Go See a Play! What’s Happening Jan. 31 – Feb. 6

Go See a Play! What’s Happening Jan. 31 – Feb. 6

By Lynn VenhausManaging EditorWhat a weekend to Go See a Play! Lots o’ fresh offerings mixed with classics. Whether you want to laugh or have the heartstrings tugged, get out and see a show!

Jennfer Theby-Quinn and Andrew Keeler “Avenue Q” The Playhouse at Westport Plaza Jan. 25 – March 3 www.playhouseatwestport.com

What It’s About: Part flesh, part felt and packed with heart, “Avenue Q” is a laugh-out-loud musical telling the story of Princeton, a college grad who moves into the city with big dreams and a tiny bank account. He and his Avenue Q neighbors struggle to find jobs, dates and their life’s purpose.

Director: Lee Anne Mathews, with Music Director Charlie MuellerStarring: Andrew Keeler, Brent Ambler, Jennifer Theby-Quinn, Kevin O’Brien, Grace Langford, Illeana Kirven, April Strelinger

Of Note: For mature audiences. “Avenue Q” won three Tony Awards, including Best Musical.“

Heather Beal, choreographer for “Black AF”“Black AF”TLT ProductionsFeb. 1 and 28 p.m. Friday and 3 p.m. and 8 pm. SaturdayMarcelle Theatre3310 Sam Shepard DriveMetrotix: metrotix.com or 314-534-1111tltproductionsllc@gmail.com

What It’s About: The exploration of blackness, love, culture and the African-American experience brought to life through original works of dance.

Curated and conceived by Heather Beal, this modern dance concert is a joint undertaking by Heather Beal, Tre’von Griffith, Lauron Thompson and costume designer Marissa Perry.

“Classic Mystery Game”Slightly Askew Theatre Ensemble (SATE)Wednesdays – Saturdays at 8 p.m.Jan. 30 – Feb. 16The Chapel, 6238 Alexander Drive, 63105www.brownpapertickets.comrachel@slightlyoff.org314-827-5760 What It’s About: SATE opens its Season of Ritual with a parody of the cult classic 1985 movie, “Clue,” written by Katy Keating.She has written about the failure of capitalism in a climate-changing world.

The film was written by Jonathan Lynn, and that was based on the game, “Cluedo,” which was created by Anthony E. Pratt.

Director:Starring: Will Bonfiglio. Maggie Conroy, Michael Cassidy Flynn, Carl Overly Jr., Reginald Pierre, Ellie Schwetye, Rachel Tibbetts, Marcy Wiegert

Of Note: Wednesdays, Feb. 6 and 13, are “Pay What You Can”

“Deenie Nast is Back”Ten Directions and the St. Lou FringeFridays at 8 p.m.Feb. 1, 8 and 15Emerald Room at The Monoclewww.deenienast.comWhat It’s About: One-woman show by Audrey Crabtree features international performance superstar Deenie Nast, who delivers a no holds barred, song-filled tribute to her lonely fans. Nast presents a hilarious and heartbreaking exploration of relationships, loneliness, and true connections. Nast sings the hits from her past, revealing very personal stories. Songs, physical comedy and audience interaction are involved.

Photo by Eric Woolsey“District Merchants: An Uneasy Comedy”New Jewish TheatreJan. 24 – Feb. 10Wednesdays and Thursdays at 7:30 p.m., Saturdays at 2 and 8 p.m., and Sundays at 2 p.m.Wool Studio TheaterJewish Community Center, 2 Millstone Campus Drivewww.newjewishtheatre.org314-442-3283

What It’s About: Love, litigation, deep passions and predatory lending are taken to a new level. The play wades fearlessly into the complexities of life in America. It is set among Black and Jewish populations in an imagined time and place, simultaneously Shakespearean and post- Civil War Washington, D.C. Directed by Jacqueline ThompsonCast: Gary Wayne Barker, J. Samuel Davis, Courtney Bailey Parker, Alicen Moser, Erika Flowers, Karl Hawkins, Ron White, Rae DavisOf Note: In Aaron Posner’s re-imagining, the play becomes less about the quality of mercy and more about how flexible a supposedly egalitarian society can be to the varied tribes struggling to find partners in America. Aaron Posner expertly blends humor, emotional truths and topics that make people think. He is able to create characters who are deeply flawed, like we are. In his “uneasy” comedy, he wants us to look at a snapshot in time, the Reconstruction Era, but what he has written is relevant to audiences today.

