Cultural Events, 2012

FIGs Program Cultural Events, 2012 Theatre Stephens Playhouse Theatre Co.
Sept. 23 (2pm), Sept. 27-29 (7:30pm)
This new, original musical comedy includes all your favorite fairy-tale heroines as you've never seen them. Brassy "Leader of the Princess Pack" Snow White, clean-freak Cinderella, and many others are none too happy about the exploitation they've suffered in today's films and theme parks. Reviewers called previews of Disenchanted "a laugh out-loud joy ride" with "catchy music and clever lyrics." Disenchanted! Stephen's Warehouse Theatre Co.
Oct. 3-6, 7:30pm
The true stories of five brave women sent to Vietnam and their struggle to make sense of a war that irrevocably changed them and a nation that ignored them. The work, with the music and soul of a turbulent era of our past, follows five women: two nurses, a Red Cross worker, a USO entertainer and an officer--before, during and after their tours in a war-torn Vietnam. A gripping story that ends as each woman leaves a personal memento at the memorial wall in Washington. "A riveting, rending dramatic experience," writes the Louisville Courier Journal. Piece of My Heart MU Concert Series, Jesse Auditorium
Oct. 9th, 7pm
Direct from Beijing, the National Circus of the People's Republic of China. Audiences of all ages will be astounded and amazed by the jaw-dropping feats performed by this international award winning group. Come gasp and cheer as they perform their signature acts, such as the Great Teeterboard, Grand Flying Trapeze, and Group Contortion. Founded in 1953, it is one of the longest running and most distinguished circus troupes in China. Cirque Chinois MU Theatre Department
Oct. 18-20th, 25-27th, 7:30pm
October 28th, 2pm
The tale of what came after Medea helped Jason win the Golden Fleece has shocked and moved audiences for thousands of years. This renewed version presents the ancient tale of betrayal and revenge, challenging our perceptions of the role of women, mothers, and outsiders.
*******LIMITED AVAILABILITY******* Medea Stephens Playhouse Theatre Co.
Oct. 19-20th, 7:30pm
Oct. 21st, 2pm
Oct. 26-27th, 7:30pm
It should be a relaxing Labor Day weekend, but when handsome stranger Hal Carter comes to the neighborhood picnic, things quickly grow complicated. Winner of the New York Drama Critic Award and a Pulitzer Prize, Picnic is a sweet, memorable--and important--true American classic by one of our country's most beloved playwrights. Picnic Stephens Warehouse Theatre Co.
Nov. 7-10th, 7:30pm
A dark comedy full of quirky characters is making its collegiate premiere at the Warehouse! Despite her two daughters' insistence, Eleanor refused surgery to remove a possible life-threatening wristwatch that was left in her skull decades earlier during a brain surgery--not because she is afraid, rather because every surgeon that has tried to remove it has died in the process. Set in the neurology ward of an American hospital, a suicidal amnesiac joins Eleanor and her daughters in hilariously tormenting an incompetent medical student who can't catch a break. When backdoor deals are hashed, the stakes of this quick-paced comedy will keep you on the edge of your seat. Causa Mortis MU Theatre Department
Nov. 8th-10th, 13th-15th, 7:30pm
Nov. 11th, 2pm
Memory casts shifting rainbows over Tennessee Williams' semi-autobiographical tale. A young poet longing to escape feels trapped by the need to support his nagging mother and shy sister, fragile as her glass animals. An American classic, The Glass Menagerie Dance Music Films MU Concert Series, Jesse Auditorium
Oct. 10th, 7pm
Celebrate the opening week of Dance St. Louis' newest original work. Dedicated to teh development and celebration of diverse artistic visions, this project-based company is a foundation for the creation, production, and touring of original works. Their mission is to provide the St. Louis region with the world's best dance and to develop an appreciation for dance as an art form. New Dance Horizons We Always Swing, MO Theatre
Nov. 10th, 7pm
Hilario Duran--Cuban pianist, composer, producer and arranger. Jane Burnett--Canadian soprano saxophonist, flutist, and bandleader. Candido Camero--Cuban percussionist. Hilario Duran and Jane Burnett
and Candido Camero Royal Drummers and
Dancers of Burundi We Always Swing, MO Theatre
Oct. 17th, 7pm
With pianist Kenny Barron and an all star quartet. Barron, an NEA Jazz Master--the highest civilian award in jazz, the equivalent of a Lifetime Achievement Award--is a remarkable pianist who has been performing on the world's most important select stages for more than 40 year. He will be presenting a special program centered on Thelonious Monk's msuc. Kenny Barron Quartet MU Concert Series, Jesse Auditorium
Oct. 18th, 7pm
The sound of the solo cello is as compelling as the human voice, with a chameleon's ability to embody any role. Anchoring the concert with one of the spectacular Bach Suites, Haimovitz engages the audience, introducing his program from the stge, creating unexpected epiphanies and fostering a new intimacy with the music. Haimovitz has brought the sounds of Bach, Ligeti, Britten, Golijov, Reger, Carter, Kodaly, Machover, Dutilleux, Spratlan as well as his own arrangement of Jimi Hendrix's "Star-Spangled Banner," to concert halls and listening rooms alike. Matt Haimovitz MU Concert Series, Jesse Auditorium
Oct. 19th, 7pm
The Chicago-based, two-time Grammy Award winning sextet combines the finesse of a string quartet with the energy of a rock band. Founded in 1996, Eighth Blackbird has been active in commissioning new works from composers. Expect a proactive and engaging performance combining bracing virtuosity with an alluring sense of irreverence. Eighth Blackbird MU Concert Series, Jesse Auditorium
Nov. 1st, 7pm
George Clinton was the mastermind of the bands Parliament and Funkadelic during the 1970's and the early 1980's. He began performing as a solo funk artist in 1981, and will be performing live on the Jesse stage. He has been called one of the most important innovators of Funk music. Clinton is a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, inducted in 1997 with fifteen other members of Parliament-Funkadelic. Don't miss your chance to see this legend of funk in Jesse Hall.
