By Lynn Venhaus
Long admired as a versatile performer among the regional theater community, actress Emily Baker’s recent return to the stage has been met with universal acclaim.
In March, she won Outstanding Performer in a Comedy, Female or Non-Binary Role. as Susan in Albion Theatre’s “Woman in Mind” from the St. Louis Theater Circle.
In the Alan Ayckbourn play, she portrays a woman who has suffered a mental breakdown and has developed a vivid fantasy world. In her real life, she is neglected wife who is estranged from her son. By contrast, in her imagination, she is happy and successful with a perfect family who adores her.
One critic described her 2024 performance as “a tragicomic tour de force,” another called it “richly realized.”
Her virtuoso work as Heidi Holland in New Jewish Theatre’s “The Heidi Chronicles” (May 29 – June 15), portraying the feminist art historian from the 1960s to 1980s, has been hailed as showing “commanding poise and self-confidence,” and displaying “strength, vulnerability and intelligence.”
The Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award-winning play by Wendy Wasserstein was directed by Ellie Schwetye and starring Joel Moses, Will Bonfiglio, Kelly Howe, Courtney Bailey, Ashwini Arora, Joshua Mayfield and Paola Angeli.
As Heidi wrestles with questions of identity, success, and fulfillment during a time of profound societal transformation, Wasserstein’s work offers a powerful look at a generation’s evolving ideals and the personal cost of progress.
“I am delighted to be working at New Jewish again with this awesome group of people,” she said.
Baker described this special project as a way to relate to her parents’ experiences.
“My parents lived through the time periods in ‘The Heidi Chronicles’ at about the same age as Heidi, so I was excited about the prospect of learning more about my parents and the times by discussing the play with them. I really enjoy when a play gives you the ability to dig deep, not only into the character but also your own life and family,” she said.
Baker has returned to New Jewish Theatre for the first time since 2015, in which she played Patricia in “Sight Unseen” opposite her husband, Aaron Orion Baker, one of her favorite roles.
He played a now-famous artist who visits his ex-girlfriend in hopes she has a painting he’d like to include in an exhibit. She and her husband both resent his presence, for he treated her shabbily, and she hasn’t forgotten that she was a ‘sacrificial shiksa.” As they say, the plot thickens.
Baker has worked with St. Louis Actors Studio, Upstream Theater, St. Louis Shakespeare, West End Players Guild, the former Muddy Waters Theatre Company and That Uppity Theatre Company, among others.
A favorite part is Ivy, Violet Weston’s daughter who stayed to take care of her mother, in “August: Osage County,” which was performed by STLAS in 2017.
Among her portrayals at St. Louis Shakespeare, she played the title role in “The Further Adventures of Hedda Gabler,” Ariel in “The Tempest,” and Penelope in “The Odyssey.”
She won her first St. Louis Theater Circle Award as Gretchen in the comedy “Boeing Boeing” at the former Dramatic License Productions in 2013. A German airline stewardess, Gretchen isn’t aware that pilot Bernard has two other fiancées.
After a hiatus to raise daughter Evelina, she has returned to acting in satisfying roles. Next up is playing Eunice, one of Stella’s friends and neighbors, in the Tennessee Williams Festival St. Louis’s “A Streetcar Named Desire,” which will be presented Aug. 7 – 17 at the Grandel Theatre in St. Louis.
The New Jewish Theatre presents “The Heidi Chronicles” from May 29 to June 15 at the Wool Studio Theater, 2 Millstone Campus Drive, Creve Coeur, Mo. Performances are on Thursdays, Saturdays, and Sundays. There is an additional show on Wednesday, June 4. Show times and tickets are available online at newjewishtheatre.org or by phone at 314.442.3283. NJT’s 2025 Season is generously sponsored by Mary Strauss. The play is 2 hours and 15 minutes long, with a 15-minute intermission.
Q & A with Emily Baker
1. Why did you choose your profession/pursue the arts?
I am a teacher/school librarian and actor. I knew I was interested in acting pretty early on. I also believed that I would enjoy working in education from a pretty early age. Both of those avenues involve connecting to people and sharing a bit of yourself with them. I think that’s what interests me most about both career paths.
2. How would your friends describe you?
My friends describe me as passionate, empathetic, creative, intuitive, helpful, and kind.
