Bach Society’s Candlelight Concert Finds Its Radiance in Rutter — and in Emily Birsan’s Voice

Bach Society’s Candlelight Concert Finds Its Radiance in Rutter — and in Emily Birsan’s Voice

By CB Adams

The Bach Society of Saint Louis’ Christmas Candlelight Concert begins where it should: in sound. Before tradition, before ritual, before the familiar glow of candles, there is the resonance of Powell Hall answering the first choral surge. The room settles, the ear sharpens and the evening declares its priorities. This is a concert shaped by listening and care.

At the center stands John Rutter’s “Magnificat,” performed here with buoyancy, clarity and an instinctive sense of proportion. Rutter’s gift for celebration can be mistaken for easy charm, yet this music asks for discipline to keep its radiance airborne. Under A. Dennis Sparger’s steady direction, the Bach Society Chorus and Orchestra delivered exactly that: rhythmic lift without haste, color without excess and an architectural arc that allowed the work’s alternating exuberance and inwardness to register fully.

The score’s brilliance, especially in its percussion and brass writing, came across with vivid impact, while strings and winds shaped the quieter pages with warmth and transparency. Sparger paced the work so contrasts felt earned rather than imposed, allowing the music to breathe while sustaining forward motion. The result trusted Rutter’s craftsmanship and resisted the temptation to oversell it.

Soprano Emily Birsan sings John Rutter’s “Magnificat.” Photo by Katie Pinkston.

At the heart of the performance was soprano Emily Birsan, whose singing gave the “Magnificat” its center of gravity. Her voice is luminous and richly focused, marked by fine control and a natural inwardness that draws the hall closer rather than pushing sound outward. In reflective passages, her phrasing and breath transformed large-scale celebration into something intimate and human-scaled.

Even in moments of radiance, there was restraint and poise, a sense that clarity mattered more than display. It was singing of interpretive authority, grounded in trust and simplicity.

The remainder of the program functioned as a thoughtful frame rather than a diversion. Seasonal carols and arrangements extended the sound world established by the “Magnificat,” offering familiarity refreshed through color and rhythmic lift.

A Mozart excerpt, the “Laudamus Te” from the Mass in C minor, provided a moment of classical contrast and further showcased Birsan’s musical intelligence, reinforcing her versatility without disrupting the evening’s flow.

The Bach Society of St. Louis’ annual Christmas Concert. Photo by Katie Pinkston.

The concert closed with Craig Courtney’s “A Musicological Journey Through the 12 Days of Christmas,” a piece that wears its learning lightly. Each verse refracts the familiar tune through a different stylistic lens, creating a playful tour of musical history that rewards both ear and intellect. The Bach Society dispatched it with precision and obvious delight, capturing its wit and rhythmic verve. As a finale, it proved supremely engaging, leaving the audience buoyed rather than merely amused.

Candlelight, procession and communal song emerged organically from the musical argument rather than sitting beside it. Back in Powell Hall, the fit felt restored. This concert endures not because it repeats itself, but because it listens, to the music, to the room and to the moment.

The Bach Society of Saint Louis’ Christmas Candlelight Concert was performed at Powell Hall on December 23.

Powell Hall. Photo by Katie Pinkston.
Facebook Comments

Girl Power and Positivity Triumph in Tesseract’s Heartfelt ‘Legally Blonde’

Girl Power and Positivity Triumph in Tesseract’s Heartfelt ‘Legally Blonde’

By Lynn Venhaus

‘Tis the season to emphasize “Believe,” and that’s a fitting attitude about the iconic Elle Woods, the musical “Legally Blonde,” and Tesseract Theatre Company itself.

The “Little Engine That Could” theater group, which mirrors Elle’s plucky, positive demeanor, has produced a fresh, fun, fizzy and feisty reimagining of the upbeat 2007 musical adaptation of the smash hit 2001 romantic comedy.

As the iconic Elle Woods, Grace Seidel is at her best, strong in portrayal of the bubbly California sorority girl who gets into Harvard Law School after a crushing break-up. As she discovers how smart, resilient and dedicated she is, finding her purpose, Seidel triumphs, tossing the blonde ‘bimbo’ first impression out the door.

She defies the stereotype and smoothly slips into champion mode – representing anyone who has had to fight to be seen and heard. And rocks the pink outfits, too.

Known for her powerful vocals, she strikes the right chord with her passionate delivery of Elle’s breakthrough anthem “So Much Better” and turning point “Chip on My Shoulder.” She wins over the other characters in vibrantly staged ensemble numbers, including “Positive,” the ebullient “Legally Blonde” and rousing finale “Find My Way.”

Seidel is not the only bright spot who has a renewed, refreshed take on the musical. Just as you shouldn’t underestimate Elle’s inner light to shine through, there are a few memorable debuts joining reliable veterans in the ensemble.

Marsiya Miller as Paula. Photo by Florence Flick.

In a knockout debut, Marsiya Miller is a hoot as Paula Buonufonte, the hairdresser with heart of gold. She is a skillful vocalist in her solo “Ireland,” and has sharp comic timing too, as she develops a palpable bond with Elle.

Fellow newcomer Kyle Rudolph is delightful as the UPS delivery man, also named Kyle, a definite scene-stealer with fleet footwork in the Irish step dance part of “Ireland.” His high-energy performance is noteworthy in ensemble numbers, too.

In another impressive debut, Mason Ramsey portrays the shallow, privileged Warner Huntington III, who breaks up with Elle because she’s not “Serious” enough. He has the poise of someone that’s already a stage veteran.

Newcomer Aditi Seetharaman embodies the haughty Vivienne Kensington, Warner’s new girlfriend and condescending law student who humiliates Elle — but eventually has her ‘aha’ moment.  

Seasoned pros who contribute their customary excellent work include Dawn Schmid as exercise guru Brooke Wyndham, who is accused of killing her husband; Jon Hey as the distinguished, demanding Professor Callahan; and Katie Orr hilarious as quirky activist Enid Hoopes.

Kevin Corpuz is charming as the lovable, smart Emmett Forrest, a law student who befriends Elle and sees her potential, helping her to realize it. He and Grace have worked together multiple times, most notably in the two-hander “The Last Five Years” at Tesseract in 2023. They have a noticeable ease with each other in the makeover number “Take It Like a Man” and the turning point “Chip on My Shoulder.”

The Delta Nu sorority. Photo by Florence Flick.

