''Meet Me in St. Louis'' is a 1989 musical based on the 1944 film
of the same title, about a family living in
St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the Greater St. Louis, ...
on the eve of the 1904
World's Fair
A world's fair, also known as a universal exhibition or an expo, is a large international exhibition designed to showcase the achievements of nations. These exhibitions vary in character and are held in different parts of the world at a specif ...
.
The musical varied from the film with additional songs and some additional character development; the focus is not primarily on the character of Esther, as in the film. The musical ran on
Broadway
Broadway may refer to:
Theatre
* Broadway Theatre (disambiguation)
* Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S.
** Broadway (Manhattan), the street
**Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...
in 1989.
Productions
![Dancer in the stage production of MEET ME IN ST LOUIS](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c6/Dancer_in_the_stage_production_of_MEET_ME_IN_ST_LOUIS.jpg)
The musical opened on Broadway at the
George Gershwin Theatre
The Gershwin Theatre (originally the Uris Theatre) is a Broadway theater at 222 West 51st Street, on the second floor of the Paramount Plaza office building, in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City. Opened in 1972, it is operate ...
on November 2, 1989 and closed on June 10, 1990, after 252 performances.
It was directed by Louis Burke with choreography by
Joan Brickhill
Joan Brickhill (6 March 1924 – 15 January 2014) was a South African actress who worked in radio, theatre, film, and television. Together with her husband, Louis Burke, she founded Brickhill-Burke Productions, which produced ''Meet Me in St. Lo ...
.
The show was performed
Off-Broadway
An off-Broadway theatre is any professional theatre venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, inclusive. These theatres are smaller than Broadway theatres, but larger than off-off-Broadway theatres, which seat fewer tha ...
by the Irish Repertory Theater in December 2006 through February 2007, with direction by Charlotte Moore (the mother in the Broadway production), choreography by Barry McNabb and sets by
Tony Straiges Tony Straiges (born 1942) is a scenic designer for the stage and ballet. He has designed the sets for 17 Broadway musicals, plays and specials. His sets "often have a sparse elegance or sense of fantasy about them." Robert Brustein said of Straiges: ...
. The cast featured
George S. Irving
George S. Irving (born Irving Shelasky; November 1, 1922 – December 26, 2016) was an American actor known primarily for his character roles on Broadway theatre, Broadway and as the voice of Heat Miser in the American Christmas television spe ...
as Grandpa Prophater.
The musical has been produced by Musicals Tonight! (New York), in October 2004 the
Paper Mill Playhouse
Paper Mill Playhouse is a regional theater with approximately 1200 seats, located in Millburn, New Jersey on the Rahway River. Due to its relatively close location to Manhattan, it draws from the pool of actors (and audience members) who live in ...
Millburn, New Jersey
Millburn is a suburban Township (New Jersey), township in Essex County, New Jersey, Essex County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States census, the township's population was 20,149, reflecting an increase of 384 (+1.9%) from t ...
in November to December 2007, with Brynn O'Malley as Esther,
Gregg Edelman
Gregg Edelman (born September 12, 1958) is an American movie, television and theatre actor.
Biography
Edelman was born in Chicago, Illinois, attended Niles North High School, where he starred as Li'l Abner opposite future soap star Nancy Lee G ...
as Alonso Smith, and Donna English as Anna Smith, and
The Muny
The St. Louis Municipal Opera Theatre (commonly known as The Muny) is an amphitheater located in St. Louis, Missouri. The theatre seats 11,000 people with about 1,500 free seats in the last nine rows that are available on a first come, first s ...
,
St. Louis
St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which e ...
in July 2009, with
Lewis J. Stadlen
Lewis J. Stadlen (born March 7, 1947) is an American stage and screen character actor. He is best known for playing Ira Fried in '' The Sopranos''.
