"Ella" is on-stage at the Rep

My freelance review:

Arguably the finest female jazz singer of all time, Ella Fitzgerald comes alive again in Ella, the season closer for the Repertory Theatre of St. Louis.

The time is July 1966 and the place is a simple concert stage in Nice, France, where Ella is rehearsing for an upcoming concert to be recorded for her posterity. At the urging of her manager and friend Norman Granz, the private Ella, at age 49, relunctantly laces her performance with "patter" about her life. Ella begins to reminisce, uncovering a past her public never knew.

Actress Tina Fabrique plays Ella with a lot of gusto, charm and beauty. Her voice is quite beautiful, too, as she reenacts over twenty of Ella's classic songs.

The entire play is acted out on the same concert stage, with Fabrique on-stage throughout. Act 1 offers a stressed Ella in rehearsal recounting her first big break at the Apollo Theatre at age 17, as well as subsequent details in her career and personal life, such as her challenges in raising her son. The entire Act 2 is Ella's big show -- including more songs and patter.

We get to know a lot about Ella Fitzgerald from this play. Her life was not overly dramatic, especially compared to so many of the big stars of today. Fabrique's Ella comments, "I don't smoke, I don't drink, I don't sleep around. All I do is sing the songs."

Still, she had her share of ups and downs, including the death of her sister and the estrangement of her son.  Surprisingly, though, I didn't feel as strong of an emotional connection as I suspect there could have been had elements of Ella's patter been arranged differently.

The most memorable parts of Ella are the songs, with music ranging from the Gershwins, Irving Berlin and Cole Porter to Duke Ellington, Sonny Curtis and Johnny Mercer. Stand-out songs include "The Nearness of You," "They Can't Take That Away From Me" and "Blue Skies."

Ella plays through April 13 at the Rep.

"Rabbit Hole" is a deeply moving, great play

My freelance review:

When he was a student at the Juilliard School, David Lindsay-Abaire was taught by Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Marsha Norman that to write a great play, write about the thing that scares you the most in the world. A few years later, as a first-time father, Lindsay-Abaire identified the thing that would scare him the most in the world -- to lose a child.

In 2007, Lindsay-Abaire would become a Pulitzer Prize winning playwright for Rabbit Hole, a production of which closes the 30th season of the Repertory Theatre of St. Louis' Studio Theatre series.

And what a powerful, moving play it is! As the play opens, we discover a family life that's been torn apart by an unimaginable tragedy, the accidental death of Becca and Howie Corbett's four-year-old son. The couple is in grief and are drifting dangerously apart from one another and from the identities by which they have always defined themselves.

Their extended family includes Becca's younger sister Izzy, the wild child in local bars who strives to be the center of attention, while their mother Nat -- herself having coped with the loss of a grown son -- has a bit too much wine and bluntly shares her opinions, solicited or not.

This journey through grief and healing is bittersweet, rich and surprisingly funny at times, with most of the welcomed humor courtesy of the family eccentricities.

And the actors all do a great job, too. They come across as lovingly dysfunctional as any other family! Kudos to Victoria Adams-Zischke and Timothy McCracken as the parents, Ashley West as Izzy and Carolyn Swift as Nat.

A fifth cast member, Adam King, is a junior at Webster University's Conservatory of Theatre Arts and delivers a stunning, touching performance as Jason, the young man who was driving the car that hit and killed the Corbett's son.

The intimate nature of the 125-seat Studio Theatre works quite well for this intimate production. Solid directing comes from Jane Page in her debut at the Rep. Robert Mark Morgan's scenic design is creative, visually appealing and highly effective.

The Rep's Studio Theatre scored three great wins this season. Joining Rabbit Hole was The Clean House and The Vertical Hour. Next season's Studio Theatre plays have yet to be announced, but if this season's productions are any indication of what to expect, we will not be disappointed.

Rabbit Hole plays through Mar. 30.

"12 Angry Men" on-stage vs. film

My freelance review:

Eleven jurors are convinced that the defendant is guilty of murder. The twelfth isn't so sure, thereby preventing a quick verdict. And so starts Twelve Angry Men, the latest production at The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis.

It's the summer of 1957. Twelve male jurors from various walks of life are gathered for their deliberations while a troubled young man accused of brutally killing his aggressive father awaits his fate, as the jury was instructed that a guilty verdict would be accompanied by a mandatory death sentence. Corralled in a sweltering New York jury room, the twelve men engage in heated debate as hidden preconceptions and assumptions of the jurors are revealed.

