Schmigadoon! Book, music, and lyrics by Cinco Paul. Directed and choreographed by Christopher Gattelli. At the Nederlander Theatre. Based on the Apple TV+ series created by Cinco Paul and Ken Daurio. Schmigadoon! is Schmigadoonapalooza, and it knows exactly what it is. The Apple TV+ series that followed a couple stumbling into a town trapped in…
NY Theatre Review: Rheology
Rheology. Written and directed by Shayok Misha Chowdhury, in collaboration with Bulbul Chakraborty. A Bushwick Starr, HERE Arts Center, and Ma-Yi Theater Company production. At Playwrights Horizons’ Peter Jay Sharp Theater through May 29. Performed in Bangla and English. 90 minutes, no intermission.* As you find your seat, a woman with black hair streaked with…
NY Theatre Review: The Adding Machine
The Adding Machine. By Elmer Rice, revised by Thomas Bradshaw. Directed by Scott Elliott. At the Theater at St. Clement’s (The New Group). Through May 17. 90 minutes, no intermission. A century ago, Elmer Rice wrote a play about a man who mistakes routine for achievement. Mr. Zero spends twenty-five years adding columns of numbers…
In conversation with Fred Welllman
At a time when LGBTQ rights, especially those of trans Missourians, are under relentless legislative attack, it’s not unusual for candidates to show up, say the right words, and move on. What’s less common is someone willing to sit in the discomfort of the moment—and stay there. In a political climate increasingly defined by polarization,…
Whitney Wisker-Brooks, Out Progressive Lesbian, Running For House Seat in Rural Missouri
Whitney Wisker-Brooks, 38, an out progressive lesbian, is running for the House District 116 (HD 116) seat in the Missouri General Assembly. She is a Democrat. District 116 covers approximately the southern half of St. Francois County and the northern half of Madison County. (The St. Francois County Courthouse in Farmington, where 400 gathered at…
PROMO to Host Event at Platypus on May 13
LGBTQIA+ communities all over the state are rising to meet the moment. At a time when face-to-face connection to our community feels both urgent and powerful, a series of gatherings is working to carve out space for community, visibility, and action across Missouri. PROMO Missouri’s “We’re Queer + We Live Here” series, started in 2024,…
Joan Lipkin Receives National Award at Sunday Evening Event
Theatre artist and activist Joan Lipkin was honored Sunday evening with the 2026 Margo Jones Award, one of the most prestigious recognitions in American theatre. The award, which had never previously been awarded to a St. Louis resident, celebrates a lifetime of achievement, honoring individuals who have made a profound and lasting impact on the…
MO-2 Candidate Joan VonDras Meets With LGBTQ+ Community
On the morning of April 8, Joan VonDras met with a group of LGBTQ+ Missourians over coffee to discuss her candidacy and to ask what was important to them. Missouri’s 2nd Congressional District—recently redrawn at the urging of Donald Trump and facing legal challenges—encompasses much of south and west St. Louis County, stretching toward Farmington,…
Butch in the Streets: How Did It Take Me So Long to Discover Lesbian-Owned Platypus?
It’s always been a big dream of mine to connect people. So when I came out of a relationship last year and realized I didn’t have a strong lesbian community, I decided to change that. I took over a 500-member Facebook page called Lou Ladies—founded by the wonderful Mel Nelson—and transformed it into a…
NY Theatre Review: Masquerade
A Phantom that moves you through the building as seriously as it moves you through the score. Masquerade is the rare immersive show that remembers it is supposed to be a musical. You move through five floors of a transformed West 57th Street building, and the night still holds together as a story. You are…