; Sunday at 2 p.m. O’Fallon Municipal Centre, 100 Main St., O’Fallon, Mo. 636-474-2732

“The Mueller Report: Read, Sing, Resist” Saturday, June 22, from 2 to 5 p.m. That Uppity Theatre Company Projects + Gallery 4733 McPherson in the Central West End Free event What It’s About: A diverse array of artists, activists, elected officials and community people will come together to participate in a free event to read excerpts and summaries of the Mueller Report and offer related commentary through song. The event will also include voter registration in partnership with St. Louis Voter Registration Group, refreshments, a selfie station and the debut performance by the St Louis chapter of Sing Out, Louise, a New York social activist group founded in 2017 that writes parodies with political commentary of iconic songs.

“Singin’ in the Rain” Looking Glass Playhouse June 20-23 Thursday through Saturdays at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m 301 W. St. Louis St., Lebanon, Ill. www.lookingglassplayhouse.com

What It’s About: The “Greatest Movie Musical of All Time” is faithfully and lovingly adapted by Broadway legends, Betty Comden and Adolph Green, from their original award-winning screenplay in Singin’ in the Rain. Each unforgettable scene, song and dance is accounted for, including the show-stopping title number, complete with an onstage rainstorm! Hilarious situations, snappy dialogue and a hit-parade score of Hollywood standards make Singin’ in the Rain the perfect entertainment for any fan of the golden age of movie musicals.

“Sylvia” June 6 – 22 Thursday through Saturday at 8 p.m. Stray Dog Theatre Tower Grove Abbey 2336 Tennesseewww.straydogtheatre.org 314-865-1995

What It’s About: Greg brings home a dog he found in Central Park – or that has found him – bearing only the name “Sylvia” on her collar. She offers Greg an escape from the frustrations of his job and the unknowns of middle age. To his wife Kate, however, Sylvia becomes a rival for affection. This touching comedy celebrates our love of man’s best friend.

Director: Gary F. BellStarring: Susie Lawrence, Kay Love, Tim Naegelin, Melissa Harlow

Photo by John Lamb

“Travels with My Aunt” Act Inc. June 22 and June 23, Saturday at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m. Emerson Black Box Theatre J. Scheidegger Center for the Arts on the Lindenwood campus in St. Charles.www.actincstl.com

What It’s About: Retired bank manager, Henry Pulling’s life
is so quiet that he muses, “I found myself agreeably excited by my
mother’s funeral.” From that inauspicious beginning Henry finds his life
turned topsy-turvy by the arrival of his eccentric, Aunt Augusta. A cross between
“Auntie Mame” and Mata Hari, she spirits him around the globe
encountering all sorts of intoxicating characters and exhilarating adventures
along the way.

Lynn Venhaus

She is retired from teaching journalism/media as an adjunct college instructor.

poplifestl.com

Archive Reviews Theatre
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7 min read

Aschs to Ashes: Max and Louie’s Brilliant ‘Indecent’

By Andrea BraunContributing WriterIndecent (2017) by Paula Vogel tells the story of a play written by the young Sholem Asch entitled God of Vengeance, first performed in 1907. It is presented as his first play, but it is actually his second; however, this and other departures from fact are described by Vogel as “emotional truth,” rather than absolute historical accuracy.

“Vengeance” ran in Germany in the original Yiddish and
was translated and traveled to several other countries, but then came America. At
first, Asch’s play ran off Broadway and stayed more or less under the radar.
But when it moved uptown to the Apollo and the general public was going to be
courted to buy tickets, as Vogel tells it, the script was changed without
Asch’s knowledge or permission because it contained “unacceptable” material.

Photo by Dan DonovanFor example, a Jewish man makes his living owning a
house of prostitution while he and his wife and “virginal” daughter occupy an
apartment upstairs. This was considered by American Jews to be anti-Semitic,
since the Jewish procurer was a stereotype and would be reinforced in the
general public’s mind. So would the focus on making money any way possible. At
one point, he becomes so furious he destroys a holy Torah, a great sin in
Judaism. But most controversial of all was what became known as “the rain
scene,” in which the daughter kisses one of the prostitutes and they proclaim
their love. To middle-class Americans, this is pornographic filth.

