West End Players Guild closes out its 110th season with Martin McDonagh’s The Lonesome West, a four-time Tony Award nominee on Broadway (including Best Play of 1999). The show opens Friday, April 29 and runs through Sunday, May 8 in the theatre at the Union Avenue Christian Church in the Central West End.
Set in Leenane, County Galway, in western Ireland, this darkest of dark comedies offers multiple murders and suicides, periodic drunken rages and fistfights, a couple of knife attacks, random acts of sacrilege and oodles of despair. Like the two other plays in McDonagh’s Leenane Trilogy, it would be a rather sad story if it wasn’t so outrageously funny.
The story revolves around brothers Valene and Coleman Connor who, as the play begins, have just buried their father, recently deceased as the result of a shooting accident. Valene and Coleman are a middle-aged and embittered pair. They have nowhere to go in their lives and are in no hurry to get there. Neither brother is especially saddened by the death of their father. Each seems animated instead by his all-consuming hatred of the other. They spend their days and nights brawling over the most trivial and mundane of slights, both real and imagined, much to the dismay of their parish priest, Father Welsh. Welsh fears (not unreasonably) that the brothers are headed for a violent end, and is on a mission to salvage their relationship at any cost.
Robert Ashton directs the WEPG production which features Jason Meyers as Coleman Connor, Jeff Kargus as Valene Connor, Ted Drury as Father Welsh and Hannah Geisz as Girleen Kelleher, a flirtatious teenager who makes a living selling her family’s poteen (Irish potato moonshine) door-to-door. The Connors are among her most frequent top-volume customers.
WEPG will present The Lonesome West in seven performances at 8 p.m. Thursday (second week only), Fridays and Saturdays and 2 p.m. Sundays, April 29-May 8. Tickets for all performances are now on sale at www.WestEndPlayers.org/tickets.
West End Players Guild this season employs touchless ticketing, socially-distanced seating and indoor masking of all patrons and front-of-house staff and volunteers. For full details on our public health policies, please visit www.WestEndPlayers.org/covid-19-policies/.
By Alex McPherson A snarling, fever-dream rampage of vengeance, director Robert Eggers’ “The Northman” can’t match its stunning attention to detail with an emotionally satisfying narrative.
Set during the Dark Ages, Eggers’ third feature is based on the text that inspired William Shakespeare’s “Hamlet.” In the fictional kingdom of Hrafnsey, King Aurvandil (Ethan Hawke) returns home from a long voyage and ordains his son, Amleth (first played by Oscar Novak, then Alexander Skarsgârd), to become the tribe’s future ruler in an elaborate ritual featuring crawling on all fours, farting, levitating, and Aurvandil’s innards morphing into a magical family tree.
Soon after, tragedy strikes. Amleth’s cold-hearted uncle Fjölnir (a menacing yet layered Claes Bang) assassinates Aurvandil, wreaks havoc on the populace, and kidnaps Amleth’s mother, Queen Gudrún (Nicole Kidman). Young Amleth escapes via boat by the skin of his teeth, vowing to get revenge, restore honor to his family, and fulfill his destiny.
Decades later, Amleth has become a ruthless killing machine, raiding nearby villages with a band of like-minded berserkers. After torching a barn full of townspeople, a feather-laden seeress (Björk) reminds Amleth to rejoin the path to slay Fjölnir. Amleth then disguises himself as a Slavic slave en route to Iceland, to the farm where his uncle eventually fled.
Along the way, he meets another slave, the alluring Olga (Anya Taylor-Joy), who presents a different path to take — if he has the will to recognize the power of love amid chaos.
Ultimately, “The Northman” shines less in terms of thematic depth or provocative characterization than it does in Eggers’ pure, balls-to-the-wall style. If nothing else, the film viscerally immerses us into a specific time and place, where heinous violence is an accepted way of life, and strict traditions dictate one’s future.
Indeed, Eggers throws viewers into an unfamiliar land of rugged vistas and simple-minded cruelty. Amleth’s mentality seems out of his control, forced upon him by what society expects, leaving little room for personal agency and boundless space for blood-letting.
There’s definitely merit in how “The Northman” unapologetically depicts its Icelandic setting and Viking cultural customs, visualizing the characters’ psychedelic visions in blunt, matter-of-fact fashion that doesn’t seem sanitized or toned-down for general audiences. Like his previous features, “The Witch” and “The Lighthouse,” Eggers depicts the mystical as co-existing with the ordinary, feeding into the characters’ archaic attitudes.
Bizarre rituals underscore their sense of “honor,” but also the traditions they are unable to break away from. The cinematography and editing emphasizes a mystifying and off-kilter world of gods and spirits they’ve devoted themselves to.
During several extended action sequences, enhanced by Vessel and Robin Carolan’s pulse–pounding score, “The Northman” opts for long-takes, which break that spell, illustrating the grueling nature of combat and encouraging us to judge Amleth as he becomes a beast before our eyes.
The spectacle is enthralling, for a while, as the utter intensity of Eggers’ filmmaking allows us to feel like we’re right in the muck along with him.
