Baby, it's gonna be cold outside this weekend — but so what? The three-day stretch is full of things to do, from Schlafly's annual Cabin Fever outdoor drinkfest to the Cardinals Care Winter Warm-Up (get autographs for a good cause!)
Here are the eight things we're most excited to do this weekend in St. Louis. More interested in art? Here are all the details about those openings, too.
1. See a Play with Current Resonance
Kenyatta is a revered member of the Black Power movement who has sacrificed any sort of real relationship with his family in his pursuit of social justice. His estranged wife Ashanti has recently died, and Kenyatta heads home at last to collect the letters she wrote to him, but never sent, while he was imprisoned. The only obstacle in his path is his adult daughter Nina, who resents him for abandoning her and ruining her mother's life. In short order Kenyatta learns that his reputation and street cred mean nothing to a woman who wanted a father, not a figurehead. Dominic Morisseau's Sunset Baby is about fatherhood, personal politics and the value of family — even when you don't want one. The Black Rep presents Sunset Baby at 7 p.m. Thursday, 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday, and 3 p.m. Sunday (January 15 to 31) at Washington University's Edison Theatre (6445 Forsyth Boulevard; 314-534-3810 or www.theblackrep.org). Tickets are $30. — Paul Friswold
2. Escape to Italy ... on Stage
Married life is not the bliss and contentment Lottie Wilton was promised. Her husband treats her like a child, and London is a smoggy, dreary place in the aftermath of World War I. Who can blame her for spending her savings to rent an Italian castle for a month-long vacation? But to get there she'll need partners, and so she recruits three strangers to help manage the cost. One is another unhappy housewife, one is a demanding older woman of certain means, and the final partner is a young flapper. Together the quartet embarks on the great adventure of abundant sun, handsome property managers and four blissful weeks without domineering husbands. Matthew Barber's play Enchanted April is based on Elizabeth von Arnim's 1922 novel, but modified slightly for stage and modern times. Kirkwood Theatre Guild presents Enchanted April at 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday (January 15 to 24) at the Robert G. Reim Theatre (111 South Geyer Road, Kirkwood; 314-821-9956 or www.ktg-onstage.org). Tickets are $20. — Paul Friswold
3. Meet Some Cardinals, for a Good Cause
Fact: Baseball spring training hasn't started yet. Fact: You bleed Cardinals red, even in the off-season. Fact: Cardinals Care Winter Warm-Up offers a great time to meet players, get autographs, help kids and add fuel to the baseball fire burning in your heart. So what are you waiting for? Head down to the Hyatt Regency St. Louis at the Arch (315 Chestnut Street) from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday and from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday (January 16 through 18) to find that warm home-run feeling inside when the weather is chilly outside. Three-day tickets cost $40 for those 16 and older, and your admission includes some free autograph opportunities; other autographs and food cost extra, as do Busch Stadium tours (which happen each day from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.). For a full list of participating Cardinals, past and present, and for more information, visit www.stlcardinals.com. Proceeds benefit the Cardinals Care community foundation and its efforts to help area kids. — Alison Sieloff
4. Drink Ice-Cold Beer ... Outside
Something magical happens whilst beer gently rests in your overfed winter's belly: pure happiness, nothing less and nothing more. But what more could you possibly want? At Cabin Fever at the Schlafly Bottleworks (7260 Southwest Avenue, Maplewood), you'll experience that blissful, fleeting feeling after you've gotten the you-know-what out of your cluttered, claustrophobic house and sampled eighteen two-ounce pours of Schlafly beers. Yeah, that sounds magical indeed. Cabin Fever runs from noon to 4 p.m. Saturday, and tickets cost $30 to $35 at www.schlafly.com. Live music by ClusterPluck should keep your ears toasty, but you also will probably want to dress warmly for this outdoor beer fest. — Alison Sieloff
