Pages

Sunday, October 28, 2018

MACBETH: COME LIKE SHADOWS • Rebel And Misfits Productions

Rebel And Misfits transports audiences to the middle of a pulsing, modernized interpretation of Macbeth in the third installment of its Immersive Theatre Project, where a roughly 10 minute bus ride lands you at Inverness -- a historic, red brick Gothic chancel of graffiti, brick piles and half pipes. Shakespeare’s 17th century tragedy is well known -- a prophesy delivered to Generals Macbeth and Banquo by three witches sets Macbeth and his wife on a murderous pursuit of the crown. This production is a magical but dystopian one, that bends toward the political themes in the play and emphasizes the destructive trappings of power, while filling out a backstory on the players, giving you different perspectives on familiar characters. Its immersive component places you within the performance itself, meaning you’ll be on your feet wandering amongst the cast, where you may have a warning whispered in your ear, a note placed in your hand, or find yourself with a seat at the royal table.

Wednesday, October 24, 2018

The Coming Out Play Festival • The Q Collective

There’s a new theatre company in town, newly launched by local actor Sean Michael -- a familiar face to New Line Theatre audiences. The Q Collective will explore gender, sexuality, and orientation, with an emphasis on the development of local playwrights and composers. They take up the torch ignited by Briefs, a short play festival developed by Joan Lipkin, artistic director of That Uppity Theatre Company. Produced in partnership with Vital VOICE Magazine, Briefs featured LGBT-centric works and staged dozens of new plays during its 6 years. The Q Collective’s inaugural festival included eight short plays, culled from 66 submissions, exploring the coming out experience.

Sunday, October 14, 2018

RAGING SKILLET • New Jewish Theatre

Thorny mother and daughter relationships have been at the center of comedies and dramas for forever. But Jewish mothers? Oof, right? NJT opens its 22nd season with a comedy that’s salty and sweet, based on the life of Chef Rossi, the catering director, owner and executive chef of “The Raging Skillet” in NYC. A self-proclaimed punk-rock caterer, Chef Rossi’s memoir/recipe book was adapted into a play by Jacques Lamarre, recounting vivid childhood memories, unruly teenage years, and skirmishes with male chauvinism in bars and kitchens.

Sunday, October 7, 2018

THE LITTLE FOXES • St. Louis Actors' Studio

The Southern home of the Giddens family has a whiff of new money to it, but siblings Ben Hubbard (Chuck Brinkley), Oscar Hubbard (Bob Gerchen) and Regina Giddens (Kari Ely) have a deep capacity for what they’d do to get more. The shameless avarice going on in Lillian Hellman’s classic family drama stands in stark contrast to the elegant attire and lilting drawls in St. Louis Actors’ Studio’s season opener. With sharp performances by director John Contini’s robust cast, The Little Foxes, debuting back in 1939, proves greed never goes out of fashion.