Heart-Tugging Portrayals in NJT’s Awe-Inspiring ‘The Immigrant’

Heart-Tugging Portrayals in NJT’s Awe-Inspiring ‘The Immigrant’

By Lynn Venhaus
When Haskell Harelik, born Chatzkell Garehlik in Belarus, first steps off the boat in the port of Galveston, Texas, in 1909, actor Dustin Lane Petrillo beams with both joy and wonder.

That sense of liberty, breathing free on our teeming American shore, is palpable, and brings to mind how many other journeys of generations we know about, making “The Immigrant” a universal story that couldn’t be timelier.

This one is specific to Texas following the Russian Revolution. Pograms during those events spurred Haskell to emigrate as part of the Galveston Movement, as one of about 10,000 Eastern European Jews who arrived there 1907-14, arranged by a businessman to alleviate the overcrowding and poor living conditions on the lower east side of New York City.

This fresh New Jewish Theatre production, for the third time in its 25-year history, offers a warm, intimate connection that says as much about our common ground as humans as it does about hope and dreams.

Perceptively directed by Rebekah Scallet, this moving true story is awe-inspiring in its simplicity and eloquence, heart-tugging in its splendid character portrayals by an outstanding quartet, and masterly in its technical achievements.

Playwright Mark Harelik’s richly textured family drama, first produced in 1985, has an absorbing ebb and flow over eight decades, but mainly concentrates on his tempest-tossed grandfather’s early struggles to survive in a foreign land and then eventually succeed in living his American Dream.

Petrillo’s exceptional range as Haskell – and exemplary command of Yiddish — is first shown as a poor, tired, and parched peddler, selling bananas for a penny apiece when he nearly collapses from the heat in front of the Perry’s home in Hamilton, Texas. Wary of the stranger, banker Milton Perry lets him get water from their well, while his tender-hearted wife Ima wants to offer more help to the lost soul in their midst, and their paths will cross again.

David Wassilak, Dustin Lane Petrillo. Photo by Jon Gitchoff.

As the Perrys, David Wassilak and Mindy Shaw mirror the mindsets of the day, suspicious and fearful of “the other,” but are won over by Haskell’s charm and work ethic. When Milton sees Haskell’s papers and discovers he’s a Russian Jew, his prejudice flares up, but the young man is so earnest, he wins over the locals.

Because of Milton’s position, he’s willing to help set up Haskell in a more stable enterprise – a horse-drawn fruit and vegetable cart. That leads to a store in downtown Hamilton that lasted 78 years, until it closed in 1989.

Being a practicing Jew in a primarily Christian enclave, with many Southern Baptists, takes some adjustment, especially for Haskell’s wife Leah, who reunites here with reluctance. Bryn McLaughlin conveys her challenges as she desperately misses her community, but eventually assimilates to a good life as thriving, trustworthy merchants. They raise three boys, with the Perrys being a major part of their lives.

Wassilak and Shaw deliver finely tuned performances, with subtle rural central Texas accents, and together, in sync like an old married couple through the years, for full-bodied realism. Their chemistry is matched by Petrillo and McLaughlin so that you truly feel the couple’s bonds.

Bryn McLaughlin, Dustin Lane Petrillo. Photo by Jon Gitchoff.

Differences about the growing European storm with Hitler in Germany and the reluctance of the U.S. to get involved in 1939 will cause friction between Milton and Haskell. There may be some artistic license, but it’s a wonderful story well-told. The minutia of daily living is superbly captured, all those little things that add up to making a life, no matter what era or what region. (I particularly enjoyed references to rabbit’s foot keychains, anklets and first time seeing an artichoke).

The creative team’s skills are first-rate, with stellar work from Kareem Deanes on sound –organically integrated with birds chirping, and retro background music – as well as his projections design. Each side of the theater has a screen where the audience can view information on Haskell’s journey and portraits of the Harelik family through the years that adds real sentimental moments to this deeply felt tale.

Scenic designer Rob Lippert’s meticulously detailed work on two home facades and landcaped trees and greenery creates a terrific setting to tell this story, placing the audience on each side for seamless action.

Stage Manager Nathan Wright, and Assistant Stage Manager Journee Carter keep the staging crisp and fluid.

Lighting designer Michael Sullivan’s warm illumination creates the feeling of home for both families.

Costume designer Michele Friedman Siler has astutely outfitted the women in changing skirt lengths and vintage styles while dressing the men in their appropriate professional attire, Haskell changing in stature through the years.

The play, co-conceived by Harelik, a professional actor, and Randal Myler, a writer, director, and producer, resonates beautifully with today’s audience.

New Jewish produced this play before, in 1999 and 2011, before I became part of the St. Louis Theater Circle as a founding member in 2012. This was a wise choice to mount it again.

