The Muny, a venerable outdoor theater in St. Louis that’s now in its 107th season, had a lot to celebrate after it picked up a Tony for regional theater earlier this month — a barbecue, cheerleaders and a surprise appearance by Lin-Manuel Miranda were all part of the festivities.
Listen to this week’s “Stagecraft” podcast below:
Once the actual statuette arrived in St. Louis, the first order of business was that barbecue, said the Muny’s artistic director Mike Isaacson on the latest episode of “Stagecraft,” Variety’s theater podcast. It was a big event for the whole staff: “People brought their families and they could take pictures with [the Tony],” he said. “The sense of connection to it was amazing, and the impact of it has been far deeper than I anticipated.”
Just a week after that Tony win, the first production of the Muny’s jam-packed new season opened, and it was a big, splashy, celebratory affair: “Bring It On,” with a hefty cast that included crackerjack cheerleaders performing impressive stunts. As part of the June 16 opening, the musical’s Broadway creative team — including Lin-Manuel Miranda, Tom Kitt and Amanda Green — visited the Muny and Miranda addressed the crowd and sang the theater’s praises.
Because of the Muny’s accelerated schedule, “Bring It On” has already closed to make way for “Come From Away,” which starts performances June 26. It’ll be the second of seven shows to play the 11,000-seat venue this summer, including “Dear Evan Hansen,” “Frozen” and “Evita.”
On “Stagecraft,” Isaacson described the vibe of a place that puts on so many shows so fast. “It’s like the MGM backlot in the ’40s,” he said. “You walk in and everybody’s working, and you meet everybody at the canteen, and the people who run the canteen know everybody’s names. It’s this beautiful summer camp, but it is also very clear this is a communal effort.”
He also revealed what’s good about each show’s super-fast, 12-day rehearsal period — “I say this lovingly: it eliminates the bullshit” — and explained how the venue’s outdoor air conditioning system works. (Hint: Dubai and whale fins are involved.)
To hear the entire conversation, listen at the link above or download and subscribe to “Stagecraft” on podcast platforms, including Apple Podcasts, Spotify and the Broadway Podcast Network. New episodes of “Stagecraft” are released every other week.
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