Take Ten with Bryce A Miller

Take Ten with Bryce A Miller

By Lynn Venhaus

Some actors pull you in by their genuine presence and emotional depth, that they understand the assignment to create a believable character and disappear into the role. That would describe Bryce A Miller, a local actor who is the very definition of versatility.

Whether it’s a musical, comedy or drama, you know he is totally present and giving his all. A frequent supporting player who works well with others, Miller has been working steadily for a few years with various professional regional theatres.

Currently, he is charming as Speed, the quick-witted servant of Valentine, in “The Two Gentlemen of Verona,” which is touring the bi-state region for a month of outdoor shows at local parks and plazas.

Thrilled to be making his debut with St. Louis Shakespeare Festival, he also portrays goofy Thurio, a wealthy suitor pursuing Silvia, the Duke’s daughter. With boundless enthusiasm, he often leads the introductions for the opening study guide that precedes the show.

Lilah Kreis and Bryce A. Miller in New Jewish Theatre’s “Prayer for the French Republic.” Photo by Jon Gitchoff.

He is working again with director Rebekah Scallet, who is the artistic director of New Jewish Theatre, but has an extensive background in Shakespeare festival work.

He started those rehearsals following another thoughtful performance in the “Prayer for the French Republic” by Joshua Harmon at NJT earlier this spring. He portrayed Daniel Benhamou, Marcelle and Charles’s son, whose routine wearing of a kippah leads to a violent antisemitic incident.

“’Prayer’ was special for many reasons. First, it was my first time working directly with Rebekah Scallet on a project. She is a fantastic director, and she brings such great, collaborative energy to the room. Also, Joshua Harmon’s plays were very influential to me while in theatre school. Delivering his dialogue feels so natural and easy,” he said.

Miller is having a banner year, having played the peculiar William Barfee in “The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee” that opened Stages St. Louis’ 40th anniversary season this summer.

Bryce A Miller as eccentric Barfee in Stages St. Louis’ “Spelling Bee.” Photo by Phillip Hamer.

He cracked up audiences as Barfee – that’s Bar-Fay to you because of the accent aigu. Calling it a “dream come true,” he was grateful to be in a crowd-pleasing show.

“It was one of the first shows I ‘discovered’ while developing my love of theatre, and it really spoke to me as an awkward, dorky pre-teen. Also, I’ve seen countless shows at Stages and it’s always been on my list of places I’d love to work at. I’m incredibly grateful for the opportunity they gave me,” he said.

Next, he will portray George in the romantic musical “She Loves Me,” which will run Dec. 3 – 20 at New Jewish Theatre. The 1963 musical about two shop clerks who fall in love as pen pals is the basis for the films “The Shop Around the Corner” and “You’ve Got Mail.”

Earlier this year, he won the St. Louis Circle Award for Outstanding Performer in a Comedy, Male or Non-Binary Role, for his bonkers portrayal of Watson in New Jewish Theatre’s laugh-a-minute farce, “Baskerville: A Sherlock Holmes Mystery.”

Nick Freed as Sherlock Holmes and Bryce A Miller as Watson in NJT’s “Baskerville.” Photo by Jon Gitchoff.

Written by Ken Ludwig as a comedic adaptation of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s novel “The Hound of the Baskervilles,” it transformed the classic mystery into a hilarious, fast-paced thriller.

Nearly on stage the entire time, he was a marvel in motion – slapstick goofiness, very physical comedy and sharp comic timing with a crackerjack five-person ensemble (who played over 40 roles and had fast costume changes).

“Watson also served as the narrator, which meant I got to directly address and connect with the audience. That is one of my favorite aspects of live performance,” he said.

He has been honored with two other nominations for New Jewish Theatre’s productions, including his portrayal of a strict Orthodox Jew unwilling to bend in an unhappy marriage when his wife wanted to work outside the home for fulfillment in “The Wanderers,” again working with a tremendously talented 5-person ensemble (all nominated).

Jacob Schmidt and Bryce A Miller in NJT’s “Trayf.” Photo by Jon Gitchoff.

The other one was the sweet buddy comedy in a mitzvah van called “Trayf.” He played the earnest and uptight Schmuel, whose best friend Zalmy tested their faith and friendship through his curiosity about the secular world. His first recognition was as a drama critic in “The Nerd” at Moonstone Theatre Company.

He has worked with Stray Dog Theatre, The Black Rep, The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis’ Imaginary Theatre Company, and Upstream Theater, too.

See all of the above to illustrate his versatility.

His talent and preparedness speak for themselves in all his electric and nuanced performances and characters, said Christina Rios, who has worked with Bryce multiple times with her Riverside Theatre Project in Hermann, Mo. He was in Ken Ludwig’s “Leading Ladies” the summer of 2025 there.

Jade Cash and Bryce A Miller in “The Wanderers” at New Jewish Theatre. Photo by Jon Gitchoff.

“I just also wish folks got to see also what a delightful artist he is during the rehearsal process too: He shows up to rehearsals ready to invest, having already made meaningful choices but also excited to learn and grow more. He is kind and shows deep thoughtfulness towards everyone involved with every aspect of the production – Bryce is the kind of dedicated artist who offers to put away chairs and props at the end of a 3-hour rehearsal, just because it’s a kind and helpful thing to offer. He asks great questions that push the growth and understanding of the piece and I just love collaborating with him,” Rios said.

“We are blessed, in this city, to have so many incredibly gifted performers, and it is such a double blessing when they are also beautiful human beings who care about kindness as much as they care about their craft – and Bryce A. Miller is an excellent example of that kind of artist,” she noted.

Eileen Engel as Anne and Bryce A. Miller as Henrik in Stray Dog Theatre’s “A Little Night Music.” Photo by John Lamb.

Take Ten with Bryce A. Miller

1. Why did you choose your profession/pursue the arts?

You can watch your favorite movie over and over again, and what you’re watching will remain unchanged. But you can see the same play multiple times, and you will always see a different performance from what you saw the time before. Theatre is fluid, collaborative, and exciting. There’s nothing else I’d rather be doing.

Bryce A Miller

2. How would your friends describe you?

Reserved, passionate, quick-witted

3. How do you like to spend your spare time?

Going to the movies, seeing theatre around town, and exploring new restaurants and bars!

4. What is your current obsession?

“The Pitt”! I’m very late to the party but when I started watching it, I’m a little embarrassed to admit that I finished the whole series in only a week or so. 

5. What would people be surprised to find out about you?

I’m a pretty big introvert. I hide it well, but I love my alone time.

I’m also a MASSIVE theatre nerd. This is a bit more obvious if you’ve spent any amount of time with me. I try to see as much as I can around town, and I make my way to Chicago and New York every once in a while, too. (This spring, he saw Nathan Lane and Laurie Metcalf in “Death of a Salesman.”)

6. Can you share one of your most defining moments in life?

My mom took me to see a community theatre production of ‘The Wizard of Oz’ when I was 4 or 5. When the lights came up for intermission, I cried because I thought it was over and I didn’t want it to end. She says this was when she realized theatre would end up being a big part of my life in some way or another.

Bryce A Miller and Jayson Heil in “The Two Gentlemen of Verona.” Photo by Phillip Hamer.

7. Who do you admire most?

My mom. She is incredibly busy and work-motivated, but she still makes incredible amounts of time for those she loves. She could’ve had a 12-hour workday but will still give you the shirt off of her back. I wish I could lead my life with even an ounce of the empathy she has.

8. What is at the top of your bucket list?

Traveling outside the country. In the near future, I’d love to travel around Europe, I’d especially like to go to London and check out their theatre scene.

9. What is your favorite thing to do in St. Louis?

Going out for food/a drink! We are such a great food city, I’ve lived here all my life and my list of places I need to try is still growing.

10. What’s next?

I am very excited and fortunate to be booked through the rest of the year with “She Loves Me.” It’s been a pretty non-stop year.

Bryce A Miller as Barfee in “The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee” at Stages St. Louis. Photo by Phillip Hamer.

More About Bryce Alexander Miller

Age: 25
Birthplace: Maryland Heights, Mo.
Current location: Valley Park, Mo.

Family: Mom (Gina), Dad (Brian), and 18-year-old brother (Jackson)
Education: BFA in Acting, Sargent Conservatory at Webster University
Day job: Substitute teacher
First job: Washing dishes at Russell’s Cafe and Bakery.
First play you were involved in: “The Three Piggy Opera” in kindergarten. I played The Big Bad Wolf!
Favorite jobs/roles/plays or work in your medium? “The Nerd” and “Trayf” were both career milestones that I will never forget.
Dream job/opportunity: A one-man show!

Awards/Honors/Achievements: One St. Louis Theatre Circle Win: Lead Actor in a Comedy (Ken Ludwig’s Baskerville, New Jewish Theatre), 3 St. Louis Theatre Circle Nominations: Supporting Actor in a Drama (The Wanderers, New Jewish Theatre), Lead Actor in a Comedy (Trayf, New Jewish Theatre), and Supporting Actor in a Comedy (The Nerd, Moonstone Theatre)

Favorite quote/words to live by: “Know your lines and don’t bump into the furniture.”

A song that makes you happy: “Les Fleurs” by Minnie Riperton

Bryce A Miller in “Trayf.” Photo by Jon Gitchoff.

Bravura Performances Illuminate NJT’s Alarming, Volatile ‘JOB’

Bravura Performances Illuminate NJT’s Alarming, Volatile ‘JOB’

By Lynn Venhaus

Taut and tense, “JOB” is an unsettling psychological thriller that will spark a broad spectrum of conversations. While the play’s hot-button issues can be debated infinitely, with few clearcut agreements emerging – one thing is constant: outstanding, riveting acting.

The brilliant performances by John Contini and Kristen Lindvedt are among the best of this or any year.

With his customary gravitas, Contini plays Loyd, a crisis therapist, who is assigned to treat Jane, a tech worker who has had a public breakdown, which was shared by a coworker in a video that went viral. She wants her job back, but the company will only reinstate her if she is approved to do so by a licensed therapist.

Lindvedt, who asserted herself as a memorable Cinderella in New Jewish Theatre’s “Into the Woods” in 2023 and as the ingenue in “All My Sons” in 2024, both at New Jewish Theatre, is a revelation as self-obsessed Jane. She is defiant, defensive, scared, terrifying, arrogant, aggressive and annoying, showing a wide range of emotions.

Kristen Lindvedt as Jane. Jon Gitchoff photo.

First-time playwright Max Wolf Friedlich asks: What is the human cost of living online?

Meant to be ambiguous, this 90-minute two-hander takes place in January 2020, during an on-edge therapy session. It ran on Broadway in 2024 following successful off-Broadway engagements.

Clearly agitated, Jane has shown up in a San Francisco office, and this evaluation is going to be anything but routine. Uncomfortable twists and turns are ahead, and this complex character study is very much a generational face-off, between a Baby Boomer and a Millennial.

