An Elegant, Exuberant ‘Anastasia’ Is a Knockout for Tesseract Theatre Co.

An Elegant, Exuberant ‘Anastasia’ Is a Knockout for Tesseract Theatre Co.

By Lynn Venhaus

A zestful and exuberant “Anastasia: The Musical” is a crowning achievement for the Tesseract Theatre Company, which has crafted a big, bold production where every element is in harmony together.

Elegantly produced and seamlessly performed, this intriguing story centering on the legend of a Russian grand duchess is executed with remarkable skill by innovative creatives and a first-rate cast.

Impeccably staged as a swirling mix of constant motion, this adventurous blend of history, mystery and romance engaged from the jump. While this 2017 musical is not a flawlessly constructed show, the company’s determination and their lively interpretation propels it forward.

Using an abstract, intimate stage design at The Marcelle, director Brittanie Gunn, a Tesseract co-founder and creative director along with Kevin Corpuz, has focused sharply on the storytelling. The charming and well-cast 17-person ensemble’s hard work is obvious throughout this emotional journey that leads to a bittersweet finale.

The Press Conference. Photo by FF.

This ultimately is a tale of self-discovery. Gunn wanted Anya to be seen as a strong woman, and Sarah Wilkinson is believable as she works on herself – who is she and who will she become? But other characters find their purpose and their way, too.

Tesseract has been dipping its toe into musical productions for the past two years, with small-scale shows “Ordinary Days” in November 2022, “The Last Five Years” in February 2023, and “The Mad Ones” in November 2023, with its first large-cast splashy musical “Kinky Boots” in August 2023. This year, an original musical “Cascade’s Fire,” and another small-scale effort “My Heart Says Go” were previously performed.

With the ambitious “Anastasia,” they are taking a huge leap forward, and each component is impressive — Gunn’s thoughtful depiction, Zach Neumann’s vigorous music direction, choreographer Michelle Sauer’s graceful ballet and vibrant period dance numbers, and the superb technical team’s designs.

This all-ages show, which has been performed by schools, youth and community theaters in recent years but not yet by regional professional companies, features lyrics by Lynn Ahrens and music by Stephen Flaherty, whose best-known works are “Ragtime” and “Seussical.”

This grand-scale musical is adapted from the well-liked 1997 animated movie, which in turn was inspired by the 1956 “what if” dramatic film “Anastasia” that starred Ingrid Bergman in her second of three Oscar-winning roles.

The Czar’s Family Pre-Revolution. Photo by FF.

Fun fact: The animated musical’s music, composed by Ahrens and Flaherty, also featured music by David Newman, whose father, Alfred, was Oscar-nominated for the original 1956 film. This team earned two Oscar nominations for the film – musical score, and “Journey to the Past” for best song.

That power ballad is reprised in this stage musical, with a dynamic rendition by Sarah Wilkinson ending Act 1. There are five other songs from the movie, including the poignant “Once Upon a December,” and 16 new songs.

Playwright Terence McNally wrote the book, from the play by Marcelle Maurette, as adapted by Guy Bolton. While the late McNally is among the greatest, winning five Tony Awards, this result isn’t among his best. However, he shaped what could have been a too-sprawling complex narrative into several subplots that mesh well.

He has omitted the villain Rasputin and dropped the magic realism that were a major part of the animated tale, replacing the shady wizard with a formidable Bolshevik general Gleb, who seems as obsessed as Javert in “Les Miserables.” In fact, this show may remind you somewhat of “Les Miz,” only not as epic in scope.

Photo by FF.

The character Anastasia has always been enigmatic because she may or may not be who she thinks she is. The story arc begins at the twilight of the Russian Empire and moves to Paris in the 1920s, as this young woman tries to fit the puzzle together of her life.

The real story is that the royal family Czar Nicholas II, his wife, Alexandra; son, Alexis; and four daughters, Olga, Tatiana, Maria, and Anastasia, were taken captive after he abdicated the throne on March 15, 1917. They were executed by a firing squad of Communist Bolsheviks on July 17, 1918, along with four of their servants, but no bodies were immediately found. Reports were so unclear that the dowager empress, then in Crimea, doubted the news of her family’s death.

The musical begins nine years after the Russian Revolution in 1918. Legend has it that Anastasia escaped her family’s murder, but hit her head while running away, causing her to lose all her memories.

Can she reclaim the magic of her childhood? In an interesting contrast, the show flashes back to Anya as a child, and 12-year-old Devynn Phoenix is luminous in her dance sequences as both the young Anastasia and Alexia. Ella Drake demonstrates superb dancing skills in ballet sequences, also.

Ella Drake. Photo by FF.

As the grown-up Anya, she meets two conmen, Dmitry and Vlad, who are looking for a girl to pretend she is the lost princess. Wilkinson easily slips into Anya’s skin, while new-to-professional theatre Aaron Fischer is revelatory as Dmitry, and Kent Coffel, an MVP when it comes to playing comedic sidekicks, works well with both.