The initial adrenaline-fueled carnage becomes repetitive in the film’s latter half, though, where the previously expansive action is restricted to one primary location, and Amleth’s single-mindedness devolves further into grotesque, blackly comic delusion that’s even harder to care about.
Sadly, despite its spectacular style, “The Northman” doesn’t do enough to peel back the layers of Amleth’s damaged psyche. It follows a fairly standard revenge narrative, even resembling a video game at some points as Amleth receives instructions to “go here, get this item, and kill the bad guys.”
Moments of quiet reflection are few and far between, as Amleth — often saddled with clunky dialogue — goes about his murderous ways. His transformation from an innocent young man into a hardened killing machine is abruptly glossed over, as are the moments between the slaughtering where he starts to question his actions. He essentially remains a broken husk for much of the runtime, unable/unwilling to be vulnerable or consider the risks his acts of violence entail for those he cares about.
Skarsgärd does what he can with the material, roaring with gusto, but Amleth’s arc checks off archetypal plot beats without actually saying anything new about the price of revenge. Similarly, the ever-talented Taylor-Joy is given a simplistic love interest role that mainly serves to check off bullet-points on the way to an inevitable conclusion. The standout performer is Kidman, who lends Queen Gudrún an unpredictably unhinged quality that keeps viewers on their toes.
When the last drop of blood is spilled, “The Northman” lacks the heart and soul necessary to ascend into legend, but there’s enough achingly well–crafted filmmaking on display to declare it an honorable effort.
“The Northman” is a 2022 period action-adventure directed by Robert Eggers and starring Alexander Skarsgard, Anna Taylor-Joy, Nicole Kidman, Claes Bang, Ethan Hawke and Willem Dafoe. It is rated R for strong bloody violence, some sexual content and nudity and runs 2 hours, 20 minutes. It is playing in theaters April 22. Alex’s grade: B
St. Louis Actors’ Studio is pleased to announce its 15th Season at The Gaslight Theater – ‘Facts of Life,’ including the following plays:
‘Fiction’ by Steven Dietz, October 7-23, 2022, directed by Wayne Salomon
Linda and Michael Waterman are both successful fiction writers, happily married to one another. They thrive on the give and take of their unusually honest and candid relationship. However, when Linda is diagnosed with a tumor, she asks her husband to share his diaries with her. The entries dive into Michael’s past stay at a writer’s retreat and a hidden affair. Michael says that his entries are only works of fiction. The boundaries between past and present, fact and fiction, trust and betrayal begin to break down, and that’s all before Michael reads Linda’s diaries. No life, as it turns out, is an open book.
‘Forget Me Knot,’ December 2-18, 2022, a limited engagement!
Join us for a magical world premiere event conceived and performed by renowned illusionist, Kyle Marlett. A race against the clock by one human being as he attempts to leave his mark on this earth before time runs out. An unfiltered visual essay of stunning illusions and raw storytelling as he desperately runs for his life.
‘Uncle Vanya’ by Anton Chekhov adapted by Neil LaBute, February 17-March 5, 2023, directed by Associate Artistic Director Annamaria Pileggi
A comic drama about summer love. When a retired professor and his beautiful young second wife arrive at their remote family estate to settle down, they disrupt the quiet farm life with their city ways. Against a late-summer country landscape, the inhabitants of the house quickly discover new passions and revisit old loves.
Neil LaBute. Photo by Anne Cusack
9thAnnual LaBute New Theater Festival, July 7-23, 2023.
“We are thrilled to celebrate and share our 15th Season with three unique shows that explore the many aspects of life, love and relationships, as well as our annual LaBute New Theater Festival, providing amazing opportunities to emerging professional and high school playwrights,” said William Roth, founder and Artistic Director of the St. Louis Actors’ Studio.
For more information and tickets, visit stlas.org.
About St. Louis Actors’ Studio
St. Louis Actors’ Studio was founded to bring a fresh vision to theatre in St. Louis. Housed in The Gaslight Theater in historic Gaslight Square, STLAS is committed to bringing engaging theatrical experiences to our community of actors, writers, producers, filmmakers and all patrons of the arts; and to provide a strong ensemble environment to foster learning and artistic expression. St. Louis Actors’ Studio, through the use of ensemble work, will explore the endless facets and various themes of the human condition by producing existing and original collaborative theatre. For more information, visit stlas.org.
The St. Louis Black Repertory Company revisits the opening production of its 45th Anniversary Season with Sweat by Lynn Nottage in a celebratory performance at the William Inge Theater Festival in Independence, Kansas. Addressing the complexities of race, class and friendship at a pivotal moment in America, the powerful work will be directed once again by Founder and Producing Director Ron Himes.
The William Inge Theater Festival will celebrate its 39th anniversary April 21-23, 2022 by honoring Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Lynn Nottage with the Distinguished Achievement in the American Theater Award. Lynn Nottage is the first Black woman to receive the award.
Nottage is the only woman to date to have won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama two times. Her Pulitzer Prize-winning plays are Ruined and Sweat, and they are two among scores of award-winning stories written for theatre, film, and television.
