Getting Churched – Black Rep’s ‘Nina Simone: Four Women’ Rages and Praises Its Way Through the Ruins

Getting Churched – Black Rep’s ‘Nina Simone: Four Women’ Rages and Praises Its Way Through the Ruins

By CB AdamsContributing Writer

During a weekend hyper-inflated with entertainments of mass
distraction – in particular, the Game of
Thrones series finale and the St. Louis Blues’ game of Stanley Cup – a
modest-sized audience was invited to engage with a deeper, more troubling, more
pressing and more prescient entertainment. Completing its 42nd
season, the Black Rep presented its production of Nina Simone: Four Women at the Edison Theatre on the Washington
University in St. Louis campus.

Set in the ruins of the 16th Street Baptist
Church in Birmingham after the 1963 bombing that killed four children, the play
earnestly, if unevenly, stands as a monument to the notion that everything old never
stops being new again. Playwright Christina Ham’s mash-up script attempts to
synthesize an array of social issues including, but not limited to, civil
rights, waning traditional religious values, the legacies and injustices of the
Old South and Jim Crow, adoption/abortion issues, culture and cultural
appropriation, white-on-black violence and intergenerational differences toward
sexuality and womanhood – all through the lens of Simone’s prickly personality
and her own artistic, personal and political frustrations.

Ham’s approach to this bomb-blast of issues is to sew its
many subjects into a large quilt rather than delve too deeply into any single patch
or two. In other words, a macro rather than micro approach. That’s a tall
order, especially when combined with a retrospective of Simone’s signature
songs and a presentation that’s equal parts concert, cabaret, revue and jukebox
musical, ala Mama Mia!. Ham’s conceit
seems to be: come for the Simone, stay for the social commentary.

At the heart of the play is one of Simone’s defining songs, “Mississippi Goddam.” And at the heart of that song are the lines, “Just try to do your very best / Stand up be counted with all the rest / For everybody knows about Mississippi goddam.”

This production, ably directed by Ron Himes, embodies that “do your very best” spirit while working through Ham’s something-for-everybody script. The four characters of the title are doing their best in their respective bad situations, each according to her experience, abilities and station in life.

The
four actresses playing those characters are the real strength of this
production. Maybe the conceit should be: come for the Simone, but definitely
stay for the performances of Leah Stewart as Simone, Denise Thimes as Sarah (aka
Auntie), Alex Jay as Sephronia and Camile “Cee” Sharp as Sweet Thing. Stewart
and Thimes make the most of their well-rounded characters. Sharp deserves extra
credit for her yeoman’s effort to animate the borderline one-dimensional
character of prostitute Sweet Thing. Scenic designer Tim Jones’s bombed-out
church set evocatively captures the devastation through which the characters
literally and metaphorically must move.

Impressive, too, and a testament to the strength of the St. Louis theater community, is that Stewart, Thimes and Jay are all natives of the Gateway City. Rounding out this exemplary local talent pool was a near-silent fifth character, the onstage piano accompanist, St. Louis native and musical director Charles Creath.

Cast of “Nina Simone: Four Women” Photo by Philip HamerThe script of Nina Simone: Four Women is too often clichéd (“walk a mile in my shoes”), too often expository in a biopic/Wikipedia sort of way (“It was my first top 10 hit”) and sometimes period-inappropriate (“skin in the game”). Yet, with the exception of a few flubbed lines, the actresses more than compensate for these shortcomings with their snappy timing, true heart and deep authenticity. And they soared and rose above the material individually and collectively performing “Old Jim Crow,” “Brown Baby” and “To Be Young Gifted and Black” and the other well-curated selections from Simone’s songbook.

The play seeks to make connections among the many issues it
touches and attempts to reach an epiphanic conclusion with the four characters
joining together for Simone’s song “Four Women.” The play’s wide-ranging reach
surpasses the ability of this one song to offer a satisfying resolution to the
issues it raises – but perhaps that point. It’s one woman’s (Simone herself) or
each character’s way of navigating a barrage of cultural adversities and finding
some meaning, strength and hope despite these challenges.

For this culmination, the attention instead should return to
“Mississippi Goddam.” Though the lyrics are relatively tame by modern urban
music’s standards, the anger is still palpable, real and relevant. It should
leave the audience realizing it’s not just Mississippi or Alabama goddam, but St.
Louis goddam and, yes, America goddam.

“Nina Simone: Four Women” plays at the Edison Theatre May 15-June 2. For tickets or more information, call the box office at 314-534-3807 or go online attheblackrep.org. A special $20 deal is available on Wednesday nights through the run.

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Muny Updates Progress on Capital Campaign

Muny Updates Progress on Capital Campaign

Nearly a year into the public phase of their Second Century Capital Campaign, The Muny announced this week a progress update of $72 million raised to date of its $100 million goal.

A first of its kind for the nation’s oldest and largest outdoor theatre, the gifts acquired during this campaign will support capital improvements that include a complete rebuild of the Muny stage, extensive renovations to backstage support spaces, assistance for the maintenance and upkeep of the aging 11.5-acre campus, and the growth of the theatre’s endowment.

The campaign will also aid in continuing The Muny’s core mission of remaining accessible through its 1,500 free seats and Community Access Program.

Photo by Julie A. Merkle“This campaign would not be possible without the generous support of countless Muny-goers,” said President and CEO Denny Reagan. “We are truly humbled and thankful and look forward to completing this campaign with St. Louis by our side.”    “The support the St. Louis community has given The Muny through this campaign in just under a year is remarkable,” said Muny Second Century Capital Campaign Chairman Jim Turley. “Without them, the second century of magic would not be possible.” “It is up to all of us to continue making The Muny the best it can be for generations to come,” said Director of Advancement Courtney Simms. “We have achieved much success in this campaign so far, but still have an exciting journey ahead. Every gift matters!”To give, or for more information regarding The Muny’s Second Century Capital Campaign, please visit muny.org/secondcentury.

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Steamy ‘Night of the Iguana’ a Multi-Layered Masterpiece

Steamy ‘Night of the Iguana’ a Multi-Layered Masterpiece

By Lynn Venhaus
Managing Editor
Desperation hangs thick in the air in Tennessee Williams’ richly detailed “The
Night of the Iguana,” the remarkable centerpiece to this year’s fourth annual
Tennessee Williams Festival.

At a rundown resort in Mexico, people are there to escape –
or to hide. Everyone has secrets. They can get away, but they can’t run, just
like the big fat iguana that’s tied up offstage.

The setting is not inconsequential. You can tell Cosa Verde
has seen better days, and so have most of these characters. But each has a
story to tell – and those looking for mercy, a glimmer of hope.

In his grand, striking poetic exposition, Williams tackles
a lot here – a former minister who is a tormented soul, three primary women of
different types and temperatures, and an assortment of workers and tourists. He
seizes on how people fare in volatile times.

A group of crass Nazi-sympathizing Germans on holiday stand
out for their gaudiness, and those roles might be tiny, but Williams is crafty
in his characterizations. After all, the play takes place in the early 1940s,
before World War II commandeers everything.

The metaphors are also rampant in this multi-layered
masterpiece. Scenic designer Dunsi Dai has created such a distinct corner of
the universe that you can practically feel the oppressive heat. Each cabin is
like an isolation pod, mosquito net hanging, a place of solitude and reflection
for some, but for others who feel trapped by their circumstances, a cage.

Dunsi Dai’s scenic design, photo by ProPhotoSTLThe brilliant Jon Ontiveros’ lighting design is a marvel of
moods and atmosphere, emphasizing Williams’ intentions through Dai’s
interpretation.