The men hatch their imposter plan in “A Rumor in St. Petersburg.” They tutor her, a la “My Fair Lady,” in “Learn to Do It,” then take her to Paris and plan to meet with her grandmother, because they think the Dowager Empress will give them a substantial reward for recovering this long-lost member of the royal family.

Through this process, she slowly starts to regain her memory and believes she is indeed the real Anastasia. Wilkinson’s transformation is palpable, and you see her become more radiant.

Wilkinson, who has been memorable on local stages in “Nine” and “Into the Woods,” is an accomplished singer and dancer. With an opportunity to anchor this production, she grabs it with gusto.

She shines on her solo numbers. “Once Upon a December” is wistfully delivered, as is “A Secret She Kept,” and “In My Dreams” is a touching tribute to starting over. She also possesses considerable poise and carries herself regally on stage.

Danielle Feinstein, Kimmie Kidd-Booker and Lindsey Grojean. Photo by FF.

Act 2 opens with an ebullient “Paris Holds the Key (to Your Heart)” and the chorus also has fun with “Land of Yesterday” led by the intrepid Kimmie Kidd-Booker as the lady-in-waiting Countess Lily.

Anya and Dimitry are in a budding romance that’s straight out of a Hallmark movie template, but Wilkinson and Fischer have a genuine connection. He soars in his strong vocals, especially “Everything to Win” and with Anya in “My Petersburg” and “In a Crowd of Thousands.”

Vlad reminisces about hobnobbing with the aristocracy, and his wit comes through – as does his physical comedy.

In his role as Gleb, Donald Kidd stuns with his sturdy vocals and layered characterization. “The Neva Flows,” along with Anya, showcases his vocal command, and when he realizes he has feelings for Anya, “Still.”

As the Dowager Empress, dauntless Margery A. Handy is imposing, and has a terrific song, “Close the Door.” She is as stately as Lily is goofy. Kidd-Booker is hilarious hamming it up as Vlad’s former mistress, and she and Coffel know how to create an effective chemistry in “The Countess and the Common Man,” ramping up the physical comedy.

Aaron Fischer, as Dmitry, revs up the crowd. Photo by FF.

The ensemble is quite strong, with distinctive characterizations developed by each supporting player. Tielere Cheatem, Scott Degitz-Fries, Ella Drake, Danielle Feinstein, Julia Gilbert Gaglio, Lindsey Grojean, Jaelyn Hawkins, Stephanie Merritt, Jacob Schmidt and Kelvin Urday all blend well, but also stand out as different characters.

They harmonize beautifully, and the orchestra’s vitality is noticeable. Besides conducting, Neumann is on keyboards, joining Chuck Evans on violin, John Gerdes on brass, Lea Gerdes and Joseph Hendricks on reeds, Brad Martin on percussion, and Paul Rueschhoff on cello.

The musical’s costumes are an opulent showcase, with costume designer Sarah Gene Dowling assembling a bevy of beautiful gowns, flashy vintage party dresses, textured ethereal whites, working-class garments and heavy wintry outerwear. She collected over 100 looks for this show alone.

The craftsmen meet the moment, with noteworthy sound design by Phillip Evans, lighting design by Kevin Bowman, properties design by Rachel Puleo, and scenic design by Todd Schaefer.

Kevin “Kevlar” Sallwasser was the technical director, Sarah Baucom production manager, and Marisa Daddazio the stage manager, with Bella Lucero assistant stage manager and Hannah Lohmeyer the intimacy coordinator.

Donald Kidd as Gleb. Photo by FF.

The show’s lush qualities combine with the venue’s cozy ambience to create an enchanting experience. “Anastasia: The Musical” will linger for a while. Tesseract’s mission accomplished, and it was refreshing to see how well it all came together.


Tesseract Theatre presents the musical Anastasia Thursdays through Saturdays at 8 p.m. and Sundays at 4 p.m., Nov. 14 – 24. Performances take place at the Marcelle Theatre in Grand Center. For more information: www.tesseracttheatre.com.

Road Maps, Detours and Powerhouse Vocals Drive ‘The Mad Ones’

Road Maps, Detours and Powerhouse Vocals Drive ‘The Mad Ones’

By Lynn Venhaus

An 18-year-old girl in a car. Life looms large at that age, so much ahead, not much in the rear-view mirror. Is she ready to embark on her journey?

The expertly produced “The Mad Ones” from Tesseract Theatre captures those feelings –that yearning for experiences and the exhilaration of the possibilities about the road ahead, but also wanting to leave the past behind. And regrets, we’ve all had a few.

The show, first produced in 2017, formerly known as “The Unauthorized Biography of Samantha Brown,” focuses on that moment when you prepare to leave home – off to college or work or other adventures – and the memories that flood your brain during a turning point. What does Samantha do when people around her give advice? And how can she move on when certain things hold her back?