The Greek Chorus of Delta Nu sorority sisters is sprightly support – Natalie Sannes as energetic Serena, Lillie Self-Miller as chipper Margot, and Evan Lee as sassy Pilar, starting off with the cheery “Omigod You Guys” and being Elle’s sounding board.

Ella Drake, Martin Ibarra, Molly Stout (dance captain), Loren Goudreau, Aadi Kadam and Rudolph are supple in supporting roles that range from shop clerks, students, frat boys, scummy ex-boyfriend, presiding judge, trial witnesses, salon customers and assorted others.

Jo Palisoc’s choreography is crisp and snappy, notably the standout jump-rope number “Whipped into Shape” that is a demanding aerobics workout routine. Admirably, the dancers don’t miss a beat. Always a favorite, the “Bend and Snap” is as fun as ever.

The band is an expert group of eight musicians under the musical direction of virtuoso Larry D. Pry, who kept the music by Tony nominees Laurence O’Keefe and lyrics by Nell Benjamin tight and bright. Pry joined Becca Bessette and Brayden Bessette on keyboards, Chuck Evans on violin, Mary Jewel Wiley and Lea Gerdes on reeds, Joe Winters on percussion, Mat Coble on guitar and Jonah Larsen on bass. They were polished and peppy.

Inventively staged by director Will Bonfiglio in the cozy confines of The Marcelle Theatre, he keeps the scenes moving along, from the Hair Affair Salon to Harvard Yard, dorm rooms and shops, using different nooks that scenic designer Brittanie Gunn has crafted in imaginative ways.

He has adroitly mixed humor with a courtroom drama and boosted the girl power. He focused on bringing out the heart and humanity, spotlighting a community coming together and people finding out where they belong.

Kevin Corpuz, center, as Emmett. Photo by Florence Flick.

If you look beyond the fluff, which is why both the movie and musical endure, the show is thematically strong by exposing prejudice, harassment and discrimination. The Tony-nominated book by Heather Hach is an adaptation of Amanda Brown’s 2001 novel, which was based on her experience at Stanford Law School.

When Elle saves the day using her sparkle and coming up with her unconventional legal strategies, it’s a satisfying victory that feels earned. I mean, look at this logic: “Exercise gives you endorphins. Endorphins make you happy. Happy people just don’t shoot their husbands, they just don’t.” — Elle

Carly Uding’s costume design, along with Sarah Gene Dowling’s wig design, created appropriate looks for every character. Morgan Brennan’s lighting design and Jacob Baxley’s sound design suited the show, with Kevin Sallwasser technical director, Sarah Baucom production manager and Lexi Sims stage manager keeping elements on task. Sims was aided by assistant stage managers Jae North and Josh Neighbors.

This production radiates warmth, good humor and empowerment. If you need a cup of kindness this holiday season, Tesseract’s “Legally Blonde: The Musical” overflows with cheer and optimism.

The Tesseract Theatre Company presents “Legally Blonde: The Musical” Dec. 5 – 21 at the Marcelle Theatre, 3310 Samuel Shepard Dr, St. Louis, Thursdays through Saturdays at 8 p.m. and Sundays at 4 p.m. For tickets or more information, visit www.TesseractTheatreco.org

Facebook Comments

‘The Housemaid’ is Twisty, Trashy Fun Adaptation of Popular Page-Turner

‘The Housemaid’ is Twisty, Trashy Fun Adaptation of Popular Page-Turner

.By Lynn Venhaus

Good trashy fun, “The Housemaid” is a psychological domestic thriller with a dash of dark comedy that is ideal alternative programming this holiday season when all the prestige awards-hopefuls are released.

Millie (Sydney Sweeney), a plucky young woman with a secret criminal past, takes a live-in job as a housekeeper for the wealthy Winchester family – high-maintenance wife Nina (Amanda Seyfried) and handsome husband Andrew (Brandon Sklenar). While they look perfect, her new employers have secrets of their own.

None of the three stars – currently having moments – will be on year-end awards shortlists for their performances, yet they lean in and act with an intensity that merits them serious kudos for their earnest approach to over-the-top melodrama.

Let the mind games begin! As Nina, the suburban princess living luxuriously, Seyfried can fly into Defcon 5 rage with a frightening ferocity and assuredly drives this effort.

Knowing what’s at stake is her forte here. To watch her alternate wild histrionics with an icy-cold façade as a Real Housewife archetype is amusing.

Sweeney’s star has risen ever since “Euphoria” shook up streaming and may tie with Josh O’Connor for having the most movies released this year, even besting Pedro Pascal. She plays forlorn Millie just-right with a shaggy poor-girl-trying-to-please demeanor and a palpable desperation to escape her past.

Sklenar, who was swoon-worthy as the rugged hero Spencer Dutton in Taylor Sheridan’s “Yellowstone” prequel “1923,” is in yet another handsome, chiseled guy role. This time, he’s Andrew, a gracious, well-mannered scion of an influential family, flashing his pearly whites often.

It’s a perfect threesome for this type of suburbanites’ unraveling story. For fans of the popular 2022 page-turner by Freida McFadden, you know the delectable unpredictable twists. But for those of us in the dark, the reveals are a surprise – and boost the audience-participation feel of the film.

Smartly directed by Paul Feig, whose comedy pedigree is stellar (“Freaks and Geeks,” “Bridesmaids,” and episodes of “The Office”) and his thriller portfolio is gaining traction after “A Simple Favor,” he is one step ahead of us as we uninitiated try to figure out where these deceptions are leading.

He also strikes the right engrossing tone, mixing suspense, shock and silliness to guarantee gasps and build momentum. The screenplay by Rebecca Sonnenshine, a two-time Emmy nominee as a writer on “The Boys,” draws us into the chills by smoothly weaving backstories in, adding gaslighting and tension in the home.

Elizabeth Jones’ lavish production design is Martha Stewart-worthy in a sprawling, airy McMansion in Great Neck, N.Y. As the live-in housekeeper, Millie’s bedroom is a cozy A-frame attic nook that has a door that locks from the outside.

In shades of Stepford wives, supporting players are stereotypical privileged upper-class women who are condescending of others not in their same social register – and even if they are, finding ways to be critical. Millie overhears the local elitist moms gossiping about Nina, which is unexpected, as are other remarks by ‘the help’ in the community.

Those are interesting nuggets that illuminate what’s happening – or not – but it keeps us guessing as the plot thickens. The dialogue is often cheesy, but that’s part of the fun, too. This material is far from Tolstoy or Chekhov – it’s “Dynasty” glammed up for the 21st century.