“Playwright Nottage tensely captures the root of our current political and racial tension in society today,” said Himes. “Are we only looking out for ourselves or are we responsible for each other?”
Says William Inge Center for the Arts Producing Artistic Director, Hannah Joyce, “I believe audiences will be deeply moved by Nottage’s work which champions the everyman, the working class, and marginalized. She writes the struggle and humanity of her characters with enormous compassion and respect. There’s no finer playwright in our country than Lynn Nottage to represent true excellence in the American theatre. The William Inge Center for the Arts is long overdue in the presentation of this recognition. We are honored by her acceptance of the Distinguished Achievement in the American Theatre Award.”
The cast of Sweat for The Black Rep’s production features Velma Austin (Cynthia), Wali Jamal Abdullah (Brucie), Amy Loui (Tracey), Don McClendon (Evan), and Brian McKinley (Chris). Franklin Killian (Jason), Blake Anthony Edwards (Stan), Gregory Almanza (Oscar), and Kelly Howe (Jessie) will all be joining the cast once again, as well as Christina Yancy (U/S Cynthia).
The production will feature Scenic Design by Tim Jones, Lighting Design by Jonathan D. Alexander, Costume Design by Hali Liles, Sound Design by Kareem Deanes, and Properties Design by Meg Brinkley. Fight Choreography was done by Paul Steger who is certified by the Society of American Fight Directors and holds advanced certificates from the British Academy of Stage and Screen Combat & Fight Directors. Jim Anthony is the Stage Manager and Acting Fellow Taijha Silas is the Assistant Stage Manager.
Nottage will attend the Festival and accept the Award in person; she will join writers such as Wendy Wasserstein, August Wilson, Neil Simon, Paula Vogel, Stephen Sondheim, David Henry Hwang, and Arthur Miller—among many other theatre luminaries—who have traveled to Independence to accept the Festival’s Distinguished Achievement in the American Theatre Award.
The Black Rep’s “Sweat”
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About The Black Rep
The Black Rep, a 45-year-old legacy Black arts organization, is committed to producing, re-imagining, and commissioning work written by Black playwrights and creating opportunities for new voices and youth. Founded by Producing Director Ron Himes, the vision for The Black Rep continues: a more equitable distribution of opportunities and resources for Black professionals and students in the theatre; improved representation on and back-stage in the theatre industry; and a fostered community culture of support and mentorship for those who will follow.
Two words: Demented puppets. In this “Avenue Q” meets “Book of Mormon” pitch-black comedy, “Hand to God” builds audacity and unease in equal measure as the audience’s raucous laughter grows.
As edgy as St. Louis Actors’ Studio can get, this brazen work is unlike anything you have previously seen in the intimate Gaslight Theatre black box. The laugh-out-loud guffaws are as frequent as the jaw-dropping gasps.
How this crackerjack ensemble of three men and two women maintains straight faces throughout interactions over two acts is indeed admirable. Director Andrea Urice takes a bold approach with the characters and keeps a brisk pace as actions become darker and more disturbing.
Playwright Robert Askins bluntly presents an outrageous premise that involves Christian faith, sin, righteousness, demonic possession and dealing with teenage angst in a modest small-town church setting.
Those easily offended should be warned – not only is the language obscene, but so are the puppets Tyrone and Joleen, who engage in explicit sex acts in one scene.
During Christian Puppet Ministry rehearsals in a church basement, one mild-mannered but conflicted teen, Jason, has lost control of his puppet Tyrone, who seems to have taken on an alarming identity, hell-bent to harm others, including his puppeteer.
Jason, as played by Mitch Henry-Eagles, is a meek young man whose complicated relationships with his widowed mother Margery (Colleen Backer), the vulgar school bully Timmy (Josh Rotker), the assertive girl-next-door Jessica (Phoebe Richards), and the town pastor (Eric Dean White), fuel the dual personalities.
Normally, puppets are used in church programs to teach young children Bible lessons, but this scenario is an upside-down bizarro world. Jason’s mom takes charge of the puppet club that has only three teenagers in it.
As Jason’s behavior turns more unsettling as his homemade bad-boy Tyrone takes over, so does the exasperation and shock of the people around him, who have their own complex issues, which also leads to wildly inappropriate behavior in the polite Christian circle.
Tyrone, at first, acts like a philosopher who has little tolerance for fools and piety. Is it Jason expressing his true self? His profanity-laced tirades take aim at hypocrisy in complacent society. He acts like he’s telling tales around the campfire – but pours gasoline on with uncomfortable truths.
Much of what Tyrone says is funny, even when it is offensive. Conveying intensity and impertinence, Henry-Eagles handles the long-winded puppet rants skillfully – it doesn’t matter that there is little pretense as to which character is talking.
He affects an interesting vocal cadence as his alter-ego, part-infuriated and part-world-weary. With crisp comic-timing, he makes this dialogue crackle – and nimbly says the most outrageous things matter-of-factly, not unlike how the iconoclastic “South Park” creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone present their young cartoon characters.