Mindy Shaw, Dustin Lane Petrillo. Photo by Jon Gitchoff

This is Scallet’s directorial debut, and it’s impressive. She is in her second season as artistic director of New Jewish, having moved here in 2020.

The dialect coaching by John Wright deserves mention, and so does the aesthetically pleasing natural wig designs by Dennis Milam Bensie.

“The Immigrant” is a compassionate example of shining our lamps on the golden door for those yearning for better lives. Indirectly, it also is infused with an urgency to not be passive about the current state of turmoil in the world.

The fact that local groups are hosting information sessions on how to help refugees in the Israel-HAMAS War during this play’s run, creates even more meaning. For more information, visit https://jccstl.com/resources-on-the-israel-hamas-war/.

“Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, The wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door!” – bronze plaque on The Statue of Liberty, 1883

David Wassilak, Dustin Petrillo. Photo by Jon Gitchoff.


The New Jewish Theatre presents “The Immigrant” Thursdays at 7:30 p.m., Saturdays at 4 and 8 p.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m. Oct. 12 through Oct. 29. Performances take place at the Wool Studio Theatre in the SFC Performing Arts Center, 2 Millstone Campus Drive. The two-act play runs 2 hours, 21 minutes, and has a 15-minute intermission. For more information: newjewishtheatre.org or call 314-442-3283.

The New Jewish Theatre has coordinated with multiple local organizations who help immigrants to plan outreach events at or in coordination with this production to bring awareness to current issues facing immigrants and refugees in St. Louis. They include:

  • A “needed item” drive in collaboration with The International Institute will take place throughout the showings.
  • On October 21, following the 4 pm performance, there will be a discussion panel featuring members of the Central Reform Congregation Resettlement Chavurah.
  • On October 22, following the 2 pm performance, there will be a discussion featuring members of the Shaare Emeth Congregation Resettlement Group.
  • Finally, a Welcome Neighbor dinner will take place at the J between the 4pm and 8pm performances on October 28.

Mesmerizing Performances in The Rep’s Heartfelt ‘Gruesome Playground Injuries’

Mesmerizing Performances in The Rep’s Heartfelt ‘Gruesome Playground Injuries’

By Lynn Venhaus

Funny, sad, poignant and personal, “Gruesome Playground Injuries” is the Repertory Theatre of St. Louis’ impressive return to the Steve Woolf Studio series, renowned for its adventurous programming for years.

It’s an accomplished production of Rajiv Joseph’s 2009 two-character drama featuring raw and affecting performances from Brian Slaten and Jessika D. Williams, who will break your heart as damaged souls Doug and Kayleen.

The year is 1983 and they meet as eight-year-olds in their parochial school infirmary. He’s a daredevil prone to accidents that get more series as time goes by and she’s waylaid by a sensitive stomach – her mother blames it on “bad thoughts” – and her internal wounds progress to self-harm and substance abuse.

Both outsiders, their lives intersect for the next 30 years, while they wrestle with their feelings.

With his keen wit and sharp emotional insight into the human condition, Joseph brings the friends back together – even with long stretches apart. It’s complicated – and compelling. They may be a lifeline, but they exasperate each other, push people away in a cruel world, and from their perspective, connecting isn’t so easy.

Adulting is hard, we know. Life happens. Friends move, get different jobs, start and end other relationships, raise families. But the ones we maintain ties with become a special part of the fabric of our lives. And the ones we reconnect with, after drifting part, that opportunity is a great tonic – and we know that feeling. It’s universal.

“Gruesome Playground Injuries” evokes those friendship memories. It’s obviously more complex with Doug and Kayleen, who learn they can’t heal each other, but they can provide sustenance.

A finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for Drama for his outstanding 2009 play “Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo,” Joseph crafts fully dimensional characters, flaws and all.

Jessika D Williams, Brian Slaten Photo by Philip Hamer

In this nonlinear narrative, the pals’ encounters are rather unusual, through early teens, 20s and 30s, with the actors revealing more emotional depth each time. Every rueful scene deals with pain, both physical and psychological. They ask each other: “Does it hurt?”

Slaten inhabits the hyper and impulsive Doug with an appealing goofball energy while Williams unmasks a guarded person concealing internal scars but can’t hide the darkness within.  Director Becks Redman emphasizes the characters’ vulnerability.

The pair is on stage the entire time, never out of sight, and they change clothes on opposite sides. The simple outfits selected by costume designer Carolyn Mazuca reflect the various time periods in their lives.

The production’s technical design work is also superb, with an interesting monochromatic set of multi-purpose shapes by scenic designer Diggle. The actors move pieces around to create their settings – efficient and functional spaces doubling for interiors and outside. Lighting designer Anshuman Bhatia also gives the characters a sense of place and enhances the mood.

