According to Charlotte’s Web author E.B. White, “The circus comes as close to being the world in microcosm as anything I know. In a way, it puts all the rest of show business in the shade.”
With the launch of its 36th season, Circus Flora continues its dedication to providing St. Louis with an entertainment that is equal parts circus arts and theatrical performance. If your idea of a circus is limited to men driving around in small cars dressed as clowns or a lion tamer snapping whip, then you are more than ready for the Circus Flora experience.
Circus Flora, with shows through July 3, is a one-ring circus, and that’s one of its best attributes. The action close and intimate, and the performers engage the audience from above, around the ring and in the aisles. Unlike the circuses of yore, Circus Flora is presented theatrically, with a plot that changes each year. This year’s is “The Quest for the Innkeeper’s Cask.” It involves the antics of the Spirit Sleuths as they seek the fabled ghost of an Innkeeper and her cask of stolen human spirits in the caves beneath St. Louis.
The plot incorporates world-renowned acts like the Flying Wallendas, local acts like the St. Louis Arches and original music, ala Django Reinhardt, performed live. The show begins with an introduction by the clown, Yo-Yo the Storyteller, played with gravitas, wit and just the right amount of spookiness by Cecil MacKinnon.
As an exquisitely costumed clown, MacKinnon keeps the plot (which she co-created with Artistic Director Jack Marsh) and performances briskly moving throughout the show. She has performed with and created shows for Circus Flora since its founding in 1986 and currently serves as the theater director – and that experience shows. She’s one of the best parts of this production.
The Spirit Sleuths are a fun mélange of Ghostbusters, Scooby Doo and Our Gang. The troupe is led by the excellent featured performers: Ambrose Martos and Britt Lower. Ambrose is an actor, clown and host who has performed with Cirque du Soleil’s Joya as well as The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, The Good Cop and Gotham. Lower can currently be seen as the lead role of Helly in the Apple TV+ show Severance. In “Innkeeper’s Cask, “ the Heyworth, IL native acts, sings and plays the ukulele.
One of the gems of this show is the lively music, with traces of klezmer, gypsy and flamenco, that enhances the action and humor in the ring. This superb soundtrack is thanks to Janine Del’Arte, musical director, composer and arranger, as well as Miriam Cutler, composer.
Acrobats, daredevils, aerialists and tumblers are creatively woven into the “Innkeeper’s Cask” story. Returning for 2022 are The Flying Wallendas (highwire), The Flying Cortes (trapeze) and The Daring Horseman (equine companions). Also returning are The St. Louis Arches, a troupe composed of performers 11 to 18 years old, with an impressive floor show. The Arches hail from Circus Harmony, St. Louis’s only social circus school. Circus Harmony also offers recreational classes and preprofessional training. Circus Harmony uses the teaching and performing of circus arts to motivate social change.
New to this year’s Circus Flora Big Top are Sam & Louis, who perform a “Russian cradle” aerial act and Trio Black Diamond, a three-person balancing act from Ethiopia.
Circus Flora in general and “The Quest for the Innkeeper’s Cask” particular packs more for a family’s entertainment dollar while also maintaining a high level of artistic and theatrical integrity (not to mention face painting and pony rides on the midway).
The Colombian artist Fernando Botero once said, “The circus leaves a sweet memory.” “The Quest for the Innkeeper’s Cask” certain does.
Circus Flora’s “The Quest for the Innkeeper’s Cask” runs through July 3, including new theme nights: Baseball Night (June 15), Hockey Night (June 22) and Pride Night (June 29).
CB Adams is an award-winning fiction writer and photographer based in the Greater St. Louis area. A former music/arts editor and feature writer for the St. Louis Globe-Democrat, his non-fiction has been published in local, regional and national publications. His literary short stories have been published in more than a dozen literary journals and his fine art photography has been exhibited in more than 40 galley shows nationwide. Adams is the recipient of the Missouri Arts Council’s highest writing awards: the Writers’ Biennial and Missouri Writing!. The Riverfront Times named him, “St. Louis’ Most Under-Appreciated Writer” in 1996.
“Carmen” is no stranger to controversy. As far back as its premiere in 1875, audiences and reviewers were put off by the opera’s depiction of the lifestyles of commoners and bohemians, and their supposed immorality and lawlessness – not to mention the onstage death of Carmen herself. Flash forward to Opera Theatre of St. Louis’s 47th season opener, “Carmen,” at the Browning Theatre in the Loretto-Hilton Center, and there may be a bit of operatic controversy afoot as well.
That’s because Director Rodula Gaitanou has updated the setting and Carmen herself to appeal to more modern sensibilities. Gaitanou has moved the mid-19th century Spanish setting to the 1950s and, correspondingly, uniformed the original army into Franco’s Guardia Civil.
But it is Carmen herself, initially seen dragging a bloody bull’s head across the stage, who is distinctly reimagined in OTSL’s production. Carmen is often presented as a stereotypical, exotic, Spanish seductress – as hot as the “Habanera” she sings early in the opera. Not so in this production. Gaitanou provides a headstrong, independent Carmen – one that doesn’t need to prove her ability to turn a man’s heart and head with a flashy red dress, a provocative sashay or even stiletto heels. The audience is challenged to accept Carmen’s ability to inspire the men around her, as well as to witness her fatal attraction to the ideals captured in her final duet with Don José: “But whether I live or die / No! No! No! I will not give in.”
That idealistic inflexibility leads, even in this interpretation, to her inevitable demise.
