Theatre Company Strives to Ensure its Art is Accessible,
Especially in this Time of Inflation

LOUIS / September 7, 2022 – Moonstone Theatre Company is proud to announce its full lineup for the 2022-23 season at the Kirkwood Performing Arts Center (KPAC, 210 E. Monroe Ave, Kirkwood). The season will kick off with Barefoot in the Park, October 27 – November 13, and continue with The Sound Inside, January 26 – February 12, and Grand Horizons, March 16 – April 2. Each production has a 12-performance run.
“The second season of Moonstone Theatre Company will feature both new plays as well as one classics of the American Theatre,” said Sharon Hunter, founder and producing artistic director of Moonstone Theatre Company.  “We will explore themes of humans attempting to continue to understand each other. Sometimes in moments of great humor and sometimes in moments of great pathos. One thing is certain – this season is about the human spirit and empathy.”

Moonstone also announces lower ticket prices for its upcoming, three-show season. The theatre’s adult general admission ticket prices are now $40, which is down 20% from last season.

“Our goal is to make the art we put on our stage as accessible as possible,” added Hunter. “Accessible theatre is a passion of mine and especially important at this time of rising inflation. This 20 percent reduction can make the difference in seeing live theatre or not being able to afford it.”

The season kicks off with Barefoot in the Park by Neil Simon. Hunter is directing this romantic comedy that tells the story of Paul and Corie Bratter, who are newlyweds in every sense of the word. He’s a straight-as-an-arrow lawyer, and she’s a free spirit always looking for the latest kick. Their new apartment is her most recent find – too expensive with bad plumbing and in need of a paint job. After a six-day honeymoon, they get a surprise visit from Corie’s loopy mother and decide to play matchmaker during a dinner with their neighbor-in-the-attic, Velasco, where everything that can go wrong does. Paul just doesn’t understand Corie, as she sees it. He’s too staid, too boring.  She just wants him to be a little more spontaneous – and running “barefoot in the park” would be a start.

The Sound Inside by Adam Rapp opened on Broadway in 2019 to rave reviews. This new play is a gripping drama centers around a brilliant Ivy League professor Bella Baird, a mysterious student Christopher Dunn and a troubling favor.  Bella begins to mentor the brilliant but enigmatic Christopher, and the two form an unexpectedly intense bond. As their lives and the stories they tell about themselves become intertwined in unpredictable ways, Bella makes a surprising request of Christopher that neither knows if he can fulfill. Brimming with suspense, Rapp’s riveting play explores the limits of what one person can ask of another.

Moonstone will close its season with another new Broadway hit Grand Horizons by Bess Wohl. The comedy is Sophisticated, funny, delightfully – and sometimes provocatively – honest, as it takes an intimate look at the unpredictable and enduring nature of love. Happily married for 50 years, Bill and Nancy practically breathe in unison; they anticipate each other’s sighs, sneezes and ends of sentences. But just as they settle into their new retirement home in Florida, Nancy wants out. As their two adult sons struggle to cope with the news, they’re forced to question everything they assumed about the people they thought they knew best.

Renewal for the current Moonstone Theatre Company subscribers will begin on Wednesday, September 7, by calling 314-412-3850.

Single tickets and new subscriptions will go on sale at 10 a.m. on Monday, September 12. Visit moonstonetheatrecompany.com for both single tickets and new subscription packages.

Show times are Thursdays through Saturdays at 7:30 p.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m.

The only exception is the last weekend of Barefoot in the Park, when there is no show on Friday, November 11, two shows on Saturday, November 12, at 3 and 7:30 p.m. The closing performance on Barefoot in the Park is on Sunday, November 13, at 2 p.m.

St. Louis’ vibrant theater community just got a little brighter with the addition of new performing arts organization Moonstone Theatre Company.

Moonstone was founded by St. Louis native Sharon Hunter, who serves as the company’s artistic director and producer. Hunter has made a name for herself nationally as a professional actor, singer, director and producer. Most recently Hunter was performing and producing in New York City, but decided to move back home to start Moonstone.  St. Louisans may recognize her as the original host and producer of KEZK’s “Pillow Talk” or her time hosting at Y98.

“Moonstone Theatre Company was founded in response to my vision for creating a cultural theatrical environment in St. Louis to inspire actors and artists to do their best work,” Hunter says. “St. Louis is a great theatre city and I think it’s wonderful to be a part of that cultural conversation. It is essential for the arts to contribute to this conversation particularly during challenging times.”

Hunter says the name Moonstone combines two things close to her heart.

“I have always loved the moon. I gain energy, clarity and inspiration from the moonlight. I knew I wanted the word moon somewhere in the company title,” she says. “I was also committed to finding a way to incorporate my former NYC acting coach, the late Peter Flint, and his name in there as well.  He was like a true father figure to me, and I thought that since “flint” is a stone then I could put that together and create Moonstone.”

Hunter says Moonstone will focus on producing works that challenge and enlighten audiences on important and socially relevant topics including equality, diversity, mental illness, addiction and sexual harassment and assault.

“Theatre truly is a reflection of life,” says Hunter. “I’m happy to be back in my hometown where I began and collaborate with so many talented artists and actors. There is something very special about returning to St. Louis and having the opportunity to bring new ideas and experiences to an art form I dearly love.”

“How exciting for St. Louis that another wonderful Theatre Artist with great entrepreneurial chutzpah is broadening our vibrant theatre community,” enthused Edward Coffield, the artistic director and producer at New Jewish Theatre.  “There is such great legacy here in St. Louis when savvy theatre practitioners are willing to plant roots and continue the tradition of great theatre in St. Louis.”

Moonstone’s debut production, “The House of Blue Leaves” by John Guare, will open at the Wool Studio Theatre at the Jewish Community Center (2 Millstone Campus Drive, Creve Coeur, 63146) on Thursday, July 16, 2020, directed by Annamaria Pileggi. Auditions for the show will be held Saturday, October 26 from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. at the JCC, and callbacks will be held at the theater on Monday, October 28. Those wanting more information about the audition process can register online here or email moonstonetheatrestl@gmail.com.

Moonstone Theatre Company’s Mission Statement

Moonstone Theatre Company is a new professional performing arts organization which will offer the community a wide range of quality theatrical productions while supporting local arts and education. Moonstone Theatre looks to inspire, entertain and challenge audiences with productions that range from the classics to new works. Moonstone Theatre Company celebrates the power of the theatre to illuminate our diversity and enlighten our shared humanity.