List of The Muny repertory


, or the Municipal Opera Association of St. Louis, Missouri, in the United States, is a not-for-profit municipally-owned outdoor theatre, the largest in the United States. The Theater was built and opened in 1917 with 6 performances of Verdi's Aida. It operates solely in the summer, and its first official season ran from June to August 1919. In the beginning, it presented the latest operas of the time, calling on local performers and national celebrities alike to perform for a short run of a one to, on occasion, three week run. More recently, however, the Muny has shifted to presenting musicals, some old, some new, and some of the Muny's own creation.
Here follows a list of the many shows that the Muny has presented in its summer seasons, with known dates included. To date, the 1919 season is the only one to hold all new productions. By contrast, the 1946 and 1993 seasons have been the only summers where no new shows were added to the repertory.

Legend

The superscript notes below denote first productions, world premieres, in-season concerts, etc. at the Muny.
Muny Premiere: MP
World Premiere at the Muny: WP
Concert Presentation: C
Ballet/Dance Event: B
Ice Show: I
Original Revue: R

1910s

1919 (Season 1)

Featuring mayor Henry Kiel as King Richard

1920s

1920 (Season 2)

Kalman's Der Zigeunerprimas.
Reinhardt's Die Sprudelfee.
Kalman's Zsuzsi kisasszony.

1923 (Season 5)

This was the first production of the Verdi opera in a complete season. It had been previously performed in 1917 in the newly built amphitheater for the 13th Annual Convention of the St. Louis Advertising Club.

1929 (Season 11)

1930 (Season 12)

Production starring W.C. Fields as Captain Andy.

1931 (Season 13)

Film actor Cary Grant, appearing under his real name Archibald Leach, was a repertory performer during the 1931 season before starting his screen career. In addition to The Street Singer, Grant appeared in Music in May, Nina Rosa, The Three Musketeers, A Wonderful Night, Irene and Rio Rita.

1932 (Season 14)

Production starring Red Skelton.

1939 (Season 21)

1940 (Season 22)

New production for the Muny based on the 1939 MGM film; adapted by Frank Gabrielson.

1947 (Season 29)

Production featuring Marge Champion.

1948 (Season 30)

1950 (Season 32)

Production featuring Margaret Hamilton as the Wicked Witch.

1958 (Season 40)

1960 (Season 42)

This was Martyn Green's first public appearance since his accident in 1959 which resulted in the amputation of one of his legs.

1961 (Season 43)

This was not the 1946 Cole Porter musical as previously identified here, but a musical version of Jules Verne's story with music by Sammy Fain.

1963 (Season 45)

Brooks and Watson were late substitutes for the originally cast Jacqueline James and Arlene Fontana.

1964 (Season 46)

This was one of only two shows to be booked for three weeks at the Muny, Camelot the next season being the other. Wynne Miller was a late substitute for the originally cast Barbara Cook.

1965 (Season 47)

No show July 31.
Special Added Attraction: The Royal Ballet, featuring Rudolf Nureyev and Margot Fonteyn
Regular Season continues:
Van Johnson was originally set to star as Dr. Mark Bruckner but dropped out.

1968 (Season 50)

Special Attractions to Celebrate the Muny's 50th Season:
The Regular Season continues:
Constance Towers was cast as the Merry Widow but dropped out shortly before rehearsals.
Featuring 19-year-old Vicki Lawrence as Carrie Pipperidge.
The Broadway production closed for a week to play this special engagement.

1969 (Season 51)

Reorchestrated as a "rock" musical for a "contemporary" sound.

1970s

1970 (Season 52)

Pre-Season Concerts
The Regular Season
No show August 31.
The Broadway production closed for a week to play this engagement.
Perhaps the only time in history the part of Ali Hakim received solo above the title billing.

1971 (Season 53)

Special Preseason Engagement
Regular Season
A week of concerts, July 12–18:
Regular Season continues:
The Broadway production closed for a week for this engagement.

1972 (Season 54)

A week of concerts, not considered part of the regular season.
No show on July 17.
This was the Broadway production which had closed the week before. The week at the Muny preceded engagements in Los Angeles and San Francisco.

1973 (Season 55)

Pre-Season Special
The Regular Season
The Broadway production closed for a week to play this Muny engagement.
Pre-Broadway tour.

1974 (Season 56)

The Broadway production closed for a week to play this engagement.
Pre-Broadway tour.

1975 (Season 57)

This was the only time in its history the Muny presented a nonmusical play.

1976 (Season 58)

Muny Salutes '76, a series of preseason concerts for the Bicentennial of the United States
The Regular Season
Pre-Broadway tryout.

1977 (Season 59)

The Broadway production was scheduled to close for one week for this engagement then return to Broadway. As it turned out, the Broadway show closed the Saturday before the Muny engagement, August 27, 1977.

1978 (Season 60)

National touring company.

1979 (Season 61)

Don Grady, age 35, played Huckleberry Finn.

1980s

1980 (Season 62)

Preseason Special Attraction
Regular Season:
Presented as a pre-Broadway tryout tour, but it never made it to Broadway.

