2006

Nine of St. Louis' most exciting, most adventurous theatre companies have come together in an unprecedented collaboration to bring to local audiences the first ever St. Louis Political Theatre Festival. The festival features eleven shows running from August to December, in venues all over the metro area, bringing the most important issues of our times to the stages of St. Louis. These shows will challenge audiences to think about and get involved in the great struggles of our times and our country, as we head for some of the most crucial midterm Congressional elections in recent history.

The Festival has been created for two reasons. First, to remind people that theatre addresses, with enormous power, the biggest issues of our times, better than any other art form. And second, to remind St. Louisans of the importance of being engaged in our government "of the people, by the people, and for the people." The stage has forever been a place where political issues have been examined and challenged. The ritualistic and social significance of the earliest Greek performances in central arenas brought relevance to many controversial topics -- war, politics, sex. We do the same today.

Throughout history, the times of greatest tumult are also the times of the greatest theatre -- in America in the 1930s and the 1960s and 70s, but also in modern day Belfast and in Elizabethan England. We believe that America in the new millennium is one such place and time. Back during the height of the Depression, the American theatre became increasingly, intensely political, with shows like Waiting for Lefty, The Cradle Will Rock, Power, Awake and Sing!, One Third of a Nation, It Can't Happen Here, Pins and Needles, and many others. Once America entered World War II, rabid patriotism overpowered political dissent, and political theatre faded away. But when the 60s arrived with renewed political and social unrest, the theatre returned to fiercely political drama and satire, with shows like Hair, Viet Rock, Cabaret, McBird, US, Tom Paine, Futz, and many others. But the materialism of the 80s and the dot-com prosperity of the 90s lessened the public appetite for political theatre once again. Then came the September 11 attacks, and the Bush administration. Now, political theatre is back again, and it's healthier and fiercer than ever.

The companies involved in the Festival believe that live theatre is one of the most powerful tools for social and political change, appealing not just to the intellect but, more importantly, to the emotions and to our primeval need for stories that make order out of the chaos of our world. Russ Rymer recently wrote in Mother Jones magazine, "Why, in an era when news of the world can be summoned by a button on a remote, when the Internet allows anyone to mobilize with a mouse click, is political apathy approaching a level sufficient to endanger the Republic?" We hope this festival will be one small step in curbing that dangerous tide.

CHECK OUT THE POST-DISPATCH ARTICLE

Get some commemorative Festival "tour shirts" and other memorabilia.

The  Washington Avenue Players Project
presents the world premiere of
MoMENTS (I AM WHAT YOU ARE)
Aug. 10-19, 2006, Thurs, Fri, Sat, 8:00 p.m.
ArtLoft Theatre, 1529 Washington Ave.
Metrotix 314-534-1111
www.thewapp.com
MOments is a new theatrical experience examining personal voice and connections made through various moments we create or get thrown into, exploring the lack of connection our country's political forces have with the people, how policy is never universal and how political jargon gets in the way of real communication. How many tactics can the leaders of our country use to get us on their side? Who is truly in charge? Where do we stand? Are we truly what they are? When do we have a voice?
  
The NonProphet Theater Company presents
David Mamet's
AMERICAN BUFFALO
August 17-27, 2006, Thurs. and Sat., 8:00 p.m. and Sun., 4:00 p.m. (no Fri. shows)
Jewish Community Center, 2 Millstone Campus Drive
314-752-5075
www.nptco.org
Mamet's play speaks volumes on the policies and politics of the 1970s -- and today! The country was in a recession, America was pulling out of an unpopular war, and dissatisfaction with the administration was at an all time high due to the seemingly endless scandals. The pathetic atmosphere of Donny's junk shop underscores the decay that many big American cities were facing in the 1970s (and again today), due in part to declining federal support for social services. The situation has many unexpected twists that gives the viewer a laugh or two, which are welcome, since the bleak conclusion of the play is just as bleak as was the end of the 1970s.
   
St. Louis Shakespeare presents
TROILUS & CRESSIDA
September 1-10, 2006
Thursday at 7:30 p.m., Friday, Saturday, 8:00 p.m., Sunday, 2:00 p.m.
Grandel Theatre, 3610 Grandel Square
Metrotix 314-534-1111
www.stlshakespeare.org
Set during the Trojan War, Troilus and Cressida is a provocative play about politics, brutality, vanity, and lust. Troilus, a prince of Troy, loves the beautiful Cressida, but can they resist the pressure to betray their families and their countries?  This timely drama of lost innocence and sexual betrayal is played out against the backdrop of a senseless war which no one seems to know how to bring to an end. "Lechery, lechery, still wars and lechery; nothing else holds fashion."
   
Soundstage Productions presents
TOUCH THE NAMES
Sunday, Sept. 17, 2006, 3:00 p.m.
The Heights, 8001 Dale Avenue
314-968-8070 
www.soundstageproductions.net
A deeply moving compilation, with music, of letters and notes left at the Vietnam War Memorial -- The Wall -- from friends and family of the men and women who lost their lives in Vietnam. The show just finished a sell out run in Santa Barbara at the Ensemble Theatre. Net ticket proceeds will be donated to The American Veterans Center in St. Louis.

