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 coming to the Zoo this summer.

“Romeo & Zooliet” performances will take place on an outdoor stage under the trees at the Zoo’s Historic Hill Tuesdays through Sundays, July 8-Aug. 17, 2025.

"Romeo & Zooliet" is a family friendly stage adaptation - produced exclusively for the Zoo - featuring dazzling life-size animal puppetry by world-renowned Michael Curry Design, known for its work on Broadway's "The Lion King" and "Frozen" along with Olympic and Super Bowl ceremonies.

California Sea Lion Roby with St. Louis Shakespeare Producing Artistic Director Tom Ridgely and Saint Louis Zoo Director Michael Macek.

Recently, the Zoo and Festival celebrated Shakespeare's 461st birthday with a ticket launch for ROMEO & ZOOLIET.

California Sea Lion Roby with St. Louis Shakespeare Producing Artistic Director Tom Ridgely.

The Zoo's Animal Care and Animal Nutrition Service Teams designed an ice crown and scepter for one of the male sea lions and an ice-stack birthday "cake" for the grizzly bears. The icy treats include some of the animals' favorite foods such as fish and pieces of produce.

California Sea Lion Roby with ice crown and scepter at Saint Louis Zoo.

Grizzly bear with icy enrichment at Saint Louis Zoo.

In the "Romeo & Zooliet" show, The Prince character is a sea lion and Juliet and Lady Capulet are grizzly bears. Although no live animals will appear in the show, showgoers will delight as these characters are brought to life by incredible puppetry as a little taste of Broadway comes to St. Louis for this full-length 85-minute production.

FOX 2 News at Shakespeare Festival’s Ticket Sale Launch

Event Dates and Tickets

“Romeo & Zooliet” performances will take place on an outdoor stage under the trees at the Zoo’s Historic Hill Tuesdays through Sundays, July 8-Aug. 17, 2025. Doors open at 6:30 p.m.; show starts at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are on sale now at stlzoo.org/Shakespeare.