Eileen Engel and Joe Hanrahan in MOVIE MUSIC
The Midnight Company's World Premiere Cabaret Theatre show, MOVIE MUSIC, will feature a dozen award-winning songs. Eileen Engel and Joe Hanrahan serve as hosts for a colorful evening of movie memories. They’ll tell stories behind these movies - the origins, the casting, and some of the foibles that inevitably go along with big productions. They’ll present memorable scenes from these movies as well, and will revisit and present the amazing songs that provided the soundtrack to these films and to our lives.
Eileen Engel holds a BFA in Musical Theatre from Southeast Missouri State University and has performed at The Fabulous Fox Theatre, Stray Dog Theatre, St. Louis Actor’s Studio, Little Theatre on the Square, New Jewish Theatre, Variety Theatre, Playhouse at Westport Plaza, Bluff City Theatre, Fly North Theatricals, COCA, New Line Theatre, Thin Air Theatre Company, St. Louis Shakespeare and R-S Theatrics. Some favorite credits include: RIDE THE CYCLONE (Ocean; Theatre Circle Award Nominee), DROOD (Rosa Bud; Theatre Circle Award Nominee), SWEENEY TODD(Johanna), STEEL MAGNOLIAS (Shelby), and ANYTHING GOES(Hope). Upcoming, DUTCHMAN from Soul Siren Playhouse in February at Greenfinch.
Joe Hanrahan writes and directs this new show and also joins Engel on stage. This past year, in addition to the Cabaret Theatre shows, his Midnight work included acting in THE ABSOLUTE BRIGHTNESS OF LEONARD PELKEY and THE LION IN WINTER, directing THE YEARS, writing CYNTHIA, LINDA, PATTIE and MAUREEN (and YOKO) for the St. Louis Theatre Showcase and writing/directing HUMANS OF ST. LOUIS for the St. Louis Fringe Festival. He’s a past recipient of Theatre Circle Awards for Outstanding Play (TINSEL TOWN) and Outstanding Supporting Actor (THIS IS MAGIC). Midnight will be presenting an encore performance of JUST ONE LOOK on January 10, 2024 at Blue Strawberry.
Also collaborating with Midnight on this show will be Colin Healy and Bradley Rohlf of Fly North Theatricals who, along with other to be announced players, will provide the music. Healy and Rohlf opened Greenfinch, a combination theatre/dive bar this year, and have presented their own Fly North productions as well as special comedy and Drunk Voice Lesson events, and have made the space available to other theatre companies.
In 2023, The Midnight Company presented the Linda Ronstadt show JUST ONE LOOK, the Judy Garland show YOU MADE ME LOVE YOU and PROFESSOR SUNSHINE’S ROCK ’N ROLL REVIVAL at Blue Strawberry, an award winning venue (“Best Place to Hear Singers,” Riverfront Times; 4 of 5 best cabaret shows, Broadway World). These Cabaret Theatre productions, written/directed by Midnight’s Artistic Director Joe Hanrahan, have stretched the limits of traditional Cabaret, resulting in many sold-out evenings in the process. Jim Dolan of Blue Strawberry said “"By creating dramatic storylines in a cabaret-style show, Joe directly explores the theater that is at the heart of all cabaret.” And Hanrahan said “The intimacy and amenities at Blue Strawberry provide the perfect showcase for these productions, and unique creative opportunity for our collaborators.
