Imagine the Grand Center Arts District almost a century ago as a glittery hub of movie theatres, dance halls, restaurants and hotels. Now be transported to those days through the lens of a young Tennessee Willams in a smart, thoughtful and charming presentation, “Life Upon the Wicked Stage.”
When the future Pulitzer-Prize winning playwright was finding his place in the world, as an aspiring writer in St. Louis, he was drawn to the moving pictures of the 1920s and 1930s. With stars in his eyes and a vivid imagination, he wrote short stories and one-acts where he wondered what it would be like to be famous and in show business.
Threading songs of vaudeville together in a stylish program featuring his theatrical slice-of-life one-acts “In Our Profession,” “The Magic Tower” and “The Fat Man’s Wife,” the Tennessee Williams Festival has taken a novel approach to storytelling while spotlighting Grand Center as a vibrant part of the St. Louis arts community.
This pitch-perfect cast is under the astute direction of Brian Hohlfeld, who helmed the masterful “The Glass Menagerie” in 2021 and excelled in radio play presentations “Something Spoken.”
They are convincing in taking us back to a golden era: Julie Layton, Gary Wayne Barker, Dominic DeCicco, Julia Crump and Donna Weinsting appear like characters out of “Stage Door,” with lovely vintage outfits expertly assembled by costume designer Teresa Doggett.
Gary Wayne Barker, Julie Layton in “Life Upon the Wicked Stage.” Photo by Cynthia Prost.
During the past nine years, the festival has been built around a theme or location specific to Williams’ life in St. Louis and other influences on his world-renowned career. Dreamer Tom Williams must have felt at home among the avant-garde artists and smoky jazz clubs in midtown, identifying with the hopes and restlessness of showbiz folks.
One of the most enriching aspects of this unique local festival is showcasing his lesser-known one-act plays, and we can witness an artist developing his voice, and this collection is splendid.
That impact of the popular entertainment of his youth, and his desire to be a part of the glamorous life, is evident in these richly textured depictions staged simply in an intimate retro setting.
In these three curated one-acts, he has fashioned erudite backstage dramas about the nomadic life of touring performers, its toll on private lives, and a more jaded look at those with long-established careers.
In this trio, Julie Layton’s remarkable portrayals as Annabelle, during phases of the character’s life as an actress, is the person that connects them all. (Poetic license used in keeping the same female protagonist, but it works well).
As she slips into this woman’s particular periods with ease, she deftly conveys different emotional needs as the role dictates. Layton was part of two very popular festival works, the St. Louis Theater Circle Award-winner “A Lovely Sunday for Creve Coeur” and “Will Mr. Merriwether Return from Memphis?” in 2017, along with an earlier appearance as Annabelle in “The Rooming House Plays.”
Gary Wayne Barker, Julie Layton, Dominic DeCicco. Photo by Cynthia Prost.
In “In Our Profession,” Layton is a ditzy, needy ingenue who clings to an older gentleman, an exasperated Richard superbly embodied by Barker, who is not prepared for Anabelle’s overstepping her boundaries by pushing him to marry her after only one night together in St. Louis.
She sees him as a ticket to stability, her chance to get off the road. He tries to free himself from her clutches. Dominic DeCicco is his naïve neighbor Paul, whom she takes an immediately liking to, which complicates her plans. If only her desire for escape was that easy.
In the middle one, “The Magic Tower,” Annabelle is a lovesick newlywed who is married to a struggling starving artist, Jim, sweetly played by DeCicco. She’d like to shut out the world with a fantasy life in their dismal studio apartment but reality intrudes.
Weinsting is their landlord Mrs. Fallon, trying to collect overdue rent, and two friends also stop by with a proposal of their own — Crump is her chorus-girl pal Babe and Barker is Mitch, who is part of the touring company she left. Will she come down to earth?
Donna Weinsting. Photo by Cynthia Prost.
In the final work, “The Fat Man’s Wife,” Annabelle comes full circle as a cynical former actress who married a prominent producer, Joe (Barker). It’s New Year’s Eve, 1938, and she embodies a sophisticated Lauren Bacall-type, whose flirtation with a promising young playwright Dennis (DeCicco) during a party, spills over to a quarrel at home.
The hotshot stops by to try to convince her to run away with him while her husband is having a clandestine tryst. Will she opt for a tantalizing unknown adventure or her routine life of luxury?
This is the strongest of the three and all displays Williams’ keen psychological insight into dashed hopes and dreams, and mismtched couplings. They each offer fascinating different perspectives about gypsy entertainers and the uncertainties they face.
The Curtain Call Lounge, which is operated by the Fox Theatre next door, is a savvy venue choice, for with its bygone era décor, it harkens back to that time when vaudeville and moving pictures were still flourishing on that Grand Boulevard strip.
With a natural vocal delivery, Crump and Weinsting sing standards, with Weinsting distinctly presenting the showstopper “I’m Still Here,” Stephen Sondheim’s 1971 classic from “Follies” about the resilience of longtime chanteuses and their rollercoaster ride in show business.
Both Crump and Weinsting were part of the TWStL’s first season’s triumphant “The Rooming House Plays” in 2016 and Crump notably has made an impression in “You Lied to Me About Centralia,” “The Rose Tattoo,” and “Stairs to the Roof.”
Songs include “Skylark,” “My Blue Heaven,” “Side by Side,” “Pennies from Heaven” and “Some of These Days,” with esteemed music director Tom Clear accompanying on piano.
Spencer Lawton keeps things on point as the stage manager, and the entire effort revitalizes Williams’ earlier works in a most appealing way. The attractive production elements endear and the performances are irresistible.
This is a wonderful way to spend an afternoon seeing the legendary playwright develop his unmistakable style right here in St. Louis, which will hopefully deepen appreciation for his considerable gifts.
The cast of “Life Upon the Wicked Stage.” Photo by Cynthia Prost
The Tennessee Williams Festival St. Louis presents “Life Upon the Wicked Stage” in eight performances, at 1 p.m. and 4 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays, Aug. 10 and 17 and Aug. 11 and 18 at the Curtain Call Lounge, 521 N. Grand Blvd 63108. The bar is open during performances. Tickets are available through MetroTix. Parking is available at a discount in the Fox Garage (mention the festival for the sale price). For more information, visit www.twstl.org.
Lynn (Zipfel) Venhaus has had a continuous byline in St. Louis metro region publications since 1978. She writes features and news for Belleville News-Democrat and contributes to St. Louis magazine and other publications.
She is a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic, currently reviews films for Webster-Kirkwood Times and KTRS Radio, covers entertainment for PopLifeSTL.com and co-hosts podcast PopLifeSTL.com…Presents.
She is a member of Critics Choice Association, where she serves on the women’s and marketing committees; Alliance of Women Film Journalists; and on the board of the St. Louis Film Critics Association. She is a founding and board member of the St. Louis Theater Circle.
She is retired from teaching journalism/media as an adjunct college instructor.
Avarice, malice and mendacity. Those words that Tennessee Williams used so eloquently to imply grown-ups behaving badly in “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof” demonstrate his brilliant command of the English language. His way with words, referred to as “poetic realism,” is always the most enduring part of his staged plays.
“Living with someone you love can be lonelier than living entirely alone if the one you love doesn’t love you,” says Margaret, aka Maggie the “Cat.”
And thus, Williams struck an abundant gold vein with his reflections on loss and longing, and how we cling to illusions to survive.
In a delectable story of big drama, big money and big lies, Williams has tightly woven a web of deceit, a Southern Gothic excursion into an American dysfunctional family, 1950s style.
At the plantation home of cotton tycoon Big Daddy (Peter Mayer), the Pollitt family is gathered for his 65th birthday celebration. He and his wife, Big Mama (Kari Ely), think he’s free of cancer but the real diagnosis is dire. Things unravel from there, with secrets and revelations in rapid succession over the course of an evening.
The mood is a seething, simmering stew of sexual desire, spurned affection, power trips, greed, toxic relationships and lies they tell each other.
One of Williams’ most popular works, “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof” won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1955 and has received multiple revivals on Broadway over the years, including a 2013 staging with Scarlett Johansson as Maggie, and a 1990 version with Kathleen Turner.
Times change, rendering some of his subjects quaint and old-fashioned, but his characters always make a lasting impression even when the social mores he highlights are no longer as consequential or controversial. With his unmistakable vivid writing, he captures a specific time and place like few have.
Williams turned his short story, “Three Players of a Summer Game,” into this classic gem, which supposedly was his personal favorite. The play was adapted into a 1958 film starring Elizabeth Taylor and Paul Newman that earned six Oscar nominations including Best Picture. Granted, they cast a big shadow.
Photo by Suzy Gorman.
In a unique approach by director Michael Wilson, the narrative unfolds as a deliberately theatrical setting.
He has created a prologue where local treasure J. Samuel Davis appears in the audience as “The Writer,” telling of a young Tom “Tennessee” Williams’ early years working at the International Shoe Company in St. Louis and taking the ‘stairs to the roof’ (the name of his first play) to write his short stories.
The ensemble, dressed in black as stagehands, brings the set pieces on stage, and the play begins as they return as the troubled Pollitts.
Not that I know this for certain, but Wilson appeared to pay homage to the way Williams worked with his longtime director-collaborator Elia Kazan, in what they described as “plastic theatre,” in which they heightened awareness of events to open the audience to more abstract ideas.
James Wolk’s evocative set seems dream-like on the fringes, and nightmarish in the claustrophobic bedroom. Williams did allude to ghosts, and people who lived there before – as evident in a hanging portrait. Lighting designer Matt McCarthy adds to the ethereal mood.
