No matter your theatrical preference, St. Louis is your spot for arts entertainment all summer long. There's Circus Flora returning to the Big Top in Grand Center with its humane, family friendly one-ring circus; the Midnight Company continuing its exploration of narrative cabaret shows at the Blue Strawberry; Tesseract Theatre Company hosting a new play festival and a production ofKinky Boots featuring Tiélere Cheatem, and New Jewish Theatre closing out its season with Gloria: A Life featuring Kristen De Broux as the iconic feminist Gloria Steinem.
If you think that's a lot of theater, you're not wrong, and that's not even the entire list. In recognition of how much art is out there, we've picked a few summer favorites to dig into a little deeper.
St. Louis Shakespeare Festival
There's nothing quite like enjoying Shakespeare under the stars, and the St. Louis Shakespeare Festival (6604 Fine Arts Drive, 314-531-9800, stlshakes.org) is pulling out all the stops for its production of Twelfth Night, one of Shakespeare's greatest comedies, which will run May 31 through June 25. The fast-moving, delightfully funny play, directed by Lisa Portes, features something for everyone — disguises, mistaken identities, comic pratfalls and, naturally, an enticing if occasionally misdirected love story.
Show up early to reserve your spot on the lawn in Shakespeare Glen and then explore the Saint Louis Art Museum or Missouri History Museum or take a walk before the show. If you don't feel like packing a picnic, the festival offers a variety of food and beverage options.
The production is family and kid friendly, and Producing Artistic Director Tom Ridgely adds that the music is really special this year. "There's a live local Latin band onstage, Clave Sol. And David Molina's adding incredible beats and textures. Esteban Cruz who plays Feste is like the sonero — a lead singer — and [they are] an unbelievable performer. I'm telling you," Ridgely says. "Shakespeare has never sounded so cool."
The Muny in Forest Park
The Municipal Opera Theater of St. Louis, known as The Muny(1 Theatre Drive, 314-361-1900, muny.org) presents its 105th season. This year there's a mix of favorite stories, including Beauty and the Beast,West Side Story, Little Shop of Horrors and Sister Act. There are also Muny premiers of Beautiful: The Carole King Musical, Chess and the perennial pop-culture favorite Rent.
STAGES St. Louis
The creative team at STAGES St. Louis(210 East Monroe Avenue, Kirkwood; 314-821-2407, stagesstlouis.org) is mixing things up, and fans of comedy and suspense are going to love this season's twist. In addition to the popular and well-received musicals Aida and Million Dollar Quartet, the company is producing the stage version of the family friendly hit 1985 movie Clue as the middle show this season, which runs from June 2 through October 8.
If you want to make a day of your trip to Kirkwood, plan a visit to walk through the award-winning Laumeier Sculpture Park just a couple miles away; pick up some fresh produce from the Kirkwood Farmers' Market or stroll over to Andy's Frozen Custard for a post-show treat.
Opera Theatre St. Louis and Union Avenue Opera
If you're in the mood for expansive scores and octave-spanning arias, St. Louis is still the place to be, with two professional opera companies taking the stage this summer.
Pack a picnic or order a boxed dinner, and arrive early on opening night to enjoy the preshow festivities at Opera Theatre of St. Louis (130 Edgar Road, Webster Groves; 314-961-0644, experienceopera.org), then head inside the Loretto-Hilton for gorgeous interpretations of Scott Joplin's Treemonisha, Tosca, Così fan tutte and Susannah in performance from May 20 through June 25. You may also want to mark June 20 on your calendar for the company's Center Stage concert.
Union Avenue Opera (733 North Union Boulevard, 314-361-2881, unionavenueopera.org) presents three compelling operas during its season, which runs Friday and Saturday from July 7 through August 26. One of St. Louis' favorite divas, Christina Brewer, is featured in the season opener Turn of the Screw, followed by Donizetti's Don Pasquale and the moving Ragtime.
St. Lou Fringe Festival
As the summer winds down, the 12th annualSt. Lou Fringe Festival (Grand Center, stlfringe.org) heats up from August 14 to 20. Executive Director Matthew Kerns notes, "For the 12th year in a row, our St. Louis independent arts community has come out in force with amazing stories to tell! STLFringe Fest '23 features theater, solo performance, musical theater, opera, music, poetry, puppetry, dance, burlesque, belly dancing, and even a witch reading tarot cards."
The lineup includes a reprise of The Oreo Complex, last year's festival-winning piece by Lillian C. Brown and the family friendly headline show Bare: A Pop Opera, which is a coming-of-age story presented by Gateway Center for the Performing Arts. In between shows, you can pop into one of the many bars and restaurants in Grand Center, plus the Pulitzer and Contemporary museums are just around the corner. Travel a bit further east and check out Citygarden, the unique sculpture park in the center of downtown, or take a quick trip to the top of the Arch for an unforgettable view. —Tina Farmer
And Don’t Forget These Summer Arts Offerings
If that’s not enough, here are a few more ways to keep your summer filled with art — all of them indoors for those who like their summer with a blast of A/C
Have dinner and a show at the Blue Strawberry (364 N. Boyle Avenue, 314-256-1745). The place to be for arts lovers these days is Jim Dolan’s cabaret in the Central West End, and unlike many venues around town, this one doesn’t go dark in the summer. From local actress Kelly Howe’s ongoing triumph as Linda Ronstadt in Just One Look (yes, they again extended the run of this smash hit two-person musical) to gospel, twang, folk and jazz, there’s something for everyone on this intimate stage. Come when the doors open to order dinner before the show, and then sit back and enjoy the music while servers keep you hydrated. Full schedule at bluestrawberrystl.com/music.
Catch a one-night-only symphony sensation. Yes, the St. Louis Symphony will be on its usual summer hiatus, but it’s back for a one-night-only collab with Natalie Merchant at Stifel Theatre (1400 Market Street) on June 22. (Details at slso.org.) Miss this one, and it’ll be a long wait until the September concert in Forest Park that traditionally kicks off the symphony’s season. Get your culture in while you can.
Visit to the Tennessee Williams Festival St. Louis. Paying tribute to the native son inspired by and irritated with St. Louis in near-equal measure, St. Louis’ homegrown Tennessee Williams Festival has become a late-summer highlight for local theater lovers, with innovative staging and welcome reintroductions to lesser-known Williams classics. This year, the festival turns its attention to what may be Williams’ most disturbing play (which, let’s face it, is saying a lot), with a new production of Suddenly,
Last Summer debuting at COCA’s Berges Theatre (6880 Washington Avenue, 314-725-6555). On its face, it might not seem as risky a setting as the backside of Williams’ old apartment building (2021’s triumphant The Glass Menagerie) or a circus tent (last summer’s joyful The Rose Tattoo), but Executive Artistic Director Carrie Houk undoubtedly has a trick or two up her sleeve. Even if not, Williams’ 1958 one-act offers us cannibalism, exploitative sex and the threat of a lobotomy — what could be more fun? Production runs from September 7-17; details at twstl.org. —Sarah Fenske
Check out the rest of our guide for having your best St. Louis summer yet.
This story has been updated.
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