By Lynn VenhausManaging EditorIt’s opening day for our St. Louis Cardinals, but also new plays are offered this weekend, with a selection of plays currently in rotation and those making their final runs this weekend. Ah, the riches of what’s available- comedy, drama, musical, Shakespeare and new to St. Louis shows!

Go, Cards! And GO SEE A PLAY.

Terry Barber, Jennifer Theby-Quinn in “Daddy Long Legs.” Photo by John Lamb“Daddy Long Legs”Insight Theatre CompanyMarch 28 – April 14Thursday through Saturday at 8 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m.The Marcelle Theatre in Grand Centerwww.insighttheatrecompany.com314-556-1293

What It’s About: Based on the classic novel, which inspired the 1955 movie starring Fred Astaire, Daddy Long Legs is a beloved tale in the spirit of Jane Austen, The Brontë Sisters and “Downton Abbey. Daddy Long Legs features music and lyrics by Tony Award-nominated composer/lyricist, Paul Gordon (Jane Eyre), and Tony-winning librettist/director, John Caird (Les Misérables), and is a “rags-to-riches” tale of newfound love.

Director: Maggie RyanStarring: Jennier Theby Quinn, Terry Barber

“Dreamgirls”Stray Dog TheatreApril 4 -20, Thursday – Saturday 8 p.m.Tower Grove Abbey2336 Tennesseewww.straydogtheatre.org314-865-1995What It’s About: In the 1960s, the Dreamettes, led by the powerful Effie White, embark on an R&B music career that leads them across the country. Romantic entanglements, Effie’s weight, racism, and the arrival of a fresh new sound in the 1970s are part of this showbiz hit (a fictional nod to The Supremes and Motown).

Director: Justin BeenStarring: Ebony Easter, Eleanor Humphrey, Abraham Shaw, Omega D. Jones, Tateonna Thompson, Don McClendon, Marshall Jennings, Robert Crenshaw, Lawrence J. Haliburton, Tony L. Marr Jr., Chris Moore, Chrissie Watkins, Jazmine Wade, Margery Handy, Chasity Cook, Rahnesha Holmes, Sierra Smith, Laurell Stevenson, Diamon Lester, Kanisha Kellum, Malaika Pedzayl-Ferguson, Ashley Santana

Monroe Actors Stage Company“Is He Dead?”Monroe Actors Stage CompanyApril 5-14Friday and Saturday at 7:30 p.m.; 2:30 p.m. SundayHistoric Capitol Theatre in downtown Waterloo, Ill.www.masctheatre.com618-939-7469

What It’s About:Director: Zona LudlumStarring:Of Note: Special $5 student performance on Thursday, April 11

“A New Brain”Hawthorne PlayersApril 5-6, 12-147:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday; 2 p.m. April 14Florissant Civic Centerhttp://www.hawthorneplayers.info/ 314-921-5678

What It’s About: By the Tony Award-winning authors of Falsettos, this musical is an energetic, sardonic, often comical story about a composer during a medical emergency. Gordon collapses into his lunch and awakes in the hospital, surrounded by his maritime-enthusiast lover, his mother, a co-worker, the doctor, and the nurses. Reluctantly, he had been composing a song for a children’s television show that features a frog – Mr. Bungee – and the specter of this large green character and the unfinished work haunts him throughout his medical ordeal. What was thought to be a tumor turns out to be something more operable, and Gordon recovers, grateful for a chance to compose the songs he yearns to produce. Director: Stephen Peirick, with music direction by Colin HealyStarring: Danny Brown, Joel Brown, Stephen Henley, Chadly Konner Jourdyn, Chris Kernan, John Kuehn, Laura Kyro, Kay Love, Stephanie Merritt, Bradley Rohlf, Dawn Schmid

Reginald Pierre as Othello and Bridgette Bassa as Desdemona“Othello”St. Louis ShakespeareApril 5 – 13Tower Grove Church4257 MagnoliaFriday and Saturday at 8 p.m.; Thursday and Sunday, April 7 at 7:30 p.m.www.stlshakespeare.orgWhat It’s About: In Venice, at the start of Othello, the soldier Iago announces his hatred for his commander, Othello, a Moor. Othello has promoted Cassio, not Iago, to be his lieutenant.Iago crudely informs Brabantio, Desdemona’s father, that Othello and Desdemona have eloped. Before the Venetian Senate, Brabantio accuses Othello of bewitching Desdemona. The Senators wish to send Othello to Cyprus, which is under threat from Turkey. They bring Desdemona before them. She tells of her love for Othello, and the marriage stands. The Senate agrees to let her join Othello in Cyprus.