Ellie Schwetye, whose sound design is always memorable,
layers the outdoor cacophony with lapping ocean waves, which changes to different
noticeable nocturnal noises.

Meticulous director Tom Ocel has contained the sprawling
story to emphasize temptation, loneliness, loss and the despair that comes from
being lost.

This landmine of human emotions, ready to explode at any
moment, is based on Williams’ 1948 short story, which was then developed into
three acts for a Broadway production in 1961. A Tony nominee for Best Play
(defeated by “A Man for All Seasons”) in 1962, actress Margaret Leighton won Best
Leading Actress in a Play for her portrayal of Hannah Jelkes. Two years later,
it was adapted into a steamy movie, directed by John Huston, that starred
Richard Burton, Ava Gardner, Deborah Kerr and Sue Lyon.

The tormented Rev. Shannon (James Andrew Butz, in an
extraordinary performance), who fell from grace in spectacular fashion – or, as
he says: “heresy and fornication – in the same week,” is a self-destructive
shell of a human being. He’s now driving a tour bus. Oh, the irony of escorting
a group of women from a Baptist college for their pleasure.

But at a cheap coastal hotel, they’ve turned against him,
the staff is on edge, and the proprietor is just trying to get through another
day without incidents. LaVonne Byers is Maxine Faulk, the recently widowed
owner who was something in her prime. However, she is now weary of other people’s
drama – but has a soft spot for Shannon, whom she has known a long time. He can
push her buttons, nevertheless. Byers plays this vigorous woman with her
customary precision, turning Maxine into a strong, no-nonsense type whose past
is filled with hard-fought lessons. She tosses off some terrific comical lines,
too.

The brewing tempest grows out of its teacup into a full-blown
squall.

Summer Baer and Jim Butz, photo by ProPhotoSTLThe pretty young Charlotte Goodall, 16, has fancied this
mysterious Shannon, and vice-versa, thus resulting in all hell breaking loose
and a serious charge of statutory rape. This is the starting part. Summer Baer
is impressive as the innocent, naïve lass.

As Miss Judith Fellowes, entrusted with Charlotte’s care, Elizabeth
Ann Townsend is all blustery and self-righteous in her contempt for Shannon.
She wants justice, and she is going to get it.

Nisi Sturgis and Harry Weber. Photo by ProPhotoSTLAlong comes the refined Hannah Jelkes (Nisi Sturgis), whose
manners belie a living-on-the-edge situation. An artistic woman whose only
source of income is freelance painting and sketch work, she has accompanied her
beloved grandfather, “Nonno” — Jonathan Coffin, a poet. They survive together,
although he is ailing. They are just trying to get by, using whatever means
they can. Harry Weber imbues Nonna with dignity.

For the prickly, mercurial Shannon, Hannah becomes
something of a lifeline. She tries to save his humanity, and her spirit is revived
through their encounters. Williams makes you believe in the power of their
connection — “The magic of the other.” So do the actors — Butz and Sturgis
are stunning in their scenes together.

Butz pretty much raises the bar for every actor in town.
How he spirals out of control and goes through every emotion, depicting Shannon
on the brink of a breakdown, is astonishing. He’s always a robust life-force on
stage, but this portrayal is some of the finest acting we’ve been privileged to
see in St. Louis.

Sturgis, whose measured demeanor is exactly how you imagine
Deborah Kerr in the movie, delivers one of the finest female performances of
the year. She conveys the restraint, compassion and grace of her character
beautifully.

Nisi Sturgis and Jim Butz, Photo by ProPhotoSTLOcel moves the large cast around to the beats of the
fun-and-sun coastal setting, with a sense of foreboding and something’s
off-kilter. Again, the irony of the hellish happenings occurring at such a
slice-of-heaven paradise.

Costume Designer Garth Dunbar has a keen eye to distinguish
the personalities through their outfits.

Steve Isom, Teresa Doggett, Chaunery Kingsford Tanguay and
Hannah Lee Eisenbath provide lively portraits of the garish, loud Germans oblivious
to anything but their own needs.

In minor roles, Greg Johnston is Jake Latta, Shannon’s
supervisor, and Spencer Sickmann is employee Hank, Victor Mendez is worker
Pedro and Luis Aguilar is worker Pancho.

The crisp stage direction and the ensemble’s commitment to
immerse themselves to tell this story, with all its messy interactions, make
this production stand out.

If last year’s award-winning TWF mainstage show, “A
Streetcar Named Desire,” was a leap of faith, this year’s centerpiece is a masterful
coming-of-age, a major step forward, strengthening Williams’ legacy and continuing
a vibrant tradition.

Tennessee
Williams Festival presents “A Night of the Iguana” May 9 through May 19 at The
Grandel Theatre in the Grand Arts Center. Evening performances Thursday through
Saturday are at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday is at 3 p.m. For more information, visit www.twstl.org

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Joyous ‘Come from Away’ Reminds Us of the Power of Community

Joyous ‘Come from Away’ Reminds Us of the Power of Community

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By Joe GfallerContributing WriterIt is often said that crisis brings a community together. Too often in recent years real or manufactured crisis in our communities seem to have done the opposite, deepening dividing lines, bringing out the worst and not the best in people. Perhaps that is why the joyous and poignant national tour of “Come from Away,” now playing at the Fox Theatre is so refreshing and beautiful: it gives hope that on our worst day, we are all capable of finding our best selves.

The worst day in question here is September 11, 2001. The idea that a musical could be written about such an enormous tragedy and contain even a note of laughter may be surprising to some. But “Come From Away” is less about the events of that day and more about our collective memory of them. The events of 9/11 are indelibly burned into our minds, and those memories come forward whenever anyone asks “Where were you when…” We each have our story. Each is incomplete. As you begin to put them together, the picture gets fuller and richer. Eventually, with enough stories in the picture, it almost feels whole.

That kind of intentional story telling is very much the model of “Come From Away.” Like The Laramie Project or House of Cards, the musical establishes a narrative device that allows each character to tell you their first-person accounts of the events – and then slip right into the events themselves.

When their accounts converge into one common idea (the uncertainty of being on a grounded jet for hours, the search for hope in prayer, the escape of party in a pub), their stories turn into full ensemble numbers that seamlessly weave those many voices together, not as a traditional chorus – but as a community in action.

If you were to ask each of the people whose stories are told in “Come From Away,” “Where were you when…” they would all have the same answer: Gander, Newfoundland. For it’s here that around 7,000 airline passengers were stranded for nearly five days, starting on September 11, once the United States closed its borders to airline travel.

For the 9,000 people already there, for nearly a week, they played unexpected host to the world. “Come From Away” lets us see how both the Islanders and the “Plane People” were changed by that brief encounter – and changed, refreshingly, for the better.

To tell this story, “Come From Away” uses an ensemble of only 12 actors. At times, their virtuosity moving from character to character on a moment’s notice with just the change of a hat or a jacket makes you assume that there are far more people on stage. It’s a marvel to behold. Director Christopher Ashley and musical staging supervisor Kelly Devine deserve high praise for the ever-nimble staging and the sharp, clear character choices that differentiate the many roles each actor plays.

Within the ensemble, no one role is designed to be a star
turn. Rather, we get story lines that develop as each of the characters build
relationships during their five days together.

