If it's not baroque, don't fix it.
St. Louis has an outdoor theater called The Muny and they've put on a series of big musicals for the past ninety summers. The Muny is part of the huge and glorious Forest Park, and the stage is built around trees that act as extra scenery. You can watch the sun set at the same time as you're watching the show. The Muny has a whopping 11,000 seats and almost 1500 of those are free. Paid seats come as cheap as $9 and go as high as about $70. The concession stands offer a treat called the Rocky Mountain, a large vanilla drumstick coated in chocolate and nuts. It's well worth the $3.50, just remember to pack some wet wipes in your purse because a Rocky Mountain is inescapably drippy. But it's a nice way to cool off, along with the two towering fans that blow like hurricanes during admission and after the show. The Muny's been a staple of summer for as long as I've lived, and I can remember seeing Hello Dolly, Annie, The Wizard of Oz (which featured the star casting of Cardinals baseball player Ozzie Smith as the Wizard), Peter Pan, Cats, and How To Succeed In Business Without Really Trying. And last night I added Beauty and the Beast to that list.
The sets were incredible. There was one stage-length painting of the forest that had doors which pushed back to reveal paintings of Belle's cottage and Gaston's pub. The castle set was behind that, and it was just a few walls and a tower with stairs, but they were movable pieces and were turned around and rearranged during every break to look like someplace new. The costumes were elaborate and finely made, although Belle's dad was dressed like a clown. The Beast looked like a Where The Wild Things Are monster in purple Hulk pants and furry raver girl legwarmers. Lumiere's costume was good, but sometimes the French accent went too exaggerated and he would sound like Pierre Escargot. Overall, the acting was strong - the Muny brings in a lot of professionals. It was a great show, but a stage production does lose the majesty of the original Disney movie.
This was the opening show, and I'll probably be back at the Muny before summer's over. I went with my friend Annie, and she wants to see Sound of Music next. Mom and I may go see Damn Yankees or Footloose.
The sets were incredible. There was one stage-length painting of the forest that had doors which pushed back to reveal paintings of Belle's cottage and Gaston's pub. The castle set was behind that, and it was just a few walls and a tower with stairs, but they were movable pieces and were turned around and rearranged during every break to look like someplace new. The costumes were elaborate and finely made, although Belle's dad was dressed like a clown. The Beast looked like a Where The Wild Things Are monster in purple Hulk pants and furry raver girl legwarmers. Lumiere's costume was good, but sometimes the French accent went too exaggerated and he would sound like Pierre Escargot. Overall, the acting was strong - the Muny brings in a lot of professionals. It was a great show, but a stage production does lose the majesty of the original Disney movie.
This was the opening show, and I'll probably be back at the Muny before summer's over. I went with my friend Annie, and she wants to see Sound of Music next. Mom and I may go see Damn Yankees or Footloose.