Fiddler on the Roof

“Fiddler on the Roof”The Fabulous Fox Theatre Jan. 29-Feb. 10What It’s About: Tony®-winning director Bartlett Sher and the team behind South Pacific, The King and I and 2017 Tony-winning Best Play Oslo, bring a fresh and authentic vision to this beloved theatrical masterpiece from Tony winner Joseph Stein and Pulitzer Prize winners Jerry Bock and Sheldon Harnick.

The original production won ten Tony Awards, including a special Tony for becoming the longest-running Broadway musical of all time. You’ll be there when the sun rises on this new production, with stunning movement and dance from acclaimed Israeli choreographer Hofesh Shechter, based on the original staging by Jerome Robbins. A wonderful cast and a lavish orchestra tell this heartwarming story of fathers and daughters, husbands and wives, and the timeless traditions that define faith and family.

“The Hundred Dresses”Metro Theatre CompanyFeb. 3 – Feb. 25The Grandel TheatreMetrotix.comwww.metroplays.orgWhat It’s About: Wanda Petronski, the new girl in Room 13, is a Polish immigrant who lives in a shabby house and doesn’t have any friends. Every day she wears the same faded blue dress, but tells her new class-mates that she has a hundred dresses at home. Her classmates tease Wanda about her hundred dresses until one day she disappears from school. As guilt overtakes the children, they decide to find out what happened to Wanda and to make amends. But is it too late? Bullying, friendship and forgiveness are at the center of this play adapted from the beloved Newbery Honor Book by Eleanor Estes.Cast:

Of Note: Eleanor Estes wrote down her childhood memories while recovering from tuberculosis, and became a children’s author. Her many published works are widely read; but “The Hundred Dresses” continues to be the most popular, remaining in print since its publication in 1944. It was awarded the Newbery Honor in 1945. Speaking about “The Hundred Dresses” Eleanor Estes said, “I am holding up a mirror, and the scene reflected in the mirror is a true image of childhood, and the mirror, besides reflecting, also speaks and echoes the clear, profound, unpremeditated utterances, thoughts, and imageries of these children. I like to make children laugh or cry, to be moved in some way by my writing.

“Jekyll and Hyde”

Next Generation Theatre Company Jan. 26 – Feb. 2 Friday and Saturday at 7:30 p.m., Sunday at 2 p.m.

What It’s About: An evocative tale of two men – one, a passionate doctor; the other, a terrifying madman – and two women, both in love with the same man and both unaware of his dark secret. Murder and chaos is pitted against love and virtue.

Starring: Keith Boyer as Dr. Henry Jekyll

Of Note: Rated PG-13 for violence.

“Jesus Christ Superstar”Looking Glass PlayhouseJan. 24 – Feb. 3Thursdays through Saturdays at 7:30 p.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m.301 West St Louis Street in Lebanon, Ill.www.lookingglassplayhouse.comWhat It’s About: The Andrew Lloyd Webber-Tim Rice musical is a timeless work set against the backdrop of a Biblical series of events but seen through the eyes of Judas Iscariot.

“Maybe This Time”Alton Little TheatreFriday and Saturday, Feb. 1 and 2 at 7:30 p.m.; Sunday, Feb. 3 at 2 p.m. 618-462-3205www.altonlittletheater.org. What It’s About: Four dating vignettes.

Directed By: Lee Cox, Kevin Frakes, Gail Drillinger and Brant McCance, who all act in the show, too.

Starring: Lee Cox, Kevin Frakes, Gail Drillinger and Brant McCance The “she” brain is played by Tiffani Bowen; “he” brain by Sawyer Burton. The barista in the coffee shop is portrayed by Nick Trapp.

