A Wife Without a Smile 1904

This Month, FEINSTEIN'S/54 BELOW, Broadway's Supper Club & Private Event Destination, presents some of the brightest stars from Broadway, cabaret, jazz, and beyond.

LONG BEACH, CA-There was once a simpler time in America, specifically at the turn of the 20th century, when hope and tradition were the norm and the promise of progress was tangible in the age of new mechanized machinery. That antiquated era of traditional family dynamics is the setting for MEET ME IN ST. LOUIS, playing through November 15 at Long Beach's Musical Theatre West. Set within the proper backdrop of the Missouri Landscape as its citizens prepare for the arrival of the 1904 World's Fair, this family-friendly musical has charm, sweetness, and abundance of 'old-fashioned-ness' that it wears proudly on its sleeve with no amount of irony or a winking acknowledgment of its current modern audience. The show is filled with appeal but lacks the kind of edge or 'wow' factor that is so much more present in material that succeeded it. That's not necessarily a bad thing, but it's not exactly it's best asset either.