Yunuet Laguna. Photo by Eric Woolsey
Gaitanou’s Carmen, as sung by Sarah Mesko, is more formidable, though no less unforgettable. She even rides through some scenes on a motorcycle, like a sort of Daughter of Anarchy. In other scenes, she sports a matador jacket, a visual metaphor for a woman who – ultimately fatally – runs and fights with men rather than the bulls.
To spend more time explaining Gaitanou’s artistic choices for the presentation of Carmen is to risk providing a lopsided review of the rest of this fine production. To Gaitanou’s credit, this production elevates and balances the role of Carmen with her love interests, Don José, sung by Adam Smith, and Escamillo, sung by Christian Pursell. Both are strong, masculine and believable – and Mesko’s Carmen is up to the challenges posed by these two males.
The standout performance among this strong cast is provided by Yunuet Laguna as Micaëla. Clad throughout as a dowdy, frumpy (and even pregnant by Don José) village maiden, Laguna’s “Je dis que rien m’epouvante” shines forth as a potent, if plaintive, Jiminy Cricket counterpoint to Carmen’s shinier persona. That a supporting role can rise to such showstopping prominence proves this production’s overall high quality and integrity.
Under the baton of Daniela Candillari, Opera Theatre’s new principal conductor, the Saint Louis Symphony impressively projects as if it were a larger ensemble of musicians and more than does justice to Bizet’s score.
Also noteworthy is the subtle-yet-profound sets and costumes by Cordelia Chisholm and lighting by Christopher Akerlind. “Carmen” is often associated with a fiery red and other brash, bullfighty colors. In contrast, this production evokes a Spain dusted in a drab desert palette, which is perfect for the most important splash of red at Carmen’s culminating death scene.
Opera Theatre’s “Carmen” continues at 7:30 p.m. on Jun 8, 12, 16, and 25 and at 12:30 p.m. on Jun 4 and 22.For more information on the 2022 Festival Season or for tickets, visit: https://opera-stl.org/
CB Adams is an award-winning fiction writer and photographer based in the Greater St. Louis area. A former music/arts editor and feature writer for the St. Louis Globe-Democrat, his non-fiction has been published in local, regional and national publications. His literary short stories have been published in more than a dozen literary journals and his fine art photography has been exhibited in more than 40 galley shows nationwide. Adams is the recipient of the Missouri Arts Council’s highest writing awards: the Writers’ Biennial and Missouri Writing!. The Riverfront Times named him, “St. Louis’ Most Under-Appreciated Writer” in 1996.
One of the key achievements of successful fast food chains is that no matter where you travel, an entrée tastes consistently the same. Although it may seem unfair to compare the latest tour of Disney’s The Lion King to a hamburger, it’s actually both a compliment and a testament to the quality of this theatrical adaptation of one of the franchise’s most successful animated features.
There’s no question that The Lion King the musical is equally successful on its own terms. In fact, compared to most jukebox musicals, it’s practically Shakespeare. As the house dimmed at The Fox Theatre for The Lion King’s current run (through June 19), it was clear within minutes that the show has lost neither its luster nor its appeal. First there was the cry of Rafiki, the show’s guide played by Gugwana Dlamini. From the audience’s response, it was clear that many in the audience had seen the show before. Later, even the laugh by one of the hyenas received enthusiastic, anticipatory cheers.
As Pride Rock rotates into place on an African savanna and an ark-worth’s of animals strolled the aisles of the theater and ascended the stage as “The Circle of Life” began to play. All of this plus the creatively stunning African masking and puppetry that audiences have come to know, love and expect.
The opening is one of the best of any musical – ever – and thus expectations were high. This Lion King still delivered. Like that hamburger, the audience knew what it was going to get – and it got it from the opening to the curtain call.
For many, the family-friendly songs of the show are this Lion’s heart. The show’s aural world adds more depth to the experience, thanks to Steve Canyon Kennedy’s sound design and James Dodgson’s musical direction.
The quality of this musical extends beyond any one element like the music, however. One could make the case that the artful visual storytelling may be its most potent part. It’s possible to cover one’s ears and just “watch” this musical with its beautiful set (Richard Hudson), lighting (Donald Holder), choreography (Garth Fagan) and costumes/masks/puppets (original director Julie Taymor and Michael Curry) and still feel satisfied. There aren’t many musicals that deliver more punch per square inch, or per square pound, of stage – no small feat.
The Lion King’s cast includes approximately 50 members. There wasn’t a weak performance on opening night. Many were audience favorites, such as Jurgen Hooper as Zazu and Nick Cordileone as Timon. Also noteworthy was the nuanced performance of Diamond Essence White as Simba’s mother, Sarabi, and Kayla Cyphers as Nala.
Opening night was a bit like attending The Rocky Horror Picture Show and a sing-along screening of The Sound of Music. The audience included a plentiful number of children, many of whom sang along to the most well-known songs – along with their adult companions. It was often a participatory experience – one that can be highly recommended. You know what you’re going to get.
The current national tour of “The Lion King”
Performances of DISNEY’S THE LION KING at the Fabulous Fox run June 1 – June 19. Show times are Tuesday through Saturday evenings at 7:30 p.m., Saturday afternoons at 2 p.m. and Sunday afternoons at 1 p.m. Tickets on sale now at MetroTix.com or by calling 314-534-1111. For more information, visit www.fabulousfox.com
CB Adams is an award-winning fiction writer and photographer based in the Greater St. Louis area. A former music/arts editor and feature writer for the St. Louis Globe-Democrat, his non-fiction has been published in local, regional and national publications. His literary short stories have been published in more than a dozen literary journals and his fine art photography has been exhibited in more than 40 galley shows nationwide. Adams is the recipient of the Missouri Arts Council’s highest writing awards: the Writers’ Biennial and Missouri Writing!. The Riverfront Times named him, “St. Louis’ Most Under-Appreciated Writer” in 1996.
