STLTODAY.COM/LIFE • STLTODAY.COM/GO • SUNDAY • 08.25.2019 • C
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old seasons begin under new artistic leadership at the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra and the Repertory Theatre of St. Louis. The Kemper Art Museum reopens and debuts an expansion, and a new nook for bibliophiles is set to open in midtown. The Taste of St. Louis returns to downtown after a detour in Chesterfield, and dozens of other festivals will fill the weekends. And hundreds of concerts by bigname artists (and up-and-comers) will keep the music flowing at venues of all sizes. The fall arts calendar in St. Louis is bursting with colorful options. Here’s a guide to help you make the most of the shorter, cooler days.
ARTS + HOME + TRAVEL
Concerts • Pages C3-C5 Classical music • Page C7 Theater and dance • Page C9 Family events • Page C10 Visual arts • Pages C11-C12 Fairs and festivals • Page C14 Author events • Page C16
ARTS GUIDE ROBERT COHEN, POST-DISPATCH
COURTESY OF THE SHOW
Ben Levi Ross in “Dear Evan Hansen,” coming to the Fox
Great Forest Park Balloon Glow
Gene Simmons of KISS ASSOCIATED PRESS
Lizzo, coming to the Pageant in October
INSIDE BOOKS ‘THE GIRL WHO’ RETURNS IN CAPTIVATING BOOK SERIES. Page C17 TRAVEL SIOUX FALLS, S.D., BLENDS ART WITH NATURE IN HIP SETTING. Page C18
JOSHUA WHITE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Art by Ai Weiwei coming to the Kemper
Grieving mom’s words are a call to action AISHA SULTAN
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
I refuse to move on from a grieving mother’s haunting words. A man murdered Dawn Usanga’s 7-year-old son, Xavier. He is one of 12 children fatally shot in St. Louis since June. Two days after Xavier was killed, Usanga talked to a colleague of mine. Her words ran on the front page of the paper: “In a way, I’m happy he died at 7. The streets didn’t have a chance to ruin him. He could have just as easily been
swept up in this war, and the boy who shot him could have been my boy someday.” The helplessness and hopelessness in what she said shook me. This mother lives 25 miles from where I live — not in a war-torn country across the world. And violence has become such an accepted part of life that she took some comfort in the fact that her child was murdered, not the murderer. This should do more than shock our collective conscience. It should spur each of us, most especially our elected officials, to take ownership of this crisis in a way we have yet to see. Please see SULTAN, Page C2
STLLIFE
TONY & PULITZER WINNING PLAY REPSTL.ORG 314-968-4925
BY TONY KUSHNER | SEPT 4–OCT 6
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