Ensemble. Photo by Florence Flick

As besties Samantha and Kelly, Melissa Felps as the smart one and Grace Langford as the wild one sing their hearts out in Kait Kerrigan and Bree Loudermilk’s off-Broadway musical theatre sensation. This contemporary drama is laced with humor and isn’t going for easy answers or tying things up neatly, but rather a process of discovery, which can feel overwrought because of the intense material.

This four-person show taps into choices, grief, and loss, and how the detours of life just force us off the road – even when we’re just getting started. Three of the four performers make their Tesseract debut, in line with the company’s mission to include fresh voices and new perspectives. (Langford was seen earlier this year in “The Last Five Years.”)

While Felps and Langford, both tremendous belters, are a dynamic duo as the oh-so-dramatic BFFs, Sarah Gene Dowling as Sam’s mom Beverly and Cody Cole as Sam’s boyfriend Adam are also noteworthy.

Dowling conveys warmth and wisdom as sometimes overbearing Beverly, strong in her touching “Miles to Go” solo, and zealous in “I Know My Girl” accompanied by the ensemble. Cole, while not on stage that much, works to make dim-bulb Adam more than the one-note character as written. His “Run Away with Me” reveals a tender side.

Sarah Gene Dowling and Melissa Felps. Photo by Florence Flick.

The characters are rather sketchily drawn, but the performers work overtime to make them relatable. The book could use some tweaking – as the non-linear story arc can be clunky in disclosure and sometimes murky.

However, the propulsive songs are exceptionally expressive, and the ensemble delivers them with a deeply felt commitment, especially “Moving On,” “Drive” and “Remember This.” They have fun introducing themselves in “We’re Just in Your Head.”

Once dialed in, the production is more than crossroads and “On the Road” references (title included). No need for spoiler alert– but expect life to happen while they’re busy making other plans.

Felps, in her best performance to date, exhibits plenty of verve, but also frets in the way that teenage girls do, with moms and boyfriends to deal with – and with a pesky live-wire best friend judging her decisions and nudging her out of her comfort zone.

Her poignant delivery of “The Girl Who Drove Away” and “There Was a Party” aptly captures her impassioned but sensible valedictorian character, while she excels in the duets, smoothly collaborating with her partners.

With Cole as the not-as-intelligent beau, the couple is playful in “Simple as That,” funny in “The Proposal,” and sweet and hopeful in “Say the Word.”

The mother-daughter relationship is humorously captured in “My Mom Is a Statistician” while she’s learning to drive, a running plot point.

Cody Cole, Melissa Felps, Grace Langford. Photo by Florence Flick.

But the calling card here is puckish Langford and earnest Felps’ stupendous harmony. Their heartfelt vocals are best in a song grappling with life’s blows – “Ordinary Senior Year,” and revisiting memories and dreams in “Freedom.” They really have fun with “Top Ten” – you must listen to the lyrics. (A dig about Sting’s musical?! Hilarious. More Sting jokes to come (?!)

Both high-spirited actresses have worked together before, in a regional production of “Urinetown” in summer 2022, and they have an easy chemistry that allows their characters to resonate emotionally. The two singers reach a zenith with their power in “Go Tonight” (written as a shouting match, it seems – some of the bombastic delivery could have been more nuanced to mix up the intensity).

Lyricist Kerrigan and composer Loudermilk’s musical has inspired a cult-like following, in a similar way that “Dear Evan Hansen” did in 2017. As this work has been in development for many years, several numbers went viral on YouTube. More than 15,000 pieces of digital music from the score have already been sold since 2009.

The work of high-octane director-choreographer-performer Kevin Corpuz, a big fan of Kerrigan-Loudermilk, always has an energy to it, and in his directorial debut, has maintained a noticeable momentum in The Marcelle space. The staging, to use a driving reference (that are plentiful in this show), has muscular power.

Music Director Joe Schoen’s interpretation of the score has both a fleetness and a sleekness to it, with Schoen conducting and playing keyboard, and superb sound from Adam Rugo on guitar, Chuck Evans on violin, and Zach Neumann on a second keyboard.

The creative crew has contributed to outstanding production values – Jacob Baxley on sound design, Brittanie Gunn on lighting design, and Todd Schaefer’s striking scenic design that allows a fluidity, while Stage Manager Sarah Baucom keeps the action smooth.

Photo by Florence Flick.

Gunn, co-founder and creative director, and Corpuz, also creative director, are ushering in a new era at the 12-year-old Tesseract that promises to be exciting as they reach new goals with musical productions and continue their commitment to new voices with their summer play festival.

“The Mad Ones” is a crowd-pleasing choice after positive response to “Kinky Boots,” “Ordinary Days,” and “The Last Five Years,” yet still taking risks and meeting challenges. Next up is “The Inheritance,” the 2020 Tony Award winner for Best Play, in April, New Musical Summer Fest in July, and the musical “Anastasia” in November 2024.

In the iconoclastic words of Jack Kerouac: “The only people for me are the mad ones, the ones who are mad to live, mad to talk, mad to be saved, desirous of everything at the same time, the ones who never yawn or a saw a commonplace thing, but burn, burn, burn like fabulous yellow roman candles exploding like spiders across the stars.”

