In the mood for high drama, a Sondheim show-stopper or an intimate performance? Let our top picks for live theatre this month lead the way…
WHAT: FLY
WHERE: Hotchner (Black Box) Theatre at Washington University
WHEN: Various times through March 10
The Black Rep presents the award-winning one-man dramatic comedy starring actor and playwright Joseph Edwards. The story follows an African American man who believes he will receive the power to fly on the night of a special celestial event that will send transforming energy to the planet Earth. As he prepares for the event on a Brooklyn rooftop, he shares the comic, dramatic and tragic experiences that have pushed him to the edge of reality – a piece Edwards describes as an exploration of the social justice, spiritual and political challenges of what it means to be conscious and Black in America. $20 to $50; theblackrep.org
WHAT: COMPANY
WHERE: Fox Theatre
WHEN: Various times through March 10
The winner of five 2022 Tony Awards, including Best Musical Revival, “Company” features a number of Stephen Sondheim’s most-loved songs, including “Company,” “You Could Drive a Person Crazy,” “The Ladies Who Lunch,” “Side by Side” and “Being Alive.” With music and lyrics by Sondheim and a book by George Furth, the modernized Broadway masterpiece now centers around Bobbie – switching musical theatre’s most iconic bachelor to a bachelorette – whose 35th birthday party has friends wondering why she can’t find Mr. Right and settle down. $29 to $95; fabulousfox.com
WHAT: JACEY’S JAZZ JOINT
WHERE: Blue Strawberry
WHEN: 7:30 p.m., March 13 and 27
Eileen Engel stars in The Midnight Company’s “Jacey’s Jazz Joint,” where audiences will be treated to Jacey’s jazz club, hear her songs and her life’s stories. Written and directed by Midnight artistic director Joe Hanrahan, “Jacey’s Jazz Joint” is the second collaboration premiering this month between Hanrahan and Engel, who both appear in “Movie Music” (March 20 at Blue Strawberry), a celebration of award-winning theme songs from film. Colin Healy of Fly North Theatricals is music director for both shows. $20 to $25; BlueStrawberrySTL.com
WHAT: OPERA THEATRE’S NEW WORKS COLLECTIVE
WHERE: Kirkwood Performing Arts Center
WHEN: March 14 to 16
Experience diverse cultures, stories and the power of the human spirit with three, all-new 20-minute works. Opera Theatre of Saint Louis’ groundbreaking New Works Collective 2024 showcases new operas selected by a panel of local artists, advocates and community leaders from more than 130 submissions. Works include “Unbroken,” the resilient journey of single mother Grace and her three sons, by librettist J. Mae Barizo and St. Louis composer Ronald Maurice; “Mechanisms,” the story of fifth-grader Roe, who struggles to keep up, and how her parents, teachers and classmates come to realize the importance of empathy, adaptability and hidden strengths; and “On My Mind,” the story of friendship between Melodee and Lyric, two caregivers for elders in their respective families who are challenged to balance their personal and professional duties with finding their own happiness. $39 to $59; opera-stl.org
WHAT: AUGUST: OSAGE COUNTY
WHERE: Loretto-Hilton Center
WHEN: Various times, March 19 to April 7
The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis presents the Pulitzer Prize- and Tony Award-winning drama by playwright Tracy Letts. Set in the Midwest, the story revolves around the Weston family with a manipulative matriarch, an absent patriarch and three daughters who have secrets of their own. Tensions rise as the daughters are called back to their family home in Oklahoma. The cast of local and national talent is led by acclaimed St. Louis actor Joneal Joplin as family patriarch Beverly Weston. $30 to $90; repstl.org
WHAT: ALL MY SONS
WHERE: Wool Studio Theatre at the J
WHEN: Various times, March 21 to April 7
The New Jewish Theatre’s 26th season opens with Arthur Miller’s Tony Award-winning three-act play, “All My Sons.” Set in the aftermath of World War II, the Keller family bonds are tested as they question right and wrong, including the righteousness of acting to protect one’s family at the expense of others and what makes one complicit in someone else’s crimes, as well as face the real-life challenges of veterans returning home from war. $27 to $58; newjewishtheatre.org
