‘Weird In St. Pete’ Brings Unique Theater Experience To FloridaRAMA

ST. PETERSBURG, FL — The latest in American Stage’s Beyond the Stage series, which brings storytelling and immersive theater experiences to the community, brings St. Petersburg legends and lore to life at The FloridaRAMA Experience.

“Weird in St. Pete,” a walking theater tour through FloridaRAMA, a whimsical art destination formerly known as The Fairgrounds, is gearing up for its final weekend of shows.

The guided theater tours take place Thursday through Sunday, 6 to 9 p.m., and Sunday, 2 to 6 p.m. with a new group embarking every 30 minutes. Tickets are available online here.

The Beyond the Stage series is now in its second year, Anthony Gervais, American Stage’s associate artistic director, told Patch.

“It’s essentially what it sounds like where we take theater and our musical events and other big things beyond our main stage and into the community,” he said. “It’s our way of trying to engage the community in a different way. We’re trying to get people typically not interested in theater and get them involved.”

“Weird in St. Pete” was written by the theater’s producing artistic director Helen R. Murray while Gervais serves as the show’s director.

“It's an immersive walk-through production where you get to explore FloridaRAMA on a guided tour where these characters that you meet along the way will teach you about St. Pete and maybe some weird St. Pete history and just provide you with a unique and engaging experience,” Gervais said.

A lot of research went into creating the play as Murray researched St. Petersburg legends.

“She just started writing and tried some things out and saw what stuck. It took a little while to assemble these unique, weird stories and figure out the best narrative jumping off point. A couple were lost to the wayside in earlier drafts,” Gervais said. “It’s an eclectic mix. There are a couple of recognizable people who were more famous to the general public and definitely some more niche stories in there as well.”

Rather than simply relaying the stories of the characters included in the show — from Old Bill the Alligator to iconic author Jack Kerouac, who died in St. Petersburg, to the city’s founder Peter Demens and more — each monologue focuses on their inner thoughts and feelings.

“That’s what makes it really interesting for me and compelling as a play. You learn about them and their journeys,” Gervais said. “We provide some historical context, but I’m really interested in how she really focused on their emotional lives rather than biographical details. It’s less about where they’ve been than about how they feel.”

While nothing has been confirmed, he’s hopeful that “Weird in St. Pete” could return in 2025.

“If there is an appetite for it, there’s definitely weirder St. Pete stories out there,” he said.

Other upcoming productions in the Beyond the Stage series include “Wonderful Life,” a one-person adaptation of “It’s A Wonderful Life,” and “Tinseltown USA,” an immersive holiday experience at the theater. Both run from Dec. 5-22.

“Tales by Twilight” will run Jan. 30 to Feb. 23 at Boyd Hill, while “Puppy Hamlet,” featuring a cast of adoptable dogs,” is set for April 12.

Gervais is excited about the series and the potential to connect with a new generation of theatergoers.

“I think it is the way I think where theater is going and a path forward for theater in the future,” he said. “There’s great value in sitting down in a typical theater experience, but it’s really a way forward for a new generation and a new future for the theater.”