Their identities and worldview clash – she’s part of the digital-savvy tech culture and he grew up idealistic with a hippie aesthetic. But there is so much more to explore about the psychological toll of the internet, mental health, and job burnout – perhaps too much to cover in a mere 90 minutes.

Lindvedt, John Contini as Loyd. Photo by Jon Gitchoff.

Scenic designer C. Otis Sweezey’s well-pointed set is where the claustrophobic confrontation takes place as the power play shifts, momentum and moods swing, and anxieties rise.

The conversation is absorbing as the pair settle into an uneasy rhythm – intelligently discussing life and technology, but with an apparent nervousness — a threat of violence is present.

Jane attempts to explain her meltdown as reaction to her intense job moderating extreme online and often criminal content. Yet, her job gives her life meaning, and she takes it very seriously, almost obsessively. (What happens when your job may not be healthy for you?)

How we connect online, through computers, smartphones and social media, raises questions on guilt and innocence, truth and lies, responsibility and apathy.

How does our media consumption affect our world view, and do we feel a responsibility to fight the injustices that we see and hear about daily? Should we help people who need it the most? How do we know what’s real?

Contini and Lindvedt. Photo by Jon Gitchoff.

We expect this somber drama to be divisive, but what is most surprising is how emotionally devastating it can be. With a sense of urgency, director Annamaria Pileggi has discovered relatable nuggets in a dark landscape.

Friedlich was inspired by real-life experiences, after meeting a professional content moderator whose job required reviewing disturbing online content. What happens when people assume the internet is anonymous? What happens to people adversely affected by cyberspace?

Bleak and disturbing, the play dredges up the underbelly of content – the filth that seeps onto screens, and there aren’t any easy answers, especially here. Are we seeing visions that are only in Jane or Loyd’s minds? What are these bizarre images that are conjured between flashes of light?

The artistic ambition is carried out through exceptional lighting design by Michael Sullivan and sound design by Kareem Deanes, which amplifies the city’s street sounds – and then other audio, but questions arise. Is it a sonic landscape of online engagement?

Lindvedt as Jane and Contini as Loyd in “JOB.” Photo by Jon Gitchoff.

Early on, horrifically, we hear the viral video, not seen. Jane’s screams aren’t something you’ll forget anytime soon. Imagine grappling with shocking, violent, depraved images and how shattering it could be to your psyche.

We may not get easy answers we’re looking for, because after all, the lines between perception and reality are blurred. Ultimately, Friedlich’s theatrics aren’t satisfying because actions are neither clear nor conclusive.

He has magnified society’s issues without addressing where do we go from here. Whether someone is talked down from the ledge will always be a sticking point. And both are unreliable narrators.

The big reveal seems implausible, especially if you’ve been paying close attention to the details. What price are we willing to pay to live online?

Kristen Lindvedt, John Contini in ‘JOB.’ Photo by Jon Gitchoff.

Some modern playwrights who’ve pulled the rug out from under us include David Harrower in “Blackbird,” which Pileggi shrewdly directed for St. Louis Actors’ Studio. The audience sat in stunned silence then — and now.

I thought of that unsettling play during this one, feeling jittery and expecting the other shoe to drop, and my similar queasy reaction to “Small Engine Repair” by John Pollano, which has shocking twists as well. (However, no one has attempted to stage that one regionally).

Nevertheless, bravery abounds with this pair, who elevate each other, and make this a tour-de-force not to be missed.

New Jewish Theatre presents “Job” Thursdays at 7 p.m., Saturdays at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m. from Aug. 6 through Aug. 23. Performances take place at the SFC Performing Arts Center, 2 Millstone Campus Drive. For more information: https://jccstl.com/arts-ideas/new-jewish-theatre/current-productions/

JOB. Photo by Jon Gitchoff.

Dynamic Quartet Razor-Sharp in New Jewish Theatre’s ‘God of Carnage’

Dynamic Quartet Razor-Sharp in New Jewish Theatre’s ‘God of Carnage’

By Lynn Venhaus

In a modern satire on parenting, social graces and the notion that polite society is merely a thin veneer, “God of Carnage” becomes a living room throwdown in the hands of a murderer’s row of talent and razor-sharp execution at New Jewish Theatre.

Think of it as a rambunctious comedy of manners – without the manners. This relationship play, where two upper-middle-class couples meet after a playground fight between their 11-year-old sons, will get really ugly – and hilarious.

All pros, the dynamic quartet offer a master class of limber verbal and physical exchanges. Alan and Annette Raleigh (Nick Freedman, Bridgette Bassa), contrite, arrive one afternoon at the Novaks (Joel Moses, Christina Rios), uneasy. Henry Raleigh hit Benjamin Novak with a stick, knocking two teeth out.

For the next 90 minutes, the civilized discussion unravels from courteous into chaos, with shrewd characterizations that expose these upwardly mobile sophisticates’ immaturity, hypocrisy and true nature.

Christina Rios and Joel Moses are Veronica and Michael Novak. Photo by Jon Gitchoff

Playwright Yasmina Reza earned her second Tony Award for Best Play for its Broadway debut, translated from the French by Christopher Hampton, in 2009, following her critically acclaimed “Art” in 1998. The all-star ensemble was nominated: Jeff Daniels, Hope Davis, James Gandolfini and Marcia Gay Harden, who won best supporting actress.

This is the first time New Jewish Theatre is tackling one of the French Jewish playwright’s celebrated shows. And this cast of local all-stars are paired well, bouncing off each other with a natural rhythm, keeping the witty dialogue sharp and the action fast paced.

These ill-will games are fluidly directed by Gad Guterman, whose clear-cut vision escalates the tension as pretense crumbles and the gloves come off in the Brooklyn home.

Rob Lippert’s well-appointed set gives the Fab Four adequate room to nimbly move, and each has their stand-out meltdowns. Alan is a corporate lawyer, Annette in wealth management, Michael a wholesaler and Veronica a writer.

Nick Freed and Bridgette Bassa are Alan and Annette Raleigh. Photo by Jon Gitchoff.

Even though superficial, the initially polite adults become openly hostile and judgmental as conflicts build. The awkwardness is palpable; the social niceties start falling away. They compliment Veronica on her clafouti, a French baked fruit dessert she made from scratch, talk about their careers and life in their affluent Cobble Hill neighborhood. Then, things take a turn.

The actors dig in as the grown-ups don’t take long to get primitive – misinterpreting phrases, defending meanings, and boldly stating opinions. Rum flows, marital issues surface and the tact disappears. Better judgment goes out the window.

Nick Freed deftly captures Alan’s smugness and self-importance as the preoccupied attorney, constantly distracted by taking calls about a problematic client in a high-profile case. His wife, Annette, is polished but frazzled, trying to diffuse misunderstandings at first. In this role, Bridgette Bassa boldly takes the driver’s seat after she gives up, exasperated, and lets loose.

As Veronica, Christina Rios portrays the sanctimonious control freak host. She writes pretentious books focused on social causes, and projects a superior attitude that contrasts with her husband Michael’s seemingly more easy-going nature. But ever so cleverly, she gets sassier and her moods swing farther.

The reserved bottle of rum comes out. Photo by Jon Gitchoff.

As the gruffer dad, Moses attempts to be agreeable but is hamster-shamed when he gets rid of his daughter’s beloved pet and becomes defensive right away. At first, he seems to choose his words more carefully, but then adroitly strips away any liberal pretense.

As they argue, Rios picks her battles, and her clashes with Moses rise on the DEFCON scale – so madcap and raucous. They both are such skilled performers in movement, as are Bassa and Freed, that the free-for-all is a master class in over-the-top antics. Special nod to fight choreographer John Wilson, for the staging is quite a workout.

The men, in a bro-bonding way, gang up on the women as alliance shifts, pointing out animalistic instincts. It is Alan who mentions his belief in the God of Carnage – “He has ruled, interruptedly, since the dawn of time.”

Getting metaphorical, Reza is taking aim at the primal and violent nature of humanity that we are born with, our tendency toward aggression and self-interest. Despite modern education and culture, when those artificial societal norms masks are torn off, the true instincts can surface.

The Novaks spitefully go at it. Photo by Jon Gitchoff.

Hence, the digression into childish behavior, appearing like playground bullies as attacks become personal, and a wild night ensues. Rather than just a battle royale, it offers smart food-for-thought: When our ideas are challenged, how do we react because in our everyday lives, we all deal with difficult people and situations.

The technical aspects marvelously enhance the engaging experience, with lighting design by Jayson Lawshee-Gress and sound design by Kareem Deanes that is beautifully timed, especially the frequent cell phones — Kudos for picking “The Imperial March (Darth Vader’s Theme)” for Michael’s mother’s ringtone!

Costume Designer Michele Friedman Siler has chosen the ideal socio-economic status wardrobe for each character, down to the accessories, and props supervisor Laura Skroska has selected a colorful assortment of hospitality items for eating and drinking. (I particularly liked Veronica’s Frida Kahlo socks).

Christina Rios and Bridgette Bassa share pleasantries. Photo by Jon Gitchoff.

Because of the cast and crew’s high-level of commitment, the explosive rollercoaster-like proceedings come across effortlessly on stage, when in reality it took an amusement park-sized dedication to get the tempo, timing and storytelling arranged so precisely.

This outstanding production of “God of Carnage” maintains momentum and relevancy — and is laugh-out-loud funny. (You may have heard me on Thursday, June 25).

New Jewish Theatre presents “God of Carnage” June 11 – 28, which runs at the J’s Wool Studio Theatre (2 Millstone Campus Drive, St. Louis, MO 63146). Performances are on Thursdays, Saturdays, and Sundays. Showtimes and tickets are available by phone at 314.442.3283 or online at jccstl.com/njt

Bridgette Bassa gets feisty with Nick Freed. Photo by Jon Gitchoff.

The Rep leads contenders for 13th Annual St. Louis Theater Circle Awards with 39 Nominations

The Rep leads contenders for 13th Annual St. Louis Theater Circle Awards with 39 Nominations

New Jewish Theatre’s ‘Cabaret” tops shows with 13 nominations
Event March 23 Will Honor Outstanding Work in Local Professional Theater in 2025

ST. LOUIS, February 3, 2026 – The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis (The Rep), with 38 nominations covering six different productions in the 2025 calendar year, leads the field at the 13th annual St. Louis Theater Circle Awards. “Cabaret,” which was performed by New Jewish Theatre, garnered the most nominations for an individual production with a total of 13. In all, 38 local, professional productions representing 20 theater companies received at least one nomination.

The annual gala will take place on Monday, March 23, 2026, at the Loretto-Hilton Center for the Performing Arts, 130 Edgar Road on the campus of Webster University, home of The Rep.

