St. Louis has a great variety of theater. There are a few big institutions that produce their own work, including The Rep, Stages, The Muny, and a few that bring in touring productions, including the Fox and Peabody. But beyond that, we have around 25 small professional companies and more than 30 community theaters. Most of the small professional companies are so affordable, you have no reason not to try them. If you haven’t yet, make this your year to do it. And another bonus: smaller companies can get away with riskier, more interesting work.
Joe Hanrahan and David Wassilak founded The Midnight Company in 1997. It continues with Hanrahan and Sarah Whitney and produces small-cast shows that can be played almost anywhere. I recently saw St. Nicholas, a one-man show featuring the always-excellent Hanrahan as a blood-sucking theater critic, drunk on whiskey and power, who meets up with a band of vampires. It was an excellent metaphor that played beautifully in the stone basement of Herbie’s Vintage ’72. Hanrahan currently is being seen in One Flea Spare, produced by Slightly Askew Theatre Ensemble at the Chapel through Aug. 29.
OnSite Theatre Company (established 2007) also produces theater wherever it can find the space. Its goal is to “provide St. Louis with ever-changing theatrical events where actors, audience and location play active roles in an interactive environment for a fresh, unconventional experience.” In July it produced a “family-friendly folktale” by local playwright Nancy Bell, in SweetArt Bakery. R-S Theatrics picks up the mantle of ‘thought-provoking’ and produces work that demands after-show parking lot discussion. Its next offering is Mr. Burns – A Post-Electric Play running Sept. 4 through 20 at the Ivory Theatre. Christina Rios has led this “small company with a big voice” since 2011.
Two companies that produce brand-new work are The Players Project Theater Company and Theatre Nuevo. The former, led by Todd Schaefer, has been around for 11 years, while Theatre Nuevo (Anna Skidis, artistic director) finished its very first show earlier this month. Its next project, Orgullo: A Pride of One Acts, looks to celebrate Latino voices. Stay tuned.
[on the marquee]
The Rep is starting off the fall with what I hope will be a bang! All the Way kicks off The Rep’s 49th season on Sept. 11. It’s a behind-the-scenes look at the presidency of Lyndon B. Johnson and the “deception, bullying and blackmail” he used to pass the Civil Rights Act and guarantee a full term in the White House.
» Spinning Into Butter | Insight Theatre Company | Aug. 27 – Sept. 13
» The Full Monty | Stages St. Louis | Sept. 4 – Oct. 4
» The Sunshine Boys | New Jewish Theater | Oct. 8 – Nov. 1
» Heathers | New Line Theatre | Oct. 2
Pictured: Joe Hanrahan in The Midnight Company’s St. Nicholas
Photo: Todd Davis