Diane, played with heart and zeal by Christine Toy Johnson, is a divorced mother on her way home to Dallas who happens to be sitting next to a well-intentioned but socially awkward Brit named Nick, given a deeply endearing rendering by Chamblee Ferguson. Together, stuck on their American Airlines plane on the Gander tarmac, both feeling alone and “so damn helpless,” they start to get to know each other. Once off the plane, their paths continue to cross until (after perhaps one too many drinks) Diane is given the choice to either kiss a cod or kiss Nick. You can guess which she picks.

Ferguson’s gentle awakening to the fact that he might have feelings for this stranger is touching – particularly in the moment that he finds out that the father of Diane’s child in Dallas is her ex-husband and not currently her husband. And the freedom which Johnson embraces to be the best version of herself in a place where no one knows her is exhilarating — even if the only reason her hair looks so different is that she hasn’t been able to shampoo for 3 days).

That very freedom is what wears upon the other central couple in the show, Kevin T and Kevin J. While Kevin T, played with giddy enthusiasm and a casual charm by Andrew Samonsky, is ready to embrace the adventure of meeting new people in a new place, the longer Kevin J, given a grounded, if slightly arch performance by Nick Duckart, stays in Gander, the more he realizes the place he wants to be is Brooklyn, where he grew up, with the family who needs him. Kevin T never seems to grasp his partner’s struggle – and while it comes as no surprise their relationship does not last until the end of the show, it is certainly a disappointment.

Danielle K. Thomas gives a heartfelt performance as Hannah, a mother whose son is a New York City firefighter. Her struggle to reconcile the fact she cannot be with him is expressed movingly in one of the show’s few true solo numbers “I Am Here.”

The friendship she builds with Newfoundlander Beulah, in a stern but kind performance from Julie Johnson, becomes her lifeline when her son’s voicemail becomes too full to accept new messages and increasingly the worst seems to be around the corner.

But love takes many forms in “Come From Away.” For Beverley, a pilot, her love is flying, despite all odds. Based on a real person, she was the first female pilot to be made captain by American. Her heartbreak comes in “Me and the Sky,” when she realizes now that the one thing she loves most has been turned into a bomb, she can never love it the same way again. Becky Gulsvig gives Beverly strength and conviction in equal parts, a complete 180 degree turn from her other role, a naïve school teacher who seems to find the prospect for love in every male Plane Person she meets. The characters are so different, it took me almost until the end of the show to realize they were played by the same actress.

If Beverly is trying to find order on her plane, Gander’s mayor Claude, played with a twinkle in his eye by Kevin Carolan, and police officer Oz (Harter Clingman, in one of the show’s smaller roles) are trying to create order in the town. Carolan gets to play not just one mayor, but all four mayors in the area with the quick changes of a hat, a moustache, and a pair of glasses. Presiding over a fanciful ritual to turn the Plane People into Newfoundlanders, he gets to lead one of the most delightful sequences in the show and does it with plenty of aplomb.

Emily Walton, as Gander’s new TV anchor Janice, is a breath
of fresh air throughout – no more so than when she makes a desperate plea to
the extremely generous people of Gander: “For the love of God, stop bringing
toilet paper to the Lion’s Club.” As Bonnie, Megan McGinnis balances humor with
heartfelt concern for the animals left with the checked luggage in the
airport’s 38 airplanes.

As Bob, an African-American New Yorker separated from his family, James Earl Jones II finds humor in some very complicated dynamics about race. Sent by one of Carolan’s many mayors to collect grills from people’s yards for a cookout, he expects to get shot by angry homeowners – and instead is offered tea. When asked back in New York if he was “OK” during those five days in Gander, he realizes that “I wasn’t just OK. I was somehow better.”

Over the course of this crisp one-act musical, that seems to be the message. If it’s possible to be better in a time of crisis, can’t it be possible to be better without the crisis? You don’t need to have a lot of resources to do the right thing. The people of Gander certainly don’t.

There seems to be some intentional alignment between this idea in the script and the way the design of the musical is so eloquently and simply delivered. The set, by Beowulf Boritt, consists of two tables and many chairs, contained within a series of trees that — like the actors themselves — play double duty, in this case, both as set pieces and light trusses. The costumes, by Toni-Leslie James, couldn’t be more simple and effective for the litany of each actor’s many character changes. The same could be said for Howell Binkley’s lighting, which moved us from air traffic control to the interior of an airplane to a Tim Horton’s with remarkable speed and clarity.

The orchestrations are wildly resourceful as well, with only eight musicians serving as the band for a musical in such an enormous theater. Cynthia Kortman Westphal conducted, while also playing keyboard, accordion, and harmonium – with almost every other musician doubling on two or more instruments throughout the show. The musicians sit at the periphery of the stage and join the cast for “Screech In,” the party sequence at a bar – integrating seamlessly into (and then back out of) the action. As part of the curtain call, it was a real treat to see them take center stage to play a joyful sendoff for everyone.

For the finale of “Come From Away,” we jump ahead 10 years to 2011 and to the anniversary of these men and women arriving in Gander. No longer is fear of the unknown present as it was in 2001 – Islanders not knowing if they are prepared to take care of so many unexpected temporary migrants, Plane People not knowing when or how they would see their families again. Instead, the mood is one of joy. “We honor what was lost, but we commemorate what was found,” says the mayor.

By this point, with all the doubling of roles, we in the audience lose track as to which of the twelve actors are supposed to be which characters. Are they Plane People or are they Islanders? In our own lives, we can each have moments when we are the Plane People – the unsettled, the displaced. But we can all have moments when we chose to be the Islanders – radically generous, supportive, welcoming. So as “Come From Away” ends with the chorus of “I am an Islander,” you realize it doesn’t matter if you were a Plane Person or an Islander at the start. Every character in the musical has become an Islander by the end.

And one wonders if by the end, each of us the audience has cultivated our potential to become more of an Islander ourselves.

The Fox Theatre presents the Tony Award-winning musical, “Come from Away,” now through May 26. For tickets or more information, visit www.fabulousfox.com. Call Metrotix at 314-534-1111.

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Arts For Life to Celebrate 20 Years of Best Performance Awards June 9

Arts For Life to Celebrate 20 Years of Best Performance Awards June 9

BPAs honor excellence in community musical theatre; Theatre Mask Awards recognize excellence in plays

Arts For Life will celebrate its 20th
anniversary June 9 at the annual Best Performance Awards, which honors
excellence in community theater and youth musicals. It is the oldest and
longest continually running theater awards in St. Louis.

Since it began in 1998, AFL’s goal has been “Making a Dramatic
Difference” and is proud to salute, support and serve the theater groups in the
metropolitan St. Louis area. The non-profit organization continues to be
passionate about the healing power of the performing arts.

AFL President Mary McCreight said the group is dedicated to
promoting public awareness of local community theater, encouraging excellence
in the arts and acknowledging the incredible people who take part.

“St. Louis is an amazing city, especially for the arts.
There are over sixty theatre companies at home here, a third of which are
community theatre. As we watch music education and theatre programs rapidly die
in our schools, the need to keep community theatre alive is more important now
than ever,” McCreight said.
Admission is $25 in advance on the www.artsforlife.org
website, or $26 with credit card at the door. All tickets are reserved seating.
Formal attire is requested.

The special event starts at 2 p.m. at the Skip Viragh
Center for the Performing Arts on the Chaminade College Preparatory School campus,
425 S. Lindbergh Blvd. Ryan Cooper, a local professional actor, will return as
master of ceremonies for the fifth time.

When Lucinda Gyurci founded AFL, the first awards were
handed out in 1999, with 14 musicals from 11 groups nominated through the group’s
judging panel, the Theatre Recognition Guild.

