Summer in St. Louis means one thing - it's time to buy your Muny tickets! At $10 a piece, it's really hard to pass up seeing Broadway quality shows in such an amazing venue. Last year, we attended our first Muny production by going to see Beauty and the Beast. Since I talk a lot about the history of the Muny in the linked blog post, I'll skip that part.
We could not have picked a more perfect evening to attend the show. Last Friday, the high was only 73 degrees here in St. Louis. By show time at 8:15 p.m., the temperatures were already in the 60's with a bright, clear blue sky. So much more pleasant than the miserable heat last year when we attended! Thank goodness because the place was packed! Also, it was a very female heavy crowd. I stopped counting the number of blonde girls in pink dresses that I saw in the crowd! Then again, what other color would you wear to see Elle Woods?
The production itself was absolutely fantastic. The musical isn't exactly like the movie, but pretty close. There are a few characters added, a few left out, etc. Tony said that he actually enjoyed the musical more than the movie. Probably the most memorable part of the show is the performance of "There! Right There!" better known as "Is he gay? Or European?"
This season is actually a big deal for The Muny. Executive Producer Paul Blake is retiring after this season from the position that he's held for the past 22 years. Blake is best known for returning the theater to its roots. Before he arrived, The Muny had started booking touring shows which he immediately stopped. Under his direction, The Muny once again began staging its own productions. They have now developed a very loyal group of actors, designers, and directors that return every year despite the grueling schedule. The Muny has only 11 days to fully mount and rehearse each of the seven shows that they do during the season. Each show has a one week run before they move on to the next one.
Here is a link that The Muny posted on YouTube from opening night -
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