In Cyprus, Iago continues to plot against Othello and Cassio. He lures Cassio into a drunken fight, for which Cassio loses his new rank; Cassio, at Iago’s urging, then begs Desdemona to intervene. Iago uses this and other ploys—misinterpreted conversations, insinuations, and a lost handkerchief—to convince Othello that Desdemona and Cassio are lovers. Othello goes mad with jealousy and later smothers Desdemona on their marriage bed, only to learn of Iago’s treachery. He then kills himself.

Director: Patrice FosterStarring: Reginald Pierre, Bridgette Bassa, Cynthia Pohlson, Phil Leveling, Jesse Munoz, Brad Kinzel, Will Pendergast, Mike Stephens, Hillary Gokenbach, Victor Mendez, Lisa Hinrichs and Cece Day

Of Note: It takes place in modern Venice and Cyprus. Othello is a powerful exploration of the human condition and the disaster that can arise from our emotions. Trust is eroded and innocence is corrupted in this tragic tale of manipulation and jealousy. Featuring live jazz, this exciting, new take on one of Shakespeare’s darkest plays is not one to miss.

“Photograph 51”West End Players GuildApril 5 – 13Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m., Sunday at 2 p.m., Thursday April 11 at 8 p.m.Union Avenue Christian Church733 North Union 314-367-0025 www.westendplayersguild.org

What It’s About: Anna Ziegler’s “Photograph 51” is a moving portrait of Rosalind Franklin, one of the great female scientists of the 20th century, and her fervid drive to map the contours of the DNA molecule. A chorus of physicists relives the chase, revealing the largely-unsung achievements of this trail-blazing, fiercely independent woman – largely-unsung because the men usually credited with cracking the DNA code, James Watson and Francis Crick, did so by “borrowing” Franklin’s most important discovery.

Director: Ellie SchwetyeStarring: Nicole Angeli, Ben Ritchie, John Wolbers, Will Bonfiglio, Ryan Lawson-Maeske, Alex Fyles.

Morris Robinson“The Play That Goes Wrong”The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis March 15 – April 7Loretto-Hilton Center, 130 Edgar Roadwww.repstl.orgBox Office: 314-968-4925

What It’s About: Calamity, disaster, fiasco: whichever word you’d like to choose, the opening night performance of “The Murder at Haversham Manor” has gone decidedly wrong. A maelstrom of madcap madness ensues, complete with collapsing scenery, unconscious actors and a stage crew pushed to the brink. Will The Rep survive this train wreck of a play? Come find out!

Director: Melissa Rain Anderson

Cast: Ka-Leung Cheung, Ryan George, Benjamin Curns, Michael Keyloun, Ruth Pferdehirt, Matthew McGloin, John Rapson and Evan Zes.

Of Note: The Rep’s production is the first stand-alone production outside of New York and London. The Broadway run was extended, and now there is a 12-city national tour underway, but this is not a touring show.

Joe Hanrahan and Shane Signorino play 21 different characters in “Popcorn Falls.”“Popcorn Falls”The Midnight CompanyMarch 28 – April 13Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays at 8 p.m.Kranzberg Arts Center black box theatrewww.midnightcompany.comWhat It’s About: Two actors take on 21 characters in a struggling small town. They decided to put on a play!

Director: Sarah WhitneyStarring: Joe Hanrahan, Shane Signorino

Of Note: This one-act by James Hindman is presented without an intermission.

