The Muny - Forest Park - St. Louis, MO
Posted by: YoSam.
N 38° 38.453 W 090° 16.842
15S E 736674 N 4280434
From June 1917 to today...great Broadway shows outdoors, and and like everything in Forest Park...many seats are FREE.
Waymark Code: WMVM1T
Location: Missouri, United States
Date Posted: 05/02/2017
Views: 4
County of site: St. Louis Independent City
Location of site: Theater Drive & Pagoda Circle, Forest Park, St. Louis
Phone: (314) 361-1900
My daughter and I attend one play (musical) a year at the Muny. It is her birthday present from me. We get to enjoy a great show and each others company for a whole evening. Last year, when I took the photos, we saw Fiddler on the Roof; an excellent rendition.
"The dream of St. Louisans for a permanent outdoor theatre in Forest Park probably dates back to the 1904 World’s Fair. The realization of that dream began in 1916 with plans for an outdoor production of AS YOU LIKE IT by Margaret Anglin’s Shakespearean troupe. And the dream became a reality in 1917 with the construction of the Municipal Theatre for six performances of AIDA, produced for the 13th Annual Convention of Advertising Clubs of the World.
"In 1916, Parks Commissioner Nelson Cunliff, Miss Anglin and Civic League President John Gundlach selected a grassy area between two large oak trees for a June series of performances of Shakespeare’s AS YOU LIKE IT. Shrubs and small trees were cleared from the sloping hillside and a retaining wall built to level the performing area. AS YOU LIKE IT starred Miss Anglin, Robert Mantell and Sidney Greenstreet. The out-of-town professionals were joined by nearly 1,000 St. Louis folk dancers and folk singers in observance of the 300th anniversary of the death of William Shakespeare. Crowds averaged 8,000, reviews were good, and after an opening night rain-out, AS YOU LIKE IT moved into the history books as the first production at the site of today’s Muny." History of the Muny
The pagoda:
"The island in the center of Pagoda Lake was the site of the Park’s first bandstand from 1876, also called the music pagoda. The original pagoda was deemed unsafe and closed in 1911. It was damaged beyond repair by storm, the wreckage burned and was torn down around 1912. It was replaced by the Nathan Frank Bandstand in 1925. Donated by Nathan Frank, the bandstand was designed by Heffensteller, Hirsch and Watson. Pagoda Circle was restored as part of the Forest Park master plan. The landscape, designed by the firm of Oehme van Sweden, was planted by volunteers from the Flora Conservancy." ~ Forest Park Forever