Underwritten by the Kranzberg Arts Foundation, The Dark Room offers live music every day we are open! Continuing our mission of providing the infrastructure for the arts to thrive in St. Louis, we provide local jazz musicians the platform to bring their music to the masses! The weekly schedule is:

– Mondays: The Monday Night Mixer Hosted By The Keith Bowman Quartet (7pm-10pm)
– Tuesdays: The Tuesday Night Hit Hosted By The Tonina Quartet (7pm-10pm)
– Wednesdays: The Kasimu-tet (9-11pm), part of the Wednesday Night Jazz Crawl in Grand Center
– Thursdays: Thursday Night Revue featuring rotating groups (9:30pm-11:30pm)
– Fridays (dinner): Ptah Williams Acoustic Trio (6-8pm)
– Fridays (late night): rotating bands (9:30pm-12:30am)
– Saturdays (dinner): Dine & Discover featuring rotating solo artists (6-8pm)
– Saturdays: “Late Night Grooves” Mo Egeston + special guests (10pm-1am)
– Sundays (brunch): The Dark Room Brunch Sessions (11am-1:30pm unless otherwise noted)

For more information, visit www.thedarkroomstl.com/live-music.

On display June 1st-July 14th, 2018, FREE ASSOCIATION is an exhibit created by the students at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville in the MFA and BFA programs. This exhibit is specifically in response to Melissa Stern’s, The Talking Cure, which was on view in the KAC Gallery from 1/19/18 through 5/19/18. Her exhibition centered on works that suggest a story to the viewer and she invited collaborations in a variety of art forms. We have used this model in our exhibit as well and are welcoming responses and participation by encouraging attendees to freely associate their own meanings to the works and share their interpretations.

The use of free association through words and images allows the mind to spontaneously respond to verbal or visual prompts. This enables the subconscious mind to speak in an active form rather than only through dreams. The dream state has intrigued artists since the early 20th century. Dada and Surrealists artists defied restrictions of the rational mind and allowed the subconscious to surface and to communicate what the conscious mind might otherwise suppress, edit and censor. Authors, writers, and musicians have all derived inspiration from exercising free association as well including Midwest poet and jazz aficionado, Ted Jones.

Freely expressed creativity from the unconscious mind can be more powerful than conscious thought. Today, images from the imagination and unconscious are considered just as legitimate as literal imagery and we cannot imagine a world without this form of self-expression.

Automatism, free association, and the use of the Exquisite Corpse exercise are all creative devices artists can use to liberate creative thinking and examinations of their methods.

The Exquisite Corpse is a collaborative drawing approach first used by surrealist artists to create incongruous and intuitive drawings. An Exquisite Corpse may be visual, oral, or written.

There are three ways for viewers to participate. Everyone is encouraged to do one or all three of the following:
1. Chronicle thoughts to the tape recorder in the gallery.
2. Contribute to a free association poem by adding to list of words. Please respond to the first word that comes to mind upon reading the previous word on the list.
3. Add to a continuous Exquisite Corpse craft paper drawing.

These collaborative efforts will be revealed on the final day of the exhibition.

The artists who contributed to this exhibit are: Samantha Hunerlach, Sarah Bohn, Jessica Lynn Hunt, Joseph Ovalle, Benjamin Carey, Sutton Allen, Katie Donovan, Alassan Sow, Alex Bailey, Annie Darlin, Alex Jacobs, Jessee Rose Crane, Derek Patterson, & Vincent Stemmler.

LEARN MORE ABOUT THE TALKING CURE

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At The Grandel

Max & Louie Productions
presents
“End of the Rainbow”

June 21, 2018 – July 1, 2018
Preview Performance: June 21 – 7:30pm
Thursday, Friday, Saturday – 8:00pm
Sunday – 3:00pm

$35 – $60 General Admission
$200 – Orchestra Boxes (seat up to 4)
$300 – Balcony Boxes (seat up to 6)

By Peter Quilter

Max & Louie Productions proudly presents the LIMITED RUN of the Broadway smash hit “End of the Rainbow” about the later years of the legendary JUDY GARLAND.

