To say Bill Maher is a stranger to controversy would be to say Kim Kardashian is a stranger to plus-size underwear. The Real Time host's most recent examples of pot-stirring include questioning the paternity of Sarah Palin's son, slamming teachers' unions, and rallying to legalize the herb he so cherishes. Heck, that's a light week for Maher, whose recent documentary Religulous has God squads the world over calling for his head.

The political comedian takes it in stride, however, saying he's made a career of speaking his mind and he's not planning on scaling back any time soon. In fact, you can watch Maher rock the boat live when his tour bus stops in front of the Fox on April 16. Snag your tickets here and listen below for our interview with Bill on everything from his various run-ins with the world's faithful to his cute little nickname for president Obama.

Photo courtesy: billmaher.com [attachment:2863]

On the seemingly opposite side of the good and evil spectrum is Late Nite Catechism. One wonders what the nuns could possibly do to make this play PG-13, but it might have something to do with her glow-in-the-dark rosaries. Apparently, this sister's act involves the audience as "students," so be prepared to interact with what's on stage if you attend this one. It's playing at the Playhouse at Westport Plaza from March 25 through 29, and you can get your tickets here.

What: Open Casting Call for Cirque Dreams Jungle Fantasy

Where: West County Mall

When: Saturday, March 7 from 1pm until 4pm

Only the first one hundred performers that show up to the call will have a chance to audition, so if you want a shot, get there early.

St. Louis will be the seventh city that the tour has scoured for unique, local talent to include in the production - and they aren't only looking for typical circus fare. During the tour's stay in Birmingham, AL they included a 9-year-old tap dancer as a grasshopper, and in Norfolk, VA an 84-year-old retiree joined the cast on stage. Goldberg said Saturday's auditions are, "an open call for talent of all types and all ages." Goldberg will be casting one, possibly two, entertainers from Saturday's call for the St. Louis performances March 17 through 29 at the Fox Theater.

Even if you aren't interested in taking the stage you can pull up a chair and watch the auditions and get a preview of the show. Five cast members will be on hand at West County milling about the crowd and performing scenes from the production. If you are one of the brave, talented souls in the city, Goldberg has this piece of advice, "Don't prejudge yourself as to what you think is right or wrong. There is no wrong or right in the performing arts. Just bring your confidence, composure and conviction."

How different would the story of Christmas night be if you heard it from Mrs.Claus' point of view? Or say the tale of Moby Dick if it were told from the whale's perspective? There are always at least two sides to a story but often we only hear one person's side. The Orange Girls are bringing the perspective missing from the ancient, mythological tale of Orpheus and Eurydice to the stage in their performance of Eurydice.

Using modern characters and sharp wit, Eurydice is what the Orange Girls are calling an "upside-down damsel-in-distress story," about lovelorn Orpheus' travel to Hades to rescue Eurydice. The play, written by surfacing playwright and 2005 Pulitzer Prize finalist Sarah Ruhl, shows Eurydice's view of her death by snake-bite, her trip to the underworld and her subsequent "rescue" by Orpheus. Tomorrow night will be the St. Louis premiere of Eurydice following the play's extended run at New York's Second Stage Theater where the New York Times called it, "Rhapsodically beautiful," and following a number of college theater runs including the Yale and Berkley Rep.

What: The Orange Girls present Eurydice
When: Opening night February 16, running through March 15 ~ Performances Thursday, Friday and Saturday night at 8pm and Sundays at 2pm
Where: The Blackbox Theater at COCA (524 Trinity Ave)

Tickets are $20 for adults, $18 for students/seniors. Bring a personal care item to be donated on Saturdays and get $5 off your ticket price, and on Sundays you can reserve free babysitting services for kids ages 1-12 by calling 314-520-9557.

The St. Louis production of Eurydice stars Orange Girls co-founder and Kevin Kline Award winner Michelle Hand in the title role, and is directed by local playwright and the Shakespeare Festival's Creative Director, Dawn McAndrews. You can purchase tickets and learn more about the Orange Girls by visiting their website, or by calling 314-520-9557.

What better fodder for a musical than a corrupt, spotlight grubbing governor? None better if you're asking the St. Louis Theater group, StageFrightMedia. This weekend they will be putting the Blago's story on stage, complete with a musical score and scores of YouTube videos featuring our favorite poofy haired swindler.

What: Waziriside Story: 'Till They Framed Rod Blagojevich: The Musical

When: Friday, February 6 at 7pm and Saturday, Feburary 7th at 9:30pm

Where: Tin Ceiling Theater (3159 Cherokee Street)

How: Tickets are $10 at the door

The production is a Westside Story of sorts, with Sheiks and Drones replacing the fancy footed gangs, the Jets and the Sharks, from the original musical. Where does everyone's favorite gubernatorial slacker come into play? The story is complex, but Rod plays a scapegoat who brings down a big, fat bank and gets all mixed up in with a zany Pakistani militant. Hilarity is sure to ensue. StageFrightMedia is encouraging you to get some pre-work done by reading a few articles and brushing up on your impeachment events [via STLog].

