|
Regional Reviews: St. Louis Madam Also see Richard's reviews of The Details and Two Jews Walk Into a War
Or, we might just as easily be talking about Madam, the terrific 2019 musical by local composer and librettist Colin Healy now on stage for Fly North Theatricals. Based on actual events and set in a nineteenth century brothel, the production glitters like Lalique with clever songs and singers, and tons of perfect dance-hall flair in a space that also has its own saloon adjacent. But in Madam, all that comes with a lot of low-down dirty stories about society's bottom feeders, which you'd probably never tell your children. St. Louis was a big deal after the Louisiana Purchase and during the Gold Rush, as the last stop on the way to the western frontier. Madam is named for Eliza Haycraft, who came here in 1840 and grew rich running five houses of ill repute at the peak of her success, for the men who went west, and later for the soldiers in the Civil War. We never really see the average Joe pop-in for a visit, but this dynamite show might even be a bit over-stuffed as it is. The ultra-professional Kimmie Kidd plays Ms. Haycraft in the final two years of her life, combining shocking brains with an utterly disarming personality. Just as a conniving client is trying to grab her property in the middle of frenetic downtown, nearly 150 years ago. The two and a half-hour show (with intermission) first appeared on stage in 2019 at the Bluff City Theater in Hannibal, Missouri, before its St. Louis debut in 2020 at the Dot Zack Theatre. And now, five years later, it's at the Greenfinch Theatre and Dive, directed with brio by Sam Hayes, along with the endlessly sassy choreography of Cady Bailey. The show begins in 1870 with a trio of young women who (like everyone else here) can really belt out a number. Adrienne Spann is encyclopedically assured as Billie, an ex-slave who wore trousers to fight in the Civil War. The showgirl whose soulfulness is actually her secret weapon, Ripley, is played by Avery Lux and dreams of becoming a nurse. Lillian Cooper is a little bit bratty and also extremely fine as Tennie, who boasts of her celebrity older sister, a spiritualist. After these feisty working girls introduce themselves, Ms. Kidd makes her entrance as Eliza: the architect of an "empire of love." The perfect costumes are by director Hayes, with surprisingly fine lights and sound by co-producer Bradley Rohlf. The excellent seven-person band plays in the basement here at the former Way Out Club, beneath the stage, with outstanding musical direction by Mr. Healy. Stepping out of the world of the stage for a moment, though, the seats are hard and there's not a lot of parking. Dustin Lane Petrillo is wickedly great as "The Benefactor," the oily guy conspiring to shut down the brothel and take the land for himself. And the always perfect Rachel Bailey alternates as his dominatrix, on the job, and as a doomed courtesan in her own private moments in act two. Jade Cash arrives on the scene after all the others, both real and showy as a would-be prostitute. She combines naturalism and theatricality as we learn of her double, and then triple identity. As Mercy, her own life upon the wicked stage refracts into a spectrum of laughter and heartbreak. But life on the extremes is always the same. Only how we get there is different. The "girl power" on stage is bitterly intent, charmingly fallible, and infinitely just. And it's danced out with perfect movement, sizzling psychology, and very catchy songs. All that, with the incredibly tight direction of Sam Hayes. Madam, produced by Fly North Theatricals, runs through August 10, 2025, at Greenfinch Theater and Dive, 2525 South Jefferson Ave (just north of Gravois), St. Louis MO. For tickets and information, please visit www.flynorth.org. Cast: Fly North Orchestra: Production Staff: |
