Two Loessers and a Loesser spouse lead St. Louis Muny's production of Meet Me in St. Louis, closing out the theatre's summer season with a run Aug. 9-15.

Emily Loesser and Jo Sullivan Loesser will play daughter Esther Smith and her stage mother, Mrs. Smith. A Muny regular whose credits include Sleeping Beauty, Okalahoma! and Peter Pan, Emily most recently appeared on Broadway as "Kate 2" in Titanic. Wife of the late composer, Frank Loesser, Jo starred as Rosabella in the original production of The Most Happy Fella. Both mother and daughter will be joined by Emily's husband, Don Stephenson, who plays Lon Smith. Stephenson recently played Mr. Peavey in Parade, also understudying and playing the lead role Leo Frank.

Also in the cast are Eric Kunze, Walter Charles (Mr. Smith) and Georgia Engel (Katie). Kunze, last seen at the Muny in The Rockettes Muny Spectacular and as the title role in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, starred on Broadway in Les Miserables, Miss Saigon and Damn Yankees. Charles, who made his Broadway debut as Vince Fontaine in Grease, also appeared in Sweeney Todd, Cats and Aspects of Love. Engel, a TV veteran Emmy nominated as Georgette on the "Mary Tyler Moore Show," began her theatrical career in Hello, Dolly! opposite Ethel Merman.

Meet Me in St. Louis returns to the time of the 1904 World's Fair in St. Louis. The Smith family of Forest Park has its own excitement, however, as two scheming sisters make their plans to capture the boys next door. Classics from the score include "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas," "The Boy Next Door" and "The Trolley Song."

Tickets are $33-$7 and available by calling (314) 534-1111. The Muny is located on the web at http://www.muny.com. -- By Christine Ehren