James Lindhorst - Page 8

“Moments, A Muny Docuseries” is the brainchild of Colby Dezelick, The Muny’s Digital Communications Manager. He told Broadway World that this documentary series will focus on the century long history of The Muny. He shared that episode will examine specific moments in the timeline of The Muny and the blind courage it took to create an outdoor performance space that has now become a legendary theater. In fact, the first episode is titled “Blind Courage.” As part of the production process Dezelick hand selected St. Louis Actor Rich Pisarkiewicz to serve as the narrator for the series. 

MINDGAME is the current offering from Albion Theatre Company. Albion closes its inaugural season with another exceptional production directed by the company’s artistic director Robert Ashton. Once again, Ashton proves he has outstanding vision as a director and is a masterful storyteller. Production after production, he ensures his cast and crew are thoroughly prepared to present a polished product and MINDGAME is no exception. Ashton has well-rehearsed his trio of actors and they marvelously deliver on Horowitz’s script that is laden with psychobabble. His leadership has resulted in an incredibly satisfying production of Horowitz’s only full-length play with exceptional performances from his cast.

Captivating describes her presence. Magnificent describes her ability to sell a song. Compelling describes her skill at storytelling. On Friday night at Blue Strawberry Showroom and Lounge Tony Award Winner and Broadway veteran Beth Leavel charmed an audience of adoring St. Louis fans with her hilarious anecdotes and her marvelous vocal performances.  

The world premiere production of SEE YOU IN A MINUTE is compelling because of its relevance, its intelligent and well-written script, the sharp direction, and the terrific performances from all the actors.

What did our critic think of Dr. Ride's American Beach House at The Gaslight Theatre?

What did our critic think of THE IMMIGRANT at The New Jewish Theatre?

Billed as ‘A Chilling Night of One Acts,’ the PPA Alumni Theatre Company, has delivered two fantastic productions of well-written One Act plays featuring incredible performances and outstanding direction. Both doolin’s WAITING FOR HECATE and Satterfield and Nonemaker’s THE PRIVILEGE OF BEING SECOND deserve additional productions to find a wider audience. These two One Act plays are among the biggest surprises of the 2023 St. Louis Theatre Season.

The best of the production stemmed from the performances that Rios’ helped her actors create. Tiélere Cheatem’s turn as Puck was as magical as the tricks Puck plays on the characters in the play. Cheatem luminous stage presence made it impossible to take your eyes off of them.

Director Tom Kopp’s sharp and brisk direction keeps things moving on the small stage at the .Zack Theater. He smartly uses Brad Slavik’s static set design to ensure the limited space never seems overcrowded with four or five actors in a scene. His collaboration with his team of actors and technicians creates an effective palate for storytelling.

What made this evening with Pascal and his guitar extraordinary was his storytelling. He shared details about his career, his struggles, his successes and the choices he has made along the way. His very personal account of his dreams and aspirations were engrossing and filled with humor and plenty of laughs. This is a man who has elevated a one-man acoustic show into a performance that is beyond what most artists can achieve with a cabaret show. His fans came for the theatre tunes, relished the rock performances, delighted in his stories, and left with treasured memories of their intimate evening with the Adam Pascal.

Kelly Howe follows up her incredible performance as Linda Ronstadt with another dynamic rock ‘n roll performance highlighting her immense range. She uses every type of timbre and quality from falsetto to chest/head voice and belt. While the song set won’t be revealed in this review in order to keep some of the mysterious fun of production, Howe does get to tear into the music of Jimi Hendrix, The Animals, Led Zeppelin, Tears for Fears, Patti Smith and Roy Orbison. Howe’s big voice delivers and rocks the house in a Stevie Nicks-esque performance. The music she and Hanrahan chose to include in this show offers something for everyone across generations of music lovers. The musical highlight of the night was 1978 hit “Because the Night” by The Patti Smith Band that was again covered in 1993 by 10,000 Maniacs featuring Natalie Merchant on vocals. Howe slayed this song while the audience nodded along with the drumbeat. One thing is certain, Howe knows how to deliver a rock ‘n roll song with grand panache.

Blue Strawberry Showroom and Lounge will welcome Tony Nominee Adam Pascal for three shows on October 3rd, 4th, and 5th. Check out our interview with the Rent original cast member here!