As Stage Director Omer Ben Seadia writes of “The Magic Flute” in this season’s gorgeously designed program for Opera Theatre of St. Louis (OTSL), “We come back to ‘The Magic Flute’ in every generation, so that we too can look around and decide for ourselves what the world should look like and who we want to be in the world.”
And like its balletic counterpart cum cultural chestnut, “The Nutcracker,” Mozart’s opera is indeed wide, magical and appealing enough to invite interest, interpretation and relevance from generation to generation since it premiered in 1791. As Paul Simon more recently put it, “…every generation throws a hero up the pop charts / Medicine is magical and magical is art…”
Jeni Houser as The Queen of the Night
It’s tempting to play the wonk and dwell on how and why this singspiel in two acts has enjoyed such a long run. But the more pressing question is whether OTSL’s 2022 production is up to the demanding challenge and delivers a Flute that is as relevant as it is magical and. The short answer is yes.
If you were at the May 28th performance and seek outside validation of why you and almost everyone else – across several generations – laughed, clapped and all-but sang along to the Queen of the Night’s famous aria (if only we were all coloratura sopranos), then consider yourself validated.
A closer look, however, reveals a subtle, cerebral interpretation of this classic – one that takes some interesting risks and rewards the careful observer. As film director/writer/producer Alan Parker once said, “It’s just as hard to make a bad film as a good one…” The same holds true for opera productions.
The pros at OTSL faced a million decisions that coalesced into this take on a canonical opera. One would have loved to have listened to the discussions between Seadia, Set Designer Ryan Howell and Lighting Designer Christopher Akerlind as they explored how to create the set, which is deceptively simple.
It was anchored by the twisted trunk of a tree – shades of Keebler Elves – that served as the synecdoche for the entire enchanted forest. The tree was flanked by an elevated, wood-toned walkway and staircase that was so ordinary as to become essentially ubiquitous, if not invisible.
The set’s standout element is the busy-patterned, bi-color, batik-like back wall. At first glance, the wall seems more fitting for “The Lion King” than an enchanted forest. But cue the lights. Throughout the opera, the use of light brings some of the no-so-random shapes to life as owls, heads or all-seeing eyes.
Clever in the best sense of the world, and never so obvious as to detract from the overall performance. The use of suspended light bars in Act II was spectacularly effective, especially since this half of the opera relates to light relative to Act I’s focus on darkness.
Jessica Jahn, costume designer, and Tom Watson, wig and make-up designer, created costumes that hinted at a disparate variety of influences. The costume for Sarastro, the High Priest of the Sun, for instance, enveloped Adam Lau in a spectral cape that was part David Bowie in “The Man Who Fell To Earth” and part Balok from the “The Corbomite Maneuver” episode of “Star Trek.”
Johnathan McCullough and Angel Riley
It would have been easy to rely on a more traditional, Egyptian-theme for Sarastro. At Sarastro’s first entrance, his costume was slightly off-putting, but as Lau stiffly moves about, his costume’s next-generation pharaonic vibe makes sense. Again, this is a cerebral production of the Flute.
The three Workers also sported spacey costumes that are a mash-up of brown Carhartt overalls and bowel-shaped hoods reminiscent of the Jawas in “Star Wars.” Not quite as effective was The Queen of the Night’s second act costume that included a lighted iconographic halo. Using lights to depict a character associated with darkness seems a bit gimmicky, but not overly detracting thanks to the powerful performance of Jeni Houser.
The Flute’s story is simply silly by today’s standards. Its magic lies in the music by Mozart. And the magic in this production is the cast. With a smooth assist from the orchestra led by Rory Macdonald, they almost make the set, costumes and lighting superfluous.
It’s easy to emphasize Johnathan McCollough’s Papageno because the character has all the best, funniest lines and he gets to romp through his scenes – so much Falstaffian id mucking about with all the other Flutian egos. The world of opera could use more laughter like this. McCollough plays his Papageno as a well-rounded, hedonistic nature boy. Angel Riley was the perfect counterpoint and foil with her Papagena as his devilish, spunky love-interest.
Balancing Papageno’s comic antics is the more serious, eyes-on-the-prize prince, Tamino, sung by tenor Joshua Blue. As the central character, Blue’s performance was silky, entrancing and believable.
Equally strong was Houser as The Queen of the Night – part Borg Queen and part Wicked Stepmother (lighted headdress notwithstanding.) Houser’s coloratura “Vengeance Aria” is a show-stopper, as it is intended to be.
Erica Petrocelli sings Pamina, the Queen’s daughter. Pamina is both vulnerable in a girl-tied-on-the-tracks sort of way and fiercely strong-willed like Elsa in “Frozen.” Petrocelli pulls off that balance with a performance equal to, if not surpassing, her queen mum.
The basso Lau convincingly and captivatingly sings Sarastro. Lau’s coldly controlled presence paired with his deep, resonate, voice imbues Sarastro with gravitas and other-worldliness.