The epochal Maggie is a smart, scrappy, stunningly beautiful debutante who grew up poor and married into a family of money. She has been hardened by the in-laws’ power-grabbing chess games, but she has learned to swim in a sea of sharks and will fight for what she thinks she deserves.
Her handsome all-American football hero husband Brick has decayed into a numb alcoholic who doesn’t care about anyone or anything.
Reeling from his best friend Skipper’s suicide, Brick is consumed by despair, regrets and rumors. He appears repulsed by his wife, which seems to aggravate her desire for attention. His busybody family knows every detail of the childless couple’s personal life – or think they do.
Photo by Suzy Gorman.
In a long scene that establishes their marital discord, Maggie prattles on, trying to engage her distant husband in conversation, but we can tell this is going to be a fruitless attempt. Resembling a young Natalie Wood (who starred in Williams’ film adaptation “This Property Is Condemned), actress Kiah McKirnan rushed through her opening lines and was difficult to understand.
However, she gets more forceful in acts two and three as tension mounts, and she needs to make her moves to secure her future.
Wearing the provocative iconic white satin slip recreated by costume designer Teresa Doggett, and moving gracefully, McKirnan appears to be the archetypal Maggie.
Slaten’s Brick doesn’t say much or move like a former athlete, but with a broken ankle and one crutch, he capably navigates the bed-sitting room, his hobbled body betraying him, and his pain palpable.
His outbursts are well-timed for maximum impact. This is a difficult role because of calibrating external and internal conflicts, and while Slaten doesn’t look like the stereotypical golden boy turned disappointment, he delivers the intensity.
Once upon a time, the couple must have been like the idealized bride and groom figurines on top of a wedding cake. But those days are long gone – and they both realize it, which tinges this play with sadness.
When Mayer arrives on stage as the bombastic Big Daddy, the show kicks into high gear. He throws his whole body into this role with impressive gusto. The interactions between the blustery braggart and his favorite son are the best in this production, and his profane rants against family members are welcome comic relief.
Surprisingly, he has tender advice for Brick: “One thing you can grow on a big place like this more important than cotton—is tolerance—I have grown it.” There appears to be real affection between the two.
Slaten and Mayer. Photo by Suzy Gorman
Mayer is matched in intensity by Kari Ely as Big Mama, adding more emotional depth than the role is written. It’s a pleasure to see such local legends play off each other on stage – as they are married in real life.
Ely, who has been unforgettable as tough women Martha in “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?”, Regina in “The Little Foxes,” and Violet in “August: Osage County,” all at the St. Louis Actors’ Studio, makes this role her own, bringing out the heartbreak and strength of a character that had been easily dismissed before. Their performances are the chef’s kiss of this production, and set the rhythm in motion.
Eric Dean White, whose consistent professionalism makes him a terrific addition to any local stage, is superb as the calculating, scheming Gooper, a slick lawyer who tag teams with his devious wife Mae, aka “Sister Woman,” to block out his brother Brick and Maggie from inheriting Big Daddy’s massive estate. His delivery is smooth and shrewd.
Roxanne Wellington nails the vindictive and insincere opportunist Mae, conveying an ugly sanctimonious streak. She must get this crack in: “He never carried a thing in his life but a football and a highball,” adding a fake laugh.
They are the indulgent parents of the notorious “no-neck monsters” that get on Maggie’s last nerve. Youngsters Kate Koppel, Tatum Wilson, and Cooper Scheessele are lively in their portrayals of three of their five children (and one is on the way).
Maggie displays some humor too, retorting: “Dixie, Trixie, Buster, Sonny, Polly! —sounds like four dogs and a parrot … animal acts at a circus.”
Photo by Suzy Gorman
Davis returns as a doctor and a minister in supporting roles.
Wilson, who is reverent regarding Williams, directed the acclaimed Cicely Tyson-starring “The Trip to Bountiful” on Broadway in 2013, and the subsequent film a year later. He benefits from a potent ensemble who understands the defining message is that people are better together than apart.
Unfortunately, in a play that talks so much about communication, the Grandel’s sound system was a hindrance on the left side, so I recommend sitting right or center. None of the performers are wearing microphones in that small thrust stage space. Sitting on the left side, in the seventh row, on opening night, I had difficulty hearing, especially because the cast is often staged in profile.
The sound issues have happened before at The Grandel, as a production of “Kinky Boots” last summer by Tesseract Theatre Company, was marred. This is always a shame because obviously much attention went into the production details. Perhaps sound designer Phillip Evans can crack the code.
In a conscientious retelling of one of Williams’ best works that emphasizes his compassion for misfits and fragile souls, we are reminded of his impact on storytelling and our broader view of the world.
In their ninth year, the Tennessee Williams Festival St. Louis furthers their commitment to celebrate the artistry and influence of the playwright who called St. Louis home during his formative years.
Photo by Suzy Gorman
The Tennessee Williams Festival St. Louis presents “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof” from Aug. 8 to Aug. 18 at The Grandel Theatre in Grand Center, with performances at 7 p.m. Thursday through Saturday, and Sunday matinees at 3 p.m. Tickets are on sale through Metrotix. Additional information and Festival event details can be found at twstl.org.
Post-show commentary will be conducted by Resident Scholar, Tom Mitchell, on Sunday, Aug. 12 and Thursday Aug.15.
Parking: Guest parking is available at the Fox Garage for $5 (3637 Washington Ave, St. Louis, MO 63108). Please, tell the attendant you are with the Tennessee Williams Festival to receive a discount.
Lynn (Zipfel) Venhaus has had a continuous byline in St. Louis metro region publications since 1978. She writes features and news for Belleville News-Democrat and contributes to St. Louis magazine and other publications.
She is a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic, currently reviews films for Webster-Kirkwood Times and KTRS Radio, covers entertainment for PopLifeSTL.com and co-hosts podcast PopLifeSTL.com…Presents.
She is a member of Critics Choice Association, where she serves on the women’s and marketing committees; Alliance of Women Film Journalists; and on the board of the St. Louis Film Critics Association. She is a founding and board member of the St. Louis Theater Circle.
She is retired from teaching journalism/media as an adjunct college instructor.
Whether you describe her as a grand dame or a beloved veteran, the multi-talented Donna Weinsting is a true all-around champion in local theater who only garners accolades from her peers.
A popular figure on stage, in films and comedy clubs throughout St. Louis for 60 years, she is not resting on her laurels, by any means. She is part of this year’s ninth annual Tennessee Williams Festival St. Louis (Aug. 8-18), as part of the cast of “Life Upon the Wicked Stage.” (And was part of the first, in “The Rooming House Plays” in 2016).
“Life Upon the Wicked Stage” celebrates the Grand Center Theatre District and includes three one-act plays about show business — “In Our Profession,” “The Magic Tower” and “The Fat Man’s Wife.” It will also feature music and is directed by former St. Louisan Brian Hohlfeld. Donna is cast in “The Magic Tower.”
Carrie Houk, the festival’s artistic director, described the piece as a “like a mini-jukebox musical.”
“It features songs from the period to evoke an era of vaudeville and the type of entertainment Tom (Tennessee Williams) would have encountered in his Grand Avenue outings long, long ago,” she said.
Eight performances will take place at 1 p.m. and 4 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 10 and 17 and Sunday, Aug. 11 and 18, at the Curtain Call Lounge, which is next door to the Fox Theatre, 521 N. Grand Boulevard.
‘Life Upon the Wicked Stage’ at TWStL: From left, Julia Crump, Julie Layton, Donna Weinsting, Dominic DeCicco, Gary Wayne Barker. Photo by Suzy Gorman.
Donna is enthusiastic about the show.
“It’s going to be a treat for Tennessee Williams fans. Interspersed between the three one-acts are musical numbers fitting the times accompanied by the marvelous Tom Clear on piano,” she said. “Brian Hohlfeld is a joy to be directed by and the cast of Julie Layton, Gary Wayne Barker, Julia Crump, and Dominic DeCicco is excellent. I’m happy to be in the mix.”
Weinsting has also been announced as part of the St. Louis Actors’ Studio’s 17th season “Something Old, Something New.” She and Whit Reichert will perform in an original play by Carter W. Lewis called “With,” to be directed by Annamaria Pileggi, set for April 4 – 20, 2025.
“The special thing about this project is just about everything. I’ll be working in a two hander with Whit Reichert written by Carter Lewis and directed by Annamaria Pileggi for Actors Studio. Dream team,” she said.
Donna will play Minnie and Whit will be Clifford, and their world will be humorous, but ultimately heartbreaking, as they navigate a blizzard, a dead son, a rat in the kitchen and worse; in order to hold on to a bit of control over their personal end of life decisions.
The couple enlists their derelict son to obtain Death With Dignity drugs from the state of Oregon, but due to an accident on the highway, the plan goes hysterically and tragically awry. As a result, Minnie and Clifford cling to daily tasks as they slowly get cut off from the world by a blizzard and disconnected utilities. Their enduring love fuels them through an obstacle course of each day’s events.
St Louis Theater Circle Award nominee Donna Weinsting for ‘Unsuspecting Susan.’
She is happy to contribute to the current arts scene.
“I feel invigorated and full of excitement again,” she said.
Earlier this summer, Donna was awarded a Lifetime Achievement Award from the non-profit organization Arts For Life. 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.
“I am beyond honored to receive this very special recognition, humbled and excited. I feel that this is a gift — to be acknowledged for something I have had a passion for nearly my entire life,” she said.
Born Donna Collins, she grew up in St. Louis, and while her family moved several times, she landed in Oakville at age 13, and that is where she has lived ever since. She was first in a summer city park production of “Sleeping Beauty,” then a play in junior high.
“The die was cast and a 60-year career in acting and stand-up comedy was launched,” she said.
