We're a bit light this week, but quality over quantity is the theme. Art is at the center of it all, and we're excited for the weeks to come. There is a full weekend ahead, so don't forget to make some plans:
Thursday 08/18
DaVinci Code
Immerse yourself in the Italian Renaissance with DaVinci and Michelangelo: The Titans Experience. This event puts Italian Renaissance artists Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo front and center for a multimedia journey. Videos, film clips, 3D animation and images of both da Vinci and Michelangelo's sketches, inventions, paintings, sculptures and codices are all included in the immersive experience. Guests will explore David, the Sistine Chapel and da Vinci's machines. Mark Rodgers, curator of the DaVinci Machines & Michelangelo exhibitions for North America, leads the experience as a guide. The experience is open to all ages and includes an art installation and self-guided tours, as well as displays on a 40-foot video wall. The Titans Experience is at the reopened Westport Playhouse (635 Westport Plaza Drive, thewestportplayhouse.com) now until Sunday, August 28. Showtimes this week include 2 p.m. Thursday, August 18, and Sunday, August 21, and 7 p.m. Friday, August 19, and Saturday, August 20. Tickets begin at $40.
Tuesday 08/23
Feeling Rosy
A Sicilian love story gets a fresh take at the seventh annual Tennessee Williams Festival St. Louis. The festival features The Rose Tattoo, a play of love, death and resilience in an oppressed but hopeful 1940s Sicilian immigrant community. Williams called it his "love-play to the world."
The main character, Serafina Delle Rose (played by Rayme Cornell) is heartbroken after the death of her husband and retreats from the world. She doesn't know if she'll find love again, but a banana truck driver has been making inroads. The play's director, David Kaplan, uses an Italian circus — a dozen circus performers including a ringmaster, aerialists, clowns and trapeze artists — to help tell the story of the play.
Panel discussions and additional events are also included in the festival. For example, the Tennessee Williams New Playwright Reading is scheduled for Tuesday, August 23, at 7 p.m. at the High Low (3301 Washington Avenue). The reading features five short plays by different playwrights. The festival runs from Thursday, August 18, to Sunday, August 28. Tickets begin at $15 for the new playwright reading. The Rose Tattoo is performed in the Big Top Circus Tent (3401 Washington Avenue, twstl.org); check the website for showtimes. Tickets start at $25.
Here's some more things to do from our user-submitted Calendar:
