St. Louis Theater Reviews

Review: Jeanna De Waal Dazzles in ANYTHING GOES at The Muny
by James Lindhorst - August 21, 2024

ANYTHING GOES is a perfect production to end the Muny season. It is filled with energetic dancing, superb performances, lots of laughs, and that splendid Cole Porter score. Marcia Milgrom Dodge, her cast, and crew have knocked it out of the park. It’s not just a hit, it’s a home run! ...

Review: St. Louis Fringe Fest '24
by James Lindhorst - August 19, 2024

St. Louis Fringe Fest ‘24 is in the books. According to St. Lou Fringe President and Artistic Director Matthew Kerns preshow announcements the festival continues to grow and received over 90 applications from artists requesting to participate. Over six days 40 acts took one of the stages in the Gran...

Review: LONGING at The Gaslight Theatre
by James Lindhorst - August 19, 2024

LONGING is a fantastic case study in social media messaging and alternate reality romances. Lewy’s dialogue driven script is smart, plausible, and convincing. Bush elicits honest portrayals from Eslamian and Debardeleben, and both actors generate potent sexual tension with their brave all-in perform...

Review: [TITLE OF SHOW] at Kranzberg Black Box
by James Lindhorst - August 18, 2024

First and foremost, I go to the theatre to be entertained. A show doesn’t have to be complex, have an agenda, or try to teach the audience a moral to be enjoyable. It’s perfectly acceptable, and usually preferential, to simply be entertained. Prism Theater Company’s [title of show] is an amusing div...

Review: CANDLELIGHT DINNER and THE REASON WHY at Greenfinch Theater and Dive Bar
by James Lindhorst - August 17, 2024

The satirical CANDLIGHT DINNER and the profoundly moving THE REASON WHY are part of Chorus of Fools “Twice Upon a Stage” that plays the Greenfinch Theatre and dive bar through the weekend. CANDLELIGHT DINNER is not laugh out loud funny but has plenty of ridiculous situational adult humor thanks to J...

Review: St. Louis Shakespeare Festival Visits Local Parks with Their Engaging Traveling Production of THE TEMPEST
by James Lindhorst - August 12, 2024

There are two words that describe this outstanding production: stagecraft and storytelling. Ridgley, his talented troupe of six actors, and his designers have collaborated to create a fun and engaging production. Throughout the month of August, Ridgely and his troupe of actors are traveling the bi-s...

Review: LIFE UPON THE WICKED STAGE is a Trio of One Act Plays by Tennessee Williams Now Playing at The Curtain Call Lounge
by James Lindhorst - August 11, 2024

The production is artfully directed by Brian Hohlfeld, and skillfully acted Julie Layton (Annabelle), Donna Weinstein (Chanteuse/Mrs. O’Fallon), Julia Crump (Babe), Gary Barker (Richard/Mitch/Joe), and Dominic DeCicco (Paul/Jim/Dennis). The short plays move briskly on a simple set that Hohlfeld adap...

Review: The Muny Premiere of IN THE HEIGHTS Captures the Emotional Heart of Lin-Manuel Miranda's Groundbreaking Musical
by James Lindhorst - August 11, 2024

The Muny debut of IN THE HEIGHTS is a fantastic production of Lin Manuel-Miranda's Tony award winning musical. Angulo has directed a production that captures the emotional heart of Miranda’s story. He makes an enormous splash with the big musical numbers. The choreography is exciting, and the dancin...

Review: CAT ON A HOT TIN ROOF at The Grandel Opens the 9th Annual Tennessee Williams Festival St. Louis
by James Lindhorst - August 10, 2024

The 9th Annual Tennessee Williams Festival St. Louis opened on Thursday evening with stunning production of CAT ON A HOT TIN ROOF. Acclaimed director Michael Wilson has tailored a blistering production with a talented group of local actors to tell Williams’ story of lies deceit, sexual repression, s...

Review: RUTHLESS! at Tower Grove Abbey
by Rob Levy - August 06, 2024

Ruthless! is a snarling commentary on the trappings of fame. Loaded with laughs, over-the-top characters and plenty of high drama, it is a quirky and quick on its feet musical loaded with gleeful shenanigans....

Review: BIG MACHINE at The Marcelle
by James Lindhorst - August 05, 2024

Fly North Theatrical’s production of Colin Healy’s BIG MACHINE has a polished and professional look. The cast has strong acting talent. They create memorable characters and deliver better-than-average vocal performances. Credit Rohlf’s direction and Healy’s music direction for the cast’s preparation...

Review: THE CONVERSATION ABOUT THE KEYS PART I: TIM WITHOUT THALIA and CASH FLOW at Kranzberg Black Box
by James Lindhorst - August 04, 2024

First Run Theatre opened their mainstage season on Friday evening with the world premiere of two one act plays, THE CONVERSATION ABOUT THE KEYS, PART I: TIM WITHOUT THALIA by Yu-Li Alice Shen and CASH FLOW by Marjorie Williamson. Both new plays were directed by Phil Wright and take a humorous look a...