Since most drug and grocery stores had their Valentine's Day gear in full effect moments after our Christmas wrapping paper was ripped off, we might not realize that now the actual day really is right around the corner. The typical dinner and roses bit can get you far, but here is a chance to take the romance one step further. Professional dancers from St. Louis and Chicago will be coming back to St. Louis for the second year performing in Duets for My Valentine. For an early treat you can bring bring valentine to see the flirty and seductive dance duets that have been so popular in New York and Chicago.

What: Duets For My Valentine, an evening of seductive dance
When: Saturday, February 7 at 7:00pm
Where: Roberts Orpheum Theater (416 N. 9th St)
How: Tickets are available for $15, $30, or $40 at the theater box office or through Ticketmaster. You can also purchase VIP tickets for $60 which include cabaret seating, champagne and sweets

The show's producer, Gina Barrera, is a native St. Louisan who discovered the Duets show after becoming a Chicago transplant. She was a huge fan of the Duets For My Valentine shows she saw in the Windy City and brought them to St. Louis last year. This year's performance includes a wide variety of accomplished dancers from all over the country including St. Louis' dancers from The Slaughter Project, Alexandra Ballet and the Missouri Contemporary Ballet from Columbia, MO. Even with a nice steak dinner before the show, it is sure to be less fattening than a big old box of chocolates.

Megan Lewis as Vivienne, Becky Gulsvig as Elle Woods, Gretchen Burghart as Enid and the cast of the National Tour of Legally Blonde the Musical.
(Photo: Joan Marcus.)

MTV fans all over will recognize the lady playing Elle Woods from the reality show Legally Blonde The Musical: The Search for Elle Woods, but St. Louis residents will also recognize two more faces up on stage. Gretchen Burghart, who plays Elle's law school foe turned friend Enid, grew up just across the river in Springfield, IL, and ensemble member Brian Patrick Murphy is a Marion, IL native. You can see what they had to say about the show and returning home to take the stage at the Fox by checking out [tab:trav_video].

Becky Gulsvig as Elle Woods and the cast of the National Tour of Legally Blonde the Musical.
(Photo: Joan Marcus.)

Legally Blonde The Musical is playing at The Fox now until February 1. Tickets start at $27 and are still available by going to the Fox box office or through Metrotix.

What can you do in 24 hours? Jack Bauer can save the free world, I could probably get half of my laundry done, and St. Louis' Immediacy Theatre Project (ITP) can write, produce, and perform six, ten-minute plays.

Every year since 2004 ITP has gathered a group of theater types of all ilks from around the metro area for their 24/6 festival. The idea is to get an entire play together in only 24 hours and to perform it for New Year's Eve revelers. In the four years since it started, the project has borne a wide variety of plays - from comedy to drama to musicals.

What: ITP's Annual 24/6 festival
When: Wednesday, December 31 at 9pm
Where: Soulard Preservation Hall (1921 S. 9th St)
How: Tickets are $15 at the door, you can reserve seating and tickets by email (info@immediacytheatre.org)

Following the six plays there will be a reception in Soulard Preservation Hall with a cash bar. ITP is inviting the audience to hang out to meet the people involved, mingle amongst fellow members of our city's theater set, and ring in the new year. This event is guaranteed to be a surprise for everyone and a much more interesting way to ring in '09 than 24 hours worth of laundry.

Native St. Louisan Bill Chott has an impressive comedic pedigree: from Chicago's famed Second City, to The Dana Carvey Show, SNL, and The Ringer, Chott has been sharpening his comedic teeth in the best of comedic companies. Chott remains a St. Louis resident while working in film and television, while teaching improv classes and appearing in comedy showcases around town.

Chott's company, The Improv Trick, operates out of Cherokee Street's business district. The Improv Trick educates aspiring actors and corporate groups about the delicate art and balance of improvisation. We had a chance to talk to Chott about his professional experiences and passion for improv and sit in on the first night of his introductory course. To hear what it takes to do improv, hear his thoughts about the improv performance, and hear how he has carved a place for himself in the comedy world, click on [tab:trav_video].

Even with movie and television credits under his belt, Chott has remained true to the local and independent theater spirit. In addition to his twice monthly Comedy on Parade showcase at Atomic Cowboy, he also gathers a local crew to put on a yearly Christmas Improv Jam. This will be the event's third year and it will be held on December 23rd.

You can catch Bill Chott at Atomic Cowboy, located at 4140 Manchester Ave, this coming Monday, November 17th, at 8pm. Tickets are only $8 and dinner/ticket specials are available for the night of the show through Atomic Cowboy.

