Singer and actor Nicholas Rodriguez is no stranger to St. Louis. He’s also effusive in his love for the city and The Muny, where he’s performed in five productions since 2010.
Rodriguez most recently portrayed the Tin Man in last year’s Muny production of The Wizard of Oz. He also has played the title role in Tarzan and Beast in Beauty and the Beast.
“It’s awesome. More than any theater I’ve worked with in the country, The Muny just takes such great care of us,” Rodriguez told St. Louis on the Air contributor Steve Potter.
Rodriguez is coming to St. Louis earlier this year. For this year’s version of Muny Magic at The Sheldon, he will take the stage Wednesday and Thursday nights in “My 70s Show – A Night with Nicholas Rodriguez.”
“I was born in the '70s,” Rodriguez said. “I just felt like, ‘you know what, I’m turning 40.’
“I was feeling nostalgic and I started listening to all these songs from the era when I grew, based on the records that my parents had, and it just kind of struck a chord with me, and I wanted to do a whole show about it,” he said.
The show will include various musical genres, including musical theater, bossa nova, folk and disco.
“I like to take songs that people know and do them in a way that perhaps they’ve never heard them before and make them have a new ear to it even though it’s something that they may already know all the words to,” Rodriguez said.
Such examples include engaging takes on Dolly Parton’s “Jolene,” John Denver’s “Leaving on a Jet Plane” and songs by Donna Summer.
Reflecting more upon his summers in St. Louis, Rodriguez likens the experience to a summer camp for Broadway actors.
“[In St. Louis], we stay in a great hotel, we’re right there by Forest Park, and then The Muny family. Everybody that works there and the friends you get to meet year after year, that’s half the reason why I look forward to coming back.
“It’s reconnecting with friends there in St. Louis, going to the Cards game, eating at Pappy’s, you know, the whole deal,” Rodriguez said.
Related Event
What: Muny Magic at The Sheldon: "My 70s Show - A Night With Nicholas Rodriguez"
When: 7:30 p.m., March 29 and 30
Where: Sheldon Concert Hall, 3648 Washington Blvd., St. Louis
More information.
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