By Lynn Venhaus A sprawling saga exploring the horrific exploitation of Native Americans and how the entitled white interlopers of Fairfax, Okla., manipulated, stole, extorted, and killed them is a true story that needs to be told.
While I’m not declaring “Killers of the Flower Moon” a modern masterpiece like many of my colleagues, I admire the efforts and care that the filmmakers brought to this explosive, gut-wrenching tale of injustice.
Members of the Osage tribe in the U.S. are murdered under mysterious circumstances in the 1920s, after oil is found on their land, and finally, after too much time — and death — has elapsed, it sparks a major F.B.I. investigation started by J. Edgar Hoover.
Martin Scorsese is such a visceral director, with his keen eye for visuals and distinctive way music organically becomes part of his storytelling, that his sweeping view of the prairie and respect for the indigenous people of the land is breath-taking.
And in his expert way, captures the ugly, insidious greed and power plays that overtake this locale in moody, murky images and unsavory incidents. But the decision to concentrate mostly on the villains, who keep getting away with these awful crimes, is hard to watch for 206 minutes. I know, how he depicts corruption is a Scorsese trademark. (But blasphemy — is he the right person to tell this story?)
A densely layered plot becomes one long slow death march, and yes, it’s disturbing. We get to the point quickly about the amoral criminal behavior underway, but the repetitiveness, slow-burn style, makes one impatient for any sign of justice.
Do we need 3 hours, 26 minutes to tell this story? No. Based on American journalist David Grann’s best-selling 2017 nonfiction book “Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI,” the work would likely be better served as a mini-series.
The Kyle sisters
Many characters get the short shrift. You may be hard-pressed to recall their characters or the way they fit into the puzzle: Tantoo Cardinal, JaNae Collins, Jillian Dion, William Belleau, Louis Cancelmi, Tatanka Means, Michael Abbot Jr., Pat Healy, Scott Shepard, Jason Isbell and Sturgill Simpson, although you’ll remember Cara Jade Myers as Mollie’s wronged sister Anna, who is brutally murdered, and Tommy Schultz as Blackie Thompson, who figures in to some of the earlier shenanigans.. And then, Brendan Fraser and John Lithgow show up, ever so briefly, as attorneys near the end.
With its $200 million price tag, it is technically brilliant, with exceptional cinematography by Rodrigo Prieto (who also did “Barbie” this year!), and stunning production design by Jack Fisk.
Yet, I can’t ignore the flaws in the storytelling. At times, it’s cold, flat, and airless because it’s hard to root for people. As the Osage daughter Mollie, Lily Gladstone is the heart of the film, but that’s a lot to carry on her shoulders – although she’s definitely the secret weapon. She will be in the awards conversations at year’s end.
Scorsese, and co-writer Eric Roth, concentrated on the improbable romance of opportunistic Ernest Burkhart (Leonardo DiCaprio) and Gladstone’s Mollie Kyle, and what happens in their orbit is indicative of the behaviors of the time.
By 1872, the U.S. government had forced the Osage from their ancestral homeland to Oklahoma, and at the turn of the century, oil was discovered, which brought a fortune to the Osage nation. Because they became some of the wealthiest people in the world overnight, that didn’t sit well with the old-white-guys network, who would systematically destroy and take over any way possible to get their hands on that money from the ‘black gold.’ For some, that involved marrying an Osage, and becoming the heir.
DeNiro as William Hale and DiCaprio as Ernest Burkhardt
Robert De Niro is sensational in a strong sly performance as William Hale, the town’s kingpin — interestingly enough, nicknamed “King.” He controls everything, and pretends to be a great friend to all. Those in his employment do his dirty work, and the despicable deeds start piling up, too many to ignore. Scorsese brings out DeNiro’s best, and since 1973, they have made 10 films together.
Hale is Ernest’s uncle. And Ernest has arrived after serving in World War I, as a cook, who can’t do manual labor but is eager to make money. He starts out as a taxi driver, where he meets Mollie, and hopes sparks will fly. They eventually marry and have three children. DiCaprio, always interesting, goes to the dark side here, disheartening for his loved ones when the truth eventually comes out. It’s DiCaprio’s sixth feature collaboration with Scorsese, since “The Gangs of New York” in 2002.
Enter Jesse Plemons as FBI agent Tom White, who seems like he could be intimidated, but is brave enough to pursue righting wrongs. He comes in later in the second act, which is interesting because the book concentrated on his narrative.
The performances are superb, although Leo’s bulldog grimace wears thin as does his period-appropriate dental work (yikes). Does subtly sinister suit the golden boy? Jury’s out, but thankfully, his portrayal is more conflicted than sympathetic.
But Gladstone is remarkable, her fierce intelligence shining through as the betrayed wife. I was impressed with her work in Kelly Reichardt’s 2016 indie movie “Certain Women,” so happy to see attention being paid.
Robbie Robertson’s music score is so organic that at times, you will not notice it. As a member of The Band and a great friend of Scorsese, they have worked together on soundtracks before – “Raging Bull,” “The King of Comedy,” “The Color of Money” and “The Irishman,” after their legendary documentary collaboration “The Last Waltz” in 1978.
Now that Robertson has passed (Aug. 9), the film is dedicated to his memory. He was a Native American as well – the son of a Cayuga and Mohawk mother and lived on the Six Nations Reserve in Canada southwest of Toronto during his youth. So that’s a special connection.
For its unusual finale, the film jarringly shifts to a radio show, which gives a razzamatazz wrap-up of all the corruption and dastardly deeds that have transpired.
Overall, the film is a haunting reminder of the atrocities committed against the Osage Nation specifically and indigenous people in general, and for that, it should spark outrage, which is necessary.
Perhaps watching it again when it streams on the small screen (No date as yet, just ‘later on Apple TV+), I will find more nuance and make a stronger emotional connection. It is a story that needs to be told.
“Killers of the Flower Moon” is a 2023 historical western true crime drama directed by Martin Scorsese and starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Robert DeNiro, Lily Gladstone, Jesse Plemons. Cara Jade Myers, Brendan Fraser, John Lithgow, Tommy Schultz Rated: R for violence, some grisly images, and language, the run time is 3 hours, 26 minutes. It opens in theatres Oct. 20 and will stream on Apple TV+ at a later date, to be announced. Lynn’s Grade: B-
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.
This movie would work better as a stand-up routine, for taking Bill Burr’s familiar cranky white guy rant into a broader community setting makes for a chaotic buffet-style narrative that is mainly throwing jokes out there to see what lands.
Burr, who is a funny no-filter comedian that is reluctant to embrace societal change and unapologetic about his discomfort with woke mindsets, is often relatable about his struggles to fit in to the modern world.
“Old Dads” is about a middle-aged father and his two best friends after they sell their sports apparel company to a millennial. They find themselves out of step and behind the times as they struggle to navigate a changing world of culture, career, and fatherhood.
As Jack Kelly, a bitter 46-year-old but loving husband and father living in Woodland Hills, Calif., he’s not the only Gen X-Baby Boomer mired in the past, for his childhood buddies are not going gentle into the good night either.
Connor Brody, played in cookie-cutter mode by Bobby Cannavale, is an old dude trying to be hip and cool. Mike Richards, as played by Bokeem Woodbine, is content not to marry his girlfriend and doesn’t want more children because he has two grown Ivy League graduate sons by his ex-wife, is the most undeveloped and frustrating chauvinistic character.
There is humor in people not happy with anything past 1987 and the ever-changing times. But it also wears thin after incessant macho postering. Enough with anatomy jokes!
Dealing with competitive progressive pre-schools and parenting kids today is also ripe for mocking, especially tiptoeing around indulging, not disciplining, youngsters. And that is the movie’s saving grace, because helicopter parenting is ridiculous.
Burr’s belligerence can’t be softened, really, and that’s applauded by some while others cringe, such is the cultural zeitgeist these days. And don’t bring up white privilege to him. He’s good at poking fun at modern absurdities but does get carried away about victimhood (however, that’s his ‘schtick’).
As co-writer with Ben Tishler, Burr touches on many issues that are deemed offensive in today’s diverse, inclusive society that it becomes boorish midway and inexplicably, piles on lots o’ sex jokes. Why men behaving badly at a strip club that doubles down into Neanderthal territory is supposed to be some sort of epiphany? Clumsy at best, really stretching patience thin.
And are the sitcom antics of grown men not happy in their marriages still laugh-worthy? This is Burr’s directorial debut and he’s not convincing us, because the guys aren’t that likable with their self-centered stubbornness.
