Culture

FALL ARTS GUIDE

Shakespeare in the Streets’ 2019 production of Love at the River’s Edge. e event is returning, this time as Avengeance, for three performances in September. | PHILLIP HAMER

den Variety” is scultpor Summer Brooks challenging beauty standards for African American women. A press release says the artist hopes “to engage viewers in conversations about stereotypes placed onto people of color by colorism and racism.”

“Lorna Simpson: Heads” is an ex-

hibition of two digital animation videos by Simpson herself. The videos detail Simpson’s process of working with collage and photo manipulation.

“Kathy Butterly: Out of one, many

/ Headscapes” is a ceramic sculpture exhibit. Butterly combines two different projects of hers, one set from 1996 to 2018 and one set mostly made just for the CAM exhibit. “Out of one, many” is based off pint glasses and explores female figures, while eadscapes surveys the mind.

The Contemporary Art Museum is free and open to the public Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Fridays from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. beginning on September 3.

—Jenna Jones

Sweat

September 8 through 26. Edison Theatre, 6465 Forsyth Boulevard, University City. $15 to $55. 314-935-6543. Written by two-time Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Lynn Nottage, Sweat explores the intersection of economics, race and cultural identity through a meeting of friends in a fictional bar in Reading, Pennsylvania, with reviews of the play noting that its characters represent blue-collar workers who voted for Donald Trump as president. Described as a “deeply heartfelt drama” with plenty of humorous elements, the play sees its characters’ friendship tested by layoffs and the outsourcing of work, as the friends are forced to decide between looking out for one another or fending for themselves. The Black Rep’s production of the award-winning play is directed by Ron imes, and runs from September 8 through 26. For tickets and more information, visit theblackrep.org. —Daniel Hill

Shakespeare in the Streets: Avengeance

8 p.m. September 9 through 11. Annie Malone Home, 2612 Annie Malone Drive. Free. 314-531-0120. All the world’s a stage, and the St. Louis Shakespeare Festival is once again venturing beyond its summer home in Forest Park to prove it with Shakespeare in the Streets. Marking its tenth production after a pandemic-canceled 2020, the annual program, which is free to the public, ventures into St. Louis neighborhoods to stage a locally produced original play inspired by one of the bard’s timeless classics.

This year, that classic is none other than Hamlet — but in this adaptation, titled Avengeance, the tragedy departs from Hamlet’s royal anxieties in Denmark to land in the Ville in north St. Louis, where a young man wrestling with the decision to leave his family home is visited by the ghosts of famed comedian and activist Dick Gregory and pioneering Black hair-care entrepreneur Annie Malone. Written by Mariah Richardson and directed by Ville resident Thomasina Clarke, the play pivots on the notion of revenge for the current state of a once-thriving neighborhood now hard-hit by depopulation, disinvestment and disillusionment. “Hamlet’s premise is his father’s ghost coming back wanting to be avenged,” Clarke notes in an interview. “These ghosts have come back to ask for change, not just from the community, but from the city at large, which has abandoned them.”

Among the all-persons-of-color cast is Carl Overly, Jr., who played Cornwall in St. Louis Shakespeare Festival’s nationally lauded production of King Lear earlier this year. And while Hamlet and King Lear may tilt on the fate of nations, Clarke says the drama of Avengeance will be no less substantial or cutting in its portrayals of destiny and betrayal. “Right now, we’re in a tragic mode, but we don’t have to remain here,” she says, describing both the play’s setting and the neighborhood in which she still lives. “It’s a story of hope,” she adds, “and the hope is that people will come to understand that there is value here, and to stop giving up and walking away from it.”

Avengeance premiers September 9 at 8 p.m. at the Annie alone ome in the ille neighborhood. For more information, visit stlshakes.org/production/ theville/ or call 314-531-9800. The performances are free. —Danny Wicentowski

Music at the Intersection

September 10 through 12. Grand Boulevard and Washington Avenue. $55 to $300. The inaugural Music at the Intersection Festival will see headliners including Roy Ayers, Gregory Porter and Lalah athaway joined by more than forty local acts spanning across such genres as blues, rock & roll, jazz, soul, R&B and hip-hop. Additionally, national acts including Lee Fields & The Expressions, Jon Cleary & the Absolute Monster Gentlemen, kebe Shakedown, eyon arrold, the Soul Rebels featuring A, Bettye La ette, D - un , the Baylor Project and Don Bryant featuring the Bo-Keys will all perform as well. The ambitious undertaking will take place across six venues in Grand Center, with performances at the Fabulous Fox Theatre, the Big Top, the Sheldon Concert all, the randel Theatre, Jazz St. Louis and the Open Air tent. Tickets are available in the form of single- or multi-day passes, ranging from $55 to $300 for VIPs. For more information, visit musicattheintersection.org. —Daniel Hill

Dreaming Zenzile

September 10 to October 3. The Loretto-Hilton Center, 130 Edgar Road, Webster Groves. $29 to $99. 314-968-4925 The Rep is hosting not one, but two world premieres this fall. Up first: the long-awaited debut of Dreaming Zenzile kicks off the season and hits the stage on Septem-

HELP WANTED

ST. LOUIS AND SURROUNDING AREAS

St. Louis Symphony Orchestra has a slate of (free!) shows planned for Forest Park this fall. | DILIP VISHWANAT

FALL ARTS GUIDE

Continued from pg 29

ber 10. Originally scheduled for a March 2020 release but pushed back due to COVID-19, the musical maps the life of South African musician and activist Miriam Makeba. In an interview with the RFT in March 2020, the writer and main performer Somi Kakoma said that “the idea is that we just ask people to dream for 90 minutes.” Dreaming Zenzile will take place live at the Loretto-Hilton Center from September 10 to October 3. —Jenna Jones

