Metro Theater Company (MTC), St. Louis’s premiere professional theater for youth and families and St. Louis’ third-oldest professional theater company, announces its 51st season. 

Metro Theater Company’s 2023-24 season celebrates the strength and power we find within ourselves through our connections with others, and the joy that friendship brings, especially in those moments where it is tested. “Season 51 productions are filled with joy. They celebrate acceptance of difference, the importance of friendship, and the strength and wisdom we find in ourselves and our community,” stated Artistic Director Julia Flood. Managing Director Joe Gfaller adds, “As we continue our commitment to reach every child in the St. Louis region over the next decade, this season of live theater and in-school residencies deepens young people’s relationships to one another, our community, and their own imagination,” 

The season kicks off with a tour of Maddi’s Fridge (September 11 – October 22), followed by two productions at The Grandel Theater: Eddie & Vinnie (October 18 – November 5) and the Tony-nominated A Year with Frog and Toad (February 7 – March 3). Through a new partnership with St. Louis County Children’s Service Fund, MTC’s  programming in Season 51 will include in-school residencies of anchor programs Building Community Through Drama and Say Something, Do Something with fourth graders across the University City, Ferguson-Florissant, and Hazelwood school districts. In addition, a special two-day family festival to celebrate 50 years of MTC will be held October 21 and 22. Tickets go on sale to the general public on August 29.  

Metro Theater Company 23-24 Season   

Maddi’s Fridge
By Anne Negri 

Adapted from the book by Lois Brandt 

Directed by Jess Shoemaker 

September 11 – October 18  

Touring to schools across the St. Louis metropolitan region. Limited public performances in September and October 2023. 

What if the only way to help a friend was to break a promise? Sofia and Maddi are best friends. They live in the same neighborhood, go to the same school, and play at the same rock-climbing gym. But when Sofia learns a secret about Maddi’s family, she’s faced with a difficult decision: to keep her promise or tell her parents about Maddi’s empty fridge to help her friend. With humor and heart, this play is sure to inspire conversations with your young people about honesty, sensitivity, empathy and helping others. The cast includes Sarah Lantsberger, Gabrielle Watson Torres, and DeAnté Bryant. Maddi’s Fridge is recommended for ages 5 to 11.  

Free Public Performances 

September 16, 10 am
Buder Library

September 16, 2:30 pm
Central Library

October 1, 2 pm
Stone Barn
Hermann Farm

Fall Family Festival Performances*

October 21 & 22, 10:30 am** & 1:30 pm
Grand Center Arts District
On Oct 22, the 10:30 am performance of Maddi’s Fridge will be Audio Described and ASL-Interpreted. Audio Description by MindsEye. 

Eddie & Vinnie 

A New Play by Jenny Millinger 

Directed by Alicia Revé Like  

October 18 – November 5, 2023 

Grandel Theatre   

Eddie is an unstoppable artist with a uniquely beautiful mind – and his best friend is a gecko. Together, the pair spends hours making intricate and beautiful puzzles. But he’ll be stuck in summer school if he can’t get his grades up. In a last-ditch effort, Eddie teams up with the overly helpful new girl for the dreaded end-of-year report. Will their presentation on MC Escher save his grades? Eddie & Vinnie reminds us that there is more than one way to learn – and more than one way to shine. The cast of Eddie & Vinnie includes Caleb Long, Hailey Medrano and Rae Davis. Eddie & Vinnie is best enjoyed by ages 6-12. 

Public Performance Schedule 

Ticketed Public Performances
October 27 – November 5
Fridays at 7 pm
Saturdays at 10:30 am & 2 pm
Sundays at 2 pm 

Free Fall Family Festival Performances*
October 21 & 22, 12** & 3 pm
**The October 22 12 pm performance of Eddie & Vinnie will be Audio Described and ASL-Interpreted. Audio Description by MindsEye. 

A Year with Frog and Toad
Music by Robert Reale  
Book and Lyrics by Willie Reale
Based on the books by Arnold Lobel
Presented through special arrangement with Music Theatre International (MTI)
Directed by Julia Flood
Music Direction by Jeremy Jacobs
Choreography by Tyler White
February 7 – March 3, 2024
Grandel Theatre                                       

Hibernation is over, and it’s time to celebrate! Even though Frog and Toad find joy and wonder in very different things, their year together is filled with adventure. Dive into the delight of Arnold Lobel’s award-winning books in this three-time Tony-nominated musical. Across a jazzy, upbeat score, this nostalgic duo reminds us that individuality makes a friendship stronger – delighting longtime fans and the youngest tadpoles alike! The cast of A Year with Frog and Toad will be announced at a later date. Recommended for all audiences. Best enjoyed by ages 3 – 8. 

