Sorry to disappoint Judy…
Whats wrong with “squeaky clean” or the Osmonds?
Just wondering..

Sorry to disappoint Judy…
Whats wrong with “squeaky clean” or the Osmonds?
Just wondering..

timbo–ever heard of “variety?” A few of the old-school standards is fine, but it’s nice to get some stuff that wasn’t written at the turn of the century and/or doesn;t appeal to everyone from toddlers to grandparents. Some of the best Muny shows in my opinion have been ones like Miss Saigon, The Producers, and…well….that’s about all I can think of right now because usually it’s the same crap year in and year out.

Some of us prefer entertainment with an edge once in a while.

While I’m no fan of the Osmonds, I agree with Timbo. Variety is appreciated, but these days a season full of G rated entertainment is in itself a variety…one not seen very often these days. I’m a youngish guy who takes his kids to the Muny…I won’t pay for them to see “edginess”.

Let me start by saying I thoroughly enjoyed Miss Saigon, High School Musical and The Producers last season. I do hope that The Muny will continue to seek out the best new musicals (Rent, Chicago for openers) in future seasons. But to me, it’s about the total experience and tradition. The Muny is a true STL treasure. Very few metro areas offer a venue like this, where you can stroll through one of the finest parks in the world, have a casual dinner on the grounds with live entertainment, and then settle back in your seat and watch a great Broadway production that includes terrific singing and dancing talent accompanied by a huge professional orchestra. You type-A’s who just want to get in and get out are missing the total experience. The Muny seeks the theater-goers’ input each year for their next year’s schedule and they really do seem to take that into account. I think the best improvements they’ve made in the last ten years (besides the significant improvements to the theater itself, which make it sparkle) have been expanding the Muny Kids and Muny Teens and hiring superior leading artists, rather than aging Hollywood stars. As for the 2009 lineup, the shows are all proven winners and sure to entertain. Sqeuaky-clean…is there something wrong with that? Can’t wait to be there!

I like to see the Muny do some more edgy shows, however, if you remember many of the fans were not happy to have 2 adult shows there last summer (Miss Saigon and The Producers). I think they are trying to keep their main audience happy. I hope that the last show to be announced is a newer show, though.

However, no one does The Music Man or Camelot quite like the Muny.

It would be perfect if some audience members would remember that you should stay through the curtain call, and not leave eary to miss the traffic.

Does anyone realize that this is almost exactly the 04 season? We truly love going to the Muny but it is very frustrating when they repeat shos so frequentlt. We are very disappointed

YES! I can’t wait to see Meet Me In St. Louis! Count me in!

Sounds wonderful.
We saw Meet Me In St. Louis in 2004 but I will be glad to see it again.
Thank you

The ’same old song and dance’ ( pardon the pun). Come on!!!, Annie, for the 127th time!!!?!!!. Obviously, the execs. at The Muny are more concerned with how many children they can cram on that stage, to sell more tickets, rather than bringing shows that haven’t been seen in a long time.
What about ‘Carousel’, or, ‘Chicago’; The overall productions at the Muny, in my opinion, are nothing but pieced together, last minute productions that lack any charm or magic that makes watching a musical special. I guess I shouldn’t be surprised, though, considering the audience. Half of them leave before the show is over, so, they’re not missing anything, they’ve seen it so many times. If St. Louis wants to see quality musical productions, they should head to ‘Stages’. The Muny is nothing more than a ballpark with song and dance. What a shame and waste of a good outdoor venue.

BOOOOOORRRRRRRIIIINNGGGGGGGGG

I don’t mind the clean part so much as the fact that not one of these is anything less than 30 years old. I was hopeful we would see at least one show that is more modern.

I think there should also be Osbourne-family friendly fare.

Wow, talk about really flippin’ boring. Same ole crap, different year. Lame. Lame. Lame.

This is an uninspired line up of shows. It appears that the Muny ‘09 season motto is “Bore Me in St. Louis.”
I cannot subscribe to a season of shows that I have seen several times at the Muny and elsewhere over the last 20 years.
Last season, Miss Saigon and The Producers were shows that made the Muny ‘08 season great. With so many other entertainment options, this year, I may just go to one or two shows unless the 7th show is extra boring.

snooz…

“Whats wrong with “squeaky clean” or the Osmonds?” Boring!!