“I wasn’t sure the Best Performance Awards would go beyond
one year. The first year was extremely difficult, being met with (sometimes
hostile) negativity, trepidation of being judged, a tremendous amount of work
and no funds,” Gyurci said. “However, barring past the nay-sayers, the event
happened by sheer will. One could feel the electricity in the air at the event
and for the first time the participants realized this was an opportunity to
recognize excellent work and celebrate each other within the theatre community.”

Gyurci said it was the first theater event in St. Louis
that was like the Tony Awards, which makes it the area’s oldest and longest
continually running theatre awards.

This year, 48 shows – 21 large, 7 small and 20 youth — produced
by 26 community theater groups in St. Louis, St. Charles County and metro-east
Illinois were eligible for BPA awards consideration, with 1,302 artists judged
for nominations.

Trophies will be awarded in 33 categories. Performances
from the 13 nominated musicals for best productions – small (3) and large (5) ensembles
and youth (5) – will be included.

The Lifetime Achievement Award is being given to Joe Paule
Sr., a longtime musician and musical director. He was one of the orchestra
nominees in 1999.

“Theater is alive and kicking in 2019 and local theaters in
metro St. Louis and Illinois are to be commended for a job well done,”
McCreight said.
“The awards are a wonderful way for all actors and tech crews to celebrate and
enjoy each other’s successes and be recognized and rewarded,” McCreight said.

For the first time ever, metro-east theater groups
dominated the Best Musical – Large and Small Ensemble categories, with 5 of the
8 nods: Alfresco Productions, Curtain’s Up Theater, Goshen Theatre Project,
Looking Glass Playhouse and Riverbend Youth Theatre

Nominations were announced at the 10th annual AFL Trivia
Night Feb. 2, with 43 percent of nominees recognized for the first time. Goshen
Theatre Project in Madison County led the BPA nominations, with 23 – 12 for
“The Lion King Jr.” and 11 for “Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.”

Curtain’s Up Theater Company in Edwardsville earned 19 – 16
for “Into the Woods,” and 3 for “Little Miss Sunshine” – and tied with Alfresco
Productions in Granite City with 19 – 12 for ‘Dames at Sea” and 7 for “Beauty
and the Beast.”

The Alpha Players of Florissant received 11 nominations,
with 7 for “You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown” and 4 for “Bells Are Ringing.”

Among youth productions, Shooting Star led the way with 14
for “Big Fish.”
Two special youth awards will be given to Caroline Santiago Turner, who will
receive Best Youth Musical Performance for “Violet,” and Sean Harvey,
named Best Youth Featured Dancer, as Bobby in “Crazy for You,” both
produced by the Gateway Center for the Performing Arts.

The Looking Glass Playhouse in Lebanon, Ill., lead all AFL
nominations, with a total of 31, which included 22 BPA nods and 9 Theatre Mask
Awards nominations.

Their musical, “Newsies,” garnered 14 nominations, while
musicals “Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson” and “The Wizard of Oz” each scored 4.
On the TMA side, their production of the drama, “Frost/Nixon” received 9 and
won 4.

Five years ago, AFL started the Theatre Mask Awards, which
recognizes work in straight plays produced by community theater. Ten groups
currently participate, and a judging panel evaluated 25 shows – 12 dramas and
13 comedies — for the 2018 calendar year.

The fourth annual event took place on April 6 at a brunch celebration
at The Atrium banquet center on the campus of Christian Northeast Hospital,
with a sold-out crowd of 256 in attendance. Longtime radio personality Vic
Porcelli was the host.

Kevin Frakes of Alton Little Theater received the Lifetime
Achievement Award for his 40 years as a performer, director, producer and set
designer. He is currently president of the ALT board of directors.

Awards were presented in 18 categories, with LGP’s
“Frost/Nixon” tying with Actors’ Attic’s local premiere of “The Curious
Incident of the Dog in the Night-time” for Outstanding Drama Production.

Clayton Community Theatre’s production of Neil Simon’s
“Brighton Beach Memoirs” won three awards, including outstanding comedy
production and for actor Patrick Blanner as Eugene and director Sam Hack.

“Frost/Nixon” also won for director Glenn Saltamachia,
supporting actor Mike Russell (as Reston) and large ensemble.
The two leading performers in “The Curious Incident,” Dan Haller and Emily
Brutton, won acting honors.

Other multiple winners included O’Fallon TheatreWorks’ play
version of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s “The Great Gatsby,” which won two — supporting
actress for Tori Stukins and costume design for Carole Lanham.

The drama “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” received awards
for two different theater groups’ productions. Alton Little Theater’s show won
lighting design for Lee Cox and Dennis R. Stephenson and the O’Fallon Theatre
Works’ play won set design for Chris and Ellie Lanham.

Alton Little Theater also won outstanding actress in a
comedy – Alison Beach as three different ‘heiresses’ in “Who’s in Bed with the
Butler?”

The Theatre Guild of Webster Groves was honored with three
acting awards. Kaylee Ryan won outstanding juvenile performance in “The
Children’s Hour” while Will Shaw won supporting actor in a comedy in Steve
Martin’s “Picasso at the Lapin Agile”” and Sarah Hirshfield won supporting
actress in a comedy in Neil Simon’s “Laughter on the 23rd Floor.”

Clayton’s “Bus Stop” won Best Large Ensemble.

“I am proud of the dedication of the TMA Steering Committee
and Director Glenn Guillermo,” McCreight said. “The AFL Board of Directors
congratulates all participants/nominees in last year’s shows. I am happy to see
the TMAs thriving and creating a niche for yourselves in the theater
community.”

Visit the website for more information:
www.artsforlife.org. For a PDF of the BPA nominations for 2018, here is the
link:

http://nebula.wsimg.com/b255dc30a55d222d652ab689930da965?AccessKeyId=901C1079C3BABD637603&disposition=0&alloworigin=1

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Best Bets: What’s Happening This Weekend

Best Bets: What’s Happening This Weekend

By Lynn Venhaus
Managing Editor
Treat Mom to a play or musical this weekend? Or next weekend! Any time is the
right time to Go See a Play! Here’s what is happening now.  And make time for the Tennessee Williams
Festival! Only once a year, and the time is now!

“Biloxi Blues” Clayton Community Theatre May 2-12 Thursday through Saturday at 8 p.m.; Sunday at 2 p.m. but no performance May 10 Washington University South Campus Theatre 314-721-9228www.placeseveryone.org

What It’s About: The second in “The Eugene Trilogy,” Neil
Simon’s semi-autobiographical comedy centers on the contest of wills between a
drill sergeant and an intellectual recruit at an Army base in Biloxi, Miss., in
1943. Along the way, he loses his innocence in many ways.

“Death Tax” Mustard Seed Theatre May 9 – 19 Thursdays through Saturdays at 8 p.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m. Fontbonne Fine Arts Theatre What It’s About:  by Lucas Hnath “As Maxine nears the end of her life she is certain of three things: Death, Taxes and the Greed of her daughter who wants her to die quickly. A desperate nurse vows to keep her alive, but at what cost? Darkly comic, the play explores morality and forgiveness.” Performances take place at the Fontbonne Fine Arts Theatre, 6800 Wydown Blvd. For more information, call (314) 719-8060 or visit the web site at www.mustardseedtheatre.com.

