Critic James Lindhorst's Best of St. Louis Theatre in 2025

This past season was the year of the comedy in St. Louis Theater. Companies across the city had audiences laughing all season long with slapstick, farce, and satire. There were some wonderful musical productions that really sang, a few hard hitting dramas, but comedies reigned in both quantity and quality.

The Repertory Theatre of St Louis staged a season for the ages. Kate Bergstrom and Danny Williams' visionary leadership is showing up on the stages in the Loretto-Hilton Center for the Performing Arts. The Rep made a bid to place four shows on this season’s Top 10 list. Their success forced me to rethink how I write my end piece. How could 40-percent of the mentions go to a single theater company?

There were two musicals and a play that I returned to see a second time. All three, Cabaret (New Jewish Theatre), Come From Away (The Muny), and The Cottage (The Rep) are included on this Best of 2025 list.

So, instead of publishing a Top 10 list this year, I’m going to recognize the Best in St. Louis Theater for 2025. “The Best” is still a shortened list of just 13 shows out of the nearly 90 shows I saw this past year. It took weeks of thought and painstaking consideration to decide which productions would be included in my annual list. Here they are. The productions are listed in alphabetical order, not ranked by favorites:

Bring it On - The Muny

Bring It On was a high-flying sensation and the unexpected hit of The Muny Season. Director Dennis Jones, choreographer Jennifer Weber, and cheer consultant Ryan Martin O’Connor gave The Muny audience an athletic and fast-paced production brimming with daring cheerleading stunts and high-octane hip-hop dance. Katy Geraghty’s scene stealing performance as Bridget was comedically brilliant. Broadway World said, “Geraghty has a knack for high-energy hysterics,” and called her Bridget “zany and loveable.” Oh to have been in the audience on that Wednesday evening when composers Lin-Manuel Miranda, Tom Kitt, and lyricist Amanda Green appeared on the stage surprising the cast and the audience.

Cabaret - New Jewish Theatre

Cabaret at New Jewish Theatre was one of the two musicals I saw twice during its run. Broadway World called the Rebekah Scallet directed musical “sobering, gripping, edgy, sexy, and provocative.” Spencer Davis Milford (Emcee), Jane Paradise (Fraulein Schneider), Aaron Fischer (Ernst Ludwig), and Caroline Pillow (Fraulein Fritzie Kost) were standouts. Ellen Isom’s sensually seductive choreography was titillating, and the entire company executed her vision flawlessly. Scallet socked her audience right between the eyes with gasp inducing intensity.

Clyde’s - The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis

Clyde’s is the first of four plays at The Rep that are included on my Best of 2025 list. The Rep’s production of Lynn Nottage’s tough comedy was smart, funny, and thought provoking. Director Josiah Davis inspired gritty performances from his cast of five that included Alfredo Antillon (Rafael), Brendan D. Hickey (Jason), St. Louis Black Rep Founder Ron Himes (Montrellous), Phyllis Yvonne Stickney (Clyde), and Essence Anisa Tyler (Letitia). Clyde’s is a story of redemption and second chances following incarceration. It is a brutally honest comedy that examines the price ex-con’s pay even after their debt to society is settled.

Come From Away – The Muny

When the Muny announced that Come From Away was part of Season 106 many wondered how the intimate story about the kindness of strangers could possibly be staged in that vast space. The answer: very successfully. Director Seth Sklar-Heyn and scenic designer Edward E. Haynes, Jr. shrunk the Muny performance sace to just the center stage turntable. The Muny’s Michael Baxter and his casting associates at The Telsey Office assembled a powerhouse cast of actors, including St. Louis’ Abigail Isom and Zoe Vonder Haar, to play the dual roles of the generous Newfoundlanders and frightened plane passengers. It’s the other musical production I saw twice this season – and I left both performances of Come From Away with a pocketful of tear-soaked tissues.

