The Muny

As most of you know, I am not a summer gal. I live for fall, I quite enjoy winter and spring, but summer is a different story. I just get hot SO easily. I can't stand what the heat and humidity does to me. Not to mention the fact that remaining cool necessitates the baring of my pale skin. I think pale skin is lovely, but in the summer mine just feels pasty and ghoulish to me. Combine all of this with the fact that I think I am allergic to wearing a bathing suit, and you can see why summer is not my bag.

However, there are some things about summer that I do enjoy. Summer evenings can be lovely. Fireworks at the 4th are fun. The produce rocks. I get excited every time I see a firefly. There are always lots of festivals and outdoor concerts and activities that don't come around any other time of year. And in St. Louis, there is the Muny.

(FYI: In case my status as a complete and total dork has been questioned in any way, this post should set the record straight.)

The Muny is the country's oldest and largest outdoor theatre. It seats 9,000 and is located in Forest Park. Each summer, the Muny is home to seven full-scale, professional musical productions. When I first heard about an outdoor theatre, I was skeptical of the quality of the shows, but they have rarely disappointed. Full sets, full lighting, professional and talented actors, amazing costumes. . . it's got it all. It's honestly just like seeing a show at the Fox, except it happens to be outside.
Perhaps the coolest thing about the Muny (particularly for post-graduate school social workers like me) is that there are always over 1,500 free seats available. FREE! Each summer, I eagerly anticipate the start of each season, marking the shows (each of which runs for a full week) on my calendar. As soon as the season begins, Dan and I stand in line for the free seats each week with a cooler of drinks and dinner in tow (another fun Muny fact: you can take food in with you). The heat can sometimes be nearly unbearable until the sun goes down, and there is definitely a lot of sweating involved, especially on the bum and back of the legs (eww). But it is always worth it.

Dan and I have already caught "The Producers" and "My Fair Lady." We skipped "High School Musical," but we will definitely be there for "Miss Saigon," "My One and Only," "Fiddler on the Roof," and a review called "90 Years of Muny Magic," celebrating the Muny's 90th season. As a lover of the theatre and the arts, it is so exciting to me to be able to see professional productions for free, particularly since our budget would never allow us to pay to see so many shows. And I love that the free seats make the Muny accessible to so many other people who might otherwise never have a chance to experience the theatre at its best.
Knowing that this is likely our last summer in St. Louis, I am already counting down the remaining productions in my head. The Muny has been a tradition for me and Dan for several years now, and I know it is something I will really miss. For me, it has been the highlight of summer, and I'm going to try to appreciate what I have left to experience. Once we move, I'll still enjoy the produce and the fireflies, but summer will not feel quite the same.