The art of opera is a gestalt, composed of all of the theatrical arts, and especially music and voice. Magical is art. OTSL’s 2022 production of “The Magic Flute” joins the ongoing lineage of productions that precede it. And if anyone of this generation questions the need for another, borrow the title from the second volume of Elvis’s gold hits and say, “50,000,000 Flute Fans Can’t Be Wrong.”
Erica Petrocelli and Joshua Blue
“The Magic Flute” is presented in repertory by Opera Theatre of St. Louis June 8-26 at the Loretto-Hilton Center, 130 Edgar Road, St. Louis. It is performed in English with projected English subtitles and runs 2 hours, 30 minutes. Members of the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra accompany the performance. For dates, tickets and more information, visit: https://opera-stl.org/whats-on/the-magic-flute/
CB Adams is an award-winning fiction writer and photographer based in the Greater St. Louis area. A former music/arts editor and feature writer for the St. Louis Globe-Democrat, his non-fiction has been published in local, regional and national publications. His literary short stories have been published in more than a dozen literary journals and his fine art photography has been exhibited in more than 40 galley shows nationwide. Adams is the recipient of the Missouri Arts Council’s highest writing awards: the Writers’ Biennial and Missouri Writing!. The Riverfront Times named him, “St. Louis’ Most Under-Appreciated Writer” in 1996.
Let’s dispatch with the most obvious misconception one might have upon first encountering the name Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo, which bills itself as the “World’s Foremost All-male Comic Ballet Company.” At first glance, this might seem like a novelty act, like the Harlem Globetrotters in tutus, RuPaul’s Drag Race On Pointe or Dame Edna Everage Does A Derriére. Or, in Chuckles the Clown parlance, “A Little Song. A Lot of Dance. Just a Spritz of Seltzer Down Your…Tutu.”
But what the audience at the nearly full Touhill Performing Arts Center on Saturday, April 16 discovered – if they didn’t already know – is that a “Trocks” performance is much more than a drag ballet. So, let’s just call it what it truly was: a night of innovative, beguiling, impressive ballet sprinkled liberally with spot-on comic moments that were way more Keaton and Chaplin than Divine and Coccinelle.
And that may be one of the best things about the Trocks – the amount of sheer athleticism and poise required of the male dancers to balance on toes as swans, sylphs, water sprites, romantic princesses and angst-ridden Victorian ladies. It reminds one of that old quote about Ginger Rogers doing everything Fred Astaire did, except “backwards and in high heels.”
Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo was founded in 1974 and, after appearances in more than 35 countries and 600 cities worldwide, continues its mission of performing polished parodies of classical ballets en pointe and en travesty. As the company approaches its 50th anniversary in two years, its reputation received a boost after the release of Ballerina Boys, a film by Chana Gazit and Martie Barylick, that aired on PBS’ American Masters. It is noteworthy that Saturday’s performance marked a first for the Trocks’ as they made their St. Louis debut as part of Dance St. Louis’ 2021-22 season.
Also noteworthy is “…the Trocks’ commitment to providing a stage for dancers often underrepresented in classical ballet due to their sexual orientation, gender identity, size, social class, race and ethnicity,” according to their mission statement “…As ambassadors of LGBTQ culture and acceptance, the Trocks remain committed to supporting, mentoring, and inspiring the next generation of LGBTQ performers and arts appreciators; supporting LGBTQ elderly and mentoring LGBTQ youth; and serving as an integral link to the history and traditions of LGBTQ performance.
The company’s education and engagement programs allow the company to extend the work it does on stage and engage communities in reimagining their expectations of ballet performance and its intersection with gender roles and identities.”
Photo by Sascha Vaughan
Saturday’s program consisted of three parts. The first was “Le Lac des Cygnes” (Swan Lake, Act II), the Trocks’ signature work, with music by Tchaikovsky, choreography after Lev Ivanovich Ivanov, costumes by Mike Gonzales and décor by Clio Young.
This was followed by a pas de deux in “ Vivaldi Suite” with music by Vivaldi, choreography after George Balanchine, costumes by Gonzalez and lighting by Kip Marsh. The evening concluded with the Spanish-influenced Majismas, from the 1885 opera Le Cid by Jules Massenet with staged and additional choreography by Raffaele Morra, costumes by Christopher Anthony Vergara and lighting by Jax Messenger.
It would almost be unfair to highlight any one of the Trocks because, to mix metaphors, the company has such a “deep bench” of fabulously talented ballet dancers. Their Trocks names include Maya Thickenthighya, Minnie Van Driver and Sascha Altschmerz. The program notes were as much fun to read as listening to the pun-filled names at the end of the old Car Talk radio show, such as the Russian chauffeur, Picov Andropov, and vacation specialist, Ivana Veekoff.
But who said reviews were fair? In addition to the deep bench, of special note was Takaomi Yoshino by way of Varvara Laptopova as the Queen of the Swans in Swan Lake. The Vivaldi Suite was performed seamlessly by Maxfield Haynes by way of Marina Plezegetovstageskaya and Ugo Cirri by way of William Vanilla. The entire Corps de Ballets in Majisimas was so effortlessly enthralling and entertaining that it was easy to focus on the performance itself with no concern that it was also a performance by only men. That takes some doing.
After a long standing ovation, the company treated the audience with a Rockettes-styled dance to “New York, New York.” At the Trocks St. Louis debut, it’s not hyperbole to assert that they came, they saw and they knocked it out of the park.
Here’s to hoping it won’t be another 48 years before they return. Start spreadin’ the news.
CB Adams is an award-winning fiction writer and photographer based in the Greater St. Louis area. A former music/arts editor and feature writer for the St. Louis Globe-Democrat, his non-fiction has been published in local, regional and national publications. His literary short stories have been published in more than a dozen literary journals and his fine art photography has been exhibited in more than 40 galley shows nationwide. Adams is the recipient of the Missouri Arts Council’s highest writing awards: the Writers’ Biennial and Missouri Writing!. The Riverfront Times named him, “St. Louis’ Most Under-Appreciated Writer” in 1996.
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.
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.
A Refreshed Grande Dame of Midcentury Musicals Presented in Fine Fashion
By CB Adams
After the two-year black hole that was the COVID-19 pandemic, this reviewer was so happy to have a rear-end planted in a seat in the Fox Theatre, preparing to experience live theater with a live orchestra and a live audience, that I would have been happy just to listen to someone stand on the stage and recite selections from an old phone book.
Instead, as the house lights dimmed and orchestra played the overture to The Lincoln Center Theater Production of My Fair Lady, running at the Fox Theatre from March 22 to April 3, it felt more than a bit like The Wizard of Oz, when the film cuts from black and white into Technicolor.
There has been much written and analyzed about the success of Director Bartlett Sher’s approach to ameliorate some of the uncomfortable sexist and misogynistic moments of this musical – cringey attributes shared by others of the era, such as Kiss Me Kate. But sexism wasn’t limited to that era. It resonated in films such as “Pretty Woman” and even “Indecent Proposal.” In “Pretty Woman,” Julia Roberts’ character sleeps her way to success. In “My Fair Lady,” Eliza speaks her way to a different kind of success.
But this reviewer prefers to leave those discussions off stage. Instead, below is a live tweet-style review of the opening night’s performance, with all its due eager anticipation. All times are imaginatively approximate, but be prepared – this production runs almost three hours. When the company takes its bows, you know you’ve had a musical experience.
7:15 – The Fabulous Fox is full tonight! The stage shimmers lightly with a two-level, austere scrim of the London skyline and a single street lamp.
7:30 – The live orchestra! The overture! Through the heads in front of me, it’s actually exciting to catch glimpses Music Director/Conductor John Bell as he commands his baton. Won’t take that for granted anymore. Thanks, COVID!
7:31 – A spare stage. Silhouetted characters move across the scrim, ending with Eliza, alone, sans flowers. Does this foreshadow Eliza’s predominance in this version?
7:33 – Scene 1! Forgot the first song is Henry Higgins’ “Why Can’t the English?” as sung by Laird Mackintosh in this production. Nobody can top Lerner and Lowe at the height of the Golden Age of musical theater. Come for the songs, stay for the songs!
My Fair Lady Photo by Joan Marcus
7:45 – Balancing that Higgins tune is Shereen Ahmed as Eliza Doolittle (I hope she does a lot!) and “Wouldn’t It Be Loverly.” I was worried this might not have aged well, if for no other reason than familiarity can breed contempt. But no! It’s a plaintive call for something better, full of longing and with a pathos similar to “Somewhere Over the Rainbow.” Props to Ahmed!
7:55 – Change of pace in Scene 2, set in the dodgy side of town. It’s Eliza’s dad, Alfred, played by the athletic Martin Fisher, with his two sidekicks, Jamie and Harry, played by Wade McCollum and William Michals, respectively.
7:56 – These three engage in bro banter and well-timed roughhousing then segue into a jaunty rendition of “With a Little Bit of Luck.” Fisher’s baritone was unexpected and powerful. It seemed he could roll right into “Old Man River” without missing a beat. Definitely saw Sher’s attempt to soften the sexism by including a trio of suffragettes in the chorus shouting “Our bodies, our choice.”
8:02 – Back to Higgins, now in his two-story Wimpole Street study. Impressive, ship-like set, complete with all the accoutrements of an English academic bachelor: spiral staircase, polished dark wood and brass fittings, a cluttered desk the size of flight deck and yards and yards of books.
8:03 – Higgins’ opulent study is an Edwardian man cave, perfect for cavorting with the Higgins’ old chum, Colonel Pickering (a delightful Kevin Pariseau) that also reveals this show’s high production values. Wow! And that’s thanks to Michael Yeargan, the scenic designer.
8:20 – Jumping to Scene 5, back in Higgin’s study. The set ingeniously turns, revealing different parts of the townhouse. More kudos to Yeargan.
8:30 – Still Scene 5, replete with four numbers that lead to the ubiquitous “The Rain in Spain,” which begins Eliza’s transformation into a “proper” lady with the enunciation to match. Then, “I Could Have Danced All Night.” Ahmed brings a graceful earnestness to this familiar song.
8:40 – It’s the Scene 6 show stopper! Literally. Set outside a club tent at the Ascot horse races, Yeargan’s design includes a striped tent that was supposed to rise above the cast. Problem was, it didn’t rise. Some of the cast members had to step around the tent during the “Ascot Gavotte.” The house announcer told us the show was experiencing difficulties and instructed the cast to leave the stage for their safety. House lights came up for several minutes and the show proceeded. Hey, it’s live theater, people!
8:47 – Despite the scenery malfunction, the Ascot scene highlights another of Yeargan’s brilliant touches. He toggles sets right out of “Decorating Rich” with those like this one that are subtler, cleaner and more contemporary.
8:55 – Scene 7. Another great supporting character. This time, it’s love-struck Freddy, played by Sam Simahk. Singing “On the Street Where You Live” with a powerful tenor, Simahk commands the song and stage. Simahk, along with Fisher as Eliza’s father, may have given the best performances. What’s that they say about no small parts?