Twelve Angry Men was initially produced as a teleplay that appeared on CBS in 1954. In 1957, it was made into a major motion picture by Sidney Lumet with Henry Fonda (as the lone dissenter) among a star-powered cast that included Lee J. Cobb, E.G. Marshall, Jack Warden, Martin Balsam, Jack Klugman and others. This now-classic film, with its extremely powerful performances and excellent cinematography, sets the bar very high -- perhaps too high.

The Rep's production, directed by Martin Platt, feels like the film version being played out on stage, with the set having a nice period feel to it and the lighting, in particular, by Dan Kotlowitz, being quite effective.

Ironically, though, there's less intimacy in the Rep's version compared to the film version; perhaps this is due to the staging -- it was hard if not impossible to see the faces of some of the jurors during key exchanges, thus distancing the audience member from some of the emotional impact. Usually theatre is more intimate than film!

As the story plays out in real time for one hour and 45 minutes, with no intermission, the dialog is taut and compelling. There were a few parts, though, where the pacing could have been slowed a bit to achieve greater dramatic effect.

Twelve Angry Men plays through Mar. 2 at the Repertory Theatre of St. Louis in Webster Groves.

Conflict and human drama in "Vertical Hour"

My freelance review:

Conflict is a central theme of The Vertical Hour, an intelligent, intriguing drama now playing at the Studio Theatre at the Repertory Theatre of St. Louis.

The play, written in 2006 by British political playwright David Hare, focuses on Nadia, a former war correspondent and now a professor of International Relations at Yale. She knows exactly what her stance is on the war in Iraq and the United States' role in world affairs. She has seen action firsthand on the battlefields of Sarajevo and Baghdad, she has advised Bush on foreign affairs, and yet she is ever-so-nervous as she accompanies her boyfriend Philip to Wales to meet his opinionated and lethally charming father, Oliver.

The theme of conflict plays out in numerous ways. There's political discord between Nadia and Oliver, who vehemently opposes the war in Iraq. There's deep-rooted father-son dissension between Oliver and Philip. And there are varying degrees of personal unrest among all three of the main characters, especially as Oliver slowly and seductively reveals his secret past to Nadia.

Director Jim O'Connor delivers an intimate and engaging production -- exactly what is needed for a show like this. Courtesy of scenic and costume designer Marie Anne Chiment, lighting designer Mark Wilson and stage manager Champe Leary, the ambience is warm and inviting, much like one might imagine at a Welsh country home. And in the Rep's creative Studio Theatre, the creative integration of the stage and the seats brings the audience right into the story. At times the actors were no more than 2-3 feet away from me!

With such an intimate, well-written and well-staged production, a lot hangs on the caliber of the acting. And I'm pleased to report that the acting is superb. Kudos to Gloria Biegler as Nadia, Anderson Matthews as Oliver and Jeremiah Wiggins as Philip.

The Vertical Hour is a thought-provoking examination of personal and political conflict. It plays through Feb. 3 at the Studio Theatre at the Repertory Theatre of St. Louis in Webster Groves.

"Tuesdays with Morrie" shines at the Rep

My freelance review:

There is so much to enjoy and appreciate in Tuesdays with Morrie, the latest production at the Repertory Theatre of St. Louis.

Based on Mitch Albom's 1997 best-selling autobiographical novel and adapted for the stage by Albom and playwright Jeffrey Hatcher, Tuesdays with Morrie is a two-actor production that offers a powerful, deeply emotional, funny and insightful story about life, death and the nature of love.

Morrie is a retired and terminally-ill college professor whose profound philosophical perspectives on life earn him notoriety on ABC's Nightline. Shortly after that happens, Mitch, one of Morrie's former students and now a successful sports reporter, visits him for the first time in 16 years, despite having promised Morrie to stay in touch after graduation.

Morrie is the type of thinker who says, "As far as men go, it is not what they are that interests me, but what they can become." He asks Mitch, "Are you being as human as you can?" This question haunts Mitch. And he returns for more conversations with Morrie on subsequent Tuesdays.

There is human drama -- including plenty of laughs -- in this production. Before our eyes, Morrie's health declines and both Morrie and Mitch become more-aware of life and living. And the bond between the two men grows to the point where the inevitable, bittersweet ending to the story plays out with great emotion.