1981 (Season 63)

Pat Suzuki, 23 years earlier the original Broadway Linda Low, was cast here as Madam Liang.
Not, as the title might imply, an evening of Rodgers and Hammerstein, but a concert of opera and operetta scenes and arias, including the entire second act of Die Fledermaus.

1982 (Season 64)

A touring production of Hello, Dolly! was originally scheduled to close the season, but it closed earlier in the summer. The touring A Chorus Line was substituted, thus being presented for two summers in a row.

1983 (Season 65)

This was not the Tchaikovsky ballet, as previously designated here, but a new stage musical version of the classic fairy tale. The score was a kind of mishmash of various things, including some Tchaikovsky, for instance, his Waltz of the Flowers from The Nutcracker.
This was the shortest Muny season since the opening seasons over sixty years earlier. The original intention was to close the season with the touring production of My One and Only, to play the Fox Theater instead of the Muny, but the engagement was cancelled.

1985 (Season 67)

Since 42nd Street closed the previous season and opened this one, it's the only time in Muny history that season ticket holders sat through the same show in consecutive bookings.
The MGM movie classic starred Gene Kelly, Donald O'Connor and Debbie Reynolds, all of whom appeared at the Muny in the 1970s.
In Franco Zeffirelli's production.

1987 (Season 69)

My One and Only was based on the Gershwin musical Funny Face which originally starred Fred Astaire on Broadway in 1927 and in a musical movie of the same name in 1957. This Muny presentation opened the day Fred Astaire died... and it was rained out; a bad day all around.
For the second show in a row, the opening night, which was a sellout, was rained out.

1988 (Season 70)

1990 (Season 72)

Production featuring Jeanne Trevor.

1992 (Season 74)

Production featuring Joel Grey and Gretchen Wyler.

1993 (Season 75)

Production featuring a concert staging of The Merry Widow.

1996 (Season 78)

Adaptation of the fairy tale by executive producer Paul Blake utilizing songs by Sammy Cahn.

1997 (Season 79)

World Premiere adaptation of the 1953 film.
Production featuring original direction and choreography recreated by Mitzi Hamilton.

1998 (Season 80)

Special 80th Season Revue featuring the Radio City Rockettes.
Pre-Broadway tour featuring Cathy Rigby in the title role.
Production featuring Bruce Adler as Bela Zangler, a role he originated in the original Broadway company.

1999 (Season 81)

Revue written by executive producer Paul Blake compiling the many works of British songwriters such as Andrew Lloyd Webber and Lionel Bart.
Production featuring Karen Morrow as Reno Sweeney and Bruce Adler as Moonface Martin.

2000s

2000 (Season 82)

Revue written by executive producer Paul Blake compiling the many works of composer Richard Rodgers.
World Premiere of the stage adaptation of Irving Berlin's classic film, directed and produced by Paul Blake.
Production featuring Michael McGrath as Pseudolus and Bruce Adler as Hysterium.

2001 (Season 83)

World Premiere of the stage adaptation of the film, directed and produced by Paul Blake.
Production featuring Ozzie Smith in the title role.
Revue written by executive producer Paul Blake compiling the many works of songwriters George and Ira Gershwin.

2002 (Season 84)

Production with original direction and choreography recreated by Mitzi Hamilton.
Revue written by executive producer Paul Blake compiling songs from numerous films.
Production featuring Michael McGrath as J. Pierrepont Finch and Karen Morrow as Smitty.
Production directed by Thommie Walsh and choreographed by Liza Gennaro.
Production featuring Nat Chandler as Lancelot, Kim Crosby as Guenevere, and Joneal Joplin as Merlyn.
Production featuring Eric Kunze as Joseph and Judy McLane as the Narrator.

2003 (Season 85)

2010 (Season 92)

Instead of the usual Monday-Sunday run, The Little Mermaid ran from Wednesday through Thursday of the following week.

2012 (Season 94)

When Chicago was presented in 1977, it was the Broadway production which had just closed in New York. This production was billed as the "Muny production premiere."
Instead of the normal Monday-Sunday run, Aladdin ran from Thursday through Friday of the following week. This was only the third production of the stage version of Aladdin anywhere in the world.
A version of Gilbert and Sullivan's The Pirates of Penzance.

2013 (Season 95)

Instead of the usual Monday-Sunday run, Mary Poppins ran from Thursday to Friday of the following week.

2014 (Season 96)

Eight nights, Wednesday through Wednesday.
Tuesday through Monday.
Nine nights, Thursday through Friday.

2015 (Season 97)

This one-night-only production had a cast of 100, with special performances by show business legends Chita Rivera and Tommy Tune, along with Broadway and Muny stars Patrick Cassidy, Ken Page, Jenny Powers, Lara Teeter and Graham Rowat. Co-Hosted by Tony® and Grammy® Award-winning artist Heather Headley and Tony®, Emmy® and Golden Globe® Award-nominated artist Matthew Morrison, "An Evening with the Stars" was uniquely created for this historic birthday and it celebrated the rich and diverse history of musical theatre at The Muny over the past century.
The Regular Season