Donna Weinsting as Big Edie and Debby Lennon as Little Edie in Max and Louie’s “Grey Gardens” in 2016.
A graduate of Mehlville High School, she has never shied away from a challenge, playing leads as well as supporting and brief roles. She has performed in one-woman shows, played characters like Mr. Potter in “It’s a Wonderful Life,” Jabba the Hutt in “Star Wars,” and various animals in WiseWrite plays written by 10-year-olds.
Besides STLAS and TWSL, she has been on the stages of regional professional companies The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis, Max and Louie Productions, New Jewish Theatre, Slightly Askew Theatre Ensemble, Stray Dog Theatre, St. Louis Shakespeare, Upstream Theater, West End Players Guild, and the shuttered Orange Girls, Insight Theatre, OnSite, and others.
She has appeared at the Bluff City Theater in Hannibal, Mo., Ozark Actors’ Theatre in Rolla, Mo., Arrow Rock Lyceum Theatre in Arrow Rock, Mo., Stages Houston and 59E59 Theatre Off-Broadway in New York as part of the LaBute New Theatre Festival.
The community theater organizations she has worked with include Clayton Community Theatre, Theatre Guild of Webster Groves, and the no longer active Affton Players.
Her honors include a Kevin Kline Award for Lead Actress, as Bessie in “From Door to Door” at New Jewish Theatre, St. Louis Theater Circle Award for Outstanding Actress as Iola in “Salt, Root and Roe” at Upstream Theater, and a St. Louis Theater Circle Award for Comedy Ensemble for “Jacob and Jack” at New Jewish Theatre, where she played both Ester and Hannah.
Donna and Amy Loui in “Salt, Root and Roe” at Upstream Theatre.in 2019. Photo by ProPhotoSTL.
She will be shooting a movie in Springfield this fall called “Big Mike’s Cabin,” and has appeared in other locally shot films “Ethan and Edna” and “Doubting Thomas.”
“It is wonderful that we are giving the film industry the incentive to come to Missouri again,” she said..
While awards are a cherry on top, Donna said she is most proud of her family — her two children, five grandchildren, eight great-grandchildren and her 63-year marriage to her high school sweetheart, Mike.
“Being with my amazing family is the absolute joy of my life,” she said.
Donna Weinsting accepting her Lifetime Achievement Award from Arts For Life, June 30. Photo by Don Quon.
Questions and Answers with Donna Weinsting
1. Why did you choose your profession/pursue the arts?
“I didn’t choose the arts, they chose me. I don’t ever remember wanting to be anything but an actor.”
2. How would your friends describe you?
“My friends would all say I’m their funny friend. They support me and make me feel special.”
3. How do you like to spend your spare time?
“I used to fill my spare time with tennis and golf. Lots of tennis and golf. COVID took me away from that and I just got less active. Now my spare time is seeing plays and lots of television.”
4. What is your current obsession?
“My current obsession is binging the really great series you can watch in the comfort of your home. Love Ted Lasso, Outlander, Hacks and many others.”
Donna Weinsting in ‘Nonsense and Beauty’ at The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis in 2019.Photo by Jerry Naunheim Jr.
5. What would people be surprised to find out about you?
“People would probably be surprised to know I have a basement full of archery, tennis and golf trophies.”
6. Can you share one of your most defining moments in life?
“One of my most defining moments in life was entering a talent contest on a cruise and doing stand-up for the first time in my life at 48. It was an epiphany to know I could make 2,000 people laugh just being myself. I can’t explain how overwhelming that feeling of euphoria was.”
7. Who do you admire most?
“I admire the most people who can do it all and do it well. People who can write, perform, direct and produce are superstars. People who devote themselves to the betterment of others is inspiring.”
8. What is at the top of your bucket list?
“Top of my bucket list is to be in a television series. Betty White is gone and can never be replaced but there is a definite need for a sassy old woman.”
Eric Dean White and Donna Weinsting in “The Rooming House Plays” at Tennessee Williams Festival 2016. Photo by Lynn Venhaus
9. How were you affected by the pandemic years, and anything you would like to share about what got you through and any lesson learned during the isolation periods? Any reflections on how the arts were affected? And what it means to move forward?
“The pandemic sort of ended my acting career for a while. I got older and even though I am not a strong singer, COVID took a great deal out of my voice and now I no longer have confidence in it. I got through the pandemic by watching a lot of television and keeping track of the lives of my family. I learned from the isolation that I don’t have the drive I would like to have. I could have used the down time to learn a new language, play the piano, write a play and clean out my closets, instead I watched television and bitched about not being in a play.
“The pandemic was disastrous for the arts. Many small companies closed and some of the big ones were hit with financial hardships. I am encouraged by the fortitude of those in the arts though. New companies are springing up and the talent here in St. Louis is so rich and full of promise.” 10. What is your favorite thing to do in St. Louis?
“My favorite thing to do is be on the stage, but if I’m not, I love to see good theatre and support and encourage our plethora of talent here. I love a good martini and being with old and dear friends too. I’ve been married to my high school sweetheart for 63 years and have a son and daughter, five grandchildren and eight of the most beautiful, smart and intelligent great grandchildren in the world.
12. What’s next?
“In the fall I have been cast in a film being shot in the Ozarks called “Big Mike’s Cabin.”. Then in April of next year I will be doing the play with Whit Reichert. I feel reinvigorated and full of excitement again.”
More About Donna Weinsting:
Age: 82 Born: Arbyrd, Missouri in the bootheel. Currently live: Oakville, Missouri Family: Husband of 63 years, son, daughter, five grandchildren and eight great grandchildren. Education: I have an associate degree from Meramec Community College. Day job: I have been a Real Estate Salesperson for almost 50 years. First job: My first job was working the lunch counter in a Walgreen’s Drug Store when I was 15. First play: My first play was in Sleeping Beauty in a St. Louis park summer production. I was a handmaiden. Favorite Roles: It is hard to choose my favorite roles but the ones that stand out are, “‘Homebody” Off Broadway, ‘ “Salt, Root and Roe”, “Gray Gardens”, ” ‘night, Mother”, “From Door to Door”, and “The Lion in Winter”. I also got a kick out of playing Jabba the Hutt, Mr. Potter and Donald Trump. Dream Role: My dream job is a television series, Broadway play or major film role. Awards: I’ve won a Kevin Kline for Outstanding Lead Role, a St. Louis Theatre Circle Award for Lead Actress in a drama, a St. Louis Theatre Circle Award for Comedy Ensemble and have had several nominations. Words to Live By: My favorite words to live by are never give up. Life can throw unbelievable obstacles in your way and its easy to throw in the towel but working through them and coming out a better and stronger person is so fulfilling. A Song That Makes Me Happy: “Somewhere Over the Rainbow”, beautiful and full of hope.
Donna Weinsting and BFF Kim Furlow at AFL’s Best Performance Awards, Kirkwood’s Keating Center for the Performing Arts, from Lynn Venhaus.
Lynn (Zipfel) Venhaus has had a continuous byline in St. Louis metro region publications since 1978. She writes features and news for Belleville News-Democrat and contributes to St. Louis magazine and other publications.
She is a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic, currently reviews films for Webster-Kirkwood Times and KTRS Radio, covers entertainment for PopLifeSTL.com and co-hosts podcast PopLifeSTL.com…Presents.
She is a member of Critics Choice Association, where she serves on the women’s and marketing committees; Alliance of Women Film Journalists; and on the board of the St. Louis Film Critics Association. She is a founding and board member of the St. Louis Theater Circle.
She is retired from teaching journalism/media as an adjunct college instructor.
Featuring an indelible performance by Naima Randolph as the traumatized Catharine Holly in an impeccably staged “Suddenly Last Summer,” this year’s Tennessee Williams Festival St. Louis’ centerpiece created a vivid atmospheric contemplation on mental health, homophobia, and the truth.
These topics often associated with the playwright are still thought-provoking in contemporary times, some 66 years after he wrote it in New York City and first presented off-Broadway in 1958 as a 90-minute one-act, double-billed with “Something Unspoken.”
One of Williams’ most haunting and lyrical works, “Suddenly Last Summer” is best known for the melodramatic 1959 movie starring three future legends –Elizabeth Taylor as Cathy and Katherine Hepburn as Violent Venable, both Oscar-nominated for their performances, and Montgomery Clift as Dr. “Sugar,” and those shadows loom large.
The screenplay, a Williams’ collaboration with Gore Vidal, differs from the play in opening it up to show scenes at the beach, and other scenes, characters, and subplots were added. This being through a ‘50s lens, they had to remove explicit references to homosexuality. It’s a different world today in terms of taboos, although people still use each other, and issues raised persist.
Lisa Terejo by Suzy Gorman
However dated the material, director Tim Ocel doesn’t downplay the inferences. He is a master at interpreting Williams’ artistry, making it relatable for a modern audience.
Along with producer Carrie Houk, a master caster and the festival’s executive producer, he has put together a powerhouse ensemble, who brings to life many dark elements of human nature – including greed, deception, delusion, desire, desperation, and dominance.
Just as he did in a stunning “A Streetcar Named Desire” in 2018 and meticulous “The Night of the Iguana” in 2019, both at The Grandel, Ocel’s retelling is fresh and visionary, emphasizing the horror of a tragic death that is framed like a fascinating murder mystery and gripping courtroom drama.
Oh, what a tangled web we find the Venable family in when they reinforce lies over truth. At the domineering matriarch’s mansion in the affluent Garden District of New Orleans in 1936, brain surgeon Dr. Cukrowicz, aka “Dr. Sugar,” is summoned there to review her niece’s case.