Photo by Dan DonovanAsch is so depressed he can’t leave his house.
Finally, his loving and patient wife talks him into attending a rehearsal, but
to him, the play is dead. The longtime stage manager, Lemml (Lou) also
considers this is a disaster, and it’s something they just cannot understand.
Even stranger, the play is closed down by the police and the actors are
arrested and tried, but the playwright and Lemml are not. Lemml tells Asch that
he is going to take the play back to Poland and translate it back into Yiddish.
He tells Asch, “I am tired of being in a country that laughs at the way I
speak. They say America is free? What [sic] do you know here is free?”

And so he does and his troupe performs the play in
cafes, attics, basements—anywhere that will have them until the Holocaust
decimated the European Jewish community of artists and patrons. Asch himself returns after he’s received an
“invitation” from the House Un-American Activities Committee in the 1950s to
live in London and write prolifically until he literally dies in the saddle, at
his desk, writing. Before he leaves, he meets a young scholar from Yale whom he
tells that he, Asch, “lost six million [who] have left the theater.”

Photo by Dan DonovanThat’s the plot, but now comes the hard part: telling you about the production, which is indescribably beautiful (but I’ll try to describe it anyway). I haven’t listed the names of actors who play the characters because they are all played by seven extraordinary performers who not only tell the story through words but also through song and dance.

They are accompanied on stage by a group of three Klezmer musicians, who play a violin, bass clarinet, and accordion to help express both the sadness and joy the audience and characters are experiencing. I’ve only seen four of the actors listed below (Judi Mann, Tim Schall, John Flack, and Paul Cereghino) but I’ve never witnessed any of them stronger or more sure of the material which makes them turn into other people on a dime.

Photo by Dan Donovan

The evocative music is directed by Ron McGowan, Ellen
Isom choregraphs, Phillip Evans gets credit for sound, and Menachem Szus is the
Yiddish dialect coach.It is a clever conceit to have titles on the rear wall to
help us know where we are, and to have the actors use perfect English to speak
their native languages and accented English when they are speaking a second or
third language. The action spans Warsaw from 1906 to Bridgeport, Connecticut in
the 1950s, and as the program notes, “everywhere in between.”

It’s difficult to write about Indecent without gushing, and I don’t think I managed it. But you
know what? It’s brilliant in every way, so a little gushing is justified. It is
both timely and timeless, and I hope you’ll go see for yourself.

Max and Louie Productions presents “Indecent” at the Grandel Theatre through June 30. Tickets are available through Metrotix and more information is available at www.maxandlouie.com

Photo by Patrick HuberThe
Troupe

TJ
Lancaster: Lemml, The
Stage Manager; Paul Cereghino: The
Ingenue: Avram/Ensemble; Zoe Farmingdale:
The Ingenue: Chana/ Ensemble; John Flack:
The Elder: Otto/Ensemble; Katie Karel: The Middle:
Halina/Ensemble; Judi Mann: The
Elder: Vera/Ensemble; Tim Schall: The
Middle: Mendel/Ensemble

The
Musicians

Alyssa Avery: Nelly Friedman/Violin/Ensemble; Kris Pineda: Moritz Godowsky/Accordion/Ensemble; Jack Theiling: Mayer Balsam/ Clarinet & Mandolin/Ensemble

Photo by Patrick Huber

Lynn Venhaus

She is retired from teaching journalism/media as an adjunct college instructor.

poplifestl.com

Archive Reviews Theatre
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11 min read

The Muny’s Flashy, Fun ‘Kinky Boots’ Will ‘Feed Your Fire’

By Lynn Venhaus
Managing Editor
A powerhouse cast makes sure we fall head-over-high-heels about “Kinky Boots,” a
flashy and fun musical that soars into the starry night at the Muny.

