When Ken and I were newlyweds living in New York, we had the privilege of seeing several Broadway productions. I especially remember Grease (and the shock of hearing a curse word from the stage!) and the beautiful, lush Shenandoah.
Fifteen years later, the year I was pregnant with our youngest daughter, Tavia, I won a pair of season tickets to Wichita Music Theater, and while Ken wasn’t quite as thrilled with the prize as I was, he was quickly won over and we enjoyed almost an entire season of wonderful musicals. Alas, we had to miss the final production of the season because we had a tiny new baby girl! (She was worth it!)
I was reminded of those early exposures to live theater yesterday afternoon when I got to see a production of Wicked at the Fox Theater in St. Louis.
My oldest daughter, Tobi, and her mother-in-law, sister-in-law, her sister-in-law’s mother-in-law (are you following all the fun in-law connections?) along with several other friends and I had tickets for the 1 p.m. show, the next to last showing of Wicked at the Fox this year.
It’s been quite a while since I saw a live musical and this one was just so incredible—the costumes, the stage sets, the orchestra, and the amazing actors and actresses with their phenomenal voices! Photos were strictly prohibited after the opening curtain, but here are a couple of stills from the Fox’s website:
It was such a treat to be in the city, spend time with my oldest daughter and her extended family and friends, and eat out together after the show.
Tobi was in several musical productions during her high school years and it was always a treat to see her perform. And now our 11-year-old granddaughter in Texas has caught the theater bug and we’ve loved watching her perform the lead in Willy Wonka, and recently she played the Cat in the Hat in Suessical.
According to the “Fabulous Fox” website, the theater’s history began when it opened on January 31, 1929 as one of the “crown jewels in William Fox’s motion picture empire. Billed as ‘St. Louis’s largest and most magnificent temple of amusement,’ the theatre anchored St. Louis’s entertainment area along North Grand Boulevard. For 50 cents, a person could experience splendor and enchantment of a regal edifice, complete with live entertainment, music from two organs, Fox Movietone News, and of course, the ‘talkie’.”
The theater is just as regal today, as attested by these photos I took inside before the show began.
The mirrored ceilings made for some cool photos.
We all enjoyed a delicious dinner at Lucha II, an Oaxacan-style restaurant, near the theater. (You can see The Fox marquee through the windows of the restaurant.) A perfect ending to a fun-filled day!
Do you enjoy live theater? What is the last show or musical you’ve seen onstage? Or what is a production that’s on your bucket list to see?
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I saw Wicked in London when I took a school group on a travel abroad trip. It was fantastic – the first, and last – theater production I’ve ever seen. But, I would do it again! Glad you had fun. The theater looks amazing!
How incredible to see the show in LONDON! Sounds like a once-in-a-lifetime dream! And yes, the St. Louis theater is just fabulous! We all said we’d love to make this an annual event!
I think Wicked might be the last “big” show I’ve seen on stage. I saw it in NYC with some friends a few years ago – right before the pandemic. I wasn’t at all sure I would enjoy it because I’ve never been a fan of The Wizard of Oz but I wound up loving it and have the soundtrack playing on my playlist often. I love seeing live shows like that. The last couple of years I’ve been enjoying my goddaughter’s musicals through school. The talent some of these kids have! Perhaps one day I’ll see them on Broadway!
I was like you, Joy…not sure how I’d feel about the storyline because those crazy flying monkeys scared the stuffing out of me when I was a kid! But as a former Kansas farm girl, I’ve always loved the Oz connection and I did really enjoy the story of Wicked and was glad I hadn’t read the book or known more about it so I could be surprised by the story’s twists and turns.
What a fun experience, Deb! I adore musicals. My daughter and I attend the ACU homecoming musical every year together (we both graduated from ACU, and I currently work for the university). Last year, we saw a production of Disney’s Little Mermaid. It was extra fun since we were familiar with the music! Several years ago, our university theatre department put on a musical version of Jane Eyre. Combine my favorite classic novel with a musical performance? Yes, please! It was fabulous.
We live in easy driving distance from Southeast Missouri State in Cape Girardeau, and I really should take advantage of the college’s stage productions! Thanks for the reminder. I bet that musical version of Jane Eyre was fantastic!
I’ve been fortunate to see the touring production of Wicked and LOVED it! Our youngest (14 year old) daughter has also caught the theater bug and will be attending the performing arts high school in the fall.
How exciting for your daughter, Becky. You’ll be set for entertainment for a few years to come!
I love musicals, especially the ones I’ve seen on Broadway. Adds to the experience. But Wicked is extra special because my daughters took me to the production for my birthday, probably May 2010 or 2011. I remember Jennifer and I would have left the theater and bought tickets to see it again that very night, even if it meant staying up until 3 in the morning.
Wicked by Gregory Maguire is a favorite book of mine. I read it in 1996 (I remember because we moved into a new house at that time). But the musical isn’t a true adaptation of that book either, and I thought the changes made were perfect for the stage.
Oh, how special to get to see it as a birthday gift with your daughters! Great memories! Several of the gals I went with had read Maguire’s book and they agreed that the adaptation for stage was just right even though it didn’t follow the book exactly.
I’ve seen Wicked a couple of times and love it! Once was when my sisters and I took our mom. And what a great theater to see it in. We have tickets to the musical tours that come through Dallas and they are (usually) so fun.
Oh, I bet that was such a fun sister/mother/daughter outing! I would love to have season tickets to something like that again!
What a wonderful experience for you and your family! I love theater!
The last live theater show I saw was Les Miserables at Chrysler Hall in Norfolk, VA. (We live in Virginia Beach), about 5 years ago – Christmas gift from our son. But I would like to mention a small playhouse in the N.Y. Catskills that we accidentally discovered looking for a stop over place on our way to Bar Harbor. The Forestburgh Playhouse is almost directly across from the Inn at Lake Joseph in Forestburgh, N.Y. It’s summer stock theater performed by college students, and we saw Footloose and also Beauty and the Beast. I just looked it up, and some of their shows for this season are Spamalot, The Addams Family, and Jersey Boys. This area is two and a half hours west of NYC, with lots of things to see and do in the area – probably the most famous is the site of 1969 Woodstock, which is now Bethel Woods Center for the Arts.
Oh, you’re making me dream and add new places to my bucket list, Betty! The NY venues sound wonderful!
What fun, Deb! I saw Wicked in New York, and loved it! Still love the music because I bought the CD and love listening to it. (Not enough time to listen to all the musicals I’ve loved!). We used to have season tickets to the theater in Tampa, but life’s been too short to make time for the theater, too. Seems like grandkids and other things keep getting in the way, but there’s nothing like it. So glad you had this opportunity–love the photo of you looking up at the mirror overhead!
Those grandkids are worth every missed musical! And if you’re like us, someday they’ll be PERFORMING in musicals and then you get the best of both worlds! 🙂
I love “Wicked” and have seen it several times, including at the Fox. We lived in St. Louis for 8 years and I loved going to the beautiful Fox Theater. Have you ever seen a play at the Muny Theater in Forest Park? That’s another great experience.