Through her wealth, the bitter Violet hopes to keep Cathy institutionalized and have a lobotomy performed, so that a scandalous family secret won’t be exposed. She has kept her in a private mental asylum since she returned from Europe.
Violet’s cherished son, Sebastian, a closeted gay poet, has been brutally killed while on vacation in Spain, accompanied by his cousin instead of Mommie dearest. The circumstances are unclear, and no one believes Cathy’s horrific account. Locked away against her will, she has been further victimized by her treatment. Now, she can not only reveal the ugly truth but be spared more damage.
Randolph is spellbinding as she recounts the details of a summer holiday at Cabeza de Lobo to those assembled, led by an always stellar Bradley Tejeda as Dr. Sugar, who skillfully guides the proceedings as he gently probes a vulnerable and broken Cathy.
Cathy knows she is being manipulated, and after being injected with a truth serum, weaves a riveting account of being a decoy to attract young boys for the predatory Sebastian’s exploitation. She was used just like they were, but instead of earning sympathy, she’s trying to be suppressed by everyone.
Photo by Suzy Gorman
Dr. Sugar’s not entirely convinced Cathy is insane, but at stake is a large donation to his psychiatric research from Mrs. Venable.
Tejeda, brilliant as Tom in 2021’s outdoor “The Glass Menagerie” and comical as Alvaro in last year’s “The Rose Tattoo,” is cool and calm in a crisp white suit, fully aware of the evil in the Venable’s jungle-garden, where his interrogation takes place.
Lisa Tejero deftly commands the stage as the controlling Mama Bear who makes her late husband’s family feel small in her presence, ready to pounce on those she considers duplicitous and weak. She will do whatever it takes to preserve her son’s legacy, even if it is fiction.
Clad in black and using a cane as a scepter, Tejero displays cunning in all interactions, as well as impatience and aggravation when things don’t go her way. She also conveys selfishness, an appalling lack of civility as a socialite and less-than-gracious hostess.
Cathy’s mother and brother, Mrs. Holly and George, eager to not have anything interfere with the $100,000 inheritance bequeathed by Sebastian in his will, are trying not to act anxious, but their true colors emerge. Rengin Altay as the fretful in-law, and Harrison Farmer, as her ambitious son, comfortably service Williams’ script in these stock characters.
In other supporting roles are Bethany Barr as Violet’s accommodating assistant Miss Foxhill, and Ieshah Edwards as the not-so-compassionate Sister Felicity.
Of course, Williams would name characters Venable and Felicity, as he mines his life for a sad exploration of horrible human behavior.
Photo by Suzy Gorman
The production team has enhanced the Southern gothic moods, with captivating lighting design by Matthew McCarthy, evocative set design by James Wolk, and polished period costume design by Dottie Marshall Englis. Henry Palkes’ original music score, this third for TWSTL, adds so much texture to these productions.
What is missing in Williams’ play is the protagonist, and it is up to the cast to flesh out Sebastian, and all his contradictions, through the filters of his mother and cousin. The actors conjure up graphic images through their ability to craft a portrait through language.
Many of Williams’ tortured soul characters face moral dilemmas, either as prey or predator, to survive in an unforgiving world. Randolph’s unnerving portrait of a victim shatters the norms, which is what Williams so often does.
While her performance leaves a lasting impression, that’s not the only memorable aspect. The nuance and craft have left their mark on this eighth annual festival, which continually surprises with new ways and different angles to Williams’ storytelling.
The Tennessee Williams Festival St. Louis presents “Suddenly Last Summer” Sept. 7 – 17, with Thursday through Saturday performances at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday matinees at 3 p.m. in the Catherine B. Berges Theatre at COCA, University City. For more information, visit www.twstl.org
Lynn (Zipfel) Venhaus has had a continuous byline in St. Louis metro region publications since 1978. She writes features and news for Belleville News-Democrat and contributes to St. Louis magazine and other publications.
She is a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic, currently reviews films for Webster-Kirkwood Times and KTRS Radio, covers entertainment for PopLifeSTL.com and co-hosts podcast PopLifeSTL.com…Presents.
She is a member of Critics Choice Association, where she serves on the women’s and marketing committees; Alliance of Women Film Journalists; and on the board of the St. Louis Film Critics Association. She is a founding and board member of the St. Louis Theater Circle.
She is retired from teaching journalism/media as an adjunct college instructor.
TWStL 2023: “Tennessee Williams: A World of Light and Shadow”
Tennessee Williams St. Louis Expands to Year-Round Programming with8th Annual Festival Returning September 7-17
“We lived in a world of light and shadow . . . But the shadow was almost
as luminous as the light.” Violet Venable, Suddenly Last Summer
“Fantastic to proceed back into light for our 8th Annual Tennessee Williams Festival (TWStL),” states Carrie Houk, TWStL Executive Artistic Director. “Although there certainly have been shadows in our midst the last few years, we have found that those shadows provided valuable challenges and gave us the ability to produce some of our brightest, most creative work.”
This year’s fall Festival will give center stage to Suddenly Last Summer, a drama by Pulitzer Prize-winning American playwright Williams, directed by award-winning director, Tim Ocel at the Catherine B. Berges Theatre at Center of Creative Arts (COCA) on September 7-17.
“Suddenly, Last Summer – like A Streetcar Named Desire before it – is drenched in Southern Gothic humidity, sex, passion, and insanity. It threatens tyranny and lobotomy. It talks of God and man; is man’s selfish nature an imitation of a cruel God? Tennessee Williams’ poetic-prose is working at an extremely high level in this play, revealing tormented souls and aching hearts the way great music reveals the unspeakable.” – Tim Ocel, Director
This fresh retelling of Suddenly Last Summer, first performed in 1957, focuses on the life and death of closeted gay poet Sebastian Venable, who is brutally murdered while on a trip to Italy with his cousin Catharine. After the recent tragedy, Mrs. Venable will stop at nothing to keep her son’s (and her own) secrets safe. Generally accepted as a modern-day horror story, this play has autobiographical roots from Williams’ own family life.
Post-show commentary will be conducted by Thomas Mitchell, TWStL’s Festival Scholar, to encourage audiences to go beyond their first impressions of the performance and to engage in dialogue about the larger themes of the play. Mitchell will provide historical and cultural context and identify topics of humanistic concern that might be raised by Williams’ writing.
“University City Years” will be a focus for the fall Festival. In addition to the Williams family living in U. City from 1926-1937, “The University City community has welcomed us with open arms beginning with a valuable partnership with COCA and the beautiful Catherine Berges Theatre in addition to the full support of the University City mayor, Terry Crow, who will be hosting the reading of “Something Unspoken” in the grand entry of his magnificent home on Delmar,” explains Houk.
Originally performed as a curtain raiser for Suddenly Last Summer and billed as the “Garden District Plays,” Something Unspoken features Brenda Currin and Julie Layton, reprising their roles from the Classic 107.3 radio performance. The play will be performed site-specifically at the magnificent home of University City Mayor, Terry Crow, on Delmar prior to select Suddenly Last Summer performances at COCA.
The following panels which will further shed light upon the themes of the play and draw connections between Williams’ life in St. Louis and his artistry, will take place at COCA.
—The Civil Rights Era, Tennessee Williams and St. Louis – Discussion of significant events during the civil rights years of the 1950s and 1960s as they were felt in St. Louis and reflected in the work of Tennessee Williams.
—Tennessee’s “Madness” – expanding on the themes in Suddenly Last Summer, this discussion includes topics such as How was mental health understood at the time of the play and how did psychological challenges impact Williams’s life? How was “madness” used as a weapon against women, artists, and the LGBTQ community?
— University City as Inspiration to a Young Writer – The Williams Family moved to U-City when Tom was a teenager, beginning his writing “career.” This panel with consider the influence of the city’s colorful history, amazing architecture, and impressive education in the 1920s when Williams was a youth.
Other events include:
Workshop Reading of The Vengeance of Nitocris
Book Signing & Discussion of Tom Mitchell’s new publication of Williams’ short stories: Caterpillar Dogs: and Other Early Stories
A Walking Tour of University City
Late Night Beatnik Jam at Blueberry Hill
TW Tribute featuring cast members & favorite STL actors
Film screening of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof in collaboration with Cinema St. Louis
Before the Tennessee Williams Festival St. Louis (TWStL) returns this fall, the organization will kick off its eighth year with a reprise of their Something Spoken radio series late April and an intimate cabaret performance and fundraiser early summer.
“Something Spoken: Tennessee Williams on the Air” will air April 29, May 6, 13, 20 at 4:00 PM on Classic 107.3 (live and online). This installment will feature four one-act plays by Williams directed by Brian Hohlfeld & Tom Mitchell along with a commentary by TWStL scholar in residence Tom Mitchell following each episode. The episodes will reprise in the summer on August 5, 12, 19, 26.
Amy Jo Jackson
On May 31, at 7:30pm, a fundraiser performance of The Brass Menagerie cabaret with Amy Jo Jackson – a campy romp through the women of Tennessee Williams…in SONG! will be presented at The Curtain Call Lounge in Grand Center. TWStL is delighted to bring “this beautifully realized piece of work” – winner of a 2022 Bistro Award – to St. Louis. If you’ve ever wondered what it would be like to hear Blanche DuBois, Maggie the Cat or the Wingfields sing through their plays, wonder no longer – Amy Jo Jackson is here to bring all of the charm and vivacity, vivacity and charm that the South demands to these iconic women. An additional public performance will take place June 1st at 7:30pm.
Additional events and locations to be announced in the coming weeks. Festival event details can be found at twstl.org.
About the Festival
In 2014, award-winning producer, casting director, actor, and educator Carrie Houk produced Williams’ Stairs to the Roof with such success that the ongoing annual Festival was established.