It’s 1968 and Judy Garland is about to make her comeback…again. In a London hotel room, with both her new young fiancé and her adoring accompanist, Garland struggles to get “beyond the rainbow” with her signature cocktail of talent, tenacity and razor sharp wit. Featuring some of Garland’s most memorable songs, this savagely funny and deeply moving drama offers unique insight into the inner conflict that inspired and consumed one of the most beloved figures of our time.

This St. Louis premiere stars Angela Ingersoll, reprising her star turn as Judy Garland, having garnered the Chicago Jeff Award for her stunning portrayal of Garland at Porchlight Music Theatre Chicago and recently to great acclaim, at Los Angeles’ La Mirada Theatre.

“End of the Rainbow” was nominated for 3 Tony Awards and 4 Olivier Awards including Best New Play.

*Contains Adult Language

REVIEWS
“Angela Ingersoll was born to play Judy Garland. Ingersoll’s tour-de-force performance is an act of breathtaking alchemy-a simultaneously sublime and chilling act of transformation. And it may well leave you believing you’ve encountered the ghost of the beloved film star.”
-Chicago Sun-Times

“The best Judy Garland Chicago ever saw. Barring the real one… It is a simply magnificent portrayal.”
-Chicago Tribune

“Sensational In Every Sense Of The Word.”
-New York Times

“There are moments in the theatre when you lean forward in your seat with shivers racing down your spine and realize there is nowhere on God’s earth you’d rather be. “End of the Rainbow” is one such occasion.”
-London Daily Telegraph

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In the .ZACK Theatre

Ignite Theatre Company
Presents
“Disney’s Alice in Wonderland Jr.”

June 28 – July 1, 2018
Thursday, Friday, Saturday – 7pm
Sunday – 1pm

$12.50 – General Admission

Ignite’s Bonfire Summer camp condenses the Ignite mainstage experience into three whirlwind weeks of music, dance, and magic making. This season, get swept away in the Lewis Carroll classic (with a modern twist) Disney’s Alice in Wonderland Jr.

Travel down the rabbit hole and join Alice, one of literature’s most beloved heroines, in her madcap adventures.  Featuring updated songs from Disney’s thrilling animated motion picture. Disney’s Alice in Wonderland JR. is a fast-paced take on the classic tale.

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Piano Man Sam

Every Friday
10 pm – 1am
Free

Join us every Friday from 10pm-1am for a night of music with Sam Golden. Enjoy a drink and listen as country, pop, rock and jazz standards all blend under Sam’s deft hands.

Requests and sing-a-longs are encouraged.

Photos by analogstudiollc.com

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In the .ZACK Theatre

TLT Productions
Presents
“Friday Night Live”

July 6 – 27, 2018
9pm

$15 – General Admission

Friday Night Live is a late-night sketch comedy and variety show developed by TLT Productions. Shows will include original short comedic sketches, musical guests and interviews.

The DJ Jmo
Presents
Sophie’s Lounge Sessions

First Saturday of the month
9pm – 1am
Free

Join The DJ Jmo for Sophie’s Lounge Sessions. Throughout the evening you’ll hear a wide range of tunes from the likes of Bossa Nova, Brand New Heavies, Miguel Migs and much more. The spin matches the unique ambience of Sophie’s, and every session is recorded LIVE. Each recording is available for consumption just days after on mix cloud. NO cover so just come sip, dance and enjoy.

At the Kranzberg Arts Center

Creative Exchange Lab (CEL) Center for Architecture + Design STL
present
“Architecture of Urban Rooftop Farming and Question of Food Equity in the City”

July 10th, 2018
5:30 pm to 8 pm
$10 Suggested Donation

Please join us at CEL Center for Architecture + Design Stl. for a presentation by Mary Ostafi, AIA, LEED AP, on her latest rooftop farm project in collaboration with the Kranzberg Arts Foundation.

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At The Grandel

Insight Theatre Company
presents
“The Importance of Being Earnest”

July 12 – 22, 2018
Thursday, Friday, Saturday 8:00pm
Sundays 2:000pm

$35 Reserved Seating |$30 Senior (65+) | $15 Student | $140 (Orchestra Box: seats up to 4)

Insight Theatre Company proudly presents their production of “The Importance of Being Earnest, A Trivial Comedy for Serious People”.

