Worth the drive

Less than 2 hours

Repertory Theatre of St. Louis

Looking for politics in your drama?

The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis can satisfy that craving this month with its production of David Hare's play "The Vertical Hour." The play's action center around the confrontation of ideas between an American supporter of the Iraq war and a British opponent of the conflict.

Hare is a prominent British playrwight, and "The Vertical Hour" premiered on Broadway in November 2006.

For more information, call the Rep box office at 314-968-4925 or go to www.repstl.org.

Fox Theatre, St. Louis

The Fox will host the classic musical hit, "Jesus Christ Superstar" by Tim rice and Andrew Lloyd Weber on Feb. 1 to 3.

The musical tells the story of the final seven days of Jesus Christ's life with uplifting bouts of popular music. Tickets ranges from $26 to $60. For tickets, call MetroTix at 314-535-2900 or go to www.metrotix.com.

Less than 3 hours

Beale Street, Memphis, Tenn.

The "largest gathering of blues acts in the world" comes to Memphis on Jan. 21, taking over Beale Street for three days. Months of regional battles of the bands have narrowed the field to 150 acts playing in 27 venues, including full bands, solo and duo competitions. The finals are Feb. 2 at the Orpheum Theatre.

For more information, call 901-527-2583 or go to www.blues.org.