‘Hot, big and buggy;' NYT uncovers why Broadway actors spend summers in St. Louis
ST. LOUIS — The New York Times recently uncovered why many of New York's Broadway actors would decide to spend their summer in the humidity and 'oppressive heat' of St. Louis.
The NYT found The Muny had been their reason for escaping to landlocked St. Louis instead of a beach along the coast. The report followed along with the actors as they prepared for The Muny's 107th season beginning on June 16 with 'Bring It On.'
The Muny recently received this year's regional theater Tony Award, and the report noted the theater's 'Broadway-caliber' shows despite a quick turnaround for a lineup of seven shows in just 10 weeks.
Police: Suspect tracked obituaries, stole from dead St. Louis County residents
Jessica Vosk, an actress who has been in various Muny productions, told the NYT that nine times out of 10 when Broadway performers are asked where they want to work over the summer, 'it's always the Muny.'
The report also noted the Muny's staying power in the St. Louis community with its loyal subscriber base.
The Muny received its Tony Award shortly after the May 16 tornado that swept through several miles of St. Louis, including Forest Park. The Muny experienced some of this damage after the storm swept away a preshow stage and caused a tree to fall on one of the concession stands.
The Muny's Tony Award also includes a $25,000 grant, which the NYT reported will be given to other St. Louis theaters and even to help the theater's seasonal employees who fell victim to the tornado.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Miami Herald
5 hours ago
- Miami Herald
Musical ‘Chicago' in its 50th anniversary at the Arsht has Miami stories
Michael Vita remembers when the musical 'Chicago' opened on Broadway. He remembers because he was there as part of the dance ensemble. The former Miami Beach resident was there to see Gwen Verdon as Roxie Hart and Chita Rivera as Velma Kelly. He was there when it premiered at the 42nd Street Theater. He was there when they cut a number from the production, one that would have given him a speaking part. 'I was to play the prosecutor and it was a nice scene with Gwen. It introduced a song that was cut called 'Ten Percent.' It was superfluous so they cut that and they cut my lines going into it.' Needless to say, he was disappointed. Vita was also there in August of 1975 when leading lady Verdon left the show for five weeks for throat surgery and Liza Minnelli became her understudy. 'They announced at the beginning of the show that Gwen Verdon would not be in the performance and the audience did a disappointing 'ooooh.' And then it was announced that the role of Roxy would be played by Liza Minnelli and and when the audience heard that they went wild,' he said. There are 50 years of history in the Broadway musical 'Chicago' and with the Broadway national touring production coming to Miami's Arsht Center, the musical's history, past and present, has Miami connections. Vita, now 84 and a South Floridian who lives at the Court of Palm Aire in Pompano Beach, is proud to have been a part of Broadway history. 'The theater never leaves you,' he said. But 'Chicago' wasn't his first Broadway show. Growing up in the Bronx, he began performing while attending the High School of Performing Arts in New York. 'I was 17 years old, and a friend called to tell me they were auditioning for a new show 'Bye Bye Birdie.' ' 'Birdie' opened on Broadway in 1960 and starred Dick Van Dyke and Rivera, who he would work with again in 'Chicago.' And almost a decade before he'd dance with Verdon in 'Chicago,' he'd be cast in the ensemble of 'Sweet Charity' in 1966, where she was the lead. Vita says in all of his time as a Broadway performer he was a feature player. 'I never wanted to be a star; that was too much pressure.' He left Broadway and the theater at age 50 to 'try something else,' moving to San Francisco to work with AIDS organizations. While in New York, he helped in the creation of the Equity Fights Aids Committee to 'assist and support [Actors' Equity Association] members afflicted with AIDS.' This then became Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS. He's never given up the urge or the love to entertain. 'I do two performances a year in the Fall and in the Spring here at the Court of Palm Aire. I don't sing Broadway showtunes, though, I sing songs that have meaning to me. There are about 125 people that come and it's amazing.' The Miami connection for the original 'Chicago' starts with Vita and comes full circle with Christopher Cline as the final performances of the current national Broadway touring production for the 50th anniversary year concludes at the Adrienne Arsht Center The show opens on Tuesday, June 17 and runs through Sunday, June 22. Cline, a University of Miami graduate, has been with the production for its 2024-25 season of the 50th anniversary tour of the show. Originally from New Jersey, he graduated from University of Miami 'exactly two years ago' with a BFA in musical theater. 'I'm in the ensemble and I also play Sergeant Fogarty and this is my national tour debut.' Just after graduation from UM, he joined the cast of 'Mamma Mia!' on the Royal Caribbean Cruise Line. 'I was on the ship about seven or eight months but worked for Royal Caribbean for a year on land,' he says, adding that Royal Caribbean's studios for rehearsals are on the campus of Florida International University. 'I was happy to be in Miami. There are people from all over the world in those studios. I have friends I've made from just about every country,' says Cline. Being a part of the 50th anniversary tour of 'Chicago' has been an experience for the performer, he says, on many levels. 'There's maybe an additional responsibility and a bit of pressure to really honor the show, but I also remember that I am just a small piece in this large puzzle that was created much before I was even here.' Cline believes that the show is still playing on Broadway because it's 'timeless.' 'There's one moment I hear every night in the show that always kind of makes me chuckle to myself and it's when Roxy and Velma sing, 'In 50 years or so, it's going to change, you know.' And the irony of it is that it's been 50 years and 'Chicago' hasn't' changed. And I think that it will be around for another 50 years; it will resonate with a whole different generation.' If you go: WHAT: 'Chicago' WHEN: 8 p.m., Tuesday, June 17 through Saturday, June 21. 2 p.m. Saturday, June 21 and 1 and 7 p.m. Sunday, June 22. WHERE: Ziff Ballet Opera House at the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts, 1300 Biscayne Blvd., Miami COST: $41 to $182 (includes fees) INFORMATION: (305) 949-6722 and is a nonprofit media source for the arts featuring fresh and original stories by writers dedicated to theater, dance, visual arts, film, music and more. Don't miss a story at
Yahoo
5 hours ago
- Yahoo
Where is Forest Park at in the road to recovery?