Oh sure, they love their wives and children, but do they really evolve beyond some supportive dialogue after a movie full of tirades? And parenting is only a fraction of this movie.
The wives, all beautiful, do show some gumption but they put up with a lot of icky. Katie Aselton is Jack’s pregnant wife Leah, Jackie Tohn is Connor’s controlling wife Cara, who speaks in psychobabble, and Reign Edwards is Mike’s pregnant wife Britney.
Now, what is funny is the changing workplace. When the three besties sell their business, they still show up for work, and it’s all New-Agey thinking on display. Playing the Millennial CEO Aspen Bell is Miles Robbins, who may look familiar because he is the son of Susan Sarandon and Tim Robbins, and his comedic instincts are sharp. He’s believable and fun to watch, and when he helps the guys out in the third act, his storyline goes nowhere after that.
The movie is such a mixed bag that a discourse on smoking cigars and vaping goes on interminably – with Paul Walter Hauser in a cameo. And speaking of drive-by appearances, Bruce Dern is a looney ride-share service driver? C. Thomas Howell is a guy who goes off the grid in New Mexico groomed to be the new face of the company’s sportswear?
Funny bits about e-scooters and planning school benefits strike chords, but obviously “Old Dads” is specifically meant for an audience who’d rather armchair-quarterback life than go out there and make the most of the 2020s, enlightened or not.
“Old Dads” is a comedy directed by Bill Burr, starring Burr, Bobby Cannavale, Bokeem Woodbine, Rachael Harris, Miles Robbins, Katie Aselton, Reign Edwards and Jackie Tohn. It is rated R for pervasive language, sexual material, nudity, and brief drug use and runs 1 hour, 44 minutes. Streaming on Netflix starting Oct. 20. Lynn’s Grade: C-
Lynn (Zipfel) Venhaus has had a continuous byline in St. Louis metro region publications since 1978. She writes features and news for Belleville News-Democrat and contributes to St. Louis magazine and other publications.
She is a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic, currently reviews films for Webster-Kirkwood Times and KTRS Radio, covers entertainment for PopLifeSTL.com and co-hosts podcast PopLifeSTL.com…Presents.
She is a member of Critics Choice Association, where she serves on the women’s and marketing committees; Alliance of Women Film Journalists; and on the board of the St. Louis Film Critics Association. She is a founding and board member of the St. Louis Theater Circle.
She is retired from teaching journalism/media as an adjunct college instructor.
The rapacious 12th Century Plantagenet Family behaves as badly as the modern-day Roys of Manhattan and The Duttons of Montana, a rogues’ gallery of royal connivers in “The Lion in Winter.”
That’s one of the many reasons why The Midnight Company’s bracing production is fun – and riveting – to watch because sparks fly, and flames are fanned in a master class exercise in acting.
Director Tom Kopp has lit a fuse under his finely tuned ensemble so that they burn bright, crackling with big birthright energy while delivering virtuosic performances: Joe Hanrahan, Lavonne Byers, Joel Moses, John Wolbers, Ryan Lawson-Maeske, Michael Pierce and Shannon Campbell.
As the formidable ensemble tackles each aristocratic character like a predator setting a trap for his prey, they often strike a playful, comedic tone but mainly heighten the drama’s intensity because their massive ambitions collide in a winner-takes-all battle. The prize: inheriting the crown of King Henry II of England.
Multi-hyphenate award winner Joe Hanrahan plays mega-manipulator Henry with a smirk and a gleeful vitality, emphasizing his skills at being a disrupter and poster boy for “It’s Good to Be King.” He met his match with his older ‘bride,’ Eleanor, the richest and shrewdest woman in the world who bore him four sons, but they sure don’t care much for them, except as pawns in their epic face-offs.
James Goldman’s 1966 play is set at a contentious Christmastime in 1183 in a castle in Chinon, France, on land still owned by the British ruler. The classic dysfunctional family is hanging festive holly, but they are far from jolly.
That’s to be expected, with the mom – who tried to overthrow the king awhile back — about to return to prison, where she’s been kept by her husband for 10 years, and then dear old domineering dad put the three bad-tempered sons in the dungeon. His firstborn has died. Sounds – and looks like – a holiday in hell.
The wannabe kings. Photo by Joey Rumpell
With anger and resentment thick in the air and mulled wine flowing, swords are brandished and emotions erupt as conflicts ensue. You can see the wheels turning in their cunning little heads. Kopp has briskly staged the posturing, maneuvering, embracing, and shouting so that we’re kept off-guard and suspicious.
The group is tangled in one–upmanship, some more obvious than others – but it’s apparent the amount of trust and respect among the actors that allows them to have a field day with the material and each other.
One of the grand dames of St Louis regional theatre, Lavonne Byers ascends to her lofty perch as the crafty and regal queen – and in a savvy display, she doesn’t telegraph what she’s doing until it’s done, so smooth in the takeovers.
The two-time St. Louis Theater Circle winner and frequent nominee devours anyone in her path as the legendary Eleanor of Aquitane, the role that won Katharine Hepburn her third of four Academy Awards in the 1968 movie version.
As the mom-and-pop puppetmasters, Hanrahan and Byers are spirited in doing the Tango Queen as they dance around – and this battling couple actually loves one another. But as to which of their three chips off the old block will take over the kingdom is quite a game of chess.
Richard, the warrior, as in “The Lionhearted,” won’t be denied, but neither will the pre-Renaissance Machiavellian Geoffrey, bitter about being passed over, and they both are out of favor because the youngest, an immature buffoonish John, is daddy’s favorite. (Maybe because they both behave like petulant children.)
The terrific trio of Joel Moses as the steely soldier Richard, John Wolbers as sly schemer Geoffrey, and Ryan Lawson-Maeske as spoiled brat John lock into their characters seamlessly.
I’m not concerned about their characters’ ages – Richard, 26; Geoffrey, 25; and John, 16, and you don’t have to be either – it’s called acting, and they’re very good at creating full-bodied portrayals. When you have actors not usually known for playing villains in amoral roles, it’s delectable. (Also, smart choice to not have English accents).
The French kids. Photo by Joey Rumpell
Then complicating things are those testy French folks staying there, unpleasant attitudes flaring up – the young King Philip, 18, who’s been in charge for three years, and his sister, Alais, 23, who besides being a princess is supposed to be engaged to Richard but is Henry’s very young mistress. That’s another soap opera, but she may be the most ruthless of all.
Alais has been in the castle for a long time, pretty much raised by Eleanor. Strange bedfellows indeed. Shannon Campbell and Michael Pierce are strong in those roles, setting themselves apart from those high-maintenance Plantagenets but still crafty. After all, the new king is itching to go to war with England.
The creative team has delivered a vibrant staging, with stage manager Karen Pierce keeping the action from sagging. With a well-appointed set design by Brad Slavik, well-lit by lighting designer Tony Anselmo, and vintage props collected by Miriam Whatley, the look is a pleasant replica of nooks in a drafty castle. Costume designer Liz Henning demonstrates her considerable gifts outfitting the royals in impressive fabrics, textures, embroidery and finery.
A special touch is original music composed by Susan Elaine Kopp that gives it an authentic cultural “welcome to the almost Renaissance” sound.
If you like diving into history, you may enjoy finding out who succeeded Henry. Spoiler alert: the tall fighting man. But that should be its own sequel.
The Midnight Company’s invigorating production makes the past become an absorbing power play by movers and shakers that leaps off dusty pages of an Encyclopedia Brittanica. Long live the kings in a not-to-be-missed show.
The Midnight Company presents “The Lion in Winter” from Oct. 5 to Oct. 21, with performances at 8 p.m. on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays, and at 2 p.m. Sundays on Oct. 8 and 15 at the .Zack Theatre,
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.
Theatre creates new production of a holiday classic, cancels two productions, amid $2.5M budget shortfall
The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis today announced that it needs significant support from the St. Louis community by the end of 2023 to continue its programming in the second half of the 2023-2024 season, which kicked off last month with a widely-acclaimed production of “The Lehman Trilogy.”
In response to a projected $2.5M budget shortfall facing the theatre, similar to financial challenges facing theatres across the country, The Rep has streamlined its season, replacing its annual holiday spectacular, “A Christmas Carol,” with an adaptation of the beloved holiday film “It’s A Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play” and canceling the previously announced productions of “The Lion” and “The Greatest Love for Whitney: A Tribute to Whitney Houston.”
“It’s a Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play” will feature local actors and crew members who were originally scheduled to perform and work on A Christmas Carol. To address the budget shortfall, The Rep is also launching a “Rally for The Rep” campaign to encourage the St. Louis community to support the theatre.