Public Performance Schedule 

Fridays at 7 pm
Saturdays at 10:30 am & 2 pm
Sundays at 2 pm 

Tickets to the mainstage 2023-2024 Season productions are $20- $38. Tickets go on sale to the general public at 10 am CST on August 29 and are available through metroplays.org. For school bookings, email community@metroplays.org of fill out a bookings interest form online at metroplays.org/education.   

*Fall Family Festival
October 21-22, 2023
Grand Center Arts District
This fall Metro Theater Company partners with some of our region’s most loved arts and education organizations to create two days filled with artmaking, learning, food, and fun. Anchored by MTC’s productions of Maddi’s Fridge and Eddie & Vinnie, this festival will 

help the young people in your life sample all the best of the visual, creative, and 

performing arts. Food trucks on site. General admission is free for all. Advance registration is strongly recommended.  

Institutional and 2023-2024 Season support for Metro Theater Company is provided by 

Regional Arts Commission, Emerson, Crawford Taylor Foundation, Shubert Foundation, Whitaker Foundation, Fred M. Saigh Foundation, Missouri Arts Council, and National Endowment for the Arts.   

About Metro Theater Company: Since 1973, Metro Theater Company has been creating productions that respect young people’s intelligence, tell compelling stories, stimulate curiosity and provoke thoughtful reflection. The Company has reached a total audience of more than two million and has a national reputation for excellence in the field of professional theater for young audiences. Metro Theater Company has received major honors and awards, both locally and nationally. The company is led by Artistic Director Julia Flood and Managing Director Joe Gfaller. For more information, visit metroplays.org.  

By Lynn Venhaus

Oh, what a night! Any time you can be joyfully swept up by the catchy hooks and upbeat sounds of the Four Seasons catalog is a good day.

Although the music is the big draw, the personal stories of bandmates Frankie Valli, Nick Massi, Bob Gaudio and Tommy DeVito combine for the irresistible musical “Jersey Boys.” The four lads from New Jersey’s rough-and-tumble journey through the music business is a fascinating rags-to-riches story, the quintessential American Dream tale.

In its Stages St. Louis premiere, the Tony Award winner comes alive in the Kirkwood Performing Arts Center’s intimate staging in the Ross Family Theater. The show runs through Oct. 24.

This can’t-miss combination overflows with energy and charm – and 30 songs, including their chart-topping hits “Sherry” in 1962, “Big Girls Don’t Cry,” “Who Loves You” and their last number one from 1976, “December 1963: Oh! What a Night!” The group sold 175 million records.

Directed with verve by Stages’ mainstay Michael Hamilton, with input from associate director Gayle Seay and assistant director Christopher Kale Jones, each number is vibrantly staged. Dana Lewis’ choreography is snappy and stylized.

The addition of live music at Stages, with the band perched atop of James Wolk’s grid set design, is a major plus. Music director Jeremy Jacobs kept up a peppy infectious beat with a tight band.

Wolk has efficiently used the space to set up different nooks conveying time and place, from recording studios to Las Vegas, with Sean M. Savoie’s savvy lighting choices expertly enhancing the designs, starting with streetlamps, and moving on to glitzy showbiz venues.

After it opened on Broadway in 2005, the musical became a juggernaut, winning four Tony Awards, including Best Musical, Actor, Featured Actor and Lighting Design in 2006, and ran until 2017, with multiple resident companies in the U.S. and abroad, in addition to several national tours pleasing crowds for years.

“Jersey Boys” is currently the 12th longest-running Broadway show (4,642 performances in 11 years).

Stages has assembled a very capable quartet of smooth operators who mesh as a group –singing actors Christopher Kale Jones, Brent Michael DiRoma, Jason Michael Evans and Ryan Jesse are funny, appealing, good singers whose harmonizing brings a strong dynamic to the show.

Jones, as indefatigable lead singer Frankie Valli, pours his heart and soul into the role, with a comfortable falsetto and a passionate delivery. His rendition of “Can’t Take My Eyes Off You,” one of the show’s biggest moments, will give you goosebumps. He played Frankie on the first national tour.

