KWMU Theatre & Film Critic: Joe Pollack

Joe Pollack has been KWMU's film and theater critic for 10 years. He also spent 23 years with the Post-Dispatch as its drama and movie critic, where he also began writing restaurant and wine columns.

And then there’s "Return of the Bedbug," by the Upstream Theater at a small stage off Skinker Boulevard, also running through Nov. 11.

Philip Boehm, artistic director of the company, created the play from a late 1920s Russian satire, "The Bedbug," or "Klop" in Russian, by Vladimir Mayakovsky, bringing it up to date far enough to even suggest a slogan for our city – it’s not Heaven or Hell, it’s just St. Louis. Boehm also directed this off-the-wall comedy with some of St. Louis top-grade actors and brought a marvelous performance by Don McClendon as a cat named Little Tiger who shows perfect house-cat behavior and glorious juggling with a ball of catnip.

J. Samuel Davis stars as Ivan Vladimirovich Prisypkin, and there’s excellent work from Carl Overly Jr., Karrie Ely, Jane Paradise, Briston Ashe and Joe Hanrahan. Carrie Houk and Laura McConnell appear through Bobby Miller’s video production and John Clayton provides some voiceovers. Igor Karash’s set is a vital part of the action and Patrick Huber’s lights, while minimal, provide proper emphasis.

Theatrical fun provides treats for all in the post-Halloween weekend – "The Drowsy Chaperone" at the Fox, "The Return of the Bedbug" by the Upstream Theater at its space at Skinker and Faurquier, both through Nov. 11.