“The theatre is at an inflection point, and we need to raise $2.5M through ticket sales and philanthropy by the end of 2023 to continue to produce works in the second half of our season. The St. Louis community has sustained us for nearly six decades, and now more than ever, we need them to invest in our future. Although we are calling on the community for support as we are cutting back this season, The Rep is dedicated to honor our longstanding commitment to bringing St. Louis audiences world-class theatrical experiences from the most exciting emerging and established voices in American theatre,” said Danny Williams, Managing Director of The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis.
“The slower-than-hoped-for return of audiences following the pandemic exacerbated financial challenges and necessitated that we make these significant and difficult changes. We need patrons to bring friends and family and show support in any way that they can to help us ensure that the productions we have planned in 2024 can happen.”
In the past decade, theater companies across the country have seen major shifts in their business models, and The Rep was no longer able to respond to these shifts in an effective manner. The Rep’s decision to update the 2023-2024 season comes at a time when theaters across the country are facing financial hardships, due in part to the Coronavirus pandemic. Since 2020, audience attendance at theaters has significantly declined, and the number of shows produced nationwide has decreased by 41%, according to a study conducted by Jacobson Consulting Applications, Inc.
The Lehman Trilogy. Photo by Phillip Hamer
While The Rep’s critically acclaimed productions of “The Lehman Trilogy” and “Twisted Melodies” far exceeded the national trends for attendance, the gaps still remain, and crucial community investment is needed to fully mount the 2023-2024 Season. The Rep plans to bring world-class, adventurous new works and beloved classics to its stages at the Loretto-Hilton Center in the second half of its 2024 season but needs to raise $2.5M throughits “Rally for The Rep” campaign to do so.
Currently scheduled for 2024 is Lookingglass Theatre Company’s adaptation of Moby Dick in February and Tracy Letts’ August: Osage County, which begins performances in March 2024.
The Rep is reaching out directly to season subscribers and current ticket holders regarding all changes.
For more information and to purchase tickets, visit www.repstl.org or call the Box Office, Monday – Friday from 10:30 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. at (314) 968-4925. The Rep Box Office will also be available for in-person support at the Loretto-Hilton Center, Tuesdays, and Wednesdays from 10:30 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
NEW: HOLIDAY PRESENTATION “It’s A Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play“ The beloved American holiday classic comes to captivating life as a live 1940s radio broadcast! December 1 – December 23 Loretto-Hilton Center Made possible with support by The Berges Family Foundation Adapted by Joe Landry
It’s a Wonderful Life is based on the story The Greatest Gift by Philip Van Doren Stern Engage your imagination in the world of vintage radio broadcasting as you rediscover the magic of the holiday season with It’s A Wonderful Life – A Live Radio Play. Experience the Golden Age of Radio through this classic holiday film reimaged as a live radio performance. Bear witness to this timeliness holiday story that explores the life of George Bailey, a compassionate and selfless man, standing on the brink of despair, when an angel named Clarence is sent down to Earth to teach George the power of kindness, the importance of family and friends, and the realization that each life, no matter how ordinary it may seem, is truly wonderful.
“Evita” at the Rep
ABOUT THE REPERTORY THEATRE OF ST. LOUIS The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis (The Rep) is the region’s premiere theatre for compelling, award-winning theatrical experiences that entertain, engage, and illuminate audiences’ shared humanity. Founded in 1966, for more than five decades The Rep has sustained and built upon its commitment to artistic excellence by creating, developing, and curating adventurous new works and beloved classics from the most exciting emerging and established American voices.
The Rep builds bridges within the St. Louis community and beyond by offering productions that allow audiences to see themselves and the stories that matter to them represented on stage, through the organization’s robust community engagement programs, and across its educational initiatives.
The Rep welcomes audiences with inspiring and expansive productions at several inviting stages across St. Louis including the Virginia Jackson Browning Theatre at the Loretto-Hilton Center for the Performing Arts and other venues around the St. Louis area. A thought leader in the national theatre landscape, The Rep is a dedicated partner with arts organizations in St. Louis and across the country, expanding audiences’ appreciation and understanding of the world through theatre. For more information, please visit repstl.org and follow @repstl.
The Loretto-Hilton Center at Webster University is The Rep’s home.
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.
In what she describes as a dream, Liza Birkenmeier came home to St. Louis to oversee the mounting of her play “Dr. Ride’s American Beach House,” which the St. Louis Actors’ Studio is producing this month at The Gaslight Theatre, an appropriate location for a city rooftop peering over the Mississippi River near Interstate 55.
Featuring St. Louis references and specific songs from that summer, the action takes place on June 17, 1983, on the eve of astronaut Sally Ride’s historic Challenger Space Shuttle mission.
“To be in St. Louis for the process — for the process to be in St. Louis at all — is a dream. The play takes place here and is full of the wonder I have at the city and the people,” she said.
The New York-based playwright, 37, was commissioned by Ars Nova in New York City, where it premiered in 2019, and became a New York Times Critics Pick and a finalist for the Lambda Literary Award.
Selecting Sally Ride came later to the process, Liza said. But when she found out the date of her launch, and how, as the first American woman astronaut, she still couldn’t live an authentic life, so she was a closeted lesbian. In her obituary some 30 years later, she mentioned her partner of 27 years.
RN Healey and Lindsey Brill in STLAS’s “Dr Ride’s American Beach House” Photo by Patrick Huber
The play’s female characters include two lesbians who are childhood friends, Matilda and Harriet, who have MFAs in poetry but work as waitresses, and have invited a guest, Meg, to their Two Serious Women Book Club. Meg is an out-lesbian, and she is shocking to them, how comfortable she is being herself.
Smartly written and acted, the play gives us snapshots of women living lives of quiet desperation, and what a bold, risky, adventurous woman like Sally Ride represents to them.
The comedy-drama runs Oct. 6-22, with Thursday through Saturday performances at 8 p.m. and Sundays at 3 p.m. at The Gaslight Theatre, 358 N. Boyle Ave., St. Louis.
Tickets are available through Ticketmaster or at the box office one hour prior to the performance. For more information, visit www.stlas.org
Birkenmeier has a connection with St. Louis Actors’ Studio, as she performed in the riveting drama “Blackbird” in 2018, earning a St. Louis Theater Circle nomination for outstanding actress as the 27-year-old Una, who confronts the 55-year-old man, Ray, who seduced her 15 years ago, when she was 12. John Pierson played Ray in this complex portrayal of ruined lives intertwined. Her director, Annamaria Pileggi, is also the director of her show.
Liza Birkenmeier and John Pierson in “Blackbird” at STLAS in 2018
In her notes, she said she is grateful to work with Pileggi, Patrick Huber, and Amy Paige again, and to be united (or reunited) with this group of artists.
After high school in St. Louis, Liza earned a bachelor’s degree in drama at Washington University and an MFA degree at Carnegie Mellon University. She now lives in Brooklyn with her wife, Shannon, and two cats.
Her work as a playwright has been seen and developed at The Public Theatre, TiQ, HERE, Dixon Place, University Settlement, Playwrights Realm, Lincoln Center, and elsewhere.
She is a New Georges Affiliated Artist, a Yaddo and Macdowell Fellow, and is currently commissioned by Sam French and the Manhattan Theatre Club.
“F*ck7thGrade,” a musical collaboration with Jill Sobule, was nominated for a Drama Desk Award for outstanding musical and was also a New York Times Critics Pick and finalist for the Lambda Literary Award in Drama; it will return to the Wild Project this fall, where it premiered in 2022.
Recently, she premiered “Grief Hotel” at Clubbed Thumb, directed by Tara Ahmadinejad. Other plays include “Islander,” “Honestly Sincere” (New York Times Critics Pick/Drama League Award), and “Radio Island” (finalist for the Philip Seymour Hoffman Relentless Award).
This semester, she is teaching playwrighting at Washington University and has written a novel. There is a lot more wit, wonder and words in her future.
The Take Ten Questionnaire:
1.What is special about your latest project?
“There are too many special things about this production of ‘Dr. Ride’s American Beach House’ at STLAS for me to name. To be in St. Louis for the process — for the process to be in St. Louis at all — is a dream. The play takes place here and is full of the wonder I have at the city and the people.
Annamaria Pileggi and I have been working together since I was her student at Wash U. I’m wildly happy that she’s directing this particular piece here and now. The cast and creative team are full of former classmates and teachers. It’s a warm and surreal experience.”