Jason Michael Evans is an amusing Nick Massi, the quirky bass player, and he pulls off the deadpan delivery and crisp comic timing required of the role. Brent Michael DiRoma, who was so strong as Jerry in Stages’ “The Full Monty,” brings out the complexities of the swaggering troublemaker guitarist Tommy DeVito. He also had national tour experience, but in other roles.

The songwriting talents and keyboard prowess of young musical genius Bob Gaudio is charismatically portrayed by Ryan Jesse, who performed the role on Broadway and on tour.

Stages’ ensemble adroitly fills in the supporting roles: Edward Juvier is Bob Crewe and others, while Dereis Lambert, Jenna Coker-Jones, Nic Thompson, Brady Miller, Sarah Ellis, Donna Louden, Steve Isom, John Flack, Dena Digiacinto, Trevor James Berger, and Erik Keiser fluidly move the story along. The entire production has a close-knit feel.

They journey through backstage drama, in-fighting, inside show-business wheeling and dealing, and unsavory parts of personal and professional relationships.

Clever book writers Rick Elice and Oscar-winning screenwriter Marshall Brickman presented different points of view and broke the Fourth Wall, where characters talk directly to the audience. It’s a masterful touch.

The vintage outfits from several decades are crafted with flair by resident costume designer Brad Musgrove, who knows how to go way back into the time machine of early rock ‘n roll and sharply dress performers.

Because it resonates so well, “Jersey Boys” remains a blissful experience, a delightful jukebox musical with a smartly constructed book that features humor and heartache – not to mention it’s based on a remarkable true story. And those songs!

It was thrilling to be back together in a theater where you could feel the electric jolt on stage – and in the audience. I’ve seen this show, I think, seven times, and it is always a home run. Performers may be better than others, but such pizzazz. It never gets old.

Show features adult content, so viewer discretion.

“Jersey Boys” runs from Sept. 24 to Oct. 24. For information and tickets, visit www.stagesstlouis.org or call 314-821-2407.

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By Lynn Venhaus
Patsy Cline was that rare artist who made a deep connection with anyone who listened to her sing.

A similar effect happens with actresses Diana DeGarmo and Zoe Vonder Haar, who are a delightful combo of sweet and salty, smooth and sassy, silky and spirited, in the jukebox musical “Always…Patsy Cline,” now playing at Stages St. Louis through Sept. 5.

Raised in Georgia and now living in Nashville, DeGarmo has returned to her country music roots in a thoroughly engaging performance.

She sleekly inhabits Cline, who is considered the most popular female country singer in recording history. DeGarmo emulates Cline’s richly textured, emotive voice, and effortlessly delivers 27 numbers, including five with Vonder Haar, who plays Cline’s fan-turned-friend, Louise Seger.

DeGarmo, who was the runner-up on Season 3 of “American Idol” at age 16 in 2004, which Fantasia Barrino, 19, won (a total of 65 million votes were cast for both), has since pursued a music and musical theatre career, appearing on Broadway and in national tours.

Diana DeGarmo as Patsy Cline, Photographed by ProPhotoSTL

Previously in St. Louis, she was impressive as Doralee Rhodes in the first national tour of “9 to 5: The Musical,” which stopped at the Fox Theatre in February 2011, and also at the Fox in 2014 as the Narrator in the revival tour of “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.” Her husband, Ace Young, was Joseph. (She met Young, who was on American Idol’s fifth season, when they were cast in “Hair” and have been married since 2013).

She is poised and commanding as she interprets one hit song after another, showcasing her range and control. The vocals on the ballads “Crazy,” “I Fall to Pieces” and “Sweet Dreams” are particularly lush, tugging on your heart strings.

She has fun changing tempos with the more down-home numbers, such as “Stupid Cupid” and “Shake Rattle and Roll.”

DeGarmo projects an elegance, which is enhanced by Brad Musgrove’s gorgeous vintage costume designs, and she is exquisitely lit by lighting designer Sean M. Savoie.

She has a dynamic chemistry with feisty firecracker Vonder Haar, the veteran fan favorite who has played Louise twice before. Vonder Haar won the St. Louis Theater Circle Award for Best Supporting Actress in a Musical for the first time (and would go on to win that same award for Stages’ “The Full Monty” two years later).