Tesseract Theatre Company presents “The Mad Ones” Nov. 3-12, with performances on Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m. and Sundays at 4 p.m. at The Marcelle, 3310 Samuel Shepard Dr, St. Louis, 63103, in Grand Center. The show is 1 hour, 40 minutes, without intermission. For more information, visit the website: www.tesseracttheatre.com

Melissa Felps as Samantha. Photo by Florence Flick

New Line’s Fine Singers Aim Zingers in a Spirited ‘Urinetown’ That’s As Timely As Ever

New Line’s Fine Singers Aim Zingers in a Spirited ‘Urinetown’ That’s As Timely As Ever

By Lynn Venhaus

Zeitgiest, meet “Urinetown.”

In this Twilight Zone reality we seem to live in now in the 21st century, the subversive “Urinetown” the musical has never seemed timelier. Or funnier. Or scarier.

What once was merely laugh-out-loud outrageous 20 years ago has morphed into a gasp-filled hit-nail-on-head satire where sleazebag politicians are even slimier, greedy corporate bastards are more cruel, ecological disaster seems more imminent and cries of revolution are not far-fetched but absolutely necessary.

This wicked musical comedy composed by Fairview Heights, Ill., native Mark Hollmann, with co-lyricist and book writer Greg Kotis, appears to grow more relevant as the gap continues to widen between the haves and have nots.

Resurrecting one of its past triumphs, from 2007, for the cross-your-fingers 30th season, New Line Theatre’s savvy choice allows a confident, polished ensemble to have fun romping through the ripe-for-parody American legal system, ridiculous bureaucracy, corrupt municipal politics, and foolish mismanagement of natural resources.

The time is 2027 and the focus is urination. Yes, that indispensable body function. But, because we’re in a near dystopian future, there is no such thing as a free pee – and we can’t squander flushes and there is a limited water supply.

If you gotta go, it will cost you. A severe 20-year drought has resulted in the government banning private toilets. Citizens must use public amenities that are regulated by a single evil company that profits from charging a fee to conduct one of humanity’s basic needs.

So, what happens if you disobey? You are punished by a trip to Urinetown, never to return. Egads!

A rabble-rouser emerges – Bobby Strong, and he launches a People’s Revolution for the right to pee. Let’s hear it for urinary freedom! As he does with every role, energetic Kevin Corpuz is passionate in his hero’s journey.

This cast has the vocal chops to entertain in lively fashion, and with nimble comic timing, hits the sweet spot between exaggerated naivete and cheeky irreverence. Jennelle Gilreath, effectively using a Betty Boop-Shirley Temple voice, is the child-like street urchin Little Sally.

Bobby leads the poor rebels – performed by local live wires Grace Langford as pregnant Little Becky Two Shoes, Ian McCreary as Tiny Tom, Chris Moore ss Billy Boy Bill, Christopher Strawhun as Robbie the Stockfish and Jessica Winningham as Soupy Sue.

They are part of a first-rate ensemble in such crisply staged musical numbers as “It’s a Privilege to Pee,” “Snuff That Girl,” “Run Freedom Run,” and “We’re Not Sorry.”

Not only do Hollmann and Kotis take on capitalism, social injustice and climate crisis, but also cleverly twist the great American musical art form itself, with resemblance to Bertolt Brecht and Kurt Weill’s “The Threepenny Opera” and the populist champ “Les Miserables.”

With silly characters modeled after old-timely melodramas, Kent Coffel is Officer Lockstock, Marshall Jennings is Officer Barrel, and Sarah Gene Dowling is tough urinal warden Penelope Pennywise, all having fun with their goofy over-the-top roles.

Kent Coffel, Marshall Jennings as Officers Lockstock and Barrel. Photo by Jill Ritter Lindberg

Bobby’s downtrodden parents, Joseph and Josephine Strong, are played by solid veterans Mara Bollini and Zachary Allen Farmer, also doubling as rebels, while fellow New Line regulars Todd Schaefer is the dastardly profiteer Caldwell P. Cladwell and Melissa Felps his darling daughter, Hope, who falls in love with Bobby. Both Schaefer and Felps play it straight, although they are winking to the audience the whole time as the heads of Urine Good Company, aka UGC.

Corpuz and Felps soar in “Follow Your Heart” while Bobby’s “Look to the Sky” and Hope’s finale “I See a River” showcase their skills.

Playing a caricature of an oily grifter and elected official Senator Fipp is Colin Dowd, doing his best Matt Gaetz impersonation, and Clayton Humburg is weaselly as Cladwell’s assistant Mr. McQueen. The “Rich” folk have fun with “Don’t Be the Bunny,”

Co-directors Scott Miller and Chris Kernan’s fresh take goes darker, which suits the capricious winds of an ever-evolving global pandemic that we have lived through for 27 months. Not to mention clinging to a democracy with fascist and authoritarian threats very much present. And hello, global warming.

