The St. Louis Municipal Opera Theatre (commonly known as The Muny) is an
amphitheater
An amphitheatre ( U.S. English: amphitheater) is an open-air venue used for entertainment, performances, and sports. The term derives from the ancient Greek ('), from ('), meaning "on both sides" or "around" and ('), meaning "place for vie ...
located in
St. Louis
St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a populatio ...
,
Missouri
Missouri (''see #Etymology and pronunciation, pronunciation'') is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it border ...
. The theatre seats 11,000 people with about 1,500 free seats in the last nine rows that are available on a first come, first served basis.
The Muny season runs every year from mid-June to mid-August. It is run by a
nonprofit organization
A nonprofit organization (NPO), also known as a nonbusiness entity, nonprofit institution, not-for-profit organization, or simply a nonprofit, is a non-governmental (private) legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public, or so ...
. The current president and chief executive is Kwofe Coleman. The current artistic director and executive producer is Mike Isaacson.
History

In 1914,
Luther Ely Smith
Luther Ely Smith (June 11, 1873 – April 2, 1951) was a St. Louis, Missouri lawyer and civic booster. He has been described by the National Park Service as the "father of the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial," which was renamed as the Gate ...
began staging
pageant
Pageant(s) or The Pageant(s) may refer to:
Events
* Procession or ceremony in elaborate costume
* Beauty pageant, or beauty contest
* List of pageants of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
* Medieval pageant, a narrative medieval pro ...
-
masque
The masque was a form of festive courtly entertainment that flourished in 16th- and early 17th-century Europe, though it was developed earlier in Italy, in forms including the intermedio (a public version of the masque was the pageant). A mas ...
s on Art Hill in Forest Park. In 1916, a grassy area between two oak trees on the present site of The Muny was chosen for a production of ''
As You Like It
''As You Like It'' is a pastoral Shakespearean comedy, comedy by William Shakespeare believed to have been written in 1599 and first published in the First Folio in 1623. The play's first performance is uncertain, though a performance at Wil ...
'' produced by
Margaret Anglin and starring
Sydney Greenstreet
Sydney Hughes Greenstreet (December 27, 1879 – January 18, 1954) was a British and American actor. While he did not begin his career in films until the age of 61, he had a run of significant motion pictures in a Hollywood career lasting t ...
with a local cast of "1,000 St. Louis folk dancers and folk singers" in connection with the tercentenary of Shakespeare's death. The audience sat in portable chairs on a gravel floor.
Soon after, the Convention Board of the St. Louis Advertising Club was looking for an entertainment feature for its 13th annual convention, which was to take place June 3, 1917. Mayor
Henry Kiel
Henry W. Kiel (February 21, 1871 – November 26, 1942) was the 32nd Mayor of Saint Louis, serving from 1913 to 1925.
Early life
Henry W. Kiel's father was Henry F. Kiel, a well known contractor, who died in 1908. Henry F. Kiel also serve ...
, attorney Guy Golterman, and Parks Commissioner Nelson Cunliff stepped in and, in 49 days (not counting seven lost to rain), created the first municipally owned outdoor theatre in the United States. On June 5, 1917, the opera ''
Aida
''Aida'' (or ''Aïda'', ) is a tragic opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Antonio Ghislanzoni. Set in the Old Kingdom of Egypt, it was commissioned by Cairo's Khedivial Opera House and had its première there on 24 De ...
'' was presented on what would become the Muny stage.
In 1919, the new theatre received a name: St. Louis Municipal Opera Theatre, or "The Muny" for short. The first show under the Muny banner was ''
Robin Hood
Robin Hood is a legendary noble outlaw, heroic outlaw originally depicted in English folklore and subsequently featured in literature, theatre, and cinema. According to legend, he was a highly skilled archer and swordsman. In some versions o ...
'', which opened on June 16, 1919, and featured Mayor Kiel as
King Richard King Richard normally refers to the three English monarchs.
English monarchs
*Richard I of England or Richard the Lionheart (1157–1199)
*Richard II of England (1367–1400)
*Richard III of England (1452–1485)
Although no monarch has assumed th ...
