RSS 2.0 Feed"Marion Bridge" connects with heartfelt humor
Tue, Aug 31, 2010
"Marion Bridge" is an excellent portrayal of sibling connection during one of life’s defining moments.
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Playhouse celebrates 15th Anniversary with tribute to lyricists
Mon, Aug 30, 2010
Quality Hill Playhouse enters its 15th year of producing cabaret entertainment in downtown Kansas City with a season dedicated to talented lyricists. "Say It With Music: The American Lyricist Series" honors songwriting legends Sammy Cahn, Johnny Mercer, Yip Harburg and Cole Porter, men who penned the words to some of the best songs in the American Songbook. In addition to these original cabaret revues, the season includes a musical revue written by Broadway songwriters Richard Maltby, Jr. and David Shire.
All-Female cast of "1776" gives birth to a new tradition
Tue, Aug 24, 2010
The accolades have been coming fast and furious for Musical Theatre Heritage’s all-female cast of "1776," and the praise is well and truly deserved.
UMKC Theatre presents 2010–2011 season
Tue, Aug 24, 2010
One of Kansas City’s best kept secrets, UMKC Theatre, will present a diverse range of theatre this 2010–11 season, introduce design-your-own ticket packages, and launch Industry Nights at Monday performances. Dynamic co-productions are scheduled with the Coterie Theatre, Unicorn Theatre, KC Repertory Theatre, and – for the first time – an American masterpiece with Kansas City Actors Theatre at the World War I Museum located at the Liberty Memorial.
September Listings
Tue, Aug 24, 2010
Nearly every theatre in town - both great and small - is kicking off their new season in September. The array of offerings is astounding - make sure to get out and enjoy some exciting theatre this month!
The Barn Players announces 56th season
Tue, Aug 24, 2010
Eric L Magnus, Artistic Director of The Barn Players, recently announced the theatre’s 2011 show season. Magnus added that the 2011 season is designed to balance theatre for audiences with thought-provoking shows including musicals, comedies and a historical production as well as Barn Junior and theatre benefit productions.
The Coterie Theatre announces 2010–11 season
Tue, Aug 24, 2010
The Coterie Theatre's 2010–2011 season of live theatre offers a range of performances that include science fiction masterpieces, a vampire world premiere, a musical and a drama based on award-winning literature, a Ben Franklin inspired tale and a new version of Broadway's "The Wiz." Now entering its 32nd season of live theatre, the Coterie Theatre continues to provide unique theatre experiences for all ages especially families and young audiences.
Masked production of a new noir
Tue, Aug 24, 2010
The newest venture for Stephanie Roberts, one of the 2010 Charlotte Street Foundation Generative Performing Awards Fellows, integrated two traditionally formulaic genres—classic noir and commedia dell'arte—in "The Mask of the Broken Heart."
How do you spell S-U-C-C-E-S-S?
Wed, Aug 04, 2010
"The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee" presented genuine and eerily familiar characters we have all known (or may have been ourselves). Within the context of an afternoon spelling competition, the production highlighted the pressures and concerns of our youth and presented a touchingly comic musical.
The late, great Buddy Holly
Tue, Jul 06, 2010
"Buddy - A Buddy Holly Story" has an interesting history. Paul McCartney, who owned the rights to Buddy Holly’s music, was unhappy with the movie made about Holly’s life, so he decided to support a new London production (which was conceived in an English pub) and helped pitch it to a West End producer. It was a hit, becoming the longest-running show ever in the West End, well before it ever came to American soil. New Theatre Restaurant has a great new production about the four-eyed rock-n-roller. Starting with Buddy Holly’s early career, the show highlights important events in his life and in his rise to stardom. And of course, his music.
2010 KC Fringe Festival
Tue, Jun 29, 2010
The 6th Annual KC Fringe Festival, running from July 23 to August 1 at multiple venues around town, has its first official event of 2010 with a Festival poster signing with artist Charlie Podrebarac and block party on July 2 at the Hemingway Gallery.