That being said, I don’t mind some old school shows from time to time but, as others have pointed out, variety is the spice of life.

For those of you looking for edgy stage shows check out our local New Line Theatre:

http://www.newlinetheatre.com/

I’ve seen them do a few different shows, most recently Hair, and they never disappoint.

With the 7th show not decided yet, there’s still hope for my write-in vote of Monty Python’s Spamalot! If they can do The Producers, Spamalot should pass by the ‘censors’. It would certainly spice up the season and I’d go to see it more than one.

I’ve been a season ticket holder for about 15 years now. I’ll be there in 2009 also.

Boringggggggggggggggggggggggggggggg. How many times do long term season ticket holders want to see some of these show. I’m considering not renewing if they can’t do any better than this.

Gee there’s a shock. Aren’t these the same shows they have EVERY YEAR? I predict the 7th show will be (drumroll please) The Wizard of Oz! *rme* Some variety please!

Judy, Judy, Judy…

Your liberal slant is showing through…oh, that’s right, you’re an “objective” journalist….WRONG!!!

If you don’t like the shows offered..DON’T GO!!!

Wasn’t that simple…???

While I really enjoyed Miss Saigon last year, I was sorely disappointed when the theater wasn’t near full…a first for me at the Muny (previous shows included Les Miz, Joseph, South Pacific, Guys & Dolls, & Camelot). If you don’t like the shows, don’t go. I think the Muny does a great job with both edgy fare and family friendly shows, so I’ll go either way. And if you want edgy, go to the Off Ramp series by the Rep, or the Fox usually offers a few edgy shows a year.

lol @ trashing a theater critc as “liberal”. Yeah, can’t we get some conservative theater critics up in here? Get back to me when you find some.

Reruns should be relegated to TV shows in the summer. That’s pretty much why we gave up our season tickets. They let us vote and put on the same lineup every 4-5 years basically. I’m betting show #7 will be “The Muny Salutes Redundancy Again”.

Wow. Annie again? I enjoy all of these shows, but they have been played out at this venue. I hope the 7th show is a better one.

If you take a look at the 2008 line up and compare it to 2009, I can tell you what probably happened: the MUNY had lower attendance and revenue. That, on top of an economic downturn, kept and will keep people away. The MUNY is a business. If you don’t give the majority what they want, you go out of business. They probably looked at the 2004 season and saw that it was very successful and thus the lineup for 2009. Go to your Stages, go to your Rep. They have great shows too, but last year was the first year I didn’t take in even one show at the MUNY because of their lineup. With the 2009 lineup, I might take in all six or seven!

These shows have all been here within the last couple of years, we need
some new shows or at least shows that have not been here for at least 10
years. I will still get my season pass but I an not happy with the selection this year, not that I don’t like these shows but I have seen
them quite a few time since I have been a season ticket holder.

Looking at the show archives, looks like they play Annie every 5 years since 1978. Camelot doesn’t have a regular schedule, but it has played 7 times at the Muny, the last being in 2002. 42nd St has played 5 times, with about 5 years in between each showing. This year is right on target. It has also been 6 years since Godspell played, back in 2003. Meet Me in St. Louis has played 9 times, with the last time being in 2004, but I can understand that being so popular. The Music Man has played 10 times, also with the last time being in 2004.

It appears the Muny will bore long-time loyal subscribers in hopes of attracting new families to their roster. I think that’s foolish since there ARE SO MANY SHOWS THEY COULD DO!!! I went to every show in 2007, but 2008 was not a great season. I was one to leave in the middle of the show (Miss Saigon) not because I had a screaming kid, but because I was bored!

I would appreciate them debuting a major production at the Muny, like in 2007 with Le Miz. I was in Section A for that one, and I am normally a free seater.

How about some socially relevant shows to counter some of this nostalgia!

Going out on a limb here and showing my age, but what ever happened to the Muny bringing in “stars” who appeared in various roles? Even so called ‘D-List” stars appearing in stage productions would be fun. PBS had a great presentation of South Pacific which included Alec Baldwin. It’s amazing to think about Yul Brenner and other note worthy starts who appeared in Muny productions, unfortunately, decades ago.

The Muny’s history does show a pattern however 7 times in 90 years does not seem to often. 5 of the 7 shows last year had never been played at The Muny or had only been there once. The Producers, which is one of my favorite shows and was done by The Muny last year had poor attendance. So for those of you who keep asking for new shows in St. Louis, buy tickets when theatres show them. Certain shows sell here in St. Louis and some don’t. The Fox is doing Sweeny Todd this week and it has not been in St. Louis but I am sure you can call and get a good seat.

