Zoe Vonder Haar News

The Muny announced today the cast for its production of Oklahoma! (August 10 -16) directed by Rob Ruggiero, choreographed by Susan Stroman and music directed by Kevin Stites. Ginger Thatcher will restage Ms. Stroman's choreography.

The Muny announced today the complete cast for its production of Alan Jay Lerner (book & lyrics) and Frederick Loewe's (music) classic My Fair Lady. The production will be directed by Marc Bruni, choreographed by Chris Bailey and music directed by Ben Whiteley.

The Muny announced today its complete cast for Stephen Sondheim (music and lyrics) and James Lapine's (book) Into The Woods, playing July 21-27. The production will be directed by Gary Griffin, choreographed by Chris Bailey and music directed by Brad Haak.

STAGES St. Louis has announced casting for its exhilarating 29th season: Smokey Joe's Cafe, Anything Goes, and The Full Monty. This season's exceptional talent voyages through songs and stories of diverse relationships, the bonds of friendship, and strength found in community. STAGES also announces the cast for its Theatre for Young Audiences production, the purrrrr-fect family classic, Disney's The Aristocats. All season and single tickets are on sale now.

Hot off the heels of STAGES St. Louis' record-breaking production of Always... Patsy Cline, STAGES has announced the show and its creative team will head to Montgomery, Alabama as part of the Alabama Shakespeare Festival's 2014 - 2015 Season, Jan. 13 through Feb. 8, 2015.

STAGES St. Louis has announced that the box office sensation, Always... Patsy Cline grossed over $1 Million during its six month run at The Playhouse at Westport Plaza., making up 58% of STAGES 2014 ticket revenue. Always... Patsy Cline was originally produced by STAGES during its record-breaking 2013 Season, which resulted in two added performances and historic attendance. Nightly, the audiences stopped the show with thunderous applause for numbers like 'Crazy,' 'Lovesick Blues,' and 'Your Cheating Heart.'

STAGES St. Louis has announced that the box office sensation, Always... Patsy Cline at The Playhouse at Westport Plaza will continue tonight, September 18th to October 12th.

STAGES St. Louis has announced that the box office sensation, Always... Patsy Cline at The Playhouse at Westport Plaza will continue September 18th to October 12th. The theatre company's momentous production of Always... Patsy Cline will play five performances per week Thursday through Sunday, following a brief two week hiatus. Always... Patsy Cline was originally produced by STAGES during its record-breaking 27th Season, which resulted in two added performances and historic attendance. Nightly, the audiences stopped the show with thunderous applause for numbers like 'Crazy,' 'Lovesick Blues,' and 'Your Cheating Heart.'

On Monday, August 11th STAGES St. Louis hosted Cheers!, a one-night-only cabaret event benefiting the organization's Education and Artistic Programs. This year's theme, Broadway Goes Country, featured some of STAGES' favorite talents including Jacqueline Petroccia and Zoe Vonder Haar (currently playing in the hit production of Always... Patsy Cline). The show also featured cast members, Johmaalya Adelekan and Steve Isom from STAGES current mainstage production How To Succeed In Business..., and former TeamSTAGES members Broadway Actress Taylor Louderman and also Jeff Foster. Under the direction of STAGES Associate Artistic Director Stephen Bourneuf, this sixth annual Cabaret was fun, fresh, and financially successful, breaking all previous records.

STAGES St. Louis has announced that Always... Patsy Cline at The Playhouse at Westport Plaza has recouped all transfer and renovation costs in the first month of performances and will extend performances through Labor Day. The theatre company's momentous production of Always... Patsy Cline will add six additional performances per week through August 31, 2014 to its original production schedule. Always... Patsy Cline was originally produced by STAGES during its record-breaking 27th Season, which resulted in two added performances and historic attendance. Nightly, the audiences stopped the show with thunderous applause for numbers like 'Crazy,' 'Lovesick Blues,' and 'Your Cheating Heart.'

STAGES St. Louis will team up with Ballpark Village for the first time with a FREE, lunchtime concert at The Barn at PBR located inside Ballpark Village Thursday, June 5 at 12:30PM. This exclusive event will feature Jacqueline Petroccia (Patsy Cline) from STAGES' smash hit production, Always...Patsy Cline, now playing at The Playhouse at Westport Plaza. Petroccia will be singing several of Patsy Cline's favorites, including 'I Fall to Pieces' and 'Your Cheating Heart' along with more contemporary Country tunes. Co-star Zoe Vonder Haar (Louise Seger) will emcee the event with musical supervision by Lisa Campbell Albert.