Review: St. Louis Stages Thrills with DISNEY'S NEWSIES in an Exhilarating New Production
by James Lindhorst - August 01, 2024

This STAGES St. Louis production of Disney’s NEWSIES is a thrilling production on a grand scale with a large cast and phenomenal production value. In her debut as choreographer of a full-blown professional production Lindsay Joy Lancaster electrified the sold-out Kirkwood Performing Arts Center with...

Review: The Muny's WAITRESS is a Sweet Slice of Musical Theater Pie
by James Lindhorst - August 01, 2024

WAITRESS is another must-see musical production in the Muny’s 106th season. Brown’s direction is incredible. She accomplishes the near impossible staging an intimate musical on a massive stage. Credit her and the entire technical team for pulling off miraculous Muny magic. Vosk is brilliant. The ent...

Review: RED at New Jewish Theatre is a Stimulating Story About an Artist and His Art
by James Lindhorst - July 27, 2024

The New Jewish Theatre’s production of John Logan’s RED is sensational. Knoll’s directorial vision immerses the audience into Rothko’s studio, his painting techniques, and his fragile mind. Harris and Petrillo’s phenomenal portrayal and the production staff’s sensational work create a stimulating an...

Review: The Muny Honors Tradition with a Classic Performance of FIDDLER ON THE ROOF
by James Lindhorst - July 21, 2024

What did our critic think of FIDDLER ON THE ROOF at The Muny?What can be said about an absolutely perfect production of one of the most well written musicals of all time? Hurling superlatives seems cliché but there is nothing about The Muny’s latest offering of the classic FIDDLER ON THE ROOF that c...

Review: CASCADE'S FIRE Presented by The Tesseract Theatre Company at The Marcelle
by James Lindhorst - July 21, 2024

Often new works at festivals, both plays and musicals, are unoriginal and rely on conventions that are commonly used. CASCADE’S FIRE is an adventurous undertaking that deserves to be seen. Gruenloh’s book is unconventional, and his lyrics are remarkable in their originality. Wernke’s piano score cre...

Review: MICHAEL MALIAKEL Impresses with Flawless Vocals at Blue Strawberry
by James Lindhorst - July 19, 2024

The quality of Maliakel’s voice is flawless with elegant tone and timbre. His phrasing is impeccable. His diction is magnificent. He possesses a resonant multi-octave range with rich and delicious vowels. Oh, those vowels! His elongated and euphonious Es in the titular song from “She Loves Me” rever...

Review: 10TH ANNUAL LABUTE NEW THEATER FESTIVAL at St. Louis Actors' Studio
by James Lindhorst - July 14, 2024

The 10th Annual LaBute New Theatre Festival runs through July 28th at The Gaslight Theater. Jayne Hannah’s “Love in the Time of Nothing” is and inspirational love story that will tug at your heartstrings. It is magnificent in its storytelling convention and is the play of the festival that cannot be...

Review: Midnight Company Presents Harold Pinter's OLD TIMES at At The Chapel
by James Lindhorst - July 13, 2024

Holt's direction is sharp. Backer, Hanrahan and Howe’s snappy line delivery, awkward silence, and discernible discomfort make for fantastic performances. But Pinter’s script is just too murky for my taste. Kate and Anna’s relationship is hazy. What happened between them remains vague. Deeley’s acqua...

Review: Tesseract Theatre's MY HEART SAYS GO at The Marcelle
by James Lindhorst - July 12, 2024

Gunn, Corpuz, Urday, Wilkinson and company delivered a compelling and entertaining production of the new musical MY HEART SAYS GO. The mundanities with the score and book are what keep this production from really soaring. Indigo’s coming-of-age story is not particularly different from what has been ...

Review: Disney Magic Meets Muny Magic in a Fairytale Production of DISNEY'S THE LITTLE MERMAID
by James Lindhorst - July 11, 2024

The Muny’s production of Disney’s THE LITTLE MERMAID is a visually stunning explosion of color. Director John Tartaglia, his actors and technical teams collaborate to tell a memorable story that feels more animated movie than live musical theater. It is Tartaglia’s vision and leadership, the enthusi...

Review: CARMEN at Union Avenue Opera
by Steve Callahan - July 08, 2024

Saint Louis’ Union Avenue Opera is celebrating the start of it’s thirtieth year with a superb production of Bizet’s Carmen!  (Thirty years—that’s twenty-nine seasons.  Like everyone else Union Avenue was “dark” in 2020.)  Thirty years of ever-increasing excellence in this most challenging of musical...

Review: ROMANOV FAMILY YARD SALE at Kranzberg Black Box Theater
by James Lindhorst - July 07, 2024

ROMANOV FAMILY YARD SALE has as many laughs as the stuff the family is trying to purge. While there is always “another funny bit,” the story works because the audiences’ hearts beat in unison with their new friends the Romanovs. It is an immersive theatrical experience that is oddly patriotic and fi...

Review: 'CENTER STAGE' AT OTSL at Opera Theatre Of Saint Louis
by Steve Callahan - July 03, 2024

It’s like the dreamiest dessert cart one could imagine after the glorious musical meal of OTSL’s four main productions this summer....