“Dear Mr. Williams” The Tennessee Williams Festival Friday at 8:30 p.m. and Saturday at 3:30 and 8:30 p.m., May 10 and 11 Curtain Call Lounge www.twstl.org What It’s About: The blue devils of sex, alcohol, and mendacity take center stage in this tender and funny coming-of-age story of a young gay artist. With the great American playwright as his compass, writer and performer Batt takes us on a thrilling and very personal journey out of the shadows into a bright light of self-discovery. The tumultuous-and sometimes treacherous-journey from adolescence to adulthood is one we all must take, but Batt’s one-man tour de force proves that it’s oh so much more fascinating and fun with Tennessee Williams as your guide. “Freaky Friday” Curtain’s Up Theater Company May 10-12 Thursday and Friday at 7:30 p.m., Saturday at 2 and 7:30 p.m., and Sunday at 2 p.m. Dunham Theatre, SIUEwww.curtainsuptheater.com

What It’s About: Based on the Disney movie, “Freaky Friday” is a musical about a mother and daughter changing places to comical effect.  

“A Lovely Sunday for Creve Coeur” The Tennessee Williams Festival May 11- 19 Saturdays and Sundays at 1 and 5 p.m.  www.twfstl.org

What It’s About: Four eccentric and unforgettable women fry
chicken, plan a picnic to Creve Coeur Lake, and cope with loneliness and lost
dreams in an efficiency apartment on Enright Avenue in the Central West End
circa the mid-1930s. Williams gives us more laughs than usual, but no less
poetry or poignancy. Williams believed that growing up in St. Louis was
essential to the shape of his work. A Lovely Sunday for Creve Coeur is one of
his few plays set here, and was the inspiration behind TV’s “The Golden
Girls.

Director: Kari Ely
Starring: Kelly Weber, Ellie Schwetye,  

Madea’s Farewell Play Tour May 10 – 12 Friday at 8 p.m., Saturday at 3 and 8 p.m., and Sunday at 3 and 7:30 p.m. The Fabulous Fox Theatre www.fabulousfox.com What It’s About: Tyler Perry’s 21st stage play Starring: Tyler Perry, Tamela Mann, David Mann and Cassi Davis Patton

“Mamma Mia!” Alton Little Theater May 10-19 Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30 p.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m. 2450 N. Henry in Alton 6180462-6562www.altonlittletheater.org What It’s About: Love, mishaps, and music by ABBA will have audiences dancing in the aisles again as they feel transported to the Greek Island of Kalokairi on the eve of a wedding.

“Mamma Mia!” Looking Glass Playhouse May 2 – 12 Thursday through Saturday at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m. 301 W. St. Louis St., Lebanon, Ill.www.lookingglassplayhouse.com 618-537-4962

What It’s About: Through ABBA’s hits, a romantic comedy
tell the hilarious story of a young woman’s search for her birth father. This
sunny and funny tale unfolds on a Greek island paradise. On the eve of her
wedding, a daughter’s quest to discover the identity of her father brings three
men from her mother’s past back to the island they last visited 20 years ago. A
mother. A daughter. Three possible dads.

“Nice Work If You Can Get It” Kirkwood Theatre Guild May 3-5, 9-12 Evenings at 8 p.m., Sunday matinees at 2 p.m. Robert G. Reim Theatre Website: https://www.ktg-onstage.org/ 314-821-9956

What It’s About: A screwball comedy set in the Prohibition
era with songs by George and Ira Gershwin. Elegant socialists and boorish
bootleggers clash, when playboy Jimmy Winter meets a female bootlegger, Billie
Bendix, on the weekend of his third or fourth wedding.

“The Night of the Iguana” Tennessee Williams Festival May 9 – 19 The Grandel Theatre What It’s About: based on Williams’ 1948 short story, which was then developed into three acts for Broadway production in 1961. A Tony nominee for Best Play, it was adapted into a 1964 movie, directed by John Huston, that starred Richard Burton, Ava Gardner and Deborah Kerr. The play focuses on a former minister, barred from his church for defaming God, who works as a tour guide. He is accused of statutory rape of a 16-year-old girl in his tour group. Director: Tim Ocel Starring: James Andrew Butz, Lavonne Byers, Hannah Sturgis, Harry Weber, Spencer Sickmann, Greg Johnson, Victor Mendes, Luis Aguilar.“Over the Tavern” The Theatre Guild of Webster Groves May 3 – 11 Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m.www.theatreguildwg.org 314-962-0876 What It’s About: In that most idealized period of 20th-century America, the Eisenhower years of the 1950s, the Pazinski family has a lot going on in their cramped Buffalo apartment. The youngest of the bunch, 12-year-old Rudy, is a smart, wise-cracking kid who’s starting to question family values and the Roman Catholic Church. When Rudy goes up against the ruler-wielding Sister Clarissa and announces that instead of being confirmed he’d rather shop around for a more “fun” religion, all hell breaks loose.” Parental discretion is advised.

Director: Warren Frank Starring: Henry Alverson, Jimmy Hall, Andrea Jacobson, Tracy Murphy, Pepi Parshall, Declan Ryan, Patrick Ryan “Salt, Root and Roe” Upstream Theatre April 26 – May 12 Shows at 8 p.m. except Sundays at 7 p.m. but May 12 at 2 p.m. Kranzberg Arts Centerwww.upstreamtheater.org What It’s About: Tim Price’s play is about the nature of change, the comfort of home and the eternal bond of love, set against the mythical backdrop of the Pembrokeshire coast in western Wales. Identical twins Iola and Anest, who are devoted to age other and aging fast. Anest’s daughter, Menna, rushes to her long-abandoned childhood home where her own ideas of love and compromise are tested to the limit. Director: Kenn McLaughlin Cast: Donna Weinsting, Sally Edmundson, Eric Dean White, Amy Loui

Of Note: A U.S. premiere in co-production with Stages
Repertory Theatre of Houston.

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‘Head Over Heels,’ ‘Cry-Baby,’ ‘Urinetown,’ Film Series and More Ahead for New Line Theatre’s 29th Season

‘Head Over Heels,’ ‘Cry-Baby,’ ‘Urinetown,’ Film Series and More Ahead for New Line Theatre’s 29th Season

New Line Theatre, “the bad boy of musical theatre,” has announced its 29th season of adult, alternative musical theatre, including the return of the wild, comic rock musical CRY-BABY,  which New Line first produced in 2012 in its American regional premiere, based on the John Waters film, running Sept. 26-Oct. 19, 2019; followed by the electrifying new rock musical fresh from Broadway, in its regional premiere, HEAD OVER HEELS, a high-energy, adult romp about gender and sexuality, based on a 16th century novel and using the songs of the pop group The Go-Go’s, running March 5-28, 2020; and the season closes with the return of one of New Line’s biggest hits, which the New Liners first presented in 2007, the pitch dark satire URINETOWN, the hilarious, outrageous fable of greed, corruption, love, revolution, and urination, running June 4-27, 2020.

PLUS… New Line’s season will also include the NEW LINE FILM SERIES, curated by longtime New Liner Brian Claussen, showing a companion film at the Marcelle one Weds. night during the run of each mainstage show. This season’s films include John Waters’ original CRY-BABY during the run of Cry-Baby; ABSOLUTE BEGINNERS during the run of Head Over Heels; and MACK THE KNIFE, a film version of Threepenny Opera, during the run of Urinetown. These films are not part of the season subscription.

BUT WAIT, THERE’S MORE… New Line will present a free, public reading of Gilbert & Sullivan’s BLOODY KING OEDIPUS for one night only, Monday, January 6, at the Marcelle, yet another “long-lost” horror opera from the famous team, “discovered” and “reassembled” by New Line artistic director Scott Miller and St. Louis composer John Gerdes, the team responsible for this past season’s The Zombies of Penzance. The reading is also not part of the season subscription.