Tickets at $23 apiece ($20 plus a $3 processing fee) are available at The Rep’s web site www.repstl.org ticket link.
https://www.repstl.org/events/detail/st-louis-theatre-circle-awards The Rep’s box office number is 314-968-4925. Tickets will also be available at The Rep’s box office one hour before the ceremony, which will start at 7:30 p.m. Doors will open at 6:30 p.m. for a one-hour ‘Happy Hour,’ with beverages and snacks available for purchase.

Nominees in 34 categories will vie for honors covering comedies, dramas, musicals and operas produced by local professional theater and opera companies in the calendar year 2025. Approximately 87 productions were considered for nominations for this year’s event.

Additionally, there will be three special awards. Opera Theatre of Saint Louis will be honored for 50 years of operatic excellence that have brought the company local, national and international recognition. Wayne Salomon, a founding member of Theatre Project Company, will be recognized with a lifetime achievement award for his contributions to the St. Louis theater community. Bob Trump, head draper of The Rep, who retired in 2025, will be lauded for 40 years of work in The Rep’s costume shop.

The Muny last autumn asked that it not be considered for any nominations for the 2025 calendar year. Reluctantly, the St. Louis Theater Circle has honored The Muny’s request.

The nominees for the 13th annual St. Louis Theater Circle Awards are:

Baskerville. New Jewish. Photo by Jon Gitchoff.

Outstanding Supporting Performer in a Comedy, Female or Non-Binary Role 

Nancy Bell, “Emma,” The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis
Lindsey Grojean, “The Curious Savage,” Stray Dog Theatre
Lize Lewy, “Emma,” The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis
Alicia Revé Like, “Ken Ludwig’s Baskerville: A Sherlock Holmes Mystery,” New Jewish Theatre
Essence Anisa Tyler, “Clyde’s,” The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis

Outstanding Supporting Performer in a Comedy, Male or Non-Binary Role 

Louis Reyes McWilliams, “Emma,” The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis
Michael James Reed, “Ken Ludwig’s Sherwood: The Adventures of Robin Hood,” The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis
Jacob Schmidt, “Romeo & Zooliet,” St. Louis Shakespeare Festival
Sean C. Seifert, “Ken Ludwig’s Baskerville: A Sherlock Holmes Mystery,” New Jewish Theatre
John Wilson, “Ken Ludwig’s Baskerville: A Sherlock Holmes Mystery,” New Jewish Theatre

Outstanding Performer in a Comedy, Female or Non-Binary Role 

Michelle Hand, “The Search for Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe,” St. Louis Actors’ Studio
Heather Matthews, “The Beauty Queen of Leenane,” Albion Theatre Company
Andrea San Miguel, “The Cottage,” The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis
Adelin Phelps, “Emma,” The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis
Phyllis Yvonne Stickney, “Clyde’s,” The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis

Outstanding Performer in a Comedy, Male or Non-Binary Role 

Jordan Coughtry, “The Cottage,” The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis
Nick Freed, “The Minutes,” Stray Dog Theatre
Gary Glasgow, “Two Jews Walk into a War: A Comedy,” New Jewish Theatre
Ron Himes, “Clyde’s,” The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis
Bryce A. Miller, “Ken Ludwig’s Baskerville: A Sherlock Holmes Mystery,” New Jewish Theatre

Clyde’s. The Rep. Photo by Jon Gitchoff.

Outstanding Lighting Design in a Play 

Denisse Chavez, “Hamlet,” St. Louis Shakespeare Festival
Jayson M. Lawshee, “Athena,” The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis
Jason Lynch, “Emma,” The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis
Matthew McCarthy, “A Streetcar Named Desire,” Tennessee Williams Festival St. Louis
Christina Watanabe, “Clyde’s,” The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis

Outstanding Sound Design 

Jimmy Bernatowicz, “Athena,” The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis
Kareem Deanes, “Two Jews Walk into a War: A Comedy,” New Jewish Theatre
Tre’von Griffith, “The Brothers Size,” The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis
John Gromada, “Emma,” The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis
Ellie Schwetye, “Professor House,” Contraband Theatre

Outstanding Costume Design in a Play 

Oana Botez, “Hamlet,” St. Louis Shakespeare Festival
Dorothy Marshall Englis, “Emma,” The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis
Renee Garcia, “The Cottage,” The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis
Tracey Newcomb, “I Have Been Here Before,” Albion Theatre Company
Michele Friedman Siler, “The Heidi Chronicles,” New Jewish Theatre

The Heidi Chronicles. New Jewish Theatre. Photo by Jon Gitchoff.

Outstanding Set Design in a Play 

Jean Kim, “Clyde’s,” The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis
Robert Mark Morgan, “The Cottage,” The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis
Scott C. Neale, “Hamlet,” St. Louis Shakespeare Festival
Scott C. Neale, “Romeo & Zooliet,” St. Louis Shakespeare Festival
Margery Spack & Peter Spack, “Emma,” The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis

Outstanding Supporting Performer in a Drama, Female or Non-Binary Role 

Jade Cash, “The Wanderers,” New Jewish Theatre
Sarah Chalfie, “Hamlet,” St. Louis Shakespeare Festival
Jennifer Ikeda, “Hamlet,” St. Louis Shakespeare Festival
Isa Venere, “A Streetcar Named Desire,” Tennessee Williams Festival St. Louis
Maggie Wininger, “The Wanderers,” New Jewish Theatre

Outstanding Supporting Performer in a Drama, Male or Non-Binary Role 

Grayson DeJesus, “Hamlet,” St. Louis Shakespeare Festival
Ron Himes, “Radio Golf,” The Black Rep
Donald Jones Jr., “The Brothers Size,” The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis
Bryce A. Miller, “The Wanderers,” New Jewish Theatre
Reginald Pierre, “Hamlet,” St. Louis Shakespeare Festival

Outstanding Performer in a Drama, Female or Non-Binary Role 

Mara Bollini, “Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune,” Stray Dog Theatre
Wendy Renée Greenwood, “The Wanderers,” New Jewish Theatre
Michelle Hand, “Meet Me at Dawn,” Upstream Theater
Lizi Watt, “Meet Me at Dawn,” Upstream Theater
Donna Weinsting, “With,” St. Louis Actors’ Studio

Meet Me at Dawn. Upstream Theater. Photo by ProPhotoSTL

Outstanding Performer in a Drama, Male or Non-Binary Role 

Nic Few, “The Brothers Size,” The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis
Michael Khalid Karadsheh, “Hamlet,” St. Louis Shakespeare Festival
Christian Kitchens, “The Brothers Size,” The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis
Joel Moses, “The Wanderers,” New Jewish Theatre
Whit Reichert, “With,” St. Louis Actors’ Studio

Outstanding New Play 

“John Hughes Your Own Adventure,” by Joseph Garner, Chris “Mr.” Jones, Rob McLemore, Suki Peters, and Ben Ritchie, Cherokee Street Theatre Company
“The Pavement Kingdom: A Clinic Escort Play,” by Courtney Bailey, Chorus of Fools
“Romeo & Zooliet,” by Jennifer Joan Thompson, St. Louis Shakespeare Festival
Professor House,” by Jacob Juntunen, Contraband Theatre
“Scream, Echo. Scream.,” written and produced by Summer Baer

Outstanding Achievement in Opera 

Christopher Alden, “Don Pasquale,” Opera Theatre of Saint Louis
Susanne Burgess, “Don Pasquale,” Opera Theatre of Saint Louis
John Gerdes, “The Second Hurricane,” Stray Dog Theatre
Daniel Scofield, “Salome,” Union Avenue Opera
Leonard Slatkin, “A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” Opera Theatre of Saint Louis

Outstanding Production of an Opera 

“A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” Opera Theatre of Saint Louis
“Don Pasquale,” Opera Theatre of Saint Louis
“My Fair Lady,” Union Avenue Opera
“The Second Hurricane,” Stray Dog Theatre
“This House,” Opera Theatre of Saint Louis

Superhero. Stray Dog Theatre.

Outstanding Musical Director 

Jeremiah Ginn, “Murder for Two,” Stages St. Louis
Mallory Golden, “Superhero,” Stray Dog Theatre
Carter Haney, “Cabaret,” New Jewish Theatre
Jermaine Manor, “Raisin (The Musical),” The Black Rep
David Nehls, “Beautiful: The Carole King Musical,” Stages St. Louis

Outstanding Choreographer 

Kirven Douthit-Boyd, “Raisin (The Musical),” The Black Rep
Kirven Douthit-Boyd, “The Brothers Size,” The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis
Ellen Isom, “Cabaret,” New Jewish Theatre
Lisa Shriver, “Austen’s Pride,” Stages St. Louis
Jennifer Werner, “Beautiful: The Carole King Musical,” Stages St. Louis

Outstanding Projections or Special Effects

Justin Been, “Superhero,” Stray Dog Theatre
Kareem Deanes, “The Heidi Chronicles,” New Jewish Theatre
Kareem Deanes, “The Wash,” The Black Rep
Michael Curry Design, “Romeo & Zooliet,” St. Louis Shakespeare Festival
Joe Taylor, “Dollhouse by Three Manufacturers,” Equally Represented Arts (ERA)

Outstanding Supporting Performer in a Musical, Female or Non-Binary Role 

Kailey Boyle, “Beautiful: The Carole King Musical,” Stages St. Louis
Marsiya Miller, “Legally Blonde, The Musical,” Tesseract Theatre Company
Jane Paradise, “Cabaret,” New Jewish Theatre
Dianica Phelan, “Austen’s Pride,” Stages St. Louis
Sarah Polizzi, “Rock of Ages,” Stray Dog Theatre

Outstanding Supporting Performer in a Musical, Male or Non-Binary Role 

Dave Cooperstein, “Cabaret,” New Jewish Theatre
Aaron Fischer, “Superhero,” Stray Dog Theatre
Aaron Fischer, “Cabaret,” New Jewish Theatre
Dustin Petrillo, “Madam,” Fly North Theatricals
David Socolar, “Beautiful: The Carole King Musical,” Stages St. Louis

Murder for Two. Stages St Louis. Photo by Phillip Hamer.

