Meet Me in St. Louis
By Naperville Magazine
Appears in the June 2025 issue.
By Jeff Banowetz
Theater fans flock every summer to The Muny in St. Louis
Sit down for a performance at The Muny in St. Louis, and you’re likely to experience something not typically seen during a Broadway show: a sunset.
It was just about when Fantine was starting to dream her dream during a performance of Les Misérables when I noticed the last of the afterglow had disappeared, and the lighted stage stood out starkly in the darkness. My family and I, on a weekend trip to St. Louis, were among the 11,000 people in the audience that night, enjoying one of our favorite musicals performed in a way it’s almost impossible to do anywhere else, under the stars, with a Broadway-caliber cast, in a state-of-the-art venue in one of the country’s best urban parks.
The 109-year-old Muny has become a St. Louis institution by offering live entertainment—in its modern history, musical theater—on summer nights for more than a century. And unlike the indoor options, especially in New York City, it’s surprisingly affordable. In fact, of those 11,000 people, 1,500 didn’t pay a dime, sitting in the first-come, first-served free section at the top of the seating bowl. The theater dates back to a performance of Shakespeare’s As You Like It in the city’s centrally located Forest Park in 1916. Its success convinced city leaders to create the country’s first municipally owned outdoor theater, the St. Louis Municipal Opera Theatre. The Muny, as it’s now known, is immense by theater standards, making it closer in size to a large minor-league baseball stadium than a traditional Broadway stage. Last year more than 347,000 people attended performances.
But while the historical element makes for an interesting story, The Muny’s modern attraction is what’s on the stage. Each season it produces seven unique musicals over the course of about 10 weeks. “We like to call it Muny magic,” says Gabe Hartwig, The Muny’s communications and public relations manager, on how it all comes together. A show runs for only a week, and after a couple of days’ break, it’s time for the next one.
Hartwig says that each show has an 11-day rehearsal period, with nine of those at the outdoor Broadhurst Pavilion on the west side of The Muny’s campus. It then has two days on the main stage before opening night. “You’ve seen the results,” he says. “It’s special what we do here.”
It would be an impressive operation under any circumstances, but The Muny does it with top-tier musical talent for every show. “Over time, we’ve found that the best of the best from Broadway really want to work here,” he says. “As soon as we announce our shows for the season, our assistant director is bombarded with calls and texts from people on Broadway wanting to be in the show.”
It helps that the short runs mean that cast and creatives can work on a much-loved show without interrupting their lives too much. “They can take a break from whatever they’re doing in the summertime, and it’s kind of an exclusive limited-edition opportunity for these actors to do a show they’ve always wanted to do.”
The massive stage also allows for the production team to be creative with established musicals, such as bringing on a larger cast, expanding sets, using pyrotechnics, or, as is the case this summer, nontraditional casting: 16 members of the University of Kentucky’s national championship cheerleading team will take to the stage as part of Bring It On: The Musical June 16 to 22. (In our performance of Les Mis, I’d never seen so many villagers before; turns out they were members of the St. Louis Symphony Chorus, who had partnered with The Muny for the production.)
For this year’s 107th season, The Muny will be offering the aforementioned Bring it On; Come From Away (June 26 to July 2); Disney’s Frozen (July 6 to 14); Evita (July 18 to 24), Dear Evan Hansen (July 28 to Aug. 3); La Cage Aux Folles (Aug. 8 to 14); and Jersey Boys (Aug. 18 to 24).
Of course, the biggest problem with an outdoor theater is that you’re exposed to the elements. “We don’t like to say the ‘R’ word around here,” Hartwig says, channeling every actor’s superstition. But only two performances were canceled last year because of rain, er, bad weather. The organizers will delay a performance if a forecast looks at all promising. “We want to do the show, and the audience wants to do the show, so it’s in everybody’s interest to go forward,” Hartwig says. “People don’t mind waiting for a little while if it means that they get to enjoy the show that they came to see.”
Should the worst-case scenario happen, refunds or rain checks for a future show in the season are issued . The more likely scenario is that it will be hot—this is St. Louis in the summer—but large, very quiet fans about the seating bowl do a surprisingly good job of providing some relief. And with an 8:15 p.m. start time for each show, it typically cools down through the performance.
One last piece of advice: Get to the show early. The Muny has a Ravinia-like feel before the shows, with a preshow festival every night with performances and things like Broadway trivia contests, and food and drink vendors. “There are all kinds of activities for families in our three outdoor plazas,” Hartwig says. “We have a restaurant on campus where you can come and have a seated meal. We have picnic areas where people come and pack a picnic and a bottle of wine. It’s just a special opportunity to have a full evening in beautiful Forest Park. It’s hard to beat that.”
Other Activities
St. Louis is packed with attractions. Those with kids will love the City Museum (750 N. 16th St.), an artist-built playground with all manner of slides, climbing structures, and bric-a-brac that must be experienced to be understood. The Saint Louis Zoo (1 Government Drive) in Forest Park is excellent, as is the Saint Louis Science Center (5050 Oakland Ave.)—and both offer free admission. For younger kids, The Magic House (516 S. Kirkwood Road) is worth exploring. Of course, make sure to stop by the Gateway Arch National Park (11 N. 4th St.). Even if you don’t take the tram to the top, the grounds around the Arch and the museum underneath are impressive.
Where to Stay
Downtown, the St. Louis Union Station Hotel (1820 Market St.) is part of the restored railroad terminal building dating back to 1894. It has all the modern luxuries while retaining historic charm. Closer to Forest Park, the Moonrise Hotel (6177 Delmar Blvd.) is a swanky boutique in the hip Delmar Loop neighborhood.
More info
Vist muny.org and explorestlouis.com.
Photos: The Gateway Arch; City Museum; Phillip Hamer; The Muny; Ray Meibaum/Saint Louis Zoo
