Michael James Reed to Make His Opera Theatre Of St. Louis Debut in THE LIGHT IN THE PIAZZA

The St. Louis theatrical community benefited greatly when Michael James Reed moved to St. Louis 15-years ago. Since arriving here Reed has been one of St. Louis’ hardest working actors and educators. He has starred in countless shows at The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis, The Muny, St. Louis Shakespeare Festival, and St. Louis Actors Studio, just to name a few. He is an adjunct theatre professor at both Webster University’s Sargent Conservatory of Theatre Arts and Washington University teaching classes on auditioning skills, musical theatre acting, and on-camera acting.

His work in the St. Louis theatre community has netted him a whopping nine St. Louis Theater Circle Award nominations. His sole win came for his work in Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream at The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis. His most recent nomination was for his supporting role as Friar Tuck in The Rep’s production of Ken Ludwig’s Sherwood.

Reed has starred in 100 theatre productions and has over 30 television and film credits. He has worked professionally in England, New York, Los Angeles, San Diego, San Francisco, St. Louis, and in other cities across the United States.

He grew up in Bellevue, Washington, just outside of Seattle. By the time he was in high school, his family had moved to Santa Cruz, California, and he started college at U.C. Santa Cruz. “I moved London to go to drama school and lived there for five years, before returning to New York.” Reed continued. “I was in New York for 7 years, before moving to L.A.” After 14 years in Los Angeles, Reed moved to St. Louis for what he described as “family reasons.”

Reed was familiar with St. Louis’ vibrant arts community through his work at The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis in the 1990s. Once he moved here permanently, he continued working at The Rep and found that this market, for its size, offered him more than enough work to keep him busy.

“I am more artistically satisfied working in this city than I have been in my entire career. I don’t get pigeon-holed here,” he says. “St. Louis has given me the opportunity to take on challenging roles and projects.” He calls the amount of work available here for both equity and non-equity actors extraordinary.

Earlier this season Reed starred in A Doll’s House, Part 2 at St. Louis Actor’s Studio. This month he will be making his debut with Opera Theatre of St. Louis (OTSL) as Roy Johnson in The Light in the Piazza opposite Tony Winner Paulo Szot and two-time Tony nominee Kate Baldwin. Following his work at OTSL, both he and Szot will immediately go into rehearsals for South Pacific at The Muny.

Reed has performed in nearly 20 shows at The Muny and will now add the Opera Theatre of St. Louis credit to his resume. While he considers himself a baritone, he jokingly says, “I don’t get hired for my singing.” The character he is playing in The Light in the Piazza is a non-singing role. He said, “Roy is the one character who is not in Italy. He is back home in North Carolina and takes two important phone calls from his wife Margaret.”

“I was exposed to The Light in the Piazza while teaching at Webster,” Reed said. “I had a student who wanted to work on it. We did a shortened 12-minute version of the role they were studying.” Prior to that Reed knew little about the musical. “This is an incredible musical. It is so beautiful and very accessible.”

Reed told Broadway World that he was particularly thrilled to be a part of OTSL’s 2026 Festival Season. “I’m looking forward to all of the shows and cannot wait to see the production of A Streetcar Named Desire,” says Reed. “I love that version of Streetcar.” Last season he directed A Streetcar Named Desire for the Tennessee Williams Festival St. Louis.

When asked why audiences will want to see The Light in the Piazza, Reed responded, “It is one of the best musicals written in the past twenty years. It will be sung by a world-class cast. The score will be played by the renowned St. Louis Symphony orchestra, and audiences will be able to enjoy this show in the intimate space of the Loretto Hilton Theatre.”

The Light in the Piazza opens on Saturday, May 30, 2026, and runs for six performances. The remaining performances are June 4th, 10th, 12th, 20th, and 28th. (Note: The Saturday, June 20th performance is a Matinee.)

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