Wendy Greenwood and Ben Nordstrom in “Time Stands Still.” Photo by Eric Woolsey“Time Stands Still”New Jewish TheatreMarch 28 – April 14www.newjewishtheatre.orgBox Office: 314-447-3283

Starring: Wendy Greenwood, Ben Nordstrom, Jerry Vogel, Eileen Engel

What It’s About: In this play, a top photojournalist recovers from a near-fatal roadside bomb blast as her long-term relationship with a reporter undergoes its own test of survival. Donald Margulies, whose widely admired plays, Sight Unseen and Collected Stories uncovered the personal wounds inflicted on the battlefronts of art and fiction writing, now takes as his subject a creative couple who have met, worked and loved amid the all too real, mortal combat of the Middle East.

Jessie Shelton and Jeremy Morris on “Waitress”“Waitress”The Fabulous Fox TheatreMarch 26 – April 7www.fabulousfox.com

What It’s About: The musical tells the story of Jenna – a waitress and expert pie maker, Jenna dreams of a way out of her small town and loveless marriage. A baking contest in a nearby county and the town’s new doctor may offer her a chance at a fresh start, while her fellow waitresses offer their own recipes for happiness. But Jenna must summon the strength and courage to rebuild her own life.

By Lynn Venhaus
Managing Editor
Flour, butter and sugar can create magic if other ingredients are at play.
“Waitress,” the musical equivalent of comfort food, shows us that if love, hope
and inspiration are in the mix, that is a dandy can’t miss combination.

Besides inducing cravings for pie – whatever expert
pie-baker Jenna Hunterson calls them (“Getting Out of the Mud Pie” is just one),
this stage adaptation of writer-director-actress Adrienne Shelly’s 2007 hit
independent film evokes warm feelings about family and friends.

Its charming workplace setting in a small-town Southern-fried diner is easily relatable because of a tight trio of spunky females who have made it their home away from home.

This delightful threesome – Christine Dwyer as dreamer Jenna, Ephie Aardema as geeky Dawn and Maiesha McQueen as sassy Becky, even with their thorny man-troubles, is all for one and one for all, just like those famous fictional friends.

The women shine because of their noticeable bond and harmonize beautifully in such numbers as “A Soft Place to Land” and “The Negative.”

The national tour, now playing at The Fox Theatre in St.
Louis for the first time since it began in 2017, has quickly won over audiences
with humor and heart – and the smell of baking pies wafting through the lobby.

The funny and uplifting show, nominated for three Tony Awards in 2016 – the year “Hamilton” was a runaway train — is still playing on Broadway, enticing audiences with its appealing female empowerment theme and catchy melodious pop songs. Jenna is a plucky sort trapped in an unhappy marriage who dreams of breaking free if she wins a nearby county’s baking contest prize money. She suffers a few setbacks, namely a surprise pregnancy with a controlling, abusive husband. She also falls for the new doctor in town –and he’s married, but they engage in a mad affair. So, it’s complicated. She’s in this unusual pickle, and how can she find her way to a better life? She must concoct her own recipe for success.

As Jenna, Dwyer projects vulnerability and resolve, finally taking courageous steps once she gives birth (“The Contraction Ballet” – yes, they go there). Her numbers “What Baking Can Do” and the rise-up motherhood anthem “Everything Changes” are among the highlights. The book by Jessie Nelson doesn’t skirt that Jenna’s life is a hot mess, nor do the candid songs. You gotta love a musical with a musical number “Club Knocked Up,” which is set in a doctor’s office.

The music and lyrics are by Grammy-nominated
singer-songwriter Sara Bareilles (“Love Song,” “Brave,” “King of Anything”),
who provides emotional soul-baring ballads, such as “She Used to be Mine,” in
this medium too.

However, the peppy cast really sells the big numbers with panache – making them crisp and snappy from the start, “Opening Up” and “Bad Idea” among them.

The Ogie-centered numbers, “Never Ever Getting Rid of Me” and “I Love You Like a Table” feature Lorin Latarro’s fast-paced choreography and the scene-stealer Jeremy Morse as the odd soulmate Dawn discovers on her blind date, who she met online. He and Aardema are terrific together.