David Gomez’ soulful instrumental composition adds a mournful tone, reflecting on missed opportunities and regrets. Sound designer Kareem Deanes’ crisp work excels in the black box space.

Post-pandemic, this play resonates even more than in the before times. We have acutely felt the isolation of social distancing and loss of human connection through time and distance. We have fought similar battles separately and together the past three years.

With mesmerizing performances and a director desiring to bring out parallel lines we can relate to, this production aims straight for the heart and achieves a bulls-eye. It makes us think and feel about how people make their marks on our lives.

Photo by Philip Hamer.

The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis is presenting “Gruesome Playground Injuries” in the return of Steve Woolf Studio series from April 14 through May 13 at the Strauss Black Box Theatre in the Kirkwood Performing Arts Center, 210 E Monroe Ave, Kirkwood, Mo.

The show runs 80 minutes without intermission. House doors will open 30 minutes before the show starts to begin seating. Please plan to arrive accordingly as this show is general admission. Concessions will be available to purchase before the show. They are only able to accept debit/credit cards.  There is a free lot for parking directly behind the theatre on W Monroe Ave. and S Fillmore Ave. Additional free parking is available on adjacent streets.

For tickets or for more information, visit www.repstl.org

One Of Year’s Best Ensembles Hits Hard in Timely ‘Sweat’ at Black Rep

One Of Year’s Best Ensembles Hits Hard in Timely ‘Sweat’ at Black Rep

By Lynn Venhaus
A domino chain of events have a devastating effect on a group of blue-collar steel workers in Lynn Nottage’s hard-hitting play, “Sweat,” which won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 2017 and retains its timeliness.

The Black Rep’s outstanding production, which kicked off its 45th season on Sept. 9 and continues through Sept. 26, features powerful performances in a lived-in atmosphere.

You know these characters, the ‘little guys’ who’ve worked the factory floor for years and thought their labor unions would protect them when the corporate owners moved operations to another country for a cheaper labor force.

Set in a local tavern where the Olstead mill workers hang out in Reading, Pennsylvania, this could have taken place in Granite City or Centralia, Ill., or near the shuttered car plants in St. Louis.

Director Ron Himes knows this and understands how today’s political and racial tensions are much the same as then, as well as immigration issues. Those are addressed in two story arcs — changing demographics and the territorial birthright felt by the longtime Caucasian residents.

Sadly, this tale is often not one of fiction in real lives — and has become familiar to anyone living anywhere in the Rust Belt, part of those Northeast and Midwestern regions where an industrial decline has been going on for decades, especially where coal and steel were economy mainstays.

The 2015 play starts and ends in 2008, but most of it takes place in flashback eight years earlier – in 2000, a pivotal time in America, after NAFTA is in place and corporations are going to Mexico. Transparency is not a word in these companies’ vocabulary, as they leave communities shattered and people broken.

The North American Free Trade Agreement was signed by Canada, Mexico, and the United States in 1994 and created a trilateral trade bloc.

The action veers from longtime friends celebrating birthdays, laughing, joking and talking about their lives to escalating tension as uncertainty about their jobs increases, along with harsh outlooks on their economic futures.

This ensemble is nimble and natural, conveying the complexities of their relationships with skill and emotional depth. The cast projects how longtime friends act and what their workplace is like with ease.

Nottage’s dialogue is shrewd and perceptive about race, class and identity. She understands the frustrations of these characters, and the lens in which they view the world.

Nottage, who is the only woman to win the Pulitzer Prize twice for Drama, first for “Ruined” in 2009, frequently writes about marginalized people.

For Cynthia and Tracey, is friendship or survival stronger? The actresses Amy Loui and Velma Austin expertly convey their conflicts and mood shifts, show how friendships sour when misunderstandings and envy erupt.

Their friend Jessie drinks too much and once had dreams of traveling the world but got a job at the factory and stayed. Kelly Howe gives what could be a stereotype some nuance – and superbly displays various levels of inebriation.

The cast is anchored by Stan, the bartender who was injured on the job at the mill and reflects on multiple labor issues as he is often the voice of reason – and at least history.

He attempts to put things in perspective and tells the young bucks who are chomping at the bit that they should be outraged by the bosses, not the little guys trying to get ahead like they are.

In his Black Rep debut, Black Anthony Edwards is impressive as the guy who’s good at listening, who speaks common sense, and has made lemonade out of the lemons he was given impairing his leg and being unable to work at what he did for years.

Physically, he looks like the character Stan. Praise to the costume designer Hali Liles for her spot-on outfits depicting the wardrobes of ordinary people living in the Rust Belt.