This regional premiere is polished to perfection. For the
first time, I understood the show’s heart and soul, and how its universality touched
people, becoming an international smash-hit and winning six Tony Awards, including
Best Musical, the Olivier Award and a Grammy for original cast recording.

The basic premise is simple yet resonates. It is inspired
by true events and a BBC documentary, which was adapted into a 2005 British feature
film with Chiwetel Ejiofor as Lola and Joel Edgerton as Charlie. A failing shoe
factory owner teams up with a drag queen to save his family business by
diversifying the product. That niche market in women’s footwear would be “kinky
boots” – bright, glittery sturdy stilettos made well to meet the needs of flamboyant
performers-in-drag.

Photo by Phillip Hamer

Charlie of Northampton, meet Simon of Clacton. They are
from different worlds, but share the weight of parental expectations and
self-acceptance issues. Their duet “I’m Not Your Father’s Son” is an
exclamation point on the matter. They work through this and more, all to the eclectic
beats of rockstar Cyndi Lauper’s first foray into show tunes, with new wave and
club music influences.

The unlikely pair find a common bond, as do the employees
in this relatable workplace comedy. One enlightened blue-collar bloke says: “When
you can change your mind, you can change the world!”

The message of tolerance is a fitting one for Gay Pride Month
as the musical celebrates individuality and inclusion. It’s wrapped in a
feel-good dance party with get-on-your-feet rhythms, and the cast is brimming
with vim and vigor.

Many elements make this first U.S. theatrical production
outside Broadway/national tours so special, but one factor is certain: casting
performers with experience in “Kinky Boots” was a stroke of genius. And it
shows in the brisk crisp and snappy staging.

Photo by Phillip Hamer

The theatricality of swaggering sparkplug J. Harrison Ghee
as Lola, who toured internationally in the role and was a Broadway replacement,
thrusts him into legendary diva status. Looking and sounding like Whitney
Houston in her prime, he tugs at everyone’s heartstrings in “Hold Me in Your
Heart.”

We are truly in “The Land of Lola,” as it’s obvious from Ghee’s
first entrance. During “Sex Is in the Heel,” he seizes the expansive stage,
strutting with major attitude. His moves in those high heels are a triumph over
physics.

The lithe and blithe Ghee showcases his dramatic flair and
knows how to get a laugh, tossing off book writer Harvey Fierstein’s pointed
barbs with ease.

Then there is Graham Scott Fleming as Charlie, who plays
the shoe factory heir apparent with conviction. His conflicts are genuine. However,
his vocal prowess is where he really shines.

His vocal range is well-suited for Tony-winner Lauper’s compositions,
and he interprets the heartfelt lyrics well, especially in “Step One” and “The
Soul of a Man.” He has had much success in Toronto, including nabbing a
Canadian theater award nomination for his performance as Charlie.

Tony-nominated Taylor Louderman, a native of Bourbon, Mo., who
began as a Muny Teen ten years ago, showcases her multiple talents reprising
the goofy lovestruck assembly line worker Lauren that she played on Broadway.

Photo by Phillip Hamer

In her standout number, “The History of Wrong Guys,” she demonstrates
her deft physical comedy skills and how she has come into her own. It’s a blissful
Muny moment. The crowd may not have noticed her at first for entrance applause,
but she sure earned a big ovation after that number.

The perky Louderman, with several Broadway credits and a
few key roles at the Muny – last seen as Amneris in “Aida” (the best thing
about that 2015 production), took off as Regina in “Mean Girls” to appear in
this show.

The ensemble is a tight mix, with Paul Whitty a standout as
bigoted foreman Don.

Photo by Phillip HamerJohn Scherer, a master of comic timing as evident in his
turns in “The Foreigner” and “Noises Off!” at The Repertory Theatre of St.
Louis, is hilarious as the old-school manager George.