But these ingrained church-going characters in Cypress, Texas (the playwright’s hometown), are flesh and blood, with the operative word “blood” here – Tyrone has now developed razor-sharp teeth and blood-red devil eyes. Could he be Satan?
The demonic tone and chaos indicates the Prince of Darkness has taken hold of Tyrone, using hapless Jason as his evil conduit, and although plans to conduct an exorcism aren’t followed through, things take a sharp turn to the dark side. Sinful behavior is acted out, destruction of property takes place, and Tyrone expresses painful secrets that the horrified characters wanted to keep to themselves.
Henry-Eagles has excelled in challenging roles before – particularly in “Trash Macbeth,” “Oedipus Apparatus” and “Titus Androgynous,” but none as demanding as the anxious boy-rascal puppet combo.
Askins used the phrase, “hand to God,” which conjures up truth-telling, as the title to his no-holds-barred portrait of Fundamentalist Christian characters and his views on faith, morality and our community and family ties.
The irreverent play ran off-Broadway in 2011 and 2014, earned an Obie Award, then transferred to Broadway in 2015 – later featuring Bob Saget as Pastor Greg. Nominated for Best Play and four other Tony Awards, the satire capitalizes on embracing the full-throttle naughtiness while trashing society’s niceties.
The play’s construction is rather choppy, meant to shock and be subversive. While it is thought-provoking, especially on the concepts of saviors and demons, it is inconclusive on purpose, preferring to leave things open to interpretation. The stitched-together feeling – and what appears to be a rushed ending — is a minus while the performances are laudatory.
As the characters become sexually attracted to each other, upheaval ensues – and this cast demonstrates their fearlessness.
Colleen Backer, one of the St. Louis Actors’ Studio’s best regulars, is a gifted comedienne whose strength is appearing to be a normal woman with a sweet demeanor, but her characters are often down-and-dirty deviants – criminally or sexually. Here, she’s a repressed widow whose libido is unleashed by a much younger not-of-age kid. Her actions are as startling as what she blurts out unfiltered.
As the troublemaker Timmy, Josh Rotker is crass in an impish way, and Phoebe Richards’ Jessica is a typical bland teenage girl – until she’s not, using her risqué puppet to act out her urges.
As the well-meaning Pastor Greg, Eric Dean White smoothly handles the thankless role with aplomb. He’s trying to make sense of a spooky Christian Hell dream and is flummoxed on how to lead his congregation into the light without any collateral damage.
The cast moves well on stage, with both a fight choreographer – Cameron Ullrich, and an intimacy choreographer – Dominique “Nikki” Green enlisted to aid the cast.
Scenic Designer Patrick Huber again astounds – not because it’s an elaborate, intricate set like “The Little Foxes” or “August, Osage County,” but because he makes three different set pieces work in an imaginative way, moving a wall to facilitate. The church may be a drab place for spiritual activities, but Huber’s functional movement is impressive.
At the start of the second act, we see a distressing site in the worship space – crucified dolls, mutilated stuffed animals and graffiti. Jenny Smith’s efforts in props and puppet design are terrific – and eye-catching.
Lighting designers Patrick Huber and Steven J. Miller modulate the eeriness, the normal set demands, and a pesky overhead lightbulb that may have a mind of its own for noteworthy illumination.
Robin Weatherall’s sound design adds to the overall creepy vibe and Teresa Doggett’s costume design depicts small-town Texans (of course Pastor Greg is in a polo shirt and khakis).
The characters’ naivete takes a dive into the deep end of the pool, baptized by hellfire. They are changed forever, and it would have been interesting to see what happened next. The mischief was fun, and the cast good sports, but…nagging questions remain.
Still, the knives are sharp, the barbs are pointy and the humor acerbic. Whether you have fun or not will depend on how comfortable you are with boundary-pushing situations on stage.
The St. Louis Actors’ Studio presents “Hand to God” April 8-24, with Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m. and Sundays at 3 p.m. at the Gaslight Theatre, N. Boyle Ave., in the Central West End. The play contains adult themes and language – discretion is advised. For more information: www.stlas.org or call box office at 314-458-2978. Seating is limited.
Eric Dean White and Colleen Backer
Patrons must wear masks inside the building. The Gaslight is a fully vaccinated theater – please provide proof of vaccination in advance and it will be kept on file at the box office or bring it on the day of the show. There will be hand sanitizer and disposable masks available as well.
Two classic 1930s comedies and a World War II anti-fascist drama were multiple winners at the seventh annual Theatre Mask Awards presented by Arts For Life on April 9.
Award-winning theater companies included Act Two Theatre in St. Peters, Mo., Clayton Community Theatre, Kirkwood Theatre Guild, Monroe Actors Stage Company in Waterloo, Ill., O’Fallon Theatre Works in O’Fallon, Mo., and the Theatre Guild of Webster Groves.
Through the nonprofit organization AFL, the TMAs have honored drama and comedy plays in the St. Louis and metro-east Illinois metropolitan area since 2015.
