Kansas City Star: Performing Arts

Martin City Jr. presents 'Bounce'

Wed, 08 Jul 2009 22:15 CDT

Martin City Jr., the children’s theater wing of the Martin City Melodrama & Vaudeville Company, is performing “Bounce” through July 31. Martin City founder Jeanne Beechwood wrote and directed this piece, which includes original songs by Jon Copeland.

Local actors Walter Coppage and Gary Neal Johnson land in high-profile hits in D.C.

Sat, 04 Jul 2009 22:15 CDT

Gary Neal Johnson and Walter Coppage haven’t had lunch yet. But they will. They must.

Inge play will make a stop at KC Rep

Sat, 04 Jul 2009 22:15 CDT

Kansas City Repertory Theatre will fill a TBA slot on its schedule next season with a William Inge classic: “Bus Stop.” The show will run March 12-April 4, 2010, in the Spencer Theatre at the UMKC Performing Arts Center.

Coterie's insect rock musical is lively, colorful and out of control

Mon, 29 Jun 2009 22:15 CDT

The Coterie Theatre production of “U: Bug: Me,” a rock musical for kids, does something I never thought possible: It makes shudder-inducing insects cute and lovable. That, at least, was the goal. Anthropomorphic creatures in the theater are nothing new, especially in children’s shows. But cockroaches and earwigs? This show definitely breaks new ground.

‘Sorry, Wrong Number' connects with audience as first production at the Fishtank

Mon, 29 Jun 2009 12:19 CDT

Well, it was just another trippy Saturday night in the Crossroads. Actress/producer Corrie Van Ausdal inaugurated her new performance studio, the Fishtank, with her more-or-less solo enactment of a 30-minute 1942 radio play, “Sorry, Wrong Number.”

Review | Civic Opera's 'Don Pasquale' ambitious, successful

Sat, 27 Jun 2009 00:24 CDT

An engaging story is at the heart of any good opera. Gaetano Donizetti's “Don Pasquale,” presented Friday night at Goppert Theater of Avila University by the Civic Opera Theater of Kansas City, featured broadly drawn comic characters and a farcical plot filled with twists and turns.

‘Tom Sawyer' tonight helps feed the hungry

Fri, 26 Jun 2009 22:15 CDT

A staged reading of a Mark Twain classic with live music tonight will raise money and food for Harvesters Community Food Network. Actors T. Max Graham, Jeanne Murphy and Jennifer Mays will perform “American Harvest: A Staged Reading of Mark Twain’s ‘Tom Sawyer’ ” with folk music of the era by multi-instrumentalist Kelly Werts. The show begins at 7:30 p.m. at the Westport Presbyterian Church, 201 Westport Road.

Review | Mormon Tabernacle Choir sings to appreciative audience

Thu, 25 Jun 2009 23:49 CDT

Ronald Reagan called it “ America's Choir,” and it's as much an American tradition as mom and apple pie. On Thursday night the Mormon Tabernacle Choir made its sixth visit to Kansas City, and the first since 1992.

For Starlight's new leader Denton Yockey, there's no business like show business

Sat, 27 Jun 2009 22:15 CDT

Denton Yockey, the new man in charge at Starlight Theatre, has musical theater in his blood. It’s an art form he has been immersed in as an actor, director or producer since his teens.

Stephen Karam's 'Speech & Debate' ushers in new generation of theatergoers

Wed, 24 Jun 2009 22:15 CDT

The holy grail of artistic directors at nonprofit theaters, large and small, is tapping into an audience of young theatergoers. By professional theater standards, a “young” audience member could be anyone under 40, but artistic directors are after people who are actually young — in their teens or early 20s.

Performing arts address book | June 25-July 1

Wed, 24 Jun 2009 22:15 CDT

Avila University: 11901 Wornall. Central United Methodist Church: 5144 Oak.