So is Jen Perry, who reprises the role of saucy older
worker Trish she originated on Broadway.

Several cast members were in the Broadway production, which
opened April 2013 and ran for six years and 1,400 performances until April 7
this year, including Meryn Becket, Holly Davis and Maggie McDowell, and Angels Callan
Bergman, Ian Fitzgerald and Kyle Post. Angel Ricky Schroeder was in the
national tour.

Caroline Bowman, who plays Charlie’s unlikable
materialistic social-climbing fiancé Nicola, originated the role of Maggie and
then closed as Nicola in April. Ross Lekites plays Charlie’s friend Harry after
being in Broadway and national tour ensembles.

St. Louis performers are also an integral part of the
action. Omega Jones, in his debut as Simon Sr., has a tear-jerking moment at
the nursing home where Lola is entertaining. Veteran Zoe Vonder Haar is funny
as the Milan Stage Manager. Victor Landon and Khaydn M. Adams are the energetic
young Charlie and Simon characters respectively.

When the eight drag queens known as The Angels make their striking
entrance, it’s a magical Muny moment – and received an enthusiastic ovation.

Photo by Phillip HamerOther high-stepping moments include the Act One finale, “Everybody Say Yeah,” which is a marvel of movement on conveyor belts, and the rousing grand finale, “Raise You Up/Just Be,” which should empower everyone to “Feed your fire.”

Music Director Ryan Fielding Garrett, who conducted the “Kinky
Boots” national tour, skillfully drives the catchy tunes and heart-tugging
ballads.

The human connection is an important part of this show,
just as it is at the oldest and biggest outdoor theater in the country. And the
Muny connections for this show, I feel, have boosted its value and worth.
Namely, the original stylish direction and cheerful choreography of Jerry
Mitchell, one of Broadway’s most lauded artists who won a Tony Award for “Kinky
Boots” choreography. Involved in 50 Broadway shows, he earned his Equity card
at the Muny and was a Webster University student.

His work is recreated here by director DB Bonds, who played
Emmett in “Legally Blonde” eight years ago at the Muny, and choreographer Rusty
Mowery, who worked on Muny productions “Hairspray” and “Legally Blonde.”

Those special ties just boost the care you notice in this
production, a passion project for all involved.

Photo by Phillip HamerOn the technical side, the creative team’s work continues
to shine on the new stage with the upgrades, especially light, sound and video
screens.

Scenic Designer Michael Schweikardt’s grid work in the
Price and Sons Factory is efficient, functional and flows with purpose. His
glitzy touch to the Milan runway is as over the top as the boots – his ‘wow’
moment. Video Designer Shawn Duan seamlessly extended the expansive exterior
shots.

Also stepping up his game is Lighting Designer Nathan W.
Scheuer, who made sure the musical numbers glow and sparkle.

Co-sound designer John Shivers won a Tony Award for “Kinky
Boots.” He and David Patridge have been a team at the Muny since 2015.

Costume designer Gregg Barnes, two-time Tony winner for “The Drowsy Chaperone” and “Follies” revival, provides his impressive Tony-nominated “Kinky Boots” designs, and The Angels and Lola’s bold eye-popping outfits befit fashionistas. Costume coordination is by Lindsay McWilliams.

The wig work is also outstanding, with original design by Josh Marquette, and work by additional wig designer Kelley Jordan.

“Kinky Boots” finds its footing early on and grows in goodwill as people build upon their dream with helping hands. Endearing in portrayals and intent, its power is a slow build, but it’s lasting, and that is “The Most Beautiful Thing.” And you’ll walk away lifted by this new outlook.

