Photo by Cylla von Tiedemann
A new year means new chances to explore St. Louis' cultural arts scene, whether it's with lo-fi documentaries, big budget action movies, ice sculpting or eagles. Here's a look at your best bets for broadening your horizons while staying local (in chronological order).
1. January 3: Greg Allman
More than 40 years ago, Gregg Allman co–founded the Allman Brothers Band, which went on to sell 11 gold and five platinum albums and get inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Now, Allman performs songs from his latest solo album, Lo Country Blues, which Rolling Stone describes as "a trip with the spirits that shaped this band's sound and mission—B.B. King, Muddy Waters, Skip James, otis Rush—with all of the healing that implies." His son Devon Allman's Honeytribe opens. $28.50–$50. Time: 8 p.m. The Pageant, 6161 Delmar, 314-726-6161, thepageant.com.
2. January 6–8: A Special Screening of Zielinski
John Zielinski was an author and photojournalist who has been blacklisted for his hard-to-swallow theories about human traffickers, pedophiles, drug dealers, and Satanists. Filmmakers Chase Thompson and Ryan Walker present his story in this documentary without narrative voiceover, combining source material and interviews for an otherworldly, lo-fi look at the life of Zielinski. $10–$18. Time: 7 p.m. Off Broadway, 3511 Lemp, 314-773-3363, offbroadwaystl.com.
3. January 7: Alton Eagle Festival
What to pack: binoculars, camera, GPS, Thermos, coat. Where to go: Alton, Il. What to see: a certain white–crowned bird of prey. Eagle-spotting season kicks off with the Alton Eagle Festival, where there will be an eagle meet-and-greet and activities for the kids. Then visit downtown Alton for ice-sculpting and eagle–inspired art. Free. Time: 10 a.m.–2 p.m. The Audubon Center at the Riverlands, 301 Riverlands Way, West Alton, Ill., 800-258-6645, visitalton.com.
4. January 14: Loop Ice Carnival
The festivities continue to expand each year at the Loop Ice Carnival. Celebrate winter with ice slides, a s'mores roast, fire performers, ice-carving demos, the putt-putt pub crawl, a Frosty-guided trolley tour, and more. The night before, the Moonrise Hotel hosts the sleek Snow Ball from 7 to 11 p.m. Free. Time 10 a.m.–6 p.m. Delmar Loop, 314-727-2020, visittheloop.com.
5. January 18–February 5: A Steady Rain
Two Chicago cops find their friendship put to the limit after a routine call takes them down a path of corruption. Event held at the Emerson Studio Theatre in the Loretto–Hilton Center. $37.50. Call for times. Repertory Theatre of St. Louis, The Loretto-Hilton Center for the Performing Arts, Webster University, 130 Edgar, 314-968-4925, repstl.org.
6. January 19–29: Bond-A-Thon
It’s the 50th anniversary of the longest-running American cinema series in history. Check out some of the most famous 007 flicks with most of the Bonds (Sean Connery, Roger Moore, Timothy Dalton, Pierce Brosnan, and Daniel Craig) represented (does anyone ever include George Lazenby?). $6. Time: 7:30 p.m. Webster Film Series, Webster University, Winifred Moore Auditorium, 470 E. Lockwood, 314-968-7487, webster.edu/filmseries.
- Dr. No (January 19). The first James Bond movie (released in 1962), starring the unflappable Sean Connery, takes Agent 007 to Jamaica, where with the help of an American CIA agent, he unearths Dr. No’s scheme to blackmail the U.S. government.
- Goldfinger (January 20). Who knows what this movie is about? But it features Shirley Eaton (playing Jill Masterson) covered in gold paint, the silent henchman Oddjob throwing his derby hat to take off heads, and Connery strapped to a table spread-eagle while a laser beam moves slowly upward…
- Thunderball (January 21). A NATO warplane containing a nuclear payload has gone missing and it’s up to Bond to retrieve it. This adventure takes 007 to the Bahamas, where he goes up against SPECTRE; the film features Connery making one getaway in a personal jetpack.
- Live and Let Die (January 22). Roger Moore takes up the James Bond mantle in this movie directed by Guy Hamilton. Series organizers say this features a more “uncomplicated and wooden [Bond] for the feel-good ’70s.” Bond fights an international drug dealer in this action-packed, less–character-driven Bond film.
- The Spy Who Loved Me (January 26). Bond (Moore) has to track down a pair of nuclear submarines and tangles with one of his most memorable villains, Jaws.
- Licence to Kill (January 27). Here we find Timothy Dalton’s Bond consumed with revenge. He resigns from the British Secret Service to wage battle against Franz Sanchez, a drug lord who killed Bond's friend CIA agent Felix Leiter.
- GoldenEye (January 28). Pierce Brosnan makes his first appearance as Bond in the 18th film in the series. He has to stop Russians from taking over the world with the help of some beautiful women (of course) and Judi Dench plays his superior, M.
- Casino Royale (January 29). Bringing the series back to its beginnings, this movie (the second to last of the franchise so far) was based on Ian Fleming’s first Bond novel. Daniel Craig’s Bond is nuanced with weaknesses and blind spots that recall the humanity with which Sean Connery originally played the part.
7. January 19–February 18: Tommy Hartung/Uri Aran
Hartung is a stop-motion video artist who made The Story of Edward Holmes about a man on a colonial expedition. The artist is also a sculptor who makes many of the models used in his videos. The New York Times reviewed Aran’s 2009 show at the now-closed Lower East Side gallery Rivington Arms: “Like many members of his generation, Mr. Aran turns arbitrariness into a fine art. He does so without sticking to any one approach or medium, although there’s a tropical quality, alternately fake and real.” Free. Times: noon–7 p.m. Wed, noon–5 p.m. Thu–Sat, or by appointment. White Flag Projects, 4568 Manchester, 314-531-3442, white-flag-projects.org.
8. January 19–22: Sesame Street Live: Elmo Makes Music
Couldn't snag one of those Let's Rock! Elmo dolls for little Janie this Christmas? Do one better: Take her to Sesame Street Live: Elmo Makes Music, and watch Elmo and company make music from objects like rubber duckies, cookie jars, and trash-can lids. $12–$56. Times: 10:30 a.m. and 7 p.m. Thu & Fri; 10:30 a.m. and 5 p.m. Sat; 1 and 4:30 p.m. Sun. Peabody Opera House, 1400 Market, 3145-499-7600, peabodyoperahouse.com.
9. January 20–21: Rain
There's no shortage of Beatles tribute bands, but few stack up to Rain—what critics have called "the next best thing to seeing" John, Paul, George, and Ringo. After playing together even longer than the band that inspired them, the foursome has mastered the look and sound of the lads from Liverpool. $27.50–$57.50. Times; 8 p.m. Fri, 2 & 8 p.m. Sat. Fox Theatre, 527 N. Grand, 314-534-1111, fabulousfox.com.
10. January 26–February 12: Way to Heaven
At the Theresienstadt concentration camp (also known as Terezín), Nazis created a village to show international inspectors that they weren’t exterminating Jews. In this play, Spanish playwright Juan Mayorga shows the prisoners rehearsing their roles to convince Red Cross workers and others that nothing is wrong, thereby thwarting any chance they have of being rescued. $37.50–$39.50. Times: 7:30 p.m. Wed–Thu, 8 p.m. Sat, 2 & 7:30 p.m. Sun. The New Jewish Theater, St. Louis Jewish Community Center, Staenberg Family Complex, 2 Millstone Campus, 314-442-3283, newjewishtheatre.org.
By Rosalind Early and Nancy Mcmullen
