creve coeur | The 2025 season of the New Jewish Theater (NJT) will kick off in grand style with the powerful Cabaret, opening March 20. Daring, provocative and exuberantly entertaining, the musical explores the dark, heady and hedonistic life of Bohemian Berlin as Germany slowly yields to the emerging Third Reich. The events depicted in the original 1966 musical are derived from writer Christopher Isherwood’s novel Goodbye to Berlin, autobiographical tales of his colorful and decadent escapades during Nazism’s inexorable rise. The J’s Wool Studio Theatre promises to be the perfect home for an intimate and exciting production of this Tony Award-winning classic—music and lyrics by John Kander and Fred Ebb—to be directed by NJT’s own artistic director, Rebekah Scallet. The thought-provoking and timeless musical runs through April 6. Visit jccstl.com/arts-ideas.
clayton
One concept for a St. Louis County flag featured a farm tractor smack in the middle, which apparently was too bucolic an image for an economically progressive metro region keen on attracting biotech and other 21st century industries. In actuality, the former banner was somewhat similar, only with a more primitive implement, a plow, front and center, with graphic representations of homes and office towers in the background, which certainly could represent Clayton, our county seat, or maybe an up-and-coming suburb like Chesterfield. At County Executive Sam Page’s address on the state of the county, which he delivered at UMSL, the two artists who designed the striking flag held it up for attendees to admire. The approved flag features the pointed middle section of a white fleur de lis on a blue background one-quarter turn clockwise—i.e., to the right. It is a hopeful image: Progress, always moving forward. Social media, however, has not been kind to our new symbol of hope, pride and confidence. Suffice it to say, many if not most of the negative comments are not suitable for printing in a magazine that anyone can pick up for free at supermarkets. We’re loath to point you toward them online. You can see for yourself, but you’ll have to go look.
ladue
Hey, kids! As if it wasn’t already exciting at your county library—and please remember, even the quietest inside voice in here may be too loud—Geri Halliwell-Horner, aka Ginger Spice, will appear April 9 at 6:30 p.m. in a ticketed event to present the second installment in her Rosie Frost adventure series for middle-grade readers. Tickets will include a pre-signed copy of the book and entrance to a photo line. But leave your CDs and posters at home, as she won’t be signing anything else for fans of the Spice Girls, British dance-pop superstars from the turn of the millennium. Tickets are available via eventbrite.com. And it’s probably smart to act now. Another ticketed event coming up even earlier should be interesting to anyone who considers themselves an integral part of Cardinals Nation, i.e., a fan! March 28 at 7 p.m., Mike Matheny, former Redbirds manager and an MLB Gold-Glove winning catcher, presents The Dad Coach, which isn’t so much about the fundamentals of throwing, catching, hitting and fielding as it is the qualities essential for girls and boys to succeed on—and, especially, off—the field. He provides a step-by-step template for parents and coaches to help their young players develop good character via honesty, humility and a strong work ethic, win or lose. Tickets for this event, also at the Clark Family Branch, are available at eventbrite.com, as well.
notable neighbors
olivette
It was Dec. 7, 1941, and the Bryants had turned on the radio for something entertaining, but not too distracting, while they concentrated on playing cards. Instead, they heard shocking news: The Japanese had bombed Pearl Harbor. Jack Bryant remembers that horrific event, of course, but that Sunday morning was memorable for another reason entirely—it was also the day he was introduced to the game of bridge. He was 7 years old. He hasn’t stopped, except for a hiatus in the 1950s and early ’60s to concentrate on his studies. He must have been pretty good right from the start, notes Laura, the oldest of his three children. She served as a bridge caddy with a younger brother when she was going on 14, tasked with duties such as moving card trays from table to table and helping keep the state of play smooth and efficient at the Chase Park Plaza. Her dad started competing in tournament bridge before he was in his teens. And he admits to being a little full of himself. “I must have been a cocky young fellow,” says Bryant, now 90, after a recent Friday morning of duplicate bridge at the St. Louis Bridge Center in Olivette, his home away from home. How’d he do? “I won,” he says, matter-of-factly. But if he were so inclined, Bryant would have plenty to crow about. For the tenth time, Unit 143, the metro component of the American Contract Bridge League (ACBL), has honored Bryant as player of the year, also naming its Spring Sectional Tournament after him. Here’s some of their plaudits: “…one of our unit’s founding fathers, Jack has generously mentored countless players and devoted years of service to the bridge community. By a wide margin, he holds the record for the most cumulative master points earned by any player, living or dead, in Unit 143.” Unit 143 also has honored him with its first-ever lifetime achievement award. And quite a life in bridge he’s had, spending as much time at the tables as golf enthusiasts do on the links. Enthusiast, heck: “It’s an obsession,” Bryant admits. A 1953 grad of Maplewood-Richmond Heights High School, he started college at WashU, finished up at SIU-Edwardsville in 1962, then went to work at McDonnell Aircraft—where he cultivated an affinity for duplicate bridge with a co-worker. “They’d have had to shoot me to keep me away from it,” he exclaims. “It was more important than my job!” Unlike those folks who try to do nothing except surf or ski, however, he didn’t become a ‘bridge bum.’ And he still plays most days of the week—online on Wednesdays. He stopped playing tennis at age 80. “But you can play bridge your whole life.” So far, so good. After a career that took him from ‘the airplane factory’ to the Department of Defense, Bryant retired in 1997 after finishing up his work life with 15 years at the Department of Agriculture. And bridge has continued apace. “The game fascinates me. Every hand is different,” he says. In fact, there are several quadrillion possibilities. “But there’s no ‘luck of the deal.’ You can beat yourself by making mental errors.” Want to know more or learn how to play? Visit stlouisbridge.org.