The Muny presents “Kinky Boots” every evening at 8:15 p.m. June 17-25. For more information or for tickets, visit www.muny.org

Photo by Phillip Hamer

Lynn Venhaus

She is retired from teaching journalism/media as an adjunct college instructor.

poplifestl.com

Archive Reviews Theatre
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9 min read

Performers Light Up Stages’ Exuberant ‘The Boy from Oz’

By Lynn Venhaus
Managing Editor
Although Peter Allen did not get a Hollywood ending, his remarkable true-life
story of how he skyrocketed to fame through sheer talent, drive and his
ebullient personality deserves a splashy musical as good as Stages St. Louis production.

“The Boy from Oz” is the kind of glitzy material that the
company has excelled at for 33 seasons, their intimate stage a canvas for
crowd-pleasing flashy numbers and lavish costumes, with added poignancy that
tugs at our heartstrings. Allen died of AIDS-related throat cancer in 1992; he
was 48.

You may not recognize the name, but you have heard Allen’s
songs, and this show reminds us of his catchy pop hits and power ballads, which
he often wrote for other artists (Olivia Newton-John, Melissa Manchester, Rita
Coolidge).

The Stages production is the Midwest premiere of this rarely
produced musical, although Hugh Jackman won a Tony in 2004 for Leading Actor in
a Musical in the first Australian production ever mounted on Broadway.

Born in a small bush town, Aussie Allen became one of the greatest showmen of the 1970s and ‘80s, and in the title role, David Elder makes him unforgettable. With his charming smile and boundless energy, Elder glides into the role with ease – singing and dancing with oodles of pizzazz, from tender love songs to the era’s disco beats.

Elder’s bravura performance is a stunning display of sass, class and Energizer Bunny motion. Winning over the crowd from his first appearance as the adult Peter, he dynamically captures the life force that Allen was, daring to say: ‘I am who I am, and you can’t ignore or stop me.’ It’s one of the most muscular and joyous lead performances of the year.

As Allen’s fame grew, he was a regular on the talk show
circuit, brightening up those couches, often wearing his trademark Hawaiian
shirts. I recall how genuine he seemed as an entertainer, although extremely
flamboyant – he clearly loved the glamour of showbiz, opened at Carnegie Hall,
danced with the Rockettes at Radio City Music Hall and sang on the Academy
Awards.

This musical, with a snappy book by Martin Sherman and Nick
Enright, emphasizes his life as tailor-made rags-to-riches name-in-lights legend.
The cheeky wit is endearing as Elder narrates Allen’s first-person story.

To chronicle his life, original producers Ben Gannon and Robert
Fox used Allen’s own music and lyrics: “Best That You Can Do” (1981 Oscar
winning song known as “Arthur’s Theme” co-written with Burt Bacharach, Carole
Bayer Sager and Christopher Cross), “I’d Rather Leave While I’m in Love,”
“Everything Old is New Again,” “Love Don’t Need a Reason,” “I Honestly Love
You” and “Don’t Cry Out Loud” among them.

Corinne Melancon and David Elder. Photo by Peter Wochniak“Not the Boy Next Door” turns out to be a fun number between
mother and son. Reliable veteran Corinne Melancon, who seemingly can play any
kind of role, from the pious Mother Superior in “Sister Act” to strong-willed
single mother Donna Sheridan in “Mamma Mia!” during her frequent summers at
Stages, provides affection and pride as Peter’s mother Marion Woolnough, strong
in voice and characterization.

And it’s not just Elder who is sensational, but two debuts are noteworthy. While his Allen interpretation is a slow build – I mean, he doesn’t start at 11, Michele Ragusa is an astonishing Judy Garland, feisty right out of the gate, quickly becoming a patron favorite and stealing the show with her well-timed quips, mannerisms and powerful vocals. Garland’s husband, Mark Herron, discovered Allen in of all places, Hong Kong.

Ragusa soars in “All I Wanted Was the Dream” and “Don’t
Wish Too Hard,” and the moving “Quiet Please, There’s a Lady on Stage” with
Elder.

Garland’s daughter and his future wife, Liza Minnelli, is played with panache by Caitlyn Caughell. She assumed the role after Sarah Ellis (St. Louis Theater Circle nominee as Laurie in “Oklahoma!”) was injured and needed surgery.