Little House in Kansas City
Tue, Jun 29, 2010
Starlight Theater opened its 60th season last week with the tour of "Little House on the Prairie: The Musical," a production developed at the Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis.
Plucky new production premieres at the Coterie Theatre
Mon, Jun 28, 2010
The Coterie Theatre and Artistic Director Jeff Church have once again premiered an exciting new production aimed at young audiences. "Lucky Duck" has been described as "The Ugly Duckling meets American Idol." But I would have billed it as "a hilarious, sophisticated musical - with animals!"
KCM VID: Gamelan Genta Kasturi
Tue, Jun 15, 2010
Gamelan is the orchestral musical tradition of Indonesia and involves a large group of metallophones, gongs and drums that perform alone or with dance. Gamelan Genta Kasturi is an eighteen-member community ensemble that operates in partnership with the UMKC Conservatory's Community Music & Dance Academy.
She is the light in the piazza
Tue, May 25, 2010
Adapted from Elizabeth Spencer's 1960 novella of the same name, MET artistic director Karen Paisley takes center stage as Margaret Johnson, a 1950s mother thrust into "protective mode" when her simple and naïve daughter falls in love with a local boy while vacationing in Italy in "The Light in the Piazza."
The faster we swim, the faster we win
Mon, May 10, 2010
Heralded as the latest "girl-friend" show, "The Dixie Swim Club" is now showing at the American Heartland Theatre. Much like "Steel Magnolias," the story introduces five women who share a long-lasting friendship
The faster we swim, the faster we win
Mon, May 10, 2010
Heralded as the latest "girl-friend" show, "The Dixie Swim Club" is now showing at the American Heartland Theatre. Much like "Steel Magnolias," the story introduces five women who share a long-lasting friendship
The write stuff
Tue, May 04, 2010
The 18th Annual Young Playwrights' Festival is a yearly celebration of young talent. Each year, the Coterie Theatre premieres 10 short works by local high school students. The festival took place this past weekend at the Coterie, and was an illustrious showcase for our talented local teens.
Quality Hill swings through Harry Warren tribute
Tue, May 04, 2010
There are a few things of which one can always be certain when attending a performance at Quality Hill Playhouse: First: the performance will be crisp, clear, impeccably rehearsed and skillfully managed. Second: pianist, singer, director and raconteur Kent Barnhart will charm the socks off the audience and play the keyboard like a house afire. Third: the evening will be full of wonderful familiar standards from the American Songbook.
Thumb a ride in Becky's New Car
Tue, Apr 27, 2010
"When a woman says she wants a new car, she wants a new life," explains actress Kimberly King as Becky Foster in the New Theatre's latest production, "Becky's New Car." Directed by Richard Carrothers, the show is a quirky and unique look at love and marriage.
Visionary "Venice"
Tue, Apr 27, 2010
In "Venice," Rosen and Sax manage to deliver a work that feels visionary and ahead of its time. In one fell swoop – and notwithstanding all of the vibrancy that Rosen has already brought to The Rep since 2007 – "Venice" is the quantum leap that has every potential to redraw the map of Kansas City theatre
A map of your world
Tue, Apr 20, 2010
What would the map of your life look like? Not your family tree…but the map of “you”? Reflecting on that map, would you like what you saw? And what might Schrödinger's Cat, parallel universes and the particle-wave theory have to do with that analysis? Such are the end-of-life reflections that face 76-year-old Jack Armstrong – and reflections that make the MET's "Mappa Mundi" more than the average thinking-person’s dramatic comedy.
A map of your world
Mon, Apr 12, 2010
What would the map of your life look like? Not your family tree…but the map of “you”? Reflecting on that map, would you like what you saw? And what might Schrödinger's Cat, parallel universes and the particle-wave theory have to do with that analysis? Such are the end-of-life reflections that face 76-year-old Jack Armstrong – and reflections that make the MET's "Mappa Mundi" more than the average thinking-person’s dramatic comedy.