Kernan’s choreography is a highlight, and music director Tim Clark keeps the tempo brisk. He conducts a tight band of Kelly Austermann on reeds, Tom Hanson on trombone, Clancy Newell on percussion and John Gerdes on bass while he plays keyboard.

The upside-down world we’re in is enhanced by Todd Schaefer’s grimy set, Sarah Porter’s astute costume design, Ryan Day’s sound design Kimi Short’s props,  and Kenneth Zinkl’s lighting design.

After an off-Broadway run, “Urinetown” opened on Broadway in 2001 and was nominated for nine Tony Awards, winning for best book, best music score and best direction. The fact that it’s stature has grown over the years is a reflection of our current time – and while that is rather frightening, this show continues to say something worth saying through its devilish use of heightened reality.

It’s holding up a mirror, even though it’s presented in a funhouse way, and that is indeed admirable.

In that spirit, leave your paranoia behind and get ready to laugh at the zingers launched with glee. New Line Theatre’s “Urinetown” is worth a sojourn as time keeps on slipping into the future.

New Line Theatre presents “Urinetown” June 2-25, with performances Thursday through Saturday at 8 p.m. at the Marcelle Theatre. For tickets or more information, visit ww.newlinetheatre.com

Photos by Jill Ritter Lindberg

New Line Theatre Announces Casting and Season Tickets for 29th Season

New Line Theatre Announces Casting and Season Tickets for 29th Season

New Line Theatre, “the bad boy of musical theatre,” has announced casting for its 29th season of adult, alternative musical theatre, which opens with the return of the wild, comic rock musical CRY-BABY, based on the iconic John Waters film, a show which New Line first produced in 2012 in its American regional premiere, running Sept. 26-Oct. 19, 2019. The season continues with the electrifying new rock musical fresh from Broadway, in its regional premiere, HEAD OVER HEELS, a high-energy, adult romp about gender and sexuality, based on a 16th-century novel and using the songs of the 80s rock band The Go-Go’s, running March 5-28, 2020. And the season closes with the return of one of New Line’s biggest hits, which the New Liners first presented in 2007, the pitch dark satire URINETOWN, the hilarious, outrageous fable of greed, corruption, love, revolution, and urination, running June 4-27, 2020.

Season tickets, including all three mainstage productions, start at just $60. Single tickets will go on sale in September. For more info, go to www.newlinetheatre.com/purchase/index.php

PLUS… New Line introduces the NEW LINE THEATRE FILM SERIES, curated by longtime New Liner Brian Claussen, screening a companion film at the Marcelle one Weds. night during the run of each mainstage show. This season’s films include John Waters’ original CRY-BABY during the run of Cry-Baby; ABSOLUTE BEGINNERS during the run of Head Over Heels; and MACK THE KNIFE, a film version of Threepenny Opera, during the run of Urinetown. These films are not part of the season subscription.

THE 2019-2020 SEASON

CRY-BABYSept. 26-Oct. 19, 2019

It’s 1954. Everyone likes Ike, nobody likes communism, and Wade “Cry-Baby” Walker is the coolest boy in Baltimore. He’s a bad boy with a good cause — truth, justice, and the pursuit of rock and roll. 

Wayward youth, juvenile delinquents, sexual repression, cool music, dirty lyrics, social rejects, it’s all here, as New Line opens its 29th season in October 2019 with the hilarious rockabilly musical CRY-BABY, based on the classic John Waters film. 

Cry-Baby premiered at the La Jolla Playhouse in San Diego in November 2007 and opened on Broadway in April 2008. New Line produced the show’s critically acclaimed American regional premiere in March 2012, after negotiating the first regional production rights in the country. The original creative team revised the show for New Line’s production and commissioned new orchestrations, to make it a smaller, more intimate musical, with a 6-piece rock band. 

At the center of our story are the star-crossed lovers, Cry-Baby and the square rich girl Allison, just a good girl who yearns to be bad in Cry-Baby’s arms. Fueled by hormones and the new rhythms of rock and roll, she turns her back on her squeaky clean boyfriend Baldwin to become a “drape” (a Baltimore juvenile delinquent) and Cry-Baby’s moll. At the other end of the topsy-turvy moral meritocracy of 1954 America, Baldwin as the king of the squares leads his close-harmony pals against the juvenile delinquents, who are ultimately arrested for arson, sending the drapes all off to prison. 

It’s Romeo and Juliet meets High School Hellcats. 

Cry-Baby has a score by David Javerbaum (The Daily Show) and Adam Schlesinger (Fountains of Wayne), and a book by Mark O’Donnell and Thomas Meehan, based on John Waters’ classic indie film. O’Donnell and Meehan also adapted John Waters’ Hairspray for the musical stage. 