After they strike, and Cynthia and Tracey’s sons Chris and Jason are laid off, their lives are altered forever after tensions explode in violence. The fight choreography by Paul Steger is fluid and the cast well-rehearsed to make it seem natural.

Chris wanted to make something of himself, and Brian McKinley earnestly portrays his yearning to achieve, especially after watching his dad Brucie (frequent Black Rep performer A.C. Smith) fall on hard times after being shut out at a textile plant.

The boys serve prison sentences, as reflected in the opening scene with parole officer Evan, played with authority by Don McClendon. Franklin Killian is strong as the hothead redneck Jason, now tattoed on his face and a white supremist. He perfectly embodies the once fun-loving guy now a lost soul.

The subject of the boys’ rage is represented by Oscar, a Colombian American who works as the bar’s busboy but seizes an opportunity to make more money by replacing striking workers. The regular clientele are seething about this ‘scab.’

Oscar, well-played by Gregory Almanza, pours out his heart to Stan, telling him about how ignored he is, perceived to be an immigrant when he was born in the U.S. His dad swept floors at the mill, now he wants to achieve more. He is caught in the crossfire of misplaced fury.

The scenic design by Tim Jones aptly captures this world, with detailed property work by Meg Brinkley, all expertly lit by lighting designer John D. Alexander. The jukebox works well, thanks to the terrific sound design by Kareem Deanes.

Featuring one of the year’s best ensembles, a timely tale and expert production elements, “Sweat” is not to be missed.

Velma Austin as Cynthia. Photo by Phillip Hamer.

“Sweat” will continue through Sept. 26, with Thursday show at 7 p.m., Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m., and Sunday at 3 p.m.

$15 student rush tickets are available for all shows — 30 minutes before the show with a valid student I.D.

For more information: www.theblackrep.org

Season subscriptions and single tickets for “Sweat” are available at www.theblackrep.org or by calling the Box Office at 314-534-3807. Groups of 12 or more may also reserve tickets by phone. Seating will be at 50 percent capacity; for complete information on current health protocols please visit www.theblackrep.org.

The Black Rep’s 45th Anniversary Season sponsors include the Arts and Education Council, The Black Seed Initiative, Centene Charitable Trust, Missouri Arts Council, Regional Arts Commission, Rodgers-Townsend, The Shubert Foundation, the Steward Family Foundation, and Washington University in St. Louis.

COVID-19 PROTOCOLS

Our top priority for reopening is the health and safety of our staff, artists and patrons. We have been working diligently to bring live theatre back. The Black Rep is part of the growing coalition of St Louis performing arts venues and producers that have agreed upon Covid-19 Vaccination/Testing and Mask Requirements for audiences, artists and staff through the end of 2021.

Everyone must be fully vaccinated or have received a negative covid test results no more than 72 hours prior to coming on campus. A Covid19 vaccination card or a negative test result must be presented upon entering the building.

Masks are required at all times while indoors on campus. Even if you are seated in pods and distanced, masks must remain in place.

Everyone will need to complete the visitorscreening.wustl.edu within 2 hours of your arrival to campus. You will receive a message indicating that you are cleared to come to campus and you will be asked to present the “cleared” message to ushers at the entrance of the building. For those without smart phones, there is a station in Mallinckrodt where you can complete the screener on an iPad. If you receive a message that you are “not cleared”, we ask that you not come to campus or leave campus if you are completing the screener on campus.

The Black Rep Opens 45th Season with Lynn Nottage’s ‘Sweat’ Sept. 10

The St. Louis Black Repertory Company opens its 45thAnniversary Season September 10 with an in-person production of the Pulitzer Prize-winning “Sweat” by Lynn Nottage. Addressing the complexities of race, class and friendship at a pivotal moment in America,
the powerful work will be presented in person at the Edison Theatre at Washington University and directed by Founder and Producing Director Ron Himes. Previews begin on Wednesday, September 8.

A courageous and heartbreaking story explores the lives of a tight-knit group of factory workers who spend their days drinking, sharing secrets, and laughing. When layoffs and strikes create tension within the group the trust is broken. “Playwright Nottage tensely captures the root of our current political and racial tension in society today,” said Himes. “Are we only looking out for ourselves or are we
responsible for each other?”

The cast features Velma Austin (Joe Turner’s Come and Gone, The Screened in Porch), A.C. Smith (King Hedley II, The Trials of Brother Jero), Amy Loui (Canfield Drive, Three Ways Home), Don McClendon (Blues for Mr. Charlie), and Brian McKinley (Home, Spell #7). Franklin Killian, Blake Anthony Edwards, Gregory Almanza, and Kelly Howe will all be making their debut at The Black Rep

The production will feature Scenic Design by Tim Jones, Lighting Design by Jonathan Alexander, Costume Design by Hali Liles, Sound Design by Kareem Deanes, and Properties Designed by Meg Brinkley.

