Wydown Middle School

STAGES ST. LOUIS is the region's foremost not-for-profit company committed to preserving and advancing the art form of Musical Theatre through excellence in performance and education. In 2013, STAGES celebrates its 27^h year of producing Broadway-quality theatre, presenting 124 performances from May through October to nearly 50,000 patrons.

STAGES employs the best musical theatre artists available regionally and nationally for all productions. Auditions are held in St. Louis and New York,  allowing STAGES to not only attract  Broadway talent, but also further its commitment to supporting professional St. Louis actors, providing over 450 union workweeks annually.  In addition to being the top regional employer of local union actors, STAGES educates thousands of students each year at its Performing Arts Academy, the region's only year-round arts school with a comprehensive curriculum run by a professional musical theatre company. 

STAGES opened in 1987 with a budget of $50,000 and a part-time seasonal staff of eight. Today, the company employs a full-time staff of more than 25 overseeing a budget of nearly $4 million. During the performance season, an additional 175 actors and crew members bring the productions to life.  To date, STAGES professionals have produced 84 musicals, with over 2,600 performances, playing to nearly 800,000 patrons.  In 2005, STAGES added its annual Theatre for Young Audiences (TYA) production to encourage multiple generations to attend professional, live musical theatre together on family-friendly schedules.

The dream of St. Louisans for a permanent outdoor theatre in Forest Park probably dates back to the 1904 World's Fair. The realization of that dream began in 1916 with plans for an outdoor production of AS YOU LIKE IT by Margaret Anglin's Shakespearean troupe. And the dream became a reality in 1917 with the construction of the Municipal Theatre for six performances of AIDA, produced for the 13th Annual Convention of Advertising Clubs of the World.

In 1916, Parks Commissioner Nelson Cunliff, Miss Anglin and Civic League President John Gundlach selected a grassy area between two large oak trees for a June series of performances of Shakespeare's AS YOU LIKE IT. Shrubs and small trees were cleared from the sloping hillside and a retaining wall built to level the performing area. AS YOU LIKE IT starred Miss Anglin, Robert Mantell and Sidney Greenstreet. The out-of-town professionals were joined by nearly 1,000 St. Louis folk dancers and folk singers in observance of the 300th anniversary of the death of William Shakespeare. Crowds averaged 8,000, reviews were good, and after an opening night rain-out, AS YOU LIKE IT moved into the history books as the first production at the site of today's Muny.