Outstanding Lighting Design in a Musical 

Tony Anselmo, “Raisin (The Musical),” The Black Rep
Denisse Chavez, “Cabaret,” New Jewish Theatre
Tyler Duenow, “Superhero,” Stray Dog Theatre
Jason Lyons, “Austen’s Pride,” Stages St. Louis
Sean M. Savoie, “Beautiful: The Carole King Musical,” Stages St. Louis

Outstanding Set Design in a Musical 

Peter Barbieri, “Beautiful: The Carole King Musical,” Stages St. Louis
Ann Beyersdorfer, “Murder for Two,” Stages St. Louis
David Blake, “Cabaret,” New Jewish Theatre
Bradley Rohlf and Colin Healey, “Madam,” Fly North Theatricals
Rob Lippert, “Superhero,” Stray Dog Theatre

Outstanding Costume Design in a Musical 

Sam Hayes, “Madam,” Fly North Theatricals
Colleen Michelson, “Rock of Ages,” Stray Dog Theatre
Johanna Pan, “Beautiful: The Carole King Musical,” Stages St. Louis
Emily Rebholz, “Austen’s Pride,” Stages St. Louis
Michele Friedman Siler, “Cabaret,” New Jewish Theatre

Outstanding Performer in a Musical, Female or Non-Binary Role 

Brianna Kothari Barnes, “Beautiful: The Carole King Musical,” Stages St. Louis
Sarah Gene Dowling, “Superhero,” Stray Dog Theatre
Olivia Hernandez, “Austen’s Pride,” Stages St. Louis
Anita Michelle Jackson, “Raisin (The Musical),” The Black Rep
Hailey Medrano, “Cabaret,” New Jewish Theatre

Anita Jackson. Raisin. The Black Rep. Phillip Hamer photo.

Outstanding Performer in a Musical, Male or Non-Binary Role 

Jabari Boykin, “Superhero,” Stray Dog Theatre
Rafael DaCosta, “Bat Boy,” New Line Theatre
Jeremiah Ginn, “Murder for Two,” Stages St. Louis
Dan Hoy, “Austen’s Pride,” Stages St. Louis
Spencer Davis Milford, “Cabaret,” New Jewish Theatre

Outstanding Ensemble in a Comedy 

“Clyde’s,” The Repertory Theatre of St. Loui
“Emma,” The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis
“Ken Ludwig’s Baskerville: A Sherlock Holmes Mystery,” New Jewish Theatre
“The Cottage,” The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis
“Romeo & Zooliet,” St. Louis Shakespeare Festival

Outstanding Ensemble in a Drama 

“Hamlet,” St. Louis Shakespeare Festival
“I Have Been Here Before,” Albion Theatre Company
“The Brothers Size,” The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis
“The Wanderers,” New Jewish Theatre
“The Wash,” The Black Rep

Outstanding Ensemble in a Musical 

“Austen’s Pride,” Stages St. Louis
“Beautiful: The Carole King Musical,” Stages St. Louis
“Cabaret,” New Jewish Theatre
“Raisin (The Musical),” The Black Rep
“Superhero,” Stray Dog Theatre

Romeo and Zooliet. St Louis Shakespeare Festival. Photo by Phillip Hamer.

Outstanding Director of a Comedy 

Risa Brainin, “The Cottage,” The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis
Tracy Brigden, “Emma,” The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis
Josiah Davis, “Clyde’s,” The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis
Tom Ridgely, “Romeo & Zooliet,” St. Louis Shakespeare Festival
Nisi Sturgis, “Ken Ludwig’s Baskerville: A Sherlock Holmes Mystery,” New Jewish Theatre

Outstanding Director of a Drama 

Nancy Bell, “Athena,” The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis
Annamaria Pileggi, “With,” St. Louis Actors’ Studio
Robert Quinlan, “The Wanderers,” New Jewish Theatre
Michael Sexton, “Hamlet,” St. Louis Shakespeare Festival
Jacqueline Thompson, “The Brothers Size,” The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis

Outstanding Director of a Musical 

Justin Been, “Superhero,” Stray Dog Theatre
Igor Goldin, “Austen’s Pride,” Stages St. Louis
Michael Kostroff, “Murder for Two,” Stages St. Louis
Rebekah Scallet, “Cabaret,” New Jewish Theatre
Jennifer Werner, “Beautiful: The Carole King Musical,” Stages St. Louis

The Brothers Size. The Rep. Photo by Jon Gitchoff.

Outstanding Production of a Comedy 

“Clyde’s,” The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis
“Emma,” The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis
“Romeo & Zooliet,” St. Louis Shakespeare Festival
“The Beauty Queen of Leenane,” Albion Theatre Company
“The Cottage,” The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis

Outstanding Production of a Drama 

“Hamlet,” St. Louis Shakespeare Festival
“Meet Me at Dawn,” Upstream Theater
“The Brothers Size,” The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis
“The Wanderers,” New Jewish Theatre
“With,” St. Louis Actors’ Studio

Outstanding Production of a Musical 

“Austen’s Pride,” Stages St. Louis
“Beautiful: The Carole King Musical,” Stages St. Louis
“Cabaret,” New Jewish Theatre
“Raisin (The Musical),” The Black Rep
“Superhero,” Stray Dog Theatre

The Wanderers. New Jewish Theatre. Photo by Jon Gitchoff.

Special Award for Lifetime Achievement

Wayne Salomon, early member and associate artistic director of Theatre Project Company, St. Louis theater community educator, director, actor

Milestone Anniversary

Opera Theatre of Saint Louis, for its 50th anniversary as an opera of local, national and international acclaim

Special Award for Lifetime Achievement

Bob Trump, Head Draper at The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis, retired in 2025 after 40 years of work in The Rep’s costume shop

A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Opera Theatre of St. Louis. Photo by Eric Woolsey.

The mission of the St. Louis Theater Circle is simple: To honor outstanding achievement in St. Louis professional theater. Other cities around the country, such as Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, San Diego, San Francisco and Washington, D.C., pay tribute to their own local theatrical productions with similar awards programs.

Active members of the St. Louis Theater Circle include Chas Adams (PopLifeSTL.com, St. Louis Arts Scene on Substack, STL Stage Snaps); Mark Bretz (Ladue News); Rosalind Early (St. Louis Post-Dispatch); Tina Farmer (Mound City Messenger); Michelle Kenyon (snoopstheatrethoughts.com, St. Louis Arts Scene on Substack); Gerry Kowarsky (Two on the Aisle, HEC Media); Chuck Lavazzi (St. Louis Arts Scene on Substack, Stage Left blog, Chuck’s Culture Channel on YouTube); Rob Levy (Broadwayworld.com, Review STL, The Arts STL); James Lindhorst (Broadwayworld.com, St. Louis Arts Scene on Substack; Lynn Venhaus (PopLifeSTL.com, KTRS); and Bob Wilcox (Two on the Aisle, HEC Media). Eric Kenyon, director of The Chapel venue, is group administrator.

For more information, visit www.stltheatercircle.org, contact [email protected], or ‘like’ the St. Louis Theater Circle on Facebook.

                                                                               

Performers Dig Deep in Affecting, Heartfelt Work in NJT ‘The Wanderers’

Performers Dig Deep in Affecting, Heartfelt Work in NJT ‘The Wanderers’

By Lynn Venhaus

What is the cost of truth? And how will you pay for your own truth if it’s at the expense of another person’s goals?

In the engrossing drama “The Wanderers,” two married Jewish couples, from different time periods and circumstances, must navigate what exactly society’s social structure on togetherness means to them.

In the current New Jewish Theatre production, all the couple’s work is revelatory, and the execution is masterful. Their stories intertwine in interesting ways.

In the 1970s, Esther and Schmuli are Orthodox Jews who must follow a strict set of Hasidic Judaism rules, and their rigid roles as husband and wife are set, no variations in the Satmar community in Williamsburg, Brooklyn.

They have married the old-fashioned way – a business transaction made by their parents, with love not in that equation. However, they are very family-focused in their beliefs.

Bryce Miller and Jade Cash as Schmuli and Esther. Photo by Jon Gitchoff.

In exceptional nuanced performances, Jade Cash as the curious Esther and Bryce Miller as the conservative husband Schmuli are raising two daughters. Esther’s best friend has married for love, a man outside her faith and race, and they seem perfectly happy in their secular lifestyle.          

While Esther learns more about the forbidden outside world, she’s intrigued by the personal freedoms she witnesses.  Bound by the constraints of their religion, Esther is increasingly restless.

She’d love to go to school, become a librarian – and listen to pop music on the radio while she’s finishing chores. Meanwhile, she gives birth to a son, and that changes their family dynamic.

She will soon learn the cost of yearning. And Esther’s plight is gut-wrenching, for she will have hell to pay, all because she dared to dream of becoming a better version of herself. Cash, who is getting more impressive with each new role, tugs at our heartstrings as she questions the old ways.

Bryce Miller and Jade Cash in Albany, New York. Photo by Jon Gitchoff.

Schmuli is challenged, too, because he follows traditions, no discussion, no questions. He is worried about unfavorable opinions and family scandals. He’s caught in a cultural war and battle for identity that he doesn’t understand.

Miller, who immerses himself as the devout head of household, conveys Schmuli’s faith authentically. In his loneliness, he becomes conflicted, and attempts to grasp changing male-female roles.

In the alternating contemporary story (2010s, gentrified Williamsburg), the other couple, Abe and Sophie, don’t necessarily practice their faith but send their children to Hebrew School. They are not rule-followers, per se, but the couple, writers by profession, attempt to raise their children in a traditional yet modern family.

Wendy Renee Greenwood and Joel Moses. Photo by Jon Gitchoff.

As they traverse a challenging emotional and spiritual landscape, neither Sophie nor Abe can let go of the past. Wendy Renee Greenwood gives a devastating performance as a wife, mother, daughter and writer who is holding her family together after facing numerous disappointments. She struggles with unfulfilled dreams and a widening gulf between her husband and her identity. Is never being satisfied going to be her destiny, just like Esther’s?

Her husband Abe, a more successful writer with a Pulitzer Prize and two National Book Awards, is tempted through an email relationship with a beautiful movie star. It starts harmless enough, as dreamgirl Julia Cheever came to a book reading of his. Flattered by that, he takes off into Abe-land when she sends him an email.

Maggie Wininger is luminous as the charismatic actress who has her own insecurities and personal issues while she practices her craft, deals with failures and successes, and tries to juggle everything for life balance. Think Julia Roberts, that kind of screen presence and popularity.

Joel Moses and Maggie Wininger read their emails to each other. Photo by Jon Gitchoff.

Joel Moses, as is typical, immerses himself in a rollercoaster journey involving growth, grief, self-doubts, emotional infidelity, and lack of effort to be present for his wife and two children.

Abe is gregarious, intelligent, conflicted and increasingly lost. Why can’t he see what he has and not what he hasn’t? When he crosses a line, can he go back and correct the mistakes he’s made?

Director Robert Quinlan brings out the intricacies between these couples and the ties that bind them – their family, heritage, dreams, desires and society mores.

He’s established these different worlds on opposite ends of a runway type set, with functional and efficient scenic design by Reiko Huffman, one of remarkable detail in intimate spaces.

Joel Moses writing in solitude. Photo by Jon Gitchoff.

IPlaywright Anna Ziegler’s twisty tale on relationships is fascinating in its entanglements. The play premiered in 2018, and debuted on Broadway in 2023. While not namechecking them per se, she explores the pledges a pair makes to each other in traditional wedding vows — “for better, for worse,” “in sickness and in health,” and “to love and to cherish” – in several vignettes.