Corrie Van Ausdal fills her Fishtank theater with life

Wed, 24 Jun 2009 22:15 CDT

C ount on Corrie Van Ausdal to do things her own way. The actress, playwright and Late Night Theatre veteran plans to inaugurate her new performance studio, Fishtank Theatre, with a typically unorthodox enterprise: a solo performance of “Sorry, Wrong Number,” a classic radio play by Lucille Fletcher that later became a classic film noir with Barbara Stanwyck and Burt Lancaster.

Review | �Quixotic: Lux Esalare� features phenomenal dancers, incredible music

Fri, 19 Jun 2009 23:49 CDT

There were moments on the opening night of “Quixotic: Lux Esalare” when I couldn't decide whether to watch the elegant dancers at center stage or the musicians on either side of the proscenium.

Review | Chamber orchestra's Mozart concert well received after murky opening

Fri, 19 Jun 2009 23:43 CDT

If you ask me, you really can't get enough Mozart. An eager audience seemed to concur at the Kansas City Chamber Orchestra's Mozart Festival Weekend despite an inauspicious opening at the Friday night concert.

‘Merry Wives' feels manic but still funny

Fri, 19 Jun 2009 22:15 CDT

Well, if you want to see some of the hardest-working actors in Kansas City at the moment, you should go see “The Merry Wives of Windsor.” The excellent Phil Fiorini anchors the Heart of America Shakespeare Festival production as John Falstaff, and he’s surrounded by some of the worthiest performers in the city.

Review | Actors work hard in Shakespeare Festival's 'Merry Wives'

Fri, 19 Jun 2009 00:17 CDT

If you want to see some of the hardest-working actors in Kansas City at the moment, you should go see “The Merry Wives of Windsor.”

Rosen gets a standing O for his first KC Rep season

Sat, 20 Jun 2009 22:15 CDT

At last Eric Rosen can relax. For nine months he held his breath in anticipation of a firestorm of criticism that never came. When he decided to launch his inaugural season as Kansas City Repertory Theatre’s artistic director with a one-man hip-hop musical, he likened it to throwing a Hail Mary pass on the opening play of a football game.

‘A Christmas Story' auditions set for boys

Sat, 20 Jun 2009 22:15 CDT

Kansas City Repertory Theatre will be auditioning boys 8 to 13 years old for its world-premiere production of “A Christmas Story.” Instead of staging the annual Charles Dickens classic “A Christmas Carol,” the Rep this year will present “A Christmas Story,” based on the popular 1983 film about a 9-year-old boy who wants an “official” Red Ryder 200-shot air rifle for Christmas.

Metropolitan Ensemble Theatre's upcoming season combines classics with shows new to KC

Wed, 17 Jun 2009 22:15 CDT

Metropolitan Ensemble Theatre, the small, midtown company that has made a name for itself by staging high-quality work on limited budgets, has announced its 2009-2010 season. The season includes American classics, contemporary material and some shows never before staged in Kansas City:

Actors Theatre's 'Glengarry Glen Ross' opens next month

Wed, 17 Jun 2009 22:15 CDT

Actors Theatre KC will stage a testosterone-fueled, dog-eat-dog David Mamet classic this summer with some of Kansas City’s best veteran actors. John Rensenhouse will direct “Glengarry Glen Ross,” Mamet’s Pulitzer Prize-winning 1984 drama about internecine warfare in a dingy Chicago real estate office. The play has received only one previous professional production in Kansas City — at the Unicorn Theatre in 1987.

Performing arts address book | June 18-24

Wed, 17 Jun 2009 22:15 CDT

American Heartland Theatre: Crown Center Shops, Level Three, 2450 Grand. Barn Players Theatre: 6219 Martway, Mission.

The creative fusion of Quixotic moves into UMKC on Friday

Wed, 17 Jun 2009 22:15 CDT

The “Lux Esalare” performance marks the fifth year of Quixotic, growing larger and more adventurous every year. Consequently, this year’s will be the most ambitious of all. It will be the longest running, too, with five performances over two weekends.

‘Desperate Times' works thanks to its performers

Mon, 15 Jun 2009 22:15 CDT

For some viewers the plays of Ron Simonian will always be an acquired taste. Others will simply buckle up and go along for the ride.