Of Note: St. Louis native Michael Madden is the playwright. He will be on hand for Q&A after the show Friday, followed by an opening night celebration at Applebee’s in Alton.

As homage to the coffee shop in the play, ALT’s coffee and wine bar will offer patrons a free beverage as part of the ticket price.

Photo by Jill Ritter Lindberg“The Motherf*cker with The Hat”R-S TheatricsJan. 25 – Feb. 3Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m. and Sundays at 7 p.m..Zack, 3224 Locustwww.r-stheatrics.com

What It’s About: How do you know where you’re going…if you don’t know who has been in your home? The seriocomedy explores how 5 people in New York navigate loyalty, trust, and duty through friendship, love and the challenges of adulthood. And how no one should ever underestimate the importance of cleaning up their accessories.

Directed by:

Starring: Adam Flores, Sofia Lidia, Jesse Munoz, Aaron Dodd, Taleesha Caturah.

Alan Knoll and Steve Isom“Wittenberg”Upstream TheaterJan. 25 – Feb. 10Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m.; Sunday at 7 p.m. except Feb. 10 at 2 p.m.Kranzberg Arts Centerwww.upstreamtheater.org

What It’s About: It’s October 1517, and the new fall semester at the University of Wittenberg finds certain members of the faculty and student body at personal and professional crossroads. Hamlet (senior, class of 1518) is returning from a summer in Poland spent studying astronomy, where he has learned of a revolutionary scientific theory that threatens the very order of the universe, resulting in psychic trauma and a crisis of faith for him. His teacher and mentor John Faustus has decided at long last to make an honest woman of his paramour, Helen, a former nun who is now one of the Continent’s most sought-after courtesans. And Faustus’ colleague and Hamlet’s instructor and priest, Martin Luther, is dealing with the spiritual and medical consequences of his long-simmering outrage at certain abusive practices of the Church.

Directed by: Philip BoehmStarring: Casey Boland, Steve Isom, Alan Knoll and Caitlin Mickey.

Of Note: St. Louis premiere.

Photo by Jon Gitchoff“The Wolves”The Repertory Theatre of St. LouisJan. 18 – Feb. 3 Studio TheatreLoretto-Hilton Center on the Webster University campuswww.repstl.orgWhat It’s About: Nine teenage girls prepare for battle on a soccer field. As they stretch and warm up together, the teammates’ nonstop banter reveals how a collection of disparate personalities bonds to form a team.

Directed by Melissa Rain AndersonStarring: Cassandra Lopez, Cecily Dowd, Colleen Dougherty, Cece Hill, Maya J. Christian, Mary Katharine Harris, Esmeralda Garza, Rachael Logue, Keaton Whittaker, Nancy Bell,