In a layered – and sometimes dense — approach, she shows how unanchored they become trying to cling to what they assume is best for them. It’s a thoughtful play, looking at the joys and challenges of commitment in two different worlds.

Greenwood, Moses, Miller and Cash are fully invested in these roles, portraying each high and low with deep felt intensity. Wininger’s contribution is an interesting contrast of a famous person as fantasy and explaining her reality.

Their emotionally rich portraits engage and connect us to their characters’ motivations. Ziegler doles out their backstories, which led to their current plights in small nuggets. The couples get into situations in which there seems to be no escape, and this gives the play the necessary conflicts. While all vary in their beliefs, they admit their fears and show their vulnerabilities.

Jade Cash and Bryce Miller — what might have been? Photo by Jon Gitchoff.

The technical work is strong in its storytelling, too, with Amanda Werre’s skilled sound design and lighting designer Jayson Lawshee’s striking choices between reality and fantasy noteworthy. Costume designer Michele Friedman Siler accomplishes the traditional Hasidic apparel while giving the contemporary story casual attire, and the movie star cosmopolitan career wear.

The specific time frames for looking at love from both sides are 1973 -1982 for Schmuli and Esther, and 2015-2017 for Abe and Sophie, with Albany, New York part of later storytelling.

Thought-provoking, and at times, frustrating, this examination of love and marriage is far-reaching in its complicated couplings. It is those layers that give the actors some real substance, and the audience intriguing questions to ponder, and conversations to begin..

New Jewish Theatre presents “The Wanderers” from Sept. 11 through Sept. 28, with performances on Thursdays at 7:30 p.m. Saturdays at 4 and 8 p.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m. at the SFC Performing Arts Center, 2 Millstone Campus Drive. For more information: jccstl.com/arts-ideas/new-jewish-theatre/current-productions.
The play is 1 hour, 45 minutes without intermission.

Joel Moses and Maggie Wininger. What price devotion? Photo by Jon Gitchoff.

Two Fine Actors Rumble And Grumble in NJT’s Comical, Thoughtful ‘Two Jews Walk Into a War’

Two Fine Actors Rumble And Grumble in NJT’s Comical, Thoughtful ‘Two Jews Walk Into a War’

By Lynn Venhaus

Live, laugh, learn – and love. All of it is there in “Two Jews Walk into a War,” in which two last-standing men navigate a tightrope between saving their world and giving up in a most despairing location – the last remaining synagogue in war-torn Kabul, Afghanistan.

You may not think that sounds remotely humorous, but this disarming comedy is warm, illuminating, touching and very funny.

The New Jewish Theatre’s polished production benefits from veteran actors Gary Glasgow as Ishaq and Chuck Winning as Zeblyan, showcasing their sharp comedic timing, enhanced by the company’s impeccable technical work.

Like the title implies, the play harkens back to a vintage entertainment era, like the Borsch Belt and Catskills comedic circuit, not to mention Neil Simon. Jewish comedians flourished in nightclubs during those times. But it’s not jokey in a stand-up way, it just reminds us how humor is often used in times of great distress.

The humor here, however, is laced with hope and faith, too, and touches on our desire to contribute to society during our lifetime, and the importance of heritage and religious freedom.

Gary Glasgow and Chuck Winning. Photo by Jon Gitchoff.

The thoughtful production is based on a remarkable true story. Playwright Seth Rozin discovered that there were in fact just two Jewish people left in Afghanistan where there once had been a population of 30,000+.

Reading about them in the New York Times, that dynamic between these two last-standing Jews intrigued Rozin, for they hated each other, and convinced him that there was comic gold to be mined from this relationship—and he was right.

He gave the characters different names, but their true natures shine through in the two actors’ lived-in portrayals. The angle here is that their intense dislike of the other is because of very different personalities and temperaments, not to mention a wide age gap. They kept their distance until circumstances forced them to work together for survival.

That’s where they come to a détente – sort of. Oh, they still bicker, tempers flare, and their one-upmanship about who has suffered more is funny. Ah, gallows humor – a handy tool for getting by.  

The men are an amusing odd couple, but eventually, they bond, and it’s realistic. Their Judaism binds them, and uniting in their beliefs is more important than their petty squabbles.

The synagogue interior. Photo by Jon Gitchoff.

While the meticulously detailed abandoned synagogue by scenic designer Lily Tomasic is a tribute to religious traditions, and now a haven despite taking hits, the flawless sound design by Kareem Deanes and Michael Sullivan’s lighting design captures the dangers outside of living in the Taliban-controlled city.

Bullets spray, bombs explode, a mosque’s call to prayer can be heard, and chaos reigns. As a contrast, scene changes feature upbeat Klezmer and Middle Eastern music interludes. The transitions are also smooth, so shout-out to stage manager Patrick Siler.

The devout Ishaq, self-appointed caretaker of the crumbling synagogue, observes every Jewish ritual and law and is perturbed by what he views as Zeblyan’s casual regard for his faith, among other traits.

Glasgow projects piety and a need to always be ‘right’, while Winning needles him, like a kid asking “Why?” all the time. Ever a skeptic, he’s fine with disagreeing with Ishaq at every opportunity. Plus, his swagger rubs the elder the wrong way.

The difference in their sizes also lends itself to a chuckle, in a Laurel and Hardy, Abbott and Costello way. Zeblyan, a carpet merchant, is more cosmopolitan, and is still working in the city. He orders lattes at Starbucks and visits an internet café. He’s given an iPod by a customer, and convinces Ishaq to listen, although the elder does not take to modern tunes.

Photo by Jon Gitchoff.

Their interactions are lively and engaging, so when they tackle more serious issues — mourning the loss of their community, and their fears and anger about what has transpired, you share their heartfelt concerns.

Their parents were friends and in search of a better life, moved their families to Afghanistan when the two men were young. They are used to hardships, for their families were Holocaust refugees. Zeblyan’s wife and children have since moved to New Jersey, leaving him alone in Kabul; Ishaq was never married.

Their common ground occurs when they agree they must have a Torah, the sacred scroll that contains the first five books of the Bible. They no longer have one. Ishaq will recite, for he knows it by heart, while Zeblyan will transcribe. Hand-written on parchment, it must be perfect, which triggers funny sight gags and more verbal sparring.

The purpose? Ishaq hopes to recruit a rabbi so they can convert an Afghani woman to Judaism and then marry one of them and begin repopulating Jews in Afghanistan. That is a tall order, but this drives them to work daily on this project.

That leads to pondering about why certain things were excluded from this ancient holy text. Ishaq, the expert, has a different interpretation than Zeblyan, who is questioning the loopholes, especially about sex. These are learned men having frank discussions, with the younger getting a little risque.

Gary Glasgow as Ishaq. Photo by Jon Gitchoff.

Understanding the tenets of our individual faiths are never easy, and those debates here are as interesting as they are humorous, for both men realize they must carry their heritage forward – it is a necessary duty.

Under the assured direction of Aaron Sparks, who had a medical situation that led to artistic director Rebekah Scallet stepping in to help, the production’s precision is notable. The two actors, always at the top of their game, are well-suited to work in tandem, and their scenes together are sharp, with smooth coordination.

Sparks and Scallet’s top-notch team, which also included Michele Friedman Siler’s costumes, strengthened the engrossing storytelling.

Both performers, experienced actors in Shakespeare plays, are adept at wordplay, and keep us riveted as this inspiring story unfolds. This two-hander is quite challenging, and their strength was significant. It’s more physical than one would suspect, too.

Resilience in the face of overwhelming odds is admirable, and in today’s world, the story takes on more urgency and heroism. As Winston Churchill famously said: “When you’re going through hell, keep on going.” The ‘Never Give Up’ message is always important.

That spirit is at the heart of New Jewish’s revealing production, where I learned and laughed – a lot.

Chuck Winning as Zeblyan. Photo by Jon Gitchoff.

New Jewish Theatre presents “Two Jews Walk into a War” from July 24 to Aug. 10, with performances Thursdays at 7:30 p.m., Saturdays at 4 p.m. and 8 p.m., and Sundays at 2 p.m. in the SFC Performing Arts Center, 2 Millstone Campus Drive. The runtime is 1 hour, 30 minutes without intermission. For more information: jccstl.com/arts-ideas/new-jewish-theatre/current-productions.

Take Ten with Emily Baker

Take Ten with Emily Baker

By Lynn Venhaus

Long admired as a versatile performer among the regional theater community, actress Emily Baker’s recent return to the stage has been met with universal acclaim.

In March, she won Outstanding Performer in a Comedy, Female or Non-Binary Role. as Susan in Albion Theatre’s “Woman in Mind” from the St. Louis Theater Circle.

In the Alan Ayckbourn play, she portrays a woman who has suffered a mental breakdown and has developed a vivid fantasy world. In her real life, she is neglected wife who is estranged from her son. By contrast, in her imagination, she is happy and successful with a perfect family who adores her.

One critic described her 2024 performance as “a tragicomic tour de force,” another called it “richly realized.”

Her virtuoso work as Heidi Holland in New Jewish Theatre’s “The Heidi Chronicles” (May 29 – June 15), portraying the feminist art historian from the 1960s to 1980s, has been hailed as showing “commanding poise and self-confidence,” and displaying “strength, vulnerability and intelligence.”

The Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award-winning play by Wendy Wasserstein was directed by Ellie Schwetye and starring Joel Moses, Will Bonfiglio, Kelly Howe, Courtney Bailey, Ashwini Arora, Joshua Mayfield and Paola Angeli.

“The Heidi Chronicles” at New Jewish Theatre. Photo by Jon Gitchoff.

As Heidi wrestles with questions of identity, success, and fulfillment during a time of profound societal transformation, Wasserstein’s work offers a powerful look at a generation’s evolving ideals and the personal cost of progress.

“I am delighted to be working at New Jewish again with this awesome group of people,” she said.

Baker described this special project as a way to relate to her parents’ experiences.

“My parents lived through the time periods in ‘The Heidi Chronicles’ at about the same age as Heidi, so I was excited about the prospect of learning more about my parents and the times by discussing the play with them. I really enjoy when a play gives you the ability to dig deep, not only into the character but also your own life and family,” she said.

Baker has returned to New Jewish Theatre for the first time since 2015, in which she played Patricia in “Sight Unseen” opposite her husband, Aaron Orion Baker, one of her favorite roles.

He played a now-famous artist who visits his ex-girlfriend in hopes she has a painting he’d like to include in an exhibit. She and her husband both resent his presence, for he treated her shabbily, and she hasn’t forgotten that she was a ‘sacrificial shiksa.” As they say, the plot thickens.

Emily Baker, at right, with her husband, Aaron Orion Baker, at left, in “Sight Unseen.”

