Live Entertainment

John Waters’ film Cry-Baby hit theaters in 1990 to modest fanfare despite an eclectic cast featuring then-rising stars Johnny Depp and Willem Dafoe, punk rocker Iggy Pop, future talk show host Ricki Lake, and former adult film actress Traci Lords. It became a cult classic over the years, and spawned a rather unsuccessful musical adaptation in 2007, lasting less than two months on Broadway. Five years later, Scott Miller’s New Line Theatre bought the rights to the show and produced a smaller scale production that ran to strong acclaim. With their well-earned reputation as a theatre troupe that is willing to take on challenging material or Broadway misfires, Miller and company are presenting the second run of Cry-Baby in St. Louis from September 28^th – October 19, 2019 to opening their 29^th season.

Another BubbaFest has gone into the books, and one of this year's highlight's was a chance for attendees to enter the world of THE WALKING DEAD and participate in a photo shoot that put them right into the thick of the series.

Entering the walk put attendees alongside Rick Grimes (portrayed by Cecil Grimes Cosplay) and Negan (Negan Unchained Cosplay), as they encounter the serie's "Hilltop Kid," played by series actress Kaylie Turner.

Our sometimes guest-contributor, That Umbrella Guy, was among the attendees, and brings us this video of his meeting with the folks who brought THE WALKING DEAD... to life.

The Great Train Show made a stop in Belleville, Illinois this weekend, bringing with it something for train enthusiasts of all ages -- from wooden tracks and LEGO to modern and antique HO scale locomotives.

Vendors displayed their wares up and down the length of the Belle-Clair Expo Center, with something in a price range for everyone. You could pick up display pieces for as little as a dollar, or drop several hundred on a rare engine or a brand new set. And beyond the vendors, several St. Louis area train clubs were on hand with their highly detailed arrays of tracks and scenery, as well as a few surprises we didn't expect, including some video producers who catered to trainspotters with DVDs and Blu-rays.

Click the video below for a virtual experience and meet some of the people behind the event.

The 80s anthem, FOOTLOOSE, defined a generation that wanted--nay, needed!--to blow off steam through music and motion. It was a time when we wanted to get physical, to dance in the streets and dance in the sheets, and nothing was going to stop us now.

The classic show became a musical in 1998, and tonight the cast at The Muny delivered the penultimate performance of the show's St. Louis run.

The musical adaptation takes a few liberties with the script, of course, sometimes for time considerations, and sometimes for simplicity of stage direction. Instead of Ren McCormack (MASON REEVES) working at a grain mill, he waits tables at a burger joint. And preacher's daughter Ariel Moore (McKENZIE KURTZ) has her daredevil urges tamed down so that she's screaming at trains instead of in front of them.

A 41-piece orchestra was the opening act for a rock concert on Saturday, June 22, 2019, at the Fabulous Fox Theatre. Weird, right? Not for the funniest man in music, the man who embraced the weird label over 40 years ago, Weird Al Yankovic. His ”Strings Attached Tour" features Yankovic and his usual band of masterful musicians joined by orchestral musicians from all across the country. 

You don't see a lot of science fiction musical theatre. That’s a shame, because there's a lot of wonderful stories and a ton of diversity in that genre. It's not just space operas. The creative team of Joe Tracz (words) and Joe Iconis (music and lyrics) demonstrates what this genre can be on stage with Be More Chill, a musical based on the novel by Ned Vizzini. Once again, New Line Theatre quickly seized the opportunity to present this highly entertaining cautionary tale. 

Anime is not something you would think to find at land-based casinos. Well, not all of them. Video slots are available in an array of themes, each offering different paylines, themes, bonus rounds and special symbols, but it isn’t often you discover one of manga or anime. However, with the internet working in favor of all gaming preferences, online casinos have been adopting more video slots, expanding their gaming options and attracting new players with specific preferences. If you take novicasino.com for example, you will find a multitude of video slot themes, all geared toward bringing in new players with a new database of video slots. Now with that being said, there are a few that really stood out to us, mentioned below.

Moon Princess

Some of life’s biggest pleasures come from the most unexpected sources. One such pleasant surprise is Come From Away making it’s St. Louis debut at the Fabulous Fox Theatre May 14-26, 2019. It is a rare production without an obvious lead actor—it’s essentially an “all ensemble” show where every actor has a multitude of parts to play. Everyone in the cast is delightful, the music catchy, the vibe surprisingly upbeat for a story about the terror attacks of 9/11. That's right--somebody made a musical about 9/11 and it's brilliant!

The first time I saw the Claude-Michel Schönberg and Alain Boublil classic Les Misérables, I wasn’t particularly happy. If I recall, I called my experience “very miserable indeed.” Over time and with the encouragement of my brilliant lady, I now greatly enjoy that sung-through musical tale of a failed French revolution. With my recent conversion to being a Les Misérables fan I assumed my first foray into Boublil and Schönberg’s revered Miss Saigon, which made its St. Louis debut when the National tour stopped at the Fabulous Fox Theatre for an April 23 – May 5, 2019, run, that I’d enjoy it right from the start. Perhaps my expectations were too high; perhaps I have developed certain sensibilities about language and attitudes towards different sexes and races that might be appropriate for the time but aren’t quite so acceptable today.

Waitress, the musical, premiered on Broadway eight years after the film on which it is based debuted at the Sundance Film Festival, which itself was three months after the shocking death of writer and director Adrienne Shelly. The film was a hit, starring Keri Russell as a beat-down pie slinger in an abusive relationship. Her costars included Nathan Fillion as her new hunky OB/GYN and Andy Griffith as the cantankerous owner of Joe’s Pie Diner. In 2016, the film was adapted on Broadway and the U.S. Tour has arrived at the Fabulous Fox Theatre for a two-week engagement, March 26 – April 7, 2019.