Of Note: St. Louis premiere

Take Ten with Michael Madden

Take Ten with Michael Madden

Chiropractor-Turned-Playwright Strikes a Chord with Romantic Comedy
By Lynn Venhaus
Managing Editor
Actor-playwright Michael Madden could be called a late bloomer.  He did not start acting until five years ago. Two years ago, he wrote his first play, and people like it – a lot. “Maybe This Time” won an audience award in San Diego and sold out every performance last month in St. Louis.
The native of St. John, Mo., discovered that his own online dating experiences was a rich source of material. In 2016, “Maybe This Time” won an audience award at the San Diego Fringe Festival.
That encouragement started an interesting and exciting journey. Family suggested he bring the play to St. Louis, and arrangements were finalized with a local director and cast at The Gaslight Theatre Aug. 17-19.
The 90-minute play is about four online dates with good, bad, humorous and sad results.  You not only see and hear two people on a blind date, but you also see and hear what their brains are thinking. It shows how miscommunication and misunderstanding can lead to unexpected and unwarranted consequences.
Directed by Pamela Reckamp, the cast included Mara Bollini, George Doerr IV, Carrie Priesmeyer, Paul James, Tonya Darabcsek and Todd Micali.
In these characters he has created, Madden wants people to be entertained, moved, laugh and perhaps recognized themselves. He figures that nearly all adults have dated at some point in their lives, whether it’s been online or not, they can still relate.
“I think it struck a chord with people because everyone has been on a date before. And the play isn’t so much about online dating as dating itself. The reason people respond the most though, I believe, is that it’s a pretty unique idea to have the character’s brains on stage too. Hearing what people are thinking and then seeing what they say is very interesting,” he said.
And his online experience ultimately had a happy ending. Giving it one more shot, he met someone very special on Match.com.
“I saw this winsome blonde, and she was wearing a St. Louis Cardinals sweatshirt. We both live in San Diego. I found the love of my life,” he said about wife Ann (maiden name Siemer). “And she grew up in Florissant — went to Sacred Heart.”
He hopes his play about the pains, passions and possibilities of online dating as performers take you through the process and results will be seen by more people.
The reception was so positive in St. Louis, it opened doors – and his eyes, too.
“I realized that the show can travel with or without me,” Madden said. “I had directed all the previous performances and was worried that it would be a lot different. But I think the show’s bones are strong enough to support it being anywhere. The reception for every performance was loud and enthusiastic with a lot of laughter,” he said.
A small theater company in Washington state plans to do it next spring.
“Anyone can license it out for royalties. Not sure I’m bringing it back to St. Louis again, although if someone else wanted to do it, that would be fine. Producing it from California was very logistically challenging,” he said.
But he enjoyed his time visiting family and friends. A graduate of McBride High School, he did not do theater in school, but his parents, Bill and Marie Madden, were professional performers.
“They headed a group called Old-Time Vaudeville Troupe and then had a company called Banjo and Bus, where they took busloads of mostly seniors all over the U.S. while they entertained them on board with music, sing-a-longs, movies and games,” he said.
“My parents performed for the public for 50 years and my sister has been a working actor in New York and L.A. for 50 years also. So there’s a lot of this in my blood. I did a lot of lectures and speaking before I started acting five years ago as well,” he said.
Now it’s on to the next chapter, and back ensconced in California. Although he says: “St. Louis will always feel like home.”
The St. Louis cast of “Maybe This Time” with playwright Michael Madden (center): From left, Tara Darabcsek, Mara Bollini, Carrie Priesmeyer, Paul James, Todd Micali and George Doerr IV. (Photo provided)Here is our Q&A with Michael Madden:
1.Why did you choose your profession/pursue the arts?
“I was forced to retire from the chiropractic profession after a car accident in 1999. Since then I’ve done a variety of things, from producing the San Diego Blues Festival to buying and selling precious gems in Asia. I started acting about five years ago and writing and directing two years ago. My sister has been a working actor in NYC and LA for 50 years and my parents performed in public for decades.”
How would your friends describe you?“Loud but sensitive, irreverent but thoughtful, with many interests and passions.”
How do you like to spend your spare time?“Writing, reading, dancing, poker and dinner parties with family and friends.”
What is your current obsession? “Spoken Word like ‘The Moth Project’ and ‘The Narrators.’”
What would people be surprised to find out about you?“I worked in a leper colony in Venezuela and was a contestant on ‘Jeopardy!’”
Can you share one of your most defining moments in life?“The births of my two incredible daughters.”
Who do you admire most?“Anyone that is doing what they like and making a living at it.”
What is at the top of on your bucket list? “Getting interviewed.”
What is your favorite thing to do in St. Louis? “Visit the Missouri Botanical Garden.”
What’s next? “Hopefully another play.”
MORE ABOUT MICHAEL MADDENAge: 69Birthplace: St. LouisCurrent Location: San DiegoFamily: Wife Ann and daughters Ashley and CaseyEducation: B.A, in Psychology, UMSL; Doctor of Chiropractic, Logan CollegeDay Job: RetiredFirst Job: Slaving under my parents’ idea of what constituted a work ethicFavorite Role: Moss in “Body of Water” by Lee BlessingDream Role: Willy Loman in “Death of a Salesman”Awards/Honors/Achievements: Best Actor Nomination SD Aubrey Awards “Body of Water”/Audience Award 2016 SD Fringe Festival for “Maybe This Time”Favorite Quote/Words to Live By: “You don’t always get what you want and you rarely get what you deserve but you almost always get what you think you deserve. If you think you deserve hardship and garbage, you will often get that and conversely, if you think you deserve joy and abundance, you will often get joy and abundance.”A Song That Makes You Happy: “When You Wish Upon a Star”