She portrays the right mix of bravado and vulnerability as Liza embarks on her own celebrated career, shows her mettle in “Come Save Me” and “She Loves to Hear the Music” with the ensemble. The couple, who divorced after seven years of marriage, remained friends for life, and Elder and Caughell convey that bond.

Michele Ragusa as Judy GarlandZach Trimmer portrays Peter’s longtime love, Texas model
Greg Connell, who died of an AIDS-related illness in 1984. He’s not a warm and
fuzzy character, so their relationship appears to have some holes in the
retelling. The pair share two affecting duets, “If You Were Wondering” and “Love
Don’t Need a Reason.”

Two boys, Ben Iken and Simon Desilets, alternate playing an
eager young Peter, who just wants to entertain, singing and dancing for small
change. Versatile mainstage mainstay Erik Keiser excels as Peter’s first
singing partner, Chris Bell, in their “brother act,” first appearing on
Australian Bandstand as The Allen Brothers. They would have a successful
touring cabaret act and appear on TV.

As is customary at Stages, Steve Isom plays several roles,
from Peter’s abusive alcoholic dad Dick Woolnough to his brusque manager Dee
Anthony.

The ensemble is as energetic and enthusiastic as Elder is,
and their showstopping grand finale, the 1976 salsa-flavored disco hit, “I Go
to Rio,” is a rousing number in which dancers make quite an entrance in Brad
Musgrove’s elaborate sequined costumes. Musgrove, who never met a sequin he
didn’t like, outdoes the Follies here in spectacular shiny silver-and-white outfits.
The costumes received their own applause, as did Dana Lewis’ robust choreography.

James Wolk’s scenic design is straightforward, allowing the
music numbers to be the focus, and there is a lovely nighttime New York skyline
through an apartment picture window. Sean M. Savoie’s brightly colored lighting
design complements Wolk’s set beautifully.

Director Michael Hamilton emphasizes the vivacious side of Peter while not forgetting the sorrow. He crisply stages the Judy-Peter-Mark-Chris number “Only an Older Woman” with as much oomph as he does with the exuberant ensemble numbers “Sure Thing Baby” at the Copacabana and “When I Get My Name in Lights.” Stuart Elmore’s orchestrations work well, while music director Lisa Campbell Albert varies the tempo to suit each singer.

“Caught between the moon and New York City” will always
define Allen for me. It’s just one of those phrases that you’ll always remember
with a smile, especially if you have fallen in love with the city like he did. And
he’s impossible to forget after seeing his story, “The Boy from Oz.”

David Elder and Ben Iken as old and young Peter AllenStages St. Louis presents “The Boy from Oz” May
31-June 30 at the Robert G. Reim Theatre in the Kirkwood Community Center, 111
S. Geyer Road, St. Louis, 63122. For more information or to purchase tickets,
visit www.StagesStLouis.org or
call 314-821-2407.

Lynn Venhaus

She is retired from teaching journalism/media as an adjunct college instructor.

poplifestl.com

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Posts of: Lynn Venhaus

Lynn Venhaus

Down in the Marrow – Opera Theatre’s ‘Fire Shut Up in My Bones’ Breaks Hearts and Boundaries

Take Ten with John Flack

Vive la Revolution(ists) at Insight Theatre Company

Go See a Play! What’s Happening June 27 – July 3

Mid-Life Crisis Rages in Absurd Comedy ‘Sylvia’ — A Mix of Tricks and Treats

Comical and Cute, Stages ‘101 Dalmatians’ Is a Splendid Treat for All

Go See a Play! What’s Happening June 20-26

Aschs to Ashes: Max and Louie’s Brilliant ‘Indecent’

The Muny’s Flashy, Fun ‘Kinky Boots’ Will ‘Feed Your Fire’

Performers Light Up Stages’ Exuberant ‘The Boy from Oz’

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