A FANSITE FOR MUSICAL THEATRE IN ST. LOUIS
[title of show] @ PRISM THEATRE COMPANY
Prism Theatre Company has presented an all-femme version of [title of show], a musical literally about its own creation by a ragtag group of starving artists.
Video Link: [title of show] @ Prism Theatre Company
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INTO THE WOODS @ UNION AVENUE OPERA
Union Avenue Opera has presented perhaps the greatest of Stephen Sondheim’s masterworks, a story about what comes after “happily ever after.” Classic fairy tale characters Cinderella, Jack, Little Red Riding Hood, and Rapunzel cross paths with a baker and his wife on a quest Into the Woods.
Video Link: Into the Woods @ Union Avenue Opera
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IN THE HEIGHTS @ THE MUNY
The sixth production of the Muny’s 106th season is In the Heights, Lin-Manuel Miranda’s smash-hit debut musical. Hip hop, salsa, and pop music all come together to tell the interconnected stories of the barrio of Washington Heights in New York City.
Video Link: In the Heights @ The Muny
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BIG MACHINE @ FLY NORTH THEATRICALS / ST. LOU FRINGE
Big Machine is Fly North Theatricals’ headlining act for the St. Louis Fringe Theatre Festival! An original musical created by FNT Artistic Director Colin Healy, Big Machine tells the story of the invention that harmed the modern world the most: leaded gasoline.
Video Link: Big Machine @ Fly North Theatricals / St. Lou Fringe
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RUTHLESS! @ STRAY DOG THEATRE
Stray Dog Theatre is back with a vengeance in Ruthless! A campy spoof of The Bad Seed by way of Gypsy, this is the outrageous story of eight-year-old Tina Denmark, a rising star of the musical stage who will do anything to win the leading role of her school musical. Anything…
Video Link: Ruthless! @ Stray Dog Theatre
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WAITRESS @ THE MUNY
Jumping back to the Muny for a hot minute, I’ll be talking about the fifth production of their 106th season, the Midwestern regional premiere of Waitress. Featuring a score by pop star Sara Bareilles based on the 2007 independent film by the late Adrienne Shelly, Waitress tells the story of Jenna, a waitress-baker at a roadside pie diner faced with an unplanned pregnancy as she yearns to escape her rocky marriage and open her own bakery.
This video contains an extra-special twist, as I end the review by baking a pie from the show! This ended up being a backdoor pilot for Waitress Wednesday, a series where I bake every recipe from the official Waitress pie book, “Sugar Butter Flour.”
Video Link: Waitress @ The Muny
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NEWSIES @ STAGES ST. LOUIS
In this break from the Muny, I am talking about Stages St. Louis’s production of Newsies, the stage version of the Disney movie. This high-flying, high-jumping, high-kicking dance sensation musicalizes New York City’s Newsboy Strike of 1899, one of the many labor strikes at the turn of the 20th century that led to stronger unions and better working conditions for minors in the United States.
Video Link: Newsies @ The Muny
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TESSERACT THEATRE’S 2024 NEW MUSICAL SUMMER FEST
Taking a break from the Muny for a bit, I am covering Tesseract Theatre’s New Musical Summer Festival, the first ever double feature on Jack Reviews Musicals! Tesseract presented St. Louis with two brand-new one-act musicals: Cascade’s Fire, a scorching, modern retelling of Antigone; then, My Heart Says Go, an earnest, charming “follow your dreams” story with an interesting twist.
Video Link: Tesseract Theatre’s 2024 New Musical Summer Fest
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FIDDLER ON THE ROOF @ THE MUNY
Here’s another overdue review coming your way: the fourth production of The Muny’s 106th Season, Fiddler on the Roof. Celebrating its 60th Anniversary, Fiddler on the Roof tells one of the greatest stories ever told in musical theatre, that of Anatevka, a Jewish Ukrainian shtetl at the turn of the 20th century whose small provincial lifestyle gets totally upended.
Video Link: Fiddler on the Roof @ The Muny
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THE LITTLE MERMAID @ THE MUNY
In another in a series of long-overdue episodes, I’m covering the third production of The Muny’s 106th Season, The Little Mermaid, the beloved Disney musical telling the enchanting story of Ariel, a young mermaid who years to be a human.
Video Link: The Little Mermaid @ The Muny
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