Career
Born in Brooklyn, New York, to voice actor Allen Swift, Stadlen studied acting with S ...
as Grandpa Prophater, Brynn O'Malley as Esther Smith,
Max von Essen
Max von Essen (born January 11, 1974) is an American stage and screen actor, and vocalist.
Life and career
Raised on Long Island, von Essen is a graduate of South Side High School in Rockville Centre, New York. He attended the University o ...
as John Truitt and
Stephen Bogardus as Mr. Alonzo Smith.
The musical has also had its UK professional premiere at the
Landor Theatre
The Landor Theatre is a pub theatre in Clapham, South London.
Originally the Cage Theatre upon its opening in 1994, the Landor became "Upstairs at the Landor" in 1995 and finally the Landor Theatre in 1998, following a refit of the building.
I ...
, in
Clapham, London
Clapham () is a suburb in south west London, England, lying mostly within the London Borough of Lambeth, but with some areas (most notably Clapham Common) extending into the neighbouring London Borough of Wandsworth.
History
Early history ...
. The show ran from 11 December 2013 to 18 January 2014.
Plot
The musical opens in the summer of 1903. The family is going about their daily businesses – Tootie is playing with her dolls, Agnes is practicing her stilt walking, Esther is playing tennis, Rose is relaxing, Lon received his Princeton catalog in the mail, Mrs. Smith and Katie, their maid, went shopping, Grandpa is playing with Agnes, and Mr. Smith was at work ("Opening" / "Meet Me in St. Louis"). Upon request from Esther, Katie asks Mrs. Smith if they could have dinner an hour earlier because her sister is having trouble with her husband. We soon learn that the real reason is that Warren Sheffield, a Yale scholar and heir to a grand fortune, is calling Rose long-distance at 6:30, when they usually eat dinner. Esther was trying to get dinner to be an hour earlier so the family would be out of the room when he called. Soon Rose enters and tells Esther that John Truitt, their neighbor and the boy that Esther has a crush on, is outside with his friend. They pretend to want to go to the pool, and try to attract the boys' attention. However, Agnes enters looking for her cat, and John leaves, causing Esther to lament about how John Truitt never notices her ("The Boy Next Door").
A little later that day, Mr. Smith comes home in a bad mood, because he lost his case. He refuses to eat an hour earlier and storms offstage to go take his cool bath. Meanwhile, Tootie and Agnes begin to fight over a doll, causing the older siblings to have to break them up and remind them that they're all friends (Whenever I'm With You). Everyone exits except for Ester and Mrs. Smith. Esther asks if she is too young to fall in love, and her mother is shocked by the question. She proceeds to tell of how she fell in love with Mr. Smith ("You'll Hear a Bell").
Dinner is approaching, and by now everyone in the family knows about Warren's telephone call except for Mr. Smith. When he joins the family at the dinner table, everyone gulps down their food so they can leave before Warren calls. Unfortunately, they are not fast enough, and the telephone rings. Mr. Smith answers, but is confused when the operators tell him that someone is calling from New York. He hangs up, and Esther accidentally tells him everything out of anger. He soon figures out that he was the only one who didn't know about the call, and tries to put his foot down, but when the phone rings again he tells Rose to answer it. Her phone call turns out to be less than successful, because he was only calling to ask how she was, and he said if his parents knew he was calling, they would kill him. Katie tries to lighten the mood ("Meet Me in St. Louis" (Reprise)).
A few months later, we are at Lon's going-away party, right before he leaves for Princeton. Warren tries to apologize to Rose, but she refuses to accept ("Raving Beauty"). At the party, Esther is formally introduced to John Truitt, pretending not to know who he is. She takes his hat and hides it in the piano. The guests then participate in a square dance called by Lon and Warren ("Skip to My Lou"). Agnes and Tootie have crept to the landing to see what was going on, and after being caught, perform a dance they do with Esther ("Under the Bamboo Tree"). Afterwards the guests leave, but Esther asks John if he would like to come with them to the Fairgrounds on Friday. He agrees, and then she asks him if he will help her turn off the lights, because she's afraid of the dark ("Over the Bannister"). He leaves, leaving Esther slightly disappointed.
