Outdoor Musical Theatre is Back in St. Louis for The Muny's 105th Season (2024)

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There’s something extra special about enjoying the performing arts under the stars. That’s just one of the many reasons why The Muny is so well loved. Unlike other regional theatres, our St. Louis gem filled with Muny magic is the oldest and largest outdoor theatre in the United States. Local performers, stars from Broadway in New York City, talent from Los Angeles and musical thespians from everywhere else in between have graced the stage of this legendary outdoor amphitheater. It’s definitely a career aspiration and for good reason. Anoutdoor musical theatre experience unlike any other for both the performers and the audience!

Outdoor Musical Theatre is Back in St. Louis for The Muny’s 105th Season

Outdoor performances are always spectacular, but you’ll never forget the first time you attend a production at The Muny. Right in the heart of Forest Park, it’s always a good idea to grab an on the go meal, throw a picnic blanket out on the ground and enjoy dinner in the park before the show starts. Sure to be a great time this unique venue offers live performances that and there’s no better way to experience Broadway musicals all summer long.

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Outdoor Musical Theatre Free Concerts

There are various forms of ticket sales for this massive theatre. Many people enjoy season tickets to enjoy every show during the summer. Others aren’t season ticket holders, but purchase seats for specific shows. Then there are thefree seats. That’s right, free. The last 9 rows are general admission FREE seats. These seats are on a first come first serve basis, but with over 1,400 seats in the free section it would be rare not to get one.

Free Seat Tips: Arrive early to stand in line. Once you have your place in line you can sit on a blanket (that you bring), enjoy a picnic, socialize or play a card game as you pass the time.

Delicious Treats

The Muny is home to so many unique treats, like The Rocky Mountain cone!

Yes, I ate that entireice cream myself because why not. A man caught me taking pictures of my Ronnie’s ice cream and he said that I’m supposed to eat it, not photograph it. He also let me in on the secret to ask for a cup at concessions to put it in next time, because it gets messy. Duly noted. And there’s a tip for you!

Muny 2023 Season

There are so many fantastic Muny shows this year and I’m so excited to share each of them with you. It was an absolute pleasure to be back at my favorite outdoor theatre. I hope that you take the time this summer to experience it for yourself. Definitely a brilliant outdoor musical theatre that we are so lucky to have here in St. Louis.

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Beautiful: The Carole King Musical

Plenty of people were gathered on picnic blankets and lawn chairs in the grassy areas surrounding The Muny when I attended. They were picnicking in the park and then waiting to hear the musical theater performances. With Beautiful especially it’s easy to listen to live music from the ground surrounding The Muny as it amplifies from the stage.

It’s the music you know and love with the story of how it all came to be. From Carole King’s “music factory” beginning to her journey of staying true to herself, this musical is about the life of this extraordinary woman and is told with much splendor.

The stage is set in this beautiful outdoor theater.

Who’s Who In The Cast:

Sara Shepard as Carole King

Jarrod Spector as Barry Mann

Jackie Burns as Cynthia Weil

Steven Good as Gerry Goffin

Noah Weisberg as Don Kirshner

Sharon Hunter as Genie Klein

What You’ll Hear:

So Far Away – Oh Carol – It Might As Well Rain Until September – Be-Bop-A-Lula

Some Kind Of Wonderful – Happy Days Are Here Again – Take Good Care Of My Baby

Who Put The Bomp – Will You Love Me Tomorrow – He’s Sure The Boy I Love

Up On The Roof – On Broadway – The Locomotion – You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feeling

One Fine Day – Chains – Walking In The Rain – Pleasant Valley Sunday

We Gotta Get Out Of This Place – We Gotta Get Out Of This Place – Uptown

It’s Too Late – (You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman – Beautiful

I Feel The Earth Move

All awesome on The Muny’s stage!

Standouts:

• Metamorphosis of music at the same time as the metamorphosis of Carole King right there on stage.
• Sara Sheperd is no stranger to The Muny’s stage and as always is amazing.
• All the toe tapping songs from various artists that spanned generations.
• Making the connection that with so many well known groups.
• Forgiveness and focusing on highlights of life instead of the low ones.
• Broadway’s longest running Elphaba in Wicked on The Muny’s stage.

There’s indeed a new contender for one of my favorite musicals and it’s this one. Not just beautiful, it’s stunning. This musical was the perfect choice to open the 2023 season of The Muny. Talent like Carole King’s only comes around every one in a while and is worthy of being celebrated in a Broadway musical. Her story is both. One that I could see over and over again. And plan to. It’s one for the ages. A splendid metamorphosis of being and music.

