Now that the flurry of December theater openings has passed, I'm taking a few moments to reflect on the year. All in all, 2023 was a good year for theater and theatergoers — and I'm cautiously optimistic that 2024 will continue the trend.
Despite many challenges, the St. Louis theater community thrived in unexpected ways, and for the first time in several years, no company had to cancel shows or productions due to COVID-19. The return to established season lengths and the welcome addition of several smaller companies including Contraband Theatre, Action Art Collective, Critique Theatre Company and even the new St. Louis-based Denton Darlings shadowcast players give this reviewer reason to be cautiously optimistic heading into 2024. Having seen a majority of the plays, musicals and operas in town, as well as some fantastic cabaret drag and burlesque shows, I noticed a few recurrent themes.
Acting Excellence
This year, we saw an abundance of excellent performances and most professional companies had at least one truly memorable show. Ron Himes was masterful in Death of a Salesman at the Black Rep, and the script's classist themes reverberated louder inhabited by Black characters; additionally, the ensemble of the relevant and resonant Skeleton Crew fully committed to the story with relatable, authentic performances. The Lehman Trilogy at the Repertory Theatre of St. Louis mesmerized with its flawless transitions and so many distinct, well-developed characters from just three performers.
The Muny scored big points by finally producing RENT. I was surprised at how emotionally compelling and sympathetic the performances were on the big stage. Beautiful: The Carole King Musical was another crowd-pleaser that was equal parts charmingly personal, lyrically moving and genuinely vulnerable.
Albion Theatre's Mind Games walked a fine line between fiction and reality while The Birthday Party was convincing and gleefully menacing. The Tennessee Williams Festival St. Louis demonstrated that Suddenly, Last Summer still shocks and disturbs while remaining enthralling theater with a nuanced, evocative interpretation. Prism Theatre Company's Wrens sparkled, speaking to universal truths through distinctly individual characters.
Surprises and Fresh Interpretations
Into the Woods shone in two well-acted productions. Stray Dog Theatre gave us a euphoric, whimsical twist with cartoonish wigs and costumes that emphasized the sense of adventure and discovery in the story. New Jewish Theatre presented a darker, more intimate and immersive fantasy that featured constantly shifting set pieces and perhaps the best casting I've seen for this musical.
Stray Dog Theatre also wowed with its dramatic take on Godspell, which included one of the most spectacular bits of scenic design and action that I saw this year. The other completely unexpected set design moment was the car crash in Moonstone Theatre Company's Grand Horizons. Sarah Burke's nonplussed reactions as the estranged wife of the car's driver offered a perfect little moment in a truly startling scene. And STAGES St. Louis surprised everyone by producing the comedy Clue; with inventive sets and flawless comic timing, it turned into the surprising hit of late summer.
Tesseract Theatre produced two thoughtful and persuasive explorations of modern femininity, In Bloom and The Mad Ones, that featured heartbreaking moments, grace and compassion. SATE made a hilariously upended take on A Midsummer Night's Dream with This Palpable Gross Play. Cherokee Street Theatre Company twisted The Goonies to its comic limitation, and ERA infused The Breakfast Club with fatalistic humor to create the comically inventive riff The Brechtfast Club. The Midnight Company successfully dipped its toes into a new form of storytelling, the scripted cabaret, while also wowing audiences with engrossing deceit and manipulation in The Lion in Winter.
Something for Everyone
This city does a particularly good job of being fearless about art, whether that means trying a new concept on a familiar show or seeking out and producing new art. The Rep's It's A Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play reinterpreted the beloved movie as an always-moving live studio show. St. Louis Shakespeare Festival's Q Brothers Christmas Carol perfectly mixed hip-hop and Charles Dickens to create a feel-good, dance-in-your-seat tale. And New Line Theatre's Jesus and Johnny Appleweed's Holy Rollin' Family Christmas gives the Dickens tale a twist of Reefer Madness and mid-century kitsch.
Scott Miller, artistic director and creator of the aforementioned New Line musical, wasn't the only artist or company producing new work. Jacob Juntunen and Contraband Theatre produced See You in a Minute, one of the first scripts taking a deeper look into one family's pandemic experience. Prison Performing Arts pulled a gut-wrenching twist in The Privilege of Being Second, Colin McLaughlin created two historical plays based in St. Louis that thoroughly entertained and intrigued audiences, and Jean: A One-Person Play, written and performed by Ann Truka, was a runaway favorite at the St. Louis Fringe Festival in August.
As John Goodman said at the Rep's Rally: Holiday Benefit Experience, there's nothing quite like live theater. It's an art form saturated in immediacy that creates a direct connection between the audience, the performer and the story. While the St. Louis region still faces challenges in truly making theater accessible to all, it is an invaluable asset to our community and culture, and it's up to all of us to help keep the arts thriving in our city. Whether you're a frequent theatergoer like me or not, do yourself a favor in 2024 and go see a play.
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