The fall-into-winter theatre season is in full swing in St. Louis. With the Holiday season starting up, and a host of new productions getting ready to open, there’s a feast of options on stage for theatre fans to enjoy. Here are short reviews of three recent productions–one recently closed, but two still running, that all feature strong casting and some clever staging, with two being literary adaptations, and one exploring the inner life of a struggling writer.
Elektra: Elektra’s Version
Based on the play by Sophocles, translated by Anne Carson
Directed and Designed by Spencer Lawton
November 16, 2023
Maida Dippel (Center, on bed) and Cast
Photo: Critique Theatre Company
Director Spencer Lawton has brought together an enthusiastic cast for a new look at the classic Greek tragedy Electra as filtered through the lens of early 2010’s Tumblr culture and the Marina and the Diamonds Album Electra Heart. With some input from the cast and from local artist/director Lucy Cashion–who is known for these kinds of literary re-imaginings–Lawton’s production is a cleverly staged, well-cast show that provides much to think about, as well as making the most of its space at the fun new venue, Greenfinch Theater and Dive.
The venue is great for this staging, providing a blank canvas of sorts on which the artists can present their vision. The cast, led by Maida Dippel as the brooding, vengeful Elektra, is in excellent form, with several of the actors playing more than one role. The ensemble is especially strong and cohesive, including Katie Orr, Victoria Thomas, Miranda Jagels-Félix, Celeste Gardner, Alicen Kramer-Moser, Laurel Button, and Emma Glose, with similarly costumed Ross Rubright and Anthony Kramer-Moser as “The Man Parade”.
While there’s a lot going on here, and sometimes it could be hard to follow–especially at a point in which most of the cast members are speaking at once–this is a fascinating staging with a lot to think about, especially in terms of the often conflicting messages that society presents to teenage girls. It’s got drama, dark comedy, and lots of attitude, as well as a sense of social critique that seems fitting considering the name of this theatre company. The stylized look of the characters and costumes–influenced by the Electra Heart album–also contributes to the distinctive style of this show.
It’s a compelling production, and I hope it has a life beyond the one weekend it played at Greenfinch.
Q Brothers Christmas Carol
Based on the Novella by Charles Dickens
Written by Q Brothers Collective (GQ, JQ, JAX, POS)
Developed with Rick Boynton
Music Composition by JQ
Directed by Q Brother Collective (GQ, JQ, & JAX)
November 24, 2023
Garrett Young, Mo Shipley, Victor Musoni, Maya Vinice Prentiss
Photo by Phillip Hamer Photography
St. Louis Shakespeare Festival
The Q Brothers Collective has had a relationship with St. Louis Shakespeare Festival for a few years now, starting with their hilarious production of Dress the Part in early 2020. The Festival has now brought the Chicago-based company’s lively, hip-hop-influenced Q Brothers Christmas Carol to town in a memorable, eye-catching staging at the National Blues Museum downtown. With an energetic, musical staging featuring DJ Stank (Mel Bady) spinning the tunes, this is an update of a classic that brings a lot of humor, heart, and style.
With a cast of just four actors, this show’s comedy benefits a lot from all the quick changes and the fact that most of the actors are playing multiple characters. With Garrett Young as the miserly Ebenezer Scrooge, the story plays out essentially as expected, but with many modern twists and jokes. Young is especially effective as Scrooge, making the character’s journey believable, and working well with co-stars Victor Musoni, Mo Shipley, and Maya Vinice Prentiss, who each play a variety of roles, from the various ghosts, to townspeople, to figures from Scrooge’s past, present, and future. It’s a fast-paced show with a memorable musical score and a modern festive spirit.
It’s also a great-looking show, with excellent costumes by Erika McClellan, scenic design by William Attaway, lighting by Jesse Klug, and sound by Stephen Ptacek. The staging is quick and lively, and the update is decidedly 21st Century, with a tone that I would characterize as PG-13-ish in terms of language and subject matter. It works very well in the space at the Blues Museum, with a themed bar set up for before the show. It’s a good way to start off the holiday season in a theatrical way.
St. Louis Shakespeare Festival is presenting Q Brothers Christmas Carol at the National Blues Museum until December 23.
Leannán Sidhe
by Deanna Strasse
Directed by Sean Belt
First Run Theatre
November 26, 2023
Matt Hanify, Tanya Badgley
Photo by David Hawley
First Run Theatre
First Run Theatre’s mission of presenting world premiere productions of shows by Midwestern playwright’s continues, staging Milwaukee-based playwright Deanna Strasser’s play Leannán Sidhe, an intriguing look at the life of an ambitious playwright who, Strasser admits in the program notes, is based on herself. Directed by Sean Belt and featuring a small, effective cast, this is a well-staged production to which I think a lot of artists–and especially writers–may relate, even if they don’t go as far as the main character does in retreating into a fantasy that threatens to take over her life.
Mya Sraid (Tanya Badgley) is a playwright whose life isn’t exactly going the way she would like it to, considering producers keep wanting her to write farces, and her friends all seem to want to bring her to productions of the same old plays because they know people in the cast and/or crew. Her house is a mess, as her friend Jessica (Amie Bossi) notices when she arrives for an outing to a production of The Music Man that Mya has been dreading, and the audience is made to wonder who that guy in the background is who is doing dishes seemingly without being noticed. After Jessica leaves, we find out that the “background guy” is actually Vincent Thane (Matt Hanify), an actor Mya saw in a recent production and has become obsessed with. Well, this guy isn’t actually Vincent, but an imaginary version of him that Mya has invented to be her fantasy lover and artistic muse. He’s there to be able to dance in the rain (produced at whim by Mya’s imagination) to Etta James’s “At Last” and spout encouraging words to her, admiring the always-full moon out the window and serve as inspiration for Mya’s latest play, which is a drama for once, and not a farce. Soon, though, we find that even the imaginary Vincent is starting to protest, and not behave exactly as Mya would wish, as Mya’s apartment gets messier, and her real-life friends grow concerned.
The staging here is effective, with a simple set by Brad Slavik, as well as props and set decoration by Gwynneth Rasuch and Denise Mandle that lend a sense of realism to the proceedings. There’s also excellent lighting by Michelle Zielinski and sound by Leonard Marshell, bringing the world of Mya’s apartment, and the world inside her mind, to life and aiding the strong performances of the cast, led by Badgley in a relatable performance as Mya, whose descent into fantasy and flirtation with the darker sides of her imagination is believable and compelling. There’s also good support from Hanify as the not-so-perfect dream lover Vincent, and Bossi as the convincingly concerned Jessica.
This is a show that explores issues that I think a lot of writers and creative people face, as well as looking with a bit of critical eye on “celebrity worship” culture as well as dealing with the subjects of depression and social detachment. It’s an intriguing and promising new work. It’s running for one more weekend, so there’s still a chance to check it out.
First Run Theatre is presenting Leannán Sidhe at the Kranzberg Arts Center until December 3, 2023
