Show & Tell

SHOW AND TELL Must-See Shows This Season

By Mark Bretz

Kicking off 2023 in grand fashion, there are several interesting theatrical choices available to inquisitive audiences in the first few months of this year.

The Fabulous Fox Theatre has stacked the deck with a menu of appealing possibilities. The Fox presents the local premiere of “Six,” a musical comedy by Toby Marlow and Lucy Ross. The story follows the six wives of King Henry VIII and is presented as a pop concert. “Six,” which won the 2022 Tony Award for Best Original Score, will play at The Fox Jan. 24 through Feb. 5.

The Fox will present Aaron Sorkin’s new Broadway adaptation of the classic novel, “To Kill a Mockingbird.” Richard Thomas – John-Boy Walton himself, and more recently a member of the Netflix series “Ozark” – stars as 1930s attorney Atticus Finch. The drama will run Feb. 28 through March 12.

Following its acclaimed holiday production of “A Christmas Carol,” the Repertory Theatre of St. Louis returns Jan. 27 through Feb. 19 with “Putting It Together: A Musical Review,” devised by Stephen Sondheim and Julia McKenzie. The musical includes nearly 30 of legendary composer/lyricist Sondheim’s memorable masterpieces and will be presented at COCA’s Catherine B. Berges Theatre.

Then, from Feb. 10 through March 5, The Rep returns to the Loretto-Hilton Center at Webster University for a production of Dominique Morisseau’s drama, “Confederates.”

Coming off a very strong 2022, The Black Rep continues its 46th season with a presentation of Arthur Miller’s timeless classic, “Death of a Salesman,” which runs Jan. 11 to 29 at Washington University in St. Louis’ Edison Theatre. From Feb. 1 to 26 at Wash U’s Hotchner Studio Theatre, The Black Rep presents Loy A. Webb’s play, “The Light,” which focuses on a young couple and the secrets that may destroy their relationship.

Stray Dog Theatre begins its 20th anniversary season with a new production of “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?” It plays at the Tower Grove Abbey from Feb. 9 through 25. Stray Dog returns March 30 through April 22 for its presentation of Stephen Sondheim’s enchanting musical, “Into the Woods.”

Another memorable classic work, Anton Chekhov’s drama, “Uncle Vanya,” will be presented by St.Louis Actors’ Studio at the Gaslight Theater Feb. 17 through March 5. Actors’ Studio is doing contemporary playwright Neil LaBute’s version of Chekhov’s late 19th century play.

West End Players Guild’s February offering is “Outside Mullingar,” a quaint love story about the relationship between two painfully shy Irish farmers living on adjacent tracts of land outside the country town of Mullingar, Ireland. It’s performed Feb. 10 to 19 at Union Avenue Christian Church.

The New Jewish Theatre starts its 2023 season with a production of Neil Simon’s “Broadway Bound,” the conclusion of Simon’s “Eugene trilogy.” It runs Jan. 19 through Feb. 5 at the J’s Wool Studio Theatre.

New Line Theatre presents “Nine,” a musical inspired by the semi-autobiographical Federico Fellini film, “8 ½,” March 2 through 25 at the Marcelle Theater in Grand Center. With music and lyrics by Maury Yeston and a book by Mario Fratti, revised by Arthur Kopff, “Nine” won the 1982 Tony Awards for Best Musical and Best Original Score.

A teenage fisherman and a crotchety lighthouse keeper are an unlikely pair who join forces to find the ‘Elixir of Life’ to save the teen’s seriously ill father in Metro Theater Company’s world premiere performance of “Spells of the Sea.” “Spells of the Sea” will be performed Feb. 5 to March 5 at the Grandel Theatre.

Finally, a veteran rock music journalist finally gets to interview his unrequited love, singer Linda Ronstadt, in writer/director Joe Hanrahan’s “Just One Look,” with Kelly Howe as the pop star who rocketed to fame in the 1970s and ’80s. “Just One Look” will be presented by The Midnight Company on March 1, 8 and 15 at the Blue Strawberry cabaret club. ln