Book and Lyrics by María Irene Fornés
Music by Al Carmines
March 5-28, 2026
PROMENADE
Buy Tickets Here!
“It is a triumph. A wickedly amusing musical. A great show. A joy from start to finish. . .
A protest musical for people too sophisticated to protest.”
– Clive Barnes, New York Times
“In its odd way it's an exquisite piece of musical theater."
– Stphen Holden, New York Times
“Promenade is zany. It is lumpy. It is also gorgeous.”
– Laura Collins-Hughes, New York Times
The Seriously Hilarious 1969 Experimental Musical Comedy! Come for the Party! Stay for the War!
New Line Theatre continues its 34th season with the uproarious 1969 experimental musical comedy PROMENADE at the Marcelle Theater in the Grand Center Arts District.
One of the biggest off Broadway hits of 1969 boasts an absurdist story, a diverse cast, and features a script and lyrics by Latina playwright-director María Irene Fornés, the “mother of avant-garde theatre,” with music by gay minister Al Carmines. With a tiny budget, PROMENADE debuted at the Judson Memorial Church in Greenwich Village before moving off Broadway. Beneath its dizzying comedy and catchy songs, it explores the ways in which social class can both liberate and imprison us, exploring themes big issues along the way, like wealth inequality, law and order, war, corruption, body image, gender, sexuality, and more. With many of these issues still deeply relevant today, this show has grown powerfully relevant again. In 2019, PROMENADE was presented as part of New York City Center’s Encores! Series.
This Obie Award-winning Best Musical, an abstract fantasia of song and dance, follows the exploits of two escaped prisoners navigating The Big City, where the poor and homeless mingle with the Idle Rich.
PROMENADE premiered at the Judson Poet's Theatre in New York City in April 1965, before trasnferring off-Broadway to the Promenade Theatre in June 1969, where it became ther surprise smash hit of the season. María Irene Fornés earned a 1965 Obie Award for Distinguished New Play or Musical, for PROMENADE.
In a review in The New York Times for a 1983 New York revival, Stephen Holden wrote, "This work, which suggests a mixture of Candide and Samuel Beckett viewed through Lewis Carroll's looking glass, is a little too avant-garde and absurdist to appeal to mainstream tastes. But in its odd way it's an exquisite piece of musical theater."
The New Line cast includes Tawaine Noah (as 105), Ronmal Mottley (as 106), Ian McCreary (Jailer), Stephanie Merritt (Servant), Kathleen Dwyer (Miss I), Kay Love (Miss O), Chelsie Johnston (Miss U), Zack Huels (Mr. R), Kent Coffel (Mr. S), Robert Doyle (Mr. T), Lauren Tenenbaum (Miss Cake), Bee Mecey (Mother), Todd Garten (Mayor), Nathan Mecey (Waiter/Soldier/Driver), and Michael Kramer (Dishwasher/Soldier/Injured Man). New Line's production will be directed by Scott Miller and Chris Moore, with music direction by Jason Eschhofen, and costume design by Becca Rose Bessette.
This show contains adult content. PROMENADE is produced by arrangement with Samuel French, New York.
Want to explore more?
We recommend:
The original
1969 off Broadway cast album
The Promenade script, in the collection Promenade and Other Plays by María Irene Fornés
The documentary The Rest I Make Up, about María Irene Fornés
The book María Irene Fornés: Routledge Modern and Contemporary Dramatists by Scott T. Cummings
The collection The Theater of María Irene Fornés, edited by Marc Robinson
The book The Fornés Frame: Contemporary Latina Playwrights and the Legacy of María Irene Fornés by Anne García-Romero
The book Modern American Drama: Playwriting in the 1960s: Voices, Documents, New Interpretations
The book The Theater Is in the Street: Politics and Public Performance in 1960s America by Bradford D. Martin
TICKET INFO
PROMENADE runs March 5-28, 2026, Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays, all at 8:00 p.m., at the Marcelle Theater, 3310 Samuel Shepard Drive, three blocks east of Grand, in the Grand Center Arts District. March 5 is a preview.
To purchase tickets, click here. Tickets are $35 for adults, $30 for seniors, and $25 for students. For the March 5 preview performance, tickets are $30 for adults, $25 for seniors, and $20 for students. To charge single tickets by phone, call MetroTix at 314-534-1111 or visit the Fox Theatre box office or the MetroTix website.
PREVIEW NIGHT: Thursday, March 5, all tickets $5 off the regular price
OPENING NIGHT AFTER-PARTY: Friday, March 6, our audience is invited to stay after the performance to meet the cast and staff
BOHEMIAN NIGHT: Thursday, March 12, all tickets $20, for all the starving artsies out there
POST-SHOW TALK-BACK: Saturday, March 21, Q&A with the cast and staff, after the performance
COLLEGE FREE SEATS: Ten free seats set aside for every performance, open to any college student with a valid student ID.
HIGH SCHOOL DISCOUNT: Any high school student with a valid school ID can get a $10 ticket for any performance, with the code word, posted only on New Line's Facebook page.
EDUCATORS & MILITARY DISCOUNT: New Line offers all currently employed educators and active duty military personnel half price tickets on any Thursday night, with work ID or other proof of employment.
All offers not valid in connection with other discounts or offers, available only at the door, and subject to availability. All programs subject to change. New Line Theatre receives funding from the Regional Arts Commission and the Missouri Arts Council, with additional support from the Kranzberg Arts Foundation and the Grand Center Arts District.
