105th season of outdoor theater at the Muny gets off to a 'Beautiful' start (2024)

With another summer comes another eclectic, enticing lineup of Muny musicals in Forest Park. The outdoor theater’s 105th season, featuring seven shows, kicks off with “Beautiful: The Carole King Musical” and concludes with “Sister Act,” both Muny premieres.

Sara Sheperd, who portrays legendary singer-songwriter Carole King in “Beautiful,” is an experienced Muny performer. She has appeared at the theater in shows including “Les Misérables,” “White Christmas” and the 2011 production of “Legally Blonde.”

“I got my (Actors’) Equity card at the Muny in 2006, in ‘The Wizard of Oz,’” Sheperd says. “And I also did ‘White Christmas’ that summer.”

Sheperd is also quite familiar with “Beautiful,” having performed in the show both on Broadway and on the national tour, in a variety of roles including King.

“The show has been a part of my life for about a decade, which is absolutely insane to say out loud,” she says with a laugh. “But I feel so grateful.”

Her introduction to the music of Carole King came through James Taylor’s hit recording of “You’ve Got a Friend,” a standout song on King’s breakthrough 1971 album, “Tapestry.” But Sheperd says she was initially unaware of King’s status as a major contributor to American popular song.

“It wasn’t until I knew I was doing the show that I was like, OK, let me dive into this a little more,” Sheperd says. “That’s when I really found out how she wrote for other individuals. I had no idea that she wrote ‘The Loco-Motion.’” (King collaborated on that 1962 pop classic with lyricist Gerry Goffin.)

Another legendary figure, composer-lyricist-playwright Jonathan Larson, was the creative force behind “Rent,” which the Muny will present for the first time Aug. 4-10. Larson died of an aortic dissection at age 35, just hours before the show’s 1996 off-Broadway debut. “Rent,” which opened to critical acclaim, would go on to enjoy Broadway and touring success and win the Pulitzer Prize for drama.

Lili-Anne Brown, director of the Muny production, says it’s not her first encounter with the show. She played Joanne in a 2012 production in Chicago, directed by Tony Award winner David Cromer (“The Band’s Visit”).

“That production was really grounded, and I think I learned a lot about not being afraid of something iconic,” Brown says. “So it feels really full circle for me, to have a crack at it myself.”

Set in the 1990s in New York’s East Village, “Rent” originally had a certain hipster cachet. But perhaps inevitably, the show is now comfortably ensconced in the canon of American musicals.

“It’s a period piece now,” Brown says.

“Little Shop of Horrors,” running July 25-31, is based on a 1960 horror comedy film and might be considered even more of a period piece. Yet the musical, which was first produced off-Broadway in 1982 and revived on Broadway in 2003, is so engagingly quirky that its appeal is apparently timeless.

Just how quirky? It’s about a nerdy flower shop clerk named Seymour (Tony nominee Robin De Jesús), his co-worker Audrey (Muny favorite Patti Murin) and a man-eating plant called Audrey II (Nicholas Ward).

“It’s one of my favorite roles,” says Ward, who collaborates with a puppeteer in bringing the character to life and provides its voice. He says he’ll be very much a live presence at each performance, as using a recording simply wouldn’t work.

“I have to be live to allow the actors onstage to be authentic in our scenes together,” Ward says. “If the actor wants to take more time, or takes more of an acting beat on something, we can do that.”

“Little Shop of Horrors” returned to the big screen in its musical version in 1986. And in 2019, the show was revived off-Broadway in a production that’s still running. To what does Ward attribute its enduring popularity?

“It’s such a silly story, the idea of a plant coming to life and eating people,” he says. “And I think because of that ridiculousness, we all just love it. Some shows just become part of the fabric of musical theater.”

When 8:15 p.m. nightly; season runs June 12-Aug. 20 • Where The Muny, 1 Theatre Drive, Forest Park • How much $19-$120, plus the free seats • More info muny.org