Taking Center Stage: Four hotly Anticipated Fall Shows

Looking for a show to go with that dinner? This fall the Midwest is serving up some spectacular theatrical offerings. Here are just a few of the highly anticipated shows taking center stage in the central states this season:

Chicago

“Pullman Porter Blues,” a music-infused, 1930s-era throwback takes the stage at Goodman Theatre in Chicago. The play follows three generations of African American train porters on the eve of the Joe Louis/James Braddock championship fight. The men contend with their pasts and dream of their futures as they hurdle to New Orleans on a southbound train from Chicago. A live Blues band adds its aura to this performance, striking up tunes throughout the show which runs from September 14 – October 20.

Detroit

Fisher Theatre of Detroit debuts “Miss Saigon” this season, a contemporary twist on the operatic adaptation of Madame Butterfly. Set against the backdrop of the Vietnam War, an unlikely romance between an American soldier and Vietnamese girl blooms—a union wrenched apart in the turmoil of the ensuing years. The journey to find each other is complemented by a powerful musical score. The show runs from September 24 – October 6.

Minneapolis

Minneapolis’ Guthrie Theater presents an adaptation of Anton Chekhov’s tragicomic classic, “Uncle Vanya.” The play portrays the familial and economic tensions between a cosmopolitan professor and his young new wife, as they visit their relations—Vanya and Sonya—in the Russian countryside. Amorous affections tangle and crisis strikes when the professor announces his intention to sell the rural estate. The show runs from September 14 – October 27 and is directed by (who else?) Joe Dowling.

Guthrie Theater

St. Louis

Broadway hit “Chicago” will blast through St. Louis’ Fabulous Fox Theatre for a three-night blitz of jazz and duplicity. Paige Davis (of TLC’s Trading Spaces) stars as Roxie Hart—the aspiring vaudevillian who murders her lover and becomes the hottest celebrity criminal on the cellblock. With dazzling musical numbers and a seductively seedy plot driving the show, this class act will no doubt keep audiences enthralled. The show runs from September 20 – 22.