The Midnight Company

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TAKE “JUST ONE LOOK” AND YOU’LL BE HOOKED: KELLY HOWE STARS IN THE MIDNIGHT COMPANY’S LINDA RONSTADT RETROSPECTIVE’S RESIDENCY AT BLUE STRAWBERRY

by Rob Von Nordheim / June 25, 2026

Just one look - that’s all it took for Lenny Anderson to become a lifelong lover of one Linda Ronstadt. And after you see Kelly Howe as Ms. Ronstadt, you’ll understand why.

Just One Look premiered in 2023 and quickly became a sold-out smash hit. The Midnight Company players now have a residency at the Blue Strawberry (364 N. Boyle Ave.) and they’ve returned for one command performance after another.

The show is written by Joe Hanrahan, the creative director for The Midnight Company. Hanrahan plays the role of Lenny Anderson, a rock journalist and the number one Ronstadt superfan who finally fulfilled his longtime dream: an exclusive interview. He’s the MC, guiding the audience and providing context for each song (along with some juicy tidbits of music history).

Kelly Howe, the star, is a Midnight Company regular with an impressive range. She played a mysterious (and possibly dead) woman with an inscrutable past in their 2024 production of Harold Pinter’s postmodern memory meltdown, Old Times. She plays the vocal virtuoso with grace and self-effacing charm. Just like the real Linda Ronstadt, Howe is no diva. She never boasts about her obvious talent; she prefers to shift the spotlight to the skilled musicians and songwriters who helped her achieve superstardom.

Ronstadt is a household name for most baby boomers (my 63-year-old dad, who accompanied me to the show, provided some ace notes for this review). Like many millennials, I first learned about Linda Ronstadt from the classic season 4 episode of The Simpsons, “Mr. Plow.” (say it: “Mr. Plow, that’s my name, that name again, is Mr. Plow”). When Homer becomes the hottest snowplower in Springfield, Ronstadt does a catchy (if mean-spirited) country duet with Barney to promote his rival business “Plow King.” The fluent Spanish speaker later pitches a Latin version (“Señor Plow no es macho/ Es solamente un borracho”). For you younger readers, 1) you should absolutely know and care about Linda Ronstadt, and 2) she was one of the greatest American vocalists and interpreters of the 20th century.

Ronstadt’s career was incredibly diverse. She started out in country rock and Tex-Mex bands, eventually making her way to the West Coast’s mecca of music, L.A. Her original backing band later formed a popular little group called The Eagles (who I f***in’ LOVE). Her origin story provides the perfect segue into one of the evening’s best numbers, “Desperado.” Her wild fling with Jumpin’ Jack Flash himself, Mick Jagger, is a jumping-off point for a rollicking rendition of “Tumbling Dice.” As Lenny notes, Linda was the queen of interpretation; she didn’t write her own songs, but she knew how to bring out the best in other people’s songs and find new meaning in them.

It’s an incredibly diverse lineup of songs and Ms. Howe brings just the right mood and energy level to each of them. She also spices things up with a few wardrobe changes throughout the set, dressing up in a Mexican-style shawl, a cute cowgirl outfit, and a beautiful red cocktail dress with one strap loose. She’s backed by a live band with drums, keyboard, and guitar. The players have excellent chemistry and make the shifts from country to folk to Latin to operetta and back again seem almost effortless.

Linda later brings us back to the USA with her buddy Chuck Berry, and her travels with Neil Young lead us to a tender, haunting “After the Gold Rush.” You even get a little of the Great American Songbook with “When You Wish Upon a Star,” which was arranged for Linda by legendary composer Nelson Riddle. Theater fans will be thrilled by Linda’s success on Broadway, which brings us to “Poor Wandering One” from The Pirates of Penzance.

GO Magazine, Special to the Post-Dispatch

HOW A LINDA RONSTADT CABARET BECAME ONE OF ST. LOUIS’ HOTTEST TICKETS

by Rob Levy / August, 2026

Now in its fourth year,"Just One Look," the show about the life and music of Linda Ronstadt has become a smash in St. Louis’ theater and music scene. While the little cabaret that could began as an intimate production, its audiences had other ideas, leading to regular sellouts.