Go See a Play! What’s Happening Aug. 16 – 22

Go See a Play! What’s Happening Aug. 16 – 22

By Lynn Venhaus
Managing Editor
Voices are unleashed at the St. Louis Fringe Festival now underway in the Grand Arts Center.
Voices are soaring in the St. Louis premiere of “The Light in the Piazza” and Kurt Weill’s “Lost in the Stars.”
Voices are having fun in “Mamma Mia!”, “The Great American Trailer Park Musical” and “The Robber Bridegroom,” which all end their run this weekend.
Voices are questioning in a post-modern twist on Goethe’s “Faust (Go Down with All the Re$t),” Jean-Paul Sartre’s “No Exit,” the regional premiere of “King Charles III” and a comedy about online dating in “Maybe This Time.”
Go, hear these voices, see a play!

 “Faust (Go Down with All the Re$t)”
Equally Represented Arts (ERA Theatre)
Aug. 15-18
Foam
3359 S. Jefferson Ave. 63118www.eratheatre.org
What It’s About: How much is a soul worth? Based on Goethe’s most celebrated work, ERA’S experimental production, “Faust” (go down with all the re$t), is a post-modern, rock-opera-adaptation in which Heaven is the bank and everyone prays to the Almighty Dollar.
“Faust” is a full-length theatrical production created by ERA’s ensemble of theatre artists with text from Goethe’s “Faust,” Mikhail Bulgakov’s “The Master and Margarita” and contemporary television game shows. The script was created by the ensemble. The music was created by Kid Scientist.
Join us for this capitali$t tragedy with music, dancing, and drinking!
Directors: Lucy Cashion and Gabe Taylor
Cast: Will Bonfiglio as Mephistopheles, Miranda Jagels Félix as Dineras, Grace Langford: God & Margaret’s Mother, Alicen Moser as Margaret Dustin Sholtes, Gabe Taylor, Joe Taylor as Faust, composer and music director, and Erica Withrow: Dark Pearl the Magnificent.
Of Note: This is the first show of the “Faustival.” For more information, visit www.faustival.org.
“The Great American Trailer Park Musical”
Act Two Theater
Aug. 8 – 19
St. Peters Cultural Arts Center
1 St. Peters Centre Blvd.
St. Peters, MO 63376
https://www.acttwotheatre.com/…/the-great-american-trailer…/
What It’s About: A country-rock and blues musical about agoraphobia, adultery, ‘80s nostalgia, spray cheese, road kill, hysterical pregnancy, a broken electric chair, kleptomania, strippers, flan and disco.
Norbert and his agoraphobic wife Jeannie are living in Armadillo Acres when a hot young stripper Pippi moves in and threatens their marriage. Linoleum, Betty and Pickles also live in the trailer park and act like a Greek chorus.
Director: Brooke Viegut, with music direction by Karla Curry
Starring: Betty – Theresa Peters Nigus; Lin – Laura Deveney; Pickles – Abby Cockerham; Jeannie – Dana Wachtel; Norbert – Jeffrey Pruett; Pippi – Katy Leigh; Duke – Jack Theiling.
Photo by Lori Biehl
“King Charles III”
St. Louis Shakespeare
Aug. 17 – 26
The Ivory Theatre
7620 Michiganwww.stlshakespeare.org
314-361-5664
What It’s About: Mike Bartlett’s controversial 2014 play is “a future history” about what happens after Queen Elizabeth II dies, and the prince ascends to the throne after a lifetime of waiting. But how to rule? Who are these people beneath the crowns, the conscience of Britain’s most famous family and the unwritten rules of our democracy.
Director: Donna Northcutt
Of Note: This is the first production of St. Louis Shakespeare’s 34th season.
Photo by Ron James
“The Light in the Piazza”
R-S Theatrics
Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m., and Sundays at 7 p.m.
Aug. 10 – 26
The Marcelle Theatre
3310 Sam Shepard Drive
www.r-stheatrics.org
What It’s About: Winner of numerous Tony Awards in 2005, this musical tells the story of a young American woman vacationing with her mother in Florence in the 1950s. When the woman falls for a local Italian man, uncomfortable truths come to light about what was past and what may be future.”
Director: Christina Rios, with music direction by Sarah Nelson
Starring: Kay Martin Love as Margaret, Macia Noorman as Clara, Tielere Cheatem as Fabrizio, Stephanie Merritt as Franca, Micheal Lowe as Guiseppe, Kent Coffel as Signor Naccarelli, Jodi Stockton as Signora Naccarelli and Avery Smith as Young Clara.
Ensemble includes Robert Doyle, Lindy Elliott, Anthony Randle, Melissa Felps, Ann Heir, Chris Kernan, Jason Meyers and Louisa Wimmer.
Of Note: St. Louis premiere.
“Lost in the Stars”
Union Avenue Opera
Aug. 17 – 25
Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m.
Union Avenue Christian Church
733 Union at Enright.www.unionavenueopera.org
314-361-2881
What It’s About: Kurt Weill’s provocative work addresses the weighty moral issues of racism and injustice, more relevant now than ever in St. Louis. For his final Broadway score, Weill took “Cry, the Beloved Country” – a powerful, uncompromising social indictment of apartheid South Africa – and gave it a passionate voice.