Saturday was AFL’s first live and in-person awards event since 2019, although the TMAs were awarded virtually in 2020 and 2021.
Live theater returned at regional community theater companies in the St. Louis-metro-east metropolitan area last year, with nine productions eligible for TMAs.
Kirkwood Theatre Guild’s production of the 1939 play by George S. Kaufman and Moss Hart, “The Man Who Came to Dinner,” won five awards, including acting honors for Ken Lopinot as Outstanding Leading Actor in a Comedy, for playing the insufferable house guest and NYC radio wit Sheridan Whiteside; Kent Coffel as Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy, for playing British actor/playwright Beverly Carlton; and Brittany Kohl Hester as Outstanding Leading Actress in a Comedy as Whiteside’s secretary Maggie Cutler. The play also won for Best Director Danny Brown and Costume Designer Abby Pastorello.
Company of “The Man Who Came to Dinner” at Kirkwood Theatre Company
The play features 38 parts. KTG led all groups with 13 nominations, and had tied the record for most acting nominations in a single show, with eight for “The Man Who Came to Dinner.” In 2019, Clayton Community Theatre garnered eight for Neil Simon’s “Biloxi Blues.”
Act Two Theatre in St. Peters, Mo., took home four awards for Noel Coward’s sophisticated ghost story “Blithe Spirit” — Outstanding Production of a Play, Outstanding Ensemble of a Play, Jacki Goodall winning Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy for portraying flamboyant medium Madame Arcati and Chase Coates for Best Lighting Design. They had received 11 nominations, second only to KTG.
Monroe Actors Stage Company in Waterloo, Ill., had nine nominations for Lillian Helman’s 1941 drama “Watch on the Rhine,” with two women winning for Outstanding Leading Actress in a Drama, Julia L. Petraborg as Sara Mueller, the American wife of the German engineer protagonist, and Caitlin Bomberger for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama as Marthe de Brancovis, who is married to a Nazi sympathizer.
Shane Rudolph
Other winners included Shane Rudolph for Outstanding Leading Actor in a Drama as escaped convict and ruthless killer Glenn Griffin in “The Desperate Hours,” which was presented by the Theatre Guild of Webster Groves, and Jonathan Garland for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama as the philosophical pianist Toledo in August Wilson’s “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom,” produced by Clayton Community Theatre.
Christopher Lanham and Ellie Lanham won Outstanding Set Design for their work on O’Fallon Theatre Work’s “Little Women.”
Seven award winners were first-time nominees. The 14 awards were presented during a brunch ceremony at The Christy in St. Louis.
This year’s TMAs were reduced from 19 to 14 awards, because of a smaller number of productions.
TMA Chairman Melissa Boyer was grateful to be celebrating theater again.
“2021 was a year of uncertainty, but I want to commend the passion and the bravery of our judges in venturing out to support our theaters. Congratulations to the many companies that were able to reopen this year with outstanding productions. And considering we only had a half a year – nine shows is outstanding,” Boyer said.
“So happy to see the enthusiasm among theater groups for recognizing excellence among their peers and cheering each other on. I heard many positive comments,” said AFL President Mary McCreight.
Mark Lull, a local actor, nine-time awards nominee, and member of the AFL board of directors, served as the emcee.
Presenters included Kelsey McCroskey, Jesse Resimius, Heather Sartin, Ellen Schroeder, Nathan Schroeder, Caitlin Souers and Keaton Treece. Stephen Anderson handed out the trophies.
Prior to the pandemic, 15 theater groups and 10 youth-only groups participated in the BPAs while 11 were involved in the TMAs. As the region’s mitigations efforts were ongoing the past two years, only four youth-only groups and nine community theater organizations produced BPA-eligible musicals while seven participated in TMAs in 2021.
Arts For Life is a local not-for-profit arts organization dedicated to the healing power of the arts through its work with youth, the underserved, and the community, with its goal of “Making a Dramatic Difference.”
AFL is dedicated to promoting public awareness of local community theatre, encouraging excellence in the arts, and acknowledging the incredible people who are a part of it.
Caitlin Bomberger “Watch on the Rhine,” MASC
Best Performance Awards June 12
Next up is the Best Performance Awards, which has honored musical theater in community and youth productions since AFL’s founding in 1999.
Because of the public health crisis, AFL held its BPAs virtually in 2020, while BPAs were not held in 2021.
The 22nd Best Performance Awards will be at 2 p.m. on Sunday, June 12, at the Frontenac Hilton, Clayton Ballroom, 1335 S Lindbergh Blvd., St. Louis 63131.
Formal attire is requested, and the event will be general admission theater-style seating. A cash bar will be available.
This year’s BPAs include nominees from the shortened 2020 and 2021 theater seasons.
BPA tickets are either $20 as an early bird pricing before May 12, or $25 after that until June 12. They are available online with a service fee of $2 added: https://arts-for-life-2.square.site/.
Reservations can be arranged through the mail and tickets can be picked up at the venues on event day. Please make check payable to ARTS FOR LIFE and mail to PO Box 16426, St. Louis, MO 63125.