If you're looking for something fun to do in the next couple of weeks that is non-Halloween-related (Am I the only one burned out already?), this play might be a nice change of pace.

From October 24 to November 9, the Repertory Theatre of St. Louis will be presenting "Evie's Waltz" at the Loretto-Hilton Center in Webster Groves. The play comes courtesy of Carter W. Lewis, who also wrote "Women Who Steal" and "Ordinary Nation."

The drama, which happens to be making it's world debut right here in St. Louis, takes place at a backyard barbecue. Gloria and Clay have to deal with their son after he's expelled for bringing a gun to school. But where it gets interesting is when the son's girlfriend, Evie, crashes the family's barbecue and instigates a volitile conversation - all the while, her boyfriend is holding them all hostage in the backyard with the same gun he got suspended for. Even though I just wrote it, even I'm having trouble trying to keep up with that brief synopsis, so I think it's one of those things I'm going to have to see to understand.

To listen to an interview with Magan Wiles, who plays Evie in the play (and also bears a striking resemblance to Juno), click the [tab:video].

Tickets still remain for The Playhouse at Westport Plaza's show "She Loves You! A Celebration of the Beatles." There are 12 performance for which free tickets are still available between the 16th and 31st of October. The show will include 30 original Beatles songs and clips from vintage television footage. I was just a twinkle in my Momma's eye when the 60's were in full swing, but I love the movie Across the Universe and I am still bummed about missing Cirque Du Soliel's performance of "Love" when I was in Vegas last. To make up for it (kind of), I snatched up some tickets for a Sunday evening performance. The maximum number of tickets you can reserve for these free performances is two, so it is an ideal date night.

To make it an evening there are a few restaurants in Westport to grab a bite to eat at before the performance. Though I have never been to the Wesport location I am a fan of The Drunken Fish in the CWE. The hubby was excited about finding a coupon for Drunken Fish among the many treasures in his newest prized possession (The Entertainment Book), so I have high hopes for a nice dinner at their Wesport location and a cool show at The Playhouse that night.

Besides The Playhouse at Westport, seven other St. Louis theater companies are participating with free performances - including The Repertory Theater of St. Louis and Piwacket Theater for Children. Tickets for many of the performances in the area were snatched up quickly, but you can check out what is being offered to theater goers new and old, and reserve tickets for remaining performance, by visiting the Free Night of Theater website and searching the St. Louis region for show dates and times.

I am so excited to see The Backyardigans Live!, that I don't even mind that the exclamation point at the end of the play's title is mandatory. Sure the show is aimed at preschoolers, but there's no reason why mature adults such as myself (this is still under review) can't enjoy the singing and dancing as the Backyardigans face a mighty dragon and return an egg to the king.

I was so sure that everyone I knew would be as excited as I was about the Backyardigans coming to St. Louis that I asked them to comment on their elation. Here is what they had to say:

• "On a scale of 1 to 10, I would say 'banana' since I have no idea what you are talking about." -Mike F-
• "Uh, who are the Backyardigans?" -Stephanie D-
• "Well, they aren't at the top of my list, but my niece loves them. They are right up there with Elmo these days." -Evie W-
• "I have no idea what that is." -Eric H-
• "I think Roundup works on those." -Chris F-
• "The who? Have they been in my backyard before? And why are they coming again?" -Melody M-
• "I don't know what that is...so I would have to say not very excited." -Tim M-
• "What are these Backyardigans you speak of?" -Mike M-
• "Am I a bad mom if I'd be more excited about a free and over-qualified babysitter coming to town while I travel to an exotic location?" -Jen D-

Like I said - my friends are just as excited for this Broadway-esque treat as I am.

To order tickets to see the medieval mayhem, please go here.

Where: Select Wehrenberg Theatres
Starts: August 20th @ 7:00 PM
Ends: August 23rd @ 12:00 PM

Experience Cirque Du Soleil's Delirium on the big screen at Wehrenberg Theatres!  Delirium is a multifaceted event of unprecedented proportion featuring Cirque de Soleil music remixed.  Driven by an urban tribal beat and awe-inspiring visuals, musicians, singers, and dancers transform the arena into a joyous frenzy.  Presented in incredibly crisp clarity and state-of-the-art dynamic sounds, digital screen presentation is truly the next best thing to being live. 

4 shows only, August 20th and 21st at 7pm and August 23rd and 24th at Noon in the following theaters:

Ronnies 20 Cine
5320 S. Lindbergh - South County

 O'Fallon 15 Cine
1320 Central Park Dr. - O'Fallon, IL

St. Charles Stadium 18 Cine
1830 1st Capitol Drive - St. Charles

Galaxy 14 Cine on the Mega Screen
450 THF Blvd. - Chesterfield Valley

Click here for tickets.