And save the dates for The Second Annual New Line Trivia Night, on Friday, Sept. 13, at the Richmond Heights Community Center; and The 19th Annual New Line Holiday Dinner, on Weds. Dec. 4, at Favazza’s Restaurant on The Hill. Reservations for the dinner are required.

SEASON TICKETS

Season tickets go on sale in mid-May, and single tickets go on sale in August. New Line’s mainstage shows and the new film series will be in the company’s home, the Marcelle Theater, in Grand Center, St. Louis’ arts district.

To order season tickets for the three mainstage shows, Cry-Baby, Head Over Heels, and Urinetown, go to http://www.newlinetheatre.com/purchase/index.php starting in mid-May.

There are three kinds of subscriptions. The First Look Subscription contains tickets for only the Thursday preview for each show. These tickets cannot be exchanged for other dates. Each Regular Subscription includes one ticket for each show in the season. You can use each ticket for any performance date during the run of that show. Each Flex Subscription includes three Flex tickets that you can use at any time for any show during the entire season — use all three tickets for one show or spread them out over the season, however you want! The deadline for ordering season tickets is Sept. 2, 2019.

THE 2019-2020 SEASON

CRY-BABYSept. 26-Oct. 19, 2019

It’s 1954. Everyone likes Ike, nobody likes communism, and Wade “Cry-Baby” Walker is the coolest boy in Baltimore. He’s a bad boy with a good cause — truth, justice, and the pursuit of rock and roll. 

Wayward youth, juvenile delinquents, sexual repression, cool music, dirty lyrics, social rejects, it’s all here, as New Line opens its 29th season in October 2019 with the hilarious rockabilly musical CRY-BABY, based on the classic John Waters film. 

Cry-Baby premiered at the La Jolla Playhouse in San Diego in November 2007 and opened on Broadway in April 2008. New Line produced the show’s critically acclaimed American regional premiere in March 2012, after negotiating the first regional production rights in the country. The original creative team revised the show for New Line’s production and commissioned new orchestrations, to make it a smaller, more intimate musical, with a 6-piece rock band. 

At the center of our story are the star-crossed lovers, Cry-Baby and the square rich girl Allison, just a good girl who yearns to be bad in Cry-Baby’s arms. Fueled by hormones and the new rhythms of rock and roll, she turns her back on her squeaky clean boyfriend Baldwin to become a “drape” (a Baltimore juvenile delinquent) and Cry-Baby’s moll. At the other end of the topsy-turvy moral meritocracy of 1954 America, Baldwin as the king of the squares leads his close-harmony pals against the juvenile delinquents, who are ultimately arrested for arson, sending the drapes all off to prison. 

It’s Romeo and Juliet meets High School Hellcats. 

Cry-Baby has a score by David Javerbaum (The Daily Show) and Adam Schlesinger (Fountains of Wayne), and a book by Mark O’Donnell and Thomas Meehan, based on John Waters’ classic indie film. O’Donnell and Meehan also adapted John Waters’ Hairspray for the musical stage. 

Cry-Baby was nominated for four Tony Awards, including Best Musical, Best Book of a Musical, Best Original Score, and Best Choreography. It was also nominated for Best Musical by the Drama League and the Outer Critics Circle Awards. Terry Teachout wrote in the Wall Street Journal, “You want funny? I’ll give you funny, or at least tell you where to find it: Cry-Baby, the new John Waters musical, is campy, cynical, totally insincere and fabulously well crafted. And funny. Madly, outrageously funny. It is, in fact, the funniest new musical since Avenue Q. If laughter is the best medicine, then Cry-Baby is the whole damn drugstore.” Newsday called the show “pleasantly demented and — deep in the sweet darkness of its loopy heart — more true to the cheerful subversion of a John Waters movie than its sentimental big sister Hairspray.” The New Jersey Star-Ledger called it, “candy for adults who like their musicals nutty — and not so nice.” 

The New Line production will be directed by Scott Miller and Mike Dowdy-Windsor, with music direction by Nicolas Valdez, choreography by Michelle Sauer, scenic design by Rob Lippert, costume design by Sarah Porter, lighting design by Kenneth Zinkl, and sound design by Ryan Day. 

Cry-Baby contains adult language and content. Produced by arrangement with Music Theatre International, New York.

The New Line Film Series presents John Waters’ original musical film CRY-BABY on Weds., Oct. 9 at 7:00 p.m. at the Marcelle Theater, during the run of New Line’s Cry-Baby.

Gilbert & Sullivan’s BLOODY KING OEDIPUSA Free Public ReadingMonday, Jan. 6, 2020

King Oedipus is already having a bad day, and here comes some REALLY bad news…! 

After shocking the music and theatre worlds by rediscovering Gilbert & Sullivan’s lost masterpiece The Zombies of Penzance in 2013, and then staging and publishing the controversial original opera in 2018; now New Line Theatre artistic director Scott Miller has done it once again. This time, Miller has unearthed Gilbert & Sullivan’s even darker and funnier BLOODY KING OEDIPUS, a comic opera no one even knew existed until now, based on Sophocles’ iconic Greek tragedy of murder, incest, disfigurement, suicide, and lots of prophecies, which first debuted in 429 BC. 

The legendary British team of librettist W.S. Gilbert and composer Arthur Sullivan together wrote fourteen comic operas between 1871 and 1896. Or is it sixteen? After rewriting their original Zombies of Penzance at the insistence of producer Richard D’Oyly Carte, the team premiered The Pirates of Penzance in 1879. Until now, scholars believed that their next project was the pastoral satire Patience. We now know that isn’t true. After the huge success of HMS Pinafore and Pirates, the team decided to tackle something a bit weightier. According to personal papers found with the manuscript, it was Gilbert who suggested two unlikely possibilities, Dante’s Inferno, and the classic Greek tragedy Oedipus the King, set in Thebes, a Greek city-state in the 13th century BC. 

They both agreed Inferno would make a less than satisfying comic opera. 

Gilbert stayed curiously faithful to the plot and characters of Sophocles’ ancient tragedy for his opera – until the end of the show, when Gilbert evidently couldn’t restrain himself from adding a comic, Gilbertian twist, upending everything that’s come before, as usual. It’s safe to say Sophocles would not have sanctioned Gilbert’s much more comic ending. The score included songs like “We’ve Been Very, Very Sick,” “I Can See Now I Was Blind,” “Now This is Quite Awkward,” “So Our King Just Might Have Murdered Our Last King,” and “He Hasn’t Taken It Too Well.” 

And now, at long last, King Oedipus, Queen Jocasta, General Creon, Tiresias the Blind Seer, Milo the Herald, and all of Thebes will make their comic opera debut. Miller has painstakingly reassembled these rediscovered materials into their original form; and St. Louis composer and orchestrator John Gerdes is reconstructing Sullivan’s music, after doing the same with The Zombies of Penzance. 

New Line Theatre will present a public reading of the rediscovered show Monday, Jan. 6, 2020. The company has not yet announced a full production. 

Dominic Dowdy-Windsor will play King Oedipus; with Kimi Short as Queen Jocasta; Kent Coffel as Gen. Creon; Lindsey Jones as Manto; and Zachary Allen Farmer as the Royal Messenger and Tiresias the Blind Seer and Milo the Herald and also Phorbus the Shepherd. The rest of the cast will be announced later. The reading will be directed by Scott Miller and music directed by Nicolas Valdez.

Bloody King Oedipus contains very adult language and content.

HEAD OVER HEELSMarch 5-28, 2020

The wild new modern musical fairy tale where Once Upon a Time is NOW! 