The Festival, which aims to enrich the cultural life of St. Louis by producing an annual theater festival and other artistic events that celebrate the artistry and life of Tennessee Williams, was named the Arts Startup of the Year Award by the Arts and Education Council at the 2019 St. Louis Arts Awards.
In its seven iterations since 2016, the Festival has attracted thousands to its readings, panel discussions, concerts, exhibitions, and productions, has reached hundreds of young people through it’s educational programming, and has garnered 13 awards from the St. Louis Theater Circle and was recently nominated for six St. Louis Theater Circle awards for 2022’s The Rose Tattoo.
Tennessee Williams
About Tennessee Williams
Born Thomas Lanier Williams III in 1911 in Mississippi, Williams moved to St. Louis at age seven, when his father was made an executive with the International Shoe Company (where the City Museum and the Last Hotel are now located). He lived here for more than two decades, attending Washington University, working at the International Shoe Company, and producing his first plays at local theaters. He credited his sometimes-difficult experiences in St. Louis for the deeply felt poetic essence that permeates his artistry. When asked later in life when he left St. Louis, he replied, “I never really left.” Most people are familiar with the famous works that have garnered multiple Pulitzer Prizes, Tony Awards, and Academy Awards, such as The Glass Menagerie, A Streetcar Named Desire, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof and Suddenly Last Summer. He also wrote hundreds of additional plays, stories, essays, and poems, many of which are only now seeing the light of day as his estate permits greater access. He is today considered by many leading authorities to be one of America’s greatest playwrights.
Cover Photo: Brian Hohlfeld and Artistic Director Carrie Houk working on “Something Spoken,” four radio plays by Tennessee Williams
Lynn (Zipfel) Venhaus has had a continuous byline in St. Louis metro region publications since 1978. She writes features and news for Belleville News-Democrat and contributes to St. Louis magazine and other publications.
She is a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic, currently reviews films for Webster-Kirkwood Times and KTRS Radio, covers entertainment for PopLifeSTL.com and co-hosts podcast PopLifeSTL.com…Presents.
She is a member of Critics Choice Association, where she serves on the women’s and marketing committees; Alliance of Women Film Journalists; and on the board of the St. Louis Film Critics Association. She is a founding and board member of the St. Louis Theater Circle.
She is retired from teaching journalism/media as an adjunct college instructor.
The 7th Annual Tennessee Williams Festival St. LouisAug. 18-28
The Tennessee Williams Festival St. Louis (TWStL) returns for its seventh year, giving center stage to a newly reimagined and sensual Fellini-esque production of William’s romantic Sicilian love story The Rose Tattoo, directed by David Kaplan and performed in the Big Top in the Grand Arts Center.
“This year we celebrate the resilience of love, passion, community, art and the human spirit” said Carrie Houk, TWStL Executive Artistic Director. “How delightful to be moving into the light of 2022 with productions embracing the magnificence of those who ventured from abroad to begin anew. Saluti and avanti!”
The Rose Tattoo tells the story of love, death, and resilience in a downtrodden but hopeful 1940’s immigrant Sicilian community. Serafina delle Rose clings madly to her Italian identity, to the fanciful memory of her murdered husband, and to her free-spirited daughter. Will she find love with the banana truck driver? Are all the rose tattoos a sign?
Introducing the theme of an Italian circus, Kaplan’s take on Williams’ classic features aerialists, animals, singers and musicians. He surrounds Serafina with a dozen circus performers – including a ringmaster, a strongman, trapeze artists, and clowns – who perform the full text of the play.
Tennessee Williams and Anna Magnani on a Roman holiday filming “The Rose Tattoo”
“This St. Louis Rose Tattoo is performed in a circus as a circus, the better to share what Williams called his ‘limitless world of the dream,’” said Kaplan. “Live goats, accordions, impassioned acting, a play that celebrates the wisdom of desire. What’s not to like?”
Other festival events will occur on the Italian Hill, a St. Louis cultural gem of a location:
—The St. Louis Neighborhood Plays, a series of Williams’ one-acts, directed by Robert Quinlan (Associate Artistic Director Illinois Shakespeare Festival). “Tennessee Williams captured the dreams and struggles of an eclectic collection of St. Louisans in several early one-act plays, to be presented “promenade-style” at the Marketplace on The Hill,” said Quinlan.
—thought-provoking Panels, hosted by TWStL scholar-in-residence Tom Mitchell, including The St. Louis Neighborhoods of Tennessee Williams,Tennessee Williams and his Significant Others and For the Love of Italy. From Mitchell: “It is surprising to see how much Tennessee Williams wrote about the neighborhoods of St. Louis where he grew up in the 1920s and 30s. His stories and plays reveal much about the city and about the playwright.”
—Screenings of iconic films based on Williams’ works, to include “The Roman Spring of Mrs. Stone (adapted from a Williams novella and featuring Vivien Leigh and Warren Beatty) and Boom (adapted from The Milk Train Doesn’t Stop Here Anymore and featuring Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton).
Other events to be held at various locations on The Hill:
Tennessee Williams Tribute: Selections from Williams’ Italian-inspired writing
Walking Tour of The St Louis Hill
Gelato Social
Bocce Ball Competition
La Dolce Vita Pool Party
Additional events and locations to be announced in the coming weeks!
The full festival itinerary can be found at twstl.org. Tickets can be purchased via Metrotix beginning in July.
About the Festival
In 2014, award-winning producer, casting director, actor, and educator Carrie Houk produced Williams’ Stairs to the Roof with such success that the ongoing annual Festival was established. The inaugural Festival in 2016 was themed “Tennessee Williams: The St. Louis Years,” followed by “The Magic of the Other” in 2017 and “The French Quarter Years” in 2018. The 2019 festival featured performances of Night of the Iguana and A Lovely Sunday for Creve Coeur. In 2021, the Festival spotlighted The Glass Menagerie and You Lied To Me About Centralia. The Festival has attracted thousands to its readings, panel discussions, concerts, exhibitions, and productions.
The Festival, which aims to enrich the cultural life of St. Louis by producing an annual theater festival and other artistic events that celebrate the artistry and life of Tennessee Williams, was named the Arts Startup of the Year Award by the Arts and Education Council at the 2019 St. Louis Arts Awards. TWStL has garnered 12 awards from the St. Louis Theater Circle in the last two years and was recently nominated for four St. Louis Theater Circle awards for 2021’s The Glass Menagerie, which was performed where it was first imagined, at the very building in the Central West End where the Williams family settled when they moved to St Louis.
Tennessee Williams
About Tennessee Williams
Born Thomas Lanier Williams III in 1911 in Mississippi, Williams moved to St. Louis at age seven, when his father was made an executive with the International Shoe Company (where the City Museum and the Last Hotel are now located). He lived here for more than two decades, attending Washington University, working at the International Shoe Company, and producing his first plays at local theaters. He credited his sometimes-difficult experiences in St. Louis for the deeply felt poetic essence that permeates his artistry. When asked later in life when he left St. Louis, he replied, “I never really left.” Most people are familiar with the famous works that have garnered multiple Pulitzer Prizes, Tony Awards, and Academy Awards, such as The Glass Menagerie, A Streetcar Named Desire, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof and Suddenly Last Summer. He also wrote hundreds of additional plays, stories, essays, and poems, many of which are only now seeing the light of day as his estate permits greater access. He is today considered by many leading authorities to be America’s greatest playwright.
Lynn (Zipfel) Venhaus has had a continuous byline in St. Louis metro region publications since 1978. She writes features and news for Belleville News-Democrat and contributes to St. Louis magazine and other publications.
She is a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic, currently reviews films for Webster-Kirkwood Times and KTRS Radio, covers entertainment for PopLifeSTL.com and co-hosts podcast PopLifeSTL.com…Presents.
She is a member of Critics Choice Association, where she serves on the women’s and marketing committees; Alliance of Women Film Journalists; and on the board of the St. Louis Film Critics Association. She is a founding and board member of the St. Louis Theater Circle.
She is retired from teaching journalism/media as an adjunct college instructor.
After not being on a stage since November 2019, Chauncy Thomas has made quite a comeback this summer – starring in two productions at the Illinois Shakespeare Festival in Bloomington, Ill., and as the Gentleman Caller Jim in “The Glass Menagerie” and the one-act “You Lied to Me About Centralia,” which was part of this year’s Tennessee Williams Festival St. Louis, all outdoors.
As he leaves to return to home in New York City, he will have left St. Louis better than when he arrived, to paraphrase his favorite quote.
Chauncy, a native of Peoria, Ill., landed in St. Louis when he attended Washington University in St. Louis, earning B.A. degrees in both drama and psychology.
He built a versatile and respected career in regional professional theatre before taking off for New York City nearly eight years ago, earning two St. Louis Theater Circle Award nominations for “Intimate Apparel” at New Jewish Theatre in 2017 and “Topdog/Underdog” at St. Louis Actors’ Studio in 2013.
Chauncy Thomas as Lymon and Carli Officer as Maretha in “The Piano Lesson” at The Black Rep in 2013
His resume includes “Clybourne Park” at the St. Louis Repertory Theatre, “The Piano Lesson” at the Black Repertory Theatre, the La Bute New Play Festival at the St. Louis Actors’ Studio and multiple productions at the St. Louis Shakespeare Festival.
Since 2014, he has returned here for productions, including “Dot” at the Black Rep and “The Winter’s Tale” at St. Louis Shakespeare Festival.
“St. Louis is still a place I call home. I still feel incredibly connected to the people there, and especially the theatre community,” he said.
During the pandemic in 2020, he decided to leave New York City for Iowa to stay with his brother and his family in mid-March.
