St. Louis: Home of the Cardinals, the Arch, Anheuser-Busch, and the St. Louis Actors’ Studio.
On Thursday afternoon my rad life will be taking me back to one of my favorite places in the world to do one of my favorite things in the world. Last summer, after ten years, I visited my college friend and St. Louis native, Peter. I had an amazing trip to this wonderful city. The food, the culture, and the unforgettable Heritage Brewer’s Festival have stuck with me these past months and I am eager to return. When the opportunity to direct at the St. Louis Actors’ Studio came my way, I jumped at the chance.
I was offered to direct the quirky 1955 comedy, My Three Angels by Sam and Bella Spewack, this coming fall. I had admittedly never read the script before, but in my research found that the play has long been a frequent fixture in regional rep houses. Based on a French play, La Cuisine Des Anges by Albert Husson, the play tells the story of a kindly family living on French Guiana in 1910. Their lives take unexpected turns when they become entwined with three convicts who have been hired to repair the roof on a blistering hot Christmas Eve.
The family is naive, the convicts are witty and charming, and the story is darkly comical, but somehow heartwarming. The play is like a delicate French dessert- it’s light and pretty to look at with structural complexity beneath its sugary exterior. After my past two directing gigs (a brutal and bloody outdoor production of Macbeth and an emotionally wrenching version of Kushner’s A Bright Room Called Day) I’m definitely ready to take a taste of some lighter fare.
I will share my director’s notes and discoveries here as I work on developing this piece for the stage. I am so lucky in my life to have so many opportunities to what I am passionate about and to have such wonderfully supportive and loving friends and family. I can’t wait to take on this project. A new challenge in a new space and a new theater.
