(St. Louis) Muny announces most of ‘09 season

[deadparrot]

Posted: 11/17/08 at 11:05pm

It looks like a squeaky-clean season for the Muny in ‘09, with six productions skedded that aren’t just family-friendly, they’re Osmond-family friendly.

“Meet Me in St. Louis,” “42nd Street,” “The Music Man,” “Godspell,” “Camelot” and “Annie” will be presented. The order hasn’t been decided yet, and neither has the 7th show.

http://www.stltoday.com/blogzone/culture-club/uncategorized/2008/11/muny-announces-most-of-09-season/

[CATSNYrevival]

Posted: 11/17/08 at 11:13pm

I don't consider Godspell or Camelot to be entirely family friendly, but I guess it depends on how they're staged.

[jake6970]

Posted: 11/17/08 at 11:15pm

What a boring season.

[NGD2225]

Posted: 11/17/08 at 11:30pm

Are these tours or local??

[jam_man]

Posted: 11/17/08 at 11:42pm

Four of those shows were done exactly five years ago. Then again, that's kind of what they do - recycle the same four or five shows every four or five years. Damn you, Paul Blake!

And NGD, with very few exceptions, The Muny is local.

I guess I can - once again - hope against hope that the seventh show is Ragtime. *sigh*

[Byron Abens]

Posted: 11/17/08 at 11:48pm

I must say I'm kind of surprised that Ragtime has not worked its way into the Muny rotation yet. I would love to hear it there, just the sheer numbers they would be able to put into the chorus would be astounding, not to mention that they are committed to performing with full, original orchestrations/no downsizing in their pit.

[inlovewithjerryherman]

Posted: 11/18/08 at 1:18am

That is a fairly boring season.

this is sort of off topic - i know it's easy to produce, but do people really go to see Godspell anymore?

the 7th show is probably a newer MTI show that tells you when you can/can't announce what the show is, so it's probably Les Mis, Hairspray, The Producers, or the Wedding Singer.

[jam_man]

Posted: 11/18/08 at 1:32am

Well, this past summer included The Producers, and the summer before had Les Miz.

Hairspray doesn't seem too far fetched, though. I might see it if that were the case.

[broadwayfan7]

Posted: 11/18/08 at 8:04am

I sure hope the seventh show is a newer one.

[Kaybee]

Posted: 11/18/08 at 11:57pm

my money's on Hairspray being the 7th for this season...

[kelzama]

Posted: 11/19/08 at 10:26am

In the face of tough economic times, it reads like a nice, safe, ticket-selling season.

[Phyllis Rogers Stone]

Posted: 11/19/08 at 10:29am

Well, even in booming times the Muny doesn't really take any risks.

[nmartin]

Posted: 11/19/08 at 10:42am

Phyllis, that avatar is hysterical.

[dapperchapper]

Posted: 3/28/09 at 3:31pm

Some of you don't seem to understand The Muny's main audience. A lot of St. Louis families with season tickets LIKE seeing the same shows every 5 years. The Muny not only introduces these shows to a new generation each time they perform them, they also are able to please their older season ticket holders who like seeing their favorite shows. I know my grandparents skipped High School Musical and The Producers last season. There favorite was Fiddler, which they have seen at The Muny god knows how many times!

How can you bash the muny for performing certain show that SELL TICKETS on a rotation? Clearly, they picked those 6 shows because they know they will sell tickets. I mean, they have 10,000 tickets to sell and they need to stay open. They have figured out a pretty bullet proof system. They always manage to produce at least one new show, along with shows that they have produced in the past that they know will sell tickets. The Muny does take some risks and does like to mix it up when they can(Chicago, Cabaret). In the past few years they have performed The Producers, Les Miz, Miss Saigon, Cats, High School Musical, and now Hairspray.... What other new shows could they produce and manage to make a profit from when they have to sell 10,000 seats in St. Louis?? (No offense to anyone from St. Louis) I agree that Ragtime would be wonderful at the Muny and I would LOVE to see it on that stage, but would they be able to make a profit off of it? It doesn't have enough name recognition, at least not in St. Louis.

So jam man, instead of saying "Damn you, Paul Blake!" As you seem to be from St. Louis, I think you should be thanking him for keeping something like The Muny which is so unique and a St. Louis landmark open and in business. There is nothing like The Muny. I haven't lived in St. Louis since college, but I always try to come in town each summer to see a show.

[Byron Abens]

Posted: 3/29/09 at 12:43am

I think Ragtime would sell very well at the Muny, of only because they could easily throw the Muny Kids and Teens into the ensemble. Those kids sell a lot of tickets, just with family and friends coming to see them.

And I would disagree about St. Louis audiences being unwilling to try something new. Take Stages for example. The past few years their best selling shows have been their more "contemporary" productions, i.e. Footloose (2005), Grease (2006), Full Monty (2007), and Joseph (200. Yes, they have a much smaller space to fill, but their subscriber base is not that much different from the Muny's in terms of demographics.

I will add that while Paul Blake does plan relatively "safe" seasons, he knows what he's doing and you can't fault him for that. He keeps a lot of people employed and in these times that is a damn good thing. Plus, as I stated in my previous post, I greatly admire the Muny's dedication to using the full original orchestrations. You will never hear a reduced orchestra there.

[jejr]

Posted: 3/29/09 at 11:30am

Have they ever done "Titanic" that would seem a natural for that stage. It's a good show that might appeal to all age groups.

[dapperchapper]

Posted: 3/29/09 at 6:04pm

They haven't done Titanic, but I agree it would work well on that stage.

And I wasn't saying that St. Louis audiences aren't open to new shows. They clearly are, as Stages and The Muny has proven in the past. The Muny has done contemporary shows such as The Producers, Joseph, Chicago, Cabaret, Joseph, High School Musical. I was just saying that there aren't many other new shows that would be family appropriate and make a profit at The Muny.

[dg22894]

Posted: 3/29/09 at 6:31pm

I hope a new show maybe Xanadu or 13.