Brunch With Blanche Pool Party Raises Funds for Streetcar & Beyond 10th Anniversary Season of Tennessee Williams Festival St. Louis
For ten years now, the institution (and yes, they can officially call it an institution at the decade mark) has lifted high the banner and has been the siren call that beckons all to bask in the brilliance of St. Louis’ adopted son, and arguably the greatest playwright in the nation, the inimitable Tennessee Williams. This month and next, the festival shifts into high gear with events at the St. Louis County Library, the Missouri History Museum, a CWE mansion, and the eleven day festival itself in the Grand Center Arts District.
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As the Planet Heats Up, So Does Midsummer in St. Louis as Shown in Our July/August Issue
As you globe trot this summer, you may notice that the planet is getting warmer. 2024 was the warmest year on record since 1880. Record-setting temps have swept the country in June, and St. Louis is no exception with the heat index soaring to 105 degrees or more. It’s about to heat up a whole lot more, especially when the July/August issue of Sophisticated Living St. Louis hits your mailbox, or you pick it up at one of our advertisers. If you’re reading this, you’re probably from the Show-Me State, and as always we SHOW YOU the best in fashion, travel, cuisine, architecture, design, and philanthropic endeavors to be, well, for lack of a better word...seen.
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Missouri History Museum Ignited Pride Month with a Bonanza of LGBTQIA+ Performers with Its Annual "Queer Writes Celebration
On June 5th, Joan Lipkin’s “Queer Writes 2025” at the Missouri History Museum helped launch Pride Month this year. In its third outing, the community was showcased. In 2023, the award-winning theatre artist, Lipkin, founded this out-of-the-box literary event of local LGBTQ+ writers or those with St Louis roots. It was the most ambitious production to date. “Queer Writes” is part of the Missouri History Museum’s Pride Month programming as well as its Thursday Night at the Museum series.
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Missouri Historical Society Opens Tuskegee Airmen Exhibit on Juneteeth
The national observation of Juneteeth commences with the opening of The Missouri Historical Society Tuskegee Airmen: America’s Freedom Flyers at Soldiers Memorial Military Museum on June 19. The exhibit will run through November 2, 2025. This exhibit tells the story of the first Black pilots in the U.S. Army Air Corps and their courageous service during World War II. Through images and interpretive panels, Tuskegee Airmen: America’s Freedom Flyers celebrates the resilience and impact of these trailblazing servicemen who fought for freedom abroad and equality at home. Details here.
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St. Louis Symphony Orchestra & Fabulous Fox Theatre Team Up for Tornado Relief, Recovery, Rebuilding
The St. Louis Symphony Orchestra (SLSO) and the Fabulous Fox are holding a special concert fundraiser to support the Urban League of Metropolitan St. Louis’s ongoing relief, recovery, and rebuilding efforts following the May 16 tornado. This collaborative effort features the SLSO and members of its two resident choruses performing a variety of music on at the Fabulous Fox at 3:00pm, Sunday, June 29. Gospel and R&B singer and Grammy Award-winning vocalist BeBe Winans joins the orchestra and choruses for this community-centered special event.
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A New Look at the Old West
Artist Jeremy booth recently wrapped up his solo show, “Sweat and Blood,” at the Square One Gallery in St. Louis’ Central West End. His digital art painting in acrylic have been seen at the Marfa Invitational, and featured in Christie's 2024 Beyond the Screen exhibition and auction at Art Basel and a group exhibition at Sotheby’s NYC. His multidisciplinary work has navigated through the “Wild West” of NFTs en route to capturing the nostalgic-laden landscape of the American West on large-scale canvases.
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Third Annual Queer Writes Showcase Kicks Off Pride Month 2025
To kick off Pride Month 2025, That Uppity Theatre Company and Missouri History Museum will present a third Free “Queer Writes Showcase of LGBTQ+ Writers” on Thursday, June 5. Part of the goal of Queer Writes is to amplify the presence of St. Louis based or connected LGBTQ+ writers, to expand the circle and variety of representation with each version and to build on the great and historic literary legacy of St. Louis. Learn more here.
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Though the Tempest Raged, the Show Must Go On
Just a day after the Shakespeare Festival St. Louis held their 25th Anniversary Gala, winds of the devastating May 16, 2025, EF3 tornado swept through Shakespeare Glen in Forest Park. Now, the show must go on. On Wednesday, May 28, 2025, just weeks after the tragedy, lovers of the Bard, legions strong will once again march across the verdant green grass of the forest in the heart of St. Louis. They will come once again, as they have been for 25 years, to see the next quarter century of the Festival begin. The Festival continues through summer.
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Season 15 of Missouri Chamber Music Festival "Moves Us" with June Concert Series
The Missouri Chamber Music Festival presents Season 15: the spirit that moves us June 9 - 20, 2025. The four concerts of the festival take a look at the spirit behind inspiration. What sparks them to create, express themselves and connect? MOCM Festival artists share diverse programs relating to this theme. Works by Olivier Messiaen, Debussy, Turina take center stage, including the world premiere performance of “Hey Mr. Drummachine Man” by composer Eric Moe for drumset and piano. Concerts take place at Wash U. and Webster University.
