State of the Union

Monroe, Wisconsin, is a small town facing large changes. The town's cheese factory has just been purchased by a major corporation, and people are worried. But Kat, a community-minded mother and wife, is more concerned about making the new neighbors feel welcome -- even if they are employees of the new parent company. Soon Kat's husband Kim is promoted to management and out of the union thanks to his friendship with the company man, and the family's future seems secure. But what about all their old friends and neighbors? Rebecca Gilman's Soups, Stews and Casseroles: 1976 looks at the state of the nation in America's Bicentennial Year, when the country was transforming from a land of makers to a land of managers. Gilman's play makes its world premiere at the Repertory Theatre of St. Louis. Performances take place Tuesday through Sunday (March 12 through 30) in the Emerson Studio Theatre at the Loretto-Hilton Center on Webster University's campus (130 Edgar Road; 314-968-4925 or www.repstl.org), and tickets are $40 to $63.
Wednesdays-Fridays, 8 p.m.; Saturdays, 5 p.m.; Sundays, 2 & 7 p.m.; Tuesdays, 7 p.m.; Saturdays, 9 p.m. Starts: March 12. Continues through March 29, 2014