On Friday, they get on the trolley to the fairgrounds, where John Truitt just barely makes it on ("The Trolley Song").
Act II opens on Halloween, where Tootie and Agnes are getting ready to go trick or treating. After they leave, Katie asks the older sisters why they won't go out to the Halloween Social. They both respond that men are too bothersome and they'd rather not. Katie gives them some advice ("Touch of the Irish"). Immediately following the number, a scream is heard offstage. Tootie comes in with a bloody lip, saying John Truitt hit her. When he comes by to ask if she's alright, Esther beats him up for hurting her little sister. Agnes enters soon after, telling what happened. They stuffed one of Katie's dresses so it looked like a body, then put it on the trolley tracks so when the motorman had to put on the brakes, the trolley would come off the tracks. Tootie then reveals that it was not John who hurt her, but she fell. Esther is ashamed and goes to apologize to John. He forgives her ("The Boy Next Door" (Reprise)).
Mr. Smith comes home and breaks the news to the family that they are moving to New York. He thought the family would be happy, but they all are shocked and upset. He tries to convince them that it will be fun, but it doesn't work ("A Day in New York"). They all exit, leaving Mr. and Mrs. Smith alone. Mrs. Smith tries to comfort him, reminding him that as long as they are together, they can be happy ("You'll Hear a Bell" (Reprise) / "Wasn't It Fun").
Now it is winter and their last Christmas in St. Louis is fast approaching. Both Rose and Warren are left without dates. Rose didn't respond to Warren's proposal to the dance, so he decided to go with Lucille Ballard who is Lon's girlfriend. Esther and Katie persuade them to go with each other, and Rose and Esther make a plan to fill out Lucille's dance card with the worst people imaginable. Unfortunately, John Truitt comes by and tells Esther that he can't take her to the dance because his tuxedo is locked up in the tailor's. Grandpa comes to the rescue, inviting Esther to the dance with him.
At the ball, Lucille suggests that Warren and Rose and she and Lon be partners for the evening. Esther doesn't realize that, and ends up taking Lucille's dances. Lon leads everyone in a dance he learned at college ("The Banjo"). John comes, in his tuxedo, after calling every Jones in St. Louis until he found who ran the shop. After the dance, John proposes to Esther, but she feels bad about it because he would have to give up going to college to be with her in New York ("You Are for Loving").
Esther enters the house to find Tootie sitting on the couch. She's upset about leaving St. Louis, and has been waiting for Santa to come so she can tell him that they're moving. Esther tries to convince Tootie that New York will be fun ("Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas"). Mr. Smith sees how upset Tootie is and decides that they can't move to New York.
After hearing the good news, the family goes to the fair and everything works out well ("Trolley Song" (Reprise) / "Meet Me in St. Louis" (Reprise II) / "Finale").
Characters and Original cast
The Broadway production also included
Tony Award
The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Broadway Theatre, more commonly known as the Tony Award, recognizes excellence in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual cer ...
winner
Rachel Bay Jones
Rachel Bay Jones (born November 8, 1969) is an American actress and singer. She has played the roles of Catherine in the 2013 Broadway revival of ''Pippin'' and Evan Hansen's mother, Heidi Hansen, in ''Dear Evan Hansen''. The latter earned her ...
in the ensemble. It was her Broadway debut.
Songs
; Act I
* "
Meet Me in St. Louis
''Meet Me in St. Louis'' is a 1944 American Christmas film, Christmas musical film made by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. Divided into a series of seasonal vignettes, starting with Summer 1903, it relates the story of a year in the life of the Smith famil ...
" *
* "
Be Anything But a Girl
BE or be may refer to:
Linguistics
* ''To be'', the English copular verb
* Be (Cyrillic), a letter of the Cyrillic alphabet
* ''be'' (interjection), in several languages
* Be language or Ong Be, a language of northern Hainan province, China
*Bl ...
