KCMETROPOLIS.org
Kansas City's Online Journal of the Performing Arts

For complete Theatre listings through 2011, click here to visit the KC Events calendar.

American Heartland Theatre
The 39 Steps

Runs May 6 through June 19
For tickets call 816-842-9999 or online at www.ahtkc.com
Call or visit the website for performance days and times

Enjoy A Hitchcock Thriller - but don't worry, it's not scary! This is not your typical Hitchock of Psycho or The Birds (although you may find homages to his classics), rather a zany ride of pure theatre.  Four versatile actors take on the classic spy-thriller, The 39 Steps, the challenge: they need to bring 150 characters to life - with only the four of them and the props on hand. Three men and one woman tell the whole story of The 39 Steps at a break-neck speed, with minimal sets and costumes.  But don't let that fool you; this is a complex and thrilling story with just the right amount of romance!  Achieved through fearless engagement with the audience, and a fell embracing oftheatricality, The 39 Steps is a delightful production that never takes itself too seriously.

Read the KCM review here.

Theatre for Young America
Snoopy!!!
Runs June 14 through July 2 
For tickets call 816-460-2083 or online at www.unionstation.org
Call or visit the website for performance days and times  

This cheery musical adaptation has Snoopy and the whole Peanuts gang learning about "The World According to Snoopy."  Lucy's psychiatric booth, Linus' blanket, and Snoopy's writing career are all a part of this hilarious show.

Quality Hill Playhouse
Closer than Ever
Runs June 17 through July 17
For tickets call 816-421-1700 or online at http://www.qualityhillplayhouse.com/
Call or visit the website for performance days and times 

This hit off-Broadway revue is a collection of wise and witty songs about the challenges we all face - loving, being loved, reconnecting with old friends, taking care of parents, taking care of ourselves... "Just when you have things set, when it's all in place, when your life is good, there's another door." Laugh at their foibles, be touched by their stories and join them on the journey through the doors of life and end up "closer than ever." 

Coterie Theatre
The Wiz
Runs June 21 through August 7
For tickets call 816-474-6552 or online at http://www.coterietheatre.org
Call or visit the website for performance days and times

Celebrate the power of believing in yourself in the Tony Award winning musical based on the tale we all know by heart. The soaring songs are "Ease on Down the Road," "Brand New Day," "No Bad News," "Be a Lion." It's the timeless classic you know and love with a modern, soulful twist. Join Dorothy and her friends Scarecrow, Tinman, and the Cowardly Lion on their fabulous journey as they "Ease on Down" the yellow brick road in a multicultural view of Oz. A brand new version of Broadway's The Wiz, appropriate for all young people.

Starlight Theatre
9 to 5: The Musical
Runs June 21 through 26
For tickets call 816-363-7827 or online at www.kcstarlight.com 
Call or visit the website for performance days and times

Presented by Price Chopper. Based on the hit movie comedy and featuring new lyrics by Grammy Award winner Dolly Parton, 9 to 5: The Musical tells the story of three unlikely friends who conspire to take control of their company and learn there's nothing they can't do- even in a man's world. It's outrageous, thought-provoking and even a little romantic.

For complete Theatre listings through 2011, click here to visit the KC Events calendar.

By Victor Wishna

Senior Editor, Theatre; Theatre and Features Contributor
Victor Wishna is a writer, editor, and author, among other things. A graduate of Stanford University and the New School's creative writing MFA program, he has written for the Wall Street Journal, the Baltimore Sun, the Miami Herald, the Kansas City Star, Humanities, and other major magazines and newspapers. He contributes a weekly real estate feature to the New York Post and his column “Letter from New York” is syndicated nationally.

With photographer Ken Collins, he published In Their Company: Portraits of American Playwrights (Umbrage Editions, 2006), for which he conducted and edited interviews with 61 prominent stage writers including Edward Albee, August Wilson, Tony Kushner, Wendy Wasserstein, and many others. The book won a 2007 Independent Publisher Book Awards Silver Medal (www.intheircompany.com).

He has always maintained a love for theatre, as a writer, an audience member, and even an actor, appearing in several community and semi-professional productions. As an undergraduate, he studied acting and playwriting with Anna Deavere Smith, in addition to journalism and psychology (and not engineering or medicine).

After nearly 12 years in New York City, Victor recently returned to his hometown with his wife, Annie, also a K.C. native. When not writing for publication or pleasure, Victor is honing his stand-up routine, which he has performed at numerous clubs and special events around New York, the Midwest, and elsewhere. In June 2010, he was named New York’s second-funniest amateur Jewish comedian by The Jewish Week. Seriously.