Fight Choreography will be done by Paul Steger who is certified by the Society of American Fight Directors and holds advanced certificates from the British Academy of Stage and Screen Combat & Fight Directors. Jim Anthony is the Stage Manager and Technical Fellow Tatiana Durant is the Assistant Stage Manager.

Season subscriptions and single tickets for “Sweat” are available at www.theblackrep.org or by calling the Box Office at 314-534-3807. Groups of 12 or more may also reserve tickets by phone. Seating will be at 50 percent capacity; for complete information on current health protocols please visit www.theblackrep.org.

The Black Rep’s 45th Anniversary Season sponsors include the Arts and Education Council, The Black Seed Initiative, Centene Charitable Trust, Missouri Arts Council, Regional Arts Commission, Rodgers-Townsend, The Shubert Foundation, the Steward Family Foundation, and Washington University in St. Louis

Experiencing ‘The Glass Menagerie’ Where It Was Imagined Is Special

Experiencing ‘The Glass Menagerie’ Where It Was Imagined Is Special

By Lynn Venhaus
The stars have aligned for the triumphant return of the Tennessee Williams Festival St. Louis with “The Glass Menagerie” in a way you have never seen it before.

Nature cooperated with a bright, full moon in the late summer night sky Friday, and the TWF supplied the wishing and hoping that characterized the playwright during his formative years here.

Now in its sixth year, these special tributes are one I look forward to, a favorite-not-to-be-missed annual events in the city.

The passion and care that goes into each festival’s planning and programming is admirable. And the finest talent comes together to introduce us to, or offer a fresh perspective of, his signature dramas and little-known works.

To understand Williams’ dreams and desires has fueled each production, but this one – his memory play that gives us insight into his family life – is extraordinary.

The fest’s 2021 theme, “The Moon and Beyond,” aptly fits in a pandemic-guided scaled-down event. And this focus gives us an intimate local view that zeroes in on what we should see, hear and feel when we see a Williams play.

Nearly eighty years later where it was imagined, this current presentation of “The Glass Menagerie” is as organic as you will find anywhere, with naturally gifted performers honoring these four characters with a tangible vitality.

There is a brightness, a vigor to the work, as if we are discovering it for the first time. The site-specific location, outdoors behind “The Tennessee,” at 4663 Westminster Place, no doubt played a part in this, for it has become a character, a presence affecting the poignancy.

Bradley James Tejeda as Tom. Photo by ProPhoto STL

But that’s not the only imprimatur.

A young man yearning for adventure looks up at the moon while he’s out on his fire escape in St. Louis, hopeful that one day he would lead the life he dreamt of – but fretful that it would never happen unless he took steps to make it so.

From the time he was 7, Thomas Lanier Williams III lived in an apartment in the Central West End with his shoe company executive father, his Southern belle mother, his mentally fragile older sister and his younger brother Dakin, who later lived in Collinsville, Ill., for many years, and died at age 89 in 2008.

Nicknamed “Tennessee,” Williams eventually took pen to paper, and typed out stories of longing and aspirations, shaping characters from damaged people whose life didn’t turn out like they had planned.

And his stubborn refusal to not accept the status quo or to settle because that’s just the way it is, people kept reminding him – well, that admirable quality served him well.

He would go on many voyages – bur always starting from inside his heart.

What fiction he wrote would take him far, becoming known internationally as one of the world’s greatest playwrights. But here, he struggled to find his voice — returning from college at Mizzou to work at the shoe factory, and 20 years after moving from Mississippi, finally getting out of the city (until buried in Calvary Cemetery after his death in 1983).

He was impacted by his dysfunctional family, and realizing he was an outsider looking in –that hunger to be someone, and to become comfortable in his own skin, drove him during his 71 years.

All of that is apparent in “The Glass Menagerie.”

Knowing that he was fueled by a hope that could not be quelled and a fire that burned inside him to tell stories from a city neighborhood lends both a magical quality and a gravitas to the latest production.

The cast found the truth — Bradley James Tejeda as Tom, Brenda Currin as Amanda, Elizabeth Teeter as Laura and Chauncy Thomas as the Gentleman Caller Jim. All but Thomas reprised their roles from the radio play last fall, directed by Brian Hohlfeld during the “Something Spoken” streaming offering instead of live theater — (ahem, public health crisis you may recall, so they pivoted).

In most productions, the women are portrayed as victims, and their tragic life circumstances influence its staging.

However, director Hohlfeld, who has been part of the TWF since its inaugural year in 2016, has brought out every character’s depth, and so have the actors, who found a rhythm in the words and with each other.