ST. LOUIS – It's been nearly a month since a deadly tornado went through St. Louis, leaving widespread destruction from Clayton to north St. Louis. While some progress has been made, there is a long journey ahead–including for Forest Park. During the storm on May 16, it went through the west and north sides of Forest Park, damaging over 4,000 trees, according to the park. 'Repairing and making Forest Park safe again will require a massive, expensive effort,' the park said in a release. Several areas of the park remain closed due to the extensive damage, which include: Trails and paths on or near: Lagoon Drive between Emerson Grand Basin and Picnic Island Skinker and Lindell boulevards St. Francis of Assisi statue, Korean War Memorial, Vandeventer Place Gates near Jewel Box Art Hill's allee of trees Kennedy Forest and boardwalks Cascades waterfall Dennis & Judith Jones Visitor and Education Center Anne O'C. Albrecht Nature Playscape Forest Park officials emphasized their request that visitors stay away from damaged areas, as there may be 'hangers' of large, loose limbs sitting in a tree above. Additionally, guests are asked not to remove any signs, barriers and cones on paths. One of the locations inside Forest Park to sustain damage was also The Muny, which lost many trees throughout the 11.5-acre campus. Communications and Public Relations Manager Gabe Hartwig told FOX 2 that the preshow stage at the west Purina Plaza was destroyed, but the main stage, theatre, and offices remained intact. 'Our Tony Awards Watch Party on Sunday at Ballpark Village also served as an opportunity to support disaster relief efforts across St. Louis. Generous Muny fans brought food items and toiletries for the St. Louis Area Foodbank, and we collected nearly $2,000 in donations for the Urban League of Metropolitan St. Louis,' Hartwig said. As cleanup is still underway, anyone who would like to donate to The Muny can click here. To donate to Forest Park Forever, click here. To volunteer in cleanup efforts throughout the park, click here. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Chicago Tribune
6 hours ago
- Chicago Tribune
Review: ‘Kimberly Akimbo' arrives in Chicago, a moving musical about a teenager facing mortality
At the Tony Awards this year, a delightfully quirky little musical called 'Maybe Happy Ending' beat out big competitors and walked off with the big prize. Although it's about family dynamics rather than robotic romance, 'Kimberly Akimbo,' a similarly small and unusual show that won best musical in 2023, paved its way. Nearly three years after its Broadway bow, the touring version of director Jessica Stone's original production of that Jeanine Tesori tuner has finally reached downtown Chicago. Carolee Carmello, who has graced this city's stage several times with outstanding success in Stephen Sondheim musicals and elsewhere, is on the road in the title role originally played by Victoria Clark. And the rest of the nine-person cast includes at least two long-standing romantic couples, which might explain why much of the cast seems to be so close up there. 'Kimberly Akimbo,' the musical, is based on a play of the same name by David Lindsay-Abaire, which I first reviewed at A Red Orchid Theatre back in 2005, with Roslyn Alexander playing the lead. As Broadway fans will know, the show is about a teenager with progeria, a rare medical condition that causes the human body to age at over four times its normal rate. When she is 16, as she is in this show, Kimberly's appearance suggests a woman in her 60s. And, as logic would suggest, life also blossoms and expires for Kimberly at a far accelerated rate. Most of us, of course, don't know our likelihood of dying early so the play, and thus the musical, with book and lyrics by its original author, allows us to see life through the eyes of someone who knows more than most of its unavoidable brevity and the importance of living in the present, rather than the past or the future. In the musical, Kimberly's schoolmates (played by Grace Capeless, Skye Alyssa Friedman, Darron Hayes and Pierce Wheeler) become a little Greek chorus of show-choir nerds, trying to reconcile their adolescent angst with the problems faced by the young woman aging before their eyes. Kimberly has yet more to deal with, too. Her family is composed of narcissists: a mostly clueless mom, Pattie (Laura Woyasz), an alcoholic dad, Buddy (Jim Hogan) and a whack-a-doodle aunt, Debra (Emily Koch), who interjects a criminal caper plot into the days around Kimberly's Sweet 16 birthday. I greatly enjoyed 'Kimberly Akimbo' on Broadway and this first national tour is in excellent shape. It's never especially helpful to most people to compare performances, but if you were to twist my arm, I'd say that whereas Clark focused intently on achieving the inner life and spirit of a teenager in her portrayal, Carmello leans more into the character's sense of her own mortality. Both takes strike me as legitimate, although they are quite different. Carmello's Kimberly is a little sadder and more careworn, although she certainly also makes the final carpe diem number work quite beautifully and, as her perhaps boyfriend, Seth, Miguel Gil is a true, thoroughly guileless delight. I'm a big Tesori fan. Lyric Opera audiences heard her extraordinarily potent music quite recently in the opera 'Blue,' with the stirring Tazewell Thompson libretto. Although she clearly remembers what it is like to be young and have fun, Tesori's 'Kimberly Akimbo' score makes no easy choices; it focus intently on the show's complex emotional landscape as Kimberly strives to teach those far older than herself, and wishes for that one great adventure we'd all like to have before we go. Review: 'Kimberly Akimbo' (3.5 stars) When: Through June 22 Where: CIBC Theatre, 18 W. Monroe St. Running time: 2 hours, 30 minutes Tickets: $35-$125 at
