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Savvy Performances Heighten Chorus of Fools’ ‘Elsinore’ Clever Prequel

By Lynn Venhaus Laying the foundation for the palace intrigue in Shakespeare’s tragic “Hamlet,” the original play “Elsinore” is an interesting interpretation of those familiar... Details

Masterfully macabre ‘The Woman in Black’ Thrills in The Rep’s Staging

By Lynn Venhaus With every door creak, candle flicker, wind moan, and eerie shadow glimpse, “The Woman in Black” immerses us in a haunting and... Details

Pretentious, Murky ‘After the Hunt’ Is Disturbing Take on Identity Politics

By Lynn Venhaus “After the Hunt” is a horrible movie about despicable people that attempts to tackle cancel culture, identity politics and a so-called female... Details

Kathryn Bigelow’s Chilling ‘A House of Dynamite’ Is a Frightening Warning

By Alex McPherson A bleak and palm-sweating look at just how profoundly screwed we all are, director Kathryn Bigelow’s “A House of Dynamite” refuses to... Details

Union Avenue Opera’s One-Act Fest Finds Big Truths in Small Forms

By CB Adams Union Avenue Opera’s inaugural One-Act Festival is intimate in scale and ambitious in reach, a chamber-sized gesture that embraces the big questions... Details

Mendacity meets the mundane in Stray Dog’s razor-sharp ‘The Minutes’

By Lynn Venhaus “A hundred years from now, will anyone care?” And that line, asked by a small-town council member, is a double-edged sword in... Details

Benny Safdie Swings and Misses in ‘The Smashing Machine’

By Alex McPherson Plenty of punches are thrown but few connect in Benny Safdie’s solo directorial debut “The Smashing Machine,” an awards-hungry drama that sacrifices... Details

Feel the Joy of Making Music in Stages St. Louis’ Affectionate ‘Beautiful: The Carole King Musical’

By Lynn Venhaus How legendary singer-songwriter Carole King found her voice is chronicled in the crowd-pleasing “Beautiful: The Carole King Musical,” a remarkable life story... Details

June Squibb And Erin Kellyman Excel In Scarlett Johansson’s Shaky Feature Debut ‘Eleanor the Great’

By Alex McPherson Even a top form June Squibb can’t quite save director Scarlett Johansson’s “Eleanor the Great,” a dramedy that can’t reconcile its disparate... Details