The St. Louis Black Rep rounds up its season of virtual programming with a final mainstage production of an original work.  Do I Move You? –  based on a collection of poetry by Dr. Jonathan Smith, Vice President for Diversity and Inclusion Saint Louis University and President of The Black Rep Board of Directors – will stream on Vimeo June 15-30.

Smith’s collection of poetry, music, and dance pulls inspiration from Jazz, religion, love, family, and some of the greatest musicians of our time –  Donny Hathaway, Louis Jordan, and Marvin Gaye. Conceived by Producing Director Ron Himes, using devised theatre, Black Rep Director and Choreographer Heather Beal weaves a web of music, dance, and poetry. Themes of betrayal, identity, discovery, and love flow throughout the performance, culminating to answer one very important question, “Do I Move You?”

Produced at the Edison Theatre on the campus of Washington University in St. Louis, the production features the Black Rep’s Acting Intern Company Kentrell Jamison, Christian Kitchens, Theorri London, Brian McKinley, Tyler White, Jesmelia Williams, and Christina Yancy. Also featured are local Vocalist and Musical Director, Amber Rose, Dancer Samantha Madison, Percussionist Bernard Long Jr, Bass Player Jeffrey Anderson, and Lead Guitarist Dennis Brock. With scenic and projection design by Peter and Margery Spack, lighting design by Sean Savoie, costume design by Ellen Minch, sound engineering by Kareem Deanes, editing by Avatar Studios, and Kasey Dunaski as Stage Manager.

Tickets for Do I Move You? are available at theblackrep.org or by calling our Box Office at 314-534-3807. Streaming free on demand, a suggested donation of $25 will directly help support the theatre company and its artists.

The St. Louis Shakespeare Festival is pleased to welcome back audiences for a new season of free Shakespeare productions in 2021, beginning with the return to Shakespeare Glen in Forest Park with King Lear. 

The Festival is committed to preserving the health of our staff, actors, and audience and will share complete safety precautions closer to performance dates in compliance with the guidelines of health officials.

The 21st season of outdoor performances starting with KING LEAR starring André De Shields in Shakespeare Glen, a new 24-stop touring production of OTHELLO and the return of Shakespeare in the Streets in the historic North St. Louis neighborhood of THE VILLE.

On May 3, the company of 18 talented (and fully vaccinated) actors will come together in St. Louis for the first rehearsal of King Lear under Director Carl Cofield. Get to know their names and faces. 

This is the 2021 Shakespeare in the Park cast: 

André De Shields (King Lear), Rayme Cornell (Goneril), J. Samuel Davis (Kent), Leland Fowler (Edmund) Allen Gilmore (Fool), Nicole King (Cordelia), Jason Little (Albany), Daniel Molina  (Edgar), Carl Overly, Jr. (Cornwall), Michael Tran (Oswald/France), Jacqueline Thompson (Regan) and Brian Anthony Wilson (Gloucester). With support from Atum Jones and the St. Louis Black Rep Intern Company: Kentrell Jamison, Theorri London, Brian McKinley, Tyler White and Christina Yancy.   

Reservations for King Lear will open on May 2!  Stay tuned for more information on how to attend. The opening show of the 21st season will run June 2 – June 27.

KING LEAR

Shakespeare Glen, Forest Park June 2-27
Tony, Emmy and Grammy Award-winner André De Shields (Broadway: HadestownThe Wiz) stars in Shakespeare’s greatest — and most modern — masterpiece.

Carl Cofield (Associate Artistic Director, Classical Theatre of Harlem) directs an all-BIPOC cast from New York, Chicago and St. Louis.


OTHELLO Aug. 3 -29

TourCo presents 24 performances in Missouri & Illinois
Our new outdoor touring troupe visits public parks across the bi-state region. A Living Study Guide before each performance explores the themes and modern impact of Othello — Shakespeare’s gripping tragedy of jealousy, race and resentment.


SHAKESPEARE IN THE STREETS: THE VILLE Sept. 9-11

Annie Malone Children’s Home, 63133

After an extended storytelling residency, Shakespeare in the Streets returns with a new play based on Shakespeare and inspired by the Ville neighborhood, one of the most historically significant Black communities in America.