. Concerts were performed here prior to the opening of
Riverport Amphitheatre in 1991.
By the beginning of the 1921 season, the facility had a new permanent stage. Its base was concrete to prevent damage from floods, such as one that damaged the theater's equipment on opening night in 1919. Improvements for 1922 included a new pergola, 750 permanent opera chairs, 500 parking spaces for automobiles, and the addition of "comfort stations". Additions for 1923 included 1,800 permanent seats, an extra stage for rehearsals, and a sound amplifier to enable people in the back of the audience to hear as well as those in the front.
On January 4, 1923, the Municipal Theater Association opened a free school for people who aspired to sing in the chorus for that summer's productions. Of 420 applicants, 239 had been accepted as of the class's beginning, with 45 remaining to be examined. Classes met two nights a week until May 1, when rehearsals began.
Keil stepped down from being president of the Municipal Theater Association in 1924, saying that the enterprise should be headed by businessmen, and Cunliff simultaneously left his position as chairman of the group's Executive Productions Committee. H. J. Pettengill, chairman of Southwest Bell Telephone Company's board of directors, was elected the new president.
Reserved seats for all paid admissions were instituted in 1925, after 2,400 numbered chairs were installed in the previously unreserved 25-cent section.

In 1930, the stage was equipped with a turntable for performance purposes. It was reconstructed in 1997 due to dilapidation. As part of the Second Century Capital Campaign/2018-19 renovations, the turntable was replaced. In 1994, The Muny's board of directors founded the Muny Kids, a select group of performers between the ages of 7 and 13 who traveled around St. Louis performing, and in the summer gave preview shows prior to the production. In 1998, the Muny Teens group was formed for the same purpose, featuring teen performers between the ages of 14 and 18.
The chairman of the board of the Muny in 2005-2006 was
William H. T. Bush
William Henry Trotter “Bucky” Bush, CStJ (July 14, 1938February 27, 2018) was an American banker and businessman. A scion of the Bush family, he was the youngest son of US Senator Prescott Sheldon Bush and Dorothy Walker Bush, the youngest ...
(younger brother of former president
George H. W. Bush
George Herbert Walker BushBefore the outcome of the 2000 United States presidential election, he was usually referred to simply as "George Bush" but became more commonly known as "George H. W. Bush", "Bush Senior," "Bush 41," and even "Bush th ...
). The current Chairman of the Board is John W. Lemkemeier.
Production
The Muny produces all of its musicals (typically seven) in the season, which operates only in the summer. During the winter, a full-time staff of 35 people prepare for the next summer season. During the season itself, the summer staff expands to include more than 500 people in various positions. All shows are rehearsed within the course of 11 days, with two technical rehearsals (one costumed, one not) being held in the two to three days before each show's opening. Shows run 7 days, although exceptions to this have occurred, particularly in recent years, when each season has had at least one production with an extended run. There is a two to three day break between shows to allow for tech, set, boom, and floor change.
In 2015, The Muny began producing ''Muny Magic at The Sheldon'', bi-annual concerts at the
Sheldon Concert Hall
ThSheldon'', designed by the noted 1904 World’s Fair architect Louis C. Spiering, was built in 1912 as the home of the Ethical Society of St. Louis. Musicians and public speakers throughout the years have enjoyed the perfect acoustics of The S ...
. They are cabaret-style concerts featuring artists who have appeared on the Muny stage. In recent years, Muny Artistic Director and Executive Producer Mike Isaacson has announced the lineup for the upcoming summer season at the spring installments of ''Muny Magic at the Sheldon''.
Concerts at the Muny
For many years, live concerts in the offseason were common at The Muny. The last one was by the
Moody Blues
Moody may refer to:
Places
* Moody, Alabama, U.S.
* Moody, Missouri, U.S.
* Moody, Texas, U.S.
* Moody County, South Dakota, U.S.
