The Muny: A Broadway-Quality Outdoor Theater Experience

Outdoor theater occupies a grand tradition in St. Louis. The 1904 World’s Fair played host to entertainment of all kinds, including theater. It is believed that the Fair created a desire for an outdoor theater presence in the area, a desire played out in 1916 with the production of the Shakespeare play As You Like It between two oak trees in Forest Park. A year later, in 1917, the City of St. Louis opened up a theater on that same grassy site, and in 1919 it gave that theater its famed name: The St. Louis Municipal Opera Theater, or The Muny.

Over a century later, The Muny remains an iconic outdoor theater. In 2025, the venue won the Regional Tony Award, solidifying its place as one of the best outdoor theaters in America.

The best part of The Muny is that it is not only a top-caliber venue, but it’s also quite accessible.

Getting There

The Muny sits in the heart of Forest Park. There are a number of ways to get there, with most travelers coming into Forest Park by way of either Interstate 64 or Forest Park Parkway.

Parking

There are two public parking lots close to The Muny, the Lower Lot or the The Upper Lot (called the Festival and Parking Plaza on Google Maps). In our experience, the Lower Lot (Google Maps link) is frequently cordoned off for handicapped drivers, so no promises that you’ll find parking there. The Upper Lot (Google Maps link) is large and typically has space unless you arrive pretty close to the show start time. Both the Upper and Lower Lots have accessible drop-off and wheelchair service. Both lots are free to park.

A third Muny parking area, the VIP Parking Area, is reserved for donors giving more than $1,000 a year to The Muny.

There is additional parking in Forest Park, including parallel parking along various streets, although be aware that some of them can be difficult to get out of during the rush of cars exiting a performance. Another option for parking is the Visitor’s Center Lot (Google Maps link), which is a 10-15-minute walk from The Muny entrance and is both large and rarely full. Street parking and the Visitor’s Center Lot are both also free.

A final note about parking: expect to wait a while when leaving. The Muny welcomes thousands of spectators every night, and Forest Park will be jammed with vehicles for some time afterward, no matter which direction you go. Be patient.

Costs and Considerations

The Muny offers two kinds of seats, free and paid.

Muny paid tickets come in both season tickets and single-performance tickets, and they can be purchased online ahead of time or at the box office. It goes without saying that tickets are best purchased ahead of time, especially for popular shows. Closer seats are more expensive than farther ones. Box seat tickets in the middle are the hardest to get.

Of the 11,000 seats in The Muny, about 1,400 of them are in the free seats, located behind Terrace C. Free seats open at 7:00 p.m. and are first come, first served. In our experience, these seats rarely fill up entirely, but for very popular shows there may only be a scattering of single seats here in there in the section. If you want to sit with a group of people during a very popular show, you’ll want to be in line no later than 7, and possibly earlier. Some people show up as early as 4 or 5 p.m., but we don’t really think that is necessary.

All theatergoers are subject to security screening upon entry, so be advised that certain items are prohibited.

Outside food and drink, however, are allowed, so long as they meet certain requirements, including no alcohol.

The Muny is outdoors, and that brings the uncertainties of weather with it. While, there are large fans that help circulate air in the theater, things can still be hot, especially before the sun goes down. Rain can also delay or even cancel shows; when that happens, theater staff will communicate how to proceed. You can read about the inclement weather policy here.

Things to Do

Every night at The Muny begins with preshow festivities at multiple locations all around the theater. The preshow starts at 6:45 p.m. and goes until 8:00 p.m., and it is free. Vendor tables may also set up shop in various places, depending on circumstances.

In addition, you can purchase concessions and souvenirs before and during the show.

All purchases at The Muny are cashless, so have a card ready if you plan to buy anything. Concessions and souvenirs are sold along the east and west pergolas as well as the upper plaza behind the free seats.

Another food option, Café One, can be found along the east pergola. In 2025, the cafe options included grinders, salad, tacos, and loaded nachos. Bear in mind that because of the way security is set up at various entrances to the theater, free seatgoers wanting to get food from Café One will have to go through one security checkpoint to get to the café and then go through another one again to get back to the free seats. It’s a quick and smooth process, though.

If you want a more premium option for dining, you can reserve seats at the the buffet at Culver Pavilion. Prices vary depending on the show, but $40-$50 per adult ticket — and less for kids — is typical.

The main event is, of course, the show. Shows start promptly at 8:15 p.m. and there is always an intermission during the show.

Our Thoughts

Our family has attended many Muny productions over the years. On the positive side, the productions are always world-class. The Muny draws Broadway-level talent to its shows, and it shows. We’ve never seen a Muny performance where the acting, singing, and dancing weren’t stellar. That you can attend such a show for free via the free section is remarkable.

We also like the accessibility. It’s possible to bring food to The Muny, sit in the free seats, and enjoy the evening at no cost other than what you pay for gas. The free seats are reasonably good, in our view, sitting right behind the Terrace C section. You can’t see small details, but you can see the main action and hear things just fine. Bringing a pair of binoculars can help if you’re wanting to see some of the finer details.

Our biggest negatives with the theater are two things.

First, there is not a lot of height difference between the rows of seats, so we frequently have trouble seeing around people’s heads. This is a problem even if the people sitting in front of us are of average height. It’s one reason why we tend to prefer the free seats because we’d rather not pay to watch the show around the back of someone’s head.

Two, at times, audience behavior is problematic. We’ve sat as far back as the free seats and as close as Terrace A, and we’ve intermittently had to deal with distractions in the form of chatting adults and children. We’re not bothered by kids being kids and occasionally making noise, but we’ve sat in more expensive Terrace A seats and listened to kids talk loudly nonstop through the show. We’ve also heard some adults talk frequently throughout shows. This is a difference between Muny crowds and crowds at other theaters we’ve been to. Additionally, in Terrace C, we’ve observed kids wandering around the seating area and playing while their parents are watching the show. Not surprisingly, we tend to see poor theater etiquette more during the more popular shows.

It doesn’t happen every show, but it does happen.

The Muny can still be a good theater experience, but it’s important to bring some patience with you. Between the potential heat, the uncertainties of inclement weather, the traffic leaving the show, possible seating / visibility issues, and potential crowd distractions, understand that this will be a different experience from other venues. If you’re okay with that, you’ll enjoy what is a Broadway-caliber show in a unique outdoor summer stage.