2. Why did you choose your profession/pursue the arts?
“It would have been so much saner for me to have chosen this! Truly, I have a compulsion to make stuff and then try to show people. I’ve always imagined building planets, inviting people to visit them, and then feeling desperate for someone to say: ‘Oh, I’ve always wished to be here!’ There’s no reason; it’s embarrassing.”
3. How would your friends describe you?
“Inspiring and competent. (Is this getting fact-checked?)”
4. How do you like to spend your spare time?
Walking around my neighborhood, trying to become a genius.
5. What is your current obsession?
It hasn’t changed in so many–thirty? –years! Novels.
6. What would people be surprised to find out about you?
“I love Provel cheese?”
7. Can you share one of your most defining moments in life?
“When I was in the fifth grade (at the Forsyth School), I insisted on playing the ‘sailor that gets mauled by the Cyclops’ in the class production of The Odyssey. There was no such part, but I guess I weaseled in a scene in which I could die a violent death, come back to life, and sing a solo. In a way I don’t know if I can explain, this is what I continue to do.”
8. Who do you admire most?
“My cats.”
9. What is at the top of your bucket list?
“I would like to pull off an elaborate con. Ideally, this would be theatrical, nonviolent, and lucrative. Or have a novel published. Somehow this feels like the same thing.”
10. How were you affected by the pandemic years, and anything you would like to share about what got you through and any lesson learned during the isolation periods? Any reflections on how the arts were affected? And what does it means to move forward?
“My dad, who is a pulmonary critical care physician, was working in the COVID unit at the Veterans Hospital here in St. Louis, and I was at home in Brooklyn. While I think he’s the coolest person imaginable, I dreaded that part of his work. As things felt more ‘normal’ with time, I started to work again, and I found that writing in novel ways, for novel opportunities–for online pieces, podcasts, all non-live stuff–was so healthy for my brain.
I always think I’m being ‘creative,’ but I wonder if even in untraditional, off-Broadway theater, I had gotten into accidental habits. The first play I wrote for live performance since 2020 was called ‘Grief Hotel’ and somehow had, in sneaky ways, some sadness and anxiety of isolation, even though it was a comedy. It premiered at Clubbed Thumb in New York this summer, and was one of my favorite, proudest experiences.
11. What is your favorite thing to do in St. Louis?
See my friends and go to Blues games.
12. What’s next?
“I wrote a novel. Wish me luck!”
More About Liza Birkenmeier
Birthplace: Olivette Current location: Greenpoint, Brooklyn, NY since 2012. Family: My wife, Shannon, and two cats, Lila and Lenù Education: BA Washington University. MFA Carnegie Mellon. Day job: This semester, teaching Playwriting at Wash U! First job: Brown Shoe warehouse, replacing choking hazard laces on Build-A-Bear Sketchers.
Awards/Honors/Achievements: I’m most proud of being a two-time finalist for the Lambda Literary Award for LGBTQ Drama and of my work with Ars Nova and Clubbed Thumb in New York.
Favorite quote/words to live by: Sentences that Yiyun Li, Annie Dillard, Elena Ferrante, Elif Batuman, Maggie Nelson, Iris Murdoch, and Annie Erneaux wrote.
“Dr Ride’s American Beach House” off-Broadway. Photo by Ben Arons
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.
Women leading lives of quiet desperation are hanging out on a rooftop one sweltering summer evening in red brick south city St. Louis.
Intrigued? In the smartly written and well-acted “Dr. Ride’s American Beach House,” you are not going to get a pat script here. In fact, St. Louis playwright Liza Birkenmeier’s comedy-drama provokes more questions than answers – but in a good way.
It’s Friday, June 17, 1983. The time, date and place are firmly established if the play does not, or refuses to, fit into tidy boxes. The songs of that summer, catchy radio hits, immediately take you back to that period as they blare out of a boombox.
NASA nerds can point to that night as the eve of astronaut Sally Ride’s groundbreaking achievement as the first American woman in space as part of the Challenger Space Shuttle mission.
To these unfulfilled women hanging out in the sticky humid air “near Highway 55 and the Mississippi River,” they realize this is a giant leap forward for women, at least professionally. But for Dr. Ride, she can’t acknowledge that she’s gay until she announces it in her obituary nearly 30 years later, revealing her partner of 27 years, Tam O’Shaughnessy.
However, it’s still a big-deal achievement that they are in awe of – risky, bold, adventurous. Not spoken out loud is that it was just a different time – that uncomfortable putting on a front to not make waves move so many accepted as the way it had to be.
They are stuck in ruts of their own choosing, as they stay in second gear living inauthentic lives. Harriet and Matilda, seemingly lifelong friends who share a deeper relationship and should be self-aware that their failure to launch is self-inflicted, display a palpable bond and familiar shorthand. Whatever is currently troubling them is suppressed in exchange for quips and vague discontent.
The setting is Harriet’s place, a sanctuary above where the hum of her air-conditioning unit dripping water – that irritates her landlady Norma (Lizi Watt)—is a nuisance that she’s ignoring.
As played by the intuitive Lindsay Brill, Harriet’s a wallower, a quick-to-be irritated woman going nowhere. She has returned from visiting her dying mother in Florida, carrying plenty of emotional baggage, and is drinking a beer and eating ice cream straight out of a carton for dinner. There is mention of a boyfriend, but that reeks of convenience.
She’s as restless as bestie Matilda, who has stopped by, still wearing her waitress uniform, singing snippets of Fleetwood Mac’s “Dreams,” and griping about her sick child and lack of a supportive husband. Clearly a life choice that she seems ill-suited for, as she tosses off quips and complaints. She brings up that she is smart, a chip-on-the-shoulder retort — after all has an MFA in poetry. We can tell her verbal skills are highly evolved, and Bridgette Bassa breezes in as a force to be reckoned with – but maybe she’s all talk?
These two women may rhyme together, but nothing else does in their fragmented lives. It would be an ordinary, insignificant night, but it’s not, really.
Birkenmeier, now living in New York City, made her off-Broadway debut with this play, which premiered in 2019 after being commissioned by Ars Nova in New York. It was a New York Times Critics Pick and a finalist for the Lambda Literary Award in Drama.
RN Healey
This is her return to St. Louis Actors’ Studio as a playwright, after her astonishing performance in “Blackbird” in 2018, nominated for Best Actress in a Drama by the St. Louis Theater Circle. She appears to have an old soul and a sharp wit.
Annamaria Pileggi directed her then, and helms this current production, intending for us to read between the lines. Pileggi, STLAS’ associate artistic director, is assured in drawing out the personalities of these dissatisfied women who sadly lack the tools to take the reins of their own lives.
They are ‘meeting’ for the Two Serious Women Book Club, but really, that’s not happening, although newcomer Meg comes over to join them by invitation. Now Meg, as played by an assertive RN Healey, is everything these two are not: comfortable in her own skin. Wearing a rock band T-shirt and showing tattoos while wearing scrubsi, she could easily stand up and unapologetically sing “I Am What I Am” at a nearby karaoke.
Are Harriet and Matilda afraid of pursuing their own journeys, hiding in the trappings of a humdrum life because it would be too difficult to take the road not traveled?
That’s for you to ponder – especially if you think we are our choices.
For certain, this production features vibrant, fully realized performances, punctuated by an astute selection of songs of the day. (Brilliant choices – especially the misunderstood “Every Breath You Take” hit by The Police, not a love song suitable for weddings).
You will hear the sounds of loneliness, remembering what you had and what you lost.
Patrick Huber’s interesting rooftop set design captures the modest space of multiple story flats, with thrift shop finds, aided by Kristi Gunther’s effective lighting design, using accent lamps and strings of lights as twilight falls.
Emma Glose’s sound design is crisp and clear, and her props selection reflect life 40 years ago. Abby Pasterello has wisely chosen appropriate costumes, hair and makeup looks. And as always, Stage Manager Amy J. Paige keeps things flowing smoothly.
This robust 90-minute production indicates Birkenmeier has a special voice and showcases a tight quartet who were at ease playing complicated females. We can look back now, and say affirmatively women have come a long way.
St. Louis Actors’ Studio presents “Dr. Ride’s American Beach House” Oct. 6-22, with Thursday through Saturday performances at 8 p.m. and Sundays at 3 p.m. at The Gaslight Theatre, 358 N. Boyle Ave., St. Louis. Tickets are available through Ticketmaster or at the box office one hour prior to the performance. For more information, visit www.stlas.org
Lynn (Zipfel) Venhaus has had a continuous byline in St. Louis metro region publications since 1978. She writes features and news for Belleville News-Democrat and contributes to St. Louis magazine and other publications.
