Last week, Martha and I went to the St. Louis Rep to see its production of Frederick Knott’s “Dial M For Murder.” Though she has seen the 1954 Alfred Hitchcock movie version several times, I only saw the film once, so long ago that the entire thing was a pleasant surprise. In fact, it was one of the best things I’ve seen the Rep do for years.
Credit goes to not only the performers and crew — especially scenic designers Margery and Peter Spack — but also to The Rep’s new artistic director, Kate Bergstrom, who took over five months ago and chose this show to open the season. Bergstrom has to do some damage control after Hana Sharif, who preceded her, chose plays that weren’t a good fit for the typical ticket buyers here.
The Rep audience is not just older — as are most theatergoers in any city — but of a very provincial St. Louis mindset. They’re solidly set in their ways, not particularly open to experimentation or anything outside the mainstream. Sharif had a hard act to follow in Steven Woolf, who led the company in putting on populist and popular plays and musicals for 33 years before retiring in 2019 and dying in 2021. When Sharif came in, she tried to broaden the choices The Rep offered, not a lot, but enough that the audience didn’t embrace many of her productions.
Then the coronavirus pandemic rolled in and, like all other live performance venues that were forced to close for many months, The Rep took an enormous financial hit. When it resumed, the shortfall forced The Rep to cancel half its season and subscriber numbers were way down.
I’ll admit that we were among the regulars who didn’t go back as often. While we had previously been season ticket holders, I only attended one production last year (“The Lehman Trilogy,” which I reviewed here) and was sad to see only about 20% of the seats filled. Even Martha skipped it.
Fortunately, a lot more people showed up to see “Dial M For Murder,” which wrapped up its run this weekend. I hope the same will be true for “The Roommates,” a two-hander opening next week. It’s been staged by other regional theaters over the last decade, including a run at the Williamstown Festival with S. Epatha Merkerson and Jane Kaczmarek, and currently running on Broadway with Patti Lupone and Mia Farrow. The Rep’s cast won’t have any such notable names, but we’re looking forward to it.
Here’s hoping Bergstrom can string together a bunch of shows that fill more seats more often over the next several seasons.