Daddy Long Legs - Sara Rae Womack Productions

Producer and director Sara Rae Womack staged a delightful little production of Daddy Long Legs. The two character chamber musical starred Lindsey Grojean as a financially needy college student and Aaron Fischer as her anonymous benefactor. Critics said, “Grojean asserts herself as a delicate musical theater ingenue with the voice of a lark.” Grojean did stellar work on stage in 2025, turning in two other memorable performances in Stray Dog Theatre’s The Curious Savage and Superhero. She is a special talent. Fischer cemented his place as a legitimate leading man. He also laid down other remarkable performances in Cabaret at New Jewish Theatre and Superhero at Stray Dog Theatre. Daddy Long Legs made for a lovely evening of theater and Womack’s romantic storytelling exceeded every expectation.

Emma - The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis

Kate Hamill’s delightfully daffy and hilarious adaptation of Jane Austen’s Emma is the second of four productions from The Rep on this list. Director Tracy Brigden and her earnest cast of farceurs frolicked and cavorted to tell the romantic tale of the titular heroine and the dashing Knightley. Featured actor Lize Lewy shined in a breakout comedic role as Emma’s matchmaking project Harriet. Critics called the fourth wall breaking comedy “exuberant, boisterous, and amusing.”

Hamlet - St. Louis Shakespeare Festival

There was nothing rotten about this mainstage production from St. Louis Shakespeare Festival. Broadway World called the mid-century inspired adaption of Shakespeare’s best-known play “jazzy cool,” and said, “the accomplished ensemble was well-rehearsed, fluent in iambic pentameter, conversational, expressive, and emotive.” Actor Michael Khalid Karadsheh’s Hamlet was a sympathetic antihero, Sarah Chalfie’s Ophelia charmed with an affectionate naiveté, and Grayson DeJesus captivated with his stupendous take on Laertes. DeJesus stepped into the role with no notice and only 4-hours of rehearsal time to replace an injured actor. Directed by Michael Sexton on Scott C. Neale’s versatile thrust stage, this modernized version of Hamlet was entertaining for the masses.

La Cage aux Folles – The Muny

The Muny’s grandiose production of La Cage aux Folles was an over-the-top extravaganza but director Marcia Milgrom Dodge never lost sight that the story is about love and family. She is an exquisite storyteller. The Muny sized production featured Richard J. Hinds’ fierce choreography, Bobby Pearce’s colorfully ostentatious costumes, Matthew Buttrey’s richly detailed set, and a 30-piece orchestra. Michael James Scott slayed with an emotional “I Am What I Am” and a rousing “The Best of Times.” Broadway World called it “an epic production.”

 Romeo & Zooliet – St. Louis Shakespeare Festival

The St. Louis Shakespeare Festival collaborated with the St. Louis Zoo to create an enchanting theatrical event. Romeo & Zooliet tells the tale of Shakespeare’s star-crossed lovers using life-size puppets. The family friendly script, penned by Jennifer Joan Thompson, was packed with animal puns and local references woven into the classic scenes from the Shakespearean tragedy. The puppets were created by the renowned Michael Curry Design who also created the puppets for Disney’s The Lion King on Broadway. Critics said Romeo & Zooliet was “wildly enjoyable, comedically brilliant, and fantastical.”

The Beauty Queen of Leenane – Albion Theatre Company

Albion Theatre’s artistic director Robert Ashton is a master storyteller who always wows an audience when he directs a show. This season, Ashton took on Martin McDonagh’s dark and menacing comedy The Beauty Queen of Leenane and the results were bloody brilliant. Teresa Doggett and Heather Matthews were outstanding as a wretched mother and resentful daughter who bicker and battle in a maternal War of the Roses. Ashton captured the brutality and the humor in McDonagh’s acerbic script.

