Stages St Louis - Pop Life STL

In response to continuing COVID-19 restrictions and after extensive discussions with staff leadership and the Board of Trustees, STAGES St. Louis will officially amend the 2021 Mainstage Season.

The mainstage production of A CHORUS LINE as well as the Family Theatre Series production of A YEAR WITH FROG & TOAD are cancelled. STAGES will still celebrate its 35^th Anniversary Season and move into the new Kirkwood Performing Arts Center with revised schedules for ALWAYS… PATSY CLINE and JERSEY BOYS,

Subscribers will receive a mailing the week of March 29 containing additional information and confirming these changes. The letter will also lay out all possible ticketing options for A CHORUS LINE.

“When planning for our return to live performances last fall, no one imagined that we would be in this challenging position once again,” said Associate Producer Andrew Kuhlman. “But, like so many others, here we are. And while these decisions have been incredibly difficult, we believe that they have been made with the best interest of our community in mind and we remain steadfastly hopeful.”

ALWAYS… PATSY CLINE and JERSEY BOYS will be performed in the brand new Ross Family Theatre at The Kirkwood Performing Arts Center in Downtown Kirkwood. The adjusted season schedule will be as follows:

ALWAYS… PATSY CLINE (August 6 – September 5, 2021)
JERSEY BOYS (September 24 – October 24, 2021)

“Our top priority since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic has been the health and safety of our patrons, performers, staff, students, and community,” said Executive Producer Jack Lane. “Despite the challenges of the past year, I cannot imagine a better way to celebrate a return to live theatre than with our 35^th Anniversary Season premiering at our new home in The Ross Family Theatre at the Kirkwood Performing Arts Center.”

Two-show subscriptions will go on sale beginning May 17, as will subscriber exchanges and subscriber single ticket sales. General public single ticket sales will begin June 1. Any further changes to the 2021 Season will be posted on the STAGES website and shared via email and social media.

For more information, please follow STAGES on Facebook and Instagram or visit the organization’s website.

STAGES St. Louis is the region’s foremost not-for-profit company committed to preserving and advancing the art form of Musical Theatre through excellence in performance and education. In 2021, STAGES celebrates its 35^th year of producing Broadway-quality theatre, as well as the grand opening of the new Kirkwood Performing Arts Center.

STAGES Performing Arts Academy is regionally renowned for its innovative and multi-
disciplinary programs that transform lives through immersion in the Musical Theatre arts. Celebrating its 16^th year, it is also the only such program in the St. Louis region to be connected to a professional theatre company. Whatever the age or experience level, whether a new or continuing student, aspiring performing artists throughout the St. Louis region have the opportunity to explore and cultivate their talent at STAGES, and set the stage for life changing experiences. For more information or to register today please call 636.449.5775 or visit us online at www.StagesStLouis.org.

Two-show subscription purchases for the 2021 Season will go on sale on May 17. Single ticket sales begin June 1. For more information, please call 314.821.2407 or visit www.StagesStLouis.org.

Lynn Venhaus

Lynn (Zipfel) Venhaus has had a continuous byline in St. Louis metro region publications since 1978. She writes features and news for Belleville News-Democrat and contributes to St. Louis magazine and other publications.

She is a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic, currently reviews films for Webster-Kirkwood Times and KTRS Radio, covers entertainment for PopLifeSTL.com and co-hosts podcast PopLifeSTL.com…Presents.

She is a member of Critics Choice Association, where she serves on the women’s and marketing committees; Alliance of Women Film Journalists; and on the board of the St. Louis Film Critics Association. She is a founding and board member of the St. Louis Theater Circle.

She is retired from teaching journalism/media as an adjunct college instructor.

poplifestl.com

Beginning May 29 at 8 p.m., the St Louis Shakespeare Festival kicks off the virtual companion to the beloved SHAKE38 program created in 2012. For five years, SHAKE38 brought professional and amateur artists together to reshape Shakespeare’s stories using their own voice and perspective.

Recent national events are stark reminders there is still an exceptional need for stories about the full range of human experience–often joyous and kind but sometimes painful and unjust. The Festival is honored to bring this program back in a new form and hand the reigns of our online platforms off to the talented and diverse group of performers for each of these 20 nights.

With the recent announcement that we are postponing this summer’s production of Much Ado About Nothing, we will be approaching the first June in twenty years without Shakespeare in Forest Park. Instead of going dark – we are resurrecting Shake38 as SHAKE20.

20 nights of virtual Shakespeare plays for each night we would have been in Shakespeare Glen. You are invited to join!

Performances will take place every night but Monday, May 29 – June 20, 2020.

Go the Festival’s Facebook page (every night but Monday) at 8 p.m. and watch live. If you miss a night, each performance will be archived here and available for viewing at any time.