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Meet Me in St. Louis

Based on the heartwarming MGM film, Meet Me In St. Louis is a rare treasure in the musical theatre: a wholesome and enchanting portrait of a turn-of-the-century American family.

More information

Description

  • Full Length Musical
  • Dramatic Comedy
  • 120 minutes

  • Time Period: 1900-1910
  • Target Audience: Appropriate for all audiences
  • Set Requirements: Unit Set/Multiple Settings
  • Cautions: No Special Cautions
  • Orchestra Size: Large

  • Performance Group:
  • Church/Religious Groups, Community Theatre, High School/Secondary, Professional Theatre, College Theatre / Student
It is the summer of 1903, and everyone in the Smith family eagerly anticipates the opening of the 1904 World’s Fair. Over the course of a year, the family's mutual respect, tempered with good-natured humor, helps them through romance, opportunity, and heartbreaks.

The musical includes seven of the best-loved songs from the film, plus ten additional Martin and Blane songs written specially for the stage. Memorable musical numbers include "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas," "The Boy Next Door," "The Trolley Song," and "Whenever I’m with You."
REVIEWS:

"A delightful take on a nostalgic classic!"

Misha Berson, The Seattle Times

"A charming portrait of upper-middle-class American family life at the turn of the last century, when the World’s Fair was coming to St. Louis, complete with outdoor electric lights."

Anita Gates, The New York Times

"A bit of theatrical cotton candy, if you will... it is a tasty confection."

Bob Ashby, DC Metro Theater Arts

"Sweetly engaging... a snow globe of a show."

Calvin Wilson, St. Louis Post Dispatch

"A delightful take on a nostalgic classic... Hugh Wheeler’s book for the musical, based on Sally Benson’s nostalgic stories, is family-friendly in its handling of first love, sibling rivalry, harmless pranks and hometown pride."

Misha Berson, The Seattle Times

Premiere Production: The MGM film Meet Me in St. Louis premiered on November 28, 1944, starring Judy Garland, Margaret O'Brien, Mary Astor, Lucille Bremer, Tom Drake and Marjorie Main. The stage version opened on Broadway at the Gershwin Theatre on November 2, 1989, starring Betty Garrett, George Hearn, Charlotte Moore and Milo O'Shea.

Characters

  • Casting: 5M, 7F
  • Casting Attributes: Strong Role for Leading Woman (Star Vehicle), Roles for Teens, Roles for Children, Expandable casting
  • Chorus Size: Large

  • Principals:
    ESTHER SMITH - lively and attractive daughter, about seventeen.
    MRS. ANNA SMITH - fortyish, good and loving mother
    TOOTIE SMITH - bright six-year-old daughter
    ROSE SMITH - beautiful and chic daughter, about eighteen
    KATIE - the Smiths' cook and housemaid, Irish and about fifty
    AGNES SMITH - tomboyish twelve-year-old daughter
    JOHN TRUITT - handsome, athletic boy next door, about nineteen
    LON SMITH - good-looking, nineteen-year-old Princeton freshman
    MR. ALONSO SMITH - fortyish, father and lawyer
    WARREN SHEFFIELD - Rose's suitor, an eligible young man from a rich family
    LUCILLE BALLARD - a sophisticated and charming young lady
    GRANDPA PROPHATER - Mrs. Smith's father, a Civil War veteran

    Supporting:
    EVE - Lon's date at his going-away party
    POSTMAN - middle-aged Irish man
    MOTORMAN - trolley care driver
    CLINTON BADGER, PEEWEE DRUMMOND & SIDNEY PURVIS - three awkward, bumbling young men

    Ensemble:
    TROLLEY PASSENGERS
    ASSEMBLED GUESTS AT LON'S PARTY
    BALLROOM COUPLES
    CAROLERS

    • Available Material

    Name Price
    Perusal Material Shipped immediately. This is optional. Order Now

    1 x Lib-Vocal Book

    		$24.00
    Rehearsal Material Shipped a minimum of 3 months before the last performance. This must be hired as a condition of the License to produce this show.

    20 x Prompt Books with Vocal Parts
    2 x Piano-Conductor's Score

    		$550.00 +$135.00/pm
    Orchestral Material Shipped a minimum of 1 month before the last performance. This is optional.

    1 Reed I - Flute, Piccolo and Clarinet
    1 Reed II - Flute and Clarinet
    1 Reed III - Oboe, English Horn (or Clarinet) and Clarinet
    1 Reed IV - Clarinet, Bass Clarinet, and Bassoon

    2 Horn I & II
    2 Trumpet I & II (both double Flugelhorn; 1st doubles Cornet)
    1 Trumpet III (doubling Flugelhorn)
    1 Trombone I (Tenor Trombone)
    1 Trombone II (Bass Trombone doubling Tuba)

    2 Percussion I & II (trap drum set & mallet instruments)
    Percussion 1 primarily plays: Bells (Glockenspiel), Vibraphone, Xylophone, Timpani (2 drums), Suspended Cymbal, Triangles (small and large); occasionally Bell Tree, Castanets, Chuck Wagon Bell (18-inch Iron Ring); Crotale (E-flat), Gong, Gran Cassa, Jews Harp, Mark Tree, Piatti, Ratchet, Siren Whistle, Slap Stick, and Tambourine.

    Percussion 2 primarily plays trap drum set (Bass Drum, Snare Drum, 2 Rack Toms, Floor Tom and Cymbals: hi-hat, crash, ride, sizzle, splash, thin crash, and large); occasionally Sleigh Bells and Small Triangle.

    Both players use Temple Blocks (5 blocks), Wood Block, Cow Bell and Trolley Bell (Bell Plate or Brake Drum)

    1 Guitar-Banjo
    1 Harp
    1 Piano
    Synthesizer part, primarily Piano, Celeste and Arco Strings
    Other required sounds are Banjo, Bells (Glockenspiel), Calliope, Guitar, Harpsichord, Honkeytonk Piano, Piano/Celeste (split keyboard or additional keyboard), Soft Horns, Muted Strings, Woodwinds, and Xylophone. Cues are written for Harp, Horns and Strings

    3 Violins (1 player doubles Banjorene)
    2 Cello
    1 Bass

    Piano-Conductor's Score sent with rehearsal material



    		 $350.00 +$135.00/pm

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