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Courtesy of Opera Theatre of St. Louis
Program illustration for OTSTL's "Shalimar the Clown"
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Courtesy of Opera Theatre of St. Louis
Full house shot from inside the Loretto-Hilton during a 2010 performance of A Little Night Music. Photo © Ken Howard
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Courtesy of Shakespeare Festival-St. Louis
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Courtesy of Act Inc.
Act Inc's 2015 production of "The Importance of Being Earnest"
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As the weather heats up, thoughts turn to pool parties and barbecues, but St. Louis’ theater scene is thriving, even in the summer. There’s something for everyone: the opera lover, the frugal theater-goer, the avant garde and the outdoorsy type. Check out this list of theater options (with tips on how to score great tickets and which shows are season musts) to make sure you don’t miss any of the city’s thought-provoking, fun, or festive summer shows.
The Stalwarts
The grand dames of summer entertainment in St. Louis are pretty familiar. Maybe you’ve even gone to a show or two. This year, consider buying season tickets and enjoying great entertainment all summer long.
For the opera lover
Opera Theatre of Saint Louis (Loretto-Hilton Center, 130 Edgar Road, 314-961-0644) is the jewel of the summer, putting on four productions in just over a month that get reviewed around the country and sometimes around the world. This year, the company is once again mixing classics and new productions for a season that will surely leave an impact including La bohème (May 21, 25, 27, June 2, 4, 8, 12, 15 & 25), Macbeth (May 28, June 1, 10, 16, 18, 22 & 26) Ariadne on Naxos (June 5, 9, 11, 18, 22 & 24) and Shalimar the Clown.
- Best Bet: OTSL will be staging the world premiere of Shalimar the Clown (June 11, 15, 17, 19, 23 & 25). Based on the book by Salman Rushdie, the story is about Shalimar and his beloved Boonyi, acrobats and dancers in the traditional folk theater in a Kashmiri Village, who find their love threatened when an American ambassador seduces Boonyi.
- Ticket Hack: If you’re under 45, then the OTSL Young Friends tickets are the best game in town. Tickets include a presentation about the opera, dinner, and post-performance reception, all for less than $40 per show if you buy tickets to at least two shows. Also, student, seniors, and active military rush tickets are often available for $15 on the day of the show.
For the frugal Shakespeare fan
Shakespeare Festival Saint Louis (Shakespeare Glen, Forest Park, 6604 Fine Arts Drive, 314-531-9800) is everything that makes St. Louis summers great. Catch a high-quality production of Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Nights Dream for free in Forest Park. The evening includes backstage tours, a green show that presents a 20-minute version of the main-stage play, a family craft area, and jugglers and clowns circulating in the crowd. If you really want a hassle-free evening, you can rent chairs for as little as $10 and order a boxed dinner from Butler’s Pantry. Just remember they don’t do shows on Tuesdays.
- Another reason to go: Tatiana, queen of the fairies, will be played by renowned New York actress and Olivier nominee Nancy Anderson.
- Ticket Hack: All reserved seats to the show are half-price on preview nights (June 1 and 2). True Shakespeare fans should consider traveling with Shakespeare Festival St. Louis to Kansas City to see the first folio at the Kansas City Library (June 18). The $55 ticket includes a bus ride to KC, snacks, a boxed dinner back at the Glen, and reserved seats to A Midsummer Night’s Dream.
For musical fans who love the outdoors
Going to The Muny (Forest Park, 1 Theatre Drive, 314-361-1900 x550) in the summer is a no-brainer. The high-quality productions on the massive stage are sure crowd-pleasers. This year, the season includes many classics, including The Music Man (July 5–11), which tells the story of a con artist who claims he’s a band organizer in order to sell instruments and skip town. The show includes a parade of 76 trombones, but the Muny, in typical grand fashion, is promising many many more trombones than that. The classic Wizard of Oz (June 13–22) and Aida (August 8–14) promise sumptuous sets and elaborate costumes that might prove to be the perfect compliment to a balmy St. Louis summer evening.
- Best Bet: If you have to pick one show, then you can’t go wrong with the Muny premiere of Young Frankenstein, based on the raucous 1974 Mel Brooks movie about a young Dr. Frederick Frankenstein creating his monster in Transylvania.
- Ticket Hack: Muny season tickets start at $70, but if you’re not ready to commit to a full season, there are great single ticket deals. The Muny offers 1500 free seats each show (waaaay in the back, but you can rent binoculars from the concession stands for free). They also offer a discount for active duty military, and if you go with a group of 15 or more you get 25 percent off your ticket price and a free backstage tour.
For musical fans who also love air conditioning
If the dog days of summer have you yearning for the cool indoors, then you can still get your musical fix at Stages St. Louis (The Robert G. Reim Theatre, Kirkwood Civic Center, 111 S. Geyer Rd., 314-821-2407). Though the stage is not quite Muny huge, they still put on terrific productions. This season includes the humorous: It Shoulda Been You (June 3–July 3), a funny take on a typical wedding story and The Drowsy Chaperone (July 22 – August 21) about a middle-aged musical-theater fan listening to his favorite show and making comments about the singing and actors. The seasons also includes the family-friendly classics Disney’s Alice in Wonderland (June 15–July 3) and Sister Act (September 9 – October 9).
- Best Bet: The can’t-miss show of the season is It Shoulda Been You. Fresh off of a recent Broadway run, the show includes delightful songs and tons of plot twists that will keep you laughing from beginning to end.
- Ticket Hack: Season tickets cost around $99 for all four shows, and you get 20% off any additional single tickets you buy per production.
The Off-Broadways
OK, St. Louis doesn’t have a Broadway and therefore also doesn’t have an Off-Broadway, but these theater companies, though not as big as the stalwarts, still put on great theater in intimate settings and their seasons are only in the summer. Try something off the beaten path.
