Now playing: A holiday guide to Kansas City theater
With the holidays drawing near, passels of people will soon file into a Kansas City theater for the first time. For companies like the Kansas City Repertory Theatre, that’s the goal.
Its seasonal productions of “A Christmas Carol,” which opens for its 36th season on Friday, and “The Santaland Diaries,” in its fourth and final season, are among the most frequented in the city.
“In terms of our financial model, ‘A Christmas Carol’ is important, but it is also incredibly expensive to produce and only gets more expensive every season,” said artistic director Eric Rosen. “We do it more for the volume of people who come through in those six weeks. It’s as many that come through in six months.”
Just about every theater in town is offering something for the holidays. Joining the Rep with annual favorites are Quality Hill Playhouse, presenting its traditional “Christmas in Song,” and the Coterie theater with an encore of “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer: The Musical.”
Other theaters are putting on more offbeat fare, such as the Flintstones-inspired “A Very Bedrock Christmas” from Late Night Theatre and “Sister’s Christmas Catechism” at Starlight Theatre’s indoor stage.
Since Rosen arrived at the Rep in 2007, the audience for “A Christmas Carol” has increased by around 40 percent, and revenues have doubled.
“It’s not exactly a cash cow because the money goes back out, but it goes into the pockets of amazing local actors who can count on ‘A Christmas Carol’ to support themselves for a good chunk of their year,” said Rosen.
“A Christmas Carol” — the classic Charles Dickens tale once again stars Gary Neal Johnson as miserly Ebenezer Scrooge — is the perfect show for families to experience the Rep for the first time, Rosen said.
“The Santaland Diaries,” David Sedaris’ comedic account of serving as an elf in Macy’s, achieved more popularity with adults.
“It’s great to have an hour and 20 minutes to laugh at the holidays in the middle of it all,” Rosen said. However, the show, which this year stars Rep regular Claybourne Elder, seems to have run its course. Rosen said he would be looking for a new alternative holiday show to produce next year.
He sees value in both types of productions, whether you’re looking for humorous relief or a powerful story of redemption and transformation.
“It’s cool to have the Rep be at the center of that feeling.”
“A Christmas Carol” runs Friday through Dec. 24 at the Spencer Theatre, 4949 Cherry St. “The Santaland Diaries” runs Dec. 8-24 at the Copaken Stage, 1 H&R Block Way. See kcrep.org or call 816-235-2700.
“A Very Bedrock Christmas”
Much of what takes place during the holiday season is tradition, but Late Night Theatre’s holiday Stone Age musical is anything but that. The parody theater takes on the Flintstones with “A Very Bedrock Christmas.”
“This is brand new for us,” said the musical’s writer and director, Ron Megee.
He plays Wilma Flintstone, with fellow producers Jessica Dressler as Barney Rubble and Chadwick Brooks as Betty Rubble.
“It’s a cartoon coming to life,” Megee said. “Everything will be in cartoon form, including the set and our costuming.”
Megee was inspired by several Flintstones Christmas specials but dreamed up his own rendition with his friends at Late Night.
“We came together to figure out the parody of the songs and things we want to do with the music,” he said.
In the two-hour production, kids Pebbles and Bam Bam get kidnapped and are forced to perform in Viva Rock Vegas. Fred, Wilma, Barney and Betty have to save them and help an ill Santa deliver presents in time for the holiday.
“On their way there, they perform holiday songs as they ride their dinosaurs in to save the kids,” said Megee.
Megee and Late Night Theatre keep things lighthearted and say they don’t “try to change the world” with their theater.
“You can have a good time with friends and be silly,” he said. “That’s our goal.”
“A Very Bedrock Christmas” runs Nov. 25-Dec. 24 at the Mama Burns Theater at Missie B’s, 805 W. 39th St. See latenighttheatre.com.
“Christmas in Song”
Having arranged over 200 cabaret revues at Quality Hill Playhouse, J. Kent Barnhart loves the chance to expose an audience to Christmas music in an unconventional way.
The opening of this year’s “Christmas in Song” reflects that. It begins in complete darkness, and then a single star glows onstage, with voices harmonizing from offstage.
“This year the theme is light,” he said. “Shining light on love and the Christmas season.”
For Barnhart, with the “state of affairs” in the country today, the holidays represent a time to absorb the light of others and bask in the community music can provide.
“Music touches people in a way no other art form can,” said Barnhart. “You’re moved by it and you don’t have time to react. You don’t have time to argue with your emotions. You don’t have time to say, ‘I don’t agree with that.’ ”
The annual “Christmas in Song” offers a fresh take on seasonal arrangements like “Ave Maria” and “O Holy Night,” as well as work from more contemporary songwriters such as Ann Hampton Callaway.
“It’s become a real tradition for families and people throughout the city because it’s different,” he said. “It’s not a play. It’s not a concert. It’s a collection of both sacred and secular music.”
Barnhart serves as the pianist and emcee alongside singers Lindsey McKee, LeShea Wright and Vigthor Zophoniasson, who, throughout the performance, share stories about what family and the holiday mean to them.
“It’s a chance to get to know the performers in a way you don’t always get to know them in other settings,” said Barnhart. “The audience feels like they know the people onstage.”
“Christmas in Song” runs Nov. 25-Dec. 24 at Quality Hill Playhouse, 303 W. 10th St. See qualityhillplayhouse.com or call 816-421-1700.
More holiday shows
▪ “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer: The Musical”: This reinvention of the animated stop-motion TV special is now a yearly feature from the Coterie theater. Lasting one hour, the show is directed by Jeff Church with musical direction from Anthony Edwards and choreography by Marc Wayne. It runs through Dec. 31 at Crown Center, 2450 Grand Blvd., Suite 144. See thecoterie.org or call 816-474-6552.
▪ “The Three Wise Cats: A Christmas Musical”: The show is the product of Theatre for Young America’s resident playwright, Gene Mackey. In wintry east Manhattan, a musician, a mother and a homeless woman fear a developer will force them to lose the alley they share with three cats. It runs Tuesday through Dec. 24 at the H&R Block City Stage inside Union Station, 30 W. Pershing Road. See tya.org or call 816-460-2083.
▪ “Sister’s Christmas Catechism”: In this theatrical comedy, featuring the Starlight STARS of Tomorrow youth choir, Sister searches for what happened to the Magi’s gold. The show, written by and starring Maripat Donovan, runs Nov. 26-Dec. 18 at the indoor Cohen Community Stage House at Starlight Theatre, 4600 Starlight Road. See kcstarlight.com or call 816-363-7827.
▪ “It’s a Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play”: The classic story of idealistic George Bailey one Christmas Eve comes to life as a 1940s radio broadcast, Dec. 1-11 at Metropolitan Ensemble Theatre, 3614 Main St. See metkc.org or call 816-569-3226.
▪ “A Spectacular Christmas Show”: This mix of musical numbers, stories and St. Nick runs Dec. 9-23 at Musical Theater Heritage. See mthkc.com or call 816-221-6987.
This story was originally published November 16, 2016 at 8:00 AM with the headline "Now playing: A holiday guide to Kansas City theater."