It’s best to know as little as possible going into the movie, so no spoilers here.

Elizabeth Perkins has a few defining moments as Andrew’s snobby mother Evelyn Winchester, dismissive of her daughter-in-law and demanding in snide ways. After all, she’s more concerned with appearances than anything else.

Young actress Indiana Elle is the Winchester’s snotty, indulged daughter Cecelia “CeCe,” whose sense of entitlement shows signs of creating a monster, but whose actions later indicate she’s been paying attention. It would have been nice to have more character development in that regard.

Michele Morrone, who played Emily’s fiancé Dante in Feig’s “Another Simple Favor,” is well-cast as mysterious handyman Enzo, but sadly, it’s an underdeveloped character.

“The Housemaid” is nothing more than a pulpy “popcorn” thriller, well-suited as escapist fare, especially during a dreary winter and in a disconcerting world. It’s a film that knows exactly what its mission is, and how it fits into the entertainment landscape.

“The Housemaid” is a 2025 psychological thriller directed by Paul Feig and starring Amanda Seyfried, Sydney Sweeney, Brandon Sklenar, Elizabeth Perkins, Michele Morrone and Indiana Elle, Its runtime is 2 hours, 11 minutes, and it’s rated R for strong/bloody violent content, sexual assault, sexual content, nudity and language. It opens in theaters Dec. 19. Lynn’s Grade: B.

Facebook Comments

The Rep’s Fresh Twist on ‘Emma’ is a Charming and Delightful Romp

The Rep’s Fresh Twist on ‘Emma’ is a Charming and Delightful Romp

By Lynn Venhaus
Bristling with refreshing feminist energy, rom-com vibes, and clever wit, “Emma” bounds onto The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis’ well-appointed mainstage with verve.

Stuffiness, be gone! This charming adaptation of Jane Austen’s novel “Emma” by Kate Hamill is redolent with both style and substance. Adept at physical comedy, a spirited ensemble revitalizes this classic 1815 tale of a zealous matchmaker whose meddling complicates matters of the heart for friends and acquaintances.

As the titular character, Adelin Phelps exudes confidence and determination as the young maiden who is convinced that she knows best. On her hard-fought journey of self-discovery, she engages us for the entire two acts, always on stage, and breaks the fourth wall with glee. She has a thing or two to say about love.

Hamill’s pared-down, smaller cast version remains an interesting look at Austen’s societal themes – those on class and gender opportunities, but her reimagining feels modern and relatable.

Michael James Reed and Kathryn Bentley as The Westons. Photo by Jon Gitchoff.

First presented in 2022 at the Guthrie Theatre in Minneapolis, she polished it with delightful humor, poking fun at people’s foibles. But she doesn’t lose sight of a smart woman’s predicament at a time when ladies didn’t have rights.

The Rep’s casting is impeccable, and its seasonal timing. The world is celebrating Jane Austen’s 250th birthday this month, so a dip back into the world of Highbury is well-suited for a holiday show.

The guests look merry and bright for the parties, with sprightly choreography from Sam Gaitsch, and director Tracy Brigden ensures they not only move briskly, but each carve out a distinct character.

As Emma’s protégé Harriet Smith, Liz Lewe steals the show as the sweet-natured boarding school student who becomes Emma’s primary project, because she is convinced Harriet needs a higher social standing.

Jack Dryden as Mr. Eldon, Adelin Phelps as Emma and Liz Lewe as Harriet. Photo by Jon Gitchoff.

Lewe’s flair for comedy, their crisp timing and pleasant demeanor endears. It’s a breakout role for Lewe, a local theatre professional who is also an accomplished writer and director. Casting Director Delaney Piggins’ keen eye was serendipitous, for when Lewe, as a reader during auditions, stood out, it was clear they were a perfect fit.

The ease at which the ensemble embraces their roles is noteworthy – in their formal 19th century manners and speech, and fluid entrances. The skillful dialect work by coach Joanna Battles helps define the time and place.

Costume designer Dottie Marshall Englis’ dandy Regency finery works for all seasons, her ingenious layering that captures the era and economic status perfectly. Dennis Milam Bensie’s wig designs are terrific, too. The springtime berry-picking scene bursts with color and frolic.

With his exceptional dialogue delivery, Louis Reyes McWilliams is dashing once more as George Knightley, after his zesty swashbuckling turn as the mischievous hero in The Rep’s “Sherwood: The Adventures of Robin Hood” last spring.

Louis Reyes McWilliams as George and Maggie Newstead-Adams as Jane. Photo by Jon Gitchoff.

He’s well-suited to embody Emma’s close friend who challenges her and often argues about what he perceives as her flightiness and immaturity. He and Phelps are a dynamic duo, and you root for them.

Before they can figure out their course, we learn about other men in town. Jack Dryden, hilariously over-the-top as the buffoonish Clark in “The Cottage,” is back again as another goofball – Mr. Eldon, who is smitten with a woman not named Harriet.

Ryan Omar Stack suavely portrays Frank Churchill, a prized suitor who is fond of Jane Fairfax, but not if Emma can interfere. His arrival causes some upheaval and a few hearts to flutter. Yet, his intentions suspect, for he has not been entirely forthcoming with information, and there are some questions about his inheritance.

Michael James Reed again demonstrates his versatility as a character actor by portraying two – Emma’s daffy health-conscious father Mr. Woodhouse, who is obsessed with the benefits of gruel, and the good-natured widower Mr. Weston, who remarries at the start (and Emma had something to do with it).

Louis Reyes McWilliams as George and Adelin Phelps as Emma. Photo by Jon Gitchoff.

Kathryn Bentley delivers a feisty performance as his happy bride, Mrs. Weston, and the ever-reliable Nancy Bell is the genteel but talkative school headmistress Miss Bates. Maggie Newstead-Adams is pert as the popular and pretty Jane.

Taking on a dual role as Elton’s ill-mannered wife Augusta is live wire Olivia Balicki, who must giggle – and snort – as the frisky Augusta, then switches gears as the infirmed Mrs. Bates in a wheelchair.

Janeites looking for strict historical accuracy may be surprised but could be won over by the production’s effervescence. Margery and Peter Spack’s captivating set design, with a focus on florals, is enhanced by Jason Lynch’s lighting design.

John Gramada’s compositions are a festive element, and his sound design superb.

A festive occasion. Photo by Jon Gitchoff.

