The Muny is wonderful—I’d know, I never miss a show. Three nights a week I dance in the isles and hum to myself as the orchestra plays. When a three-foot tall Belle look-alike appears at my ticket gate, I ask her where she left the beast. I’ve seen live squirrels decide to leave their trees and join the cast on stage. I can find your seat among the 11,000 in the theater, and can explain how Tinkerbelle flies from the light booth to the stage. I know where they keep the footbridge from The Music Man, and I’ve touched bunker from Les Miserables. Call me a theatre junkie if you must, but my boss, House Manager Kwofe Coleman, just calls me an usher.
I like to think I know how to enjoy a night at the Muny. After all, I spend more than enough time wishing patrons “have a lovely evening,” and “enjoy the show.” But, the longer I stand at the gate, the more I realize in a theater with nearly 11,000 seats a night can be ruined by the process of merely getting there in time for the overture. “I think the biggest problem that people have coming and going to the Muny is actually physically arriving here,” Coleman explains. “The majority of people believe that they need to come in off of 40 and Hampton.”
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By using Kingshighway you can avoid the unnecessary, excessive waiting. Instead of joining the crowds at the Hampton entrance, try entering and exiting from West Pine, Barnes Plaza and even Lindell Boulevard. While hundreds of cars rush in and out of the Hampton circle nightly, thousands of guests work their way through gate one on the east side of the theatre. Oddly enough, the other five gates have minimal congestion and fast moving lines.
“Part of that, I believe, is tradition,” says Coleman. “People come in that way because they’ve always come in that way. People look at that as the main gate.” Really though, unless your tickets are for the front–east side theatre, there isn’t a true benefit of fighting your way through gate one. The same concessions are located at all sides of the theater, and typically pre-show entertainment can be found at most entrances.
Starting around 6 p.m. near the entrance to the free seats, the Muny invites guests to join in pre-show activities. Last year, during Hairspray, stylists from the Paul Mitchell Salon recreated the hairstyles of the ‘80s. This year, Belle met her young fans before performances of Beauty and the Beast, and vintage cars were on display during Titanic.
On the west side, sometimes rehearsal pianists host sing-alongs for guests eager to learn how choral music is harmonized. On the opposite side, the Culver Pavilion takes reservations for those who’d like to sit down and enjoy a meal, while the Muny Kids and Teens usually perform on the bandstand stage nearby. “They don’t have to bring anything,” Coleman says. “They don’t have to prepare anything they do the dishes they can just go and see the show.”
The house opens at 7:30 p.m., at which point friendly ushers will take your tickets, search your bags and direct you to your seats. (Not that I’m biased.) Fortunately, this bag check is easier than at the airport. I don’t need to see your passport, and your beverages don’t need to be in three-ounce bottles. However, I am looking for cans and glass, and I will send hard-sided coolers back to the parking lot.
“We haven’t allowed those inside the theater for years now,” Coleman says. “Yet, people will claim year to year that it’s something that they’ve done every year.” For easy entry, when you arrive at the gate have soft-sided coolers unzipped and pack beverages in plastic bottles. While concessions are offered throughout the theater, snacks from home are welcome.
The same rules apply in the free seats. Those gates open at 7:15 p.m., but on nice nights lines start forming in the early evenings. When there are more guests than seats, you can still purchase seats from upper box office for as little as $9. “People that have traveled to see the show can still see it for a pretty low cost,” offers Coleman. “I don’t know any other venues in the city where you can go to a live show or event for that.” —Maggie Menderski
