St. Louis Theater Reviews: Best Shows & Critic Recommendations

Review: BELL, BOOK AND CANDLE at Tower Groves Abbey
by Rob Levy - December 17, 2024

Playing on themes of love, power, and the supernatural, Bell, Book and Candle is an excellent season closer for Stray Dog Theatre. Funny, spooky and enchanting, the play is well-acted and impeccably paced. Its portrayal of relationship dynamics and each character’s need for credence make it an intri...

Review: MILLION DOLLAR QUARTER CHRISTMAS at Loretto-Hilton Center
by Rob Levy - December 11, 2024

Filled with smiles and dancing in the aisles, Million Dollar Quartet Christmas is a chart-topping knockout. The show reflects on the travails of fame and celebrates the season with an irresistible vivacity....

Review: Roxie Has Moxy! CHICAGO at the Fox Theatre, St. Louis
by Rob Levy - November 30, 2024

The perfect synergy of sight, sound, song and dance, Chicago is gloriously glamourous, grimy and cheeky. Murder and mayhem has never been this much fun!...

Review: A CHRISTMAS CAROL: THE REMIX is a Hip Hop Holiday Gift
by James Lindhorst - November 27, 2024

A CHRISTMAS CAROL: THE REMIX is a fantastically creative retelling of the Dickensian tale. It is an outrageous theatrical event that adds up to high energy imaginative story telling. A couple moments in the show that feel a bit one-note and repetitive when the narrative goes on a little too long, bu...

Review: FIRST DATE at New Jewish Theatre
by James Lindhorst - November 24, 2024

New Jewish Theatre's current production of FIRST DATE features a terrific cast in sublime comedic performances. Director Lee Ann Mathews and her company of seven clever actors fearlessly dive into physical comedy to create an entertaining show that is light, zany, and funny. It certainly isn’t a mas...

Review: THE BUTCHER OF BARABOO at Union Avenue Christian Church
by James Lindhorst - November 23, 2024

“The Butcher of Baraboo” is a grim dark comedy that spirals into complete brutality. The characters are willing to go to extreme measures to protect themselves and their secrets. The is no familial loyalty among this group of vicious characters. The West End Players Guild has staged a cutting produc...

Review: DON’T BE A HERO, THANK YOU and GO BEFORE I DO at Greenfinch Theater and Dive Bar
by James Lindhorst - November 18, 2024

“Don’t Be a Hero, Thank You” is a one-act play that takes a humorous look at the challenges faced by the fictional Kate following her release from prison for a felony conviction after robbing a bank. The narrative is comprised mostly as a single-person monologue that is interrupted by phone calls fr...

Review: ANASTASIA THE MUSICAL at The Marcelle
by James Lindhorst - November 17, 2024

Credit director Brittanie Gunn for Tesseract Theatre’s extraordinary production of ANASTASIA. Gunn’s vision and her collaboration with her actors and technical teams has created an extravagant production with outstanding performances, sensational singing, exhilarating dancing, and absorbing storytel...

Review: ELEPHANTS’ GRAVEYARD Looks Death in the Eye and Laughs
by James Lindhorst - November 16, 2024

ELEPHANTS' GRAVEYARD is a lovely piece of writing. It doesn’t wallow in sadness or pathos. It looks death in the eye and laughs. Corbett, Meyer, and Rausch have given the world premiere of ELEPHANTS' GRAVEYARD a beautiful staging. Williamson’s salubrious script proves that when facing even the grave...

Review: WOLF KINGS at The Chapel
by James Lindhorst - November 10, 2024

“Wolf Kings” is more performance art than a play. The snappy banter is often witty and funny. The vivacious movement is dance-like. There are elements that are peculiar, comedic, and dramatic. It condemns predatory behavior though spectacle by granting victims strength. Its thought-provoking message...

Review: A BEAUTIFUL NOISE at Fox Theatre, St. Louis
by Rob Levy - November 03, 2024

Delivering a textured performance, he masterfully captures Diamond’s emotional peaks and valleys, giving audiences a glimpse at how fame and the power of music drove the artist for over four decades....

Review: THE ROOMMATE at Emerson Studio In The Loretto-Hilton Center
by Rob Levy - October 29, 2024

The Roommate marks a welcome return for the company’s Steve Woolf Studio Series. Presented in an intimate setting without intermission, the play centers on the complex dynamics between Sharon, a divorced woman who mostly putters around smalltown Iowa eking out a menial existence, and Robyn her caref...

Review: JULIUS CAESAR in the Don Lux Theater at Lift For Life Academy
by James Lindhorst - October 28, 2024

St. Louis Shakespeare’s production of Julius Caesar is an excellent opportunity for high-school and college students studying this piece to see a decent staged production. Locker prepared her actors well and coached them to project with authority. The four leading actors deliver excellent performanc...