*******LIMITED AVAILABILITY******* George Clinton and P Funk MU Concert Series, Jesse Auditorium
Nov. 3rd, 7pm
Featuring the music of: The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, The Beach Boys, The Dave, Clark Five, The Monkees, The Mamas & the Papas, Simon & Garfunkel, Jefferson Airplane, Cream, Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix, The Who, Crosby Stills & Nash, Three Dog Night, The Supremes, Led Zeppelin, The Yardbirds, The Kinks, and many more.
*******LIMITED AVAILABILITY******* This is the '60s MU Concert Series, Jesse Auditorium
Oct. 28th, 7pm
Considered as one of the best percussion ensembles on this planet, Burundi's top drummers have been touring the world since the 1960's. Royal Drummers and Dancers of Burundi channel the energy and creative spirit of a nation through these drums and the rituals surrounding them. MU Theatre Department
Sept. 12-17th, 7:30pm
Sep. 16th, 2pm
The Lost Slipper is a story of an American couple adopting a baby from China. It is actually two stories in one: the story of the American couple’s journey to China and dealings with the adoption process and the story of the Chinese mother giving up her child.
*******LIMITED AVAILABILITY******* The Lost Slipper Citizen Jane Film Festival: Missouri Theatre
Friday, Oct. 19th, 7:30pm
For Arnel Pineda, the past five years have been the stuff that dreams are made of. In 2007, Arnel's friend began uploading videos of the aspiring Filipino singer covering classic rock songs onto YouTube. One of them was seen by Neal Schon, guitarist for the iconic rock band Journey. Blown away by Pineda's talent and uncanny vocal similarity to former Journey front man Steve Perry, Neal flew Arnel from Manila to San Francisco to audition for the band, and the rest is history. Don't Stop Believin': Everyman's Journey Citizen Jane Film Festival: Missouri Theatre
Oct. 21st, 6pm
Feature documentary exploring the concept of heroic women from the birth of the superhero in the 1940s to the TV and big screen action blockbusters of today. Heroic role models are important in childhood development, yet there are a dearth of these for girls. Wonder Women challenges pop culture's gender biases by looking at how Wonder Woman's storyline changed over time while considering how women are rarely depicted as heroic, powerful, or world-changing. Wonder Women: The Untold Story of America's Superheroines Ragtag Cinema
Sept. 26th & 27th, 6:30pm
A young family—father, mother, sister, brother—travel across the Chilean countryside looking for an inherited parcel of land. The parents' relationship is falling apart, and they're struggling to mask the tension. Seen from the eyes of their 10-year-old daughter Lucía (played with astonishing poise by Santi Ahumada), Thursday Till Sunday is a subtle, startling road trip film, suffused with dread. Thursday Till Sunday Ragtag Cinema
Oct. 3rd & 4th, 6:30pm
This meticulously constructed film is carefully attuned to the sights and sounds of its setting, an upscale neighborhood in the Brazilian business hub Recife. Its suspicious characters are, too. In the film's opening minutes, a car radio is stolen, and the victim's boyfriend, João (Gustavo Jahn), immediately suspects his trouble-making cousin. Meanwhile, two men take advantage of the tension by offering their services as neighborhood watchmen. Kleber Mendonça Filho's playful, unpredictable feature debut reveals his society's unease using puzzle-like construction. "A supremely poised and ambitious first feature. Filho has made a thoroughly modern, film-savvy opus (at times it suggests Cache as directed by Paul Thomas Anderson), steeped equally in dread and humor." (Dennis Lim, Artforum) Neighboring Sounds Ragtag Cinema
Oct. 10th & 11th, 6:30pm
Sweden's complicated relationship with race (see: Makode Linde's headline-grabbing "blackface cake" installation from this past April) is plumbed in Ruben Östlund's provocative Play. Fastidiously adapted from police reports (Östlund even interviewed the real life characters), Play tells the story of five African immigrant boys who rob their rich, white cohorts by playing on stereotypes and liberal guilt. The film started a national debate when it played in Swedish theaters, with some calling Östlund racist and others hailing his work a masterpiece. We look forward to bringing the debate to our theater. Play Rag Tag Cinema
Oct. 17th-18th, 6:30pm
Years ago, a nurse named Elena (Nadezhda Markina) married one of her patients, an older, much wealthier man named Vladimir (Andrey Smirnov). Elena's newfound prosperity doesn't transpose her family's financial situation, so she spends much of the film navigating two different worlds, compassionately caring for her husband in his spacious apartment and traveling by train to her deadbeat son's slummy housing complex. Meanwhile, Vladimir has his own smart but spoiled offspring to deal with. Elena Ragtag Cinema
Oct. 24th & 25th, 6:30pm
Old Dog revolves around an old, faithful mastiff, an exotic Tibetan farm dog that has recently become highly treasured among the Chinese elite, who spend millions of dollars for the shaggy pooches. After several of his neighbors' mastiffs are stolen, Gonpo decides to sell his family's to a trader. His father is angry when he learns what has happened, and he goes on a trek to retrieve the dog. Old Dog