Director Mark Cuddy pulls off a spectacular win here. Cuddy and his artistic staff leverage the intimate Rep stage and use almost no sets -- just those objects that are essential to achieve greater drama and interest from the story. One of the very few objects on stage is a large Japanese maple tree that sits outside Morrie's window. Through lighting, the tree changes color as summer transitions into fall and Morrie's health takes its final declines. Particular kudos to scenic designer Vicki Smith and lighting designer Don Darnutzer.

The performances in this production are outstanding and about as good as acting gets. As Morrie is Rep-veteran Bernie Passeltiner (who was a member of the original company of The Rep from 1966-69); as Mitch is Remi Sandri.

The Rep's production of Tuesdays with Morrie is 85 minutes long and has no intermission. The length of the production is perfect.

Tuesdays with Morrie plays through Jan. 27 at the Repertory Theatre of St. Louis in Webster Groves.

"Kiss Me, Kate" is lighthearted fare

My freelance review:

The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis has Cole Porter's classic Broadway hit Kiss Me, Kate as its lighthearted, holiday season offering.

Kiss Me, Kate is structured as a musical within a musical. The interior play is a Broadway-bound musical version of Shakespeare's The Taming of the Shrew. For its lead roles, suave and charming Fred Graham is reunited with his ex-wife, the glamorous and high-tempered Lilli Vanessi, and their backstage bickering erupts into onstage mayhem. Add in some Shakespeare-savvy gangsters who arrive to settle an old score and a couple of ensemble members who are trying to keep their romance afloat.

The Rep's production aims big. Big dance numbers and lots of Cole Porter classic songs (although, at two hours and fifteen minutes plus intermission, some judicious trimming would have helped the overall pace of the show)... huge, revolving sets... detailed, elaborate costumes.

The Rep advertises the show as "witty and romantic." While the humor in Kiss Me, Kate is indeed witty -- clever, quick and inventive, surprisingly there isn't much of a romantic feel to the production.

As one of the gangsters, Rep veteran Joneal Joplin is a scene stealer -- watch for him delivering plenty of deadpan humor wearing a sombrero during The Taming of the Shrew.

Kiss Me, Kate plays through December 28 at the Repertory Theatre of St. Louis in Webster Groves.

"The Clean House" shines

My freelance review:

The Rep doesn't get much better than this!

The Clean House, the first show of the season for the St. Louis Repertory Theatre's Studio Theatre series, is a shining gem of a production. The play delivers plenty of laughs, drama, romance and poignant human emotion.

The setting is modern-era Connecticut and the home of two busy, high-powered physicians, Lane and Charles, and their zany, young Brazilian housekeeper Matilde, a woman with a problem -- she hates to clean!

Matilde, played by Roni Geva in a rich performance that couldn't be any better, prefers trying to dream up the funniest joke in the world! Her parents, she confides, were the two funniest people in Brazil, and when they died it was left to her to be the funniest.

Enter Lane's sister Virginia who loves to clean and, in a secret deal with Matilde, arranges to take care of the cleaning behind Lane's back -- an arrangement that is just too perfect to last.

This play is chock full of laughs as the story plays out, and the laughs only get stronger in the second act when Charles brings home a patient, the free-spirited Ana (played with gusto and charm by June Gable) -- much to the dismay of his wife.

The other cast members are first-rate, too. This includes Andrea Cirie and Carol Schultz as sisters Lane and Virginia and John Rensenhouse as Charles.

The Clean House is playright Sarah Ruhl's sixth play. It won the 2004 Susan Smith Blackburn Prize, awarded annually to the best English-language play written by a woman, and was also a Pulitzer Prize finalist.

Director Susan Gregg, the Rep's Associate Artistic Director, delivers a great production of The Clean House. It's fairly obvious that Gregg and her cast and crew had a lot of fun putting the show together.

The Clean House plays through Nov. 11 at the Emerson Studio Theatre at the St. Louis Repertory Theatre in Webster Groves.

The dating game exposed

My freelance review:

Looking for an intimate theatre experience? Look no further than Bad Dates, now playing as part of the Repertory Theatre of St. Louis' Off-Ramp series.

Bad Dates is a one-actor show, with that actor playing just one character on just one set -- but when you walk out of the show, you'll feel a sense of having seen a show rich in characters and situations.

