THE WOMAN IN BLACK • The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis

There’s nothing like a good old-fashioned ghost story when the weather just starts to cool. This one ran for 33 years at the Fortune Theatre in London’s West End before taking its final bow in March of 2023. The Woman in Black, adapted by Stephen Mallatratt from Susan Hill’s 1983 novel, has been touring regionally and internationally for decades, and now the tale is being told here in a staging of the original London production, continuing The Rep’s 59th season.

CLYDE’S • The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis

In playwright Lynn Nottage’s 2021 comedy, the ex-cons aiming for a fresh start working at Clyde’s have found themselves out of the frying pan and into the fire, more like purgatory, of a dingy truck stop sandwich joint. Their boss, who shares a criminal past and the sandwich shop’s name, strikes fear into the hearts of her crew and could perhaps best be described as evil incarnate.

GRUESOME PLAYGROUND INJURIES • The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis

Doug and Kayleen meet in the nurse’s office at school when they’re eight years old. He’s busted up his face after riding his bike off the school roof, and she’s got stomach problems. There’s a curious examination of each other’s wounds, external and internal, carried out with all of the contrary ardor and aversion of children, and a bond is formed. The play unfolds in non-chronological scenes spanning their decades-long friendship as they drift apart, reconnect, and attempt to mend the other’s hurts.

Gruesome Playground Injuries marks the return of the Steve Woolf Studio Series, and the intimate Strauss Black Box Theatre at the Kirkwood Performing Arts Center is a perfect spot for it. Playwright Rajiv Joseph balances humor and poignancy during his sequence of vignettes, but we don’t end up learning a ton about the hapless protagonists during its 80-minute exploration of shared damages. Luckily, the direction and performances keep the play from wearing out its welcome.

ANGELS IN AMERICA PART TWO: PERESTROIKA • The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis

“If the snake sheds his skin before a new skin is ready, naked he will be in the world, prey to the forces of chaos.” This is a line delivered by the “oldest living Bolshevik” at the start of Perestroika, Part Two of Angels in America. It’s a fitting image for the events that play out in the culmination of Tony Kushner’s Pulitzer Prize-winning play, as the folks we met in Part One continue to cross paths, forming unlikely and often hilarious duos, shoved into chaos by the unavoidable momentum of change.

ANGELS IN AMERICA PART ONE: MILLENNIUM APPROACHES • The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis

It’s been over 25 years since Tony Kushner’s Angels in America opened on Broadway, but the Rep’s season opening production of this two-part epic is confirmation of its enduring potency. It’s set in the 1980s during the apex of the AIDS crisis (and the Reagan administration’s lack of urgency in responding to it), but like most classics, there are far-sighted echoes throughout that resonate today. From anxiety about the environment and the cruelty of personal and political self-interests, to the little triumphs of hopeful persistence in the face of fear and uncertainty, the characters in Kushner’s script navigate individual turmoil between the blurred lines of cold realities and fantastical visions, taking on a heavy load, but never straying from a sharp sense of humor. The subtitle, A Gay Fantasia on National Themes, winks at the play’s overall topics, but gives no hint of its remarkable ability to be as expansive as it is intimate. Under Tony Speciale’s graceful direction and a superb cast, Angels in America: Millennium Approaches, stimulates the senses.

OSLO • The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis

In a White House Rose Garden ceremony in 1993, the Oslo I Accord, an effort that sought to bring an eventual end to the ongoing conflict between Israel and Palestine, was signed. A play about the events that led up to the Accords may seem like dry material, but any qualms about that will be gone minutes into the first scene. Under Steven Woolf’s tight direction of a dynamic cast, the Rep’s production of playwright J.T. Rogers’ partially fictionalized retelling is a thriller that takes you underneath what was happening on the surface -- to back-channel diplomacy and sky-high stakes, with a perfect measure of humor.