Two aging men – a black country parson and a white British planter – are drawn into friendship by a shared grief. The parson’s faith is challenged by his son’s unintentional murder of the planter’s son, while the planter acquires faith through the loss of his son.
Director: Shaun Patrick Tubbs
Cast: Leader – Roderick George, Nita – Evan Adams*, Grace Kumalo – Jeanitta Perkins*, Stephen Kumalo – Kenneth Overton*, James Jarvis – Tim Schall*, Edward Jarvis – Charlie Mathis*, Arthur Jarvis – Stephen Peirick*, John Kumalo – Reginald Pierre*, Alex – Sherrod Murff*, Foreman – Ross Rubright, Mrs. Mkize – Rose Fischer, Hlabeni – Michael Hawkins, Mark Eland – Chuck Lavazzi*, Linda – Melody Wilson, Johannes Pafuri – Abraham Shaw*, Matthew Kumalo – Carl Overly, Jr.*, Absalom Kumalo – Myke Andrews*, Irina – Krysty Sawnn*, Burton – Anthony Heinemann and The Judge – Joel Rogier.
Ensemble – Evan Adams*, Sharifa Black*, Madeleine Buckley*, Erika Cockerham*, Laurel Ellison Dantas, Ebony Easter*, Rose Fischer, David Goldman*, Brittany Graham*, Michael Hawkins, Anthony Heinemann, Merry Keller, Lisa Khaimova*, Gina Malone, Randell McGee, Maika Miller*, Paul Herbert Pitts*, Joel Rogier, Ross Rubright, Mark Saunders, Moses Anthony Weathers* and Benjamin Worley*.
*Union Avenue Opera debut
Photo by John Lamb
“Maybe This Time”
Madden Productions
Aug. 17-19
Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m., Sunday at 2 p.m.
The Gaslight Theatre, 358 N. Boyle
www.brownpapertickets.com
What It’s About: The 90-minute play is about four online dates with good, bad, humorous and sad results.  You not only see and hear two people on a blind date, but you also see and hear what their brains are thinking. It shows how miscommunication and misunderstanding can lead to unexpected and unwarranted consequences.
Director: Pamela Reckamp
Cast: Mara Bollini, George Doerr IV, Carrie Priesmeyer, Paul James, Tonya Darabcsek and Todd Micali.
Of Note: Written and produced by Michael Madden.
“Mamma Mia!”
Stages St. Louis
July 20 – Aug. 19
Robert G. Reim Theatre at the Kirkwood Community Center, 111 S. Geyer Road.
www.stagesstlouis.org
What It’s About: The musical phenomenon uses the music of ABBA to tell the story of a teen’s search for her birth father. Sophie lives on a Greek island paradise with her mother, who runs a taverna. There are three possible dads, whom she invites to her wedding. Humor, heart, and lots o’ song and dance ensue.
Director: Michael Hamilton
Cast: Corinne Melancon, Greg Goodbrod, Dana Winkle, Dan’yelle Williamson, Summerisa Bell Stevens, David Sajewich, David Schmittou and Steve Isom
Of Note: There have been 30 sold-out performances and the advance single ticket sales have been the highest yet.
Photo by Peter Wochniak
““No Exit”
Slightly Askew Theatre Ensemble
Aug. 15 – Sept. 1
Wednesday through Saturday at 8 p.m.
The Chapel
6238 Alexander Drive
www.slightlyoff.org
What It’s About: Jean-Paul Sartre’s existential play “No Exit” is about three damned souls are brought to the same room in hell by a mysterious Valet. Expecting medieval torture devises to punish them for eternity, they are surprised by the deceptively simple and relatively ugly room. As they are all introduced, none of them will admit the reason for their damnation. But Inez demands that they all stop lying to themselves and confess to their crimes. The play is an exploration into the human psyche and the invisible wounds we are capable of inflicting upon others, and ourselves.
Director: Bess Moynihan
Cast: Rachel Tibbetts, Shane Signorino, Sarah Morris, Katy Keating
Of Note “No Exit” is the source of Sartre’s famous quotation ‘L’enfer, c’est les autres’ or “Hell Is Other People.”
Photo by Joey Rumpell
“The Robber Bridegroom”
Stray Dog Theatre
Aug. 2 – 18
Tower Grove Abbey
Thursdays through Saturdays at 8 p.m.
Additional performances at 2 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 12 and 8 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 15
www.straydogtheatre.org
What It’s About: A bawdy, rousing Southern fairy tale is set in Mississippi follows Jamie Lockhart, a rascally robber of the woods, as he courts Rosamund, the sole daughter of the richest planter in the country. Thanks to a case of double-mistaken identity, the entangled relationship begins to unravel. Throw in an evil stepmother, her pea-brained henchman, and a hostile talking headin-a-trunk, and you have a rollicking country romp.
Director: Justin Been, with music direction by Jennifer Buchheit and choreography by Mike Hodges.
Starring: Phil Leveling, Dawn Schmid, Jeffrey Wright, Logan Willmore, Bryce Miller, Kevin O’Brien, Chris Ceradsky, Susie Lauren, Sarah Gene Dowling, Christen Ringhausen, Shannon Lampkin and Rachel Sexson.
Photo by John Lamb
 