She is a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic, currently reviews films for Webster-Kirkwood Times and KTRS Radio, covers entertainment for PopLifeSTL.com and co-hosts podcast PopLifeSTL.com…Presents.
She is a member of Critics Choice Association, where she serves on the women’s and marketing committees; Alliance of Women Film Journalists; and on the board of the St. Louis Film Critics Association. She is a founding and board member of the St. Louis Theater Circle.
She is retired from teaching journalism/media as an adjunct college instructor.
Singer-actor Kelvin Roston Jr. is a man on a mission, and he pours his heart and soul into a revealing portrait of soul singer Donny Hathaway.
However, his haunting one-man show “Twisted Melodies” is more than a bravura performance – he shines the spotlight on complicated mental health issues to lead us to further understanding.
Sure, you’ve heard Hathaway’s music – at least every holiday season “This Christmas” is playing in stores, on car radios, and at home. His signature cover of Leon Russell’s “A Song for You” is considered one of his finest, as is John Lennon’s “Jealous Guy,” and his duet with Roberta Flack on “Where Is the Love?” won a Grammy Award in 1973.
The audience acknowledged familiarity with his first hit, “The Ghetto,” from his album debut “Everything Is Everything” in 1970 as soon as it played. After all, Hathaway was born in St. Louis on Oct. 1, 1945, and has a deep fan base here.
Hathaway was raised by his grandmother Martha Pitts, a professional gospel singer, in the Carr Square housing project. He graduated from Vashon High School in 1963, and earned a fine arts scholarship to Howard University, where he majored in music theory.
Because of his illustrious career and enduring impact, he was inducted into the St. Louis Walk of Fame in 2013. His star is located at 6165 Delmar Blvd. in University City.
But what was happening behind the music is a tragic story that silenced his expressive voice. The gifted musician and songwriter suffered from mental illness. At age 33, he plunged to his death from an Essex Hotel window in Chicago on Jan. 13, 1979.
Kelvin Roston. Photo by Jon Gitchoff
This captivating, mournful story takes place on that fateful day inside Hathaway’s hotel room — and inside his head – as he battled demons his adult life. A paranoid schizophrenic, he wasn’t keen on keeping up with a rigorous prescription medicine route, and therefore, his behavior became increasingly erratic.
In a devastating scene, he described all the unpleasant side effects of the pills he was prescribed. Those who loved him could not help.
Roston conveys both Hathaway’s talent and his torment in a heartfelt and heartbreaking performance, displaying his expert musicianship and his powerful voice. He deeply feels the music.
Roston, who is also from St. Louis but currently based in Chicago, began shaping the play when he was an intern at the Black Rep. Caring so passionately about this man and his music, he brought this personal story to the Black Rep in 2016 – and was nominated for a St. Louis Theater Circle Award for Outstanding Actor in a Drama. Since the world premiere in 2015 in Chicago, he has taken his show across the country.
Roston, who attended Cardinal Ritter High School, recently won a Joseph Jefferson Award in Chicago for Best Actor for his performance as “King Hedley II,” August Wilson’s play staged at The Court Theatre.
In his courageous portrayal, Roston brings out Hathaway’s caring, vulnerable personality by reminiscing about his childhood, college years, collaboration with Flack, meeting his wife, and the love for his daughter.
He also flips quickly to indicate a darker force, an all-consuming inner turmoil, as he is convinced someone is stealing his music by hooking up his brain to a machine.
As he struggles to maintain sanity, we hear discordant sounds, the lights become harsher, and visuals distort. Projection designer Mike Tutaj provides different images on the hotel room walls. Xavier Pierce’s lighting and G Clausen’s sound design add to the heightened emotions.
Set designer Tim Mackabee’s accurate depiction of a tastefully appointed hotel room 44 years ago can appear spacious, then claustrophobic, almost like a prison, while Roston is presenting composing at his keyboard normally, then switching to the terror of Hathaway’s reality.
Roston as Donny Hathaway. Photo by Jon Gitchoff
Throughout the 90 minutes, while music was integrated into the script, Roston’s focus on the disease’s effects is hard-hitting, robbing Hathaway of everything he valued.
This show speaks volumes in a sincere, direct way, and illuminates a crippling disease and urgent health care crisis. It is a public service announcement as much as an entertaining, thoughtful show.
Director Reggie D. White has emphasized both in this presentation, and he has seamlessly incorporated the technical elements so we could be moved not only by Hathaway’s brilliance as a major R&B talent, but also his hellish psychological state.
On opening night Oct. 6, Hathaway’s youngest daughter, Donnita, came on stage afterwards to talk about her father, and commend Roston’s work. She was 2 years old when her father died.
The Rep is partnering with Donnita’s Donny Hathaway Legacy Project that advocates for holistic mental health and emotional health-related education and resources. The Rep has pledged to partner its onstage work with a necessary offstage issue.
She had said earlier: “I’m in awe of how much care and delicacy the brilliant Kelvin Roston takes in his role as my father while staying true to highlighting mental health issues during this fateful night and balancing the scales by taking us down memory lane by infusing the classic musical catalog that Donny Hathaway left us. I am thrilled that Twisted Melodies is coming to The Rep, a place that both Kelvin Roston and the late Donny Hathaway could call home.”
Post-show discussions are set for Saturday, Oct. 14 at 4 p.m. and Wednesday, Oct. 18 at 2 p. m.
The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis presents “Twisted Melodies” Oct. 4 -22 at the Catherine B. Berges Theatre at COCA, 6880 Washington Avenue. For more information or to purchase tickets, visit: www.repstl.org
The Rep Box Office is available for in-person support at the Loretto-Hilton Center, 130 Edgar Rd., Webster Groves, on Tuesdays and Wednesdays from 10:30 a.m. – 5 p.m, and 2 hours before curtain.
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.
Ah, the rose-colored glasses that we view our youth through can differ, depending on what generation, but one thing we have in common: the nostalgia for the music we came of age listening to, whether it was the Boy Bands of the late ‘90s, the MTV New Wave in the ‘80s, the British Invasion of the ‘60s or the short-lived disco-dance craze of the 1970s.
Today’s electronic dance music has roots in those syncopated rhythms that topped the charts some 45 years ago. If you were ever grooving to up-tempo hits at a nightclub, then the stage musical version of the 1977 cultural phenomenon film, “Saturday Night Fever,” is for you.
The jukebox musical, adapted in 1998 for London’s West End, which made it to Broadway the next year, features the legendary hits from the Bee Gees, plus other classic disco tracks – who can forget The Trammps’ “Disco Inferno” — “burn that mother down.” Most of the time the actors sing the chart-toppers.
Providing many funky sounds of the day is live-wire Chris Moore as the Afro-coiffed DJ Monty, rocking gold platform shoes and a shiny silver shirt, with Jade Anaiis Hillery belting out a few tunes like she was Chaka Khan. As Candy, she leads on the aforementioned “Disco Inferno,” plus sings “Night Fever” and “Nights on Broadway.” The pair duet on “More Than a Woman.”
Side note: I heard Yvonne Elliman’s “If I Can’t Have You” at the grocery store the other evening! To emphasize how this music has endured – have you been to a wedding reception recently? The soundtrack spawned four No. 1 singles, won the Grammy Award for Album of the Year, still ranks among the best-selling soundtrack albums worldwide, and to date, has sales figures of over 40 million copies.
This Stray Dog Theatre production is marked by a larger-than-usual band to bring the sounds alive, inspired choreography by Michael Hodges, and a star-making performance by Drew Mizell as Tony Manero. The man can strut.
Drew Mizell as Tony Manero. Photo by John Lamb.
While the 19-year-old character is forever stamped as the role that earned John Travolta his first of two Oscar nominations and dancing reputation, Mizell has the moves to pull off such an iconic part. His ease on the dance floor is admirable, and his extensive dance training is evident.
Mizell, whose first show at Stray Dog was an impressive performance as both Cinderella’s Prince and Florinda in “Into the Woods,” also nails the Brooklyn accent and the attitude to make the character likable.
Tony, anxious about life after high school and what his future will look like, is not content just to hang out with his goon-like pals, who seem locked in dead ends. He wants more than working at a paint store. At night, at the Odyssey 2001 discotheque, he is king of the dance floor. But at home, yeesh. His mother and father are yellers, and he can’t ever measure up to his older brother, Frank Jr., a priest.
But Frank Jr. has a crisis of faith and returns home. Another standout is Sean Seifert, a natural at portraying the brother as a good man who doesn’t have all the answers. (He also pulls off a dual role as Gus, one of Tony’s inner circle who creates other issues).