Cry-Baby was nominated for four Tony Awards, including Best Musical, Best Book of a Musical, Best Original Score, and Best Choreography. It was also nominated for Best Musical by the Drama League and the Outer Critics Circle Awards. Terry Teachout wrote in the Wall Street Journal, “You want funny? I’ll give you funny, or at least tell you where to find it: Cry-Baby, the new John Waters musical, is campy, cynical, totally insincere and fabulously well crafted. And funny. Madly, outrageously funny. It is, in fact, the funniest new musical since Avenue Q. If laughter is the best medicine, then Cry-Baby is the whole damn drugstore.” Newsday called the show “pleasantly demented and — deep in the sweet darkness of its loopy heart — more true to the cheerful subversion of a John Waters movie than its sentimental big sister Hairspray.” The New Jersey Star-Ledger called it, “candy for adults who like their musicals nutty — and not so nice.” 

The New Line cast includes Caleb Miofsky (as Wade “Cry Baby” Walker), Grace Langford (Allison Vernon-Williams), Margeau Steinau (Mrs. Vernon-Williams), Marshall Jennings (Dupree W. Dupree), Jake Blonstein (Baldwin Blandish), Reagan Deschaine (Pepper Walker), Jaclyn Amber (Wanda Woodward), Sarah Dowling (Mona “Hatchet-Face” Malnorowski), AJ Surrell (Lenora Frigid), Todd Micali, Stephen Henley, Ian McCreary, Christopher Strawhun, Maggie Nold, and Grace Minnis. 

The New Line production will be directed by Scott Miller and Mike Dowdy-Windsor, with music direction by Nicolas Valdez, choreography by Michelle Sauer, scenic design by Rob Lippert, costume design by Colene Fornachon, lighting design by Kenneth Zinkl, and sound design by Ryan Day. 

Cry-Baby contains adult language and content. Produced by arrangement with Music Theatre International, New York.

The New Line Film Series presents John Waters’ original musical film CRY-BABY on Weds., Oct. 9 at 7:00 p.m. at the Marcelle Theater, during the run of New Line’s Cry-Baby.

Gilbert & Sullivan’s Horror-ComedyBLOODY KING OEDIPUSA Free Public ReadingMonday, Jan. 6, 2020

King Oedipus is already having a bad day, and here comes some REALLY bad news…! 

All Oedipus wants is to lift the curse that’s made his city sick, broke, and pissed off, but all these prophecies keep getting in the way. Could it be true that Oedipus killed the last king without realizing it? Is it possible he’s married to his own mother? Does his name really mean “swollen foot”? Maybe Tiresias the Blind Seer knows the answers. But does Oedipus really want to know…? 

After shocking the music and theatre worlds by rediscovering Gilbert & Sullivan’s lost masterpiece The Zombies of Penzance in 2013, and then staging and publishing the controversial original opera in 2018; now New Line Theatre artistic director Scott Miller has done it once again. This time, Miller has unearthed Gilbert & Sullivan’s even darker and funnier BLOODY KING OEDIPUS (or Pardon Me, Mum!), a comic horror opera no one even knew existed until now, based on Sophocles’ iconic Greek tragedy of murder, incest, disfigurement, suicide, and lots of prophecies, which first premiered in 429 BC. 

The legendary British team of librettist W.S. Gilbert and composer Arthur Sullivan together wrote fourteen comic operas between 1871 and 1896. Or is it sixteen? After rewriting their original Zombies of Penzance at the insistence of producer Richard D’Oyly Carte, the team premiered The Pirates of Penzance in 1879. Until now, scholars believed that their next project was the pastoral satire Patience. We now know that isn’t true. After the huge success of HMS Pinafore and Pirates, the team decided to tackle something a bit weightier. According to personal papers found with the manuscript, it was Gilbert who suggested two unlikely possibilities, Dante’s Inferno, and the classic Greek tragedy Oedipus the King, set in Thebes, a Greek city-state in the 13th century BC. 

They both agreed Inferno would make a less than satisfying comic opera. 

Gilbert stayed curiously faithful to the plot and characters of Sophocles’ ancient tragedy for his opera – until the end of the show, when Gilbert evidently couldn’t restrain himself from adding a comic, Gilbertian twist, upending everything that’s come before, as usual. It’s safe to say Sophocles would not have sanctioned Gilbert’s much more comic ending. The score includes songs like “We’ve Been Very, Very Sick,” “I Can See Now I Was Blind,” “Now This is Quite Awkward,” “So Our King Just Might Have Murdered Our Last King,” and “He Hasn’t Taken It Too Well.” 

And now, at long last, King Oedipus, Queen Jocasta, General Creon, Tiresias the Blind Seer, Milo the Herald, and all of Thebes will make their comic opera debut. Miller has painstakingly reassembled these rediscovered materials into their original form; and St. Louis composer and orchestrator John Gerdes is reconstructing Sullivan’s music, after doing the same with The Zombies of Penzance. 

New Line Theatre will present a reading of the rediscovered show Monday, Jan. 6, 2020, free and open to the public. The company has not yet announced a full production. 

Dominic Dowdy-Windsor will play King Oedipus; with Kimi Short as Queen Jocasta; Kent Coffel as Gen. Creon; Lindsey Jones as Manto; and Zachary Allen Farmer as the Royal Messenger and Tiresias the Blind Seer and Milo the Herald and also Phorbus the Shepherd. The rest of the cast will be announced later. The reading will be directed by Scott Miller and music directed by Nicolas Valdez.

