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Muny News: Stage Renovation
New Stage Will Highlight Muny’s Season
by Pat Lindsey
With The Muny’s opening night less than a month away, the finishing touches are being put on the completely renovated stage. The Muny gave the media a sneak peek last week to report the progress that is being made to transform The Muny into a state-of-the-art outdoor theatre. Construction workers in hard hats took a lunch break while we went on stage to see where modern Muny magic will happen.
For the past 100 years, the Muny stage had been patched together time and again. The newly renovated stage was necessary to allow Muny staff to provide the highest quality productions possible to delight the more than 400,000 visitors who come there each season. It features a new turntable in the center of the stage floor and tracks for moving scenery on and off the stage. New technology, lighting, ventilation, and a revamped location for the orchestra are among the stage features. Seventy-two air jets will shoot air across the stage, giving the actors some relief from the St. Louis summer heat. The materials from which the stage floor was built were imported from England. At the end of the season, the floor will be folded up and stored to prevent weathering.
The Second Century Capital Campaign has raised $72 million of its $100 million goal, to date. The gifts acquired during the campaign will support the complete rebuild of the Muny stage, extensive renovations to backstage support spaces, assistance for the maintenance and upkeep of the 11.5-acre campus, and the growth of the theatre’s endowment. It will also aid in continuing The Muny’s core mission of providing 1,500 free seats through the Community Access Program.
The second phase of the renovation will begin at the end of this outdoor theatre season. Aesthetic improvements to the towers flanking both sides of the stage will be added. New 35-foot trees will be planted on the stage next March. For more information visit: muny.org.
