St. Louis Stage Capsules

Dennis Brown and Paul Friswold suss out the St. Louis theater scene

May 26, 2010 at 4:00 am

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Eye on the Sparrow: The World Within St. Louis When it comes to how misleading titles can be, this offering from Gitana Productions is Exhibit A. Except for the occasional fleeting reference to locations like Clayton and Ballas, this script by Lee Patton Chiles could just as easily be subtitled "the world within" Peoria or Birmingham. So don't go in thinking you're going to gain insights into Our Town, because they're not here. What we're given instead is an evening of mostly mainstream inspirational songs ("Bridge Over Troubled Water," "Lean on Me," "America the Beautiful") interspersed with a plot line about hard economic times in 2008. Tim Poertner has designed a fun Metro bus that moves about the stage without spinning its wheels. That same cannot be said of the script. Through June 6 at Saint Louis University's theater in Xavier Hall, 3733 West Pine Mall (on the SLU campus). Tickets are $15 ($12 for students and seniors). Call 314-721-6556 or visit stlouis.missouri.org/501c/gitana. — Dennis Brown

The Marriage of Figaro Reviewed in this issue.