Looking for an antidote to today's anything-but-love, he's-just-not-that-into- you attitude? Go see Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, the stage adaptation of the 1954 MGM movie musical set in the Oregon Territory of the 1850s. Watch as eldest brother Adam takes a wife, quite literally, by simply heading into town one day and heading home that night with bride in tow. Marvel as Milly, his now-spouse, rallies Adam's six male siblings, all single, to fall rapturously in love with the idea of love. Snort when the brothers decide to get wives of their own not through romance or courtship, but pretty much through out-and-out kidnapping. And if the idea of abduction as a wooing tactic upsets you, calm down: These brothers soon learn that the best way to win a woman's heart is through show tunes and energetic, well-choreographed dance routines (it is a musical, after all). Windwood Theatricals performs Seven Brides for Seven Brothers at 8 p.m. at the Florissant Civic Center Theatre (Parker Road and Waterford Drive, Florissant). Tickets cost $21 to $23. For more information or to purchase tickets, call 314-921-5678 or visit www.florissantfinearts.com -- Rose Martelli
Big River
Comes to the big river
How can you put some theatergoing adventurousness into Mark Twain's Adventures of Huckleberry Finn? How about witnessing an acclaimed musical at the Fox Theatre (527 North Grand Boulevard) that is based on the novel and performed partially in American Sign Language (ASL)? Big River: The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Deaf West Theatre's touring production, incorporates ASL into the musical, but that's not all. The show's cast -- which includes deaf, hard-of-hearing and hearing actors -- tells Twain's classic tale (as adapted by William Haughtman) with a unique mix of speaking, singing, signing, dancing and other storytelling tricks. Enjoy this show (and Roger Miller's score, which runs a raucous gamut through Cajun, folk, country, blues and gospel musical styles) from Tuesday, April 12, through April 24 (visit www.metrotix.com or call 314-534-1111 for times and tickets; $18 to $56); for more information visit www.fabulousfox.com. -- Rose Martelli
Ladies Lazarus
Poetry in songs
TUES 4/12
Sylvia Plath's life story is indeed a sad one, peppered with unsuccessful suicide attempts (and one successful one). But fortunately, out of this poet's wounds came a wonderfully expressive body of work that has touched many people, including composer Ned Rorem. He set five of Plath's poems from Ariel (including "Lady Lazarus") to music, and you can hear these works performed at 8 p.m. at Washington University's Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum (in Steinberg Hall, Forsyth and Skinker boulevards; 314-935-4841). This free show, entitled "A Concert on Women's Mental Health -- Featuring Texts by Sylvia Plath and Emily Dickinson," is presented by Wash. U.'s department of music and is held in conjunction with the current art exhibit at the Kemper (Inside Out Loud: Visualizing Women's Health in Contemporary Art). And as the concert's title indicates, a few of Dickinson's poems have been set to music, too (by composer Aaron Copland), and some of these works will also be performed Tuesday night by local musicians and singers. -- Alison Sieloff
Tennessee's Rose
In Tennessee Williams' romantic comedy The Rose Tattoo, young widow Serafina begins an affair with Alvaro, a hard-drinkin' Sicilian immigrant. Strangely, Williams himself had an affair with a Sicilian named Alvaro. What do you make of that, Dr. Freud? The Fontbonne University theater program presents The Rose Tattoo at 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday and at 2 p.m. Sunday (April 8 through 17) at Fontbonne's Fine Arts Theatre (6800 Wydown Boulevard; 314-889-1425). Tickets are $5 to $10. -- Paul Friswold
