Oscar Winner Mark Sonnenblick Pens New Song for Muny Meet Me in St. Louis

Oscar, Grammy, and Golden Globe winner Mark Sonnenblick has written a new song exclusively for the Muny’s upcoming production of Meet Me in St. Louis—the heartwarming musical about the Smith family’s preparations for the 1904 St. Louis World’s Fair—which will play the St. Louis, Missouri, venue August 6-13.

Entitled “That’s Enough of That,” the song is written for the character Katie Connelly, the Smith family’s beloved housekeeper, who will be played in the Muny production by Tony winner Beth Leavel, who just concluded an acclaimed engagement in the title role of the Ogunquit Playhouse’s Hello, Dolly!

Arranged and orchestrated by Greg Anthony Rassen, the song will be performed in the musical’s second act when eldest Smith daughters Esther and Rose are frustrated by Lucille Ballard’s breaking of custom ahead of their final Christmas Ball in St. Louis. Katie steps in to give them some wry advice.

“Writing a new song for a musical as beloved as Meet Me in St. Louis is both a tremendous honor and an inspiring challenge,” Sonnenblick said in a statement. “I, of course, feel the same way about getting to write for Beth. I only hope ‘That’s Enough of That’ seems like a natural extension of Katie’s warm humor and heart.”

“Since 1960, when The Muny premiered the first stage edition of Meet Me, more than 25 songs that weren’t in the film version have appeared in various stage adaptations—including a 1989 Broadway production,” added Muny Artistic Director and Executive Producer Mike Isaacson. “The 1944 film was what we today would call a jukebox musical. It had only four original songs, and the rest were popular known songs.

“When we produced the show in 2018, Gordon Greenberg’s revised book made us understand that Katie needed a new second-act number. The opportunity to add a new song by one of today’s most exciting songwriters is incredibly special.”

Meet Me in St. Louis, in fact, has evolved with each Muny staging. Its book was revised by The Muny in the 1990s and again for the centennial season. The 2018 script, with additional material by Greenberg, will also be used for this summer’s production, the ninth at The Muny.

Sonnenblick recently co-wrote seven songs for KPop Demon Hunters, including “Golden,” “Your Idol,” and “What It Sounds Like,” earning him an Academy Award, a Grammy Award, a Golden Globe and an extended run as the No. 1 songwriter on the Billboard Hot 100. His musical Midnight at The Never Get, starring Ben Platt and directed by David Cromer, is currently playing at London’s Menier Chocolate Factory.

Leavel, a Tony winner for her performance as the title character in The Drowsy Chaperone, has appeared in 13 Muny productions, including Gypsy; Oklahoma!; Hello, Dolly!; Nunsense: Muny Style!; Thoroughly Modern Millie; Annie; Mame; 42nd Street; and Grease.

The upcoming production of Meet Me in St. Louis will be directed by Maggie Burrows with
choreography by Sarah Meahl and music direction by conductor Paul
Byssainthe Jr.

Joining Leavel on stage will be Broadway
married couple Patti Murin as Mrs. Anna Smith and Colin Donnell as Mr.
Alonzo Smith plus Katerina McCrimmon as Esther Smith, Stan Brown as
Grandpa Prophater, Andrew Poston as John Truitt, Kyla Stone as Rose
Smith, Ilan Eskenazi as Lon Smith, Lilah Levinson as Tootie Smith,
Joylin Bass as Agnes Smith, and Lissa deGuzman as Lucille Ballard. 

Meet Me in St. Louis has music and lyrics by Ralph Blane and
Hugh Martin, plus additional material by Richard Rodgers and Oscar
Hammerstein II; George W. Meyer, Edgar Leslie, and E. Ray Goetz; and
Kerry Mills and Andrew B. Sterling. The musical has an original book by
Hugh Wheeler with a revised book by Gordon Greenberg, based on The Kensington Stories by Sally Benson and the MGM motion picture Meet Me in St. Louis. The 1989 Broadway production was nominated for four 1990 Tony Awards, including Best Musical.

The 1944 film starred Judy Garland. Songs include “Have Yourself a
Merry Little Christmas,” “The Boy Next Door,” “The Trolley Song,” and
“Whenever I’m With You.”

The production will also have associate choreography by Michael
Santomassimo, scenic design by Ann Beyersdorfer, costume design by Leon
Dobkowski, lighting design by Paige Seber, sound design by Joshua
Hummel, video design by Kylee Loera and
Greg Emetaz, wig design by Kelley Jordan, and production stage
management by Willie
Porter. Casting is by The Telsey Office‘s Rachel Hoffman.

The Muny artistic staff includes Artistic Director and Executive
Producer Isaacson, Associate Artistic Director Michael Baxter,
Director of Production Tracy Utzmyers, and Music Supervisors Michael
Horsley and Evan Roider.

Season 108 at The Muny continues with Disney’s Newsies (through July 22), Ain’t Too Proud: The Life and Times of The Temptations (July 27-August 2), Meet Me in St. Louis (August 6-13), and Something Rotten! (August 17-23).

Visit Muny.org.