The excellence of Brigden’s seamless work doesn’t lose sight of the present while creating an ode to the past, making it resonate in several ways, and Brian Coats’ dramaturg reflects that too.

Austen’s work has been celebrated at The Rep notable times – including “Pride and Prejudice” in 2019, “Miss Bennet: Christmas at Pemberley” in 2017 and “Sense and Sensibility” in 2013, and this may be the best one yet.

“Emma” was Austen’s fourth published novel, and it has been adapted into four films (if you count “Clueless” in 1995), the most recent in 2020 starring Anya Taylor-Joy.

This version is a fitting salute to her legacy, and a wonderful showcase for outstanding talent. Don’t miss this joyous collaboration, preferably with a side of biscuits.

Ryan Omar Stack and Liz Lewe. Photo by Jon Gitchoff.

The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis presents “Emma” Dec. 3-21 at the Loretto-Hilton Center, 130 Edgar Road. For more information, visit www.repstl.org

Post-show discussions follow the Dec. 14 and 17 performances at 2 p.m.

Photo by Jon Gitchoff.
Facebook Comments

Rennell Parker Sr. to Host Arts For Life Annual Trivia Night on Jan. 24

Rennell Parker Sr. to Host Arts For Life Annual Trivia Night on Jan. 24

Grab your “Team of Champions” as we kick off awards season and the 2026 Winter Olympics at Arts For Life’s annual Trivia Night on Saturday, Jan. 24, 2026.

The event will take place at the Kirkwood Community Center, 111 S. Geyer Road, St. Louis, with doors open at 6:30 p.m. and 10 rounds of general-knowledge questions to begin at 7 p.m.

Cash prizes will be awarded to first and second place teams. There will be a 50/50 raffle, silent auction, mulligans available, and a costume contest.

In keeping with the theme – tied with the start of the Olympics in northern Italy on Feb. 6 and the beginning of the arts awards season – dress like a winner! The broad theme encourages participants to wear costumes related to stage and screen award winners, Olympic medalists, champion sports teams and any popular underdog stories. Team and individual prizes are available for best costumes.

Nominations will be announced for the annual Theatre Mask Awards (plays) and Best Performance Awards (musicals) honoring excellence in community theater and youth productions during 2025.

AFL President Mary McCreight is excited to welcome the theater community and friends to the highly anticipated annual event. “Don’t miss the most fun time in metropolitan St. Louis’ community theater!” she says.

Rennell Parker Sr. to Host

Rennell “Coach” Parker Sr. will be the host. Parker, a member of the AFL Board of Directors, is a past Best Performance Awards nominee – in “The Wiz” at Hawthorne Players, where he has appeared in several productions. Every Halloween season, he takes part in the Voices of Valhalla for “theatre in a cemetery.”

Rennell Parker Sr.

He is a certified life coach and positive psychology coach. His business, The Parker Group, provides social services to corporations, schools, groups and individuals. He is president of the board of directors for Avenues Counseling Center in St. Louis.

A Navy veteran, he has been married to wife Chasity for 23 years, and they have two children: Kelson, 19, who is a volleyball player at Lewis and Clark Community College, and Rennell “RJ” Parker Jr., 22, who plays soccer in Barcelona, Spain.

“It’s going to be a fun night,” Parker said. “I love the connections in community theater. It’s good to see the support people have for other companies’ shows. I love to see new people get involved and watch them grow. There’s that energy and bond-building in theatre.”

Tables of 8 players are available, at $200 per table. To make a reservation, visit https://arts-for-life-2.square.site/ or www.artsforlife.org. You can also email: [email protected] for more information. Mulligans will be available, at 5 for $10 or 10 for $20.

For the past 26 years, AFL has honored musical theater with the Best Performance Awards and began the Theatre Mask Awards to honor comedy and drama productions in 2015.

This year’s Theatre Mask Awards will take place on Saturday, April 25, at 10:30 a.m. at Royal Orleans South, 2801 Telegraph Road, St. Louis. The Best Performance Awards are set for Sunday, June 14, at 2 p.m. at the Skip Viragh Center for the Arts at Chaminade College Preparatory School, 425 S. Lindbergh Blvd., Frontenac, Mo. More information will follow.

“These events recognize the incredible talent we have in St. Louis community theater and honor the passion and dedication of those who build this amazing and unique theatrical community,” McCreight said.

Sponsorships are available – trivia rounds at $100 and event at $50, which includes group/company name and logo displayed at the beginning and end of event as a sponsor, then group/company name and logo displayed on our social media sites as a sponsor.

Arts For Life is a local not-for-profit arts organization dedicated to the healing power of the arts through its work with youth, the underserved and the community, with its goal of “Making a Dramatic Difference.”

AFL is dedicated to promoting public awareness of local community theatre, encouraging excellence in the arts, and acknowledging the incredible people who are a part of it.

For more information, email [email protected]. or visit the website.

Facebook Comments

ABT Studio Company Brings Risk and Reach to Dance St. Louis

ABT Studio Company Brings Risk and Reach to Dance St. Louis

By CB Adams

There is a particular clarity that comes from watching dancers at the moment their stage identities begin to take shape. Dance St. Louis opened its 60th anniversary season with that sense of emergence fully present, offering an evening with the ABT Studio Company that placed the focus not on promise alone but on preparedness, discipline and artistic intent. This may be the “junior” company of American Ballet Theatre, yet nothing about the performance suggested a diminutive form. These were young dancers stepping forward with conviction.

ABT Studio Company functions as the bridge between advanced training and the demands of a professional career. Its dancers, typically between 17 and 21, rehearse and tour as a unified ensemble, moving through a repertory that spans classical, neoclassical and contemporary work. The result is a rare opportunity for audiences to see dancers becoming themselves in real time — the mind, ear and body aligning in ways that cannot be rehearsed into existence.

Sascha Radetsky, former ABT soloist and the Studio Company’s artistic director, shaped the evening with an eye toward what this roster could carry. His own background, which blends Bolshoi training, long service with ABT and Dutch National Ballet, and the pop-cultural recognizability of “Center Stage” and “Flesh and Bone,” gives him a wide-angle understanding of what young artists require and what audiences intuitively absorb.

The program he assembled reflected that breadth: classical cornerstones that test line and placement, contemporary pieces that ask for nuance and stamina, and neoclassical works built for speed, musicality and ensemble cohesion. With the company currently weighted toward men, the selections were matched to the dancers’ strengths while still nudging them toward new edges.