All BPA ticket orders will be held at the box office unless a self-addressed stamped envelope is included with ticket order. If ordering for a group, please attach a list of individual names for box office pick-up.
Please contact us at afltrg@artsforlife.org if you have any special seating needs or COVID-19 related concerns. Handicapped seating is available
Groups participating in this year’s BPAs include Christ Memorial Productions, Dayspring Arts and Education, Gateway Center for the Performing Arts, Goshen Theatre Project, Hawthorne Players, Kirkwood Theatre Guild, KTK Productions, Looking Glass Playhouse, Monroe Actors Stage Company, O’Fallon Theatre Works, Over Due Theatre, Spotlight Productions and Take Two Productions.
For more information, visit the website at www.artsforlife.org
By Lynn Venhaus An interminable wild and crazy car chase through the streets of Los Angeles all before evening rush hour, “Ambulance” is banking on viewers to throw logic out the window and be so eager for an explosion-filled action blockbuster that they will overlook the nonsense.
When a bank robbery goes horribly wrong, two brothers (Jake Gyllenhaal, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II) steal an ambulance with a wounded cop (Jackson White) and am EMT (Eiza Gonzalez) inside.
Even by director Michael Bay’s over-the-top standards, the frenetic pace turns tiresome. For two hours and 16 minutes, screenwriter Chris Fedak throws everything but the kitchen sink into the never-ending storyline. (But it’s not original – it’s based on a 2005 Danish movie, “Ambulancen,” written by Laurits Munch-Pedersen and Lars Andreas Pedersen).
As in the first “Bad Boys” that put Bay on the cinematic map in 1995 — after his lucrative award-winning advertising and music video endeavors, the two male leads are at odds with each other.
This time, its two brothers – one the unhinged bank robber Danny (Jake Gyllenhaal), who is a chip off the old block, for dad was a psycho criminal mastermind, and the other, Will (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II), adopted as a young boy, who has become a decorated war hero with a wife and baby. The family dynamic is key to their motivation.
Will’s wife Amy (luminous Moses Ingram) needs an experimental surgery that insurance won’t pay and they can’t afford, so he comes to his shady brother for a handout, but winds up as part of his hit squad to steal $32 million from a downtown bank.
Of course, it will go spectacularly awry, and we’re off on a harrowing journey where their brotherly bond will be tested while they argue and reminisce. And sing along to Christopher Cross’ “Sailing.”
Jake Gyllenhaal plays the unhinged brother, a bank robber, in “Ambulance.”
The intense Gyllenhaal and compelling Abdul-Mateen are fine actors, but they can’t even save this drivel (or save face). The supporting cast is engaging as well, despite their caricature roles – hey, people need paychecks in pandemic times.
Eiza Gonzalez grounds the movie as best she can as Bay’s customary long-haired brunette female protagonist (look it up — Liv Tyler, Megan Fox). She plays Cam Thompson, a highly skilled paramedic but flawed human whose cool detachment from cases shows that she has ice water running through her veins.
Her character is tasked with saving the life of a rookie beat cop (Jackson White) who has been shot while they are taken hostage by the bickering brothers. She will learn to operate on the fly, tutored by surgeons on smart phones – while they are at the golf course.
Oh, the head-scratching doesn’t stop there. Every L.A. public safety team will be dispatched — patrolmen, undercover cops, SWAT teams, special units. And let’s not forget the feds – the FBI bank division agents.
The police team leader Captain Monroe (Garret Dillahunt) has a gigantic dog named Nitro and eats Flaming Hot Cheetos while the reckless high-speed pursuit never slows down.
Newly promoted FBI division chief Anson (Keir O’Donnell) is in a marriage therapy session with his partner when he gets the call.
“Do they even rob banks anymore?” the therapist says. (This is what passes for humor).
Let’s now cue up the grizzled old-school Boomer chief vs. the uptight Millennial suit – who just happened to attend college with ruthless Danny.
How convenient! Every contrivance and every possible calamity will befall law enforcement while some will perish in explosions – all to save the young guy who was in the wrong place at the wrong time.
Let the argument about rose wine commence. And bring in pink flamingoes, quote a Sean Connery movie for love advice, and intersperse the action with childhood flashbacks.
And keep it extremely loud. Not only is Lorne Balfe’s music score the most annoying, tedious one of the year – yeah, I know it’s early, but every decibel is ramped up to 11.
The accelerated speed heightens the anxiety – do we really need more now at this time in our lives? Questionable decisions will distract (Wouldn’t Officer Zach be having a raging infection from a hairclip turned surgical aid? Wouldn’t the LA traffic be gridlocked most of the day? What’s with Bay and sun atmosphere shots? And how many cars crash here?)
The ex-Marine brother will come up with military tactics to keep them on the run while the bad boy bro will use his Mexican cartel connections to stay alive. The tattooed and scary looking thugs operate in a bridal dress warehouse where young teens are shopping for Quinceanera dresses.
If you have issues with motion sickness, you may want to think twice before putting yourself through Bay’s swooping, swirling shots. Now that he uses drones, beware.