Review | 'Desperate' works best with Garrison, East on stage

Sat, 13 Jun 2009 23:31 CDT

For some viewers the plays of Ron Simonian will always be an acquired taste. Others will simply buckle up and go along for the ride.

Review | Unicorn's 'Speech & Debate' smart, humorous, full of quirky characters

Sat, 13 Jun 2009 00:03 CDT

The Unicorn Theatre has given us two shows back-to-back dramatizing teen angst with almost identical themes. The first was “Bare,” a pop musical set in a Catholic high school that dealt with love, peer pressure and sexual identity. The current production, “Speech & Debate,” addresses those issues too, but in a much more artful and entertaining way.

Strong female characters drive ‘Merry Wives of Windsor'

Sat, 13 Jun 2009 22:15 CDT

He's just a big idiot. We speak of Sir John Falstaff, one of William Shakespeare's greatest characters, for whom bombast is a way of life.

Performing arts calendar | July 2-8

Wed, 01 Jul 2009 22:15 CDT

For complete listings, go to Kansas City.com/Entertainment. CLASSICAL MUSIC

Performing arts calendar | June 25-July 1

Wed, 24 Jun 2009 22:15 CDT

For complete listings, go to Kansas City.com/Entertainment. CLASSICAL MUSIC

Performing arts calendar | June 18-24

Wed, 17 Jun 2009 22:15 CDT

For complete listings, go to Kansas City.com/Entertainment. CLASSICAL MUSIC

Big 12 | Theater

Mon, 10 Mar 2008 10:15 CDT

It’s a safe bet that KC’s downtown area has more live theater than you’re used to.

Performing arts calendar | July 9-15

Wed, 08 Jul 2009 22:15 CDT

For complete listings, go to Kansas City.com/Entertainment. CLASSICAL MUSIC

Gorilla Theatre returns with sunrise productions

Wed, 08 Jul 2009 22:15 CDT

The Gorilla is back. Gorilla Theatre, one of the oldest alternative theater groups in Kansas City, interrupted the space-time continuum in a big way last year when it failed to offer an annual sunrise production of a Greek classic. Instead, Gorilla founder David Luby opted for a simple staged reading of “The Birds,” a comedy by Aristophanes, which was not well-attended.

After a Minnesota test run, Tony Kushner looks to Broadway

Tue, 07 Jul 2009 22:15 CDT

With a sometimes bumpy test debut for his new family drama out of the way, playwright Tony Kushner is setting his sights on getting the play to Broadway by the end of the year.

Performing arts address book | July 9-15

Wed, 08 Jul 2009 22:15 CDT

American Heartland Theatre, Lobby: Crown Center Shops, Level Three, 2450 Grand. Chestnut Fine Arts Theatre: 234 N. Chestnut, Olathe.

Theater openings | July 5-11

Sat, 04 Jul 2009 22:15 CDT

For complete listings, go to KansasCity.com/Entertainment.

The Rep goes talent shopping in July for 'A Christmas Story'

Wed, 01 Jul 2009 22:15 CDT

They didn't carry Red Ryder BB guns or wear round glasses like Ralphie, but 17 boys with Broadway dreams belted out songs and monologues to land a part in the new holiday musical based on the movie “A Christmas Story” that will debut in Kansas City later this year.

Stylish 'Sorry, Wrong Number' strikes the right chord

Wed, 01 Jul 2009 22:15 CDT

Performing arts address book | July 2-8

Wed, 01 Jul 2009 22:15 CDT

Briarcliff Village: Briarcliff Parkway and Mulberry. Community of Christ Temple: 201 S. River, Independence.

‘Legally Blonde' at Starlight: Talented cast, but musical's songs come up empty

Thu, 02 Jul 2009 22:15 CDT

Well, the famous Starlight bats were present and accounted for at the opening-night performance of “Legally Blonde — the Musical.” You have to hand it to the actors, who maintained their composure despite the omnipresence of the winged mammals fluttering in and out of the proscenium in search of insects to gorge on.