I have previously seen a few dour versions, most of them not very good because they didn’t seem to grasp the multi-faceted nature and emphasized only the melancholy. This cast “gets it.”

The lines are delivered in a conversational manner, and a real bond can be felt between these inextricably linked people, no matter how unhappy or frustrated they appear.

The sad and desperate Amanda clings to her delusions of grandeur like a warm coat, mired in the past and overly concerned about her children’s future. Currin captures all of that, as well as the exasperation with life and her breadwinner son and helpless daughter having notions of their own.

Each character has a different viewpoint on success.

With his literary illusions, Tom can’t seem to find his way – but is about to take a leap of faith. Tejeda brings a restlessness to the role, like he is a trapped animal. But there is also a sweetness in his interactions with his sister.

Elizabeth Teeter, Chauncy Thomas. Photo by ProPhotoSTL

Thomas’ inherent charm adds a palpable compassion to the dinner guest, never pitying Laura but treating her kindly and with respect. He adds a wistfulness to Jim, who is past his high school glory days.

Teeter disappears into the delicate Laura, whose fantasy world is overtaking a daily string of disappointments. She will break your heart as a shy and peculiar girl who couldn’t overcome life’s challenge, but who lights up in conversation with Jim.

When the play premiered on Broadway in 1944, expanding on Williams’ short story “Portrait of a Girl in Glass,” director Elia Kazan noted: “Everything in his life is in his plays, and everything in his plays is in his life.”

And we have been enriched by that authenticity.

Staged outdoors, the set, designed by Dunsi Dai, is minimal, but evocative of the area. He effectively uses windows as an entry to the soul.

The sound design by Kareem Deanes includes period songs played on a victrola – and dealing with the inescapable sounds of the city, including a fire truck and sirens Friday night (Bravo, Chauncy, for not missing a beat).

Lighting designer Catherine Adams shifts between day and night, under serious moonlight, enhancing the atmosphere.

Williams spent his life trying to escape the ghosts of his past, which of course molded him into what he became. By now, the Wingfields are an all-too-familiar American tale tinged in tragedy and regret, but the power of his words remains.

He ultimately discovered, through his artistry, that he wasn’t the only lost star, and the eloquence of his semi-autobiographical work shines through in the backyard that he once called home.

The Tennessee Williams Festival runs Aug. 19-29. The headliner, “The Glass Menagerie,” is presented at 8 p.m. Thursday through Sundays, Aug. 19-22 and 26-29, behind the Tennessee, 4663 Westminster Place. Tickets must be purchased online and are available through MetroTix.com.

“You Lied to Me About Centralia” is a one-act play by John Guare that will be presented at 2 p.m. on Aug. 21 and 22 at The Tennessee.

Free, secure parking is available at Holliday, 4600 Olive, for festival patrons.

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.

Lead sponsorship of the festival is provided by Emerson. Additional sponsors and the full festival itinerary can be found at twstl.org.

Photo by ProPhotoSTL

Lynn Venhaus has been reviewing professional theater since 2005, and is a founding member of the St. Louis Theater Circle, established in 2012. A longtime journalist, she has had a continuous byline in St. Louis metropolitan area publications since 1978, earning awards along the way for news and features (and an Illinois Press Association award for reviews before they dropped the category). She has taught writing for the media as an adjunct instructor at three local colleges. A graduate of Illinois State University, she has a mass communications degree with a minor in theater. Among her life achievements are sons Tim and Charlie.

Upstream Theater Presents Refuge and Reconciliation on You Tube

Upstream Theater Presents Refuge and Reconciliation on You Tube

To close our first (and we hope only) virtual season, we offer another retrospective of some of our past shows that explore themes related to refuge and asylum, as well as reconciling with past injury and injustice. The video will open on YouTube, FridayJune 18 at 8 PM and follow our usual show schedule.

.WATCH OUR BRIEF TEASER ANYTIME! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_R7ypzUMaOs

Once again we reached out to a number of actors, directors, designers and even a critic (!) — and we hope this foray behind the scenes conveys how grateful we are to have so many talented professionals in our collective.

To view the actual video please use the link below:

REFUGE AND RECONCILIATION

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xgwAywfT0Nw


(starts at 8PM) June 18 – 20 June 24 – 27July 1- 4

Contributors include: Steve Callahan, Eric J. Conners, J. Samuel Davis, Kareem Deanes, Shanara Gabrielle, Laura Hanson, David A. N. Jackson, Erin Kelley, Amy Loui, Peter Mayer, Brian McClelland, Scott Neale, Jane Paradise, Mona Sabau, Patrick Siler, Bonnie Taylor, Lisa Tejero, Jaqueline Thompson, and Magan Wiles.