St. Lou Fringe Festival
Aug. 15 – 26, Wednesday through Sunday
Grand Arts Centerwww.stlouisfringe.com
www.MetroTix.com
What It’s About: Original material – theater, dance, music, comedy, circus arts, performance art, cabaret and burlesque – are accepted for the annual festival. Tech is minimal and shows are often brief.
Fringe builds community by connecting uncensored, unjuried performing arts with accessible and affordable performances for audiences.
Here is the line-up Aug. 15 – 19. For dates and venues, visit www.stlouisfringe.com
“Any Man in America” – Declaration Stage Company
“Aphrodite’s Refugees” – MonTra Performance
“As We Stumble Along” – Desire Declyne
“Bae” – Prime
“The Bothered” – Rogue Theatre Company
“Broadway Favorites” – Debut Theater Company
“The Countdown” – Open House Theatre
“The Depths” – State of Clayton
“The Devil’s Passion” – Bankside Repertory
“Empathy on Sale” – Krish Mohan
“The Gringo” – Colin Healy/Fly North Music
“Intervals” – MillHill Productions
#MeToo, Her Voice Must be Heard” – Until You’ve Walked in Her Shoes Inc.
“Now Playing Third Base for the St. Louis Cardinals…Bond, James Bond – The Midnight Company
“Pain” – Tony Marr Jr.
“Pollack” A Frequency Parable – Unconventional Empire
“The Vicious Hillbilly or Dating in the Deep South”
“Til the Cold Winter’s Through – because, why not?