St. Louis Muny Announces Summer Season

The St. Louis Muny's website reads as follows: "Although many stars have appeared on stage at The Muny, one essential truth has remained about the nation's oldest and largest outdoor theatre; its story is the story of St. Louis - and of St. Louisans. It is about the countless individuals who have contributed their time, money, and talent to make this magical place a truly unique American experience." "Muny" is short for the Municipal Opera Association of St. Louis, founded in 1914. It is the largest, outdoor ampitheatre in the country (seating 11,000 people). It produces seven shows each summer (prepared by a crew of 12 throughout the year.) Each show is given eleven days of rehearsal and a tech run before opening Monday and running through Sunday. This season shapes up as follows: Beauty and the Beast (June 21-27, additional performances through the 30) Titanic (July5-11) Damn Yankees (July 12-18) Cats (July 19-25) The Sound of Music (July 26-August 1) Footloose (August 2-8) Showboat (August 8-15) As an example of the star power on hand, Disney's Beauty and the Beast will be lead by James Clow (Assasins, Company, Wonderful Town) and Sarah Darling (Jersey Boys Nat. Tour), with Ken Page (Cats, Guys and Dolls, The Wiz) as Maurice, Leslie Denniston (Happy New Year, To Grandmother's House We Go) as Mrs. Potts, and Jeb Brown (Grease, Romantic Poetry) as Cogsworth. It's a dream season for a Pirate Queen fan as three members of that cast: Jeff McCarthy (as Rev. Moore in Footloose), William Youmans (as J. Bruce Ismay in Titanic), and Stephanie J. Block (as Grizabella in Cats) make Muny appearances. For a complete list of the announced casts, visit Playbill.com: http://www.playbill.com/news/article/138681-EXCLUSIVE-Muny-Season-to-Feature-Brown-Block-Hewitt-McCarthy-Hoty-Bell-Beach-Page And for tickets, the official website of the Muny: www.muny.com Jess

Billy Elliot in Chicago

Just got back from Chicago and had a fabulous time, even though it was raining and cold and being Chicago. I got to see Billy Elliot at the Oriental Theatre there, and heah are my adventures:

We got into the city, dropped mom at the pizza place, and dad and I set out to find a hard copy of something that Emily Skinner has recorded. Of course her duet albums with Alice Ripley were all out of print, but after an hour of running around, I miraculously found a hard copy of "Side Show." $10 at FYE. Then we had pizza and headed for the theatre.

We got mom situated at the theatre, and dad and I were going to walk over to Borders because the show wasn't starting for another 45 minutes. He goes, "Wait, Jess, we need to find the stage door." I love how trained he is. <3

The show had it's amazing points and... not so amazing points. Amazing points: Dancing. Obviously. The talent of the children in that show is incredible, as is the maturity and professionalism of them to take on and learn those roles, and to perform them everynight. Another thing I loved: the set. It's very economical. The set never changes- parts of it just twist around or exit. Very creative and it creates a world where metaphorical messages are possible through blocking. Not all space and time is literal and chronological throughout the show. Another obvious "amazing" aspect is Elton John's score. It is really beautiful music.

Not so amazing: first of all, sections were almost unintelligible because of the accents. I give the cast- especially the kids- props for being able to do it through the show, but, especially during chorus songs, it's very difficult to understand. Also- Michael, Billy's friend, is a cross dresser. At like... 12. No. And just a pointer- if you're going to make a big deal out of "expressing yourself" do it in a non-ridiculous way, say, leaving out the supersized, dancing wardrobe pieces: dresses, pants, etc.

There were touching moments, unintelligible moments, intense moments, ridiculous moments... quite a mixed bag. I was not thrilled with the ending, however. About half way through act 2 I thought, "Please don't be one of those 'we're not going to solve the problem, just sing a song about banding together and overcoming it in some vague way in the vague future' endings." Of course it was. But overall it was a thoughtful piece of theatre with enormous talent driving it. Dad summed it up: "It was ok. Didn't blow me away like anything we saw in New York." Dear Tonys, 9to5NexttoNormal whathappened? Love, Jessica.

Stage door: The set up was really casual. Most of the kids were just ducking under the "barricade" to get to their parents. Not too many fans. Two mini stories. 1) I was standing, talking with my father, waiting for Emily to come out, and Elijah Barker, who played the "little boy"- couldn't have been more than 6 or 7, came over to us. I didn't see him, so he said (politely), "Excuse me?" And held out his hands for my playbill and sharpie. SO CUTE. 2) Emily came out and totally skipped the "barricade", talking on her cell phone. Well, I had just run around Chicago to find a freaking hard copy of Side Show and was not leaving without it signed. Naturally, I followed her like a fan girl. (No one else recognized her/followed.) I asked her to sign my CD and playbill when she got off the phone. She did quickly and went, "Glad you liked the show, bye!" And ran off before I could ask for a picture. Haha- ah well. We had to get back to mother who had been kicked out of a coffee shop because apparently everything in Chicago closes at around 9 or 10?

Anyway, good trip, good show. Fun stuff.

Latah,

Jess