Dinosaur Jr. with Ryley Walker

8 p.m., Thursday, September 16. The Pageant, 6161 Delmar Boulevard. $30 to $35. 314-726-6161. If you’ve been missing the power of live, loud, bone-crunching rock & roll during the pandemic, Dinosaur Jr. is ready to give you a booster dose. The September 16 concert will be one of the biggest shows to happen at the Pageant since it came back to life after suffering (yet somehow surviving through) the sudden closure of all things fun during the pandemic. And no nonmedical industry was hit harder than the live music entertainment business. While restaurants had to try to pivot to curbside and everyone else learned how to wear masks, the concert industry mostly sat, defeated, until people could get a vaccine. And while there are many more things we can do now since those first early dark days of the pandemic, live music has remained a rare treat. The Pageant is trying to keep the doors open, too, so there are rules in place now to help keep everyone safe. The venue was one of the first in town to announce that patrons must have a vaccine or a recent negative test to enter. And guests will need to wear a mask, too. But it’s a small price to pay to be baptised by the glory that is the Dinosaur Jr. live show. If you’ve seen it before, you know that in addition to the mask, you’ll want to bring earplugs, too. Dino does it loud. —Jaime Lees

Bacon and Babes: Drag Brunch

12 p.m. Sunday, September 19. Mad Art Gallery, 2727 South Twelfth Street. $40. 314-771-8230. Brunch has become a trendy meal to gather with friends, but it can be tiring to host it yourself. The bacon must be crisp, the eggs can’t be runny, the toast can’t be burnt and the mimosa must constantly be flowing for all your guests. It’s stressful as hell trying to please everyone, and your friends aren’t even Instagram influencers Solve all these problems by convincing your group to buy tickets to the Bacon and Babes Drag Brunch at Mad Art Gallery. You get all the fun of brunch without having to prepare it, plus there’s a drag show. Your $40 ticket includes a catered buffet by chef Ron Buechele and one complimentary mimosa. (Just one? Well, this is brunch, of course, so bucket mimosa specials are just $15.) Performers include Andy Whorehal, Chasity Valentino, Lucy Couture, Roxxy Malone and Noah Mazzaratie Steele. It’s bound to be a loud, proud and spectacular event not to be missed. —Jack Probst

SLSO at Forest Park

7 p.m. Wednesday, September 22. Art Hill, 1 Fine Arts Drive. Free. Once a year, the world-class musicians of the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra serve up a free concert in the scenic environs of the world-class Forest Park. Led by Music Director Stéphane Denève, the SLSO delivers a selection of classical favorites, music from film and patriotic songs, capping off the event with a fireworks show. It’s the perfect excuse to pack a picnic basket and lay out a blanket at the base of Art Hill for a night of family fun or a romantic evening with the one you love — and all for free —Daniel Hill

Theo Welling: “Mama Cat,” Work in Progress

Friday, September 3-Saturday, September 25. Reception and artist talk 3 p.m. on Friday, September 24 at The May Gallery at Webster University, Sverdrup 123. Cathy Daniels, known not just in St. Louis but to activists around the world as Mama Cat, has been a force of humanitarian transformation for many years. But it was the police violence in Ferguson that brought about the PotBangerz, a nonprofit movement within the movement” aimed at getting hot food and essentials out to the unhoused population in St. Louis while advocating for their needs and rights as human beings and neighbors.

Theo Welling has been documenting Mama Cat and her work for over a year, when he hasn’t been out shooting features and The Lede (see page 5) every week for the Riverfront Times (hey, thats’ us . t’s a mi ture of everything in her life,” he says. “Protest and politics, family life, outreach, opening a transitional house for women who are unhoused, and food. Food is the basis of everything.”

This show at The May Gallery will be elling’s first chance to display some of the shots he’s taken of St. Louis’ matron saint. “The loose goal is to make a book of it eventually,” he says, but at this show you can expect to see lush prints of the kinds of shots Welling has become known for: still portraits, portraits in motion, and an eye for the details that make a human being unique. Due to COVID-19, the show itself is appointment only, but there will be a reception on September 24 where Welling will speak about this project. And he’ll be just in time, because Mama Cat has made it known that she is moving to Florida soon. Some cities have characters; St. Louis has a pot-banging angel — at least for now. —Evan Sult

The Rolling Stones

7:30 p.m. Sunday, September 26. The Dome at America’s Center, 701 Convention Plaza. $66.50 to $699. 314-342-5201. If the remaining Rolling Stones can survive this year, then so can we. Just recently, Rolling Stones drummer Charlie Watts dropped off of this tour shortly before passing away. But the deeply saddening loss of a core member of the band and one of the best drummers of all time could not stop this tour — not even a once-in-a-lifetime (hopefully) worldwide pandemic could stop this tour. The greatest living rock band in the world just keeps on pushing through and will likely continue to give performances that are second to none. It’s just what they do. This concert is a rescheduled date from June, when it was postponed because of COVID-19, so if you’re fully vaccinated and not scared of catching a breakthrough case, the concert gods (who now include Charlie Watts) are smiling down on you for this Rolling Stones appearance. There are plenty of tickets available for you to scoop up, including some spots in the pit that usually go for four times the price they’re listed at now. —Jaime Lees

The Gradient

October 1 through 24. The Center of Creative Arts, 6880 Washington Avenue. $25 to $85. 314-725-6555. Just after the Rep’s world-premiere of Dreaming Zenzile comes the first-ever performance of The Gradient. Written by Steph Del Rosso, the play is a satire. It takes place in the future, when men who are accused of sexual misconduct are taken to a facility that must rehabilitate them into responsible citizens. The show starts its run on October 1 at the Center of Creative Arts and ends on October 24. Purchase tickets online at repstl.org. —Jenna Jones