When Tony meets Stephanie Mangano, he is taken by her physicality, refinement and her desire to cross that bridge for a better life in Manhattan. With a shot to win $1,000 at a dance contest, Tony and Stephanie team up, their eyes on the prize — and eventually each other.
With sophisticated airs and ambition, Stephanie is more Uptown Girl than the kind Tony hangs out with, including his needy ex Annette, who has fallen hard for him, but it’s unrequited.
Sara Rae Womack brings out the humor in Stephanie’s images of the glamorous world, name-dropping at her entry level job, and has a solo ballad, “What Kind of Fool,” while Lindsey Grojean conveys the desperation of Annette’s lonely and confused young woman in a powerful “If I Can’t Have You,” delivering the show’s best vocals.
Triple-threat Maggie Nold is sympathetic as Pauline, who is caught up in a familiar teen pregnancy scenario. She demonstrates the realities of her situation well – but as the ensemble is handling multiple roles, it’s a tad odd to see her happily dancing and smiling soon after a funeral scene.
Ella Drake as Doreen and Kayla Dressman as Connie get their moment as dancing queens in their spirited competition number,.while Mizell and Womack hit the sweet spot with their “More Than a Woman” big dance number.
Using heavily exaggerated Brooklyn accents, the Manero family, and Tony’s peers, adhere to the stereotypes of that era, staying in those lanes. Oh, those gender caricatures — ‘hoochie mama’s and swinging playboys – were cringy then and certainly now.
Think of it as a period piece – because the best buddies are not that likable, total losers with their off-putting macho bravado, which is why the flimsy broadly-drawn book remains the show’s weakest element. Because their crude talk and bully swagger are mostly foreign in today’s ‘polite’ society, overall, this cast doesn’t seem entirely comfortable playing these roles. Now, dancing is first-rate, clearly polished and well-rehearsed.
The guys playing the deadbeat friends — Justin Bouckaert as the conflicted and struggling Bobby, Jayson Heil as Double-J and Michael Cox as Joey — are caught between a rock and a hard place because they are so immature and misguided, their idea of what manhood is, while not uncommon then, is far from what it should be. But that’s the point – to show how trouble-prone Tony is separating from the pack.
This version has cleaned up some of the more problematic “R-rated” portions of the script, as in gang-rape, violence, and intense sexuality, which is not necessary for this story. The movie’s darker and grittier aspects have been removed, for the most part, just hinted at or briefly alluded to for conflicts.
What director Justin Been does effectively is capture that malaise of the late ‘70s, when economic issues affected blue-collar laborers, and social unrest simmered in “the summer of Sam” (serial killer Son of Sam terrorized the city). The disaffected youth escaped to the discos. (“Feel the city breakin’ and everybody shakin'” — “Stayin’ Alive”).
As the one-note parents Flo and Frank Manero, pros Kay Love and Matt Anderson display their lung power shouting at their family. Nadja Kapetanovich is sincere in the brief role of Linda, the dutiful daughter put in the middle between her cranky parents and defiant brothers.
Sara Rae Womack, Drew Mizell
The home scenes reflect on the misery of marginalized people while the disco and dance studio are where the energy flows. But the story is really secondary to the song-and-dance appeal of the musical.
Scenic Designer Josh Smith crafted a dance floor with colored lights for the stage, with help of lighting designer Tyler Duenow, which may not be visible to all the audience members. He also expanded the Tower Grove Abbey stage with stairs and a bridge doubling for the DJ booth at the club and the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge, a suspension bridge that connects Brooklyn to Staten Island.
They’ve made room for a large band, led by music director/conductor Leah Schultz on piano, with Marie Brown, Tai Davis, and Beau Lewis on cello for select performances, Mo Carr on trumpet, Steve Frisbee on violin, John Gerdes and Xander Gerdes on bass for select performances, Lea Gerdes and Mary Wiley on reeds for select performances, Adam Levin on trombone, Adam Rugo on guitar and Joe Winters on percussion.
Among their instrumental numbers are the classic Sounds of Philadelphia “A Fifth of Beethoven,” plus “After the Fall,” and “Salsation.”
The costumes collected by Colleen Michelson are a mixed bag – some duplicated the gaudy polyester trends of the ‘70s, while others are ‘kinda, sorta’ representative of the period. The dance floor attire, for working-class kids on weekends, needs to be faux-chic instead of Sunday church dress best. Some of the outfits were more flattering than others, and dresses had nice swirling effects. And the iconic white suit has its moment in the spotlight – always big sentimental crowd reaction.
Those infectious, danceable beats will get you on your feet every time. After all, as the Bee Gees told us – “You should be dancing” — and of course you came for the good beats that you could dance to, and don’t forget your boogie shoes. There is a Disco Mix curtain call. Dance 10, Story 3.
Stray Dog Theatre presents the musical “Saturday Night Fever” Oct. 5-Oct. 28, Thursdays through Saturdays at 8 p.m., with additional performances 2 p.m. Sundays, Oct. 15 and 22, at the Tower Grove Abbey, 2336 Tennessee in Tower Grove East. For more information or tickets, visit: www.straydogtheatre.org. Seating is general admission.
Lynn (Zipfel) Venhaus has had a continuous byline in St. Louis metro region publications since 1978. She writes features and news for Belleville News-Democrat and contributes to St. Louis magazine and other publications.
She is a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic, currently reviews films for Webster-Kirkwood Times and KTRS Radio, covers entertainment for PopLifeSTL.com and co-hosts podcast PopLifeSTL.com…Presents.
She is a member of Critics Choice Association, where she serves on the women’s and marketing committees; Alliance of Women Film Journalists; and on the board of the St. Louis Film Critics Association. She is a founding and board member of the St. Louis Theater Circle.
She is retired from teaching journalism/media as an adjunct college instructor.
After a brief hiatus, we’re back with our round-up of people, places, and events in the St. Louis region, a tad behind in posting our September/summer swan song.
IN COMES COMPANY: Stephen Sondheim’s groundbreaking musical “Company” – the female-led revival that won the Tony in 2022, kicks off its 25-city national tour on Oct. 8 in Schenectady, N.Y., with the St. Louis stop Feb. 27-March 10 at the Fox Theatre.
Belleville native Ann Beyersdorfer, associate set designer for the Broadway revival, worked with production designer Bunny Christie, who won her fourth Olivier Award for the London production design. And she’s on the team that has been preparing the hilarious and sophisticated show for the road.
(Three-time Tony Award winner Jack Lane, co-founder and executive producer emeritus of Stages St. Louis, was one of the Broadway show’s co-producers.)
Ann was back in town this summer, as scenic designer for “Disney’s Beauty and the Beast” and “West Side Story” at The Muny, and I was fortunate to interview her then for the Belleville News-Democrat.
For a deeper dive into the mechanics of getting a Broadway show transferred to the road, read about her journey here on PopLifeSTL.com:
A winner of best set design of a play for “Afterglow” at the Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Awards, she’ll be part of the team taking the production to London Oct. 17–Nov. 24, with an official opening Oct. 22.
And as an art director on the visual shorts for “Saturday Night Live,” hopefully you will be able to see more of her work when the show resumes on Oct. 14. You may have seen the elaborate “HBO Mario Kart Trailer” she worked on when Emmy-nominated Pedro Pascal hosted.
Cheers to Ann and the tour launch! (We’ll drink to that!). For more information, visit: https://companymusical.com/
Nichelle Lewis, Wayne Brady
BRAND NEW DAY: “The Wiz,” the 1974 super-soul musical adaptation of L. Frank Baum’s beloved children’s novel “The Wizard of Oz,” which was given a reworking for The Muny’s 2018 season, is Broadway-bound in 2024, with St. Louis-connected producers, but this new revival is touring first. Opening night was Sept. 23 at the Hippodrome Theatre in Baltimore, and the reviews were raves.
“The audience and the whole evening was full of joy and energy, extended applause, and standing ovations,” stated the Maryland Theatre Guide on Sept. 29. “Powerhouse performances and stunning choreography,” enthused the Baltimore Sun.
The first-ever revival will be easing down the road to 12 other cities, including Chicago (Nov. 28 – Dec. 10). For more information, visit: https://wizmusical.com/
The producing team of Kristin Caskey and Mike Isaacson (Muny artistic director and executive producer) and a long list of others, including Terry Schnuck, is behind this show. Caskey, now of the Ambassador Theatre Group, spent 20 years with Fox Theatricals. She and Isaacson produced the Tony-winning “Fun Home” in 2015 and this year’s Best Revival winner “Parade.”