Oscar Wilde’s classic farce set in 1890s London tells the story of two friends who use the same pseudonym, “Ernest”, for their on-the-sly activities. Despite their best efforts, hilarity ensues as their plan begins to unravel.

Mocking the foibles of society, highlighting forbidden love, antics of secret identities, and a surprise revelation, have made The Importance of Being Earnest a hit that has delighted millions through the ages

Directed by Ed Reggi

CAST

Lady Bracknell. . . Tom Murray
Gwendolyn Fairfax. . .. Sophia Brown
John Worthing. . . Pete Winfrey
Cecily Cardew. . . Julia Crump
Algernon Moncreif. . .Will Bonfiglio
Ms. Prism. . . Ruth Ezell
Dr. Chasuble. . . Bill Stine
Lane/Merriman. . .Spencer Kruse

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In the Kranzberg Arts Center Black Box.

Silhouettes Production Company
Presents
“Altar Boyz”

July 13 – 21, 2018
Various Times

$10 Advance | $15 Door | $10 Student

ALTAR BOYZ is a foot-stomping, rafter-raising, musical comedy about a fictitious Christian boy-band on the last night of their national “Raise the Praise” tour. The Boyz are five all-singing, all-dancing heartthrobs from Ohio: Matthew, Mark, Luke, Juan, and Abraham. While performing their tight harmonies and spectacular choreography, the Boyz begin to question their loyalty to each other and ask whether or not their faith is really holding them together.

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In the Kranzberg Arts Center Studio

Bob Wetzel and Craig Becker
Present
“A Fine Bromance”

July 13, 2018

8pm

$20 General Admission

Bob Wetzel and Craig Becker present “A Fine Bromance” – a musical journey through a lifelong friendship!  Featuring songs by Stephen Sondheim, James Taylor, Noel Coward, Paul Simon….and more!

Musical Director – Rick Jensen
Directed by Lina Koutrakos

More Info

Piano Man Sam

Every Friday
10 pm – 1am
Free

Join us every Friday from 10pm-1am for a night of music with Sam Golden. Enjoy a drink and listen as country, pop, rock and jazz standards all blend under Sam’s deft hands.

Requests and sing-a-longs are encouraged.

Photos by analogstudiollc.com

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At the Kranzberg Arts Center

Sense Of Purpose Productions
Presents
Lights Out!

July 14, 2018
7:00pm
$17 General Admission

After a short bout with glaucoma renders her blind, a highly ambitious career woman must employ her other senses to navigate through the darkness.

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In the Kranzberg Arts Center Studio

The Ready Room
Presents
Jackie Cohen

July 17, 2018

Doors at 7pm/Show at 8pm

$10 Advance General Admission | $13 Day of Show

If you want something done right, do it yourself. Jackie Cohen hurts her own feelings in her new collection of curious poem-songs “Tacoma Night Terror Part 1: I’ve Got the Blues.” It’s not that she doesn’t appreciate your help – she’s just got it covered.

Video Teaser: https://spacebomb.app.box.com/s/5qgasfp8f7vdbsva3f15xcy305njmdf4
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jackiecohenmusic

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The Cabaret Project of St. Louis
Presents
Singers Open Mic

Every third Wednesday of the month
7pm – 10pm
Suggested Donation of $5

Every 3rd Wednesday of the month The Cabaret Project of St. Louis will host our new Open Mic at Sophie’s Artist Lounge, on the second floor of the .ZACK, 3224 Locust in Grand Center.
Bring your sheet music and join us!

Chuck Lavazzi, Host Carol Schmidt, Music Director

Now in Sophie’s Artist Lounge at the .ZACK! If you plan to sing bring sheet music, preferably in your own key, and perform your favorite Broadway, pop, or jazz tunes. Medium/up-tempo songs are encouraged but not required.

Or you can just relax and enjoy the music with a drink and a small plate or appetizer. Enjoy a night of great music from St. Louis cabaret artists, backed up by our inimitable pianist and music director Carol Schmidt.