I think another side to this issue is novelty. If the Muny wants to put on four or five proven successes, more power to them for keeping a weather eye on their fan base (and on business side of their operation). But do nearly all or all of their shows for the season have to be from the regular rotation list? If family-friendliness is the buzzword this year, try at least a few lesser-known (maybe even more recent) G-rated productions.

Also, remember: it’s the method that’s objective, not the person. Although there isn’t really a method to be heard of here, besides posting the events.

We definitely won’t be getting season tickets this year…. poor choice of shows.

I have no problem with family-friendly or Osmond-family friendly entertainment.

But I am disappointed in this line-up because the Muny has already featured “Meet Me in St. Louis,” “42nd Street,” “The Music Man,” and “Annie” in the last five years.

I think the MUNY has always done “classic” shows and that is their mission. The truth is we’re spoiled here Friends in other cities don’t get to see regular productions of these shows like we do. I often wish they would do them better, but that’s a different issue. As for the comment about Sweeney Todd below, I went last night and the theatre was pretty full. The Fox does both cutting edge stuff (”Spring Awakening” and “Avenue Q”) and more traditional shows (The Rockettes, Cats) and seems to do just fine. Why can’t The Muny mix it up a bit more? Can you imagine how great a FULL production of Sweeney Todd would be on The Muny stage?

I heard its gonna be hairspray. I thought they did one new Muny show each year. (Les Miz, High School Musical…)

The license to Annie has been granted to the Muny for the week of 6/22/2009 to 6/28/2009.
http://www.mtishows.com/show_home.asp?id=000005

Clearly, the Muny is in need of new leadership. I love every single show on the 2009 roster…but I have seen them all before. And not just once, multiple times…and I mean multiple times at the Muny. I live 2 hours away, and used to be a season ticket holder. That stopped a few years ago when this repetitive practice began. There are HUNDREDS of shows that could be presented on that great stage, with a mix of shows that haven’t been presented in years, to fresh-from-Broadway newbies, to the familiar chestnuts that we know and love. But Muny seems intent on repeating the chestnuts.

I echo the sentiments of the other posters who lamented the absence of “stars,” and I also would like to add that it seems the Muny is just “throwing shows on the stage.” By that I mean that there is little if any attention given to direction, and most notably, choreography. Last season’s “My One and Only” did feature a wonderful re-creation of Tommy Tune’s original work, at the other end of the spectrum was “High School Musical” which was so un-choreographed that a 10-year old behind me commented to her parents “this is really lame.” I had to agree. And although I’m not of the 10-year-old demographic - but I’m as big a fan of that show as they are. What a disappointment.

Recent outings of “Mame” and “Hello, Dolly!” were also lackluster in the direction and choreography departments. And this is why not only do I no longer have season tickets, but I only come to -maybe- one or two shows a year.

I make a plea to the directors of the Muny - it’s time for a shakeup. Blow the dust out. As Mame would say, “open a new window.” The Muny needs new directors, choreographers, designers (don’t start me on the pathetic costuming in nearly every show), but most of all it needs a vision and a commitment to quality and variety that comes from those in the administrative level.

Sadly…I’m not hopeful that things will change anytime soon, and I’ll look to spend my entertainment dollars elsewhere.

Judy, Judy, Judy…

Your liberal slant is showing through…oh, that’s right, you’re an “objective” journalist….WRONG!!!

If you don’t like the shows offered..DON’T GO!!!

Wasn’t that simple…???

LMAO–oh this is unintentionally hysterical…yeah…”conservative” critics for Saint Louis live theater…that oughtta bring in the crowds AND give talented unknowns a real shot at success…what can we expect: Rush Limbaugh in “Death of a Salesman?” The Sean Hannity Seussical…Sarah Palin in “Hello, Dolly?” (though Pygmalion would be more appropriate).

The possibilities are endless–again–thanks for the laugh.

I don’t want to sit in the heat for edginess. I need something upbeat and enjoyable. I do enjoy a different sort of musical or play at the Fox but in the “good old summertime” heat of St. Louis, make me happy. Make me smile. Even the music of Camelot is a bit heavy for summer.