Isaacson said they have been working on a revival for eight years, and plans are to mount another national tour after the Broadway limited engagement. In preparation for The Muny, he received permission from the original creators to make some changes. Amber Ruffin, recent Tony nominee for “Some Like It Hot,” wrote additional material – and had worked on the Muny script – from William F. Brown’s original book. You may know her as a writer on “Late Night with Seth Meyers,” as she frequently appears.
Isaacson revealed that in a terrific Broadway World interview with James Lindhorst, who also talked with producers Jack Lane, Mike Bosner and Terry Schnuck – heavy-hitters at this year’s Tonys (“& Juliet,” “Shucked” and “Parade”).
Schele Williams is helming this show, with Wayne Brady as The Wiz from Jan. 16 to Broadway engagement, and Alan Mingo Jr. in the title role Sept. 23 – Jan. 14, 2024, and newcomer Nichelle Lewis as Dorothy.
The original 1974 production, directed by Geoffrey Holder and choreographed by George Faison, won seven Tony Awards including Best Musical, and was adapted into a movie in 1978 starring Diana Ross, Richard Pryor, and Michael Jackson. NBC broadcast a live version in 2015, but a planned revival then did not materialize.
Colin, Jeanine
BRUSH WITH GREATNESS: Speaking of the musical “Fun Home,” composer Jeanine Tesori — the most honored and most prolific female theatrical composer in history, was in St. Louis this summer, and stopped in to visit with the local cast rehearing “Caroline, or Change,” produced by Fly North Theatricals.
To get the opportunity to talk with Tesori, who has written five Broadway musicals and received six Tony Award nominations, winning for “Fun Home” and the recent “Kimberly Akimbo,” was one of the best moments ever, according to music director Colin Healy.
Healy summed it up this way on Facebook: “She and Mike Isaacson (producer) offered such wonderful insight into the process of writing, building, and producing ‘Caroline, Or Change,’ validating what is already apparent when hearing the score: how much a labor of love and Herculean creative endeavor ‘Caroline’ was and continues to be… She spoke to us for over an hour and took questions from everyone.”
(Photo: Colin Healy and Jeanine Tesori)
NEW HORIZONS: All good wishes for theater and media folks moving on, changing directions and making the most of opportunities.
Bravo to Taylor Gruenloh, whose new musical “Cascade’s Fire,” a modern Antigone story co-written by Kyle Wernkel, will premiere Oct. 12 and run 13-15 and 19-21 in the Black Box Theatre at Missouri Science and Technology in Rolla, where he is on the Arts, Languages and Philosophy faculty. Taylor wrote the book and lyrics while Wernkel wrote the music.
Taylor recently stepped down as Creative Director at The Tesseract Theatre Company at the end of August, after their successful run of “Kinky Boots.” One of the most prolific and creative folks in town, I can’t wait to see what else he will accomplish.
Congratulations to Joe Gfaller, who has been managing director of Metro Theater Company since 2019, on becoming managing director of Clear Space Theatre Company, a 20-year-old regional theater in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware. He’ll be leaving in mid-October. Jessie Youngblood, the current development director, will serve as interim managing director beginning Oct. 9. Always enjoyed working with Joe, starting with the Opera Theater of St. Louis in 2014. Joe has served Metro, St. Louis’s premiere professional theater for youth and families, well.
Best wishes to Julia Flood, Metro artistic director for the past 10 years, who has announced her retirement after the 51st season. Of Joe’s departure, she said: “Joe has had boundless energy and enthusiasm for the mission and work of Metro Theater Company. I feel lucky to have had the benefit of his partnership through the complexities of the pandemic times and wish him much success and happiness in his new venture.” (They both can be very proud of their endeavors). A free Fall Family Festival to celebrate MTC’s 50 years of service to the community will be held on Oct. 21 and 22. A toast in Gfaller’s honor will be held at that event on Sunday, Oct. 22 at 1 p.m.
Carol Daniel
Carol Daniel may have retired from one prominent longtime gig, but she is embarking on a fantastic journey. The award-winning St. Louis journalist, reporter, host, columnist, and author has joined Nine PBS as a Senior Producer and Host.
Daniel said she looks forward to telling the stories of her community in a new way — with a podcast about people making an impact here, and also produce interviews and stories that celebrate and showcase underrepresented voices for Nine PBS’s content flagship, Living St. Louis. Yes to this! I look forward to seeing her next chapter.
Daniel has more than 40 years of experience as a host on KMOX Radio, as well as work on Great Day St. Louis on KMOV/Channel 4, and a columnist for the St. Louis American. She’s been honored as a Living Legend by the National Association of Black Journalists–St. Louis, was recently inducted into the Lincoln University Alumni Hall of Fame, and was a 2022 inductee into the St. Louis Media Hall of Fame.
Longtime public relations and marketing maestros Eric Pugh and Dylan Stanley have departed our fair river city for beachier pastures. Last at the Muny, Eric is now promoting The Asolo Repertory Theatre in Sarasota, Fla., the largest Equity theatre in Florida, and the largest Repertory theatre in Southeastern U.S. Just wonderful to work with both, and I’m glad we had time together.
Dylan, who has moved to Los Angeles with his fiancé, Nicolas Valdez, who is embarking on a fellowship at USC, will keep us posted on his next challenge after giving us his all at Stifel Theatre and Enterprise Center (and performing in Tesseract Theatre Company’s triumphant “Kinky Boots.”
Best wishes to Lee Anne Mathews in her new role as Education and Artistic Director for the Fox Performing Arts Charitable Foundation! Before May, she was making things happen at Westport Playhouse.
Congratulations to Brian McKinley on his new role as Director of Education and Community Program at the Black Repertory Theatre of St. Louis.
HOMETOWNERS: Comedian-actor Cedric the Entertainer’s new book, crime caper “Flipping Boxcars,” fictionalizes his grandfather, Floyd “Babe” Boyce.
Jon Hamm is in two, not one, television series this fall. He joined the cast of “The Morning Show” for season 3, now streaming on Apple TV+, and will be in “Fargo,” season 5, which starts Nov. 21 on FX and Hulu.
Nicholas “Sifu” Alsup. Photo: Robert Voets/CBS
Best wishes to Nicholas “Sifu” Alsup of O’Fallon, Ill., who was chosen as one of 18 contestants on the 45th season of CBS’ “Survivor” that started Sept. 27.He is a larger-than-life personality, and I was able to interview him through permission with CBS. https://news.yahoo.com/o-fallon-gym-owner-one-120000863.html
CHEERS: Congratulations to New Jewish Theatre on their 25th anniversary as a regional professional theatre in St. Louis; and Gateway Center for Performing Arts school, and youth theater company, on their 10th anniversary in Webster Groves. A feature article by me will be in the Webster-Kirkwood Times soon.
OUT AND ABOUT: Two Colins in the ‘Lou news! Co-owners Colin Healy and Bradley Rohlf of Fly North Theatricals, have opened their new home and social hangout, The Greenfinch Theater and Dive, at 2525 South Jefferson Avenue (the old Way Out Club).. The bar is open every night from 5 p.m. to 1 a.m. You won’t want to miss Stool Pigeon Open Mic Comedy Night on Mondays and Drunk Voice Lessons karaoke with live piano accompaniment (and critiques) by Colin Healy on Wednesdays, plus Burlesque Bingo’s in the rotation too. They are also accepting reservations for their black box theater.
Colin Jost
SNL Head Writer Colin Jost was the Celebrity Guest Host at the Foundation for Barnes-Jewish Hospital’s Illumination Gala on June 3 at The Ritz-Carlton, a major fundraising event for the Siteman Cancer Center. Not sure what he said about “The Square Beyond Compare” but Imo’s posted his photo. Since 2007, the event has raised more than $42 million to support research funds
MEMORY LANE: Last month in pop culture history.
Sept. 26, 1975: “The Rocky Horror Picture Show” opened in Westwood, Calif., and tanked at the box office, but later would become the definition of a cult classic, inspiring interactive screenings with toast, toilet paper and more.
If you attended midnight screenings in the late ‘70s at the Varsity Theatre in St. Louis (where Vintage Vinyl is now), you might have run in to a teenage Michael Stipe, future alt-rock band REM frontman, who is dressed as Frank-n-Furter here in this vintage newsclip on KSDK’s “Newsbeat.” He told the reporter: “We’re all normal, really.”