3. How do you like to spend your spare time?
I love nature. I enjoy walking at the Missouri Botanical Gardens with my family, hiking, and gardening. I also enjoy reading, especially classics like Jane Austen and Shakespeare.
4. What is your current obsession?
I’m obsessed with Duluth Trading Company’s Heirloom Overalls. They come in so many colors and patterns. I currently own seven pairs and I’m probably not done.
5. What would people be surprised to find out about you?
I’m an only child. Most people are surprised to find that out. I guess I don’t fit the mold of a typical only child.
6. Can you share one of your most defining moments in life?
Becoming a mother changed my life forever. There was a period of time where I was unsure if I would get the chance to be a mom. Being a parent is a beautiful, frustrating, rewarding, and tiring job, but I’m so thankful I get the opportunity to learn and grow as a human with my daughter.
7. Who do you admire most?
It’s too hard to choose one person. The traits I admire most in humanity are perseverance, compassion, and optimism.
8. What is at the top of your bucket list?
Traveling more abroad. I’d like to see Spain, Greece, Italy, and get back to Scotland (it’s my favorite place on earth). My daughter is fascinated with the Northern Lights so I feel a trip somewhere where we can really see them clearly is in our family’s future, too. I would travel often if I had the time and money to do so. Seeing new places gives you perspective and helps you understand yourself and the world better.
9. What is your favorite thing to do in St. Louis?
I have to pick two. Visiting Forest Park and going thrift shopping. There is so much to do in Forest Park — much of which is free — and it’s so close. And with thrift shopping, you never know what you might find. It’s kind of like a treasure hunt. I can do it for hours, hopping around to different ones.
10. What’s next?
I’ll be playing Eunice in “A Streetcar Named Desire” with the Tennessee Williams Festival St. Louis later this summer.
Name: Emily Baker
Age: (optional) 42
Birthplace: St. Louis
Current location: St. Louis
Family: Aaron Orion Baker, Evelina and Thief (our 90-pound dog)
Education: BA in Theatre and English (Truman State University), Master of Arts in Education (Truman), and Master of Library and Information Science (Mizzou)
Day job: Middle and High School Librarian and Technical Theatre Teacher and Director in the Maplewood Richmond Heights School District.
First job: My first job was developing contact sheets of photo negatives at my dad’s photo studio when I was 13.
First play or movie you were involved in or made: I played the duck (no lines other than quacking) in a staging of the classical music piece “Peter and the Wolf” by Sergei Prokofiev when I was 6 or 7.
Favorite jobs/roles/plays or work in your medium? Ivy in “August: Osage County” (St. Louis Actors’ Studio), Solange in “The Maids” (Upstream), Patricia in “Sight Unseen” (New Jewish), Gretchen in “Boeing Boeing” (Dramatic License Productions) and Susan in “Woman in Mind” (Albion).
Dream job/opportunity: My dream roles are mostly Shakespearean. I’d love to play Beatrice in “Much Ado About Nothing” and Lady Macbeth in “Macbeth.”
Awards/Honors/Achievements: I’ve been the recipient of two St. Louis Theatre Circle Awards (Gretchen in “Boeing Boeing” and Susan in “Woman in Mind”).
Favorite quote/words to live by: “Whatever can anyone give you greater than now, starting here, right in this room, when you turn around?” – William Stafford from the poem, “You Reading This, Be Ready.”
A song that makes you happy: “How Do You Feel” by Jefferson Airplane
Photo at right: Emily Baker with Will Bonfiglio during rehearsals for “The Heidi Chronicles”.
Lynn (Zipfel) Venhaus has had a continuous byline in St. Louis metro region publications since 1978. She writes features and news for Belleville News-Democrat and contributes to St. Louis magazine and other publications.
She is a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic, currently reviews films for Webster-Kirkwood Times and KTRS Radio, covers entertainment for PopLifeSTL.com and co-hosts podcast PopLifeSTL.com…Presents.
She is a member of Critics Choice Association, where she serves on the women’s and marketing committees; Alliance of Women Film Journalists; and on the board of the St. Louis Film Critics Association. She is a founding and board member of the St. Louis Theater Circle.
She is retired from teaching journalism/media as an adjunct college instructor.