Bloody King Oedipus contains very adult language and content.

HEAD OVER HEELSMarch 5-28, 2020

The wild new modern musical fairy tale where Once Upon a Time is NOW! 

HEAD OVER HEELS is the bold new musical comedy from the visionaries that rocked Broadway with Hedwig and the Angry Inch, Avenue Q and Spring Awakening. Conceived by Jeff Whitty, with an original book by Whitty, adapted by James Magruder, originally directed by Michael Mayer, and set to the music of the iconic 1980s all-girl rock band The Go-Go’s, this high-octane, laugh-out-loud love story includes hit songs like, “We Got the Beat,” “Our Lips Are Sealed,” “Vacation,” “Heaven is a Place on Earth” and “Mad About You.” 

The wild story follows the escapades of a royal family who set out on a journey to save their beloved kingdom from extinction, only to discover the key to their realm’s survival lies within each of their own hearts — though not always in the way they expect — and in their willingness to let go of rigid tradition and change with the times. 

Head Over Heels originally premiered at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival in 2015, then opened on Broadway in 2018. The show was nominated for Best Musical by the Drama League and the Outer Critics Circle Awards. 

The Daily Beast said, “Head Over Heels is a raucously choreographed joy — intelligent, winningly comic, and surprisingly-for-Broadway radical when it comes to its presentation of gender and sexuality.” Entertainment Weekly said, “The show is an ode to female independence with the winking spirit of a Shakespearean fairy and the neon edge of a rebellious ‘80s teenager, teaming up to beckon people into the woods. Forty years after The Go-Go’s’ formation, Head Over Heels does more than preserve the band’s iconic hits in amber. For two hours and 15 minutes, it’s enough to pull the world back into sync.” 

TimeOut NY said, “To enjoy Head Over Heels, which offers quite a lot to enjoy, it is probably best to kick up your heels and put your head on hold. That’s not to say that this saucy, boisterous musical doesn’t have a brainy side, starting with its ambitious crossbreeding of four time periods: It grafts a 2010s queer sensibility onto songs from the 1980s—by the all-girl pop-punk quintet the Go-Go’s (plus two hits from lead singer Belinda Carlisle’s solo career)—and fits them into a 16th-century story that is set in ancient Greece. . . Head Over Heels is a fantasy and celebration of nonconformity, and it puts its casting where its mouth is with an ensemble that is diverse in race, gender and size. Honoring the beat, in this merry Arcadia, means making room for different drummers.” 

The New Line cast includes Grace Langford (Princess Pamela), Melissa Felps (Princess Philoclea), Gabriel Beckerle (Musidorus), Jaclyn Amber (Mopsa), Zachary Allen Farmer (King Basilius), Carrie Priesmeyer (Queen Gynecia), Aaron Allen (Dametas), Tiélere Cheatem (Pythio), Kevin Corpuz, Chris Moore, Maggie Nold, Michelle Sauer, Abraham T. Shaw, Alyssa Wolf, and Sara Rae Womack. 

The New Line production will be directed by Scott Miller and Mike Dowdy-Windsor, with music direction by Nicolas Valdez, choreography by Michelle Sauer and Sara Rae Womack, scenic design by Rob Lippert, costume design by Sarah Porter, lighting design by Kenneth Zinkl, and sound design by Ryan Day. 

Head Over Heels contains adult language and content. Produced by arrangement with Broadway Licensing, New York.

The New Line Film Series presents the movie musical ABSOLUTE BEGINNERS on Weds, March 18 at 7:00 p.m. at the Marcelle Theater, during the run of New Line’s Head Over Heels.

URINETOWNJune 4-27, 2020

It’s 2027, the toilets have all been privatized, and you have to pay to pee. Do you follow the rules or join the rebellion? 

Mark Hollmann and Greg Kotis’ URINETOWN is the outrageous fable of greed, corruption, love, revolution, and urination, in a time when water is worth its weight in gold and there’s no such thing as a free pee. Set in a near-future dystopian Gotham, a severe 20-year drought has led to a government-enforced ban on private toilets. The citizens are forced to use public “amenities” now, regulated by a single malevolent company that profits by charging admission for one of humanity’s most basic needs. In this nightmare world, the punishment for an unauthorized pee is a trip to the dreaded Urinetown. 

But from the ruins of Democracy and courtesy flushes, there rises an unlikely hero who decides he’s held it long enough, and he launches a People’s Revolution to lead them all to urinary freedom! 

Inspired by the outrageous political theatre of Bertolt Brecht and Kurt Weill, and (very) loosely based on the writings of late eighteenth-century political and economic theorist Thomas Malthus, Urinetown is a gloriously silly, irreverently truthful satire from which no target is safe. This is a show that catapulted musicals into the new millennium with its rule-shattering tear through the traditions and conventions of musical theatre, leaving nothing but uncontrollable laughter and a big puddle in its wake. 