Written with a frindle
Mon, Apr 12, 2010
The novel "Frindle" was fascinating - it predated Internet isms like "googled" and "friended" by at least five years. Author Andrew Clements inadvertently predicted an influx of new words, and gave us a unique perspective on the English language. Today, examples of new words are so abundant that we seldom stop and think about how our language is constantly changing.
Unicorn Theatre announces 2010-11 season
Tue, Mar 30, 2010
Unicorn Theatre, under the artistic leadership of Producing Artistic Director Cynthia Levin, announces the 37th season of bold new plays. The new season will open on September 18 and include six regular season shows and one exciting season extra.
American Heartland Theatre announces 2010-11 season
Tue, Mar 30, 2010
American Heartland Theatre in Crown Center just announced its 2010-2011 season, with one, two-time Tony award winning comedy, four Kansas City Premieres, one AHT favorite and one Richard Rodgers Award Winner in its upcoming season.
April Theatre Listings
Tue, Mar 30, 2010
Theatre listings for the next two weeks - AHT's "I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change;" Coterie Theatre Elementary/Family Series’ “Frindle;” MET’s “Mappa Mundi;" KC Rep’s “Venice; “ New Theatre Restaurant’s “Becky’s New Car;” TYA’s “The Monarch’s of KC” and Quality Hill’s “Lullaby of 42nd Street.” CLOSING this week: TYA's "Junie B. Jones and A Little Monkey Business."
Kansas City Actors Theatre announces 6th season
Tue, Mar 23, 2010
The Kansas City Actors Theatre just announced its 2010-11 season, featuring works familiar and works adventurous.
"Bus Stop" full of local charm
Tue, Mar 23, 2010
The KC Rep's new play, "Bus Stop," provides glimpses into the serious side of human intimacies through the happenstance interactions of an eclectic group of characters at a snowbound "diner in rural Kansas, about 20 miles west of Kansas City, Missouri."
Kansas City Repertory Theatre announces 2010-11 season
Tue, Mar 23, 2010
The adventure continues with a joyous new musical, inspiring dramas and controversial social issues for the new season at the Kansas City Rep. Eric Rosen has just announced his selections for the 2010-11 season, his third as the theatre's artistic leader.
Taiko tour de force
Mon, Mar 15, 2010
Taiko simply means "drum" in Japanese. Although its roots can be traced to ancient court music, the modern communal taiko ensembles came about in the late 1950's. Living and working together in a Dojo-like community in the country, the musicians are free to focus on their art form.
A Moon for the Misbegotten
Tue, Mar 09, 2010
"A Moon for the Misbegotten" is a complex and emotionally draining (on performers and viewers alike) work that skillfully examines the multiple layers of the human psyche, and it represents another strong offering by Metropolitan Ensemble Theatre.
Of being and naughtiness
Mon, Mar 08, 2010
I had the best seat in the house for The Unicorn Theatre's production of Lia Romeo's comedy "Green Whales:" not by dint of a critic's power, but simply because the couple seated in front of me were engaged to be married.
Local actors and artists team up to fight HIV/AIDS
Mon, Mar 08, 2010
"Pride and Joy and Other Plays" by Paul Rudnick will be presented by Actors & Artists Against AIDS to benefit AIDS WALK Kansas City, April 1 through 18, 2010. Directed by Jeff Church, Producing Artistic Director of the Coterie Theatre, this provocative and outrageous comedy, features a collection of hilarious characters, starring local legends, Ron Megee and Missy Koonce.
The best of "Broadway's Best"
Mon, Mar 08, 2010
Quality Hill Playhouse continues their season with "Broadway's Best," a revue featuring some of the most memorable musicals.
Aging in living color
Tue, Mar 02, 2010
Once in a great while, a work –whether a symphony, play, book, or even a movie –comes along that makes you sit up and take notice. I had such an experience with the KC Rep's "Broke-ology."