Morse’s comic timing is superb, as is Ryan G. Dunkin as laid-back
but put-upon cook/manager Cal. The other sympathetic male is Richard Kline as cantankerous
customer Joe, who owns the diner. In the movie, the character was played by
Andy Griffith, in his last film role.

As for the husband and lover, these are one-note parts. Earl doesn’t have any redeeming quality whatsoever, and Matt DeAngelis plays him well as an insufferable jerk, but it’s a head-scratcher that Jenna has been married to him for as long as she has.

Then, Dr. Pomatter is the dreamy OB/gyn, but he’s married to a perfectly fine woman who is working her residency at the hospital. The infidelity is hard to get past. But Steven Good is fine in the role, pairing well with Dwyer in “It Only Takes a Taste” and conveying his conflicted heart in “You Matter to Me.”

DeAngelis and Good were in the Broadway cast, as was Morse.

Morse’s Ogie is such a lively goofball that he clearly steals the show. But giving him a run as audience favorite is Dawn Bless as Nurse Norma, whose impeccable comic flair is a hoot, especially when the pair-in-heat think they’re fooling her.

Another favorite moment is the arrival of young Lulu for the final scenes in the diner. In St. Louis, she is played by Penelope Garcia and Norah Morley, both 5 years old, who were selected in local competition for the cameo roles. The adorable and energetic Penelope played Jenna’s daughter on this night.

Of note would be that Jenna and Dr. Pomatter’s physical relationship in his office is more naughty than nice. Just in case you are bringing younger children. If there was a rating, it would likely be PG-13 (at least).

A nice touch is the band’s presence in the diner. The six musicians are a tight group – with Music Director Robert Cookman on keyboards, Conductor Lilli Wosk on piano, Jeff Roberts on drums, Lexi Bodick on base, Nick Anton as cello/guitar and Ed Hamilton as guitar. “Waitress” is a small, sweet show with enough tartness and zip to make it a pleasant pop experience, all the better with girlfriends in a female-heavy crowd.

“Waitress” is at The Fox Theatre March 26 – April 7. For tickets, contact Metro-Tix or the Fox Box Office, and for more information, visit www.fabulousfox.com

The Tony nominated musical “Waitress,” which opens March 26, has cast two young area actresses to take on the role of “Lulu” during the St. Louis engagement.

Penelope Garcia, 5, of St. Louis, and Norah Morley, 5, of St. Louis will alternate the role of “Lulu,” the daughter of the production’s main character, Jenna.

WAITRESS tells the story of “Jenna”, an expert pie baker working at a local diner and stuck in a loveless marriage.  Her salvation comes in the form of her daughter, “Lulu.”

Both girls were chosen via an audition process held at The Fabulous Fox Theatre on February 11. Over 40 girls participated in the auditions, which were presided over by members of the WAITRESS company. The character of “Lulu” is cast locally in each tour market and two girls are chosen to share the role.  Each five-year-old girl chosen will perform in 8 performances each during the engagement.

Penelope attends Hope Montessori preschool, is involved in gymnastics and has always loved to create and perform by singing, dancing and drawing! She loves playing with her big brother Charlie and little sister Ruby, and taking care of her dog, Piney and pet chickens. Her role in WAITRESS will be her very first experience with acting. Penelope dreams of being a ballerina when she grows up.

Norah is a preschooler at St. Lucas Preschool in Sunset Hills. She loves to draw, dance, sing, and play. She and her two sisters dance at the Charmette Academy of Dance & Acrobatics. She has performed in the Lindbergh All-District Musical for the past two years. Norah said about the audition process, “It was really fun. I tried my hardest and the people I auditioned for were funny and nice.”

Brought to life by a groundbreaking all-female creative team, WAITRESS is an irresistible new hit featuring original music and lyrics by 6-time Grammy nominee Sara Bareilles (“Brave,” “Love Song”), a book by acclaimed screenwriter Jessie Nelson (“I Am Sam”) and direction by Tony Award winner Diane Paulus (Finding Neverland, Pippin, Hair).

