Sunday, June 20, 2010

Episode 32: West Side Story... I mean, Cabaret...

Family Musical Theatre is currently presenting Cabaret on the Ivory stage, but of course the Ivory website says they're producing West Side Story. It's easy to see how you could get those two mixed up -- pre-war Berlin and 1950s New York...

The only review I've seen of the show complains that the sound was really awful, some of the cast didn't know what they were doing on stage, and best of all, there were no programs!

Now rumors have circulated in the St. Louis Theatre Discussion Group chat list that the Ivory will no longer be a legit theatre after Family Musical Theatre's current contract is up at the end of the year. Apparently, it's going to be just a concert venue for country-western singers.

Because Horror Show is such a profound fuck-up. Once again, no press releases were sent out for this last show, so there were listings for it anywhere. They did buy an ad in the Post with the super clever tag line: "Come see it... You'll like it..." Man, that just HAD to sell tickets, don't you think?

It's so sad that what could have been a really nice new theatre space in St. Louis -- a town where we NEED new theatre spaces -- was so badly designed, so badly managed, and put in the hands of a woman whose elevator rarely gets to the top floor.

Cabaret might be a depressing show, but it's not half as depressing as the story of the Ivory Theatre in St. Louis.

Sic Semper Tyrannis!
An Ivory Survivor