Bay makes action-packed crowd-pleasers with signature big explosions — “Armageddon,” “Transformers” and “The Rock,” — but does this movie have to be chaotic and confusing?
Dialing down some of the ridiculous occurrences could have kept a tighter focus. The leads are appealing, but even they stretch credibility. One of Bay’s best films, “13 Hours,” is reality-based.
But I guess that’s asking too much — to veer off the familiar beaten path. This movie needs an escape hatch sooner than later.
“Ambulance” is a 2022 action-crime drama, directed by Michael Bay and starring Jake Gyllenhaal, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Eiza Gonzalez, Jackson White, Keir O’Donnell and Garret Dillahunt. It runs 2 hours, 16 minutes, and is rated R for intense violence, bloody images, and language throughout. It opens in theaters on April 8. Lynn’s Grade: D.
The new North American tour of “Hairspray,” which opened at the Fox Theatre on Tuesday, April 5, and runs through Saturday, April 9, is a sly bit musical entertainment.
In its 20-year history, it’s been given eight Tony Awards, including Best Musical, had national tours and foreign productions and been adapted as a 2007 musical film. And let’s not forget the source material: the 1988 film written and directed by the multi-talented, agent provocateur John Waters. It’s got, as they say, legs. They may not be the shapely gams of old, but they can still move – and move an audience.
Despite some naysayers on the “interwebs” who have quibbled that this touring production of “Hairspray” is a bit tired and hasn’t aged as gracefully as it might, the packed audience at the Fox would beg to differ. They came for an energetic, entertaining pop/rock musical and this production delivered two engaging, well-intentioned hours of clapping, tapping, and laughing.
Which brings us back to why “Hairspray” is a sly bit of entertainment. Waters’ story, which drives the book by Mark O’Donnell and Thomas Meehan, uses humor and a relatable, satisfying underdog plot with a happy ending to explore the issues of class, race, dreams deferred and body shaming. It’s got, as they say, heart, which it wears on its sequined sleeves.
As Waters has said, “I respect everything I make fun of.” That respect is still vitally apparent, even when wrapped in the delicious — in a cotton candy sort of way — 1960s-style R&B- and dance-infused music by Marc Shaiman and lyrics by Shaiman and Scott Wittman.
Musicians have long used the Trojan Horse approach and wrapped a catchy tune around a serious message. Think, “…a spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down” from “Mary Poppins.” Or think Marvin Gaye and “What’s Going On” or Tears For Fears and “Mad World.”
Hear the Bells. Photo by Jeremy Daniel.
So, in between the dance numbers and the sing-along songs, this show offered genuine moments for the audience to respond with consternation to the multiple ism’s and ists as well as with affirmations when the perpetrators receive their comeuppances.
In a stand-out moment, Link Larkin, played by the lanky, Elvis-y Will Savarese, refuses to follow his stuck-up girlfriend, Amber Von Tussle, played by Kaelee Albritton. The audience responded with a wave of affirmative applause that nearly stopped the show.
This level of audience engagement relies on the quality of the production’s elements. But it’s the performances by the entire cast that carry this show. A special call-out to local talent, Albritton, who hails from O’Fallon, Ill., where she was crowned Miss O’Fallon in 2014. Other props to:
• The indominable Niki Metcalf (that girl can move!) as the heroine Tracy Turnblad
• Andrew Levitt as Tracy’s plus-sized diva-in-a-housedress mother, Edna
• Brandon G. Stalling with his slinky-smooth dance moves as Seaweed J. Stubbs
• Sandie Lee for her mama-knows-best portrayal as Motormouth Maybelle
• Emmanuelle Zeesman for playing three roles with limber, Gumby-inspired physicality, and facial contortions worthy of Jim Carrey in his prime
“Hairspray” is 20 years old. Its setting is Baltimore in 1962, making it a sexagenarian! And its themes and messages still go down like that spoonful of sugar. Or maybe more appropriately, like Pop Rocks and soda pop.
Or, as Waters himself has said, “”Nobody likes a bore on a soapbox. Humor is always the best defense and weapon. If you can make an idiot laugh, they’ll at least pause and listen before they do something stupid . . . to you.”
Hair Clutch Commercial. Photo by Jeremy Daniel.
“Hairspray” is presented April 5 – 9 at the Fox Theatre, 527 N. Grand Blvd., in St. Louis, Showtimes are Tuesday through Saturday at 7:30 p.m. and Saturday afternoon at 2 p.m., with a 1 p.m. matinee on Thursday, April 7.
To purchase tickets, visit MetroTix.com or call MetroTix at 314-534-1111. Ticket prices start at $25. Learn more about the new touring production at www.hairspraytour.com or visit www.fabulousfox.com.
Live theater returned at local community theater companies last year, and Arts For Life will honor those efforts at this year’s Theatre Mask Awards on Saturday, April 9.