The Brothers Size – The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis

Visionary director Jacqueline Thompson staged an in-the-round gritty production of Tarell Alvin McCraney’s poetic masterpiece. Actors Nic Few, Christian Kitchens, and Donald Jones Jr. gave raw, emotionally charged performances packed with unfiltered honesty. Dance St. Louis’ Kirven Douthit-Boyd’s expressive moment was set to composer Tre’Von Griffith’s original music. Jason M. Lawshee’s lighting design artfully illuminated Thompson and Douthit-Boyd’s deliberate blocking inspired dance.

The Cottage - The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis

The Rep’s production of Sandy Rustin’s The Cottage was a fast, frenetic, frenzied, and funny farce. Director Risa Brainin’s blistering pacing and quick timing created comic chaos. The cast of six turned in outrageously expressive physically comedic performances while keeping up with Rustin’s rapid-fire dialogue. Jordan Coughtry, Jack Dryden, Andrés Enriquez, Jihan Haddad, Andrea San Miguel, and Isa Venere executed the lively blocking with reckless abandon. I saw it twice and The Cottage was just as funny the second time.

The Pavement Kingdom: A Clinic Escort Play – A Chorus of Fools

For the second year in a row one of Courtney Bailey’s new works is included on this list. The Pavement Kingdom is a complex character study that takes on weighty pro-choice topics while disarming the audience with laughter. It was one of the most thought-provoking comedies of the year. Marcy Wiegert starred and turned in a hurricane-like performance as Charon, an enthusiastic and very funny Planned Parenthood Clinic Escort. Directed by Rachel Tibbetts, The Pavement Kingdom is a marvelously written monologue by one of the city’s best playwrights. Following its world premiere in St. Louis, Bailey’s play was the featured centerpiece of the My Body, My Voice benefit on Long Island. Bailey, Tibbetts and Wiegert traveled to New York in October to present Bailey’s work.

Honorable Mentions - The Rest of The Best!

Here are the handful other outstanding productions that I considered for this year’s Best of Theater in St. Louis List:

STAGES St. Louis had a stellar season, and all three shows warranted consideration. Murder for Two was a hilarious two-hander with the versatile Jeremiah Ginn playing piano and 10 murder suspects. The new musical Austen’s Pride glowed with originality and enchanting storytelling. STAGES ended their season with a wonderfully nostalgic production of Beautiful: The Carole King Musical. STAGES St. Louis is a best bet for outstanding theater and guaranteed entertainment.

Union Avenue Opera’s Pagliacci featured high drama, love, infidelity, rage, crimes of passion, and a famous aria. It was the best Opera of 2025. Their production of My Fair Lady was just loverly. The vocals and Teresa Doggett’s costumes were resplendent.

Broadway World called Jacob Juntunen’s new play Professor House gripping psychological drama. The haunting story was a riveting and disturbing look at inescapable, all-consuming grief.

Bryce A. Miller shined in two plays at New Jewish Theatre, the hilarious whodunit Baskerville and the bittersweet generational marital drama The Wanderers. Broadway World called The Wanderers “expertly crafted, immersive, and precise story telling.” Shows at New Jewish Theatre should not be missed.

Finally, Stray Dog Theatre wowed with Aaron Copland’s The Second Hurricane. Director Gary Bell cast outstanding young singers and Music Director John Gerdes impressed with skilled music direction and beautiful orchestrations. The principals and ensemble were rich in vocal talent and supported by an outstanding on-stage orchestra.

PHOTO CREDITS (Left to Right): La Cage aux Folles at the Muny by Emily Santel, The Brothers Size at the Rep byJon Gitchoff, Romeo and Zooliet at St. Louis Shakespeare by Phillip Hammer, The Beauty Queen of Leenane at Albion Theatre by John Lamb, and Cabaret at New Jewish Theater by John Gitchoff

St. Louis Awards - Live Stats

Best Musical - Top 3

1. THE SECOND HURRICANE (Stray Dog Theatre)

11.2% of votes

2. THE PROM (Gateway Center for Performing Arts)

8.6% of votes

3. 9 TO 5 THE MUSICAL (Alton Little Theater)

7% of votes

Vote Now!