Radetsky also situated the company within a longer tradition of generational transmission. Dance history is threaded with these handovers — Balanchine shaping dancers like Farrell and Villella, Martha Graham passing her technique through artists such as Terese Capucilli — moments when one generation prepares the next. By programming classical foundations, neoclassical challenges and contemporary commissions, Radetsky placed these dancers not simply as inheritors but as active participants in that lineage.

The evening opened with “La Bayadère (Pas d’Action),” after Marius Petipa, danced by Delfina Nelson-Todd, Audrey Tovar-Dunster, Matteo Curley Bynoe and Younjae ParkThe dancers approached the choreography with respect for its precision: Nelson-Todd shaped her épaulement with quiet assurance, and Tovar-Dunster’s port de bras carried rhythmic confidence.

Curley Bynoe brought crisp batterie and clean landings, while Park partnered with an unforced steadiness that allowed the phrases to expand. Their collective unison — sharp, clear, centered — set an early tone of readiness.

“Cornbread,” by Twyla Tharp and danced by Kayla Mak and Elijah Geolina, supplied one of the evening’s most engaging and warmly alive moments. Mak, shaped by Juilliard training and Princess Grace recognition, moved with a grounded musicality that met Tharp’s rhythmic intricacies head-on. Geolina, whose background includes competitive ballroom and television appearances, brought buoyant elevation and unerring rhythmic instinct. The Carolina Chocolate Drops score amplified the work’s earthy humor and drive. Together they created a performance that felt fully inhabited.

“Beyond Silence,” choreographed by Brady Farrar and danced by YeonSeo Choi and Maximilian Catazaro, offered a shift inward. Choi’s long, patient phrasing and Catazaro’s measured partnering gave the duet a contemplative stillness. Their suspended lines and cleanly delivered shapes created a center of quiet in a varied program.

In “Variations for Three,” by Tiler Peck, Geonhee Park, Younjae Park and Xavier Xué handled the brisk tempo and bright neoclassical coloration with an easy assurance. Geonhee articulated with precision, Younjae found lift in his jumps and Xué provided the stabilizing presence needed to keep the trio’s exchanges aligned. The result was a compact, clearly drawn demonstration of musical and technical rapport.

Xavier Xué returned to the stage for “Saudade,” by Katie Currier — one of the evening’s standout works. Commissioned by ABT Studio Company, the piece asks for a kind of emotional translucence rather than overt display, and Xué delivered. His phrasing moved with quiet elasticity, and the upper-body expressiveness — a soft back ripple, suspended arms, a held inhale before release — gave the work its atmospheric charge. It landed with a lingering gravity.

“Grand Pas Classique,” after Victor Gsovsky, brought Sooha Park and Daniel Guzmán together in a test of clarity, balance and poise. Park’s technique was finely calibrated, with balances that arrived without strain and unfolded with calm intention. Guzmán met the variation’s demands with strong elevation and steady landings. In partnering, he provided the clean frame that allowed Park’s line to extend without interruption. Their performance gave the work its intended sheen.

The evening closed with Jerome Robbins’ “Interplay,” shaped as a four-part suite — Free Play, Horseplay, Byplay and Team Play — performed by the full ensemble in various configurations: Maximilian Catazaro, YeonSeo Choi, Ptolemy Gidney, Paloma Livellara, Delfina Nelson-Todd, Geonhee Park, Younjae Park and Audrey Tovar-Dunster among them.

Robbins draws dancers into a buoyant mix of classical line and Broadway-inflected rhythm, and the company leaned into the blend. Free Play moved with bright rhythmic exchanges and quick-snap timing; Horseplay gave Geonhee Park room to show easy lift; Byplay found relaxed rapport among Choi, Catazaro and the company; and Team Play brought the full ensemble forward in a playful, confident finish.

The repertory itself carried notable stakes. In the pre-performance Q&A, Radetsky mentioned that Tharp had long resisted releasing “Cornbread” to dancers this young, believing the piece too demanding. Her eventual agreement, and the way the dancers met the challenge, spoke to the company’s current level.

Throughout the evening, small traces of effort surfaced — a pirouette that adjusted before settling, a landing that softened into place, an arabesque that breathed once before arriving, an ensemble line that wavered before finding its symmetry, a partnering exchange approached with a hint of caution. These were not shortcomings but moments where the dancers’ reach became visible, the line between training and profession momentarily illuminated.

Presenting the Studio Company also reaffirmed the legacy of Dance St. Louis itself — a cultural institution now in its sixth decade. Since its founding in 1966, it has brought more than 30,000 artists, 500 companies and over 150 world premieres to local audiences. As one of only four nonprofit organizations in the United States devoted solely to presenting dance, it stands as a rare survivor and a vital part of the city’s artistic landscape. Evenings like this underscore its role not simply as a presenter of great works but as a home where dance lives, evolves and continues to matter.

Dance St. Louis presented ABT Studio Company November 14-15 at the Touhill Performing Arts Center.

Facebook Comments

Nazi Mind Games in ‘Nuremberg’ Reminds About Need to Vanquish Evil

Nazi Mind Games in ‘Nuremberg’ Reminds About Need to Vanquish Evil

By Lynn Venhaus

English philosopher R.G. Collingwood said, “The only clue to what man can do is what man has done.”

That is the direction this historical drama takes as it revisits the Nuremberg trials but delves more into a psychological perspective on what led the Third Reich to invade other countries and commit Holocaust atrocities, overseeing the extermination of 6 million Jews.

Based on the 2013 non-fiction book, “The Nazi and the Psychiatrist” by Jack El-Hai, writer-director James Vanderbilt looks back through a modern lens to send an urgent message about justice, intolerance, and cruelty to contemporary audiences.

The Nazi regime had their day in court during the main Nuremberg trials, held between Nov. 20, 1945, and Oct. 1, 1946. Beforehand, the Allies prepared to unveil the horrors for the world to hear as they wanted the highest-ranking officials to answer for their war crimes.

The chief prosecutor, Robert H. Jackson (Michael Shannon) wants to expose evil. Army psychiatrist Lt. Col. Douglas Kelley (Rami Malek) attempts to understand their complex psyches, and front and center is Hermann Goering (Russell Crowe), Hitler’s right-hand man.

Leading the legal team, ever-reliable Shannon portrays Jackson, who worked diligently to bring 12 members of the Nazi High Command to trial for war crimes.

