Email Author Dennis Brown

2009 Stories by Dennis Brown

• Exeunt: Dennis wraps up a tidy 2009 in local theater

  published December 30, 2009

  What an unexpected year for theater 2009 turned out to be. With the nation gripped in economic turmoil, it would have been understandable had... More >>

• St. Louis Stage Capsules

  published December 23, 2009

  Newly Reviewed Irving Berlin's White Christmas First off, a correction. Three years ago when I reviewed the Muny staging... More >>

• St. Louis Stage Capsules

  published December 16, 2009

  Black Nativity Langston Hughes deemed Black Nativity his "gospel song play." Act One is all of those things, a soaring and gorgeous... More >>

• St. Louis Stage Capsules

  published December 9, 2009

  Newly Reviewed Black Nativity Langston Hughes deemed Black Nativity his "gospel song play." Act One is all of... More >>

• Stocking Stuffers: Avalon Theatre totes a sweet treat down drama's chimney, but the Rep drops a lump of coal

  published December 9, 2009

  The decision by the Repertory Theatre of St. Louis to mount A Christmas Story this month is a no-brainer. Based on the charming... More >>

• St. Louis Stage Capsules

  published November 18, 2009

  Fiddler on the Roof Director Deanna Jent has crafted a warm and cozy production of the perennial favorite, with the little village of... More >>

• St. Louis Stage Capsules

  published November 12, 2009

  Fiddler on the Roof Director Deanna Jent has crafted a warm and cozy production of the perennial favorite, with the little village of... More >>

• Shiver Me Timbers! St. Louis Shakespeare takes to the high seas with Treasure Island

  published November 12, 2009

  Once again the good ship Hispaniola is setting sail for Treasure Island, the accursed isle that was made memorable in Robert Louis... More >>

• Edward the Great: After nearly half a century, Albee's Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? still packs a 100-proof punch

  published November 12, 2009

  George and Martha are at it again. As the sparks fly and their lacerating living room boozefest drags on into the wee hours of the morning, one... More >>

• St. Louis Stage Capsules

  published November 4, 2009

  Fiddler on the Roof Director Deanna Jent has crafted a warm and cozy production of the perennial favorite, with the little village of... More >>

• Ho-Hum's the Word: Secret Order will tax your brain but not your heart

  published November 4, 2009

  The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis begins this year's Studio series with Secret Order, an old-fashioned morality play aimed at a... More >>

• By the Boards: Dennis Brown on the STL Theater Scene October 29-November 1

  published Oct 29, 2009

  This week the Rep opens its Studio Series with Secret Order, a fictional drama that lifts the veil on behind-the-scenes maneuverings at a prestigious Manhattan cancer clinic. In the tradition of the b... More >>

• St. Louis Stage Capsules

  published October 28, 2009

  Ragtime How gratifying to be exposed to an American musical that is so unrelentingly audacious. Thomas Edison, Theodore Roosevelt, Harry... More >>

• Breast Intentions: Unbeatable! arrives with a provocative theme and a noble message. But where does it go from there?

  published October 28, 2009

  According to the publicity flyer for Unbeatable! — the new musical on view at the Playhouse at Westport Plaza through most... More >>

• By the Boards: Dennis Brown on the STL Theater Scene October 22-25

  published Oct 22, 2009

  It used to be that a rite of passage for every theater company was to stage Thornton Wilder's Our Town. Times have changed. Now that rite of passage seems to have passed on to The Rocky Horror Show. T... More >>

• St. Louis Stage Capsules

  published October 21, 2009

  Helver's Night Time seems to stand still in this harrowing 80-minute drama from Poland, that is receiving its U.S. premiere. Linda... More >>

• Piano Mancrush: Dennis falls head over heels for the Wash. U./Black Rep staging of Ragtime

  published October 21, 2009

  Stephen Schwartz knows a good musical when he sees one. Six years ago when the composer of Godspell, Pippin and Wicked... More >>

• By the Boards: Dennis Brown on the STL Theater Scene October 15-18

  published Oct 15, 2009

  Unity Theatre Ensemble is this area's stealth company -- except when they're performing. Then it's everything they can do to keep the roof nailed down. But publicity is not their strong suit. Music is... More >>

• St. Louis Stage Capsules

  published October 14, 2009

  Conversations With My Father Set in a Canal Street bar, Herb Gardner's semi-autobiographical memory play (the last of Gardner's plays to... More >>

• A Full Head of Extreme: Feeling apathetic? Helver's Night will shake you out of your torpor.

  published October 14, 2009

  Event theater has arrived on Grand Boulevard, and I'm not referring to the return of the Phantom at the Fox. Halfway down the block at... More >>

• St. Louis Stage Capsules

  published October 7, 2009

  Also Reviewed Into the Woods Four years ago James Lapine, who wrote this perennially popular deconstruction of fairy... More >>

• Pair of Jokers: Compare notes on late-career plays by Neil Simon and Herb Gardner

  published October 7, 2009

  Neil Simon was born in the Bronx in 1927. Herb Gardner was born in Brooklyn in 1934. In 1962 Simon's first play, Come Blow Your Horn,... More >>

• Hue and Cry: The Orange Girls go out with a guffaw

  published October 7, 2009

  Late in David Lindsay-Abaire's exhilarating madcap comedy Wonder of the World, which is being staged to a fare-thee-well by the... More >>

• By the Boards: Dennis Brown on the STL Theater Scene October 1-4

  published Oct 01, 2009

  There was a lovely ambiance last weekend in the old mall corridor at Crestwood Court. Three plays were opening within just a few doors of each other. People would spot friends and call out, "What are... More >>

• St. Louis Stage Capsules

  published September 30, 2009

  Amadeus Thirty years after its sensational Broadway debut, Peter Shaffer's rococo account of jealousy, temptation and betrayal in the... More >>