Stray Dog Theatre presents
TARTUFFE
Oct. 5-22, 2006, Thursday-Saturday at 8:00 p.m. and Sunday at 2:00 p.m.
The Little Theatre, #1 Mark Twain Circle
314-865-1995
www.StrayDogTheatre.org
Stray Dog Theatre opens its fourth season with Richard Wilbur's translation of TARTUFFE by Moliere, exploring the dangers of self-righteousness and stubborn devotion to an empty and misguided belief system, themes as relevant today as when Moliere wrote his play in 1669. Stray Dog catapults the piece into today and sets the story in the home of a wealthy political figure. A senator perhaps? Possibly a president? The audience joins in on the guessing game of who's who as the classic characters begin to resemble modern day political figures.
      
The Orange Girls present
BOLD GIRLS
Oct. 6-22, 2006, Fridays, Saturdays at 8:00 p.m., Sundays at 2:00 p.m.
COCA's Anheuser-Busch Studio Theater, 524 Trinity
314-520-9557
www.orangegirls.org
Bold Girls was written by Rona Munro and it depicts the drama of everyday life for three women of Belfast, the wives and mothers that battle to keep their marriages and families together as the forces of politics and violence clash just beyond their doors. The show portrays the very human cost exacted by political strategies -- and not simply in terms of those who lose their lives in the crossfire, but for the survivors who are left to put things back together in the wake of the "collateral damage." The Daily Mail says of the play, "Rona Munro's ear for the authentic cut and thrusts of Belfast's unsung heroines is sharp, abrasive and at times downright painful.... It is also celebratory and funny."  
   
That Uppity Theatre Company
and Playback Workshop Theatre present 
COMING OUT STORIES: AN INTERACTIVE EVENT
Wed, Oct 11, 2006 (National Coming Out Day), 7:00 p.m.
Theatre TBA
314 995-4600
www.uppityco.com
Despite the popularity of such shows as "Will & Grace" or "Queer Eye for the Straight Guy" which suggest a certain level of mainstream acceptance, the gay community continues to experience a backlash of discrimination. Under the current administration, attempts are being made to rewrite the Constitution, to reinforce the second-class status of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgendered people who do not have the same rights as their heterosexual counterparts. Given the political and social climate, what is the significance of "coming out," a traditional rite of passage? What are the advantages? The pitfalls? Using "Playback Theatre," audience members will have the opportunity to share some of their coming out stories to be enacted by a professional company through the spontaneity of skilled improvisation. 
  
New Line Theatre presents
the world premiere of
JOHNNY APPLEWEED
Oct. 12-Nov. 4, 2006, Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays, 8:00 p.m.
ArtLoft Theatre, 1529 Washington Ave.
314-534-1111
www.newlinetheatre.com
Fiercely funny and utterly original, this is a fearless musical comedy about "God, government, and ganja" in America in the new millennium, guaranteed to outrage while it amuses. The show takes aim at hot-button issues like American party politics, the War on Terror, the American culture of violence, gun control, sexuality, gay marriage, increasingly rabid American religious fervor, and more, all through the eyes of the laidback, neo-mythic purveyor of pot Johnny Appleweed, an itinerant philosopher-stoner, who argues that only through the mind-expanding properties of marijuana can we truly see the Larger Truths, so that we can finally solve our problems and move our civilization forward. The show has been described as a heady mix of Hair, The Daily Show, the films of Kevin Smith, Waiting for Godot, and The Wizard of Oz.
  
The NonProphet Theater Company presents
GIRL GONE
Oct. 19-29, 2006, Thurs. and Sat., 8:00 p.m. and Sun., 4:00 p.m. (no Fri. shows)
Jewish Community Center, 2 Millstone Campus Drive
314-752-5075
www.nptco.org
In Jacquelyn Reingold's tense psychological thriller Girl Gone, Tish is a young woman who dances in a topless bar. When her best friend is brutally murdered, she becomes obsessed with who killed her friend and why. The action moves rapidly from the past to the present, between Tish's mind and the real world, revealing an exploration of gender and sexuality and the way our culture looks at women.
 
The NonProphet Theater Company presents
THE PATRIOTIC FREEDOM BINGO MACHINE
October 21, 2006, Midnight
Laughs on the Landing Comedy Club, 801 North Second Street
314-752-5075
www.nptco.org
A special, subversively patriotic version of their signature sketch comedy show, The Militant Propaganda Bingo Machine, conceived by NonProphet Theater Company founder Robert Mitchell. The show is a haphazard collection of 24 sketches written by the company, and performed in a random order, determined by the audience, while they play BINGO to the resulting chaos. The show was named the "Best Comedy Show of 2003" by the Riverfront Times, and is now celebrating its tenth year in production.
  
 Off Center Theatre presents
The Slightly Askew Theatre Ensemble in
Jose Rivera’s SONNETS FOR AN OLD CENTURY
December 7-17, 2006, Thurs. thru Sat., 8:00 p.m., and Sundays, 7:30 p.m.
Theatre still TBA
314-322-8850
www.slightlyoff.org
 “You stand here and make your statement.
That’s it.
You want to fight with existence?
Go for it. You want to scream?
Knock yourself out.
Just remember:
your words go out to the universe, all your
words, to be, I don’t know, recycled among
the living—like rain, like part of—
some ecology of the spirit.
It’s the last and only time you have
to give your side of the story, as far as I
know. “
We think this particular excerpt from "Sonnets for an Old Century" says it all. We all have a voice, and in Sonnets, these voices from the United States of America come together out of the darkness in that one post-apocalyptic moment -- young and old from all walks of life -- to say One. Last. Thing. Words can change lives; words can make a difference. It is our words that help to define who we are as human beings…and they need to be heard. This production will be a multi-media event including actors, dancers, and live artistry created every night as the back-drop for the piece.  

www.norml.org