9:00 – Act I ends with the presentation of Eliza as she prepares for the embassy ball. As she steps out in a very Audrey Hepburn evening gown, it’s the perfect time to call out Catherin Zuber’s excellent costume designs. Eliza’s evening gown and gloves are perfect and elicited the anticipated oohhs and aahhs, but she becomes regal as she is enshrouded in a high-colored, deep-red cloak. Another noteworthy touch came earlier as Higgins’ house staff prepared to bathe Eliza. As she is stripped down, actually and metaphorically, the process is modestly exemplified by the way the maids pluck her dirty gloves from her hands. Small touch that says so much – love the attention to details like this.
Photo by Joan Marcus
9:20 – Act II, Scene 2. A cringe-worthy scene despite this production’s best efforts. Eliza is back in Higgins’ study after her successful foray into high society. “You Did It” is intended to be a triumphant song, but Eliza is separated physically and emotionally from Higgins, Pickering and the house staff. Higgins takes all the credit for her success while Eliza observes from the periphery. Am I the only one to see the parallels between parts of “My Fair Lady” and “Frankenstein?” “You Did It” is equivalent to Dr. Frankenstein’s “It’s Alive!” Both men are myopically impressed by their own work at the expense of the “creations.”
9:40 – Jumping to Scene 4. A rousing show-stopper with “Get Me to the Church On Time,” sung by Eliza’s father and his cohorts as he prepares to be married. Not sure what purpose this song does to move the story forward, but it is the most vigorous, uninhibited and naughty of the show. A great change of pace as a Moulin Rouge-esque song and dance routine that sneakily – at first – introduces cancan dancers in drag. What?!
My Fair Lady
10:15 – “I’ve Grown Accustomed to Her Face.” Don’t expect the Rex Harrison styling of this classic. Mackintosh’s Higgins is a linguistic king baby who cries for his mommy after Eliza leaves him in an earlier scene. Here, he grapples with his two sides – will he or won’t he. He waffles, like a Jekyll and a Hyde (apt since he played the Utterson character in “Jekyll & Hyde”) and the song ends with no clear decision.
10:30 – Not exactly the ending I expected. No spoilers. See “My Fair Lady” for yourself. It’s worth it.
11:30 – Back home. Thinking of that ending. It’s not a Hollywood ending, but it may be the best or most-right ending to a musical that others have described as “perfect but not great.” Thinking also of two moments as the audience walked toward the exits. Two separate individuals in two different parts of the theater were quietly singing, “I Could Have Danced All Night.” Nothing says “Great show” better than that.
Performances of Lerner & Loewe’s MY FAIR LADY at the Fabulous Fox run March 22 – April 3. Show times are Tuesday through Saturday evenings at 7:30 p.m., Saturday afternoons at 2 p.m. and Sunday afternoons at 1 p.m. There will be an evening performance on Sunday, March 27 at 6:30 p.m. and a matinee performance on Thursday, March 31 at 1 p.m. Tickets on sale now at MetroTix.com or by calling 314-534-1111. For more information, visit www.fabulousfox.com
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.
What happens when you take Puccini’s La Boheme (The
Breakfast Club of its day) out for a sexed-up, drugged-up, angst-amped joy
ride through lower Manhattan in the upper decade of the former millennium?
Well, if it’s 24 years ago, it snags a Pulitzer Prize for Drama and the Tony Award for Best Musical while running for an impressive 12 years and grossing more than $280 million.
But what if it’s 24 years later? Do a quick internet search about the 20th-anniversary touring production of Jonathan Larson’s Rent, which opened at the Fabulous Fox on Friday, Feb. 21, and you’ll find a significant amount of critics-sphere dithering about the dreaded R-word – relevance.
Is this Puccini reboot (of sorts) still relevant now that the LGBTQ and AIDS epidemic cultural landscape has shifted in the past two decades — to say nothing of New York City real estate?
On the other hand, is a focus on relevance really that…well,
relevant? After all, is Oklahoma and its “surrey with the fringe on top”
relevant? Is South Pacific and its hair washing man removal relevant? Will
Hamilton still be hip-hoppin’ relevant in 20 years?
Kelsee Schweigard as Maureen
The crucible for relevance of any piece of theater (define
relevance any way you please) is, ultimately, time. It’s about longevity. It’s
about audiences willing – eager even – to engage with a new production of a
show and embrace it anew. Within this context, the relevance of Rent,
now 20 years on, is proved by its ability to enthusiastically fill seats, which
this touring production certainly did on opening night at the Fox Theatre. The
audience demographic was “youthier” than some other recent Fox shows, which
makes sense because Rent is talkin’ ‘bout that younger generation that
bridges the analogue and digital worlds.
The audience was greeted immediately by Paul Clay’s muscular, industrial set design, adapted for this production by Matthew Maraffi, which provided an effective visual environment that evoked the vibe and spirit of (to cross genres) the Dandy Warhols’ “Bohemian Like You.” The lighting was noteworthy, too, appropriately shifting from candle-lit love-mood to spotlighted rock concert stage. Tucked stage right was the lean pit orchestra, led by conductor/keyboardist Mark Binns, which was seamlessly – visually and aurally – integrated into the production. In fact, it was easy to forget they were on stage most of the time.
Rent is a demanding show choreographically speaking.
