Muny Tributes to Ken Page Include Naming of Theatre Awards and New Stage, Hall of Fame Induction

ST. LOUIS — The Muny will honor St. Louis theatre legend Ken Page by renaming the St. Louis High School Musical Theatre Awards, dedicating a new stage in his name and inducting him into the Muny Hall of Fame. A fund has also been established in Page’s name.

“Since the loss of our beloved friend — a man who was truly the voice, heart and spirit of The Muny — we have been working to find ways to honor the remarkable legacy of Ken Page,” said Muny President & CEO Kwofe Coleman. “Ken’s impact on each of us was truly immeasurable, but my hope is that through these opportunities we can continue to pay it forward.”

The plans were revealed at a memorial event April 11 at the Sheldon Concert Hall in St. Louis. Page died Sept. 30 at age 70.

“I’m truly happy that Ken’s name will live on forever at the theatre he called home,” said Muny Artistic Director & Executive Producer Mike Isaacson.

Starting with the 2025-26 academic year, the St. Louis High School Musical Theatre Awards — an annual celebration of outstanding achievement in high school musical theatre — will become the Ken Page Awards. 

Participating schools’ productions are evaluated by a panel of theatre professionals in a process that culminates in a ceremony modeled on the Tony Awards. The awards are presented by Carol B. Loeb and produced by The Muny, the Fox Performing Arts Charitable Foundation and the Fabulous Fox Theatre.

This year’s awards will be handed out May 15 at the Fabulous Fox Theatre.

The outstanding actress and outstanding actor winners are sent to New York City for a weeklong, all-expenses-paid theatre intensive led by Broadway professionals. The week ends with the Jimmy Awards — a program of the Broadway League Foundation — in which the nation’s top two young performers are selected. 

Learn more about the awards at slhsmta.com.

As a permanent memorial at the theatre that was Page’s creative home for more than five decades, The Muny will introduce the Ken Page Stage. This outdoor performance space will be located on the new Kooyumjian Family Plaza, directly behind the theatre’s free seats, where Page enjoyed his first childhood visits to The Muny.

The Ken Page Stage will host performances by local dancers and musicians as part of The Muny’s nightly Preshow Festival. The stage is the focal point of a complete renovation of the upper plaza — funded by a $5 million gift from the Thomas A. Kooyumjian Family Foundation — that will create a more welcoming and equitable experience for all Muny patrons. 

Kooyumjian Family Plaza and the Ken Page Stage will be revealed June 1 at Season Showcase: An Exclusive Donor Event. The plaza opens to the public when the 2025 Muny season begins June 16.

Find the schedule of preshow performances at muny.org/visit/preshow-festival.

Contributions made to The Muny in honor of Page will be used by our education department to directly support young performers in their first season with us. 

“We’ll also be able to help young artists who are developing their careers,” Coleman said, “whether it’s helping someone cover housing for an internship or helping a family purchase the items they need for their young performer.”

To designate a gift in memory of Page, visit muny.org/support/commemorate.

Page will join esteemed artists including Yul Brynner, Angela Lansbury, Pearl Bailey and Carol Channing on the Muny Hall of Fame, whose inductees are featured on a series of plaques lining the theatre’s east and west pergolas. Honorees include actors, composers/lyricists, Muny staff members and other dignitaries selected by the theatre’s board of directors in recognition of contributions made to the performing arts and to The Muny.

New this season, Muny patrons will be able to scan a QR code accompanying each plaque to learn more about the 37 Hall of Fame members.

A Bishop DuBourg High School graduate and longtime St. Louisan, Page made his Muny debut in 1972 in the ensemble of South Pacific. He went from St. Louis to starring roles on Broadway, in London and in film. He graced the Muny stage in more than 45 productions, most recently as the Bishop of Digne in Les Misérables (2024).

Since 2013, Page served as “the voice of The Muny,” his singular baritone welcoming audience members before each performance. He also voiced the theatre’s TV and radio advertisements.

Page’s talents are known far beyond St. Louis. He provided the voice for Mr. Oogie Boogie in the Disney/Tim Burton animated film The Nightmare Before Christmas and performed the score live at The Hollywood Bowl, Barclays Center NY, LA’s Banc of California Stadium, Glasgow, London (SSE Arena, Wembley), Dublin and Tokyo. His other film credits include Dreamgirls, Torch Song Trilogy and All Dogs Go to Heaven.

He made his Broadway debut as Nicely-Nicely Johnson in the all-Black revival of Guys and Dolls and starred as Old Deuteronomy in the original Broadway company of Cats. Other Broadway credits include Ain’t Misbehavin’ (Ken) and The Wiz (Lion). In London’s West End: Children of Eden (Father), My One and Only in Concert (London Palladium).

Page received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Manhattan Association of Cabaret Artists (MAC), Project One Voice/Black Theatre and the St. Louis Arts Foundation.

Learn more and find photos from Page’s career in the Muny Press Room.

Now entering its 107th season in St. Louis, The Muny is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit dedicated to producing exceptional musical theatre, accessible to all, continuing its remarkable tradition in Forest Park. As the nation’s oldest and largest outdoor musical theatre, The Muny welcomes more than 300,000 patrons each summer for seven world-class productions under the stars. Learn more at muny.org.