HEAD OVER HEELS is the bold new musical comedy from the visionaries that rocked Broadway with Hedwig and the Angry Inch, Avenue Q and Spring Awakening. Conceived by Jeff Whitty, with an original book by Whitty, adapted by James Magruder, originally directed by Michael Mayer, and set to the music of the iconic 1980s all-girl rock band The Go-Go’s, this high-octane, laugh-out-loud love story includes hit songs like, “We Got the Beat,” “Our Lips Are Sealed,” “Vacation,” “Heaven is a Place on Earth” and “Mad About You.” 

The wild story follows the escapades of a royal family who set out on a journey to save their beloved kingdom from extinction, only to discover the key to their realm’s survival lies within each of their own hearts — though not always in the way they expect — and in their willingness to let go of rigid tradition and change with the times. 

Head Over Heels originally premiered at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival in 2015, then opened on Broadway in 2018. The show was nominated for Best Musical by the Drama League and the Outer Critics Circle Awards. 

The Daily Beast said, “Head Over Heels is a raucously choreographed joy — intelligent, winningly comic, and surprisingly-for-Broadway radical when it comes to its presentation of gender and sexuality, with its central love story a lesbian one.” Entertainment Weekly said, “The show is an ode to female independence with the winking spirit of a Shakespearean fairy and the neon edge of a rebellious ‘80s teenager, teaming up to beckon people into the woods. Forty years after The Go-Go’s’ formation, Head Over Heels does more than preserve the band’s iconic hits in amber. For two hours and 15 minutes, it’s enough to pull the world back into sync.” 

TimeOut NY said, “To enjoy Head Over Heels, which offers quite a lot to enjoy, it is probably best to kick up your heels and put your head on hold. That’s not to say that this saucy, boisterous musical doesn’t have a brainy side, starting with its ambitious crossbreeding of four time periods: It grafts a 2010s queer sensibility onto songs from the 1980s—by the all-girl pop-punk quintet the Go-Go’s (plus two hits from lead singer Belinda Carlisle’s solo career)—and fits them into a 16th-century story that is set in ancient Greece. . . Head Over Heels is a fantasy and celebration of nonconformity, and it puts its casting where its mouth is with an ensemble that is diverse in race, gender and size. Honoring the beat, in this merry Arcadia, means making room for different drummers.” 

The New Line production will be directed by Scott Miller and Mike Dowdy-Windsor, with music direction by Nicolas Valdez, choreography by Michelle Sauer and Sara Rae Womack, scenic design by Rob Lippert, costume design by Sarah Porter, lighting design by Kenneth Zinkl, and sound design by Ryan Day. 

Head Over Heels contains adult language and content. Produced by arrangement with Broadway Licensing, New York.

The New Line Film Series presents the movie musical ABSOLUTE BEGINNERS on Weds, March 18 at 7:00 p.m. at the Marcelle Theater, during the run of New Line’s Head Over Heels.

URINETOWNJune 4-27, 2020

It’s 2027, the toilets have all been privatized, and you have to pay to pee. Do you follow the rules or join the rebellion? 

Mark Hollmann and Greg Kotis’ URINETOWN is the outrageous fable of greed, corruption, love, revolution, and urination, in a time when water is worth its weight in gold and there’s no such thing as a free pee. Set in a near-future dystopian Gotham, a severe 20-year drought has led to a government-enforced ban on private toilets. The citizens are forced to use public “amenities” now, regulated by a single malevolent company that profits by charging admission for one of humanity’s most basic needs. In this nightmare world, the punishment for an unauthorized pee is a trip to the dreaded Urinetown. 

But from the ruins of Democracy and courtesy flushes, there rises an unlikely hero who decides he’s held it long enough, and he launches a People’s Revolution to lead them all to urinary freedom! 

Inspired by the outrageous political theatre of Bertolt Brecht and Kurt Weill, and (very) loosely based on the writings of late eighteenth-century political and economic theorist Thomas Malthus, Urinetown is a gloriously silly, irreverently truthful satire from which no target is safe. This is a show that catapults musical comedy into the new millennium with its rule-shattering tear through the traditions and conventions of musical theatre, leaving nothing but uncontrollable laughter and a great big puddle in its wake. 

And that’s just Act I. 

When it opened in New York, the official slogan on the Urinetown T-shirts was “An appalling idea, fully realized.” Actor Daniel Marcus, who played Officer Barrel, said in an interview, “I call it a love letter to the American musical in the form of a grenade.” 

Bruce Weber in The New York Times said, “There simply is no show I’ve seen that gives such a sense that the creators and performers are always on the same page of an elaborate, high-spirited joke, that they are the proud members of a cabal that knows what it takes to make the world a better place and that they are thrilled to share what they know.” He also called the show “a sensational piece of performance art, one that acknowledges theater tradition and pushes it forward as well.” The show was nominated for 9 Tony Awards (winning Best Book and Best Score), 9 Drama Desk Awards, 7 Obie Awards (winning Best Musical), 5 Outer Critics Circle Awards (winning Best Musical), and a Drama League Award for Best Musical. 

New Line produced Urinetown in 2007. Kotis and Hollmann also wrote the rock musical Yeast Nation, which New Line produced in 2018.

The New Line production of Urinetown will be directed by Scott Miller and Mike Dowdy-Windsor, with music direction by Nicolas Valdez, choreography by Michelle Sauer and Sara Rae Womack, costume design by Sarah Porter, scenic design by Todd Schaefer, and sound design by Ryan Day. 

Produced by arrangement with Music Theatre International, New York.

The New Line Film Series presents MACK THE KNIFE, a film version of The Threepenny Opera, on Weds., June 17 at 7:00 p.m. at the Marcelle Theater, during the run of New Line’s Urinetown.

THE 2019-2020 NEW LINE SEASON AT A GLANCE

Sept. 13, 2019 – Second Annual New Line Trivia Night

Sept. 26-Oct. 19, 2019 – Cry-Baby

Oct. 9, 2019 – Film Series: Cry-Baby

Dec. 4, 2019 – 19th Annual New Line Holiday Dinner

Jan. 6, 2020 – Free Public Reading of Bloody King Oedipus

Mar. 5-28, 2020 – Head Over Heels

Mar. 18, 2020 – Film Series: Absolute Beginners

June 4-27, 2020 Urinetown

June 15, 2020 – Auditions for 30th Season

June 17, 2020 – Film Series: Mack the Knife

June 22, 2020 – Auditions for 30th Season

ABOUT NEW LINE THEATRENew Line Theatre is a professional company dedicated to involving the people of the St. Louis region in the exploration and creation of daring, provocative, socially and politically relevant works of musical theatre. New Line was created back in 1991 at the vanguard of a new wave of nonprofit musical theatre just starting to take hold across the country. New Line has given birth to several world premiere musicals over the years and has brought back to life several shows that were not well served by their original New York productions. Altogether, New Line has produced 87 musicals since 1991, and the company has been given its own entry in the Cambridge Guide to American Theatre and the annual Theater World. New Line receives support from the Regional Arts Commission, the Missouri Arts Council, a state agency, the Kranzberg Arts Foundation, and the Grand Center Arts District.

New Line also continues its partnership with the Webster University Department of Music and their Bachelor of Music in Music Direction for Musical Theatre degree program.

New Line’s current season closes with the regional premiere of the rock musical BE MORE CHILL, even as it’s running and breaking records on Broadway, running here in St. Louis May 30-June 22. For more information, visit www.newlinetheatre.com.

