ST. LOUIS — The stands at the Muny were empty this summer due to the coronavirus pandemic — but as they say, the show must go on.
The Muny announced Monday it had record-breaking livestreaming totals for its first-ever fully-online season. In total, the theatre put on 10 livestreams that garnered 189,582 attendees from 22 countries, according to YouTube analytics.
The streams were part of “The Muny Summer 2020 Variety Hour Live!” which streamed on its YouTube page on Mondays and Thursdays from July 22 to Aug. 17.
The variety hour shows showcased clips from previous Muny performances from the last seven seasons, including Disney’s “The Little Mermaid”, “The Wiz”, “South Pacific”, “Jersey Boys”, “Newsies” and “The Music Man.”
The Muny had previously never been able to share those shows publicly.
The Muny said it was able to employ several members of its typical summer staff to make it all happen.
"While this season was anything but ordinary, the support from our viewers has been nothing short of extraordinary," said Muny President and CEO Denny Reagan in a news release.
"They took this leap of faith and trusted us to deliver their Muny summer onscreen instead of onstage. We will always be thankful for their unwavering support and for the work of all the people who came together to make this happen. On behalf of the entire Muny family, we can't wait to meet everyone back at The Muny next summer.”
"I am so grateful to everyone in the Muny family who worked on and created these 10 streams,” said Muny Artistic Director and Executive Producer Mike Isaacson. “It was a remarkable collaboration in so many ways, and in this really challenging time, these shows allowed us to create, to celebrate and to be together. We’re all very grateful.”