The Black Rep to Present Virtual ‘Do I Move You?’

The Black Rep to Present Virtual ‘Do I Move You?’

The St. Louis Black Rep rounds up its season of virtual programming with a final mainstage production of an original work.  Do I Move You? –  based on a collection of poetry by Dr. Jonathan Smith, Vice President for Diversity and Inclusion Saint Louis University and President of The Black Rep Board of Directors – will stream on Vimeo June 15-30.

Smith’s collection of poetry, music, and dance pulls inspiration from Jazz, religion, love, family, and some of the greatest musicians of our time –  Donny Hathaway, Louis Jordan, and Marvin Gaye. Conceived by Producing Director Ron Himes, using devised theatre, Black Rep Director and Choreographer Heather Beal weaves a web of music, dance, and poetry. Themes of betrayal, identity, discovery, and love flow throughout the performance, culminating to answer one very important question, “Do I Move You?”

Produced at the Edison Theatre on the campus of Washington University in St. Louis, the production features the Black Rep’s Acting Intern Company Kentrell Jamison, Christian Kitchens, Theorri London, Brian McKinley, Tyler White, Jesmelia Williams, and Christina Yancy. Also featured are local Vocalist and Musical Director, Amber Rose, Dancer Samantha Madison, Percussionist Bernard Long Jr, Bass Player Jeffrey Anderson, and Lead Guitarist Dennis Brock. With scenic and projection design by Peter and Margery Spack, lighting design by Sean Savoie, costume design by Ellen Minch, sound engineering by Kareem Deanes, editing by Avatar Studios, and Kasey Dunaski as Stage Manager.

Tickets for Do I Move You? are available at theblackrep.org or by calling our Box Office at 314-534-3807. Streaming free on demand, a suggested donation of $25 will directly help support the theatre company and its artists.

When Frederick Met Susan: ‘The Agitators’ at Upstream

When Frederick Met Susan: ‘The Agitators’ at Upstream

By Andrea BraunContributing Writer

The title of the play is based on Frederick Douglass’ exhorting his followers to “Agitate. Agitate. Agitate.” This was later in his life, long after he met and became friends with Susan B. Anthony who was already doing just that in her late 20s.

Their friendship would last 45 years and their goals remain the same, though there are bumps in the road: both supported abolition and women’s rights. But it wasn’t all sweetness and light between them because while their causes meshed, their priorities didn’t always do the same. The Agitators now playing at Upstream Theater is an examination of their near-lifelong connection, allowing both of them time to make their points. Perhaps a bit too much time, however, because much of the play seems rather like a lecture. This is is certainly not to say it isn’t mostly well-done, disturbingly timely, and certainly worth a couple of hours of your time.

Douglass (J. Samuel Davis) is close to Anthony’s (Erin Kelley) father, an outspoken abolitionist, and a Quaker. Because of her religion, she tells Douglass early on, even if she could vote, she wouldn’t because Quakers are supposed to be apolitical. Later, she would leave the Society of Friends and change her mind about voting, but when we meet her, the women’s rights question is her priority, along with abolition. Act I begins at the Anthony residence and covers 1849-1869. Act II picks up in 1870 and takes us through 1895.

Playwright Mat Smart has a tough job here: The time
period covered is so long that even though projections help us with what year
it is and where we are, we still get the impression that these two spend a
great deal of time together expressing their views on civil rights. The fact
is, often they would go years without seeing each other, sometimes because they
were busy, other times, because they were angry.

Their longest disagreement was about Douglass’ support
of the 15th Amendments to the Constitution which proposed enfranchisement
of black men but not any women. Unsurprisingly, Anthony takes umbrage at his
support of what she considers a half-measure. She is also angry that Douglass
is accepting financial support from a man she considers a misogynist. This
quarrel leads to their longest period of non-communication.

 He spoke at her
conferences and she appeared at his. Both of them were among the best known
figures of their time. Anthony was the only leader in the 19th
century women’s movement culminating in the meeting in Seneca Falls, NY in
1848. And one should not think that Douglass didn’t support Anthony fully in
her drive for equality; rather, he thought it was too soon and would come when
the time was right. Of course, women got the vote in 1920, long after these
icons were gone.

Photo by ProPhotoSTLAs for any sense of a love story, the affection between the two is palpable, but Douglass was happily married to his wife, Anna (a free black woman who helped him attain his freedom) and after she died, a much younger woman. He also was attractive to women and there is speculation that he had others, but one of them was NOT Susan B. Anthony.

They both wrote books—he a four-volume autobiography; she, in collaboration with other leaders of the movement, a multi-volume treatise on her own beliefs and the causes the women held dear. One good joke is that neither reads the other’s work.

