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Kansas City's Online Journal of the Performing Arts

Kansas City has premiered some excellent, locally inspired plays and operas in the past few years. UMKC premiered Quindaro to rave reviews, KU composer Forrest Pierce's operatic adaptation of the the William Inge play Picnic, was delightful and the Coterie Theatre's new musical production of Mark Twain's Life on the Mississippi is destined to be a hit.

The original script by Douglas M. Parker, introduces the young Samuel Clemens as he learns to pilot a steamboat. Through his apprenticeship to Horace Bixby, we watch the whimsical Sam grow into a competent man and excellent listener. The Mississippi river becomes not only a metaphor for the constant change of life but the conduit through which his stories eventually flow.

The set for this production spanned the length of the intimate stage. Designed by UMKC graduate student Megan Catherine Gross, it still had the authentic smell of freshly cut pine planks. The pilot house, which spins to afford different perspectives, had all the curvy charm of a Victorian veranda.

If I were a casting director looking for fresh-faced, "earnestish" young men, I would look no further than the Coterie cast. Price Messick made an outstanding Sam Clemens, an adventurous young man looking to find his way in the world. He captures the wise guy but tempers him with good humor and heart. His close connection to his family via his little brother Henry, played to perfection by KC Comeaux, grounds the play as it floats over the river. When I started to fall in love with them, I knew I was in for big trouble (No spoilers).

The comic Steven Eubank gave his characters, Joe, Crewman and Abner Reese, a bright energy that lit up the stage. One of the highlights of the show is his song, "Duke Joseph," where he tries to convince Sam that he has descended from royalty and tells a very tall tale. With characters like that, it's easy for the audience to see where Mark Twain got his inspiration.

The elder actors, Logan Ernstthal and Matthew Rapport offset the kinetic energy of the youngsters with solid gravity. Being a riverboat pilot takes focus and attention to detail.  Ernstthal sporting a bushy black beard baits and jabs the eager cub pilot with the exasperation of a loving father. Rapport's character William Brown, on the other hand, sporting an unnaturally long beard, cuts him down and sets Sam up for failure.

Some of the best moments on stage happen when Katie Karel steps into the light in her luminous blue damask dress. She captivates the boys, but chooses Henry as her beau. The gleeful murder ballad, "Kill him again," reveals the trio in their purest, adolescent abandon.

The music, written and arranged by Denver Casado, was a mix of pop like inspirational songs and parlor-type tunes. "The Other Side of the River" had the poignancy of the well loved "Danny Boy."  Sascha Groschang (cello) Daniel Doss (piano) and Ziva Patt-Rappaport (violin) made up the pit and superbly fleshed out the performance, enhancing the action with their expertise.

After the performance, the cast joined the audience to watch the Coterie's teen comedy troupe reenact the entire play as a spoof. I don't know when I've laughed so hard. Kansas City has talent to spare and I hope to have the pleasure of seeing this new crop of youngsters taking the stage someday soon. 

As the Midwest continues to create new performance pieces based on our regional history, I hope that other theatres across the country will choose to produce them as well. Life on the Mississippi will be enjoyable to audiences everywhere.

REVIEW
The Coterie Theatre
Mark Twain's Life on the Mississippi
Book and lyrics by Douglas M. Parker
Music by Denver Casado
Runs January 26 to February 28 (Reviewed Friday, January 29)
Crown Center Lower Level
2450 Grand Blvd, Kansas City, MO
For tickets call 816-474-6552 or online at www.coterietheatre.org


Top photo: Sam Clemens (Price Messick) with Bixby (Logan Ernstthal). Photos by J. Robert Schraeder.

By Megan Browne Helm

Classical, Vocal and Theatre Contributor

Megan Browne Helm grew up singing, dancing and acting.  Inspired by Emma Kirkby as a high school student in St. Louis she went on to study voice and sing with the Collegium Musicum at the Oberlin Conservatory in Ohio where she also had a radio show of contemporary classical music on WOBC.  At the University of Kansas she had the pleasure of working with former Kings’ Singer, Simon Carrington in his Collegium Musicum and Oread consort. Years later, she was a choral fellow at the Yale School of Music’s  Norfolk Chamber Music Festival.  She is currently singing with the Kansas City Symphony Chorus under the direction of Charles Bruffy. 

 As a freelance music and culture writer her work can be found on KCMetropolis.org, presentmagazine.com, the Lawrence Journal World, Shawnee Magazine, Leawood Lifestyle Magazine and KC Parent.  She was one of 26 journalists in the country chosen as a NEA Institute Fellow for Classical Music and Opera at the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism. 

Her current interest is how classical music remains relevant through active collaborations with artists in different fields, including science.  She also sees a connection between classical music, travel and food as a way to engage all of the senses in a 360 degree cultural experience.  She blogs at raworganum.wordpress.com.