St. Louis Shakespeare is St. Louis' original classical theatre company, celebrating our 40th season this year! Founded in 1985 by Artistic Director Donna Northcott, who had a passion for Shakespeare's plays but no local opportunities. So, as Mickey Rooney said to Judy Garland in BABES IN ARMS (and STRIKE UP THE BAND and BABES ON BROADWAY, . . .) Donna said to her friends, "Hey, kids, let's put on a show!"
Well, maybe not those exact words, but you get the idea.
FROM THE FOUNDING ARTISTIC DIRECTOR: My mother used to say something about the fact that, aerodynamically speaking, "bumblebees can't fly, only no one told the bumblebees that." Smart woman, my mom. So, there I was, this punk kid with little more than a brand new Theatre degree, a passion for Shakespeare, and a couple hundred dollars in her savings account (this is sounding more like Mickey Rooney all the time . . .) and so I decided to put on a production of Shakespeare's TWELFTH NIGHT.
It never could have happened without a lot of luck, hard work, and MANY talented theatre lovers - people who were generous with their time, talent, and money. The show was directed by Stoney Breyer and Stage Managed by Anne Long Breyer (the first of several marriages that started with SLS); performances were at the old College of Pharmacy lecture hall, where "exit stage right" meant stepping out onto the fire escape (thanks to the late Dr. John Grotpeter, who allowed us to perform in their venue). Set pieces were loaned, costumes were borrowed from SLU Theatre, UMSL and Meramec Community College theatres, and the rest were constructed from curtains (thanks, Goodwill!). And the very talented artist Jim Kempster created not just the lovely design for the program, but also our original Falstaff logo.
The show went up, audiences enjoyed it, and after all the expenses were paid, we actually had a couple hundred dollars left over. It was going to be divided up between the cast and crew, but several of them said, "This was fun - what are we doing next?"
"Next?"
Returning to another philosophy which I've adapted throughout my life, "less experienced people than me have started theatre companies . . ."
So, I decided we should follow up with a rotating repertory of HAMLET and MIDSUMMER. Yeah, I know, "You somehow managed to put up 1 production - what the h*eck are you thinking following up with rotating rep?!"
Hear me out: I was of the opinion that productions often suffered by having strong actors in the leading roles, and then the director had to scramble to cast LADY-IN-WAITING, 1st SPEAR CARRIER, and FAIRY #2. So LOGICALLY, one could get more experienced actors by having giving them a major role in one production and supporting role in the other (LAERTES doubles as STARVELING and OPHELIA doubles as PEASEBLOSSOM, and so on).
Flash forward to 2025 and St. Louis Shakespeare is not only still producing, but we are one of roughly 8 "completionist companies" in the US. (For you non-nerds out there, that means SLS has produced all of Shakespeare's plays. And we even threw in EDWARD III and CARDENIO, for good measure!)
Not only is SLS still here, but we have spawned several other area companies over the years, including MAGIC SMOKING MONKEY THEATRE. Not to mention creating HOOCH & DADDY-O, a feature film starring dozens of local actors.
Where was I? Oh, yeah - To celebrate our 40th anniversary, we are re-visiting TWELFTH NIGHT, Shakespeare's heartwarming romantic comedy, presented October 2 - 5, 2025 at the Lee Theatre in the Touhill Performing Arts Center at UMSL.
And Magic Smoking Monkey Theatre is presenting 2 brand new productions in the Lee Theatre:
A HARD DAY'S NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD: The Musical! July 24 - 27, 2025
Beatles vs Zombies in glorious black and white! Featuring all original songs! "They're coming to get you, Ringo . . ."
and
A MAGIC SMOKING CHRISTMAS CAROL December 4 - 7, 2025
Join us as we forever tarnish your favorite holiday tradition!
We are eternally grateful to people - like you! - who support our efforts, both classical and . . . um . . . just weird. Please take a moment to make a donation to SLS / MSMT and we look forward to seeing you at the theatre!