EVITA • The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis

There’s a slip of the tongue from Eva Duarte de Perón in “A New Argentina,” as she tries to ease her husband’s qualms about his presidential bid when she concedes, “We'll ... you'll be handed power on a plate.” In Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber’s biographical rock opera, the acquisition of power is something Eva Perón made her guiding principle since she was a kid. After chasing a career in stage, radio and film acting, she met Colonel Juan Perón and the two were married a year later.

THE CURIOUS INCIDENT OF THE DOG IN THE NIGHT-TIME • The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis

The Rep kicks off its 51st season with Simon Stephens’ Tony Award-winning play, based on Mark Haddon’s 2003 novel. The Curious Incident revolves around Christopher Boone, a 15-year-old boy and his quest to figure out who killed his neighbor’s dog. During his search, he runs across a more elusive puzzle that sends him from Swindon to London. Christopher has an astonishing mind for mathematics, a fascination for the constellations of the night sky, and a love for his pet rat Toby, but he doesn’t do physical contact and is prone to sensory overload. Taxed by conversation, he has no use for metaphors -- he's acutely literal in the way he takes in the world. The play hinges on this performance, and an excellent, endearing Nick LaMedica sinks into this demanding role with a fixed gaze that implies his mind's wheels turning, and tight shoulders and a contorted face when his routines are disturbed or his surroundings start to close in.

FOLLIES • The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis

The Rep’s 50th anniversary season kickoff was met with a palpable buzz -- and for good reason. While comfortably residing within the canon of Sondheim musicals, Follies is not often produced, but the Rep has pulled out all the stops on this one in an impressive reminder of why this musical is so cherished.

It’s 1971, and the home of the “Weismann's Follies” has long since seen its last lavish production number, and a reunion is taking place. Set designer, Luke Cantarella’s gorgeous backdrop of the dilapidated Weismann Theatre, is where the shadows of yesteryear mingle with the present talk of glamorous days gone by, and attempts to reverse the past bring regret. With a nimble cast of 28, including four sharp leads, a sweet 12-piece orchestra and Rob Ruggiero’s shrewd direction, the Rep’s production of this classic is a definitive one.

THE LION IN WINTER • The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis

If you think the recent holidays were stressful for your family, trust me -- it’s nothing compared to the rancor going on in James Goldman’s 1966 dramatic comedy, “The Lion in Winter.” Historic tidbits inspired the playwright, a lover of history, to create this fictionalized account of King Henry II of England and his medieval Royal Family’s contentious battle for the throne.

It’s 1183, and the aging Henry (Jeffrey King) is holding the Royal Christmas Court at his Chinon Castle in France. Henry’s limp from a bad leg is overcome by the audacious but charming nature that King gives the character. Carol Schultz is, like Henry, aging, but sharp as a tack and sentimental as a vigilant Eleanor of Aquitaine, Henry’s wife, who is allowed a discharge from her imprisonment (it’s the holidays) to partake in some spirited and savage sparring about which of their three sons should take the crown.

ANGEL STREET (GASLIGHT) • The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis

It’s the perfect time of year for the Rep’s current Mainstage production -- right when Autumn’s chill starts to set in. Patrick Hamilton’s dramatic thriller premiered on the West End in 1938 under the simple name, “Gas Light,” but opened under the title “Angel Street” when it debuted in New York a few years later. The popularity of the play and the film adaptations that followed, resulted in the coining of the term “gas-lighting,” defined as “a form of mental abuse in which information is twisted or spun, selectively omitted to favor the abuser, or false information is presented with the intent of making victims doubt their own memory, perception, and sanity.”

That’s precisely what’s going down in the gloomy Manningham home on Angel Street in 1880’s London.

ALL THE WAY • The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis

Civil rights, the Constitution, race riots and the bare-knuckle business of politics. If you didn’t know any better, you’d think that the focal points that take center stage in Robert Schenkkan’s Tony award winning play were set in the present. But “All the Way” covers the first 11 months of Lyndon B. Johnson’s Presidency in 1963, immediately following the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. It’s fictional, but the Rep’s strapping 49th season opener is based on true events, and the themes in this local premiere take you by surprise with a resonance that’s eerie, and frankly, quite sobering.