“My twelve-year-old nephew let me use his bedroom, so it was two months of sleeping under Spider-man sheets. In mid-May I trekked to Peoria to stay with my mother. My silver lining of the pandemic is getting to spend so much time with her,” he said.
“I lost all but one of my side jobs, so math tutoring was paying the bills. I got little theatre gigs here and there: zoom readings, workshops, etc. But I truly missed being on stage,” he said. “Most of my actor friends in New York either had to move or were significantly concerned with their finances, so I was still counting my blessings.”
He has worked on many Shakespeare productions and enjoys the challenge.
“I’ve been doing a decent amount of Shakespeare for a decade but last year, I think I figured out how I should approach the work. For the first eight years, I was trying to meet some standard of what I thought Shakespeare was. I’ve since learned I need to bring as much of myself and my racial identity to the work as I can. It’s what makes me unique. I love performing Shakespeare because it’s brilliant, but it also presents the challenge of making a 400-year-old stories relevant to a modern audience,” he said.
With Jacqueline Thompson in “Intimate Apparel” at New Jewish Theatre in 2017.
He has traveled to other theaters in the county, including the Alabama Shakespeare Festival and the Wellfleet Harbor Actors Theater in Massachusetts.
From his base in New York City, his credits include “Romeo and Juliet” at Lincoln Center Education, “Hamlet” at RIPT Theater Company, “A Raisin in the Sun” at Bay Street Theater, “Our Town” and the television show “Madam Secretary,” in which he played a secret service agent.
Last year, he wrote a one-act for the theatre season for the Performing Arts Department at Washington University, which was part of the live events cancelled due to the pandemic, but was performed as part of “Homecoming Voices,” four plays by alumni, in March.
His play “The Nicest White People that America Has Ever Produced,” featured a Black writer and a white director discussing race, power and artistic integrity in the film industry — a theoretical discourse that prompted real questions about friendship and ethics.
Doing Shakespeare and Williams in the same summer “has been a challenge,” but he is grateful to be working.
“It’s been crazy, but before that, it was nothing, a famine, so I’m trying to enjoy this feast,” he said. “I thought how in the world am I going to get all of this done, but after I had my mornings free, I worked on the line memorization and text analysis,” he said.
As for playing Jim in two different productions, he described it as “fascinating.”
Williams’ memory play of his family and their life in St. Louis features Jim as Tom’s friend from work who is invited to dinner at the Wingfield home to meet Tom’s sister Laura.
The Tennessee Williams Festival St. Louis, “The Moon and Beyond,” ran from Aug. 19 to 29, with its signature play, the one-act and multiple presentations by scholars and a tribute with the cast.
Playwright John Guare wrote a one-act, “You Lied to Me About Centralia,” which imagined what happened after dinner when Jim rushes off to pick up his fiancé at the Wabash train station. The 20-minute play premiered off-Broadway in 2015, and is based on Williams’ short story, “Portrait of a Girl in Glass.”
For the St. Louis Theater Crawl in 2017, the Tennessee Williams Festival performed the one-act with Julia Crump, who returns this year as Jim’s shallow and judgmental girlfriend Betty, and Pete Winfrey, who now lives in New York City, as Jim.
For the radio play version last November, when the TWF pivoted with “Something Spoken,” a series of Williams’ one-acts on radio, Thomas worked opposite Crump for the first time. They were directed by Rayme Cornell, who also directed this year’s live production, presented as a matinee on Aug. 21 and 22.
Thomas described the play as “sweet” and his character thusly.
“I felt there were several directions it could have gone, and I love where Rayme guided us. I know this isn’t technically Tennessee Williams, but it’s certainly Williams adjacent. Many of my favorite plays are American classics, and I’m rarely able to get cast in those kinds of shows, so this was a real treat. Jim is a man with big dreams, and I love to play characters with strong wants and needs; they make the most compelling characters,” he said.
With Elizabeth Teeter in “The Glass Menagerie” this summer. Photo by ProPhotoSTL.
Crump said acting with Thomas is “a master class,” because he makes “bold choices, good choices.” She described him as a “generous and talented actor.”
Elizabeth Teeter. who played Laura in “The Glass Menagerie,” said she agreed with Crump completely. She participated in an interview along with Thomas, Crump and director Brian Hohlfeld regarding TWF St. Louis on the PopLifeSTL.com Presents…podcast on Aug. 14.
“I do look at these as two separate characters,” Thomas said. “Obviously, John Guare took some liberties, and so many things are open to interpretation.”
Chauncy said the perspective of the one-act was fascinating. “I’m either bending the truth, or avoiding the truth,” he said.
As for being part of this ensemble, he described the cast as “absolutely amazing.”
“The other three actors started rehearsal on August 2, while I started on August 9, and we were in tech on the 12th, so I had to figure out what was going on at a faster rate than ever before. On my first day of rehearsal, we didn’t even do a reading of the whole play. We started with Act 2, and after listening to the other actors for the six pages before my entrance, I immediately understood what story we were telling, the tone, the pace, and where I fit into the narrative. These three actors are so vibrant, in-the-moment, and honest, that they do much of the work for me. I don’t have to ‘act’ with them; I can simply exist,” he said.
Besides Teeter as Laura, Brenda Currin plays Amanda and Bradley James Tejeda plays Tom.
Working where Tennessee Williams lived as a boy has been a special experience as well.
“In terms of performing, rehearsing, and living — not the same unit, but the same building — in the apartment where Williams lived, it’s incredibly surreal,” he said.
“To quote Jim, ‘I’m usually pretty good at expressing things, but–this is something I don’t know how to say!’ When Carrie Houk (TWF Artistic Director) called me to offer me the role and explain the production, I was in such disbelief that I didn’t tell anyone about the production for weeks. It seemed unfathomable,” he said.
“All I can say is this production feels magical. I took my first acting class as a sophomore at Washington University, and, that year, Henry Schvey, chair of the theatre department, was directing ‘The Glass Menagerie.’ I was a member of the backstage crew, which was my first experience with a mainstage production, and in many ways my introduction to theatre. And now, 17 years later, I’m performing in the play, at Williams’ home, and the opening night gift my director Brian Hohlfeld gave me is Henry Schvey’s new book about Tennessee Williams. How is this my life?” he said.
Chauncy Thomas, right, in ISF’s “The Winter’s Tale” this summer. Photo by Pete Guither.
For his second year at the Illinois Shakespeare Festival, he played Camillo and four small roles in “The Winter’s Tale” and Angelo in “Measure for Measure.”
Afterwards, the festival inducted him into the 2021 Actor Honor Roll.
“Chauncy Thomas is a wonderful addition to our Illinois Shakespeare Festival Actor Honor Roll, He creates rich, nuanced characters that are accessible yet complex. Chauncy is a skilled professional who also is the consummate company member: supportive, positive, and kind. It is a pleasure to welcome him to the honor roll,” said ISF Artistic Director John C. Stark.
In 2017, to celebrate the ISF 40th anniversary, they unveiled “40 Years/40 Actors,” a media display, to recognize “the passion, skill, and talent of select festival performers from the past four decades,” and continues with the annual Actor Honor Roll.
“I’m truly touched and honored by this recognition. This theatre means so much to me! I’ve met some of the loveliest people I could ever hope to meet, it’s the closest professional theatre to my childhood home (it’s an amazing blessing to have my mother in the audience five times in one season,” Thomas said.
“It’s been instrumental in my development as a classical actor, and it’s also been the setting or overlapped with some of the biggest emotional highs and lows of my life. When at its best, a theatre is a family, and I’m thrilled to be the newest member,” he said.
‘Take Ten’ Questions and Answers:
1. Why did you choose your profession/pursue the arts?
“Originally, I was so fascinated about how theatre was an exploration of myself. I’m now intrigued by the power of storytelling, the interpersonal connections I make with other artists, and the exploration of the human spirit.”
Chauncy and Reginald Pierre in “Topdog/Underdog” at St. Louis Actors’ Studio in 2013. Photo by Patrick Huber
2. How would your friends describe you?
“I took some direct quotes: ‘Funny, witty, smart, creative, thoughtful, organized and an amazing friend.’
“Weird.”
“They wouldn’t.”
“Strangely intellectual and precious for a man with this many muscles.”
“Very very very intentional.”
“A chill control freak with unlikely interests.”
“Loyal, brilliant, hilarious, thoughtful, deeply introspective, principled, all around awesome.”
3. How do you like to spend your spare time?
“I spend as much time with my friends as I possibly can.”
4.What is your current obsession?
“I’m so late, but the ‘Avatar: The Last Airbender.’”
5.What would people be surprised to find out about you?
“I’m ludicrously goofy.”
6. Can you share one of your most defining moments in life?
“In my early teenage years, I was very depressed and often had suicidal thoughts. No one could tell, because from the outside I seemed as if I was thriving. I was gay, in the closet and had plenty of friends, but no close ones. I was in a particularly bad place one day when I was 14 and called one of my acquaintances to ask if we could hang out. Twenty years later, I was best man at his wedding. I’m a person who struggles with feeling I may be a burden to someone, so the act of reaching out to the person who is now my oldest childhood friend was the first time I realized I was allowed to ask for emotional help when I needed it.”
7. Who do you admire most?
“My mom. She’s elegant, hilarious, benevolent, poised, and tough as nails.”
8. What is at the top of on your bucket list?
“Acting in a play I’ve written.”
9. What is your favorite thing to do in St. Louis?
“City Museum.”
10. What’s next?
“I don’t know if I’m allowed to talk about that, yet. But the next play on my schedule is in St. Louis in 2022.”
