A Man's Summer

Terrence McNally's Love! Valour! Compassion! earned a Tony Award for Best Play in 1995 and two years later was adapted for film. Especially in its original theatrical form, McNally's comedy proved a durable success, but perhaps that Tony wasn't won for any groundbreaking innovation with respect to the particulars of plot mechanics. The play's three acts describe a simple arc: a group of friends, all gay men, meet in June for a weekend retreat in a country house; come midsummer, they meet again at the same home; and at the close of summer they convene there a third time. Characters are introduced, problems arise, conflict ensues and in the end we see revelation and resolution. However bare-bones its narrative design, McNally's play moved audiences and has established itself as a modern classic. You can enjoy Stray Dog Theatre's take on Love! Valour! Compassion! at 8 p.m. Thursday through Saturday (June 12 through 28) at Tower Grove Abbey (2336 Tennessee Avenue; 314-865-1995 or www.straydogtheatre.org). Tickets are $18 to $20.
Thursdays-Saturdays, 8 p.m. Starts: June 12. Continues through June 28, 2014