Three dramas and two comedies are vying for Outstanding Production at this year’s TMAs: the George S. Kaufman-Moss Hart comedy classic “The Man Who Came to Dinner.” by Kirkwood Theatre Guild in Kirkwood, Mo., which led all St. Louis area – metro-east Illinois community theater groups with 13 nominations; Noel Coward’s “Blithe Spirit” by Act Two Theatre in St. Peters, Mo.; which has 11 nominations; the Tony-winning play “The Desperate Hours” by The Theatre Guild of Webster Groves, which has five; Louisa May Alcott’s “Little Women” by O’Fallon Theatre Works in O’Fallon, Mo., which has seven; and August Wilson’s “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom” by Clayton Community Theatre, which has eight..
Monroe Actors Stage Company in Waterloo, Ill., has nine nominations for Lillian Helman’s drama “Watch on the Rhine.” Other productions that received nominations include “Lend Me a Tenor” by Looking Glass Playhouse in Lebanon, Ill., and “6 Rms Riv Vu” by the Theatre Guild of Webster Groves.
The Man Who Came to Dinner at Kirkwood.has 13 nominations.
Let’s celebrate the return and resilience of community theater dramas and comedies in the bi-state region. And you get a tasty brunch too! To purchase tickets, here is the link: https://arts-for-life-2.square.site/
“Blithe Spirit” at Act Two Theatre has 11 nominations. Photo by Lori Biehl.
Arts For Life is returning to live and in-person awards ceremonies this spring, and tickets are now available for both the Theater Mask Awards on April 9 and Best Performance Awards on June 12.
This year’s eighth annual TMAs will take place starting at 11 a.m. on Saturday, April 9, at The Christy of St. Louis, 5856 Christy Blvd., St. Louis, MO 63116.
Talia Wright as Amy March in OTW’s “Little Women”
Cocktail attire is suggested. Seating will be eight per table, and seating assignments will be available at the entrance.
A brunch buffet featuring eggs, bacon, sausage, waffles, hash browns, fruit salad and pasta con broccoli will be served. A cash bar will be available. TMA tickets are $28. Tickets will NOT be available for purchase at the event.
This year’s master of ceremonies for the TMAs will be Mark Lull, a nine-time AFL nominee, who won Best Performance by a Comedic Actor as Uncle Fester in Alfresco Productions’ “The Addams Family” in 2015.
The complete list of nominations can be found at: https://nebula.wsimg.com/9b9b1e3565835dd90498e28468ef7f1d?AccessKeyId=901C1079C3BABD637603&disposition=0&alloworigin=1
“Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom” at Clayton Community Theatre.
Through the nonprofit organization AFL, the TMAs have honored drama and comedy plays since 2015 while the BPAs have honored musical theater in community and youth productions since AFL’s founding in 1999.
Because of the public health crisis, AFL held its BPAs and TMAs ceremonies virtually in 2020, while BPAs were not held in 2021, but TMAs were virtually, and in a smaller capacity. This year’s BPAs include nominees from the shortened 2020 and 2021 theater seasons.
“Live and in person!” AFL President Mary McCreight exclaimed. “So happy to see the enthusiasm among theater groups for recognizing excellence among their peers and cheering each other on. It was a tough year to get out there, rehearse, and be among crowds. But through their diligence and willpower, the magic happened. Let’s celebrate!”
For more information, visit the website at www.artsforlife.org
“Watch on the Rhine” at MASC has nine nominations, including best ensemble.The Desperate Hours at the Theatre Guild of Webster Groves.
Stray Dog Theatre (SDT) will present Triassic Parq: The Musical at the Tower Grove Abbey, opening on Thursday, April 14 and running through Saturday, April 30, 2022. Trisassic Parq features music by Marshall Pailet, with book and lyrics by Marshall Pailet, Bruce Norbitz and Steve Wargo and is intended for mature audiences. Presented by special arrangement with Broadway Licensing.
Triassic Parq Synopsis: Religion, identity, sex… and raptors! Triassic Parq is a raucous retelling of that famous dinosaur-themed film, this time seen from the dino’s point of view. Chaos is unleashed on their not-so-prehistoric world when one dinosaur in a clan of females spontaneously turns male!
Directed by SDT Associate Artistic Director Justin Been, with music direction by Leah Schultz, and choreography by Michael Hodges. The cast includes: Tristan Davis, Michael Wells, Laurell Stevenson, Dawn Schmid, Rachel Bailey, and Bryce Miller.
April 14-30, 2022: Show times are Thursdays – Saturdays at 8 p.m. Additional performances on Sunday, April 24 at 2 p.m., and Wednesday, April 27 at 8 p.m.
Venue: Tower Grove Abbey, 2336 Tennessee Avenue, Saint Louis, MO 63104. Gated Parking.
Tickets: Adults $30 / Seniors (65+) & Students $25 (Cash/Checks/All Major Credit Cards)
Information and Ticket Reservations: Call (314) 865‐1995. Visit www.StrayDogTheatre.org. Secure online ticketing!
Community Outreach: In keeping with its mission of community outreach, non‐perishable food is collected at each performance and donated to Food Outreach, Inc. www.FoodOutreach.org