Why on earth was Stipe, now 63, in St. Louis then? His dad was in the Army, and they moved to several states during his childhood. In the late ‘70s, he lived in Collinsville, Ill., and attended high school there and went on to Southern Illinois University in Edwardsville.. Later, he would move to Athens, Ga., for college, and met record store clerk Peter Buck, which led to forming a band with Mike Mills and Bill Berry…and the rest is history..
Rocky Horror played midnights at the Varsity Theatre from April 1976 until Jan. 3, 1988 when it closed for good. It was one of the first 30 theatres in the U.S. to do so.
I was fortunate to interview Barry Bostwick (Brad in the movie) when he had been scheduled to appear at Wizard World in St. Louis, but had to cancel, and he graciously talked about making the movie by phone. True delight to talk with and write about — here’s my BND feature from 2017.
IN MEMORIAM: Frequent visitor to Gaslight Square with the infamous Compass players, RIP Alan Arkin (March 26, 1934 – June 29, 2023). Archival photo is at Crystal Palace with Anne Meara.
From William Roth, the founder and artistic director of St. Louis Actors’ Studio, who renovated The Gaslight Theatre in the Central West End, on Arkin:
“He made his off-Broadway debut in the late 1950s and joined the St Louis improvisational group the Compass Players in 1959. This led to a stint with the Chicago improv troupe Second City and his Broadway debut, in 1961, in the company’s show ‘From the Second City, which he co-wrote.’
Tony-winning actor Michael McGrath, whose last show was at the Muny this summer – he did a fine job as Mr. Mushnik in “Little Shop of Horrors,” passed away in his sleep Sept. 14 at his home in Bloomfield, N.J. He was 65. That wasn’t his first show in St. Louis – in 1990, he played John Adams in Theater Factory’s “1776.” He was first nominated for a Tony in “Spamalot,” and won for “Nice Work If You Can Get It,” playing a bootlegger, in 2012. https://www.nytimes.com/2023/09/15/theater/michael-mcgrath-dead.html
Maggie Ryan, founder of Insight Theatre and inspiration to many, who spent 36 years as an English teacher and director of theater at Nerinx Hall, died Sept. 10, at age 80, after a short battle with leukemia. She was a lovely woman to interact with and cared passionately about theater. Insight operated for 12 years, won several St. Louis Theater Circle Awards including a legendary “Death of a Salesman” directed by Wayne Loui and starring father-son duo John and Jason Contini. Unfortunately, Insight closed in 2020. https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/stltoday/name/margaret-ryan-obituary?id=53065958
Calvin Wilson, St. Louis Post-Dispatch movie and theater critic, died Aug. 29, from an undisclosed illness. He was 70. I worked with Calvin, both in the St. Louis Film Critics Association, and with the St. Louis Theater Circle, and much admired his writing skill. His insight and passion for the arts will be missed.
CALENDAR NOTES: John Cusack’s screening of “Say Anything,” originally scheduled for October 28 at Stifel Theatre, has been rescheduled for Saturday, March 30. All tickets for the Oct. 28 performance will be honored at the rescheduled date. The popular actor will follow the screening with a conversation regarding his career and the making of the film. Fans will get the opportunity to experience a moderated discussion, with John answering audience questions as well.
Me and Greta, Oct 1, 2022
SHAMELESSNAME-DROPPING: Before she had the biggest movie of the summer (“Barbie”!) and her second son in February, Greta Gerwig was pleasantly accommodating us press troops at the New York Film Festival 2022 (for “White Noise”). The accomplished actress-writer-director is exactly as she seems, a lovely person in person. I had to compliment her on the 2019 “Little Women,” and she said she had a great time working with the cast of that movie. Hopefully, we will be seeing her during the upcoming awards season. On Aug. 6, the film crossed the $1 billion mark worldwide, making her the first woman with sole director credit to have a movie make more than $1 billion.
(My film review: https://poplifestl.com/unexpected-unpredictable-barbie-is-an-irresistible-pop-o-culture/)
Our coda has been added for this issue:
RANDOM THOUGHTS: As you can probably tell, I enjoy waltzing down memory lane, and yes, I was one of the early attendees of “The Rocky Horror Picture Show” midnight showings at the Varsity Theatre in 1977, which was so much fun. If you are a lover of cosplay, I have spied folks in Barbie and Ken outfits at “Barbie” — my prediction for hottest Halloween costumes — and I hear from Abe Goldfarb, hilarious as Otho in the touring company of “Beetlejuice,” who was on the weekly PopLifeSTL.com podcast co-hosted by Carl “The Intern” Middleman and myself on Oct. 4, that there’s many folks dressing up at the shows. He’s excited that they’re here Oct. 13.
The St. Louis Blues open at home Oct. 12. Just once I’d like to buy a team T-shirt where the player I selected isn’t traded. (I bought an Alexander Pietrangelo one — with a C — before the playoffs in ’19 and a Ryan O’Reilly in 2022.)
Are we having the Daylight Savings Time ‘fall back’ happen this year or is it over? Anyone? I’m so confused.
Where in the world is Lynn this weekend? Judging the costume contest at the sensational annual Witches and Wizards Festival in O’Fallon, Ill., a really fun event
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.
Sexual politics and corporate backstabbing are a toxic mix in “Fair Play,” an inevitable downward spiral of a film about how maintaining a relationship is challenging when things get complicated at work and home.
A recently engaged couple, who must keep their relationship secret at their cutthroat financial firm because it’s against company policy, are pushed to the brink after an unexpected promotion throws them into a personal and professional quagmire.
Emily (Phoebe Dynevor), Long Island girl with a Harvard degree, and Yale educated Luke (Alden Ehrenreich), a veteran of Goldman Sachs, are madly in love and about to share their romance with Human Resources when there is a coveted management position open. She overhears it may be him, but the reptilian boss (Eddie Marsan) wants her.
In her feature film debut, writer-director Chloe Domont confronts the elephant in the room, that no one seems to talk about — why a man’s promotion is considered a success, but a woman’s is a threat in a relationship?
You may think you know where “Fair Play” is headed, with the gender gameplay building in intensity, so that you feel it’s not just a matter of “if” but “when” for a meltdown to occur.
Domont tackles this fast-changing post-#MeToo world, where we have progressive couples who support feminist ideals yet were raised with a traditional view of masculinity, so a woman’s success could make a man feel less worthy, and although they try to suppress it, very real human emotions eventually emerge, sometimes in messy and ugly ways.
In a high-stakes environment, the egos on display are heightened here, setting up shifting dynamics, and sinister overtones. That explosive tension forces this off the rails in the third act, going from uncomfortable to painful as it strains credibility.
Set in New York City, the two main locations become increasingly claustrophobic – both in the sleek high-rise office and the tiny apartment they share (and that’s intentional, a key element to making the atmosphere off-kilter). Cinematographer Menno Mans and editor Franklin Peterson escalate the tension through intimate close-ups and awkward confrontations.
Domont, a veteran of directing “Ballers,” “Billions” and an episode of “Suits,” wanted to make a modern horror story, and the psychological aspect is intriguing, yet does it go too far? As agonizing as the climax is, the finale is both harrowing and strange.
Rich Sommer, Sia Alipour, Sebastian De Souza
In her script, Domont has fashioned a realistic world of finance, nimble with the daily aspects of hedge-fund business, and production designer Steven Summersgill effectively conveys the high-rise office.
The acting is first-rate, and Dynevor, who broke out as Daphne on Season 1 of “Bridgerton,” and Ehrenreich, who played young Han Solo in Ron Howard’s ‘Star Wars’ story prequel, trusted each other enough to go to dark places. Marsan, a veteran character actor, is chilling here in the cavalier way he treats people and how power and greed have blackened his soul. Would you take what horrible insult he hurls at Emily? (Seriously, I’d like to know.)
The ‘one of the boys’ atmosphere is further emphasized through supporting players Sebastian De Souza as Rory, Jamie Wilkes as Quinn, Sia Alipour as Arjun, Rich Sommer (“Mad Men”) as Paul, and Brandon Basir as Dax – all portraying different levels.
Whatever you think about the conclusion, this film is meant to be provocative, a conversation starter that will result in more than a few heart-to-hearts. While the ending is subject to interpretation, images will haunt and questions will linger.
Phoebe Dynevor as Emily
“Fair Play” is a 2023 drama-thriller written and directed by Chloe Domont starring Phoebe Dynevor, Alden Ehrenreich, and Eddie Marsan. It is rated R for pervasive language, sexual content, some nudity, and sexual violence, and the run time is 1 hour, 53 minutes. It opened in select theaters Sept. 29 and began streaming on Netflix Oct. 6. Lynn’s Grade: C.
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.