No admission or cover, but we request a $5 donation to The Cabaret Project, a 501c3 non-profit dedicated to promoting, developing, and sustaining the art cabaret in St. Louis

FREE PARKING in the .ZACK lot across the street.

All are welcome. There might even be a Broadway sing-along!

Opening reception July 20th, 6-9 PM

On display from July 20th, 2018 through September 3rd, 2018, ‘Color-ism’ explores the internal discrimination against dark-skinned people within the black community dating back to the 18th century. With shades varying from a very light complexion, nearly white where one can pass, to the deepest, darkest, rich browns that are nearly black, the artists explore the love and hatred of color.

According to the artists, “The portrayal of black bodies and blackness through mainstream media, movies, and television weighs heavily on one’s psyche and shines a harsh light on what beauty and acceptance should look like. Promoting darker skin was not the accepted brand in America, while lighter, fairer skin tones were the preference, as it is still seen today. From a young age, black children develop a thick, callus skin deflecting the verbal and physical discrimination that spews from the lips of bodies that mirror them.”

Danielle McCoy is an artist, educator and writer. She is a self-taught conceptual artist who intertwines printmaking techniques with sewing, quilt-making and hand-dyed textiles into her interdisciplinary art practice. By aiming to promote strength and togetherness among women of color, her work explores gender and identity by addressing issues rooted in race and inequality in America. Through small run publications, installation pieces, site-specific works and programming, her practice serves to build safe spaces of belonging by incorporating spirituality and intentionality into her work.

Kevin McCoy utilizes serigraphs, publications, time-based work and installations to challenge master narratives while investigating representation, identity and wide-spread disparities within the United States. It is through research, materials, and form where complex histories and the deconstruction of historical images can be further examined. He is currently enrolled in the Sam Fox School of Design and Visual Arts at Washington University in St. Louis.

Together they form the interdisciplinary duo named WORK/PLAY. Their work have been collected privately and their work have appeared at SPRING/BREAK Art Show in New York, projects+gallery in St. Louis, The Wassaic Project in New York, The Beard and Weil Gallery in Massachusetts and The Lillstreet Gallery in Chicago. They have also participated in a host of group panels and lectures at the St. Louis Artists’ Guild, Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis and Wheaton College in Norton, MA.

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In the Kranzberg Arts Center Studio

Ken Haller
“The Medicine Show”

July 20-21, 2018

8pm

$25 General Admission

Produced by The Presenters Dolan

Ken Haller’s The Medicine Show peddles miracle cures compounded by Jason Robert Brown, Adam Guettel, Stephen Sondheim and other noted practitioners of the healing arts. In song and story, Ken shows us how becoming a doctor is just the first step in becoming a healer.

More Info

Piano Man Sam

Every Friday
10 pm – 1am
Free

Join us every Friday from 10pm-1am for a night of music with Sam Golden. Enjoy a drink and listen as country, pop, rock and jazz standards all blend under Sam’s deft hands.

Requests and sing-a-longs are encouraged.

Photos by analogstudiollc.com

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At The Grandel

St. Louis Paranormal Research Society
Presents
“The Grandel Theatre Haunted Tours”

July 24, 2018
7:00pm & 8:30pm

$30 General Admission

At the top of a small hillside in the heart of Grand Center sits the beautiful and mysterious Grandel Theatre. Built in 1884, this stately limestone structure was originally The First Congregational Church.

Throughout its 134-year history, the Grandel has been the site of several reports of unexplained paranormal activity. Now, after months of research and investigation, the St. Louis Paranormal Research Society has gathered evidence supporting these claims are true! On Tuesday, May 22nd, STLPRS has exclusive access to this cultural gem and is excited to partner with the Grandel Theatre in offering an interactive Haunted Tour!

Guests will explore areas of the theatre normally “off-limits” to the public using the same high-tech investigation equipment used by our investigators. The STLPRS will also conduct TWO spirit communication sessions in known paranormal “hot spots”!

The Grandel Theatre Haunted Tour is perfect for everyone-from newbies to well-seasoned ghost hunters!

