Review: 'To The New Girl' at the Tesseract Theatre Company

Erin Karll 

OnStage St. Louis Critic

'To the New Girl' is a collection of monologues where women give advice to the new partner of their former lover. It is presented in one 90 minute act. This production is presented with ASL interpreters at every performance and benefits the L.E.A.D institute. The L.E.A.D institute focuses on leadership through education and advocacy for the deaf. For more information visit deaflead.com. The Tesseract Theatre company is located in the new theatre incubator called .Zack located off of Grand Ave on Locust Ave. For more information on .Zack please visit kranzbergartsfoundation.org.

The stage is set to look like a formal living room. Lots of chairs and small props sit around. Each women tells her story and stays to hear the others. This adds to the storytelling since they react to each others stories with glances and nods.  I enjoy how this style of monologues  differs from a play version of storytelling. I was on speech team when I was in high school so I am familiar with this style.

Topics covered in the letters range from fetishes to abuse, infidelity to infertility. These are topics that need to see the light of day and get their chance in the production. Some stories are humorous and others spark fear and anger. Some will leave you with hope, others show you how some relationships must end. The whole cast is strong and memorable.

I would recommend this show to anyone who needs a boost of female empowerment. Ticket and show details can be found at tesseracttheatre.org or Metrotix.com.