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CALENDAR
BY PAUL FRISWOLD and the esteemed Valerie Jaudon. 20/20 opens with a free public reception from 5 to 8 p.m. Friday, February 21, at the Philip Slein Gallery (4735 McPherson Avenue; www.philipsleingallery.com). The gallery’s hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday.
James McAvoy plays a handsome Cyrano. | COURTESY OF FATHOM EVENT
THURSDAY 02/20 By a Nose Edmond Rostand’s swashbuckling play Cyrano De Bergerac is woefully underproduced, primarily because it’s difficult to find actors who can effectively wield swords and Rostand’s tripping verse. Martin Crimp’s adaptation of the play modernizes the setting and does away with Cyrano’s famous schnoz, but does feature James McAvoy as the tormented poet. This Cyrano wears contemporary outfits but still loathes his own appearance, and woos the lovely Roxanne for his tongue-tied friend. Fathom Events presents a live simulcast of the National Theatre’s production of the play at 7 p.m. Thursday, February 20, at the Marcus Ronnies Cine (5320 South Lindbergh Boulevard; www.fathomevents.com). Tickets are $19.39.
FRIDAY 02/21 The Contemporary For its first exhibition of the new year, Philip Slein Gallery doubles down on its commitment to contemporary painting. 20/20 features work by 20 artists who have shown work at the gallery previously. Participants range from local painters (Jamie Adams and Arthur Osver) to the Brooklyn-based Keltie Ferris, Connecticut’s Jackie Saccoccio
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RIVERFRONT TIMES
Keltie Ferris, Sphinx’s Acre, 2016. | COURTESY OF THE ARTIST
Black Magic Poet/playwright Ntozake Shange came to St. Louis in the 1950s as a young girl and experienced firsthand segregation and racism in a white school. The alienation she felt stayed with her through college, at which point she began to write her “choreopoems,” which incorporated non-standard English as a conscious attempt to create a separate vocabulary that better represented the black experience. Spell #7 uses this new vernacular to tell the story of a group of black artists who frequent the same St. Louis bar. One night the magician Lou uses his magic to help them all see their blackness — which they feel has caused them difficulties — as a source of strength that they should embrace. The Black Rep presents Spell #7 as part of its 43rd season, with St. Louis rapper and activist Tef Poe playing a major role in the production. Performances of Spell #7 take place at 7 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday, 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 3 p.m. Sunday (February 21 to March 8) at Washington University’s A.E. Hotchner Studio Theatre (6445 Forsyth Avenue; www.theblackrep.org). Tickets are $20 to $50.
FEBRUARY 19-25, 2020
riverfronttimes.com
The Black Rep presents Ntozake Shange’s Spell #7. | COURTESY OF THE BLACK REP
SATURDAY 02/22 The Soulard Classic It’s been a while since everybody gathered in Soulard to celebrate the onset of the season of self-denial and contemplation, but St. Louis never forgets the big day: Saturday, February 22, is here, and so is the Bud Light Grand Parade. At 11 a.m. at Busch Stadium (601 Clark Avenue; www.stlmardigras.org), the parade starts its march toward Soulard and the Anheuser-Busch brewery. The theme is “the Blues,” which is intentionally a little vague. Do you dream of clear blue skies, tropical sea sides, gutbucket music or a second Stanley Cup? It’s up to each krewe to decide exactly how to interpret “the Blues.” As always, watching the parade is free, and you just might catch something
while you’re there: More than 10 million strands of beads will be flung from floats along the parade route. The party in Soulard will have already started by the time the parade steps off — it’s gonna get crowded and loud before it’s all over. Will it be as cold as February normally is? If you’re worried, you have options. The Bud Light Party Tent, which is in fact two climate-controlled tents, will have a lunch buffet, open bar and an appearance by Chingy from 9 a.m to 6 p.m., and tickets are $125. If your ideal Mardi Gras includes hanging out with some of the most famous and personable St. Louis Blues players in team history, you want to buy tickets for The Blues Alumni Party Tent. It also sports an open bar and lunch buffet, but adds a bubble-hockey tournament and hobnobbing with some local hockey legends. The Blues Alumni Party Tent is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., and admission is $125.