The bad boy of musical theatre, St. Louis' New Line Theatre doesn't shy away from edgy material. They also perform musical classics, uncovering the fundamental truth of a given production that sometimes gets buried after years of revivals and reinterpretations. 

Johnny Cash was a legend in country music and pop culture. His deep baritone voice grabbed the listener’s attention like a fire and brimstone preacher. He sang romantic ballads, colorful yarns about life on the road, somber ditties of crime and punishment, and witty tunes about life’s oddities, such as the strange names peculiar parents sometimes saddle upon their children.

Carole Klein was born in Brooklyn, New York, just a couple of months after the bombing of Pearl Harbor. She grew up playing the piano with her parents, who could tell at an early age that she was gifted with perfect pitch. By the time she reached high school, Carole changed her name to King and began writing songs with a friend from the neighborhood, a kid by the name of Paul Simon. You might have heard of him--he did all right. Carole was only sixteen when she entered Queens College. She was going to be a teacher, but yearned to make songs that would make listeners feel the amazement and joy that she felt listening to the hits of the era over the family radio. She soon broke into the music business in 1958 with “The Right Girl.”  Carole King could write the music, but her lyrics needed work. Enter a young man named Gerry Goffin, a drama major who had a knack for words.

(Article Image: "Roulette" (CC BY 2.0) by Sonny Side Up!)

Roulette is one of the most famous and iconic casino games on the planet, and even people uninterested in staking money on things are familiar with the table game. Ever since the spinning wheel was invented by Blaise Pascal way back in 18th century France, people have been trying to work out ways to beat it and fix the result so that they can win money. But no matter what the cunning tricksters try, it’s usually the game and the house which prevail. So what are the methods that have been used? Are any actually viable?

If you're even slightly aware of anime and have a social media account, you've no doubt seen the hashtags #KickVic, #IStandWithVic, and #VicKicksBack. The hashtag battles refer to the allegations against popular voice actor, Vic Mignogna, whose work is front-and-center in the recent release, DRAGON BALL SUPER: BROLY, as well as a former regular on the anime series, RWBY. 

My third time seeing 2CELLOS, aka Stjepan Hauser and Luka Šulić, at the Fabulous Fox Theatre was every bit as exciting as my first time. The Croatian sensations took the internet by storm back in 2011 with their GQ model looks, unassuming charm, and their virtuosity with their instruments. They attack the strings with reckless abandon, welding classical and pop/metal into an unforgettable sonic experience.

Seeing 2CELLOS live is even better than watching them on YouTube. Šulić and Hauser playfully interact with the audience between songs, whipping the ladies into a frenzy with their sexy European accents. The guys in the audience don’t mind because once the lads start playing AC/DC covers the men have no choice but to headbang and air jam in their seats. It’s genetic. Trust me.

The tale of voice talent VIC MIGNOGNA is fascinating in and of itself. But it's one of the spin-off stories that has taken turns more bizarre than the decomposing Jussie Smollett saga.

It's seems that a Florida fan convention, PENSACON, took umbrage at fans who prepared online to stand up for Mignogna, and threatened anyone doing so verbally with arrest. This incensed several people in the fan community, who took to Twitter and YouTube with their own message of support and/or outcry. One of these was comic book artist and upstart YouTube personality  ETHAN VAN SCIVER, whose statements earned replies from the convention itself, stating that they were concerned about far more than just fans saying they were going to question scheduled guest MONICA RIAL, one of those currently accusing Mignogna of sexual misconduct.

Fiddler on the Roof is the sort of musical that everyone knows, or is at least aware of. My mother used to play “Sunrise, Sunset” on the family record player when I was a kid. Somehow, the rest of the music and the context for that famous song had eluded me until now. Fiddler on the Roof plays the fabulous Fox Theatre January 29 – February 10, 2019, bringing the Joseph Stein, Jerry Bock and Sheldon Harnick production that first bowed in 1964 back to St .Louis. For many of the show’s fans, it will be a joyous occasion. For me, it wasn’t bad, just not what I was expecting. I wasn’t even aware this was a Russian story. I’ve never watched the film version, or even perused the Wikipedia entry. I assumed it would be more along the lines of Zorba! My ignorance aside, Fiddler on the Roof is a sparsely staged but deeply moving production.

The first time you see Avenue Q, a musical parody of Sesame Street written by Jeff Whitty with music and lyrics by Robert Lopez and Jeff Marx, you'll either be laughing uncontrollably or seething with indignation. The story of how a puppet character with a Bachelors of Arts in English interacts with the humans, puppets and monsters of Avenue Q in search of his "purpose" is one of the least politically correct musicals there is. If you're the type of person who gets easily offended by jokes about....anything, pretty much... go at your own risk. If you are the type of person who can put whatever personal crusades you believe in aside for a couple of hours and laugh at yourself, you're going to love it. 

Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Phantom of the Opera is beloved by many, but there is a portion of the theatre-going public who believe it’s severely overrated. For those of you who fall into the latter category, there’s a wonderful production performing an all-too-short run at the Florissant Civic Center right now that might be the perfect alternative for the Phantom- weary audience. The Next Generation Theatre Company’s production of Jekyll and Hyde is a tremendously engaging show, but the final curtain for this run will fall on February 2, 2019, so you had better get your tickets as soon as possible.