"
* "
The Boy Next Door" *
* "
Skip to My Lou
"Skip to My (The) Lou" is a popular American partner-stealing dance from the 1840s.
Poet and Abraham Lincoln biographer Carl Sandburg writes that "Skip-to-my-Lou" was a popular party game in US President Abraham Lincoln's youth in southern In ...
" *
* "
Under the Bamboo Tree
''Under the Bamboo Tree'' is a song composed by Robert Cole, J. Rosamond Johnson, and James Weldon Johnson. J. W. Stern & Co. published it in 1902. A ragtime hit, it sold over 400,000 copies.
History
The song was first composed by Robert Cole ...
" *
* "Banjos"
* "Ghosties and Ghoulies and Things That Go Bump in the Night"
* "Halloween Ballet"
* "Wasn't It Fun"
* "
The Trolley Song
"The Trolley Song" is a song written by Hugh Martin and Ralph Blane and made famous by Judy Garland in the 1944 film ''Meet Me in St. Louis''. In a 1989 NPR interview, Blane said the song was inspired by a picture of a trolleycar in a turn-of-t ...
" *
; Act II
* "Ice"
* "Raving Beauty"
* "A Touch of the Irish"
* "You Are for Loving"
* "A Day in New York"
* "The Ball"
* "Diamonds in the Starlight"
* "
Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas
"Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" is a song written in 1943 by Hugh Martin and Ralph Blane and introduced by Judy Garland in the 1944 MGM musical ''Meet Me in St. Louis''. Frank Sinatra later recorded a version with modified lyrics. In ...
" *
* "Paging Mr. Sousa"
''* Songs from the film also in the stage version''
As of the late 1990s the order of songs was changed, some were removed and some added. The current version is as follows:
; Act I
* "Overture" – Instrumental
* "Meet Me in St. Louis" – Ensemble and Smith Family Octet
* "The Boy Next Door" – Esther
* "Meet Me in St. Louis" (Reprise) – Tootie, Agnes, Esther, Rose and Grandpa
* "Whenever I'm with You" – Smith Family Octet
* "You'll Hear a Bell" – Mrs. Smith
* "Meet Me in St. Louis" (Reprise) – Smith Family Octet and Ensemble
* "A Raving Beauty" – Warren and Rose
* "Skip to My Lou" – Lon, Warren, Rose and Ensemble
* "Drunk Song" – Tootie
* "Under the Bamboo Tree" – Esther, Tootie and Agnes
* "Over the Banister" – John
* "The Trolley Song" – Esther and Ensemble
; Act II
* "Entr'acte" – Instrumental
* "Touch of the Irish" – Katie, Rose and Esther
* "Boy Next Door" (Reprise) – John and Esther
* "A Day in New York" – Mr. Smith, Mrs. Smith, Esther, Rose, Katie and Grandpa
* "You'll Hear a Bell" (Reprise) – Mrs. Smith
* "Wasn't It Fun?" – Mr. and Mrs. Smith
* "Christmas Waltz" – Instrumental
* "The Banjo" – Lon and Ensemble
* "Auld Lang Syne" – Instrumental
* "You Are for Loving" – John and Esther
* "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" – Esther
* "Trolley Song" (Reprise) – Ensemble
* "Meet Me in St. Louis" (Reprise) – All
;Note: The Smith Family Octet – Tootie, Agnes, Rose, Esther, Lon, Mrs. Smith, Katie and Grandpa
Awards and nominations
Original Broadway production
References
External links
*
*
Tams-Witmark plot synopsisMeet Me in St. LouisInternet Theatre Database
* {{Playbill production, meet-me-in-st-louis-george-gershwin-theatre-vault-0000011042
1989 musicals
Musicals based on films
Broadway musicals
Plays set in the 1900s
Plays set in Missouri
St. Louis in fiction
Louisiana Purchase Exposition
World's fairs in fiction