James Lindhorst

Stages St. Louis opened their 40th Anniversary season with one of the most adorable and wittiest ensemble theater pieces written in the past 25-years. The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee is the award winning, silly, and relatable musical comedy about a group of quirky middle schoolers competing to win a trip to a national spelling bee competition. Stages St. Louis frolicsome production of The 25th Annual Spelling Bee is gleefully irreverent carefree fun. Directors RonnGibbs and Gayle Holsman Seay capture the script’s humor and the heart that is carefully tucked behind the comedic playfulness.

Wild Nights is inspired ridiculousness. It’s a fun romp of giddy, screaming, giggling teenage girls executing what they believe is the perfect sleepover. The directors and actors tap into this ensemble’s fearless ability to be comedically vulnerable and do what ever it takes to earn the audience’s laughs.

The stars of Broadway will shine this summer at Blue Strawberry Showroom and Lounge. Katy Geraghty, Tony Winner Paulo Szot, Elizabeth Teeter, and Tony Winner Matt Doyle will bring their solo shows to intimate midtown cabaret club.

One can always count on an outstanding show from the St. Louis Shakespeare Festival team. This production of The Tempest is a beautifully staged and technically superior production with crisp direction, incandescent portrayals, keen stage direction, luxuriantly tailored costumes, and vibrant technical design.

When The Muny opens their production of Hairspray on June 15, 2026, the legendary Richard Kind will don Edna Turnblad’s housecoat and step into her fuzzy house slippers. Kind, star of stage, screen and film, calls it bucket list moments to get to perform at The Muny and play Edna all at the same time.

Michael Baxter’s work will shine on The Muny stage during all 50 performances this summer. He led the efforts and had a hand in hiring every one of the 194 actors who will fill the principal and ensemble roles.

Michael James 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.

The Black Rep’s production shows why Fat Ham was a hot ticket both on and off Broadway. Ijames hilarious script takes on socially relevant topics in his updated retelling of Hamlet. Geovonday Jones sharp direction and the cast’s dynamic comedic portrayals make this a show that cannot be missed

When Hairspray opens the Muny’s 108th season, Katy Geraghty will don Tracy Turnblad’s bow adorned bouffant wig for the 5th time in her acting career. The scene stealing Geraghty turned in memorably hilarious performances at The Muny as Mary Patrick in Sister Act and as Bridget in Bring it On over the past two seasons.

When The Pirates of Penzance opens Opera Theater of St. Louis’ 51st season on May 23, Robert Mellon will step into the boots of Major-General Stanley. The comedic baritone role in the Gilbert and Sullivan operetta is best known for singing the rapid-fire song “I am the very model of a modern Major-General.”

John Tartaglia promises that this new production will be refreshed and unlike any other production of Shrek that audiences may have seen before. He told Broadway World, “I’ve learned a lot directing nine other shows at The Muny. The theater has grown, and the technology and capabilities have changed. It is a much different theater than it was when I directed Shrek the first time.”

In her first season as the new artistic director at Opera Theatre of St. Louis (OTSL), Patricia Racette has programmed a festival season that holds something for everyone. Three of the four Operas being presented are written in English. Two, Gilbert & Sullivan’s The Pirates of Penzance and The Light in the Piazza, are from the canon of the American Musical Theatre. The other two, A Streetcar Named Desire and Romeo and Juliet, are well known dramas. If you’ve never seen an Opera, this is the season to take in a show at OTSL.

St. Louis is at the center of one of the most hotly contested races at this year’s Tony Awards. The producing teams of Ragtime and CATS: The Jellicle Ball have ties to St. Louis, and both are nominated for Best Revival of a Musical. Stages St. Louis founder Jack Lane is a co-producer of Ragtime. Mike Bosner, a John Borroughs High School alum and former associate producer at The Muny is the lead producer on CATS: The Jellicle Ball.

The Tennessee Williams Festival St. Louis has announced their mainstage production for their 11th annual festival. The St. Louis Premiere of Brandon Jacobs-Jenkin’s Pulitzer and Tony Award winning play Appropriate will headline the festival dubbed as “The Tennessee Effect.”

In ceremonies held Sunday at the Missouri History Museum, artist, theater creator, and social activist Joan Lipkin was presented with the Margo Jones Medal.

This production of Fiddler on the Roof is a triumph! It is fresh, exciting, engaging, entertaining, and unlike any other seen. Caleb Long and Colin Healy have created a transformative piece of theater. It has a slight contemporary sound while staying true to the source material. Long inspires affecting performances from his actors and musicians.

Stages St. Louis has announced full casting for their season opening production of The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee. The ensemble, comprised entirely of actors who call St. Louis home, includes multiple St. Louis Theater Circle Award winners.

Director Kathryn Bentley has built an infectious production of Colin McLaughlin and Ryan Marquez’s new groove heavy musical. She inspired and evoked vibrant performances from a high-octane cast who enthrall the audience with lively storytelling. Bentley delivers Eleventh Hour Radio’s ‘save the world’ message by entertaining instead of preachy bludgeoning. Eleventh Hour Radio is a head nodding, toe-tapping, irresistible bop. It is simply a fun time

Rebekah Scallet has once again brought St. Louis audiences a newer work to the NJT Wool Studio Stage with resounding success. Her production of Prayer for the French Republic is a gripping story with cataclysmic force. The Salomon and Benhamou Families face paralyzing fear steeped in the long history of Jewish persecution expertly captured by a gifted powerhouse acting ensemble. This deeply gripping and devastating production leaves the audience filled with empathetic catharsis.

World renowned opera singer and Tony Award winner Paulo Szot will be spending a lot of time in St. Louis this summer. Szot will make his Opera Theatre of St. Louis (OTSL) debut in The Light in the Piazza and reprise his Tony winning role as Emile de Beque in South Pacific at The Muny.