Feature: The Muny and Broadway Honor the Life of the Legendary Ken Page

Celebrities, family, friends, and members of the community gathered in St. Louis on Friday evening to celebrate the life of the late Ken Page. The celebration, hosted and produced by The Muny, was held in the packed-to-capacity Sheldon Concert Hall. 

That same evening, Page was featured on the marquee of The Shubert Theatre on Broadway. At 6:30 pm EST, the lights of The Shubert Theater on Broadway were dimmed in his memory. According to The Muny’s Artistic Director & Executive Producer Mike Isaacson, having the lights dimmed on a Broadway Theatre is the highest honor an artist can receive.  

At the Memorial Celebration The Muny’s Kwofe Coleman, President & CEO, and Isaacson announced that Page was being inducted posthumously into The Muny Hall of Fame. Page will be joining other legendary performers including Carol Channing, Angela Lansbury, Debbie Reynolds, and Cary Grant with a plaque on The Muny Walk of Fame.  

Coleman and Isaacson announced two additional changes to honor the beloved St. Louis actor. The stage in the new Kooyumjian Family Plaza on the upper concourse will be named The Ken Page Stage and the formerly named St. Louis High School Musical Theatre Awards will now be named The Ken Page Awards.  

Page was honored with loving tributes from friends and colleagues in the entertainment industry. Broadway’s Betty Buckley was on hand and shared stories of her work with Page in the Tony Award winning Broadway musical CATS. Buckley then honored him with an emotional rendition of “Amazing Grace.”  

Actor Bryan Batt recalled his friendship with Page, whom he called a mentor and friend. Batt said he’d never had the opportunity to work with Page on a theatrical stage but remembers working alongside him at fundraisers and seeing him perform in cabaret settings. Batt also had the opportunity to work on Page’s favorite stage, The Muny, when he performed as Edna Turnblad in The Muny’s 2015 production of HAIRSPRAY.  

Joining Batt and Buckley to speak about Page’s friendship and contribution to the arts was his longtime musical collaborator Greg Schweizer, his high school teacher Nada Vaughn, and his close friends Daniel Henning and Kevin Spirtas. Page was also honored with video tributes from Debbie Allen, Scott Bakula, Alec Baldwin, Kay Cole, Andre De Shields, Erin Dilly, Danny Elfman, Harvey Fierstein, and Norm Lewis.  

Other musical tributes included an AIN’T MISBEHAVIN’ Medley by St. Louis actor J. Samuel Davis and Page’s lifelong best friend Monica Reed, “Page to Page” sung by Broadway and Muny veteran Lara Teeter, and a rousing rendition of “Sit Down You’re Rockin’ the Boat” led by St. Louis actor Denise Thimes. She was joined by dozens of local performers in an exhilarating tribute that was choreographed by The Muny’s Associate Artistic Director Michael Baxter. 

Ken Page’s booming baritone has been the warm and welcoming voice of The Muny since 2013 and has appeared in over 45 roles on The Muny stage. His first role was as a member of the ensemble in the 1972 production of SOUTH PACIFIC, and his final bow came during last season’s production of Les Misérables.  

Ken Page will long be remembered in New York and Hollywood as a legendary star of both stage and screen, and St. Louisans will remember Page as a titan of the theatre and one of their favorite sons. 

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