* Port Moody, British Columbia, Canada
* Hundred of Moody, a cadastral division in South Australia
** Moody, Sout ...
and
Kansas (band)
Kansas is an American rock music, rock band formed in Topeka, Kansas in 1973. They became popular during the 1970s initially on album-oriented rock charts and later with hit singles such as "Carry On Wayward Son" and "Dust in the Wind". The ba ...
on August 29, 1991. Other notable artists who have performed on the Muny stage include
Whitney Houston
Whitney Elizabeth Houston (August 9, 1963 – February 11, 2012) was an American singer, actress, film producer, model, and philanthropist. Commonly referred to as "Honorific nicknames in popular music, the Voice", she is List of awards and no ...
,
Patti LaBelle
Patricia Louise Holte (born May 24, 1944), known professionally as Patti LaBelle, is an American Rhythm and blues, R&B singer and actress. She has been referred to as the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Godmother of Soul". LaBelle began ...
,
Sting
Stimulator of interferon genes (STING), also known as transmembrane protein 173 (TMEM173) and MPYS/MITA/ERIS is a regulator protein that in humans is encoded by the STING1 gene.
STING plays an important role in innate immunity. STING induces typ ...
,
Barry Manilow
Barry Manilow ( ; born Barry Alan Pincus on June 17, 1943) is an American singer, songwriter and record producer with a career that spans over sixty years. His hit recordings include "Could It Be Magic", "Looks Like We Made It", "Brandy (Scott ...
,
Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan; born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Described as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture over his nearly 70-year ...
,
Allman Brothers Allman may refer to:
Music
*The Allman Brothers Band
The Allman Brothers Band was an American rock music, rock band formed in Jacksonville, Florida, in 1969. Its founding members were brothers Duane Allman (slide guitar, lead guitar) and Greg ...
,
Hank Williams Jr.
Randall Hank Williams (born May 26, 1949), known professionally as Hank Williams Jr. or Bocephus, is an American singer-songwriter and musician. His musical style has been described as a blend of rock, blues, and country. He is the son of count ...
,
The Beach Boys
The Beach Boys are an American Rock music, rock band formed in Hawthorne, California, in 1961. The group's original lineup consisted of brothers Brian Wilson, Brian, Dennis Wilson, Dennis, and Carl Wilson, their cousin Mike Love, and their f ...
, and
James Taylor
James Vernon Taylor (born March 12, 1948) is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. A six-time Grammy Award winner, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2000.
Taylor achieved his breakthrough in 1970 with the single "Fi ...
. In 2024, The Muny revived the tradition and presented its first live concert in more than 30 years — a one-night-only show starring Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony winner
John Legend
John Roger Stephens (born December 28, 1978), known professionally as John Legend, is an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. He began his musical career working behind the scenes for other artists, playing piano on Lauryn Hill's " Every ...
accompanied by the
St. Louis Symphony Orchestra
The St. Louis Symphony Orchestra (SLSO) is an American symphony orchestra based in St. Louis, Missouri. Founded in 1880 by Joseph Otten as the St. Louis Choral Society, the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra is the second-oldest professional symphony or ...
. “We have been eager but deliberate in recent years about finding the right opportunity to bring live concerts back to The Muny, and the alignment of John Legend with one of the best orchestras in the world, the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra, feels like the perfect opening for this next chapter,” said Muny President & CEO Kwofe Coleman. “Generations of St. Louisans have memories of seeing legendary music acts on our magnificent stage, and I am excited to deliver this bit of nostalgia to our community at the end of our 2024 summer season.”
See also
*
List of The Muny repertory
*
List of contemporary amphitheatres
This is a list of amphitheatres in use today with a capacity of at least 1,000.
Amphitheatres by capacity
See also
* List of concert halls
* List of jazz venues
* List of opera houses
* List of Roman amphitheatres
* Lists of stadiums
Ex ...
References
External links
*
*
Ruth M. Howland Collection (Muny)finding aid at th
St. Louis Public Library
{{DEFAULTSORT:Muny
Theatre companies in Missouri
Theatres in St. Louis
Organizations based in St. Louis
Non-profit organizations based in St. Louis
Amphitheaters in the United States
Outdoor theatres
Tourist attractions in St. Louis
Forest Park (St. Louis)
Theatres completed in 1917
Arts organizations established in 1919
1919 establishments in Missouri
Music venues completed in 1917
Musical theatre companies in the United States