And you'll also feel good for having laughed -- a lot.

Annie Fitzpatrick delivers an outstanding performance as Haley Walker -- a 40-something single mom, newly-successful restaurateur and designer-shoe addict. As the story begins, Walker is frantically trying to find the right outfit for her first date in a long time. As she redresses herself multiple times, she explains to the audience her background and what she is up to.

That date -- the first of several -- doesn't go very well. But it's a hoot hearing the details!

Haley's conversation with the audience is interrupted only a few times -- phone calls, speaking to her off-stage teenaged daughter, or when leaving for a date. Otherwise, the focus is Haley's conversation with the audience. As with life, the conversation can be light-hearted, serious or some combination of both. Playwright Theresa Rebeck has crafted a rich, human story.

Which brings me back to Fitzpatrick. She demonstrates incredible range as an actor. At numerous points throughout the show, I was struck by her performance and how sincere your character's emotions seemed. For example, when Haley breaks down after having her heart broken, I was tempted to run on-stage to be with her!

The production plays out very well on its small stage. Haley's New York City apartment (by scenic designer Narelle Sissons) is inviting.

Director Michael Evan Haney, who directed the thrilling Witness for the Prosecution from two seasons ago and the touching The Heidi Chronicles from last season, scores another win.

Bad Dates plays through November 4 at the Grandel Theatre (3610 Grandel Square in St. Louis City) as part of the Repertory Theatre of St. Louis' Off-Ramp series.

'Dracula' delivers a good bite

My freelance review:

'Tis the season... to be spooked.

Adapted from Bram Stoker's world-famous vampire novel, Dracula is the current production at the Repertory Theatre of St. Louis, and it's definitely worth seeing. If this show doesn't get you into the spirit of Halloween, nothing will!

Particular kudos to scenic designer Paul Shortt for absolutely stunning sets. From the giant windows that open to reveal the balcony that Count Dracula leaps from... to the steps leading off to other parts of the mansion... to the transformation of the main set to the dungeon for the third act... definitely an intricate and pleasing set design!

Also contributing to the spooky atmosphere were the lighting (Kirk Bookman, lighting designer) -- was that moon glow real? -- and the eerie music (David B. Smith, composer) that would come from off-stage at just the right points.

And then there's the Count himself, played by Kurt Rhoads. Rhoads delivers a Count Dracula who's exactly as he should be -- both dashing and menacing.

The rest of cast does a good job, too, particularly Larry Bull in a supporting role. He offers a good mixture of suspense and humor in a show that delivers a surprising number of laughs.

There is one intermission between the first act and the combined second and third acts. The second and third acts go by very quickly. The pace of the show could have been improved with some judicious cutting within the first act; some of the dialog gets a bit heavy.

If you're fishing for a good show to see this Halloween season, the Rep's production of Dracula is a good bite.

Dracula plays through Nov. 4 at the Repertory Theatre of St. Louis in Webster Groves.

"History Boys" doesn't quite pass the test

My freelance review:

As the opening play of the 41st season of the Repertory Theatre of St. Louis, Alan Bennett's multiply-honored "The History Boys" doesn't quite rise to the top of the class.

And that's really disappointing, given a fundamentally good story with underlying messages that were evidently heard and appreciated as the Broadway production earned a 2006 Tony Award for Best Play.

"The History Boys" is the story of eight unruly, bright, talented and funny working class students in the north of Thatcher-era England hoping to pass their exams and secure undergraduate places for themselves at prestigious schools.

Along the way, they deal with faculty members possessing differing styles -- mainly Hector, a rambunctious, fervent teacher of language and poetry who attempts to ignite the boys' passion for knowledge and for life, and Irwin, a new teacher intent on helping the boys test well.

While the cast members offer strong individual performances, there are some distracting issues with the direction and staging of the production.

The eight classmates are presented as too much of an ensemble for the audience to be able to appreciate the individual characters. And this escalates into more of an issue as the story advances in the second act.

The rich story and dialog would have been complemented by rich, detailed sets -- or contrasted by minimalistic sets -- but the middle-of-the-road sets used give the production an inadequate feeling.

The show is presented in a very episodic -- and distracting -- style, with loud early-80's music interjected in an uncreative 'blackout/set change' manner that makes the play seem all the more episodic.