LBJ’s strategic maneuvering to get the Civil Rights Act of 1964 passed is a testament to his tenacity, fighting tooth and nail to bend Congress to his will.

OPUS • The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis

While members of a string quartet may enjoy more autonomy than members of an orchestra, the strong opinions of an intimate group of talented musicians is a ready mixture for conflict.  Michael Hollinger, a violist-turned-playwright, takes a look at the inner-workings of the fictional "Lazara Quartet" in his 2006 play, "Opus", currently receiving a slick production at the Rep.

During a brief introduction to the original members of the quartet -- violinists, Elliot (Joseph O'Neil) and Alan (Greg Jackson), violist Dorian (Matthew Boston) and cellist Carl (Chris Hietikko), the love for the music and their instruments rings true, and their predicament of losing Dorian who has recently disappeared, becomes apparent.  We begin as Grace (Rachael Jenison), an incredibly talented young violist, auditions for Dorian's spot and impresses the group with her sight-reading.  She is offered the job on the spot, but is also considering a job as principal viola at the Pittsburgh Symphony.  She ends up taking the job in the quartet, opting not to be a "slave to the baton",  and though she's excited for the unique opportunity, she's also a little anxious about joining this group -- aware of the notoriously contentious dynamics within quartets in general, and this one in particular.  With a televised appearance at the White House coming up in less than a week, rehearsals begin immediately and it's crucial that Grace learn the music, and gain her footing within the Lazara Quartet quickly.

THE MOUSETRAP • The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis

The season's first snowfall this past week in St. Louis provided the perfect setting for the Rep's current production, Agatha Christie’s “The Mousetrap”.  A month ago I mentioned that "The Woman in Black" was the second longest-running non-musical play in the history of London's West End.  Well, "The Mousetrap", at over 25,000 performances, is numero uno.  Originally a radio broadcast written in 1947 for Queen Elizabeth, it premiered onstage in 1952, and has been running ever since.  The plot is pretty simple -- guests at an English manor house are snowed in while there's a murderer on the loose, yet the production at the Rep elicits the play's snug, straightforward charm that displays why, after 60 years, this lesser play of Christie's is her most popular.

CABARET • The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis

The Rep is starting its 47th season with a stunning production of "Cabaret", winner of eight Tony Awards when it premiered in 1966.  The original source material for "Cabaret" was Christopher Isherwood's 1939 semi-autobiographical short novel, "Goodbye to Berlin".  This was adapted into John Van Druten's play, "I Am a Camera" in 1951.

There have been many takes on this classic about 1930's Berlin and the excesses enjoyed by the free-spirits at the Kit Kat Club whose eyes remain shut to Hitler's rise to power, but this Rep production, brilliantly directed and choreographed by Marcia Milgrom Dodge, is absorbing and vibrantly fresh with an ominously beguiling tone.

GOOD PEOPLE • The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis

The Rep. continues its season with David Lindsay-Abaire's sincere and timely look at the underclass.  It centers on Margaret (Denise Cormier), who's a little down on her luck.  Not that she seems to have had much of that to begin with.  But is it luck, circumstances of fate, or a willingness to work hard for what you want?  

Margaret's a "Southie" -- residing in a working class south Boston neighborhood and known as Margie with a hard "g" to her friends.  When the play begins, she has been called out into the alley behind the Family Dollar store where she works by her younger boss, Stevie (Aaron Orion Baker), to be fired.  Margie's been repeatedly late, and Stevie is starting to catch some heat from his boss.  She tries to explain to him that along with the unreliability of public transport, her adult and developmentally disabled daughter, Joyce, requires a sitter when she's away, and her caretaker isn't always on time.