For the theater and musical buff
Insight Theatre Company (Heagney Theatre at Nerinx Hall, 530 E. Lockwood, 314-556-1293) puts on top-notch musicals and plays for its summer season. This year includes the emotionally charged, two-person musical John & Jen (July 15–31) about a brother and sister growing up in an abusive household; the groundbreaking musical Company (June 17–July 3), about a man who can’t commit; and the play Inherit the Wind (August 12–28) about the Scopes Monkey Trial.
- Best Bet: It depends on if you prefer musical or plays. One interesting choice would be The Intern Show (August 5–6), a production put on entirely by Insight Theatre Company’s dedicated interns, who spend the summer helping stage productions and taking classes in everything from voice-over to dance.
- Ticket Hack: A single ticket can be as much as $35 (though there are discounts for students and seniors) and season tickets start at $65, so you decide what’s the hack.
For fans of the BBC
Act Inc. (Lindenwood University’s J. Scheidegger Center, The Emerson Black Box, 2300 W. Clay St., St. Charles, 636-949-4433) typically stages lesser known plays from major playwrights, and specializes in the literary gems by writers like Agatha Christie, Oscar Wilde, and George Bernard Shaw. This summer, the company is staging Neil Simon’s Brighton Beach Memoirs (June 10–12 & June 25–26), a coming of age story set during the Great Depression, and An Inspector Calls (June 17–19 & June 24–25) a mystery play set in a pre-World War I English town about an untimely death and the inspector trying to crack the case.
- Best Bet: If you REALLY can only go to one, check out An Inspector Calls. It's everything that Act Inc. really excels at, but go the first weekend, because once you see it, you’ll also want to see Brighton Beach Memoirs.
- Ticket Lack of Hack: Unfortunately, there is no ticket hack. All tickets are $20 and Act Inc. doesn’t offer season ticket subscriptions.
For the Avant-Garde
Check out the tons of events surrounding St. Lou Fringe Festival (Various locations, Grand Center, 314-643-7853). This month catch Five Fifths: Age of Glam (May 21), a story told in five acts by five different St. Louis arts groups. June 19 is the Artist Salon, where artists will meet for the first time in downtown St. Louis and create art together in real time. July 19 is Act Your Pants Off, a fun evening of competitive acting (and a striptease). Finally, August 19–27 is the Fringe Festival proper which will include performances around town from different arts groups. This year will introduce microtheater (short performances for audiences of 13 or less), an incubator program for emerging artists, and spin rooms (post show talk backs and workshops).
- Best Bet: It all will be worth the price of admission, but Five Fifths: Age of Glam, includes a pop-up gallery with art inspired by the '70s and early '80s, as well as a free late-night drag show.
- Ticket Hack: St. Lou Fringe is all about the environmentally friendly, so you can get a discount if you bike or take the bus. St. Lou Fringe also requires a badge to enter any event, and a ticket to that specific show, so consider getting ticket packages. Also, there are some free events to check out for those “ballin’ on a budget.”
Other Summer Shows
A lot of theater companies may not have summer seasons, but they’re still offering interesting summer shows. Here are some to check out.
For the bar-hopping theatergoer
What’s better than an evening of theater? An evening of theater that takes place at five different bars! Cocktails and Curtain Calls (618-514-9976 or cheers@cocktailsandcurtaincalls.com) will be performing A Midsummer Night’s Dream at five neighborhood bars. The show will do a pub crawl in Soulard (May 27 & 28), Cherokee Street (June 3 & 4), and The Grove (June 10 & 11). If you don’t like walking, then you can also go to single location performances at either Molly’s (May 26, June 2 & 8) or 4121 (June 1 & 9). Each bar on the crawl will give audience members one pre-made alcoholic beverage, and those in costumes get an additional free drink.
- Another reason you should go: The pub crawls on Cherokee end with a dance party. In the Grove, you’ll end up at a drag show or dance party.
- Details: Various locations, $22 single bar, $30 for 5 bar pub crawl, starts at 7 p.m.
For Cold War Kids & Rock ’n’ Roll Fans
Grappling with the moral dilemma of creating the atomic bomb isn’t easy, but New Line Theatre (Marcelle Theater, Grand Center, 3310 Samuel Shepard Drive, 314-534-1111) is up to the challenge as they present Atomic (June 2–25), a rock musical about Leo Szilard, a brilliant scientist determined to beat Germany to the bomb. Szilard puts it all on the line, including his ethics and his love, in order to create mankind’s most lethal weapon.
- Ticket Hack: New Line Theatre has lots of ticket deals, including free seats for college students (10 available each show), student rush tickets for half price, a teacher discount on Thursday nights, and military discount. Best deal is 25 for 25, at the Thursday preview performance (in this case on June 2) the first 25 people at the box office will each get one ticket for 25 cents each.
- Details: Starts June 2 and runs through June 25, Thursday through Saturday. All performances are at 8 p.m. $20 adults, $15 students/seniors on Thursday, and $25 adults and $20 students/seniors on Fridays and Saturdays.
For the theatergoer who has seen it all
Max & Louie (The Wool Studio Theatre, Jewish Community Center, Staenberg Family Complex, 2 Millstone Campus Drive, 314-795-8778) are the theater company brave enough to stage the St. Louis premiere of the Tony Award–winning Grey Gardens, a musical based on Albert and David Maysles
- Another reason you should go: The New York Times wrote that it is “an experience no passionate theatergoer should miss.”
- Details: Starts Friday July 8 and run through July 30, Wednesday through Sunday. 8 p.m. Wed–Sat, 2 p.m. Sun. $45 general admission, $35 students & seniors.
