Richard Kind, Taylor Louderman, Beth Leavel, and Paulo Szot Join Season 108 at The Muny

Tony Award nominees Richard Kind and Taylor Louderman and Tony Award winners Beth Leavel and Paulo Szot will star in productions this summer as part of The Muny’s 108th season in Forest Park.

Kind, who makes his Muny debut, will play Edna Turnblad in the season-opening production of Hairspray (June 15-21). Louderman, a St. Louisan and native of Bourbon, Mo., will play Ensign Nellie Forbush in Rodgers & Hammerstein’s South Pacific (July 6-12). Szot, who made his Muny debut last summer in Evita, will star opposite her as Emile de Becque. And longtime Muny favorite Leavel returns after eight years to play Katie Connelly in Meet Me In St. Louis (Aug. 6-13).

The four actors teased their upcoming roles in videos shared as part of World Theatre Week at The Muny, March 27 (World Theatre Day) through April 3 (the birthday of Muny founder Margaret Anglin). 

“Bringing together new and old friends is at the heart of what makes The Muny so special, and we’re thrilled to welcome these four incredible artists to our stage,” said Muny Artistic Director & Executive Producer Mike Isaacson. “I can’t wait for our audience to see who else is meeting us in St. Louis this summer.”

Hairspray

Richard Kind (Edna Turnblad) Broadway: The Big Knife (Drama Desk Award, supporting actor; Tony nomination, featured actor in a play); The Producers (Broadway, Hollywood Bowl, West End); Dirty Rotten Scoundrels ; Sly Fox; The Tale of the Allergist’s Wife; Kiss Me, Kate; All In. Regional: Sondheim’s Bounce (Goodman Theatre, Kennedy Center); Candide (New York City Opera at Lincoln Center); Once in a Lifetime (Guthrie Theatre); Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead, The Front Page (Williamstown Theatre Festival); Power Failure (Actors Studio Free Theatre Co.); The Seagull (Matrix Theatre); The Second City in Chicago, New York and Los Angeles; 12 Angry Men; Enemy of the People. Film: Argo, Inside Out, Hereafter, Beau Is Afraid, Bombshell, A Serious Man, The Visitor, Cars, The Station Agent, A Bug’s Life, Mr. Saturday Night , Clifford, Stargate. TV (series regular): East New York, The Watcher, Red Oaks, Luck, Spin City, Mad About You, Big Mouth, Young Sheldon, Curb Your Enthusiasm, The Goldbergs, Brockmire , The Other Two, Everybody’s Live With John Mulaney, Only Murders in the Building.

The creative team for Hairspray is led by Seth Sklar-Heyn (director), Jesse Robb (choreographer) and Evan Roider (music director/conductor). 

Rodgers & Hammerstein’s South Pacific

Taylor Louderman (Ensign Nellie Forbush) is a Tony-nominated actress, educator and philanthropist, best known for originating the role of Regina George in Broadway’s Mean Girls. She made her Broadway debut leading Bring It On: The Musical and went on to star as Wendy in Peter Pan Live! (NBC) and Lauren in Kinky Boots on Broadway. Favorite Muny credits include Chess (Svetlana Sergievskaya), Aida (Amneris), Grease (Sandy), Hairspray (Amber), Kinky Boots (Lauren) and Muny Teens. Her TV credits include series regulars on NBC’s Kenan and Nick Jr.’s Sunny Day, as well as roles on The Good Fight (CBS), Evil (CBS), The Loudest Voice (Showtime) and High Maintenance (HBO). Beyond performing, Taylor co-wrote a teen musical, Pitch In, now being performed in middle schools nationwide, and founded the nonprofit Write Out Loud Project, which supports emerging musical theatre songwriters. She is a proud St. Louisan and arts advocate!

Paulo Szot (Emile de Becque) received Tony, Drama Desk, Outer Critics Circle and Theatre World Awards for his Broadway debut in South Pacific at the Lincoln Center Theater and an Olivier nomination for the same production at the Barbican, London. He was born in São Paulo and studied at the Jagiellonian University in Kraków, Poland. Other work in musical theatre: My Fair Lady , Candide, Chicago (Sao Paulo); Evita (Sydney, Melbourne, The Muny); Chicago, & Juliet and Hadestown (Broadway); Here We Are at Royal National Theatre (London). Opera: 10 seasons with the Metropolitan Opera; collaborations with La Scala, Paris Opera, Teatro Real (Madrid), Bayerische Staatsoper, Canadian Opera, Washington Opera, San Francisco Opera, Opera di Roma, Opéra de Bordeaux and Opéra de Marseille. Concerts: multiple collaborations with Chicago Symphony, New York Philharmonic, New York Pops, American Pops, OSES, Barcelona Symphony and Philadelphia Orchestra. Albums include Jardim Noturno and Broadway cast recordings of South Pacific and & Juliet.

The creative team for Rodgers & Hammerstein’s South Pacific is led by William Carlos Angulo (director), Karla Puno Garcia (choreographer) and Roberto Sinha (music director/conductor).

Meet Me In St. Louis

Beth Leavel (Katie Connelly) most recently was seen on Broadway in Stephen Sondheim’s Old Friends. She was nominated for 2019 Tony, Drama Desk, Drama League and Outer Critics Circle awards for her performance in the critically acclaimed Broadway show The Prom. She received Tony, Drama Desk, Outer Critics Circle and LA Drama Critics awards for her performance as the title character in The Drowsy Chaperone. Beth also received Tony, Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle nominations for her role as Florence Greenberg in Baby It’s You. Other Broadway roles include The Baroness in Lempicka, Mrs. June Adams in Bandstand, Emily in Elf, Donna in Mamma Mia!, Frau Blucher in Young Frankenstein, Dorothy Brock in the revival of 42nd Street, Tess in the original company of Crazy For You, Mrs. Bixby in The Civil War, Ellie in Hal Prince’s Showboat and Anytime Annie (her Broadway debut) in 42nd Street. Previous Muny productions include Gypsy; Oklahoma!; Hello, Dolly!; Nunsense: Muny Style!; Thoroughly Modern Millie; Annie; Mame; 42nd Street; and Grease. She has numerous off-Broadway, regional theatre, commercial and TV credits, including the final episode of ER and The Walking Dead.

The creative team for Meet Me In St. Louis is led by Maggie Burrows (director), Sarah Meahl (choreographer) and Paul Byssainthe Jr. (music director/conductor).