Email Author Dennis Brown

2007 Stories by Dennis Brown

• HotCity, Cold Clockwork Orange

  published April 25, 2007

  Everyone has heard the phrase "a clockwork orange." But what does it mean? According to Anthony Burgess, who popularized the term as the title of... More >>

• They Futzed with Anne Frank!

  published April 18, 2007

  A popular song lyric informs us that "everything old is new again." But when should old be replaced by new? And when does that new then find... More >>

• Capsule Reviews

  published April 11, 2007

  Gem of the Ocean The Black Rep has assembled a heavyweight cast that's experienced in performing the plays of August Wilson, but not even... More >>

• Dennis Brown takes a walk on the other side of the proscenium.

  published April 11, 2007

  December 7, 2006. Received an e-mail from Deanna Jent asking me to participate in a fundraiser for Act Inc. next March: a staged reading... More >>

• Dirty Rotten Scoundrels could use more giddy-up and some star power.

  published April 4, 2007

  There are surprises aplenty in Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, the irreverent buddy musical on view at the Fox. But one of the biggest... More >>

• Same old same old: Not even the Black Rep can save August Wilson's Gem of the Ocean.

  published April 4, 2007

  August Wilson and the Black Rep have served each other well, and St. Louis theatergoers have been the beneficiaries. In recent years the company's... More >>

• Capsule Reviews

  published March 28, 2007

  Hamlet A Hamlet produced and directed by Jason Cannon, and starring Jason Cannon. Might this be the vanity theater production of all... More >>

• Go love Stop Kiss.

  published March 28, 2007

  How do you visualize hate? In American History X, when Edward Norton's character commits a brutal, crunching hate crime at the curb outside... More >>

• The Rep stages a Final Adventure, but Dennis Brown sees a final solution.

  published March 28, 2007

  Sherlock Holmes is the most celebrated detective, and arguably the most famous character, in all fiction. For more than a century now, Sir Arthur... More >>

• Capsule Reviews

  published March 21, 2007

  The Baltimore Waltz Paula Vogel's 80-minute assault on fear tells a surreal tale about a prim elementary school teacher (Michelle Hand) who... More >>

• Closer Than Ever offers proof that you can succeed by not trying too hard.

  published March 21, 2007

  Four singers, one piano, one all-purpose chair. In the modest revue Closer Than Ever, that's all it takes to deliver a completely... More >>

• For RFT theater critic Dennis Brown, this week is Girls! Girls! Girls!

  published March 21, 2007

  If ambition was all, Women's Minyan, the current offering at New Jewish Theatre, might provide an intriguing journey... More >>

• Capsule Reviews

  published March 14, 2007

  The Baltimore Waltz. Reviewed in this issue.. ... More >>

• Stray Dog goes east, HotCity's GreenHouse goes west.

  published March 14, 2007

  Here's an old playwriting trick: If you want to tap into the audience's emotions, have your characters dance. Lanford Wilson, for instance, made... More >>

• Capsule Reviews

  published March 7, 2007

  Antony and Cleopatra Reviewed in this... More >>

• Chop chop: Edward Scissorhands at the Fox.

  published March 7, 2007

  Edward Scissorhands has a lot going for it in the abstract, starting with built-in name recognition from the 1990 Tim Burton film.... More >>

• Capsule Reviews

  published February 28, 2007

  civil disobedience For much of its cross-country journey, this world-premiere drama about the reluctant road trip of a... More >>

• Cul-de-sac will leave you looking twice at your neighbors.

  published February 28, 2007

  I'm a sucker for an interesting story," Leonard promptly informs us, then proceeds to tell one. For the next 80 minutes we enter the homes and... More >>

• Capsule Reviews

  published February 21, 2007

  Crossin' Over Reviewed in this issue The Heidi Chronicles In the title... More >>

• The Rep's WiseWrite Festival isn't just for kids.

  published February 21, 2007

  WiseWrite Festival Hard to believe that the Repertory Theatre of St. Louis' WiseWrite Festival is eleven years old. That means... More >>

• Standing on My Knees proves that even the Orange Girls can have too little to work with.

  published February 21, 2007

  Is there a disconnect between what critics and audiences see when they attend a play? Often there is. John Olive's Standing on My... More >>

• Ron Himes' Crossin' Over is a celebration in song.

  published February 21, 2007

  Ever held your nose and been doused in the river at an old-fashioned revival meeting? Sitting through the faith-based musical revue Crossin'... More >>

• Capsule Reviews

  published February 14, 2007

  Menopause The Musical Who knew hormone shifts could be so much fun? An energetic cast of four women "of a certain age" sing and dance their... More >>

• Attention Must Be Paid

  published February 14, 2007

  When the angst finally ended and Willy Loman was free at last, the applause that greeted the curtain call for the Muddy Waters Theatre mounting of... More >>

• The Kevins Turn Two, Part 2

  published February 7, 2007

  [Editor's note: This is the conclusion of a two-part essay. For the opening salvo, see last week's issue.] In its brief two-year existence,... More >>