After a recent visit to the MUNY offices, I realized how amazing it would have been to witness firsthand all of the comings and goings there over the last 100 years. Imagine getting up-close and personal with the likes of W.C. Fields, John Travolta and Cher. Or meeting Gene Kelly, Cary Grant and Red Skelton. How about watching A-list athletes like Joe Namath and Ozzie Smith sing and dance on stage? And who knew that Betty Grable was one of the first Muny Kids?
The Muny president and CEO Denny Reagan has been there 50 years, and he insists that despite all of the star power, it’s really the audience that has shaped the theater’s century of success. “Six generations of St. Louisans have supported The Muny; it’s that generational aspect that sustains us,” he says. If you’ve ever known a family that includes those coveted box seats in their wills, you understand what he means. But it hasn’t been a one-way street by far. The Muny also supports St. Louis. For one thing, it donates 100,000 tickets a year. “That represents 25 percent of the people who come to see a show,” Reagan points out. Many of these seats are distributed through 130 social service agencies, and others go to the folks lining up for free tickets given out at 7 p.m. each evening.
Reagan has accumulated a wealth of show biz memories, including from his second season when he was assigned to help Ozzie and Harriet Nelson, who were appearing in State Fair. “They were superstars to a 16-year-old me,” he says of the 1950s radio and TV icons. In photographs lining The Muny walls, you can make out many others: Vincent Price, Angela Lansbury, Sonny and Cher, Jim Nabors, Cathy Rigby, Liza Minnelli—so many that you wonder if there were any stars who didn’t appear at The Muny?
Yet there are some surprises. Mary Travers (of Peter, Paul and Mary) once starred in South Pacific. Sarah Jessica Parker was Brigitta to Shirley Jones’ Maria in The Sound of Music, and Joe Namath appeared as Lil’ Abner. Many other celebrities got their start as Muny Kids, including Chicago Med heartthrob Colin Donnell, Broadway performer Spencer Jones, Missouri State Rep. Peter Merideth, opera singer Julia Bullock and NPR correspondent Daniel Estrin.
So the 100th season opener needed to be extra-special, Reagan says, and it will be: Jerome Robbins’ Broadway. “It’s a musical anthology and choreographic coup—every role is a principal one,” Reagan notes. Plus, due to its scope and expense, it’s only been produced on Broadway. It’s a feat so extraordinary that The Wall Street Journal called for an interview!
Everyone is invited to be part of the centennial celebration. First, there’s a big gala May 18, with a dedicated show on the outdoor stage. Two days later, he campus will welcome the public for a day of free performances, demonstrations, scene painting, food trucks and more. And in early June, the Missouri History Museum launches the exhibit Muny Memories. Reagan hopes everyone will join in the fun; The Muny is, after all, the people’s theater.