Overall, "The History Boys" doesn't quite pass the test.

"The History Boys" plays through September 30 at the Repertory Theatre of St. Louis in Webster Groves.

Elementary or not, pay close attention

My freelance review:

"Sherlock Holmes: The Final Adventure" closes out the 40th season at the Repertory Theatre of St. Louis.

I had high hopes for this show. With fond memories of last year's season closer, Agatha Christie's "Witness for the Prosecution," I was hoping for another gripping, compelling mystery.

With such high expectations, I was bound to be a bit disappointed. In fairness, though, the genres are not quite the same. What I came to appreciate from this production was that the story is less about the mystery at hand and more about the man, Sherlock Holmes.

Based on the original 1899 play by William Gillette and Arthur Conan Doyle, the show focuses on Holmes and his investigation involving a kidnapped damsel, a stack of scandalous letters and the menacing citizens of London's seamy underworld, including Holmes' arch-nemesis, the evil Professor Moriarty.

It was fun to watch Holmes put together what seem to be the most insignificant of clues. As Holmes, Joris Stuyck delivered a solid and enjoyable performance against Howard Kaye's Doctor Watson.

The story is one where you must provide your undivided attention. Let your mind wander for even a minute and you will be challenged to keep up. I must confess -- that happened to me.

The production values of the show were top-notch, as we come to expect from the Rep.

And such quality is likely to continue into next season. Prior to the start of the show, Artistic Director Steven Woolf thanks the audience for their patronage and announces the line-up for the Rep's 41st season. With shows including "The History Boys," "Dracula," "Tuesdays with Morrie," "Twelve Angry Men" and "Altar Boyz," I can hardly wait! Here's to the Rep!

"Sherlock Holmes: The Final Adventure" plays through April 15.

More dirty and rotten than good

My freelance review:

"Dirty Rotten Scoundrels", now playing through April 8 at the Fox Theatre in St. Louis, is a big musical wannabe. It comes close. But not close enough.

Based on the 1988 film that starred Steve Martin and Michael Caine, Scoundrels focuses on two suave con men who compete with each other as they woo and swindle wealthy women out of their fortunes on the French Riviera. The two step on each others' feet and realize that one of them has to go, so they make a bet where that the first one to bamboozle $50,000 from a young heiress stays while the other must leave town.

The pace of the show is uneven. The first act is highly episodic until the story starts to build in preparation for the second act. This allows the way-overlong second act to start out strong before things become overly episodic again.

At 2 hours and 40 minutes -- including intermission -- the show is like a visiting friend who refuses to give any indication of when -- or if -- they might be leaving.

Another notable flaw was a technical one and was actually more bothersome to me: the sets! They didn't fit the large Fox Theatre stage. It's as if they were designed for a much smaller, more intimate stage, such as the St. Louis Repertory Theatre. They felt lost and cheesy on the Fox Theatre stage.

The acting and singing was solid. And there are some good laughs, too. Be forewarned, though, of some occasional and jarring foul language that seemed out-of-place.

I really wanted to like Scoundrels. At its core, the show had a lot of potential. But its flaws ultimately overpowered things. Maybe someday there will be a revival of Scoundrels whose production is tighter, snappier and bigger.

'Heartbreak' is witty and to be appreciated

My freelance review:

A greater appreciation for the works of George Bernard Shaw would have come in handy prior to seeing "Heartbreak House," a three-act play currently being performed at the St. Louis Repertory Theatre.

Written in 1919, Shaw's "Heartbreak" focuses on the social and cultural interactions of eight witty, refined characters that come together in a leisurely country house in Europe. And the dialog is correspondingly witty and refined.

Perhaps therein lay the challenge for me. While some in the audience were eating up the non-stop wit and high-culture, letting out sudden belly laughs with upmost pleasure of hearing certain lines, I struggled to appreciate the world I saw acting out in front of me.

There was opportunity to begin to appreciate what this different world had to offer. In the second act, in particular, Shaw's words -- through the character of the elderly and cantankerous Captain Shotover, played by Thomas Carson, to the character of the young Ellie Dunn, played by Ruth Eglsaer:

At your age I looked for hardship, danger, horror, and death, that I might feel the life in me more intensely. I did not let the fear of death govern my life; and my reward was, I had my life. You are going to let the fear of poverty govern your life; and your reward will be that you will eat, but you will not live.