While others just wanted to put the war in the rear-view mirror, and favored executing those responsible for the genocide, Jackson wanted the world to see and hear what they had done. He was responsible for this international tribunal that involved the U.S., England, France and the Soviet Union, the first of its kind.

Jackson, later a Supreme Court justice, didn’t want these ‘monsters’ to become martyrs upon their deaths. His instincts were correct, but the proceedings were not smooth because this was new territory.

How do you define evil? Oscar winner Malek stars as dedicated Kelley, an Army mental health professional tasked with analyzing Hitler’s henchmen. His methods come under fire as he appears to be sympathetic to the prisoners.

He was attempting to build trust. But really, who is trying to outmaneuver whom? It becomes mainly a cat-and-mouse mind game with malevolent Goering, not unlike Jodie Foster and Anthony Hopkins in “The Silence of the Lambs.”

Goering was second in command to Hitler, engineering the horrors of what transpired without any remorse. At the time of this trial, he was the highest-ranking Nazi still alive. (Rudolph Hess is also a fellow prisoner).

Kelley wrote a personal account in his book, “22 Cells in Nuremberg,” but the movie indicates his fall from grace, so he’s been historically ignored, until now. His book’s final chapter is a cautionary tale about how he could see the mindset of pre-World War II Germany happening in the United States.

For those who don’t believe the Holocaust happened, this film won’t let anyone forget. The stakes, past and present, should remain in the forefront.

The chess-like match between the men, especially with Oscar winner Crowe in full command, is fascinating. However the account is fictionalized, Crowe is back to displaying the power he had in his prime, igniting the screen as the cagey, cunning and diabolical Goering.

With his keen intelligence and massive ego, narcissist Goering believed he could justify his actions on this global stage, and it’s chilling to see it unfold.

The 1961 classic Oscar-nominated film “Judgment at Nuremberg,” directed by Stanley Kramer, was mostly a courtroom drama while the current film spends more time behind the scenes on the dangers of unchecked malice.

While this 2-hour, 30-minute film gets ham-fisted in its editing and bogged down in its cumbersome narrative that makes its points repeatedly, the performances are uniformly strong.

Standouts include Leo Woodall as interpreter Sgt. Howie Triest, John Slattery as Col. Burton C. Andrus, who oversaw the prison, and Richard E. Grant as Sir David Maxwell-Fyfe, who is a British co-counselor.

The film’s other strengths include period-accurate designs – production (Eve Stewart), costume (Bartholomew Cariss) – as well as cinematographer Dariusz Wolski’s interiors in ​the secret military prison and​ German homes.

The most powerful scene is what was shown at the trial 80 years ago, the same disturbing archival footage of skeletal victims at work camps being bulldozed into their graves. The six gut-wrenching minutes are from the 1945 “Nazi Concentration and Prison Camps,” which was partially shot by director John Ford and included in George Stevens’ 52-minute film.

This footage showed the world what really happened, what these Nazi leaders were capable of, and that they must be punished for their crimes.

​N​ot just a reminder of the past, the film​s​ ​strives to be clear that the prevention and proliferation of evil is always necessary. One recalls Edmund Burke’s famous quotation: “The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.”

Triest, the German-born translator, says at one point: “Do you know why it happened here? Because people let it happen.”

While the film doesn’t reveal anything new, it is committed to being a clarion call. People have been quoting philosopher George Santayana a lot these days — “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it,” from his “The Life of Reason” in 1905.

The fact that we must be nudged out of complacency and realize the consequences on a global stage is the reason that films like “Nuremberg” are made.

“Nuremberg” is a 2025 historical drama written and directed by James Vanderbilt and starring Russell Crowe, Rami Malek, Michael Shannon, John Slattery, Leo Woodall and Richard E. Grant. It is Rated PG-13 for violent content involving the Holocaust, strong disturbing images, suicide, some language, smoking and brief drug content and the runtime is 2 hours, 28 minutes. It opened in theatres Nov. 7. Lynn’s Grade: B.

Facebook Comments

Jennifer Lawrence is Outstanding in Harsh Character Study ‘Die My Love’

Jennifer Lawrence is Outstanding in Harsh Character Study ‘Die My Love’

By Alex McPherson

An intensely gripping acting showcase for Jennifer Lawrence, director Lynne Ramsay’s “Die My Love” paints an existentially nightmarish picture of motherhood, conformity, and relationships in fateful disarray.

Based on the novel Matate, Amor by Ariana Harwicz, the film follows Grace (Lawrence), a free-spirited and frustrated writer who moves into an old house in rural Montana with her ruggedly handsome but insecure boyfriend, Jackson (Robert Pattinson). The house, nestled within tall grasses and fairy-tale woods, was left to Jackson by his uncle who committed suicide.

It’s seemingly a prime location for Grace and Jackson’s antics; they drink nonstop and have wild sex, fully embracing their physical passions. Before long, Grace is pregnant and gives birth to a baby boy (whom they choose not to name), forever altering the paradigms they exist within.

Grace and Jackson’s relationship begins to crumble. Jackson is away at work for suspiciously long periods, and Grace suspects him of infidelity. Loneliness, emotional detachment, and sexual frustration grow exponentially day by day, with Grace feeling abandoned even when Jackson is at home.

She crawls on all fours like a prowling dog and masterbates in the nearby woods, at one point walking through the plain’s wispy grass, knife in hand, while their son sits unattended on the porch. 

Grace’s new responsibilities and social expectations untether her present self from her former self, with troublingly extreme results. Jackson’s unstable mother, Pam (Sissy Spacek), lives nearby and is grieving her recently-deceased husband (Nick Nolte). She offers Grace some support, but Grace stubbornly refuses to accept help during her postpartum spiral. 

Jackson is also largely clueless and unwilling to change his ways. He and Grace are still drawn to each other, but they’re unable to let go of a toxic cycle of fighting and reconciliation. A mysterious biker (LaKeith Stanfield) living in the area offers the possibility for Grace to indulge her needs.

Melding sheer brutality with sequences of dreamy, sensual beauty, “Die My Love” thrives on its ethereal atmosphere and a show-stopping performance from Lawrence. She inhabits Grace with a wild-eyed intensity and crushing pathos, a woman fallen out of touch with both herself and with “civilized” society writ large. 

Ramsay, known for disquieting character studies, is a prime fit for this portrait of mental decline. “Die My Love” prizes tone over traditional narrative —we’re watching a hypnotizing trainwreck as Grace destroys both herself and her relationships.