Beautiful: The Carole King Musical is on stage at The Muny from June 12th-18th.

Disney’s Beauty and the Beast

Just as enchanting as the red rose! This musical stage production combines the tale as old as time with live action in the outdoor theater. It’s always a joy to see some old favorites on the stage in Forest Park as well as those making their first ever Muny debut. I loved every moment and it brought so many smiles to my face after a really rough week.

Marie, the baguettes!

I just had to get my Bread Co. dinner in on the action. Plus, it was a great way to hide the bandage on my face. (Read more about that here.)

Who’s Who In The Cast:

Ashley Blanchet as Belle Ben Crawford as Beast

Claybourne Elder as Gaston Ann Harada as Mrs. Potts

Kelvin Moon Loh as Lumiere Eric Jordan Young as Cogsworth

Holly Ann Butler as Babette Tommy Bracco as LeFou

Harrison White as Maurice Debby Lennon as Madame de la Grande Bouche

Michael Hobin as Chip

What You’ll Hear:

All the best-loved tunes from the original Disney animation with a few more new to you ones that will quickly become favorites as well.

Standouts:

• The singing. Broadway trained pipes were out in full force. I’m sure that all around the Muny could hear the amazing voice talent.

• The dancing. Ashley Blanchet first performed on the Muny stage in 2009 as a dancer. Her talent, along with the rest of the cast, is displayed in this extraordinary production.

• The fireworks. From the start until the end there are pyrotechnics and fireworks to wow the audience.

• The stage. There are so many different scenes from the village to the forest to the castle. All beautiful and intricately done.

• The magic. So much magic can be found in this show but when the Beast becomes human again, that is exceptional.

Disney’s Beauty and the Beast is on stage at The Muny from June 22nd-30th.

Chess: The Musical

A star studded cast and the sounds of the 80’s deliver a checkmate to The Muny! St. Louis is known for being home to the largest outdoor theatre in the country and the world’s largest chess piece (at the World Chess Hall of Fame in the Central West End), so it’s quite fitting that Chess: The Musical would take the stage at The Muny.

Queen to C8. Your move.

I had so much fun last night with my chess playing teenager. His only complaint about the musical was there wasn’t enough chess. Teenagers…

Who’s Who In The Cast:

Jessica Voskas Florence Vassy

Jarrod Spector as Frederick Trumper

John Riddle as Anatoly Sergievsky

Taylor Louderman as Svetlana Sergievskaya (Fun to note that Taylor is a Bourbon, MO native.)

Rodney Hicks as Walter De Courcey

Phillip Johnson Richardson as Arbiter

Tally Sessions as Alexander Molokov

Over 20 members of the Ensemble make this musical filled with talent from all over the country!

What You’ll Hear:

Packed with 80’s sound, this musical will have you reliving the forward fashion years gone by. An old favorite will even surprise you with One Night in Bangkok. Other popular hits like Merano and I Know Him So Well truly set the stage.

Standouts:

• The Story of Chess.In the prologue the Arbiter tells the history of chess through song and one might think that this musical is going to be all about the game. But there’s an entire multifaceted story taking place behind the scenes of a chess championship. In fact you will experience a completely different type of strategy being played.

• Operatic tragedy. Not many can belt out opera, but this entire cast can. And like most, there are multiple story lines taking place so be sure to follow closely.

• Accent. Taylor Louderma is originally from Bourbon, MO but her level of being able to perfect signing with a Russian accent is spot on. To sing out, stay in tune and annunciate in a foreign accent… that takes some serious talent.

• The strategy.A whole new way of cheating emerges in this classic game, because emotion and manipulation cannot be spotted by judges. In the end is there really ever a winner and at what cost?

If you haven’t attended an outdoor theatrical performance yet this summer in Forest Park then now is the time to make your move!

West Side Story

On stage at The Muny from July 15th-21st. Get more information on the show HERE.

Little Shop of Horrors

On stage at The Muny from July 25th-31st. Get more information on the show HERE.

Rent

1980’s NYC has arrived at The Muny and it brings many of NYC Broadway’s elite with it! Rent has never before been at our famous outdoor theatre so this one is truly special. The seats were filled and for good reason, this award winning musical is popular among musical lovers.

It’s a story of a lot of love and a lot of loss. The life and times of drug addiction and the AIDS epidemic is shown through the perspective of a group of young adults surviving together. They become each others family as they go through the motions of their individual struggles. Perhaps Rent has long been a favorite for musical goers not due completely in part to the emotions, but that it’s a reminder that so much can change in a year and yet so much can remain the same.