It requires a range of athleticism during numbers such Mimi’s Tina
Turner-channeling “Out Tonight” to the company’s languid, funereal “Goodbye,
Love.” This production is generally up to that challenge, though Aiyana Smash as
Mimi appeared unsure and overly studied during some of her pole-dancing moves while
climbing and hanging from the railings during “Out Tonight.” Such hesitancy was
quickly forgotten after her tabletop romping later in that number.
Costume Design by Angela Wendt was true to the original and
to the 90s era it represented. Costumes were mostly rags that thankfully didn’t
veer too deeply into Uriah Heep territory and enlivened with some Jane Fonda
workout and Where’s Wally? flourishes. One misstep was the portrayal of
the riot police who wore oversized, cartoonish visors, cupped their batons like
rural sheriffs and marched like children on parade. That may have been the
intent, but it detracted from the emotional reach of their scenes.
The 20th reunion Rent benefits from a
strong, deep-bench cast:
Cody Jenkins as Mark Cohen
Cody Jenkins as Mark Cohen provided the connective tissue
throughout as both emcee and cast member. He delivered an admirable range that
modulated from affable to earnest and, at-times, angry and callow.
Coleman Cummings delivered a strong but uneven performance
as Roger Davis. On numbers that required his “big voice,” his voice was strong,
meaty and powerful, but in quieter moments he was ineffectively torpid and
lispy, even though Roger is not in good health.
Audience favorite Angel Schunard was
Pussy-Galored/Pussy-Glamoured with a cat-like, Jack Skellington-esque aplomb by
Joshua Tavares. His drag queen persona rightly drew applause and you-go-girl
affirmations, but his quieter, sick and dying scenes were equally as memorable
for their quiet power – especially his simulated puking. Schunard had the
perfect blend of range and moves for the entirety of this demanding part.
Kelsee Sweigard delivered one of the show’s most impressive
performances as Maureen Johnson during the “Over the Moon” performance art
number. She played the preposterous “milk in the cyber world” scene with a
believable, earnest awkwardness that wasn’t easy to achieve – in the same way
playing believably drunk is never easy.
Shafiq Hicks as big-man Tom Collins belted out his deep,
resonant, “Old Man River”-tinged voice in all his solos, especially his reprise
of “I’ll Cover You.” His best stage moments begged the production make a hard
stop – in only good ways – to pay special attention to his performance.
Ditto for Smash as Mimi. Smash’s show-stopping power was
evident in equal measures in her dance and singing. Her Mimi shared an impressive
spectrum of radiance, assertiveness, horniness, vulnerability and, ultimately,
transfigured.
Rent at 24 resonates a little differently than it did in its Broadway and touring heyday. Perhaps at its 30th and 40th anniversaries will find a different relevance, though audiences may need footnotes to explain references to the Sex Pistols, Spike Lee, Ecstasy, etc.
But, as Dale Carnegie (of all people) once wrote, “Your
purpose is to make your audience see what you saw, hear what you heard, feel
what you felt. Relevant detail, couched in concrete, colorful language, is the
best way to recreate the incident as it happened and to picture it for the
audience.”
Yeah, Rent does that.
The 20th anniversary tour of “Rent”
The Fabulous Fox Theatre presented “Rent” February 21-23.
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.
By CB Adams Contributing Writer It’s nice to be surprised, even at what might seem like just another jukebox musical. And yet, that’s exactly what “Summer: The Donna Summer Musical” achieved. On opening night at the Fox Theatre, the audience obviously came primed to be wowed by performances of Ms. Summer’s greatest hits like “Love to Love You Baby,” “MacArthur Park,” “Bad Girls,” “Hot Stuff.” The show doled them out in a steady stream and culminated, predictably in…you guessed it, the show-ender “Last Dance.” Like many jukebox musicals, Summer the show suffers from moments of clunky dialogue, yuck-yuck jokes and plot shifts that require more than a simple suspension of disbelief. And it artificially tries to create momentum by turning up the volume or bass (or both). But unlike most of this genre’s brethren and sistren, Summer transcends its own shortcomings, with thanks due largely to Dan’yelle Williamson as Diva Donna/Mary Gaines (her birth name), Alex Hairston as Disco Donna and Olivia Elease Hardy as Duckling Donna/Mimi (one of Ms. Summer’s daughters.) Yes. That’s right. It takes three performers to properly portray the one real-life Donna Summer, who was no one-hit wonder. This vocal triptych is apropos because Summer was more than the sum of her parts, and that sum comprised her many talents as singer, songwriter, mother, wife, visual artist and all-around diva. Sometimes solo and sometimes sharing the stage simultaneously as Summer wrestled with her life’s demons and dilemmas, Williamson, Hairston and Hardy (you could call them the Three Facets) do Donna proud. They may not have Summer’s chops or X-factor presence, but they evoke and reflect the power, emotion and confidence of their powerful pop progenitor. Another part of this show’s success is the book by Colman Domingo, Robert Cray and Des McAnuff. Instead of concocting a contrived, wink-wink plot, Summer hits the Cliffs Notes (the highs as well as the lows) of Ms. Summer’s life and career. This nonfiction element works well enough within the context of this show and provides an acceptable, linear story arc while engaging in some not-too off-putting revisionist history and legacy polishing. It appeared that most in the audience were already familiar with the undulations of Summer’s career. They came to party like it was 1979, not slog through the high drama of Mommy Dearest or The Color Purple (though this show presents “lite” versions of similar themes). The songs, to borrow a phrase from oenology (and maybe Tina Turner), still have legs. Though at the time of their release they suffered the slings and arrows of the “Disco Sucks” movement, Summer’s songs still have the power to make you shake your groove thing, even if more than a few audience members had to shake ‘em sitting down. Blues Brother Dan Aykroyd and his diatribe about “pre-programed electronic disco” would have been admonished to shut up and dance. The auditorium was filled with so much head bobbing and seat dancing that surely they put to shame the puny “Bohemian Rhapsody” scene in Wayne’s World. The Summer stage sparkled brightly under the direction of Des McAnuff, choreography by Sergio Trujillo, music supervision by Ron Melrose, scenic design by Robert Brill, costumes by Paul Tazewell and lighting by Howey Binkley. This combination gave Summer an early-MTV vibe, a la Robert Palmer’s “Addicted to Love” video. The stage was clean and minimal while evoking the spirit of its times while never overwhelming the presence of Summer in any or all of her three facets. The unexpected surprise of this show, wasn’t, however, any of the above. It wasn’t one of Summer’s mega-hits, which were practically designed to be uber-crowd-pleasers. Rather, it was a song later in the one-act show – “I Believe in Jesus” performed by Disco Donna. Hairston’s passionate performance brought the show to a standstill, in all the best ways, and received some of the most heartfelt, resonant applause of the evening. The song’s placement in the show marks a beat in Summer’s life when her faith was reinvigorated. And, like several other obvious and subtle moments, conveyed yet another facet of the strong, talented, driven, successful woman behind the Queen of Disco moniker. The Fabulous Fox Theatre presents “Summer: The Donna Summer Musical” January 15-26. For more information, visit www.fabulousfox.com.
