As our city begins to open back up, a huge announcement came from The Muny, the largest outdoor musical theatre in America, located in Forest Park in St. Louis. MO. For the first time in 102 years, The Muny stage will be empty.

The Muny had previously announced a shortened season due to COVID-19 but were optimistic they would be able to put on a few shows this year. Sadly, The Muny joins the rest of the theatre world as theaters have turned off their lights across our country. Broadway abruptly shut down on March 12 and announced an anticipated January 2021 return. All of the touring productions have been canceled and who knows when or if all of those shows will be rescheduled? And community theatre and summer stock have been cancelled leaving us with a summer void of live shows.

My daughter standing on The Muny stage in May 2018.

Although I was sad to hear about The Muny pulling the curtain on the entire 2020 season, I know they did not make the decision lightly and they are doing what is best for their patrons, performers and employees. Keeping everyone safe has to be first and foremost!

My heart goes out to the entire Muny organization who will suffer revenue loss after recently undergoing a major face lift project that included updates to the stage and backstage areas. I feel for the young performers, some from my daughters dance studio, who were going to be in shows this year. And most of all, I am sad for all of the patrons, including my family of three, who have a history of escaping to The Muny during the summer and making memories that span over multiple generations. As a child my parents took me to The Muny every summer and that is where I fell in love with musical theater! My parents were engaged at The Muny, my husband and I took our engagement photos at The Muny and our daughter attended her first show last summer. A summer without The Muny, with evenings spent under the stars in Forest Park, just won’t feel like …summer!