Civil War

Alan and his wife Annette are meeting Michael and Veronica under slightly-awkward circumstances; their son hit Michael and Veronica's son in the face, breaking two of his teeth in a playground scuffle. These two sets of sophisticated parents are meeting to discuss how best to deal with this situation, because that's what civilized adults do. They talk over their problems, sift through the options and make a rational and informed parenting decision that will transform this childish contremps into a learning situation for both boys. That's the initial plan; what occurs is brutal warfare on an emotional and psychic level as their civility is flayed away by the hard realities of a dog-eat-dog world. You're on your own out there -- even your spouse will team up on you if he's got another man to commiserate with. Yasmina Reza's God of Carnage is a dark and sharply comic look at the savage instincts that lurk beneath the suits and cocktail dresses. The Repertory Theatre of Saint Louis presents God of Carnage on the Browning Mainstage at the Loretto-Hilton Center on the Webster University campus (130 Edgar Road; 314-968-4925 or www.repstl.org) Tuesday through Sunday (October 12 through November 6). Tickets are $16 to $72.
Tuesdays-Sundays. Starts: Oct. 13. Continues through Nov. 6, 2011