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The Black Rep Announces 2019-2020 Season of Civil Rights, Identity and Soul

The Black Rep Announces 2019-2020 Season of Civil Rights, Identity and Soul

The season begins with the soulful musical revue, Don’t Bother Me, I Can’t Cope, then August Wilson’s masterpiece, Two Trains Running. The season then moves into Ntozake Shange’s choreopoem Spell #7 ending with Marie and Rosetta. 

Don’t Bother Me, I Can’t Cope September 4-22

Garnering a Grammy and Outer Critics Circle Award for Best Musical, Don’t Bother Me, I Can’t Cope was the first musical revue in the history of Broadway to be written and directed by African-American women, namely Micki Grant and Vinette Carol.

First performed in 1971, the show’s themes of economic and racial injustice still ring clear today. With little dialogue in between performances, its poignant social commentary is weaved into an unbroken cycle of high-energy feel-good song and dance numbers that fuse gospel with jazz, soul and calypso. Its ability to shine a light on important issues whilst staying upbeat saw the show run for over 1000 performances during its run on the Great White Way.

Two Trains Running January 8-26

In August Wilson’s masterpiece, history unfolds around everyday lives against the backdrop of the civil rights movement. Long-time regulars gather at the local diner in Pittsburgh’s Hill District to gossip, flirt and play the numbers. The owner must decide whether to let the city take over his building or sell it to a shrewd, local businessman. Part of Wilson’s trailblazing American Century Cycle, Two Trains Running paints a compassionate & unforgettable portrait of ordinary people in the midst of transformation.

Spell #7 February 19-March 8

This striking choreopoem by the author of For Colored Girls, Ntozake Shange is set in St. Louis in a bar frequented by Black artists and musicians, actors, and performers. In a series of dreamlike vignettes and poetic monologues, they commiserate about the difficulties they face as black artists. The piece is framed by the narrator, Lou, a magician who wants to use his magic to help the characters come to terms with their blackness and rejoice in their identities.

Marie and Rosetta May 6-24

A huge influence on Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Ray Charles and Jimi Hendrix, Sister Rosetta Tharpe was a legend in her time, bringing fierce guitar playing and swing to gospel music. “Marie and Rosetta” chronicles her first rehearsal with a young protégée, Marie Knight, as they prepare to embark on a tour that would establish them as one of the great duos in musical history.

Tickets for the 2019-2020 Season are currently available by season subscription and group sales only. For information or to purchase a subscription by phone call (314) 534-3807. To purchase season subscriptions online, visit www.theblackrep.org. General ticket on-sale dates for each show will be announced in the future.

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We (Heart) Immigrant Project Launches Inaugural Production

We (Heart) Immigrant Project Launches Inaugural Production

The favorable response to the inaugural production of “Your Immigration Stories, Mine and Ours,” means that more will be planned, said Joan Lipkin of That Uppity Theatre Company.

“W had a wonderful response to the We Immigrants project,” Lipkin said. It took place April 28 at the Missouri History Museum.Lipkin, who is the producing artistic director, said Playback NOW! St. Louis, a project of That Uppity Theatre Company, shared facts about immigration and profiles of famous immigrants, and re-enacted the stories of several immigrants living in St. Louis to a sold out and diverse crowd.

Lipkin said they were excited about what audience members and storytellers said:

“Thanks so much for the wonderful experience! It was amazing!” –Shreya Ahuja, storyteller

“Joan, I had a good time, and enjoyed the show so much. You and the actors are doing a fantastic job! I love that they’re so approachable and friendly.”–Margarita Sanchez, storyteller

“Honestly, the best part is seeing the actors and how they seamlessly flow between the different parts! Too too cool!!! :-)” — Junior Lara, storyteller

“I laughed, I cried, I thought– it was memorable. Loved the cast, the songs, the topic, and especially the stories from the immigrants. I learned a lot and you opened more of my heart. Thank you!!!” — Lori Schmoll, audience

“So glad I made it today. It was an excellent event with such talented people. The story from the young student from China brought me to tears. The strength, fortitude and sacrifice these immigrants make to seek freedom and make a better life was astonishing to hear.” –Jan Brodsky, audience

“Wonderful show. Bringing to life, with humor, stories about the immigrant experience. Next time there’s a showing ….go….” –Peter Barg, audience

“That Uppity Theatre [Company] presented an inspiring storytelling Playback Theatre production, with St. Louisans from India, China, Mexico and the Dominican Republic sharing their personal immigration stories. Now, more than ever before, each immigrant’s story of searching for freedom and striving for opportunity keeps us grounded in what makes us a great nation. Thanks to Joan Lipkin, for her vision and creative voice!” — Anne Taussig, volunteerSt. Louis Public Radio also featured a very nice story about the event: https://news.stlpublicradio.org/post/st-louis-theater-troupe-uses-improv-bring-immigration-stories-life#stream/0

“We want to continue to uplift and support the voices and presence of our immigrant sisters and brothers with We Immigrants and productions like “Your Immigration Stories, Mine and Ours,” she said.

The Sunday audience at production.

—

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Shimmy and Shake Into History at the World’s Largest Dance Class

Shimmy and Shake Into History at the World’s Largest Dance Class

Missouri History Museum Kicks Off Closing Month of Muny Memories Exhibit with a World Record AttemptSt. Louis — The Missouri History Museum’s current special exhibit Muny Memories: 100 Seasons Onstage closes on Sunday, June 2, 2019 and to commemorate the occasion, the Museum is inviting the public to participate in an attempt to set the record for the World’s Largest Modern Jazz Dance Class.On Saturday, May 4, 2019, more than 600 people will gather to shimmy, shake, and chasse their way into history during a dance lesson taught by Muny Artistic Associate and choreographer, Michael Baxter.“For the past 9 months our Muny Memories exhibit has taken visitors “backstage” to discover the history of the nation’s largest outdoor musical theatre,” said Tami Goldman, tourism and special projects manager for the Missouri Historical Society. “This is an exhibit closing like never before. We wanted to do something big to kick off the last month of the exhibit run and before the start of The Muny’s 101st season. What could be bigger than the World’s Largest Dance Class?”Dancers of all ages and abilities are invited to register for the class, which will be about 45 minutes in length and take place, rain or shine, on the lawn in front of the Missouri History Museum. Tickets are $7 per person and include a commemorative T-shirt. Participants must register in advance. Interested parties are encouraged to “bust a move” as the event is expected to sell out quickly.Event check-in begins at 7:30 am that day with the lesson starting at 9 am. Between check-in and the start of class, participants will have exclusive access to the Muny Memories exhibit.The World-Record Attempt at the Largest Dance Class is being held in partnership with The Muny. For more information or for event registration visit: mohistory.org/world-record.Muny Memories: 100 Seasons Onstage is open June 9, 2018, through June 2, 2019, at the Missouri History Museum. Admission is free.The Muny’s 101st season begins June 10, 2019. For more information visit muny.org.

The Muny Memories: 100 Seasons Onstage Exhibit now through June 2About Muny Memories: 100 Seasons Onstage: The Muny celebrated its centennial season in 2018. To commemorate this milestone, another Forest Park Landmark is recreating 100 seasons of Muny magic. The Missouri History Museum shines a spotlight on the oldest and largest continuously operating outdoor-theatre in the United States in Muny Memories: 100 Seasons Onstage. This 6,000-square-foot exhibit examines the history of The Muny through approximately 130 artifacts, including 10 costumes and 87 props from favorite Muny shows. Muny memories come to life through interactive media, oral histories from Muny stars and staff, and opportunities to learn a dance step or two

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