Theatre Showcase

Join us for the St. Louis Public Radio Theatre Showcase on the Public Media Commons!
Over the course of two nights, we’ll feature short performances by some talented local theatre companies! Bring your favorite lawn chair and a picnic, cold drinks will be available to purchase.
Performances start at 7 p.m. on Friday, September 16 and Saturday September 17, 2022.
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Participating Companies











Performance Details
Friday

The Bee Play - Excerpts
A preview of the current New Jewish Theatre production. Carver Washington, a brilliant young beekeeper from the Bronx finds his only respite from caring for his little sister and his housebound grandmother is by escaping to his oasis on his building’s roof. Rooftop visits from Devora, a kindred spirit fresh out of Yale who’s setting up a kibbutz in the neighborhood lead them to share their dreams, anxieties, and hopes during a time of colony collapse, both for bees and humans. With the city far below, they wonder together what forgiveness might look like in the 21st century.

A selection of Sondheim Songs
2 Sondheim songs to promote their upcoming production of PUTTING IT TOGETHER.

Spotlight on Emerging Playwrights New Works Festival Preview!
Come see a preview of some of the plays from Prism's second annual Festival of New Works: Spotlight on Emerging Artists, which will open September 25th! We will be presenting a scene from Lift by Laurie McConnell and That Thing with Feathers by Steven Doloff.

Brontë Sister House Party
The Brontë sisters of Victorian literary fame (Charlotte, Emily, and Anne) are trapped in a purgatorial time loop where they must throw a fabulous house party every night for eternity. Only when they reach The Point of Celebratory Reverence, the highest point of celebration that a party can achieve, will they be released. An absurd, feminist revisionist tribute to all the women artists who’ve created under pressure and still had it in them to throw a good party.

"The Right Stuff"
Three friends try to recapture the glory of their high school days by camping out overnight for concert tickets. Surely not that much has changed in 20 years?

The Golden Record
In 1977, the Voyager Spacecraft carried two golden phonograph records into the depths of space, never to return. The records hold a message in a bottle to potential interstellar civilizations: a catalog of human sounds and images to let these strangers know a little of who we are. Prison Performing Arts' The Golden Record shares its own catalog of stories from PPA Alumni, interweaving a whimsical space expedition with collected writing of PPA artists. Two cosmic travelers journey through space with their own record of stories, scenes, poems, and memories. Their task is to carry their transmissions to a new destination, but they keep forgetting where they're going, and their glitchy spaceship is struggling to get them there. Will they make it to their new home? Will it matter if they can't remember where their destination is in the first place?
Saturday

The American Plan
Overprotective mother, emotionally fragile young woman, a gentleman caller who seems ready and willing to handle both ladies, but nothing is as it seems.

"Heroes" - an excerpt
A scene from our upcoming production of Heroes by G. Sibleyras, translated by Tom Stoppard. This poignant comedy is set in 1959 in a French home for old soldiers, where 3 of the residents make a last bid for freedom. It opens on September 23rd at the Kranzberg Black Box.

Forgive Thyself
A Catholic priest is decidedly out of his element when a woman enters his church with a need to confess her sins.

Every Brilliant Thing
In response to their mother’s attempted suicide, a child begins a list of Every Brilliant Thing worth living for. As the child journeys into adulthood, the list evolves alongside them. From 1. ice cream to 10000. waking up late with someone you love, the audience is invited to join the storyteller in reflecting on the simple, wonderful, joyful things that inspire hope even in the darkest times.