Baker has worked with St. Louis Actors Studio, Upstream Theater, St. Louis Shakespeare, West End Players Guild, the former Muddy Waters Theatre Company and That Uppity Theatre Company, among others.

A favorite part is Ivy, Violet Weston’s daughter who stayed to take care of her mother, in “August: Osage County,” which was performed by STLAS in 2017.

Among her portrayals at St. Louis Shakespeare, she played the title role in “The Further Adventures of Hedda Gabler,” Ariel in “The Tempest,” and Penelope in “The Odyssey.”

She won her first St. Louis Theater Circle Award as Gretchen in the comedy “Boeing Boeing” at the former Dramatic License Productions in 2013. A German airline stewardess, Gretchen isn’t aware that pilot Bernard has two other fiancées.

After a hiatus to raise daughter Evelina, she has returned to acting in satisfying roles. Next up is playing Eunice, one of Stella’s friends and neighbors, in the Tennessee Williams Festival St. Louis’s “A Streetcar Named Desire,” which will be presented Aug. 7 – 17 at the Grandel Theatre in St. Louis.

The New Jewish Theatre presents “The Heidi Chronicles” from May 29 to June 15 at the Wool Studio Theater, 2 Millstone Campus Drive, Creve Coeur, Mo. Performances are on Thursdays, Saturdays, and Sundays. There is an additional show on Wednesday, June 4. Show times and tickets are available online at newjewishtheatre.org or by phone at 314.442.3283. NJT’s 2025 Season is generously sponsored by Mary Strauss. The play is 2 hours and 15 minutes long, with a 15-minute intermission.

As Susan in “Woman in Mind” with Isaiah DiLorenzo as her ‘imaginary husband.’

Q & A with Emily Baker

1. Why did you choose your profession/pursue the arts?

I am a teacher/school librarian and actor.  I knew I was interested in acting pretty early on.  I also believed that I would enjoy working in education from a pretty early age.  Both of those avenues involve connecting to people and sharing a bit of yourself with them.  I think that’s what interests me most about both career paths.

2. How would your friends describe you?

My friends describe me as passionate, empathetic, creative, intuitive, helpful, and kind.

3. How do you like to spend your spare time?

I love nature.  I enjoy walking at the Missouri Botanical Gardens with my family, hiking, and gardening.  I also enjoy reading, especially classics like Jane Austen and Shakespeare. 

4. What is your current obsession?

I’m obsessed with Duluth Trading Company’s Heirloom Overalls.  They come in so many colors and patterns.  I currently own seven pairs and I’m probably not done.

5. What would people be surprised to find out about you?

I’m an only child.  Most people are surprised to find that out.  I guess I don’t fit the mold of a typical only child.

As Heidi Holland in “The Heidi Chronicles” at New Jewish Theatre. Photo by Jon Gitchoff.

6. Can you share one of your most defining moments in life?

Becoming a mother changed my life forever.  There was a period of time where I was unsure if I would get the chance to be a mom.  Being a parent is a beautiful, frustrating, rewarding, and tiring job, but I’m so thankful I get the opportunity to learn and grow as a human with my daughter.

7. Who do you admire most?

It’s too hard to choose one person.  The traits I admire most in humanity are perseverance, compassion, and optimism.

8. What is at the top of your bucket list?

Traveling more abroad.  I’d like to see Spain, Greece, Italy, and get back to Scotland (it’s my favorite place on earth).  My daughter is fascinated with the Northern Lights so I feel a trip somewhere where we can really see them clearly is in our family’s future, too.  I would travel often if I had the time and money to do so.  Seeing new places gives you perspective and helps you understand yourself and the world better.

9. What is your favorite thing to do in St. Louis?

I have to pick two.  Visiting Forest Park and going thrift shopping.  There is so much to do in Forest Park — much of which is free — and it’s so close.  And with thrift shopping, you never know what you might find.  It’s kind of like a treasure hunt.  I can do it for hours, hopping around to different ones.

10. What’s next?

I’ll be playing Eunice in “A Streetcar Named Desire” with the Tennessee Williams Festival St. Louis later this summer.

Emily Baker as Ivy Weston, with Meghan Baker as Barbara and Kari Ely as Violet, in St. Louis Actors’ Studio’s “August: Osage County.” Photo by Patrick Huber.

Name: Emily Baker
Age: (optional) 42
Birthplace: St. Louis
Current location: St. Louis
Family: Aaron Orion Baker, Evelina and Thief (our 90-pound dog)

Emily Baker and Maggie Wininger in Kate Chopin’s “The Awakening” by STLAS.


Education: BA in Theatre and English (Truman State University), Master of Arts in Education (Truman), and Master of Library and Information Science (Mizzou)

Day job: Middle and High School Librarian and Technical Theatre Teacher and Director in the Maplewood Richmond Heights School District.

First job: My first job was developing contact sheets of photo negatives at my dad’s photo studio when I was 13.


First play or movie you were involved in or made: I played the duck (no lines other than quacking) in a staging of the classical music piece “Peter and the Wolf” by Sergei Prokofiev when I was 6 or 7.

Favorite jobs/roles/plays or work in your medium?  Ivy in “August: Osage County” (St. Louis Actors’ Studio), Solange in “The Maids” (Upstream), Patricia in “Sight Unseen” (New Jewish), Gretchen in “Boeing Boeing” (Dramatic License Productions) and Susan in “Woman in Mind” (Albion).

Dream job/opportunity: My dream roles are mostly Shakespearean.  I’d love to play Beatrice in “Much Ado About Nothing” and Lady Macbeth in “Macbeth.”

Awards/Honors/Achievements: I’ve been the recipient of two St. Louis Theatre Circle Awards (Gretchen in “Boeing Boeing” and Susan in “Woman in Mind”).

Favorite quote/words to live by: “Whatever can anyone give you greater than now, starting here, right in this room, when you turn around?”  – William Stafford from the poem, “You Reading This, Be Ready.”

A song that makes you happy: “How Do You Feel” by Jefferson Airplane 

Photo at right: Emily Baker with Will Bonfiglio during rehearsals for “The Heidi Chronicles”.

Ben Ritchie and Emily Baker in “All in the Timing” at St Louis Actors’ Studio in 2014. Photo by Patrick Huber.

New Jewish Theatre’s Bright and Funny ‘The Heidi Chronicles’ Engages with Vibrant Performances

New Jewish Theatre’s Bright and Funny ‘The Heidi Chronicles’ Engages with Vibrant Performances

By Lynn Venhaus

OK, Boomers. Does “The Heidi Chronicles” retain its bittersweet ‘voice of a generation’ 37 years after its laudable premiere in 1988?

Yes, it does in New Jewish Theatre’s persuasive production now playing through June 15. One woman’s coming-of-age story and her realization of self-worth still hits home.

Under Ellie Schwetye’s perceptive, poignant direction, an exemplary cast breathes life into these well-defined characters with warmth, wit and understanding. They are as resolute as the director and creative team in sharing this quest for fulfillment.

Those of different generations perhaps can relate in a universal parallel lives’ way, for whip-smart playwright Wendy Wasserstein’s entertaining and profound insights endure.

As a fellow child of the 1960s, Wasserstein’s words have always spoken to me. But now, looking in the rear-view mirror, with humor, heart and hindsight, this ensemble’s backbone and boldness was measurable.

Consciousness-raising, 1970s style. Photo by Jon Gitchoff.

Wasserstein, who sadly died of lymphoma at age 55 in 2006, won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama and the Tony Award for Best Play in 1989 for this masterwork. Fun fact: she was the first solo female writer so honored with the award.

Her long-lasting legacy is apparent, creating richly textured characters and the ever-identifiable self-doubts. She also wrote “The Sisters Rosensweig” and “An American Daughter,” plus an under-appreciated Paul Rudd-Jennifer Aniston 1998 movie “The Object of My Affection.” But none landed like Heidi’s story.

As Heidi Holland, Emily Baker’s transformation from awkward schoolgirl to confident feminist who becomes a well-respected art historian over the course of three tumultuous decades, 1965 – 1989, is realistic.

Hopeful in the 1970s but disillusioned in the 1980s, Heidi continues to search for what matters. She is passionate about women artists, informing students of neglected painters and their achievements in a man’s world. That she is fierce about – and good at teaching.

Owning her hard-fought choices, she eventually eschews the super-woman stereotype of yuppie-ism in favor of humanism, individualism and the road she wants to travel. In a discerning performance, Baker displays strength, vulnerability and intelligence.

Emily Baker, Joel Moses. Photo by Jon Gitchoff

The post-war Baby Boom generation known for navel-gazing and its cultural and societal impact has been analyzed many times, but this is one single woman’s voyage that resonates, and compassion is key.

Wasserstein’s atmospheric look back highlights specific years and events that everyone born between 1946-1964 has etched somewhere in their memory, starting with the agony of a teenage mixer then moving on to college activism, displaying the youthful optimism that presidential candidate Gene McCarthy, who opposed the Vietnam War, sparked in 1968.

That sets the tone for the significant characters who come in and out of Heidi’s life. Her first romance with a smooth-talking heartbreaker, the radical journalist Scoop Rosenbaum, leads to much second-guessing.

As the once-and-future womanizer who sells out for position and money, Joel Moses brings out Scoop’s brash, cocky and opinionated qualities, but also his charm. He winds up a prominent magazine editor who dines at Lutece and steps out on his wife, a children’s book illustrator and mother of his two children. But he and Heidi have always had a testy but candid connection.

Cutting a rug. Will Bonfiglio and Emily Baker. Photo by Jon Gitchoff.

The one constant male in her life is stand-up guy Peter Patrone, a gay pediatrician she met when they were young, and they instantly bonded over snappy repartee. Will Bonfiglio adds nuance to the earnest doctor, for they don’t ignore the scariness and worry during the AIDS epidemic. He shares his concerns with sympathetic Heidi.

Wasserstein selected touchstones as turning points. Her militant feminist friends gather for urgent consciousness-raising (IYKYK) during the growing women’s movement. They also attend baby showers and weddings.

The tides change when her successful friends that once rejected materialism to emphasize social responsibility now care about being seen and embrace status symbols in the 1980s.

Kelly Howe is delightful as Heidi’s trendy best friend Susan Johnston, who knows how to flirt and roll up her skirt in the school gym, throws herself into activism, then achieves major success as a Hollywood producer. They no longer have much in common but past loyalty.

Courtney Bailey, Paola Angeli. Photo by Jon Gitchoff.

Besides the four main actors, there are four others who capably play 16 supporting roles. Courtney Bailey and Ashwini Arora provide much comic relief, most notably Bailey as mother-to-be Jill and Scoop’s bride Lisa.

Arora is amusing as April, a vapid preening TV host, but as radical lesbian Fran, ready for liberation – or unleashing – in society, she is hilarious. “Either you shave your legs, or you don’t,” she says at the women’s meeting.