It’s a good match. Seger, a colorful Texas housewife, was a devoted fan who first saw Patsy on “Arthur Godfrey’s Talent Scouts” in 1957, when she won after singing “Walkin’ After Midnight.” Living near Houston, she attended the singer’s show at the Esquire Ballroom in 1961, and they connected as friends, writing letters and talking on the phone until the singer’s tragic death at age 30 in a plane crash in 1963.

Playwright Ted Swindley fashioned the interviews Seger did for the biographies “Patsy Cline: An Intimate Biography” and “Honky Tonk Angel: The Intimate Story of Patsy Cline” into the source material for his 1988 two-woman tribute revue, “Always…Patsy Cline,” which is the epitome of a crowd-pleaser. It is licensed by Cline’s family and estate.

Zoe Vonder Haar as Louise Seger, photographed by ProPhotoSTL

From Seger in “Country Weekly”: “The person inside me recognized the person who lived inside her. It was truly eerie.”

Patsy joined Louise and her friends and after the show accepted an invitation to Louise’s home for a late-night breakfast. “It was like I was living in a dream. There was Patsy Cline in my kitchen helping me fix bacon and eggs. She took her shoes off and wore an apron I gave her.

“She told me about her life, her hopes, her dreams. We discussed loves lost, loves found, loves yet to be.

“We talked about her troubled marriage and the pain she endured being away from her children. It was just two people baring their souls.

“We both sang and harmonized old Gospel songs and hillbilly tunes. We sat there and smoked and sang until 4:00 in the morning.”

Louise rushed Patsy to the airport, expecting never to hear from her again. But within two weeks, Louise received her first in what was to be many letters and phone calls they would exchange.

“I often would receive calls at 1:00 in the morning. She’d be singing in some town wanting a friend to talk to.”

Of course, this was 60 years ago, before entertainers had security, a ‘team’ and ‘people.’ It was just two women bonding at a kitchen table.

While Swindley took some poetic license, the story is true – a glamorous celebrity who grew up without privilege and her plain-spoken, music-lovin’ pal.

From the moment she sashays on to scenic designer James Wolk’s vintage 1950s-era kitchen set, Vonder Haar, a St. Louis treasure, is a funny and sincere Louise. She engages the audience as comic relief with her folksy charm, coming across like a neighbor joining you for a kaffee klatch.

This memoir, which opens the theater company’s 35th anniversary year, is the most popular show in Stages’ history. This is the third time it’s being presented, after back-to-back runs in 2013 and 2014, which demonstrates again how endearing and charming it is. It was as warmly received Aug. 11 as it was seven and eight years ago.

The cozy show, first at Stages’ former home at Kirkwood’s Community Center, then moved intact to The Playhouse at Westport Plaza, is opening their new venue, the Kirkwood Center for the Performing Arts. The Ross Family Theatre seats 529 comfortably.

Artistic Director Michael Hamilton has recreated the production, capitalizing on the actress’s strengths. The premise is simple – showing Cline singing at the Grand Old Opry and other locations, with Louise listening to her on the radio, which was a communication lifeline for people back then.

A simpler time, a touch of nostalgia, admiration for a career cut way too short, but spotlighting music that continues to warm hearts to this day.

The lively band, conducted by music director Jeremy Jacobs, who also plays the piano, is an expert blend of Steve Hitsman on steel pedal guitar, Dave Black on electric and acoustic guitars, Kevin Buckley on acoustic guitar and fiddle, Eric Grossman on bass and Joe Meyer on drums. Their tight sound is mighty in an alcove perched behind a scrim.

Original orchestrations for the band and vocals were crafted by August Eriksmoen and Tony Migliore.

While the songs take center stage, the fascinating tale of a close friendship between kindred spirits is what resonates, drawing an audience in, one who welcomes the warm embrace of harmony in music and life.

Diana DeGarmo as Patsy Cline, photographed by ProPhotoSTL

Stages St. Louis presents “Always…Patsy Cline” through Sept. 5, performance times vary, at the Ross Family Theatre inside the Kirkwood Performing Arts Center at 210 Monroe St. ASL interpreting and audio description by MindsEye will be available for the Aug. 20 show. For more information, call 314-821-2407 or visit www.StagesSt.Louis.org. Follow Stages on Facebook and Instagram.