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.
Escape From Margaritaville Washes Ashore and Wastes
Away
By CB AdamsContributing Writer
Escape From Margaritaville is not your typical musical theater experience. In fact, one deigns to even dub it a “musical.” It’s more party than performance.
That’s because to receive the full benefit of buying a ticket – and for the show to reach its limited potential – requires the audience to fully engage – that is to actually participate – in its Parrot-headed premise.
Escape From Margaritaville hails from the Jimmy Buffet industrial complex and is an island-flavored entertainment with as much realism as a cheesy travel brochure. The show snorkeled into town at The Fabulous Fox on October 18-20.
Riding in the wake of other successful, so-called jukebox musicals, Margartaville is conspicuously designed to ride in on the high tide of box office success of other productions of this ilk, namely Mama Mia! and Rock of Ages.
These successful shows provided the recipe-cum-template for
Margaritaville, which tosses Buffet’s beguiling country-western-in-a-Hawaiian-shirt
tunage and Will Rogers-ish, aw-shucks humor into a blender with a tropish,
silly “boy meets then loses girl” plot, trying to render a frozen concoction
that hopes to help the audience hang onto their ticket stubs for a breezy couple
of hours.
But instead of landing an expected sharknado of sing-along
shenanigans, Friday night’s performance reeled in gasping guppies. The reason
why was not the bait. Who doesn’t love Buffet’s easy, languid, catchy,
comfortable-as-your-favorite flip-flops songs such as “Volcano,” “Fins,” “Come
Monday,” “Son of a Son of a Sailor” and the title song? It’s nearly impossible
not to like these fan faves, just ask thousands – if not millions – of Parrot
Heads the world over.
Nor was the show’s failure to launch due to the
aforementioned plot, which surely does not require one to suspend very much
disbelief. After all, the show’s tagline says it all: “Set Your Mind on Island
Time.” That should be easy to do, given Buffet promotion of a fiddle-dee-dee,
“Why Don’t We Get Drunk and Screw?” mindset.
But the dialogue was predictable, flavorless and seemed like it was borrowed from a second-rate sitcom, which is a shame since it came from Emmy-winner Greg Garcia (My Name is Earl, Family Matters and Family Guy) and Mike O’Malley (the award-winning Survivor’s Remorse).
The plot tortuously bends to accommodate the story of two
women from Cincinnati on a bachelorette binge. Rachel, the lead, played by
Sarah Hinrichsen, is a type A scientist whose friend, Rachel, played by Shelly
Lynn Walsh, is soon to be married to the bro-y, doltish Chadd, broadly played
by Noah Bridgestock with thankfully short stage time.
The women predictably become entwined with islanders Tully,
the other lead played by Chris Clark, and Brick, played by Peter Michael
Jordan. Of all the performances on Friday night, Jordan’s was the only lively
stand-out – and that’s not damning the performance with faint praise. He
practically carried the show, especially during the campy tap number in the
second act. Even the horny ole codger, J.D., played by Patrick Cogan, needed an
extra shot of Ron Rico (or another “little blue pill”) at this performance.
All of the shortcomings of Escape From Margaritaville
could have been overcome with a more enthusiastic and fully engaged audience.
The producers tried to turn the show into an event with free leis at the
entrance, a precious few moments when the actors broke the fourth wall, and a
boatload of beachballs released during the final number. But the audience
response was lackluster. It needed more die-hard, fully plumed Parrot Heads or
at least more attendees who were willing to abandon their self-reserve in favor
of the show’s charms for a couple of hours.
That, and unlike Rock of Ages, which packed a
decade’s worth of 80s big-haired rockers, Escape to Margaritaville
needed more – much more – of Buffet’s appealing, easy-on-the-ears-and-mind
tunes. Good times need good tunes, and these felt in short supply in this show,
leaving some at the exits, escaping from Margartaville.
The Fabulous Fox Theatre presented “Escape from Margaritaville” October 18-20.
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.