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St. Louis Showed Up And Showed Out For the FGI Met Gala Watch Party
In some ways, Fashion Group International St. Louis’ Watch Party outshone the NYC extravaganza with its homegrown originality. 150 local fashionistas showed up and showed out at the Ritz Carlton in tandem with the Met Gala in NYC on May 5th. Unlike the Big Apple’s event, the St. Louis rendition had a runway fashion show featuring the best of the best. Feast upon the pics here from the evening’s buffet of Superfine: Tailoring Black Style inspired by the Black Dandy. It truly was THE Red Carpet event of the year.
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The Magnificent Muny
Climbing from usher almost 30 years ago, like mountain of stairs at the theater, to President and CEO of the Muny, Kwafe Coleman has risen. He now leads the charge for the world renowned St. Louis Muny Theater in Forest Park. Built in 1915, the amphitheater holds 11,000 neighbors, and has the distinction of having 1,500 free seats, and produces Broadway-level musicals each summer. Read here how this first-generation Ghanian from Bellefontaine Neighbors in North County hoists the banner for the storied St. Louis institution.
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Time to Grab Your Fanciest Hats and Cheer for the Fastest Horses at the 151st Kentucky Derby
Grab your hats & cheer for your horses for Kentucky Derby Day, this year held on Saturday, May 3rd. If you can’t hop a flight to Louisville, and don’t want to sit on your couch to watch on TV, here are some ways to get out and about to Watch Parties in St. Louis to enjoy the 151st Run for the Roses and sport your finest Derby hat.
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May and June Brings the Good Life Home -- Read All About It In Our Latest Issue
Get ready to take a scoop of goodness from all that life has to offer as the calendar turns and presents yet another May, and then another June to us. Leaf through the pages of our May/June issue, either here digitally, or physically, once it arrives on your doorstep. See life through the prism of opulence with which many of us are blessed. No matter how much bad news you hear, always remember that like the mouthwatering treat you see on the current cover of our magazine, we live in the land of milk and honey with the world’s largest economy and all that comes from it. Life is good. Following are samplings that await in the pages of our new issue.
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May is Poppin' At Missouri History Museum With Return of Twilight Thursdays
May will be poppin’ with music and peppered with people as the popular concert series Twilight Thursdays returns to the Missouri History Museum. To get things started, the Missouri Historical Society will dedicate the newly renovated Edward and Margaret Imo Family Plaza on the morning of May 1st and continue concerts with food, fun and more through month’s end. Details here in the article.
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Saint Louis Zoo to Celebrate Shakespeare Festival's 25th Anniversary with Romeo & Zooliet
Have you ever wondered what happens when the Zoo closes and the keepers go home for the night? Well ... what if the animals put on their very own Shakespearean performance?! That’s exactly what will happen this summer when The Saint Louis Zoo partners with St. Louis Shakespeare Festival for a wildly fun, original production of “Romeo & Zooliet” to the Zoo this summer. Learn about how you can get tickets and watch as a little zoological Broadway meets the Bard.
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Renowned Artist Charlie Houska to be Honored at the World Chess Hall of Fame
The World Chess Hall of Fame & Galleries, the leading chess cultural center in the country, will present “Charles Houska: Master of Play,” a joyful and colorful retrospective celebrating the vibrant, whimsical world of Charles “Charlie” Houska—one of Saint Louis’s most beloved and iconic pop artists. This unique collection reflects his lifetime cannon of work, and will be on view from May 1, 2025, through April 5, 2026. This exhibition marks the artist’s 60th birthday and the 25th anniversary of his Central West End-based Houska Gallery.
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Sophisticated Guide to Spring 2025
Spring 2025 is in full swing. Soon April showers will bring May flowers. That means that St. Louisans will come out of hibernation and start buzzing like butterflies across the metro. Spread your wings and catch spring fever with our annual Sophisticated Guide to Spring. Ready, set, go! Watch the sophisticated rainbow that is St. Louis show off its myriad of colors here.
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TWSTL Hosts Streetcar & Beyond 10th Anniversary Season Book Signing at Left Bank Books
The Tennessee Williams Festival St. Louis continues its Streetcar & Beyond 10th Anniversary Season with the second of many events to celebrate the milestone season. Famed author and scholar Tom Mitchell will sign copies of his book, Early Stories by Tennessee Williams at 6pm on Wednesday, April 2, at Left Bank Books in the Central West End.
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All the World’s a Stage
Celebrating its 25th year, the Shakespeare Festival unveils its 2025 season, including a joint venture with the Saint Louis Zoo. Through the years, the Festival has welcomed upwards of 50,000 people to the park for its summer shows, making it the largest free outdoor Shakespeare Festival between either coast. In 2025, big things are planned when you schlep your picnic basket to Forest Park’s Shakespeare Grove for an evening of free theater under the stars with fellow lovers of The Bard.
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Powerhouse Line-up for Powerful Times Colors the 30th Season of The Jewish Film Festival
In its 30th season, the St. Louis Jewish Film Festival returns to its new home at the B&B Theatres in Creve Coeur for two weeks of cinema excellence from March 30 – April 8, 2025. Dramas, documentaries, comedies, and an October 7 retrospective highlight the six-day, 13-film schedule. Full details on the powerhouse season as well as movie trailers here.
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