Thirty shows. Five venues. Five days. Em Piro, founder of the St. Lou Fringe Festival, has upped the ante for the second annual extravaganza in midtown St. Louis, which will occur from Thursday, June 20 through Monday, June 24.

If you’re looking for a rewarding way to spend an evening, might I suggest avoiding the cineplex. There are a few worth seeing that you can watch from the comfort of your home. Here’s what’s out:

An unusually warm summer night in Seattle in 2009 would forever change the lives of countless St. Louisans. A man trespassed through an open window of the residence St. Louis native Teresa Butz shared with her fiancée, Jennifer Hopper. The intruder sexually assaulted and stabbed the women, eventually killing Butz. 

Story: Louise Seger, a Houston homemaker with a husband and two children, becomes an instant fan of rising young country singer Patsy Cline when she hears the latter perform on The Arthur Godfrey Talent Show on CBS in 1957. She soon pesters the local disk jockey regularly with requests for tunes by Cline. In 1961, when she learns that Cline will be performing at Houston’s Esquire Ballroom, she and her husband and boss arrive 90 minutes early for the concert.

THROUGH 6/16 TWELFTH NIGHT Shakespeare Festival St. Louis presents its 13th annual play, Twelfth Night—an intimate, romantic performance set to live music—at Forest Park. Free. 8 p.m. nightly, except Tuesdays. 531-9800 or sfstl.com.

Story: Dorothy, an impressionable and idealistic girl growing up with her Aunt Em and Uncle Henry on a farm in Kansas, finds her life turned upside down, literally, when she is swept away by a tornado. She ends up in a magical kingdom where her house has landed on and killed the Wicked Witch of the East.

Story: Writer Charles Bukowski (1920-94) lived most of his life in Los Angeles, and derived inspiration for many of his works from the City of Angels. He wrote during the same period as many of the Beat Generation writers, including poet Allen Ginsberg and novelists Jack Kerouac and William S. Burroughs.

Story: Fledgling Wall Street stockbroker Billy Crocker is entrusted by his boss, Yale man Elisha Whitney, to sell Whitney’s vast number of shares in a company he’s been tipped is going to tank. When Whitney boards the S.S. American for a luxury cruise to London, Billy decides to stow away aboard the vessel in order to be near the woman he loves, Hope Harcourt, even though Hope is engaged to be married to Lord Evelyn Oakleigh.

Could there be a more appropriate first date for a pair of dyed-in-the-wool St. Louisans than attending a baseball game and cheering for their beloved Cardinals? Regardless of the score, things certainly turned out well for Caley Barnhart and Jack Lawlor.

When Chris Grimmig fell for Meredith Rull at her field hockey matches, he conspired with her teammates to take her on a date. “I got her number from her teammate and asked her to go to dinner,” he recalls. Luckily for Chris, Meredith said yes right away.

EarthDance has breathed new life into Missouri’s oldest organic farm. The nonprofit is sustainably growing food, farmers and community one person at a time, through hands-on education and experience at the former Mueller Farm.

In commemoration of its 90th anniversary, the APA has commissioned renowned local sculptor Harry Weber to create a ‘litter’ for its community art project.

When it comes to summer fun, St. Louis makes it easy to be a kid—or stay young at heart. Follow this family-friendly guide to the city’s best summer attractions for kids—and their parents.

Story: Viola is washed ashore in Illyria after being shipwrecked with her twin brother Sebastian and others, whom she believes have died. Endangered in a strange land, she masquerades as a young page named Cesario and becomes employed by Orsino, Duke of Illyria.

Last month, we started discussing nuggets to lessen the fear of public speaking. These are proven practices I use with coaching clients and talk about in my presentation seminars.

Parents make lots of sacrifices for their kids: soccer games, recitals, braces and the family truckster. Fortunately, family vehicles have progressed since Chevy Chase's Vacation in a Ford station wagon.

By day, they may be all business behind an office desk. But by night, they know how to let loose. LN recently caught up with some local working dads who use their garage bands as an after-hours outlet.

A reverence and respect for water is a universal theme, found in cultures from ancient Greece to the remote Pacific Island of Vanuatu. The ritual significance of water spans across the globe to include the Native American rain dance, Christian baptismal font, the gleeful splashing of the Songkran water festival of the Dai New Year and the solemn funeral pyre on the Ganges. Learning to manage water, whether it is a lot or a little, is an important part of our shared community. Well-handled water can be cleansing, refreshing, energizing. Out-of-control water has the power to drown and destroy, to wash away with time even the greatest of mountains.

Neighborhood farmers markets are re-opening and welcoming back local producers—a very exciting time for those of us who enjoy the bounty of our bi-state area!

NOTE: The review below was written for the original presentation of Stupefy! last December. The latest production features three new cast members, including Chris LaBanca, Ben Ritchie and John Wolbers, who are replacing Blaine Adams, Rob Suozzi and John Foughty, respectively. Additionally, the new rendition includes a 5-minute video pre-show as well as new scenes and a new ending, all in a “faster than last time” 90 minutes.

Stories: Winning Juliet focuses on the new girl at a high school who runs into unexpected animosity and resentment by some established ‘popular’ students when she decides to audition for the female title role in the school’s production of Shakespeare’s tragedy, Romeo & Juliet.