That general theme -- of yearning to experience life more intensely -- resonated at other points, too, within the play. In particular, perhaps, in the third act, through the central character of Hesione Hushabye -- played with a consistent radiance and charm by Carole Healey. Presumably it's World War I just beginning, with bombers having passed through, lighting up the night sky outside the Heartbreak House. From there, it's Hesione's interpretation that borders on either obliviousness or an extreme yearning for intensity:

But what a glorious experience! I hope they'll come again tomorrow night.

"Heartbreak House" plays through Jan. 28 at the Repertory Theatre of St. Louis.

What a "Musical!"

My freelance review:

Need a break from the holiday madness? Head to the Repertory Theatre of St. Louis and enjoy some light-hearted fun with "The Musical of Musicals: The Musical!"

"Musical" is actually five very creative and very funny 15-minute musicals in one, each acting out the same story but in the style of a different famous Broadway composer -- Rodgers & Hammerstein, Stephen Sondheim, Jerry Herman, Andrew Lloyd Webber, and Kander & Ebb.

The laughs come in parodies to popular works by the composers. The homage to Rodgers & Hammerstein spoofs "Oh, What a Beautiful Morning" with a corny song called "Corn" (with lines like "Just look at that corn!"). Andrew Lloyd Weber's "Evita" is "Janita." Jerry Herman's "Auntie Mame" is "Auntie Abby." And so forth. Corny is an appropriate adjective to describe the songs and the humor in general.

The more you know about the musicals being parodied, the more you'll easily enjoy "Musical." But, even if don't haven't seen a lot of the musicals, there's still plenty to enjoy.

The show uses the same four actors in each of the five mini-musicals. The cast is quite talented and this shows in the range of the performances, as the style of the actors shifts gears across each of the mini-musicals. Joanne Bogart has some of the funniest moments as the older of the two female cast members. She is also one of the original Broadway cast members and, along with Eric Rockwell, creator of the play.

The show moves along quickly, with three of the mini-musicals before intermission and two afterwards. It's a lot of fun and is just the ticket to help balance the stress of holiday season.

"The Musical of Musicals: The Musical!" plays through December 29 at the Repertory Theatre of St. Louis.

Urinetown, if urine for it

My freelance review:

"Urinetown: The Musical" -- being performed by the St. Louis Repertory Theatre at the Grandel Theatre -- is generally entertaining, but -- at the risk of sounding pissy, there were a few small things that bothered me.

Urinetown is a farcical look at a future society where a long-lasting, severe drought makes water such a precious commodity that a greedy corporate tycoon pays off corrupt politicians and officials to make it illegal for people to urinate but in designated public toilets -- and at a fee that breaks the backs of the poorer members of the community.

For those old enough to remember, this may sound like the kind of goofy premise we could have seen played out in a zany 20-minute skit on "The Carol Burnett Show." And that leads me to pissy-point #1: At 2 hours and twenty minutes (including a pee break, er, I mean intermission), the play came across as a bit too long.

And, pissy-point #2: The lighthearted tone of the play shifts from Act 1 to Act 2. Some of characters go way over-the-top in Act 2, it seems.

These pissy points aside, some of the songs are catchy and clever, if not just a little bit gross. Take "It's a Pleasure to Pee," for example! And there are some good laughs to be had with the caricatures and zingers.

This is a play that strives hard not to take itself -- or the art of musical theatre -- too seriously, evident in the recurring, light-hearted narrative delivered directly to the audience by Officer Lockstock, played to laughs by Steve Isom.

Another stand-out performance comes from Joneal Joplin in the role of Caldwell B. Cladwell, the "bad guy" executive. Joplin, a seasoned actor with range, seems to have a lot of fun in his role.

So, if urine the mood for an absurd comedy and can be patient with the running time and the zany characters, check out Urinetown. (Sorry, I couldn't hold it in.)

Urinetown, the last show of the season for the Rep's "Off-Ramp Series," plays at the Grandel Theatre through Dec. 10.

"Ordinary" new play is far from ordinary

My freelance review:

"Ordinary Nation," a brand-new play being performed at the Repertory Theatre of St. Louis, offers a rich story of a small family and the complex choices they make. And the play succeeds wonderfully on so many levels!

Playwright Carter Lewis, of St. Louis, describes his story as an attempt to explore "how the larger politics of the country impact the smaller politics of a family--and more importantly, vice-versa."