Chauncy Thomas
More Information on Chauncy Thomas:
Age: 36
Birthplace: Peoria, Illinois
Current location: New York City
Family: 2 full brothers, 2 half-brothers, and 2 step-siblings
Education: BAs in Psychology and Drama from Washington University
Day job: Currently a math tutor. In a non-Covid-19 world add catering waiter, chess tutor, and I occasionally portrayed historical leaders for executive leadership trainings for Fortune 500 companies.
First job: House painter
First role: A guard in my high school’s production of “Cinderella.” First professional role was Father Ant in “The Ant and the Grasshopper” for Imaginary Theatre Company.
Favorite roles/plays: Booth in “Topdog/Underdog,” Walter Lee Younger in “A Raisin in the Sun”
Dream role/play: Belize in “Angels in America”.
Awards/Honors/Achievements: One Kevin Kline Award nomination and two St Louis Theater Circle Award nominations
Favorite quote/words to live by: “Leave everyone better than you find them.”
Chauncy Thomas in “Alabama Story”
A song that makes you happy: “Groove Is in the Heart” by Deee-Lite
To listen to the PopLifeSTL.com Presents…Podcast about the Tennessee Williams Festival, visit: https://soundcloud.com/lynn-zipfel-venhaus/poplifestlcom-presents-august-14th-2021?fbclid=IwAR3lA4F4DCuAk67je9tNrFsb36G1fhaS6RFcZmOkWI0Lx6zQnvPyrCUg0jk
For more information on the Tennessee Williams Festival, visit https://www.twstl.org/
As a secret service agent in “Madam Secretary”. Photo provided.In “Percentage America” by Carter Lewis at St. Louis Actors’ Studio. Photo by Patrick Huber.“Clybourne Park” at St. Louis Repertory Theatre. Jerry Naunheim Photo.
Lynn (Zipfel) Venhaus has had a continuous byline in St. Louis metro region publications since 1978. She writes features and news for Belleville News-Democrat and contributes to St. Louis magazine and other publications.
She is a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic, currently reviews films for Webster-Kirkwood Times and KTRS Radio, covers entertainment for PopLifeSTL.com and co-hosts podcast PopLifeSTL.com…Presents.
She is a member of Critics Choice Association, where she serves on the women’s and marketing committees; Alliance of Women Film Journalists; and on the board of the St. Louis Film Critics Association. She is a founding and board member of the St. Louis Theater Circle.
She is retired from teaching journalism/media as an adjunct college instructor.
The Tennessee Williams Festival returns for its sixth year. The headliner is a production of one of the playwright’s most important works, The Glass Menagerie, in the Central West End building where Williams lived and where the play was imagined.
“A year ago, we brought Tennessee Williams into your home ….this year we bring you into his!” said Carrie Houk, the festival’s Executive Artistic Director. “In 2020 we were lucky enough to flourish on the radio during a year that was so challenging for live theatre. In 2021, we return with a vengeance with a site-specific production of The Glass Menagerie at the very building in the Central West End where the Williams family settled when they moved to St Louis.”
“If theatre is ritual, our production of The Glass Menagerie is the equivalent of going to Mass in St. Peter’s Square in Rome,” explains Brian Hohlfeld, who is directing this production. “There’s no other city in the world where you can see this play in this venue, amid the same red bricks, alleys, and fire-escapes that inspired Williams to write it almost 80 years ago. We’ve brought back most of our amazing cast from last fall’s radio version, and our entire team is thrilled and humbled by the opportunity to bring this site-specific production to life.”
The festival’s two main performances will be:
Brenda Currin
The Glass Menagerie… performed where it was first imagined
This cornerstone of American theatre launched Williams’ career as a playwright, enjoying a lengthy Broadway run and winning the 1945 New York Drama Critics’ Circle Award for Best Play. TWStL’s The Glass Menagerie brings the story of Amanda, Tom, and Laura home to the very apartment building that inspired Williams’ quintessential family drama.
The cast includes: Brenda Currin*, Bradley Tejeda*, Elizabeth Teeter* and Chauncy Thomas*. Performances will take place at 8pm at The Tennessee (4633 Westminster Place, 63108) Thursday, August 19 through Sunday, August 22 and Thursday, August 26 through Sunday, August 29.
*denotes member of Actors Equity Association.
“You Lied to Me about Centralia:” by John Guare and based on Tennessee Williams’ short story “Portrait of a Girl in Glass”
Before Williams wrote The Glass Menagerie, he told the story of the dysfunctional St. Louis family in his short story, “Portrait of a Girl in Glass.” Picking up where both the short story and The Glass Menagerie end, John Guare’s adaptation of the story picks up where The Glass Menagerie ends, following the gentleman caller after he leaves the Wingfield home to meet his fiancée at the train station. With Williams’ voice reverberating throughout, “You Lied to Me about Centralia” shines new light on The Glass Menagerie. A conversation with Williams scholar Thomas Mitchell will follow the performance.
The cast includes: Chauncy Thomas* and Julia Crump. Performances will take place at The Tennessee (4633 Westminster, 63108) Saturday, August 21 and Sunday August 22.
Chauncy Thomas
*denotes member of Actors Equity Association.
Other festival programming includes: Scholars’ Panels, Walking Tour of Williams’ St. Louis, Tennessee Williams Tribute: “The Moon and Beyond” hosted by Ken Page, happy hour conversation with Blue Song author Dr. Henry Schvey, Why Did Desdemona Love the Moor reading, and more.
For fans who want to make an evening of it, a special Pre-Theater Garden Picnic will be available at Bowood by Niche (4605 Olive, 63108) from 6-8pm (or until sold out) on performance days. The menu includes a picnic basket for two, filled with a packaged assortment of Niche Food Group snacks and desserts. Three signature cocktails inspired by The Glass Menagerie and featuring local spirits and botanicals will be available for individual purchase. Food and drink can be enjoyed in Bowood’s garden up until performance time.
Free, secure parking is available at Holliday (4600 Olive, 63108) for festival patrons and for pre-theatre dinner patrons at Bowood by Niche.
Lead sponsorship of the festival is provided by Emerson. Additional sponsors and the full festival itinerary can be found at twstl.org. Tickets can be purchased via Metrotix beginning Sunday, July 18.
About the Festival
The Tennessee Williams Festival St. Louis was established in 2016 by Carrie Houk, the award-winning producer, casting director, actor, and educator. The Festival, which aims to enrich the cultural life of St. Louis by producing an annual theater festival and other artistic events that celebrate the artistry and life of Tennessee Williams, was named the Arts Startup of the Year Award by the Arts and Education Council at the 2019 St. Louis Arts Awards.
In 2014, Houk produced Williams’ Stairs to the Roof with such success that the ongoing annual Festival was established. The inaugural Festival was themed “Tennessee Williams: The St. Louis Years,” followed by “The Magic of the Other” in 2017 and “The French Quarter Years” in 2018. The 2019 festival featured Night of the Iguana and A Lovely Sunday for Creve Coeur. As the years have passed, the awards have mounted. In the last two years, the St. Louis Theater Circle has given them twelve awards. The Festival has attracted thousands to its readings, panel discussions, concerts, exhibitions, and productions.
About Tennessee Williams
Born Thomas Lanier Williams III in 1911 in Mississippi, Williams moved to St. Louis at age seven, when his father was made an executive with the International Shoe Company (where the City Museum and the Last Hotel are now located). He lived here for more than two decades, attending Washington University, working at the International Shoe Company, and producing his first plays at local theaters. He credited his sometimes difficult experiences in St. Louis for the deeply felt poetic essence that permeates his artistry. When asked later in life when he left St. Louis, he replied, “I never really left.” Most people are familiar with the famous works that have garnered multiple Pulitzer Prizes, Tony Awards, and Academy Awards, such as The Glass Menagerie, A Streetcar Named Desire, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof and Suddenly Last Summer. He also wrote hundreds of additional plays, stories, essays, and poems, many of which are only now seeing the light of day as his estate permits greater access. He is today considered by many leading authorities to be America’s greatest playwright.
Lynn (Zipfel) Venhaus has had a continuous byline in St. Louis metro region publications since 1978. She writes features and news for Belleville News-Democrat and contributes to St. Louis magazine and other publications.
She is a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic, currently reviews films for Webster-Kirkwood Times and KTRS Radio, covers entertainment for PopLifeSTL.com and co-hosts podcast PopLifeSTL.com…Presents.
She is a member of Critics Choice Association, where she serves on the women’s and marketing committees; Alliance of Women Film Journalists; and on the board of the St. Louis Film Critics Association. She is a founding and board member of the St. Louis Theater Circle.
She is retired from teaching journalism/media as an adjunct college instructor.
Imagine “The Glass Menagerie” performed where it first began.
A site-specific production at the historic “Tennessee,” the Westminster Place apartment in the Central West End where it all began, will be part of the 6th annual Tennessee Williams Festival St. Louis this summer. Brian Hohlfeld will direct.
The event will include the TW Tribute: St. Louis Woman, Scholars Panels, and a Workshop/Reading of “Why Does Desdemona Love the Moor,” which will be presented prior to its Provincetown Tennessee Williams Theatre Festival engagement, to be directed by Thomas Mitchell.
Author Henry Schvey will sign his book, “Blue Song: St. Louis in the Life and Work of Tennessee Williams.” The event will feature a conversation with Schvey, a professor of drama and comparative literature at Washington University. He wrote the 2011 book, “Tennessee Williams at 100: From Washington University to the Wider World.”
Tennessee Williams Scholar Thomas Mitchell will lead a Tennessee Williams Walking Tour of the Central West End. From 1918 to 1922, Williams lived with his family at 4633 Westminster. He attended Soldan High School. He later moved to University City and studied at Washington University.
An opening weekend Block Party is also planned.