Inspired by Adrienne Shelley’s beloved film, the musical tells the story of Jenna – a waitress and expert pie maker, Jenna dreams of a way out of her small town and loveless marriage.  A baking contest in a nearby county and the town’s new doctor may offer her a chance at a fresh start, while her fellow waitresses offer their own recipes for happiness.  But Jenna must summon the strength and courage to rebuild her own life.

“It’s an empowering musical of the highest order!” raves the Chicago Tribune.  “WAITRESS is a little slice of heaven!” says Entertainment Weekly and “a monumental contribution to Broadway!” according to Marie Claire.  Don’t miss this uplifting musical celebrating friendship, motherhood, and the magic of a well-made pie.

Tickets for WAITRESS at the Fabulous Fox are on sale now at MetroTix.com, by calling 314-534-1111 or in person at the Fabulous Fox Box Office. Ticket prices start at $29. Prices are subject to change; please refer to FabulousFox.com for current pricing. WAITRESS is part of the U.S. Bank Broadway series.

Performances of WAITRESS at the Fabulous Fox run March 26-April 7. Show times are Tuesday through Saturday evenings at 7:30 p.m., Saturday afternoons at 2 p.m. and Sunday afternoons at 1p.m. There will also be a 6:30 p.m. evening performance on Sunday, March 31 and a matinee performance on Thursday, April 4 at 1 p.m.

“Waitress,” the Tony nominated musical will be premiering at the Fabulous Fox Theatre on Tuesday, March 26, for a limited engagement and is looking for two young girls to perform the role of “Lulu” for the duration of the engagement.

WAITRESS tells the story of “Jenna”, an
expert pie baker working at a local diner and stuck in a loveless
marriage.   Her salvation comes in the
form of her daughter, “Lulu.”

The character of “Lulu” is a sweet and
carefree 4 to 5-year-old who appears in the production’s finale scene.  Qualified young girls should be shorter than
4’2 and be no older than 5 years and 3 months. 
Individual applicants are welcome, as are sets of twins or siblings.
Space is limited to the first 60 applicants to sign up.

For more information, visit www.fabulousfox.com/LuluauditionsFAQ.

To sign up, visit http://www.fabulousfox.com/lulu_auditions.

The “Search for Lulu” will take place in St. Louis on Monday, Feb. 11 at 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. and will last approximately 2 hours at Curtain Call Lounge (521 North Grand Blvd., St. Louis, MO 63103). The audition will consist of the child reading two lines from the show. If possible, parents should bring a current head shot and resume for each child. Headshot, resume and prior acting experience is not required.

The character of “Lulu” will be cast
locally in each tour market and two girls are chosen to share the role.  Each girl chosen will perform in 4
performances each during the one week engagement.

Brought to life by a groundbreaking all-female
creative team, this irresistible new hit features original music and lyrics by
6-time Grammy nominee Sara Bareilles (“Brave,” “Love Song”), a book by
acclaimed screenwriter Jessie Nelson (“I
Am Sam”) and direction by Tony Award winner Diane Paulus (Finding Neverland, Pippin, Hair).

Inspired by Adrienne Shelley’s beloved
film WAITRESS tells the story of
Jenna – a waitress and expert pie maker, Jenna dreams of a way out of her small
town and loveless marriage.  A baking
contest in a nearby county and the town’s new doctor may offer her a chance at
a fresh start, while her fellow waitresses offer their own recipes for
happiness.  But Jenna must summon the
strength and courage to rebuild her own life.

“It’s an empowering musical of the
highest order!” raves the Chicago Tribune. 
“WAITRESS is a little slice
of heaven!” says Entertainment Weekly and “a monumental contribution to
Broadway!” according to Marie Claire. 
Don’t miss this uplifting musical celebrating friendship, motherhood,
and the magic of a well-made pie.

Tickets are now available for WAITRESS at
the Fabulous Fox by visiting MetroTix.com, by calling 314-534-1111 or in person
at the Fabulous Fox Box Office. Ticket prices start at $24. Prices are subject
to change; please refer to FabulousFox.com for current pricing. WAITRESSis part
of the U.S. Bank Broadway Series.