Neither Grace nor the people in her orbit have the power to shift her trajectory; she’s as much a byproduct of postpartum depression as she is from the ways that Jackson and the world treat her in her new role as a mother. 

Seamus McGarvey’s cinematography frames the expansive yet confining landscape as foreign and disorienting. The environment often distorts as characters move through space, as if each step renders Grace further divorced from desires she feels forbidden from embracing, with other characters also struggling to find their own paths forward.

There’s a haunting, symbolic quality to the 4:3 aspect ratio and the wide-open surroundings the characters reside within: expansive and limiting, even isolating.

“Die My Love,” not completely unlike Mary Bronstein’s “If I Had Legs I’d Kick You,” does a fantastic job at submerging us into its protagonist’s mind. Ramsay’s filmmaking is at times dreamlike and other times startling in its blunt depiction of Grace’s self-destructive behaviors (animal lovers beware).

Music plays a critical role here, featuring one of the year’s best soundtracks, expressing dread as well as mournful reflection on the idealized life Grace once envisioned she’d have.

Lawrence gives a highly physical performance, from manifesting Grace’s desires through animalistic, “interpretive dance” sequences (that the film plays completely straight), to the peace she feels within the nearby woods away from civilization, and the violent self-hatred that flares unexpectedly.

There’s some bone dry humor in Lawrence’s matter-of-fact delivery. This is especially apparent during a scene where she has a “conversation” with a friendly gas station cashier, although Grace’s wit always reflects her deep-seated malaise.

The screenplay by Ramsay, Alice Birch, and Enda Walsh doesn’t provide much backstory, which puts more emphasis on the intricacies of Lawrence’s performance. Luckily, she is fully up to the task of conveying Grace’s emotional limbo.

Pattinson, not given as much to do as Lawrence, brings a shaggy insecurity that underlines Jackson’s volatility and half-hearted attempts at making amends. Like most other characters in “Die My Love,” Jackson remains unable to truly listen to Grace and understand where she’s coming from, every conversation seemingly creating more distance.

Spacek, too, does a lot with limited screen time; on some level, Pam identifies with Grace’s decline, and supports her efforts for independence even as they threaten Grace’s life.

The problem is that “Die My Love” eventually starts to wear out its welcome in Grace’s perpetual perils. Grace’s “journey” is a downhill slide that won’t stop until it’s all burned down. Ramsay’s film is disconcertingly harsh, alienating viewers through a story about alienation. And, well, isn’t that part of the point? It’s a dark, twisted vision of Hell still worth experiencing.

“Die My Love” is a 2025 psychological thriller directed by Lynne Ramsay and starring Jennifer Lawrence, Robert Pattinson, Sissy Spacek and LaKeith Stanfield. It is rated R for sexual content, graphic nudity, language, and some violent content, and the run time is 1 hour, 59 minutes. It opened in theatres Nov. 7. Alex’s Grade: B+.

Facebook Comments

SLSO’s Live at the Pulitzer Brings ‘Color Into Form Into Sound’ to Life

SLSO’s Live at the Pulitzer Brings ‘Color Into Form Into Sound’ to Life

By CB Adams

To appreciate the exceptional experience of “Color Into Form Into Sound” — the clarity, intimacy and high-caliber artistry within the Pulitzer Arts Foundation’s concrete calm — it helps to understand the why behind the evening.

Curated by Christopher Stark, composer and professor at Washington University in St. Louis, the program invited listeners to consider how music, space and visual art illuminate one another. Inside Tadao Ando’s serene geometry, four musicians from the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra shaped an evening where sound behaved like form, breath became structure and attention felt like devotion.

As Stark shared in his opening remarks, the program grew directly from Jennie C. Jones’ listening life. Jones lives with contemporary classical music in her studio, especially works by pioneering Black composers who bridge classical lineage with improvisational energy, and she offered Stark the pieces and voices that inform her world. He spoke with admiration for how intuitively her surfaces and these sonic landscapes connect — tone, texture and resonance moving easily between gallery and score.

He also noted acoustic affinities between Jones’ layered materials, which recall studio treatments designed to address sound, and the Pulitzer’s concrete hush. A quiet echo of Miles Davis hovered in that framing — his belief that “a painting is music you can see, and music is a painting you can hear” felt beautifully at home. With that sensibility, Stark curated solo and small-ensemble works that met the room, the art and our listening with clarity and presence.

Jones’ exhibition and the Pulitzer’s tranquil architecture created a receptive space where breath and resonance felt almost architectural. Against this backdrop, the program brought together four groundbreaking voices — Carlos Simon, Alvin Singleton, George Lewis and Pauline Oliveros — each offering a distinct approach to line, rhythm and listening. Simon, Singleton and Lewis stand among the pioneering Black composers who have shaped contemporary classical and improvisational music, and Oliveros offered a complementary Deep Listening dimension rooted in awareness and breath. Heard inside Jones’ world of tuned surfaces and charged quiet, the works formed a sonic exhibition, each piece focused and individually framed, inviting the audience to lean in and listen with care.

Simon’s “Silence,” performed by cellist Bjorn Ranheim, and “Move It,” played by flutist Andrea Kaplan on alto flute, revealed the physical and expressive demands of his writing. The musicians approached these works like elite athletes at peak form, shaping tone and breath with clarity and vigor. Kaplan drove through “Move It” with a stamina that felt architectural in its discipline, while Ranheim revealed taut strength beneath “Silence,” each bow stroke carrying sculptural intention. In “Between Worlds,” double bassist David DeRiso extended Simon’s sense of grounded lyricism, giving the instrument weight, lift and presence.

Singleton’s “In My Own Skin,” performed by Peter Henderson, offered a vivid demonstration of musical command — a flourishing traversal through a score that carried the room with it, idea by idea. Kaplan returned for Singleton’s “Argoru III,” shaping sound and silence with poised clarity, each gesture finely articulated.

In Lewis’ “Endless Shout,” Henderson again proved a compelling guide, allowing musical thought to move with conversational ease, alert to both structure and spontaneous color.

Oliveros’ “Horse Sings From Cloud,” performed by Kaplan, Ranheim, DeRiso and Henderson, asked performers and listeners to treat tone, breath, silence and space as equal materials. This performance felt quietly luminous, meditative and humming, the result of disciplined listening and collective trust. Silence breathed differently here, less like absence than a living medium in which sound appeared and receded. The effect was gently sublime, delivering a moment of stillness that settled the room into a deeper register of experience.