THE FOREIGNER • The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis

Larry Shue's 1984 play is a charming, funny, feel-good affair, perfect for the holiday season, and it's currently getting a splendid production at the Rep, under Edward Stern's spot-on direction.

Everything takes place at Betty Meeks's fishing lodge in small town Georgia.  Englishman Charlie Baker (John Scherer) needs a little time away from the grind of his life.  His wife is ill and hospitalized back home, and in addition to nursing her, he's tired of his job as a proofreader for science-fiction magazines, so his buddy "Froggy" (Brent Langdon) has taken him to the lodge for a little rest and relaxation.  Froggy, an ammunitions expert in the military, has become good friends with Betty, the owner of the lodge, and this getaway has become one of Froggy's favorite places.  The thing is though, Charlie is painfully shy and rather uninteresting.  His wife once described him as being "shatteringly boring".  Ouch!!  She's not the most faithful wife in the world, but Charlie still loves her.  He's also terrified of conversation, so in order to try to spare his friend of the possible horrors that interaction might bring, Froggy tells Betty that Charlie is from another country and doesn't understand English.  He figures that way, everyone will leave him alone.

SUNDAY IN THE PARK WITH GEORGE • The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis

Often when I'm writing blog posts, I try to remind myself not to use too many adjectives.  And then there's this post…  I'm not even sure where to start it's so good.

The Rep. is currently presenting Stephen Sondheim (my hero) and James Lapine’s achingly beautiful Sunday in the Park with George, and this production, exceptionally directed by Rob Ruggiero, is impressive.  The "George" of the title is French painter, Georges Seurat.  Seurat developed a technique of painting called pointillism in the 1880's, in which small dots of basic color are juxtaposed to form different hues when viewed from a distance.  This Pulitzer Prize, Tony Award winning musical uses Seurat's masterpiece (a two-year effort), "A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte", as a jumping off point, but this show is about way more than just a painting.  It's about one of Sondheim's favorite themes -- human connection (and/or the lack of being able to obtain it).

GOD OF CARNAGE • The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis

All of us have, at some point, had one of those, "Man, what an effed up evening that was!  What the hell just happened?" kind of experiences.  This play is kinda like that.  Written by Yasmina Reza and translated from French by Christopher Hampton, it opened on Broadway in 2009, scoring Tony Awards for best play, best actress and best direction.

The Raleighs are getting together at the Brooklyn home of the Novak's because the Novak's son has had two teeth knocked out as a result of a playground fight with the Raleigh's kid.  <-- Yes, really long sentence.  Alan Raleigh (Anthony Marble) is a lawyer, constantly interrupting the proceedings with cell phone calls about a drug he's representing that has recently been found to cause some bothersome side-effects.  His wife Annette (Susan Louise O'Connor) deals in wealth management.  Veronica Novak (Eva Kaminsky) is writing a book about Darfur, and her husband Michael Novak (Triney Sandoval) sells domestic hardware.  They meet each other with the best of intentions, but with the help of ample amounts of rum, these four upper-middle class adults jettison their civilized guises to expose their untamed and wickedly universal selves underneath.

RED • The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis

"What do you see?"

That's the first question painter Mark Rothko poses, almost pleads, to his new apprentice Ken in the opening minutes of the Rep's scorching season opener, John Logan's RED.

Mark Rothko's "multiforms" led to the development of Color Field Painting in the 1940's and 50's.  Although he is considered a master abstract expressionist, he shunned labels of any kind applied to his style.  You know -- that temperamental artist thing.

The play takes place in Rothko's 1950's art studio after he's been given a $35,000 commission (over $2 million today) to paint a series of murals for Manhattan's new Four Seasons restaurant.  Ken, an aspiring young artist himself, has been hired as Rothko's assistant.  He does everything from fetching Chinese food and preparing Rothko's canvases, to being a sounding board for the master and his intellectual ramblings.  Before Ken even has a chance to answer Rothko's initial question, he's given instructions on how to perceive his art -- "Let it work on you.  Let it pulsate.  Now what do you see?".