Wearing New Wave shoulder-padded power suits and colorful attire, Paola Angeli is a hoot as Susan’s and April’s assistants, and in the female gatherings as a friend. In addition, Bailey is Debbie and Arora plays Molly and Betsy.

Joshua Mayfield smoothly tackles five parts, including schoolmate, activist, waiter and boyfriends.

One of the funniest scenes is a morning talk show set, with guest appearances by Scoop, Peter and Heidi on “Hello, New York,” and how they handle the host’s superficial questions. The trio’s body language says so much about their characters.

The politics, music and fashions convey Heidi’s rapidly changing world and Schwetye’s vision is a keen lens into the time. She served as sound designer too, and her selections are a superb life soundtrack.

Joshua Mayfield, Emily Baker. Photo by John Gitchoff.

Showcasing seminal moments, like Nixon’s resignation in 1974, John Lennon’s murder in 1980 and the Berlin Wall being torn down in 1989, sets the moods. Kareem Deanes handled the demanding video projections with flair and Michelle Friedman Siler’s costumes splendidly define the personalities and the periods. It was as if she raided my old closets.

Inventive scenic designer Patrick Huber expertly handled the demands of apartments, Plaza Hotel, pediatric ward, restaurant and TV studio with nifty features. He also skillfully designed the lighting. Props supervisor Katie Orr did a swell job gathering items to decorate a doctors’ waiting room and gift-wrapped baby presents.

By the time we get to Heidi’s speech, “Women, Where Are We Going?” at an alumnae luncheon where she is the keynote speaker, she wants to cut through all the greeting-card platitudes that have ruled the narrative for all good girls. It’s an honest outpouring, sharing frustrations, aggravations and confusion.

Women of The Me Generation wanted it all but discovered there were personal costs and sacrifices to be made. Yet, found that forging one’s own path was possible. At last, Heidi chooses herself – and also finds comfort in knowing her friends have become her family.

Wedding reception guests Kelly Howe, Ashwini Arora. Photo by Jon Gitchoff.

Not seen on a local professional regional stage since The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis in 2007, this was a welcome reminder of the past, present and possible future.

With its potent performances and humor shaped through flawed characters, sarcastic remarks and uncertain times, this “The Heidi Chronicles” unequivocally states its relevance.

One glorious takeaway is that contemporary women’s roles are ever evolving, and when it seems that progress is stymied, we should remember we stand on the shoulders of giants, and can lead the charge into the future supporting uncommon women of any age and their choices.

The New Jewish Theatre presents “The Heidi Chronicles” from May 29 to June 15 at the Wool Studio Theater, 2 Millstone Campus Drive, Creve Coeur, Mo. Performances are on Thursdays, Saturdays, and Sundays. There is an additional show on Wednesday, June 4. Show times and tickets are available online at newjewishtheatre.org or by phone at 314.442.3283. NJT’s 2025 Season is generously sponsored by Mary Strauss. The play is 2 hours and 15 minutes long, with a 15-minute intermission.

Sunday, June 8 – Post-Show Talkback with the Director and Cast. Join members of the cast and crew following the 2pm performance for an engaging post-show discussion on the creation of NJT’s special production.

Emily Baker. Photo by Jon Gitchoff.

Take Ten with Spencer Davis Milford

Take Ten with Spencer Davis Milford

By Lynn Venhaus

Whether he stands out in a challenging role or disappears into a classic character, Spencer Davis Milford is a familiar presence, having matured on local stages and now recognized nationally.

Fresh from the U.S. and New Zealand premieres of the epic fantasy tale “The Lord of the Rings” musical adaptation as hero Frodo Baggins, the St. Louis native has returned to tackle one of his “dream roles,” as the cunning Master of Ceremonies in New Jewish Theatre’s powerful interpretation of “Cabaret.”

“Getting the chance to tell this story with the passion and creative leadership that Rebekah Scallet, Ellen Isom, and Carter Haney are bringing is incredibly special. I’m grateful that they asked me to be a part of this amazing cast,” he said. “This had always been one of my dream roles when I was younger and became obsessed with musical theater, and I always was on the lookout for an opportunity and I couldn’t pass it up.”

Performances have been selling out (including this upcoming weekend), they’ve extended the run through April 13 for four more performances, and he’s been garnering rave reviews for his magnetic performance as the menacing Emcee with the salacious grin. It’s a departure from anything he’s done before.

“Cabaret.” Photo by Jon Gitchoff.

Director Rebekah Scallet, whom Milford said had a clear vision, was impressed with her cast’s work ethic.

“The entire ensemble of Cabaret, from top to bottom, was a dream to work with. Everyone was incredibly committed to this production and worked their tails off – this was no easy feat, given our short rehearsal schedule and small ensemble (we only had 11 and typically the show is done with more like 18), but this group was up for any challenge. We began the process with a tour of the St. Louis Kaplan Feldman Museum, and I think that really cemented for everyone the important reasons for doing this show now at NJT. I am so grateful for all of their talents and their passion,” she said.

New Jewish Theatre’s production takes on an even greater relevance as rates of anti-Semitism in the United States are reaching all-time highs. The musical illustrates how the Nazis rose to power while the German citizens either ignored what was happening, refused to believe fascism possibly could happen, or chose to go along with it to ensure their own survival.

Milford, as Frodo Baggins, in the touring “The Lord of the Rings” musical. Photo provided.

“The themes of the show are just as prevalent in our society today as they were when the show was written, unfortunately,” he said.

The Wool Studio’s intimate and immersive setting brings the audience right into the Kit Kat Club as they enter the world of 1929 Germany.

Scallet described Milford as a ‘dream to work with’ on “Cabaret.”

“Not only is he a super talented actor, singer, and dancer, he is a thoughtful and sensitive human. The emcee is a challenging character to wrap your head around, both who he is and how he functions in the play, and Spencer and I had wonderful conversations, diving deep to discover his journey. And I absolutely love what he found,” she said.

A veteran of the Muny, Stages St. Louis and the Repertory Theatre of St. Louis, Milford spread his wings on the first national tours of “Billy Elliot” (as the “Tall Boy” and understudy to Michael) and “How the Grinch Stole Christmas.” (as Boo Hoo).

In 2013, he appeared on Broadway in the revival of the 1947 Terrance Rattigan play “The Winslow Boy” as the titular character, Ronnie. The drama, about a family’s fight to clear their son’s name after an unjust expulsion from naval college, is based on a real incident, and starred Tony winner Roger Rees and Oscar nominee Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio as his parents.

Acting since he was a youngster, he played Michael Darling in The Muny’s “Peter Pan,” Winthrop in “The Music Man” at Stages St. Louis, Rudy in “Over the Tavern” and :”A Boy” (aka Peter) in “Peter and the Starcatcher,” both at The Rep.

 Among his recent roles at the Muny, he was Gene Vincent, Dick Clark and part of the ensemble in 2023’s “Beautiful: the Carole King Musical,” Davey in 2017’s “Newsies,” the ensemble in 2016’s “42nd Street” and in the ensemble in 2022’s “Camelot.” He said performing at the Muny in the summer is one of his most favorite things to do in St. Louis.

Spencer Davis Milford, as Davey, Tessa Grady as Katherine, and Gabriel Cytron as Les dance rehearsal for The Muny’s Newsies in 2017. St Louis Post-Dispatch photo.

Michael Baxter, The Muny’s associate artistic director, has worked with Spencer for many years. first as a Muny Teen. Baxter, part of the Muny artistic team since 2012, spearheaded the teen program, revamping it and being director/choreographer, serving eight seasons. He became the resident choreographer in 2015 and promoted to his current position in 2018.

When asked for a comment, he said: “Spencer is an incredible talent, a true ‘song and dance’ man who comes alive in every role. He is valuable in an ensemble because he honors his essence but is a proper actor who is great with language. He lives in the ‘truth’ of the play and activates every role/line with specificity, rhythm and nuance. I trust him implicitly and he always delivers exceptional work.”

In my Aug. 11, 2017 review of “Newsies” for the Belleville News-Democrat, I wrote: “Other standouts include appealing Spencer Davis Milford as the smart go-getter Davey who handles setbacks with great aplomb, scene-stealing rookie sensation Gabriel Cytron as his adorable waif brother Les,,,.”

Photo below is from “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?” at the Fulton Theatre in 2023, with Spencer as Nick.

He has performed at professional regional theatres, including in Chicago, as Barnaby in “Hello, Dolly!” in 2022, as Rusty Charlie in “Guys and Dolls” in 2024, and as Tony in “Billy Elliot: The Musical” a year ago.

The Chicago Shakespeare Theatre opened “The Lord of the Rings” musical last July before its New Zealand premiere in November 2024. The musical, originally written in 2006, is based on J.R.R. Tolkien’s 1954 novel about a humble hobbit who is asked to play the hero and undertake a treacherous mission to destroy an evil, magical ring. It’s set in the world of Middle-earth. The music is by A.R. Rahman, Vartina and Christopher Nightingale, with the lyrics and book by Shaun McKenna and Matthew Warchus.

The reviews described it as a visual marvel, ambitious and featuring a hard-working cast. “This Lord of the Rings is a memorable piece of work. It is undeniably intense, exciting, and powerful,” wrote Chicago on Stage..

Varsha Anjali, a critic for The New Zealand Herald, said “The cast kicked ass,” describing Milford as “charming.” and the musical as “exhilarating.”

While he is in town, we asked him to answer our Take Ten questionnaire, and we interviewed him on the March 12 PopLifeSTL Presents podcast.

Here are his responses:

Take Ten with Spencer Davis Milford

1. What is special about your latest project?

“Cabaret” is widely considered one of the best musicals of all time. The themes of the show are just as prevalent in our society today as they were when the show was written, unfortunately.”

“Getting the chance to tell this story with the passion and creative leadership that Rebekah Scallet, Ellen Isom, and Carter Haney are bringing is incredibly special. I’m grateful that they asked me to be a part of this amazing cast.”

2. Why did you choose your profession/pursue the arts?

“The first time I was onstage in a musical was at five years old in ‘Little Shop of Horrors’ at Shrewsbury Youth Theater and I’ve been obsessed with performing ever since. I knew very early on that I wanted to be a professional actor.”

3. How would your friends describe you?

“My friends would describe me as mostly laid back and fun, but when I’m passionate about something I am very committed and a little intense.”

4. How do you like to spend your spare time?

“I’m a pretty competitive person and I love sports, so I play a lot of golf and disc golf.”

5. What is your current obsession?

“The green liquidIV packets, electrolytes AND caffeine? Sign me up.”

6. What would people be surprised to find out about you?

“I think Farotto’s has the best t-ravs (toasted ravioli) in STL. Maybe that’s not a surprise.”

