The Muny

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The Muny is the largest and oldest outdoor theatre in the United States, located in Forest Park, St. Louis, Missouri. It recently concluded its eighty-eighth annual season. It is a not-for-profit organization. The theatre's current president of the Board of Directors is William H.T. Bush, current chief executive officer is Dennis M. Reagan, and current executive producer is award-winning producer Paul Blake.

1 History of The Muny
2 Celebrities at The Muny
3 2007 Season
4 2006 Board of Directors
5 Honorary Life Directors
6 Future seasons
7 See also
8 Sources

[edit] History of The Muny

The Muny can trace its root to 1916 when actress Margaret Anglin produced As You Like It on the current site. A major success, the production had in its cast 200 citizens of St. Louis.

Soon after, the Convention Board of the St. Louis Advertising Club found itself without any entertainment feature for its thirteenth annual convention, which was to take place June 3, 1917. Mayor Henry Kiel, Attorney Guy Golterman, and Parks Commissioner Nelson Cunliff stepped in and, in forty-nine days (not counting seven lost to rain), created the first municipally-owned outdoor theatre in America. On June 5, 1917 the opera Aida was presented on what would be the Muny stage.

In 1919, the new theatre received a name: The Municipal Opera Association of St. Louis, or The Muny for short. The first show under the Muny banner was Robin Hood, which opened on June 16, 1919 and featured Mayor Kiel as King Richard.

In 1930, the stage was equipped with a turntable for performance purposes. This would be reconstructed in 1997 due to dilapidation. In 1994, The Muny's Board of Directors founded The Muny Kids, a select group of performers from the ages of 7-13 who would travel around St. Louis performing, and in the summer would give preview shows prior to the production. In 1998 The Muny Teens group was formed for the same purpose, featuring teen performers from the ages of 13-18.

[edit] Celebrities at The Muny

Since its beginning, The Muny has featured many big names in theatre and film on its stage, drawing inevitably huge crowds. Here are a few of those big names, along with their claims to fame:

W.C. Fields - comedian
Vincent Price - horror film actor
Cary Grant - film actor
Bob Hope - comedian
Red Skelton - comedian
Ethel Merman - Broadway performer (originated roles like Annie Oakley, Mama Rose, and Reno Sweeney)
Ken Page - Broadway performer (originated roles like Old Deuteronomy)
Bruce Adler - Broadway performer (originated roles like Bela Zangler)
Ozzie Smith - St. Louis Cardinals Hall-of-Famer; father of American Idol star Nikko Smith
Carol Channing - Broadway performer (originated roles like Dolly Vandergelder)
Howard Keel - film actor (played Gailord in Show Boat and Adam in Seven Brides for Seven Brothers)
Margaret Hamilton - film actress (played Wicked Witch of the West in The Wizard of Oz)
Shoshana Bean - has played as Elphaba in the Broadway cast of Wicked (got her equity card at The Muny)
Joel Grey - Broadway performer (originated roles like the Emcee in Cabaret and the Wizard of Oz in Wicked
Joneal Joplin - St. Louis performer; voiced the characters Mr. G and Mr. S on The Letter People
Pamela Isaacs- Broadway actress; appeared in OBC of The Life, for which she won a Tony for Best Featured Actress in a Musical
Simone- daughter of Nina Simone and Andrew Stroud; originated roles in Rent and on First National Tour of Aida
Kendra Kassebaum-currently playing Galinda in the Broadway cast of Wicked

[edit] 2007 Season

Oklahoma! (June 18-24)

Grease (June 25-July 3) (July 2 & 3 are non-subscriber nights)

Hello, Dolly! (July 9-15)

Peter Pan (July 16-22)

The Pajama Game (July 23-29)

Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat (July 30-August 5)

Les Misérables (WORLD PREMIRE OF OUTDOOR PRODUCTION) (August 6-15) (August 13-15 are non-subscriber nights)

[edit] 2006 Board of Directors

Chairman: William H.T. Bush
Vice Chairman: Richard G. Millman
Treasurer: Douglas H. Yaeger
Assistant Treasurer: Terry E. Schnuck
Secretary: Joseph F. Imbs III
Assistant Secretary: Raymond R. Fournie
Andrew N. Baur
Gary D. Bess (ex- officio)
Cindy Brinkley
Carole L. Buck
James H. Buford
August A. Busch III
John R. Capps
Karen Carroll
Parker B. Condie
Clark S. Davis
David N. Farr
Raymond R. Fournie
Ronald A. Fromm
Louis J. Fusz, Jr.
E. Douglas Harbison
Samuel B. Hayes III
Robert R. Hermann, Jr.
Douglas E. Hill
William F. Holekamp
John E. Jacob
Stephen G. Jansen
Henry O. Johnston
Stephen C. Jones
Edward J. "Ted" Koplar
Peter B. Krombach
F. Mark Kuhlmann
J. Mark Lashly
Seth M. Leadbeater
Ned. O. Lemkemeier
Doris H. Lichenstein
W. Stephen Maritz
James S. McDonnell III
Richard G. Millman
Charles W. Mueller
Kimberly A. Olson
Gary L. Rainwater
Steven C. Roberts
Hugh Scott III
E.C. Simmons III
Hon. Francis G. Slay (ex- officio)
David L. Steward
James W. Suelmann (ex- officio)
Donald M. Suggs
Jack E. Thomas
Robert J. Trulaske, Jr.
Carol Walker
Kelvin R. Westbrook
Orrin S. Wightman III
Douglas H. Yaeger

[edit] Honorary Life Directors

(as of Summer 2006):

Frank Adam
Clarence C. Barksdale
Van- Lear Black III
Frank C. Blumeyer
William E. Cornelius
Sam Fox
Clifton W. Gates
A. William Hager
Earle H. Harbison, Jr.
Mary Lee M. Hermann
Robert R. Hermann
James L. Hoagland
Bettie S. Johnson
Donald E. Lasater
Lee M. Liberman
Michael E. Pulitzer
Michael J. Roarty
Warren M. Shapleigh
Donald M. Suggs
H. Edwin Trusheim
John K. Wallace, Jr.
Eugene F. Williams, Jr.
Frederick S. Wood
Maurice B. Wood

[edit] Future seasons

The new Muny season is not officially announced until the preceding January or February, but many have found it entertaining to speculate on what shows will be produced, especially since The Muny follows certain patterns when selecting its shows.

The best way for an outsider to guess the next season is to fill out the evaluation forms handed out at the end of the current season's run, which allow audiences to circle their top seven choices for the next year. The choices change each year, depending on what shows are available and what shows have not been produced for a number of years.