There are more moments of humor that leaven the
proceedings, my favorite being Douglass explaining baseball to Anthony at his
son’s game. It is amusing, until due to a racist incident, it isn’t. They tell
each other bad jokes and engage in teasing banter. At one point, when he is 76
years old, Anthony gives Douglas a pair of ice skates. He is, of course,
nonplussed. But she was a great believer in physical exercise and the moment
demonstrates both their similarities and their differences.

The atmosphere of the play is enhanced by the musical  compositions of and performance by Syrhea
Conaway, a well-known and versatile St. Louis artist. When we first see
Douglass, he is carrying a violin. At several points in the show, he appears to
play his instrument in duets with her that can run the gamut from ethereal to
anger. She uses percussion to round out the sound, and it works beautifully.
The set itself is simple—beams, planks and boxes which get shifted around
often—perhaps rather too often, as it can become distracting. There is a
connection to the story, however, when Anthony tells a story involving a suitor
who wooed her with a warmed plank.

Stage Manager Patrick Huber is responsible for the
lights, as well is the set, and they provide a proper atmosphere, if too dark
at times. Michele Friedman Siler’s costumes are historically accurate except
for the anachronistic zippers on Anthony’s boots. Lisa Tejero directs, assisted
by Patience Davis. They keep things moving to the extent that it is possible
when there are so very many words for the actors to say, but despite their
efforts, the production still seems static some of the time. The fact that it’s
a running trope that Anthony cannot sit down is, I assume, supposed to give us
the illusion of motion.

If there are better actors than Kelley and Davis to
play these parts, I don’t know who they are. There were a few stumbles at the
beginning, but when the two hit their stride, all was well from a performance
standpoint. I believed them and more important, I think THEY believed them too.

The last public statement Douglass made was at Seneca Falls saying “When I ran away from slavery, it was for myself; when I advocated emancipation, it was for my people, but when I took up for the rights of women, self was out of the question, and I found a little nobility in the act.”

He and Anthony are buried in the same cemetery in Rochester, NY, her home town. Together in death, as in life, one wonders what they might have to say about racism and misogyny in 2019.

“The Agitators” is at Upstream Theater through Oct. 13 at the Kranzberg Arts Center. You may contact upstreamtheater.org

World Premiere ‘Canfield Drive’ Next at The Black Rep

World Premiere ‘Canfield Drive’ Next at The Black Rep

 
In this World Premiere production, two high-powered news reporters from across the aisle are thrown together during a ratings frenzy in Ferguson, Mo., following the shooting of unarmed teenager Michael Brown. As they untangle the real cause of Brown’s death, they struggle to keep their own secrets out of the spotlight. Created from diverse interviews of people from around the corner and around the world, “Canfield Drive” shines a light of hope as it wrestles with the greatest questions of our age.
“Canfield Drive,” written by Kristen Adele Calhoun and Michael Thomas Walker, is a National Performance Network (NPN) Creation & Development Fund Project co-commissioned by 651 Arts in partnership with The St. Louis Black Repertory Company, and NPN.  The Creation & Development Fund is supported by the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, and the National Endowment for the Arts (a federal agency). For more information: www.npnweb.org.
Producing Director Ron Himes says “We have worked on this script with Michael Thomas Walker and Kristen Adele Calhoun for four years, with workshops at Brooklyn Academy of Music in Brooklyn, Denver, Hartford, and St. Louis.  We are so excited to premiere this work here in St Louis for our community.”
Playwright Michael Thomas Walker says “If ‘riot is the language of the unheard’, this play aims to understand the killing of Michael Brown, the Ferguson protests and the subsequent #BlackLivesMatter movement by hearing the unheard voices and amplifying those stories.  We hope this play will serve as a platform for the necessary conversations about race, culture, privilege, history, and healing.”
The cast of “Canfield Drive” includes Kristen Adele recent credits include Corduroy (Denver Center of Performing Arts), Bump (Ensemble Studio Theatre), and Skeleton Crew (Premiere Stages); Christopher Hickey, with The Black Rep credits include Oak & Ivy and Relativity; Amy Loui with The Black Rep credits include A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Three Ways Home, and Eric Connors with The Black Rep credits include Ms Julie, Clarissa & John, Anne & Emmett, Oak & Ivy, and Jitney .
“Canfield Drive” is directed by Producing Director Ron Himes, with scenic design by Peter and Margery Spack, lighting design by Jim Burwinkel; costumes by Marissa Perry, and sound design by Kareem Deanes, and Tracy D. Holliway-Wiggins is the stage manager.
The production will run January 9-27 at the Edison Theatre at Washington University. Tickets are available at www.theblackrep.org, 314-534-3807, or pick them up at our box office located at 6662 Olive Blvd, St. Louis, MO 63130.