And that’s just Act I. 

When it opened in New York, the official slogan on the Urinetown T-shirts was “An appalling idea, fully realized.” Actor Daniel Marcus, who played Officer Barrel, said in an interview, “I call it a love letter to the American musical in the form of a grenade.” 

Bruce Weber in The New York Times said, “There simply is no show I’ve seen that gives such a sense that the creators and performers are always on the same page of an elaborate, high-spirited joke, that they are the proud members of a cabal that knows what it takes to make the world a better place and that they are thrilled to share what they know.” He also called the show “a sensational piece of performance art, one that acknowledges theater tradition and pushes it forward as well.” The show was nominated for 9 Tony Awards (winning Best Book and Best Score), 9 Drama Desk Awards, 7 Obie Awards (winning Best Musical), 5 Outer Critics Circle Awards (winning Best Musical), and a Drama League Award for Best Musical. 

New Line produced Urinetown in 2007. Kotis and Hollmann also wrote the rock musical Yeast Nation, which New Line produced in 2018.

The New Line cast includes Dominic Dowdy-Windsor (Lockstock), Jennelle Gilreath (Little Sally), Kevin Corpuz (Bobby Strong), Melissa Felps (Hope Cladwell), Kimi Short (Pennywise), Todd Schaefer (Mr. Cladwell), Marshall Jennings (Officer Barrel), Clayton Humburg, Sarah Porter, Zak Farmer, Ian McCreary, Brian Carles, Kellen Green, Jessica Winingham, Grace Langford, and Carrie Wenos Priesmeyer. 

The New Line production of Urinetown will be directed by Scott Miller and Mike Dowdy-Windsor, with music direction by Nicolas Valdez, choreography by Michelle Sauer and Sara Rae Womack, costume design by Sarah Porter, scenic design by Todd Schaefer, and sound design by Ryan Day. 

Produced by arrangement with Music Theatre International, New York.

The New Line Film Series presents MACK THE KNIFE, a film version of The Threepenny Opera, on Weds., June 17 at 7:00 p.m. at the Marcelle Theater, during the run of New Line’s Urinetown.

SEASON TICKETS

Season tickets are on sale NOW, and single tickets go on sale in September. New Line’s mainstage shows and the new film series will be in the company’s home, the Marcelle Theater, in the Grand Center Arts District.

There are three kinds of subscriptions. The First Look Subscription contains tickets for only the Thursday preview for each show. These tickets cannot be exchanged for other dates. Each Regular Subscription includes one ticket for each show in the season. You can use each ticket for any performance date during the run of that show. Each Flex Subscription includes three Flex tickets that you can use at any time for any show during the entire season — use all three tickets for one show or spread them out over the season, however you want! The deadline for ordering season tickets is Sept. 2, 2019.

To order season tickets for the three mainstage shows, Cry-Baby, Head Over Heels, and Urinetown, go to http://www.newlinetheatre.com/purchase/index.php.

BUT WAIT, THERE’S MORE… Save the dates for The Second Annual New Line Trivia Night, on Friday, Sept. 13, at the Richmond Heights Community Center; and The 19th Annual New Line Holiday Dinner, on Weds. Dec. 4, at Favazza’s Restaurant on The Hill. Reservations for the dinner are required.

THE 2019-2020 NEW LINE SEASON AT A GLANCE

Sept. 13, 2019 – Second Annual New Line Trivia Night

Sept. 26-Oct. 19, 2019 – Cry-Baby *

Oct. 9, 2019 – Film Series: Cry-Baby

Dec. 4, 2019 – 19th Annual New Line Holiday Dinner

Jan. 6, 2020 – Free Public Reading of Bloody King Oedipus

Mar. 5-28, 2020 – Head Over Heels *

Mar. 18, 2020 – Film Series: Absolute Beginners

June 4-27, 2020 Urinetown *

June 15, 2020 – Auditions for 30th Season

June 17, 2020 – Film Series: Mack the Knife

June 22, 2020 – Auditions for 30th Season

* These three shows are included in the season ticket package.

ABOUT NEW LINE THEATRENew Line Theatre is a professional company dedicated to involving the people of the St. Louis region in the exploration and creation of daring, provocative, socially and politically relevant works of musical theatre. New Line was created back in 1991 at the vanguard of a new wave of nonprofit musical theatre just starting to take hold across the country. New Line has given birth to several world premiere musicals over the years and has brought back to life several shows that were not well served by their original New York productions. Altogether, New Line has produced 88 musicals since 1991, and the company has been given its own entry in the Cambridge Guide to American Theatre and the annual Theater World. New Line receives support from the Regional Arts Commission, the Missouri Arts Council, a state agency, the Kranzberg Arts Foundation, and the Grand Center Arts District.

New Line also continues its partnership with the Webster University Department of Music and their Bachelor of Music in Music Direction for Musical Theatre degree program.

For more information, visit www.newlinetheatre.com.