Review: Upstream Theater's LIFE IS A DREAM at The Marcelle
by James Lindhorst - October 20, 2024

Upstream Theater’s production of LIFE IS A DREAM is an illustrious production of Calderón's complex work. It has a clear directorial vision, exceptional acting, and stunning technical design elements. It is a superior in its artistry, staging, and storytelling....

Review: Albion Theatre's LUNGS Captures the Highs and Lows of Adult Romantic Relationships
by James Lindhorst - October 19, 2024

Albion continues to stage exceptional productions of plays from the United Kingdom and LUNGS is no exception. Director Ellie Schwetye’s production is an emotional look at relationships and the forces that help maintain or derail a couple. Nicole Angeli and Joel Moses are convincing as the woman and ...

Review: AN UNLIKELY HERO at Metro Theater Company
by James Lindhorst - October 17, 2024

“An Unlikely Hero” is a hero’s journey that would appeal to any young theater goer. It's a story that embraces friendship, teaches the values of honesty, collaboration, and helping your peers succeed. Metro Theater Company has created a show that grabbed a young audience's attention and engaged them...

Review: NEVERMORE: THE IMAGINARY LIFE AND MYSTERIOUS DEATH OF EDGAR ALLAN POE at Tower Groves Abbey
by Rob Levy - October 15, 2024

Filled with visual and verbal nods to the writer’s life and work, Nevermore: The Imaginary Life and Mysterious Death of Edgar Allan Poe combines the biographical with the allegorical, allowing audiences to experience the angst of Edgar’s life in rich detail....

Review: RED JASPER at The Gaslight Theater
by James Lindhorst - October 13, 2024

Michael Madden’s “Red Jasper” is a romantic and hopeful story that doesn’t wallow in sentimental melodrama. The characters find connection quickly and develop a tight bond at warp-speed. Director Suki Peters identified the emotional core of the story and collaborated with her actors to hastily pace ...

Review: The Midnight Company's FINAL DRESS at Greenfinch Dive Bar And Theater is a Fun Diversion with Some Memorable Chart Topping Hits
by James Lindhorst - October 12, 2024

FINAL DRESS is another of Midnight Company’s scripted cabaret shows that features some memorable songs for people of all ages. It’s comes recommended solely for the chemistry between Howe and Cereghino. Howe takes on a dozen of chart-topping hits from the past seven decades including the Frankie Lym...

Review: Contraband Theatre Presents the World Premiere of AM I DANGEROUS? at The Chapel
by James Lindhorst - October 10, 2024

AM I DANGEROUS? asks many relevant questions facing women today. e.k.doolin’s prose is elegant and bold. Her unique story telling convention poses questions without providing answers. The narrative pushes the audience to the edge of discomfort and provokes meaningful dialogue through entertaining st...

Review: THE TURN OF THE SCREW at West End Players Guild
by James Lindhorst - October 09, 2024

West End Players’ eerie production of The Turn of the Screw continues through October 13, 2024. Morgan Maul-Smith, Payton Gillam, and Rob McLemore collaborate to stage Jeffery Hatcher’s unnerving adaptation in entertaining style. It is a bit unsettling, a little chilling, and a lot of fun for those ...

Review: MERRILY WE ROLL ALONG at Take Two Productions is an Entertaining Gem
by James Lindhorst - September 29, 2024

Take Two Production of MERRILY WE ROLL ALONG far exceeded expectations. Stephen Peirick’s leadership, the vocally accomplished cast, and the polished musical direction all come together to create a gem of a show. This production illustrates how, in the hands of the right people, a show of any size c...

Review: STAGES St. Louis Production of RAGTIME is Beautifully Staged
by James Lindhorst - September 26, 2024

STAGES St. Louis production of RAGTIME is exquisite and an important piece of Americana. The symphonic quality of the Ahrens and Flaherty score has many beautiful sections, and the relevance of the story is timeless. The slowly unfolding narrative is told nicely through Goodwin’s focused d...

Review: Sleuth or Consequences: DIAL M FOR MURDER at Loretto-Hilton Center
by Rob Levy - September 25, 2024

Playing on themes of injustice, betrayal, class status and greed, this gripping production of Dial M for Murder is a feast for cozy mystery lovers and amateur sleuths alike....

Review: DIAL 'M' FOR MURDER at The Repertory Company of St. Louis
by Steve Callahan - September 23, 2024

DIAL 'M' FOR MURDER is surely one of the most perfect productions I’ve seen at The Rep in some years. Jordan Coughtry plays Tony, the scheming husband. His performance is from the Realm of Ideal Forms. It is that perfect! ...