And indeed, politics are front-and-center as the play opens with Allison Jones (Angela Reed) setting her family aside to focus on the political campaign of Gibb Aston (Curt Hostetter), much to the distress of her husband Nation Jones (Gregory Northrop), an economics professor, and wisecracking teen-age daughter Frankie Jones (Dana Acheson).

These rich characters, as well as the character of G.J. Jones (George Bartenieff), the grandfather/bookie, complete the small cast and offer interesting perspectives throughout the story -- and entertaining human eccentricities, too.

Lewis' writing is razor-sharp but, at the same time, feels "real" and not contrived. The top-notch acting, especially from Norththrop and Acheson, is also to credit for this.

There is a lot to savor from this intimate play, presented in the downstairs Studio Theatre at the Rep. Aside from the enjoyment of watching this entertaining play, there's the thinking that the play triggers -- both during and afterwards -- about what motivates each of us to make the choices we make in life.

I am already envisioning a future film version of this play, by the way. William Hurt and Meryl Streep would make a wonderful Nation and Allison Jones! But, then again, Hollywood might be motivated to dumb-down the story for wider appeal...

"Ordinary Nation" plays through November 12 at the Repertory Theatre of St. Louis.

A hip adaptation of "R&J"

My freelance review:

If you appreciate Shakespeare, you'll probably appreciate "Shakespeare's R&J," a new adaptation of "Romeo & Juliet" now playing at the St. Louis Repertory Theater's Off-Ramp series at the Grandel Theatre.

The play offers a unique interpretation. Four classmates are excited to have their hands on a school-banned text of the classic tragedy. They act it out on their own at nighttime, presumably in secret, in lieu of a night's sleep. Each of the classmates takes on multiple roles as they bring Shakespeare's 400-year-old intricate language to life with a strong sense of energy.

Only a very few props are used throughout the play, and the set is the same throughout. This aspect of simplicity keeps focus on the four actors and the Shakespearean dialog, which goes from simply being read and acted out, at first, to more of a sense of being "lived and experienced" as the story unfolds. Perhaps it's to suggest a sense of maturing that the play induces for the four.

The four classmates are male and have a strong sense of friendship and comfort around each other as the classic love story plays out with increasing passion in a gender-neutral way. The actors are accomplished and make it easy to believe that they are friends thrilled to be acting out and experiencing what Shakespeare's tragedy has to offer them.

From a foot march that begins the show through the playing out of the tragic deaths of the play's ill-fated lovers, director Paul Mason Barnes' timing is consistent and quick-paced.

"Shakespeare's R&J" plays through Nov. 5 at the St. Louis Repertory Theater's Off-Ramp series at the Grandel Theatre.

Of haunted "Mice and Men"

My freelance review:

Forget the haunted houses this Halloween season. For longer-lasting effect, treat yourself to the haunting production of John Steinbeck's "Of Mice and Men" at the Repertory Theatre of St. Louis.

The production takes the audience away to a completely different era and situation -- the Great Depression and the lives of two ranch workers, George and Lennie, in their quest for survival and, just maybe, the American dream. The play opens on the night before George and Lennie go to a ranch where they've been hired to work. As they camp out under a stunningly-recreated, star-filled night sky in rural California, it's obvious that George is the care-giver for Lennie -- a mentally-retarded and hard-working man who depends on George not only for day-in and day-out guidance but also to recount for him, over and over again, in extreme detail, George's vision of a dream existence for the two.

The classic story plays out very well on the intimate stage at the Rep. The sets are both intricately designed and elegantly simple and don't get in the way of the rich story.

The entire cast does a terrific job bringing Steinbeck's deep characters to life. Brendan Averett's eager-to-please Lennie and Marc Aden Gray's restless George play off each other quite effectively. Anne Bowles is very strong as the character destined to introduce trouble for Lennie.

Also, an observation: There were quite a few in-unison "uhhhh's" from the audience at key dramatic points, suggesting an audience that was coupled with the production and completely taken away from "real life."

Steinbeck's story, full of foreshadowing and symbolism, produces an overall haunting effect. A loud gunshot ends the production but does nothing to end the haunting, lingering distinction that the production triggers between living and being alive.

"Of Mice and Men" plays at the Repertory Theatre of St. Louis through November 5.