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(Above drawn by Derek Simmons)

This weekend I attended Shakespeare’s Titus Andronicus at the Tin Ceiling Theater. Titus Andronicus is directed by Robert Strasser and produced by Andrew and Elizabeth Byrd. As with every show I have seen there, it was outstanding.

Titus Andronicus tells the tale of a general (Titus) who backs the wrong man as Emperor and as a result must watch his family ravaged, raped, and ruined. Titus smartly and gruesomely exacts his revenge.

The set for Titus is minimalist, the static piece being a 5’ x 7’ or so painting by local artist Amy Vandonsel. The actors’ body language and dialogue fills the stage instead, bringing to life the tragedy and betrayal of Titus Andronicus.

The play includes 14 actors, with four actors’ work standing out especially: Alan ‘Soupy’ David as unapologetically malevolent Aaron, John Johnson as steadfast Marcus, Robert Mitchell as title character Titus, and Tara Lawton as the tormented Lavinia.

I encourage you to see Titus Andronicus while it is still at the Tin Ceiling Theater (3159 Cherokee, St. Louis). It runs through December 21st.

I had the opportunity to see A Length of Rope at Tin Ceiling Theatre. A Length of Rope was written and produced by Robert Strasser, directed by Andrew Byrd, also the director of the play Flu Season (which I reviewed several months ago) and assistant directed by Alan “Soupy” David, also an actor in Flu Season and actor/line producer/co-writer of Raising the Bar.

The set was simple, including a desk, holding a book titled “Fetish”, two chairs, a lamp, a half-dead ficus, and two entrances and exits. Like the set. the plot was simple on the surface, as so many great plots tend to be. The plot surrounded an art storage house, a missing Klimt painting, and a private investigator on the search for said painting. The play, though absolutely hilarious, becomes more about meaning, success, and taboos.

The cast, including Irene Allen, John Foughty, Rory Flynn, Derek Simmons, and Beth Austin, expressed their despair, despondence, and disillusionment well. I thoroughly enjoyed the fast and clever dialogue amongst the cast. The pushing of taboos was wonderful – use of words like cunt, fuck, and whore were said frequently.

I am still unsure about the title. Why was it called A Length of Rope? No bondage scenes or references were made. No hangings occurred. Any thoughts? If the directors, writer, or cast are reading this and know the answer, please feel free to give some clarity.

In spite of some negative and mediocre reviews I have read of this play, I enjoyed it. I suggest seeing it if it comes back to the Tin Ceiling or to another theatre in St. Louis.

Friday evening I went to Tin Ceiling Theatre, at the corner of Compton Avenue and Cherokee Street, to see Olympus Theatre’s production of Out Calls Only. Out Calls Only, written by local Thomas Long, deals with the mythology of a male hustler in a series of revealing one-act plays between the high-priced young male prostitute Cody Diamond, played by David Whitacre, and four of his clients in Los Angeles. Out Calls Only asks the question “What does a first-rate prostitute sell?” Each client asks for something different from Cody.

The first client with whom Cody is seen interacting is a family guy from Kansas who has been in the closet his entire life and looks as if he may remain there his entire life – more concerned about commitments, responsibilities, and his family’s happiness than his own. The client’s dialogue is much too wordy for my taste.

The second client is a 50-something business woman who needs a companion for business dinners and an occasional sexual encounter following. She’s not happy that she must have a male companion to be taken seriously in the business world, but recognizes that he fills more than her social calendar but an aching emptiness inside of herself.

The third client, played successfully by Donnie Tate, is a Hollywood agent with intense anger, a giant ego, and a wild coke habit. It’s hard to say if he’s more addicted to his cellphone, his power, or the cocaine, though.

The final client, presumably an attractive, immature gay man who chooses a male prostitute over the drama of gay bars, is a big surprise. He turns out to be an “ex-gay” who tries to save Cody’s soul once he brings Cody to vulnerability. This is the only entirely nude scene in the play.

I spoke with various cast members following the production and found out that Thomas Long had been in Los Angeles and knew various gay male prostitutes who provided him with some great stories he just had to write down. Eventually, the play Out Calls Only came into being. The play is even more enjoyable when you consider that the play is based on actual people. The final performance was last night. The show has been staged in both St. Louis and Los Angeles.

Friday evening, I saw Flu Season written by Will Eno and directed by Andrew Byrd at Tin Ceiling Theatre (3159 Cherokee). Flu Season is a darkly comedic play of overwhelming and deep implications. The Tin Ceiling Theatre describes, “This is a play to remind us why sunsets make us sad, how nostalgia is like fog and why we live our lives as though we are in mourning for them.”

Set in a psychiatric hospital, the play centers on the lives of two patients and their nurse and doctor. The set was fantastically simple. The cast was outstanding in their roles – they brought out the humor and the grief equally well. The prologue and epilogue were personified – the prologue was hopeful as one might expect and the epilogue was pessimistic and angry as one might expect. It was a terrific touch.

This was my first play at Tin Ceiling Theatre. The Tin Ceiling is a non-profit theater organization dedicated to providing alternative and inspiring entertainment to the St. Louis community, specifically by showcasing the works of local talent, whether in theater, music, or art. KDHX’s Richard Green, has this to say about Tin Ceiling Theatre: “In a town of mushy old plays, gray as an oyster, Tin Ceiling remains the seemingly unbreakable pearl hidden inside.” I quite agree!