August 24th, 2017

[Hester Jean]

@Bookman George mentioned that he volunteers in the Muny Archives and here's a local piece on what they have done and are doing. 

http://www.hectv.org/watch/state-of-the-arts/january-2016/21275/muny-archives-2/

And George is one of the people blowing out the candles, but I'll let you guess which one

[Bookman George]

Thanks, Connie, for posting that video. It was made over a year ago. Since then, we've scanned and identified thousands of photos from shows from the past 100 years. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch has lent us all the photos they have in their morgue, which we have scanned and returned to them, so both the Muny and the newspaper now have digital copies. We have been asking current Muny-goers to submit their memories and memorabilia to add the the rich treasure we have already.

The Missouri History Museum, a wonderful institution that is the Muny's neighbor in Forest Park, is putting together an exhibit on the Muny's first century, which will open next June and run for a year. Should be of interested to anyone who loves musical theater.

The Muny has produced a number of Sondheim shows -- West Side Story being the one that has appeared most often. The most interesting Sondheim connection came in 1972, when the original Broadway production of Follies closed for a week in New York and traveled to St. Louis for seven performances. The sets had to be custom built because the Muny stage is so huge, but otherwise it was the show exactly as seen on Broadway.