Just one look. That’s all it took for Joe Hanrahan, the co-founder of the Midnight Company, and his collaborator, singer/actress Kelly Howe, to combine cool drinks with cool music in various venues across town before finding a home at Blue Strawberry, a venue known for programming diverse musical offerings. Known for her versatility and emotional lyrics, Ronstadt has been nominated for 27 Grammys and won 11. She was a fixture on the charts in the 1970s and 1980s with hits like “Blue Bayou,” “You’re No Good,” “Different Drum,” “Long, Long Time” and “Just One Look.” Ronstadt’s prolific career spanned rock, pop and country. Never one to shy away from creative swerves, she collaborated with a wide range of artists, including Aaron Neville, Nelson Riddle, James Ingram, Smokey Robinson and Warren Zevon. She also took her skills to Broadway for several productions, including "The Pirates of Penzance," and explored her Mexican American heritage with "Canciones de Mi Padre."

After breaking gender barriers, selling millions of records worldwide and inspiring a new generation of singer-songwriters, she stepped away from singing after being diagnosed with progressive supranuclear palsy, a neurodegenerative condition that affects movement, balance, vision and swallowing. Despite being unable to perform, Ronstadt’s legacy lives on thanks to a catalog of hit songs and creative output across multiple genres.

Hanrahan, a local theater veteran of several decades, got the idea for the show after working on a production of "St. Louis Woman," a show about the history of groundbreaking female artists who emerged from St. Louis, starring the renowned vocalist Laka.

"It was a big success. We talked about bringing it down to a smaller version to do at Blue Strawberry. But then Laka went in another direction; she got into more recording at the time," he says.

"So, I was directing Kelly in a play called 'Rodney’s Wife' at the time, and we were talking after the show, and I mentioned Laka and the possibility of a cabaret show. And then Kelly mentioned that she always wanted to do one of her own. She suggested a show filled with belters, rock tunes, Broadway hits and great American songs. So, we decided to do a rock cabaret. Then we separated for a while to think of a concept. Then we both came back together with Linda Ronstadt on our lips. Things took off from there, Hanrahan says.

Howe, whose credits include productions for the Black Rep and the Midnight Company, and experience singing cabaret in New York City, was excited about the opportunity.

It felt a little kismet-y. We were both fans of her music. I dove into her book and watched a documentary repeatedly. I didn’t want to do an impression of her so much as just giving the spirit of her vibes. I can't ever sound like her. I'm just interpreting how she inspired me," she says.

Using Ronstadt’s prolific career as a template, Hanrahan went right to work. Howe was impressed by how quickly it all came together. "Things happened very fast," she notes.

Hanrahan, who spent two months writing and fleshing out the production, knew the direction he wanted in bringing Ronstadt’s songs to the stage.

"Coming from the theater, I didn't want to do a typical cabaret show with a lot of music and a few words. We wanted to do more of a play with music. I had to decide how to present this, so I wrote myself into it as a veteran rock 'n' roll journalist. In doing so, I was able to present a slice of her life. This enabled me to line up the songs with her life and say things that she couldn't say."

With the show written and the songs selected, Hanrahan’s next task was to hire a band. To frame the music in its proper context, he recruited Curt Landes, who has performed live with Chuck Berry, Albert King, Glen Campbell, John Hartford and the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra, to serve as music director. Guitarist and bassist Tom Maloney signed on, as did Mark Rogers on background vocals and drums.

"It's a real treat to work with them. I always love it when I get to work with a full band," Howe says of her musical compatriots.

Filled with sensational music and Ronstadt’s signature songs, "Just One Look" took off like a rocket. Positive reviews and word of mouth made the production a hot ticket for music aficionados and theater lovers alike. Howe admits to being caught off guard by its success.

"I was shocked. We thought we were scheduled for three performances, but it's become something much bigger. I think it is because Linda Ronstadt's songbook is a delight. She has appeal to people who remember when she was the biggest deal around. This sense of nostalgia and love of her music is why we’ve had audiences come back to see it like three and four times."