Aging in living color
Tue, Mar 02, 2010
Once in a great while, a work –whether a symphony, play, book, or even a movie –comes along that makes you sit up and take notice. Saturday evening, at the Kansas City Repertory’s Copaken Stage, I had such an experience with "Broke-ology."
Loretta Swit is delightfully painless in "Cactus Flower"
Tue, Feb 23, 2010
A cactus, prickly and uninviting, will often produce a spectacular bloom. So the metaphor goes in this superb romantic farce about a prickly nurse who blossoms under unusual and comical circumstances. "Cactus Flower" was produced by the New Theatre Restaurant and stars Loretta Swit, of "M.A.S.H." fame.
The surprising face of "This American Life"
Tue, Feb 23, 2010
Ira Glass took the Lied Center stage last Saturday night, sat behind a makeshift audio console and proceeded to start the show... in complete darkness. Most of the audience had never seen the man behind the iconic radio show "This American Life" and the suspense was killing us.
"Around the World in 80 Days"
Wed, Feb 03, 2010
From the vantage point of a wired, Googled, You-Tubed, Twittering world, where circumnavigating the globe can be done in less than 80 minutes, it was fun to be transported back to a time when performing such a feat in 80 days was considered a quantum leap in world travel.
It's all right, Ma (I'm only bleeding)
Tue, Feb 02, 2010
The Unicorn's version of "Grey Gardens" communicates the sadness and the strangeness of Edith and Edie Beale's years together, with the understanding that it need not be thoroughly dispiriting if one can sing about it.
Samuel Clemens 'marking twain' at the Coterie
Tue, Feb 02, 2010
As Midwest theaters continue to create new performance pieces based on our regional history, "Life on the Mississippi" presented at the Coterie Theatre will be enjoyable to audiences everywhere.
A tale told by a wise man, signifying everything…
Tue, Jan 26, 2010
I have never been a fan of "stars" or "thumbs" (up or down) or other artifice when it comes to analysis. However, if I were so inclined, I would use all of them for "The Event." It was a remarkable, witty, irreverent and poignant introspection.
Rodgers and that other guy
Tue, Jan 26, 2010
Rodgers and Hammerstein are famous for revolutionizing musical theatre. Their collaboration garnered 35 Tony Awards and 15 Academy Awards. However, before Hammerstein, there was Hart. The duo worked together from 1919 until 1943. Quality Hill Playhouse is currently running "Rodgers & Hart & Hammerstein," a salute to Richard Rodger's two great partnerships.
The triumph of the human voice
Tue, Jan 19, 2010
American Heartland Theatre presents a show about a big singing star of the early 20th century. "Glorious! The True Story of Florence Foster Jenkins," directed by Paul Hough, has an unusual twist. Florence Foster Jenkins was, for all intents and purposes, tone deaf. You can't make this stuff up.
Twisted sister...
Tue, Jan 12, 2010
Adolescent first love is complicated enough without the added distractions of a dysfunctional family, a rare, life-shortening disease, a psycho-lesbian aunt and a teenage boy who, rightly being nervous enough under "normal" conditions, is positively petrified in David Lindsay-Abaire's near-Twilight Zone of suburbia that is the setting for "Kimberly Akimbo."
Live - from Overland Park...
Tue, Dec 22, 2009
New Theatre's "Run For Your Wife" is pure farce. Mild mannered taxi driver John Smith, has two wives living in different parts of town. After attempting to stop a mugger, John is questioned by the police and hailed as a hero by the press. The whole fiasco leaves him scrambling to cover his tracks as detectives and his wives chase him across town.
Starlight Theatre's 2010 Broadway line-up
Tue, Dec 22, 2009
Starlight's 2010 Broadway line-up will appeal to diverse audiences when four national tours and a locally produced musical comedy take the stage next summer.
The reincarnation blues
Tue, Dec 08, 2009
For Christopher Durang, the neurotically-charged playwright of the Unicorn Theatre's lastest play Miss Witherspoon, the stage is a second home; his comedies put his characters in situations as absurd and frightening as an hour at a psychoanalyst's couch set up in a confessional.