The connection between Jones’ work and these sounds lived in sensibility rather than illustration. Stark’s framing centered Jones’ listening — an invitation to imagine her in the studio with these composers sounding around her, much as one imagines Basquiat painting with Parker or Gillespie in the air. Music and art infused, each informing the other as parallel commitments to color, energy and imagination.

The gallery was full, and the audience listened with a calm, steady attentiveness that felt in tune with the room and the music — a presence that reflected both the strength of the SLSO community and St. Louis enthusiasm for programs where contemporary music and visual art meet in shared focus. Cross-disciplinary evenings like this affirm how vividly the arts speak to one another when we move among galleries, stages and concert halls, embracing perspectives shaped by diverse voices and modern compositional language.

The evening also affirmed the value of the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra’s Live at the Pulitzer series, which brings adventurous programming into conversation with contemporary art and architecture. As the final tones settled, the space held a gentle afterglow, as though the music had entered the walls as quietly and surely as Jones’ works inhabit them.

Her pieces remain on view, and the evening’s sounds may still hover in the gallery air — a testament to curation grounded in discernment and performances shaped by devotion, the kind of experience that lingers and encourages us toward the fullness of artistic experience across forms.

St. Louis Symphony Orchestra: Live at the Pulitzer performed “Color Into Form Into Sound” on Nov. 4 at the Pulitzer Arts Foundation.

Photo Credit: Courtesy of the Pulitzer Arts Foundation. Photography by Chris Bauer.

Facebook Comments

‘If I Had Legs I’d Kick You’ Is An Exhausting But Darkly Transfixing View of Motherhood

‘If I Had Legs I’d Kick You’ Is An Exhausting But Darkly Transfixing View of Motherhood

By Alex McPherson

An aggressively unpleasant experience that traps viewers within its protagonist’s tortured psyche, director Mary Bronstein’s “If I Had Legs I’d Kick You” throws us into the void and leaves us to flail. A feverishly commanding performance from Rose Byrne guides us through the pressures of parenthood and a largely uncaring world.

The film focuses on Linda (Byrne), a therapist in Montauk, New York, who is stretched beyond her limits. Her daughter (Delaney Quinn) has a mysterious illness that causes a severe aversion to food and requires a feeding tube apparatus that Linda maintains and monitors every night. Linda’s ungrateful husband, Charles (Christian Slater), who’s in the Navy, is away on a two-month assignment.

It is of course during this time that a leak causes their bedroom ceiling to collapse and flood the house. This gaping hole makes the house unlivable, requiring Linda and her daughter to stay in a seedy motel. It also becomes a metaphorical window into Linda’s traumatic memories

Linda desperately wants doctors to remove her daughter’s feeding tube, but a nurse informs her that her daughter is not meeting her weight requirements, and threatens to “re-evaluate the level of care” that Linda can give her. She’s scolded every day when she double-parks at the daughter’s facility.

Her own patients take a toll (one of them, concerned about motherhood, is clearly on a dark path), and Linda’s own therapist down the hall (a surprisingly intense Conan O’Brien) refuses to take her swirling thoughts seriously. 

The snarky motel clerk (Ivy Wolk) refuses to sell Linda wine late at night, and the curious superintendent (A$AP Rocky) takes a liking to her and wants to strike up a friendship (which Linda immediately refuses). Everything is happening to Linda and she cannot catch a break, as barely-repressed psychological wounds resurface and send her already tenuous illusion of control veering drastically off course.

Catastrophe is around the corner, and Linda — lacking any clear support system — is headed right towards it.

Definitely not all sunshine and rainbows. Through Linda’s perpetually escalating crises, Bronstein explores the crushing psychological weight that Linda faces in every avenue of her life, trapping Linda in a version of Hell that she feels guilty for existing within. Bronstein’s film firmly roots us in Linda’s world, forcing us to view it through her eyes and never providing a sense of catharsis or release. I

t’s an exhausting watch (with an overlong runtime), but its maximalist stylings are viscerally, hauntingly tangible. Byrne’s performance is so strong, and heartbreaking, too, that no matter how intentionally off-putting “If I Had Legs I’d Kick You” gets, it’s difficult to look away.

Byrne  inhabits her  character, who makes impulsive, often questionable decisions that leave her paralyzed despite being constantly in motion. Linda is a complicated, emotionally fractured presence who’s on edge from frame one, barely holding on to her sanity as proceedings grow further frenzied.

Byrne’s comedic chops are put to use through Linda’s acerbic wit, yet we can see the damage being wrought upon Linda’s mind as she code-switches from role to role, trying, unsuccessfully, to keep her mounting dread at bay.

Bronstein keeps the chaos level high from start to finish, with cinematographer Christopher Messina (also the DP on Josh and Benny Safdie’s “Good Time”) remaining uncomfortably closed-in on Linda. This lends a palpable, subjective sense of peril to her actions; we’re seeing her struggles through her eyes.

Sound design plays just as big a role here — we never actually see Linda’s daughter’s face. Instead, we hear her nagging demands and meltdowns off-screen like a burdensome creature that requires Linda’s constant attention.

Sequences within Linda’s house have a horror-esque feel, complete with impressively effective jump-scares, disorienting visual effects, and the mocking, ironic jingle that plays whenever Linda’s office door opens. 

Indeed, “If I Had Legs I’d Kick You” is an alarming cacophony of noise and stress punctuated with bursts of pitch-black humor and sobering poignancy. Parenthood, depression, skewed gender dynamics, isolation, and the pressure that therapists feel are all under Bronstein’s magnifying glass — confronting aspects of motherhood, especially, that aren’t typically portrayed in media, and that people are often too nervous to address. 

The main issue with “If I Had Legs I’d Kick You” is that it starts at such a high key that there’s little crescendo throughout the 113-minute runtime. The domino effect of issues grows almost comical at times (poor hamster), and, after a while, the film starts to spin its gears and become repetitive — complete with a grueling finale that’s both inevitable and deeply distressing.

Still, Bronstein’s film shines as an acting showcase and a manifestation of pure, no-holds-barred cinematic panic. You might just feel completely drained afterwards.

“If I Had Legs I’d Kick You” is a 2025 psychological drama written and directed by Mary Bronstein and starring Rose Byrne, A$AP Rocky, Christian Slater, Delaney Quinn and Conan O’Brien. It’s runtime is 1 hour 53 minutes and it is rated R for for language, some drug use and bloody images. It opened in theatres Oct. 31. Alex’s Grade: B+

Facebook Comments