Of course I wore my NYC cuff bracelet that’s made out of a recycled record!

Who’s Who In The Cast:

Lincoln Claussas Mark Cohen

Ashley De La Rosaas Mimi Marquez

Tré Frazieras Benjamin Coffin III

Vincent Kempski asRoger Davis

Evan Tyrone Martinas Tom Collins

Anastacia McCleskey as Joanne Jefferson

Lindsay Heather Pearce as Maureen Johnson

Adrian Villegas as Angel Dumott Schunard

What You’ll Hear:

Tune Up

Rent

You Okay Honey?

One Song Glory

Light My Candle

Today For You

You’ll See

Tango Maureen

Over The Moon

I’ll Cover You

I Should Tell You

Seasons of Love

Without You

Goodbye Love

And so many others!

Standouts:

• The apartment building. Whether it was done on purpose or not, I loved the tie to the first show of the season. Carole King began writing/publishing music at a music factory in NYC and the young adults of Rent are living in apartments inside what was once a music factory.
• Mark Cohen’s story. While Mark thinks that he’s telling the story of others through his camera, ultimately the audience is getting a glimpse into his own life.
• Lindsay Heather Pearce. Amazing voice and talent, it’s no surprise that she was Elphaba on Broadway. I could not stop thinking about when I took my daughter to see Wicked in NYC for her 10th birthday.
• Unique production. This particular production of Rent is different than others with parts left out, etc. but it works well.

And I met Lindsay Heather Pearce!!!

Admittedly so, I was not an instant fan the first time I saw Rent a couple of years ago. As an adult seeing it for the first time I felt very much removed from the life of a young adult. It has been said that it’s one of the reasons that so many people connect with the musical, they saw it for the first time as youth and it really resonated with them. But this production? I actually really enjoyed it. The Muny magic gave me a different look into this amazing story and it’s one that I will remember for years to come.

It’s indeed history in the making at The Muny with this first timer in Forest Park. Whether Rent is the first musical you saw in the late 90’s or you’ve seen it many times, you’ll appreciate this version and pick up on new moments as it goes along. Don’t miss your chance to attend this remarkable show.

Rent is on stage at The Muny from August 4th-10th.

Sister Act

What a truly spectacular finale to a really fantastic season of Muny Magic!!! Every show this summer has been awesome, but I dare say that Sister Act just might be my favorite. Could have something to do with the fact that it’s the show that is most fresh in my mind with a bit of romanticism of it being the final show of the season, but it really is a great musical.

I loved being able to take my mom with me to this one. Such a fun girl’s night out!

This musical runs very much in line with the story of the favorite movie. Talented singer Deloris witnesses a crime and must hide out in a convent as part of witness protection. What ensues is a hilariously, fun filled musical where she develops a relationship with the nuns and helps them just as much as they help her. Fun music, fun set, fun cast, and fun costumes… Sister Act is a really fun musical!

Who’s Who In The Cast

Bryonha Marie as Deloris Van Cartier

Mamie Parris as Mother Superior

James T. Lane as Eddie Souther

Alan H. Green as Curtis Jackson

Thom Sesma as Monsignor O’Hara

Meredith Aleigha Wells as Mary Robert

Madeleine Doherty as Mary Lazarus

Katy Geraghty as Mary Patrick

Rob Colletti as Joey

Brandon Espinoza as Pablo

Darron Hayes as TJ

And a large cast of amazing ensemble!

What You’ll Hear

Take Me To Heaven

Fabulous, Baby

Here Within These Walls

It’s Good To Be A Nun

When I Find My Baby

I Could Be That Guy

Raise Your Voice

Sunday Morning Fever

Lady In The Long Black Dress

I Haven’t Got A Prayer

Bless Our Show

The Life I Never Led

Benedicta-ta For Now

Sister Act

Spread The Love Around

Standouts

Set. This set is filled with neon colors and 1970’s flair.

Costumes. So much more than just the black and white nun habits! Lots of sparkle and pizzazz.

Relationships. The friendships forming between the nuns and Deloris (particular with Sister Mary Robert) is truly heartwarming.

Muny Teens & Muny Kids. It’s always great to see the next generation take the stage.

You’ll want to see Sister Act before it closes on August 20th. Get your tickets HERE.

What was your favorite show this season?

I cannot wait to find out what will be hitting the stage for the 106th season!!! What would you like to see next year?

Muny 2023 Season

Get tickets through in person sales at the box office or online HERE.

Look for more St. Louis fun ideas on the blog HERE.

This post could contain affiliate links or be sponsored which means I earn from advertising. Also as an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. More details here.