STAGES St. Louis has resurrected the spirits of Elvis, Johnny Cash, Carl Perkins and Jerry Lee Lewis in a dazzling, high energy and flashy production of MILLION DOLLAR QUARTET. This show is musical theatre perfection from top to bottom. The performances are spectacular. The musicianship is masterful. The vocals are sensational. The technical theatre work is otherworldly. The entire cast, crew, and production design team have assembled a production that is in a class by itself. STAGES St. Louis has the Kirkwood Performing Arts Center (KPAC) rockin’!

October is Broadway Month at Blue Strawberry Showroom and Lounge. On October 25th and 26th, Tony Winner for JERSEY BOYS, John Lloyd Young takes the stage for two shows. The following two nights, October 27th and 28th Joe Serafini from Disney+ HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL will make his Blue Strawberry debut.

TWSTL’s SUDDENLY LAST SUMMER is a fairly well-constructed production of Tennessee William’s play. There is a lot to unpack in the 90-minute psychological drama including maternal obsession, malice, repressed homosexuality, mental illness, manipulation, pedophilia, greed, and cannibalism. Most of it works, some of it doesn’t, and leads to a conclusion that may leave the audience unsatisfied.

The Blue Strawberry welcomes Broadway and Muny veteran Beth Leavel for two cabaret performances on October 21st and 22nd. Broadway World had the opportunity to sit down with her and chat about her upcoming shows. She shared, “the audience will get to hear stories and songs from my sordid career.” Leavel continued, “there will be moments that will surprise you and some stories that you haven’t heard before that have actually happened.” She added the show is filled with lots of laughs and some great showtunes.

Schwetye’s vision is brought to life by the crisp direction of Lucy Capshion. Her brisk blocking moves the actors from scene to scene across the two time periods with ease. Capshion effectively guides the energetic performances of her actors so the audience can clearly distinguish which of the two characters each is portraying.

This production of KINKY BOOTS by is a show with a lot of heart and a few too many technical glitches, especially related to the mics and sound design. Director Taylor Gruenloh, his cast, and crew get a lot right with this production. Good performances, fun choreography, and some inventive staging made this production of KINKY BOOTS entertaining, especially for those who love this show. Gruenloh didn’t take the easy route, keeping many of the fun elements from the original Broadway Production, and adapting them to a much smaller performance space. The upbeat Act One closer, ‘Everybody say Yeah,’ and early second act doozy ‘In this Corner’ were staged with all the intricacies and blocking of the original production. The presentation and choreography of these big numbers illustrate that with directorial vision a streamlined version of a big musical does not have to sacrifice memorable elements. But what was sacrificed was the energy and strong performances from the ensemble and featured players. Their mics were either left too low or not turned on, perhaps to avoid feedback or other issues. As a result, the dialogue, solos, and background vocals from the ensemble were often lost, significantly reducing the overall energy from the ensemble, not allowing this good production to achieve greatness.

Glass Elevator’s inaugural production of a 60-minute play of caustic humor showed that this company has an artistic vision that needs to be explored further. The St. Louis arts community may have a budding theatre group to add to the robust and growing number of companies who produce plays and musicals of high quality.

The Muny has delivered a big, bold, over-the-top production of delightful disco divinity that exceeds every expectation. Credit Director and Choreographer Dennis Jones for his directorial vision and collaboration with the entire production team. He, and The Muny’s casting partners at The Telsey Office, have assembled a phenomenal cast with loads of talent, who supply big laughs, and deliver exceptional vocal performances while executing on Jones’ spirited choreography. The acting is superb. Every member of this onstage company performs at their highest level. The orchestrations are first rate. The choreography is amusing and animated. The scenic design is grandiose. The interior of the gothic church on the large Muny turntable is cathedral-like. Huge accolades to the Muny’s costume shop and costume designer Leon Dobkowski. The vintage 1970s costumes are flashy, colorful eye candy. The flow of Dobkowski’s costumes enhanced every movement of the energetic choreography. Shelby Leonard’s dazzling lighting design rivaled the glittery costumes and created a lighthearted and carnivalesque mood. Everything about this Muny production is miraculous.