Another welcome revival hits the local theatre scene with the Stages St. Louis production of ALWAYS...PATSY CLINE at The Playhouse at Westport Plaza. It's an excellent show, full of good humor and packed with a great collection of classic country tunes. It plays out as more than just your typical tribute show, because it actually has a story to tell to go along with its superb music. What really makes this show work are the performances by the cast and band, all of whom do absolutely impeccable work. And, what makes this revival a special sort of success is the sense of intimacy that the cozy confines of this venue provide. It really allows the actors to interact with the audience, and they take advantage of that to get up close and personal. I've said all this before, but this is must-see entertainment, and I can't recommend it highly enough!

STAGES St. Louis has announced, due to exceptional sales, the theatre company's momentous production of Always... Patsy Cline will add an additional week of performances Wednesday, June 18 through Sunday, June 22, 2014, to its original production schedule. Always... Patsy Cline was originally produced by STAGES during its record-breaking 27th Season, which resulted in two added performances and historic attendance. Nightly, the audiences stopped the show with thunderous applause for numbers like 'Crazy,' 'Lovesick Blues,' and 'Your Cheating Heart.'

STAGES St. Louis will welcome back to the stage, after unprecedented demand, Always... Patsy Cline, beginning April 22, 2014 to The Playhouse at Westport Plaza. Always... Patsy Cline was originally produced by STAGES during its record-breaking 27th Season, which resulted in two added performances and historic attendance. Nightly, the audiences stopped the show with thunderous applause for numbers like 'Crazy,' 'Lovesick Blues,' and 'Your Cheating Heart.'

STAGES ST. LOUIS continues to experience a steady growth in revenue while expanding its Musical Theatre programs. The 2013 Season broke all previous box office records, with nearly $2 million in ticket sales. The season saw a significant increase in box office revenue of 8% over 2012 sales, out-grossing any season in STAGES' 27-year history. Over the past five years STAGES has increased revenue by over 14%. The forecast for 2014 is looking even brighter as revenues are already up by $200,000 over 2013.

STAGES ST. LOUIS has announced, after unprecedented demand, Always... Patsy Cline will return to St. Louis April 22 - June 15, 2014 to The Playhouse at Westport Plaza. Always... Patsy Cline was originally produced by STAGES during its record-breaking 27th Season, which resulted in two added performances and record-breaking attendance. Nightly, the audiences stopped the show with thunderous applause for numbers like 'Crazy,' 'Lovesick Blues,' and 'Your Cheating Heart.'

I was a bit intrusive to my cast this evening: I went around to each cast member and stuck my voice memo recorder in their face asking them 4 on-the-spot questions about Henry Higgins. It proved to be a funny experiment as my cast mates blurted out some of their answers (I made this a timed experiment, asking each cast member to say the first answer that came to mind). As it turns out, there were a few common answers about where Higgins would live, or which celebrity he resembles. And just the same, there were some "left field" answers which were cause for a chuckle. Here are the questions I asked:

MY FAIR LADY is a venerable warhorse of the stage, and though it used to be performed with a frightening degree of regularity, it's been a while since I've seen it, other than catching the film version on TCM recently. I must say I'm impressed with the current production by Stages St. Louis. It manages to maintain an intimacy that's lost in some of the larger stagings the work has received. In the cozy confines of the Robert G. Reim Auditorium we're able to appreciate the story as well as the staging, and being based on G.B. Shaw's superb play Pygmalion, it's important that that actually come through. It does. Marvelously so. Couple that with the insanely memorable score (book & lyrics Alan Jay Lerner, music by Frederick Lowe) and you have an full evening of wit and charm ahead of you. This is an elegant must-see!

One of the unspoken thrills of theatre is getting ready for each performance. The prep-work involves putting on wigs, applying make-up, zipping up costumes, and (in the case of My Fair Lady) applying facial hair.

Hailed as one of the greatest musicals of all time, My Fair Lady (now through October 6) is the perfect grand finale to the STAGES ST. LOUIS record-breaking 27th season. Christopher Guilmet and Pamela Brumley star as Professor Henry Higgins and Eliza Doolittle, respectively. BroadwayWorld has a first look at the stars in action in the video below!