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at The Marcelle

Ignite Theatre Company
Presents
“Sweeney Todd – School Edition”

July 26-29, 2018
Thursday, Friday, Saturday at 7pm
Sunday at 2pm

$17.50 General Admission | $12 Student/Senior

An infamous tale, Sweeney Todd, an unjustly exiled barber, returns to nineteenth-century London, seeking vengeance against the lecherous judge who framed him and ravaged his young wife. The road to revenge leads Todd to Mrs. Lovett, a resourceful proprietress of a failing pie shop, above which he opens a new barber practice. Mrs. Lovett’s luck sharply shifts when Todd’s thirst for blood inspires the integration of an ingredient into her meat pies that has the people of London lining up… and the carnage has only just begun!

All sales are final.  No refunds or exchanges.
Ignite Theatre Company does not allow seat or line saving.

 PG:13 Audience Advisory:  Strong language, adult themes & gore.

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Story Lounge

Last Thursday of the month
6:30pm – 8pm
Suggested Donation of $5

The Kranzberg Arts Foundation and the award-winning St. Louis Storytelling Festival join forces once again for another evening of STORY LOUNGE, a new monthly storytelling series in town. This month’s lounge will be at The Marcelle, (3310 Samuel Shepard Dr, St. Louis, MO 63103) a wonderful theater space with comfortable seating, loads of free parking right across the street, and a refreshment bar.

Doors Open: 6 pm
Storytelling begins: 6:30 pm

Suggested Donation of $5

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At the Kranzberg Arts Center

The Black Mirror Theatre
Presents
Bengal Tiger At The Baghdad Zoo

July 26 – August 4, 2018
Thursday, Friday, Saturday – 7:00pm
Sunday – 2:00pm
$20 General Admission
$15 Student/Senior

As a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in 2010, The Washington Post described Rajiv Joseph’s play “Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo” as “a wholly original black comedy, and a fittingly disquieting metaphor for the anguishing entanglements of the American invasion of Iraq.”

This darkly comic tale, set in Baghdad during the early stages of the Iraq War in 2003, is narrated by a tiger in a cage of the bombed-out zoo. As the last surviving carnivore, he hunkers down and wonders how in heaven’s name he has wound up trapped behind hostile lines, thousands of miles from home. In the fog of war, the lives of two American marines and an Iraqi gardener become intertwined. Amidst the chaos and confusion of the invasion aftermath, they seek friendship, redemption and a toilet seat made of gold.

More Info

Piano Man Sam

Every Friday
10 pm – 1am
Free

Join us every Friday from 10pm-1am for a night of music with Sam Golden. Enjoy a drink and listen as country, pop, rock and jazz standards all blend under Sam’s deft hands.

Requests and sing-a-longs are encouraged.

Photos by analogstudiollc.com

More Info

The DJ Jmo
Presents
Sophie’s Lounge Sessions

Last Saturday of the month
9:30pm – 1am
Suggested $5 Donation

music by
The DJ Jmo
+
Nafi on live percussion
– – –
#Samba #Salsa #Soca #Reggaeton #Bachata #world #Afrobeat #Afrolatin#Dancehall #Dub #Kizomba #Zouk #Rumba

FREE Admission from 8:30-9:00 with FREE Kizomba class. A mere $5 donation starting at 9:00.
Sophie’s
3224 Locust St.
2nd Floor St.Louis Mo 63103
Grand Center STL
June 30th 9:30pm

#sofritostl
#thesoulition
#thesoulitiondjs

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In the .ZACK Theatre

Beyond Measure Dance Theater
Presents
“The Art of Fusion”

July 28, 2018
Saturday – 7:30pm

$27 – General Admission | $42 – VIP

Come enjoy Beyond Measure Dance Theater as we dance the night away by presenting, “The Art of Fusion.”

“The Art of Fusion has proliferated over the past decade.” And Beyond Measure Dance Theater has continued her commitment to bringing art from the diaspora to the community. We also further the advancement of this work by bringing the tenants of a healthy, engaged lifestyle to our client base. We love to express ourselves through this powerful & beautiful dance style which blends movement and other art forms, from its various Afro-cultural roots and contemporary influences