Additional productions, events and full casts will be announced at the beginning of July.
Certified with Missouri Arts Safe, the entire festival team is fully vaccinated.
About the Festival
The Tennessee Williams Festival St. Louis was established in 2016 by Carrie Houk, the award-winning producer, casting director, actor, and educator. The Festival, which aims to enrich the cultural life of St. Louis by producing an annual theater festival and other artistic events that celebrate the artistry and life of Tennessee Williams, was named the 2019 Arts Startup of the Year by the Arts & Entertainment Council.
In 2014, Houk produced Williams’ “Stairs to the Roof” with such success that the ongoing annual Festival was established. The inaugural Festival was themed “Tennessee Williams: The St. Louis Years,” followed by “The Magic of the Other” in 2017 and “The French Quarter Years” in 2018. The 2019 festival featured “Night of the Iguana” and “A Lovely Sunday for Creve Coeur.” As the years have passed, the awards have mounted. In the last two years, the St. Louis Theater Circle has given them 12 awards. The Festival has attracted thousands to its readings, panel discussions, concerts, exhibitions, and productions.
About Tennessee Williams
Tennessee Williams
Born Thomas Lanier Williams III in 1911 in Mississippi, Williams moved to St. Louis at age seven, when his father was made an executive with the International Shoe Company (where the City Museum and the Last Hotel are now located).
He lived here for more than two decades, attending Washington University, working at the International Shoe Company, and producing his first plays at local theaters. He credited his sometimes difficult experiences in St. Louis for the deeply felt poetic essence that permeates his artistry. When asked later in life when he left St. Louis, he replied, “I never really left.”
Most people are familiar with the famous works that have garnered multiple Pulitzer Prizes, Tony Awards and Academy Awards, such as The Glass Menagerie, A Streetcar Named Desire, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof and Suddenly Last Summer.
He also wrote hundreds of additional plays, stories, essays, and poems, many of which are only now seeing the light of day as his estate permits greater access. He is today considered by many leading authorities to be America’s greatest playwright.
Lynn (Zipfel) Venhaus has had a continuous byline in St. Louis metro region publications since 1978. She writes features and news for Belleville News-Democrat and contributes to St. Louis magazine and other publications.
She is a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic, currently reviews films for Webster-Kirkwood Times and KTRS Radio, covers entertainment for PopLifeSTL.com and co-hosts podcast PopLifeSTL.com…Presents.
She is a member of Critics Choice Association, where she serves on the women’s and marketing committees; Alliance of Women Film Journalists; and on the board of the St. Louis Film Critics Association. She is a founding and board member of the St. Louis Theater Circle.
She is retired from teaching journalism/media as an adjunct college instructor.
It’s one thing to see a play; it’s another thing just to
listen. A whole new world opens in your imagination, and the cultural icon
Tennessee Williams is perfectly suited for such an experience.
To make its three remarkable radio presentations accessible,
the Tennessee Williams Festival St. Louis has been extended through Nov.21-22,
and you will be captivated by these three works anew. They are free to listen
to at www.1073.org and www.twstl.org.
Williams has such a distinctive voice, and you hear his
words interpreted with devotion and insight. The performances by the all-star cast
assembled this year brings the works to a new level.
Through this fresh and innovative way, the festival
continues to pay homage to St. Louis’ greatest playwright, who lived here
during his formative years and was greatly influenced by this region.
All three works are richly rewarding aural and theatrical
experiences:
Bradley James Tejeda
“The Glass Menagerie,” a beautifully rendered two-hour
production of Williams’ most personal play and one of his greatest and most
famous, now through Nov. 22.
“You Lied to Me About Centralia,” a delightful one-act by
playwright John Guare, who imagines what took place after The Gentleman Caller
left the Wingfields to meet his fiancé, Betty, now through Nov. 21.
“Glass,” an intriguing new play by Michael Aman that
imagines the actress playing Amanda Wingfield in “The Glass Menagerie” clashing
with Tennessee when it opens in Chicago before it heads to Broadway, now
through Nov. 21.
As always, stay after for a few moments to listen to Williams’
scholar-in-residence Tom Mitchell for his insight into each work. It’s
interesting and informative, and really adds to the festival’s mission. They
want us to know Williams intimately, and it shows. You can also take an audio
tour of Williams’ St. Louis and hear education panels on his work.
The fifth annual Tennessee Williams Festival St. Louis was
going to take us to Italy this spring, showcasing “The Rose Tattoo” and other
nuggets from Williams, who was happy soaking up European la dolce vita in a
good stretch of his chaotic life.
Then the pandemic hit. The coronavirus public health crisis
forced our regional theaters to cancel. Instead, Artistic Director Carrie Houk
pivoted with two different sets of programming on radio, partnering with
Classic 107.3 FM.
First, this summer, a divine series of Williams’ richly
textured one-acts that showcased his yearning and his desire to fit in, all in
his distinctive word play. The images of his characters with their fanciful
stories were vivid, as were the Southern locations. The attention to detail was
strong and the acting talent sublime.
All those engaging qualities have returned with “En Evant!”
which means “forward.” We’re moving on, and Houk has discussed the fragility accompanying
this year strengthening us in different ways. Williams was a fragile soul, but
he also had a strength about him, so necessary to survive in his personal world.
A previous season was built around “The Magic of Others,” and this year’s fest
also has that aspect – the outsider, the guy not like the others.
In the memory play “The Glass Menagerie,” precious Laura,
who is based on Tom’s fragile sister Rose, has too many self-doubts and anxieties
to fit in, although she tries. Her inner world is soothed by glass figurines.
Glass – who knew 70 some years later this family’s themes
of wanting to be normal, wanting to feel something, and not wanting to be mired
in the past, in the fanciful world their mother has clung to all these years, would
take on more significance throughout the decades
Elizabeth Teeter
The remarkably poised Elizabeth Teeter, showing her
emotional range, will break your heart as Rose.
Brenda Curran is a sympathetic Amanda, although truly a
pathetic maternal figure in the pantheon of great mother roles.
She contrasts well with Teeter and Bradley James Tejeda as the protective Tom (Tennessee’s alter-ego).
Tejeda, who is also in “Glass” and was in several of the one-acts this summer, is pitch-perfect in his Williams’ roles. He’s the MVP of 2020. It is a perfect match, like Olivier and Shakespeare, and his vocal work is outstanding. I could listen to him read the phone book.
But that just-right comfortable Southern drawl enhances the
character’s development as he draws us in to what Tom is going through – or in “Glass,”
what Tennessee is. He’s bursting to get out of town to begin the life he
imagines for himself.
He smoothly presents these lived-in characters so we can
identify right away. And Williams, ultimately a tragic figure in his own life,
is so transparent about his thoughts and feelings that we have an instant
attachment.
Chaunery Kingsford, who was in the stunning “A Streetcar
Named Desire” in 2018, plays the Gentleman Caller with the right mix of concern
and confusion.
Directed by Brian Hohlfeld, a St. Louis native who knows
how creative passions will take someone away for their journey, understands the
Wingfields. His version is a tidy two hours and hits all the feelings,
emphasizing what isn’t said is as potent as what is.
This play takes on new meaning every time I dig in, and it’s
never the same experience. If you haven’t read it since high school, listen
here – it’s transformative.
Chauncy Thomas
Home, that running Williams’ theme, is used by Guare in “You
Lied to Me About Centralia,” featuring the tremendous power of Chauncy Thomas
as Jim and Julia Crump as Betty. Julia, who played this part when the TWFest
produced it for the Grand Center Theatre Crawl several years ago, is well-suited
to play Williams’ roles. She’s convincing as driven Betty, who is immediately
defensive for taking a trip to Granite City to see an uncle. She has ulterior
motives, which she spills during her conversation with Jim. Chauncy, one of the
most powerful actors on stage during his years in St. Louis, exercises a new
muscle here – only his voice, and it’s no less effective.
Julia Crump
Directed by Rayme Cornell, this play illuminates the themes
of “The Glass Menagerie” in a fascinating way. Just think about how a step or
two in another direction could change your life.
“Glass” is interesting in its exploration of personalities and artistic temperament. With Kari Ely playing the diva Laurette Taylor taking on the role of Amanda Wingfield, you can picture her condescending looks and withering stares. And then Tejeda gets in the skin of burgeoning artist Tennessee Williams. This duet is directed by Gary Wayne Barker, a solid veteran on the St. Louis scene.
Ely, an accomplished actress in St. Louis, is flamboyant as a near-has been who wants to be famous again. Will playing Amanda produce the results she seeks? Will Williams get what he wants with his first feature-length play? All conjecture, of course, but Ely and Tejeda are convincing playing these desperate people – one on the way up and one on the way down. This one-act is 90 minutes.
Kari Ely
The vocal work here lulls us into a comfortable place. It’s
fun to hear these journeys as these performers create pictures in our minds.
One of the most soothing voices is contributed by Ken Page,
who is a masterful speaker. He is the festival’s host and introduces each show
with his silky vocals.
So, tune in, turn up the volume, and let the magic of theater take you to new (and old) places.
Lynn (Zipfel) Venhaus has had a continuous byline in St. Louis metro region publications since 1978. She writes features and news for Belleville News-Democrat and contributes to St. Louis magazine and other publications.
She is a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic, currently reviews films for Webster-Kirkwood Times and KTRS Radio, covers entertainment for PopLifeSTL.com and co-hosts podcast PopLifeSTL.com…Presents.
She is a member of Critics Choice Association, where she serves on the women’s and marketing committees; Alliance of Women Film Journalists; and on the board of the St. Louis Film Critics Association. She is a founding and board member of the St. Louis Theater Circle.
She is retired from teaching journalism/media as an adjunct college instructor.
