Chris Kernan News

The Tesseract Theatre Company’s production of THE INHERITANCE was a marvelous accomplishment thanks to the genius direction of Stephen Peirick and the out-of-body performances he evoked from each member of his cast. Peirick took the more than 300 pages of Lopez’s wordy script and swiftly paced the production, making it so succinct that the time in the theater melted away as rapidly as a piece of satisfying chocolate on the tongue.   Peirick artfully blocked his well-rehearsed actors on his small set design consisting of two small risers surrounded by the three walls of the small black box theatre. Paintings of familiar New York City scenes representing The Bethesda Terrace Fountain and theatre marquees were interspersed with artwork of cherry blossoms adorning the side walls. Decorating the back wall were vines of cherry blossoms in a crisscross pattern reminiscent of a NYC subway map. He judiciously used the performance space to move his actors between NYC, the apartment interiors, and an upstate New York estate while maintaining a lively pace to his sensational storytelling. 

A complete review of this work will not be published until after seeing Part 2, but after witnessing this company’s transcendent and transformative performance of Part 1 I was compelled to write a micro-review.  

One of the most anticipated plays being produced in St. Louis this season is Matthew Lopez’s epic masterpiece THE INHERITANCE. Produced by Tesseract Theatre Company, THE INHERITANCE is a two-part play spanning three generations of gay men and the effect their relationships have on one another. Inspired by the novel “Howard’s End,” THE INHERITANCE debuted in London’s West End in March of 2018, before transferring to Broadway in November of 2019. THE INHERITANCE is the winner of countless awards including the Olivier Award for Best New Play, the Tony Award for Best Play, and was recognized as Best Play by London’s Evening Standard Theatre Award, Critic’s Circle Award, South Bank Sky Arts Award, Drama Desk Award, Drama League Award, New York Drama Critics’ Circle Award, Outer Critics Circle Award, and GLAAD Media Award. Broadway World had the opportunity to sit down with the Director Stephen Peirick, and three members of his acting troupe, Tyson Cole, Jonathan Hey, and Jacob Schmidt, who will bring the regional premiere of this important work to audiences in and around the St. Louis Area. 

The Tesseract Theatre Company will present The Inheritance at The Marcelle April 26 - May 5, directed by Stephen Peirick. Learn more about the production here!

New Line Theatre has again put together an overall performance that is entertaining and enjoyable. This production of NINE succeeds because of the quality performances of every member of the cast and their ability to deliver strong vocals.

The latest standings as of Monday, December 19th, have been released for the 2022 BroadwayWorld St. Louis Awards! Nominations were reader-submitted and now our readers get to vote for their favorites.

The latest standings as of Monday, December 12th, have been released for the 2022 BroadwayWorld St. Louis Awards! Nominations were reader-submitted and now our readers get to vote for their favorites.

The latest standings as of Monday, December 5th, have been released for the 2022 BroadwayWorld St. Louis Awards! Nominations were reader-submitted and now our readers get to vote for their favorites.

The first live standings have been announced for the 2022 BroadwayWorld St. Louis Awards! Nominations were reader-submitted and now our readers get to vote for their favorites.

This production of SOMETHING ROTTEN is terrific. New Line Theatre’s production delivers a robust number of laughs from a script filled with nonsense musical theatre references. Director Scott Miller has taken a big, overblown musical and effectively shrunk the performance to a smaller stage with a simple set. Music Director Mallory Golden, Choreographer Alyssa Wolf, and Sound Designer Ryan Day collaborate to deliver musical numbers that are well mixed and entertaining. Music Direction and Sound Design for this production is critical because many of the funniest moments are written into the score by Kirkpatrick and O’Farrell.

New Line Theater will present SOMETHING ROTTEN Sept. 22-Oct. 15, 2022, Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays, all at 8:00 p.m., at the Marcelle Theater. Check out photos of the production here.

Special Offer: New Line Theatre Brings You Something Rotten!

Set in 2027, Mark Hollmann and Greg Kotis' URINETOWN is an hilariously subversive fable of greed, corruption, love, revolution, and urination, in a time when water is worth its weight in gold and there's no such thing as a free pee. Set in a near-future dystopian Gotham, a severe 20-year drought has led to a government-enforced ban on private toilets. The citizens are forced to use public 'amenities' now, regulated by a single malevolent company that profits by charging admission for one of humanity's most basic needs. In this nightmare world, the punishment for an unauthorized pee is a trip to the dreaded Urinetown. But from the ruins of Democracy and courtesy flushes, there rises an unlikely hero who decides he's held it long enough, and he launches a People's Revolution to lead them all to urinary freedom!

New Line Theatre, “the bad boy of musical theatre,” has announced its 31st season of adult, alternative musical theatre, including the wild musical comedy SOMETHING ROTTEN, running Sept. 22-Oct. 15, 2022; followed by the electrifying concept musical, NINE, based on Federico Fellini's iconic film 8 1/2, running March 2-25, 2023; and the season closes with one of the great Stephen Sondheim's earliest works, the hilarious farce, A FUNNY THING HAPPENED ON THE WAY TO THE FORUM, based on the Roman comedies of Plautus, running June 1-24, 2023.

HEAD OVER HEELS returns to New Line's stage after being shut down early by the pandemic in 2020. The New Liners promised the show would be back, and it is, March 3-26!

This is the last chance to vote for the 2021 BroadwayWorld St. Louis Awards! The 2021 Regional Awards honor productions which had their first performance between October 1, 2020 through September 30, 2021.

Time is running out to vote for for the 2021 BroadwayWorld St. Louis Awards! The 2021 Regional Awards honor productions which had their first performance between October 1, 2020 through September 30, 2021.

Emerging from the pandemic for their 30th season, New Line Theatre is welcoming audiences back to live theater with The Story of My Life, an emotionally powerful two-hander about memory, friendship, individualism and, the power of words.

New Line Theatre will present a Very Special Event to open the company's 30th Anniversary Season, with just two New Line actors, Chris Kernan and Jeffrey M. Wright, along with artistic director Scott Miller on keyboard, in one of the most intimate evenings of musical theatre in the company’s 30 year history, telling a story all about stories, and the effect we have on other lives, usually without realizing it.

New Line Theatre presents a Very Special Event to open the company's 30th Anniversary Season, with just two New Line actors, Chris Kernan and Jeffrey M. Wright, along with artistic director Scott Miller on keyboard, in one of the most intimate evenings of musical theatre in the company's 30 year history, telling a story all about stories, and the effect we have on other lives, usually without realizing it.