With Molly Hogg in “Peter and the Starcatcher” at The Rep in 2015.

7. Can you share one of your most defining moments in life?

“Playing Frodo in the US premiere of ‘The Lord of the Rings’ musical and also doing the show in New Zealand. It was the most challenging and rewarding experience of my life.”

8. Who do you admire most?

“My parents. They’re the hardest working people I know and they’re incredibly supportive of me and my three siblings. I don’t know where I’d be without them.”

9. What is at the top of your bucket list?

“Being in a show that tours all over Europe.”

10. What is your favorite thing to do in St. Louis?

“Performing at The Muny. Going to a Blues playoff game. Eating Imo’s pizza and t-ravs is pretty sweet too. I can’t pick a favorite.”

11. What’s next?

“Nothing I can announce yet but it’s going to be an exciting summer for sure!”


More About Spencer Davis Milford

Birthplace: St. Louis
Education: Masters in Acting from the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland
Favorite jobs/roles/plays or work in your medium? Lord of the Rings, Buzz directed by Carrie Preston, Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf, Billy Elliot
Dream job/opportunity: “Hamlet”

Photo at left is curtain call from “The Winslow Boy” on Broadway.

Milford, Jay Armstrong Johnson, Gabriel Cytron and Tessa Grady in the Muny’s “Newsies.” Photo by Phillip Hamer.

New Jewish Theatre’s Hard-Hitting, Heart-Wrenching ‘Cabaret’ More Relevant Than Ever

New Jewish Theatre’s Hard-Hitting, Heart-Wrenching ‘Cabaret’ More Relevant Than Ever

By Lynn Venhaus

“There was a cabaret, and there was a master of ceremonies, and there was a city called Berlin, in a country called Germany… and it was the end of the world” – “Cabaret” 1966

Eerily relevant now more than ever, the musical “Cabaret” has only grown in potency and insight over its 59-year history.

In New Jewish Theatre’s haunting production, director Rebekah Scallet has faithfully adapted Sam Mendes’ brilliant 1998 revival that emphasized the sinister motives as we witness the gathering storm that would lead to World War II and the Holocaust.

However, she has focused on making sure the parallels between then and now are clear, and she has strengthened the shattering epilogue even more than Mendes did. She puts a hard-hitting NJT stamp on it.

As impressive as her track record has been since becoming the artistic director in 2022, it’s noteworthy to mention that this is the first musical she has directed in Wool Studio.

Through the decadent setting of the seedy Kit Kat Club in 1929 Berlin, we witness the end of the Weimar Republic and the rise of the Nazis.

Photo by Jon Gitchoff.

This passionate cast resonates because of how committed they are to the bleak and shocking themes. In their telling of this story, the desperation is palpable. And their layered approach to the hummable John Kander-Fred Ebb score is commendable.

As the cunning Emcee welcomes patrons in “Wilkommen,” he seductively entices: “Leave your troubles outside! So—life is disappointing? Forget it! In here, life is beautiful. The girls are beautiful. Even the orchestra is beautiful!”

In a magnetic performance, Spencer Davis Milford embraces the tawdriness and makes sure the ominous feeling grows. He lurks in other scenes where he’s not the saucy showman, his menacing presence foreshadowing the horrors that are ahead.

Oh, he has doused his “I Don’t Care Much” and “If You Could See Her” in irony, making those numbers even more chilling. After such iconic actors as Joel Grey, Alan Cumming and Eddie Redmayne have created their indelible portraits, Milford makes the role his own.

Fresh from his starring role as Frodo Baggins in “The Lord of the Rings” national tour, he’s back home making his mark in yet another special show. His work has always captivated since he was a youngster, whether on stage at The Muny or The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis, or a myriad of other companies. But this is quite a departure from anything he’s done.

When it was time for “Tomorrow Belongs to Me,” I braced myself, for its intensity remains affecting — and induces chills.

As conditions deteriorate in the polarizing landscape, those loyal to the “new Germany” face apathetic citizens and those who don’t understand the consequences.. In hindsight, how could they and why were people so unaware?

Soencer Davis Milford as the Master of Ceremonies. Photo by Jon Gitchoff.

The innovative 1998 Tony winning Mendes collaboration with Rob Marshall deconstructed the heralded 1966 Hal Prince show in an earlier 1993 London re-imagining. While the original introduced social commentary in uncommon staging, this version heightens the present danger of ignoring anti-Semitism.

Mendes and Marshall would go on to helm Oscar-winning films in the early 2000s – “American Beauty” and “Chicago” respectively – but their impact has carried over for several vivid revivals in the past 27 years, notably 2014 and 2024, and in this striking, moving interpretation.

Scallet makes the most of the Wool Studio’s intimate setting, through an immersive experience placing some audience members in club configurations.

As the small but vibrant ensemble delivers high-energy precision in musical numbers, Scallet skillfully maintains fluidity throughout, with brisk staging, as one scene quickly melds into another.

Ellen Isom’s crisp and snappy choreography adds pizzazz to “Don’t Tell Mama,” “Mein Herr,” “Money,” and “Two Ladies,” and the robust kick line number in second act is an exceptional feat.

Otto Klemp, Hailey Medrano and Jayson Heil. Photo by Jon Gitchoff.

Music Director Carter Haney conducts the band on stage – Brad Martin on drums, Alerica Anderson on a stand-up bass, and Kris Pineda on accordion and trombone, and their polished presentation is a highlight.

Scenic Designer David Blake’s visually interesting set has a grand balcony implying secretive dalliances behind closed doors while the downstairs doubles as the nightclub stage and both Sally’s and Fraulein Schneider’s shabby living quarters.

Denisse Chavez’s lighting design shrewdly draws us into the action, highlighting the moods, while Justin Smith’s sound design captures the atmosphere.

Hailey Medrano and Dustin Lane Petrillo are strong together as flighty, flirty nightclub singer Sally Bowles and broke American writer Clifford Bradshaw, brought together by fate, desire and living on the edge.

Separately, they are heart-tugging. Petrillo brings a discernable gravitas to every role he tackles, including virtuoso work in “Red,” The Immigrant,” “Hamlet” and “A Long Day’s Journey into Night” on local stages during the past two years.

Not as innocent as he first appears, and initially caught up in the whirlwind, Cliff eventually becomes the keen —-and appalled — observer whose conscience can no longer ignore the signs.

Dustin Petrillo, Medrano and Milford. Photo by Jon Gitchoff.

His character is the fictionalized British writer Christopher Isherwood, who would go on to write the semi-autobiographical novel “Goodbye to Berlin.” The musical’s book by Joe Masteroff is based on the 1951 John Van Druten play “I Am a Camera,” which is adapted from Isherwood’s collection of short stories that he wrote between 1930 and 1933, published in 1939.

Medrano, who has returned to St. Louis with memorable turns in NJT’s “We All Fall Down” last year and work with Metro Theater Company, is at her most heart-wrenching when she refuses to leave her reckless livelihood for the safety and promise of a new life.

She makes drastic self-destructive decisions after spending much of the show flaunting her tough exterior that masks an emotional fragility.

In a smart change of pace, Medrano slows down several classic renditions, boosting their power – the raw, emotional “Maybe This Time” and the title song, aka “Life is a Cabaret” (old chum!) – infused with regret – are both knockouts.

The undercurrent of irony laced with a stinging gut-punch, her anguish seeping through as she breaks. It’s all the more tragic that she chooses to remain oblivious to what’s happening.

Medrano as Sally Bowles. Photo by Jon Gitchoff.

Because Sally is such a confused mess, she is not always sympathetic, but Medrano is alluring when she’s “always on” as Sally Bowles, and tender, for a time, with new love interest Cliff.

In the show’s most devastating performance, Jane Paradise projects world-weariness but also a yearning she hides with pragmatism. The veteran character actress is known for lived-in portrayals and is often the MVP in any ensemble.

As Fraulein Schneider who discovers late-in-life love, her doomed romance with shy, kind fruit vendor Herr Schultz, played sweetly by Dave Cooperstein, is agonizing, for he is a Jew, and their shared dreams collapse under the weight of current events.

From their joyous duets “The Pineapple Song” and “Married,” to her melancholy “So What” and the tragic “What Would You Do?” are sad reminders of the choices we make and life’s turns, depriving them of even a shred of happiness.

Also standing out is Aaron Fischer as the calculating smuggler Ernst Ludwig, whose growing fervor for the Third Reich is alarming. With an impeccable German accent, Fischer slowly reveals his bigotry. Fischer, fairly new to the professional stage, and splendid in last fall’s “Anastasia: The Musical” at Tesseract Theatre Company, is one of the most exciting performers to keep your eye on.

Aaron Fischer and Petrillo. Photo by Jon Gitchoff.

In fact, John Wilson’s dialect work is superb from all 11 performers. Besides doubling as soldiers and shady characters, the ensemble includes devil-may-care revelers celebrating their hedonistic culture before fear and chaos will grip their world. The nightclub’s naughty boys and girls, and their free-spirited customers live in the moment: Otto Klemp as Bobby, officer, ensemble and on clarinet; Jayson Heil as Victor, Max, ensemble and on violin; Amarachi Kalu as Lulu and on the flute; Caroline Pillow as Fritzie; and Lillian Cooper as Texas and the gorilla.

Costume Designer Michele Friedman Siler expertly incorporated luxurious shiny blacks and reds for the performers, often with torn fishnet stockings, and more middle-class attire for everyone else. Because of doubling characters, costume changes are remarkably smooth.

We won’t forget, we can’t forget the unflinching cautionary tale this enduring musical tells us.

Jane Paradise and Dave Cooperstein. Photo by Jon Gitchoff.

The New Jewish Theatre presents “Cabaret” from March 20 to April 13. Please check for showtimes, as several Wednesday shows have been added as well as an extended run. For mature audiences, the show has adult content. The show runs 2 hours and 15 minutes, with a 15-minute intermission. Performances take place at the SFC Performing Arts Center, 2 Millstone Campus Drive. For more information: jccstl.com. Tickets are available online at newjewishtheatre.org or by phone at 314.442.3283.

NJT’s 2025 Season is generously sponsored by Mary Strauss, with Cabaret receiving additional sponsorship from Stellie Siteman and the Siteman Family Foundation.

Alongside the production, NJT hosts special events that will give the audience a special understanding of the iconic musical:

Saturday, April 5 –The Weimar Republic the Rise of Hitler with Helen Turner

Have a conversation with Helen Turner, Education Director for the St. Louis Kaplan Feldman Holocaust Museum, as she presents information about the Weimar Republic and the real-life historical events that provide the backdrop for Cabaret. This event will take place between the matinee and evening performances on Saturday, April 5. Doors will open at 4:30 with the presentation beginning at 5pm. Light refreshments will be provided. The presentation is free, but reservations are required at https://formstack.io/80312

Photo by Jon Gitchoff.