Music Theatre Kansas City makes pro debut

After years of training talented young performers dreaming of a career on Broadway, Music Theatre Kansas City is “going pro.”

MTKC’s inaugural professional venture is the “The Last Five Years,” a musical story of two young New Yorkers who fall in and out of love, all in five years. The show opened Thursday at Union Station City Stage and continues until June 4.

“I’m absolutely excited about producing a professional level show in Kansas City. It’s something we’ve been dreaming of for a long time,” said artistic director Julie Danielson, who lives in Merriam. She is the daughter of Shawnee resident Cary Danielson, founder and executive director of MTKC.

“The Kansas City area has a reputation on a national scale as a training ground for musical theater talent,” said Julie Danielson, who returned home three years ago after a successful seven-year stint performing and directing shows on Broadway and other New York City theaters. She heads MTKC Pro, the professional division of MTKC.

“Every year actors who’ve gone through our program find work on Broadway and other theaters,” she said. “We want to provide an opportunity for these professionals to perform before friends and family in their hometown. We hope to bring back as many ‘alums’ as possible.”

“We follow the careers of our MTKC alumni who’ve gone on to theaters in New York and other cities,” Cary Danielson said. “Our plan is to produce two or three professional shows each year and seven musical productions featuring our young talent to prepare them for theatrical careers. We want people to see all of our shows, be impressed and come back to see more,”

Cary Danielson was teaching in elementary school in Wichita when she founded Music Theatre for Young People in 1984. She moved to Overland Park in 1991 and started a similar theater program. Later she changed the name to Music Theatre Kansas City.

Julie Danielson said they chose “The Last Five Years” for their first professional production because it is a well-regarded show and a manageable size with a cast of two actors. It was first produced off-Broadway in 2002 and later played nationally and internationally.

“The music is beautiful and the show hasn’t been produced recently in Kansas City,” she added.

Who better to be on stage for MTKC’s first professional show than two ‘alums’ who grew up in Johnson County: Sarah Cline, a 2008 Blue Valley graduate, and Anthony Fortino, a 2011 graduate of St. Thomas Aquinas.

Cline portrays Cathy Hiatt, a struggling actress whose career isn’t going the way she hoped. Fortino plays Jamie Wellerstein, a rising novelist who sometimes accuses Cathy of not being supportive of his career because hers is failing.

“I couldn’t be more excited to be on stage in Kansas City again. It means everything to be home surrounded by family,” Cline said. “Cathy has been a dream role for me since ‘The Last Five Years’ came out. She tries so hard to fight against all her negative feelings until she can’t do it anymore. It’s very relatable and completely heart breaking.”

Cline has been “at sea” the last two years in a touring company with Norwegian Cruise Lines performing in “Legally Blonde, the Musical,” “Priscilla: Queen of the Desert” and “Grease.” When on land she performed at Sharon Playhouse in Connecticut.

“There are considerable perks in working at sea,” she said. “The travel opportunities, money, room and board are all wonderful and unique benefits to ‘ship life.’ The drawbacks are obvious, time away from family, especially around holidays, and the inevitable ‘bubble’ effect of living/working/playing with the same people in the same place every day.”

“I feel I need to give myself an opportunity to look for work on land. I like to audition and I do it as often as I can when I’m in New York,” Cline said.

She began performing at MTKC when she was 6 and was in “Annie” at Starlight Theatre, “Really Rosie” at the Coterie Theatre, “A Christmas Carol” at Kansas City Repertory” and other area theaters before moving to New York.

It’s been three years since Fortino, who performed many years with MTKC, was last in a show in Kansas City.

“I’m thrilled to be coming home to perform again before friends and family,” said Fortino, who performed many years with MTKC.

“I love ‘The Last Five Years,’ ” he said. “The music is beautiful. It’s not a funny show but there are happy moments. Basically, the subject matter is serious, very much real life.”

When the show is over Fortino will move to New York City where he has a job with Ernst & Young.

“I’ll be combining theater and accounting. I intend to audition as often as possible. Show business is very important to me,” he said.

Fortino received undergraduate degrees in theater and accounting from Texas Christian University a year ago and this spring a master’s degree in accounting. While at the university he was active in professional theaters in Dallas. Most recently he had the lead role in “Catch Me if You Can.” He also was in “South Pacific,” “Into the Woods,” “Lord of the Flies,” “The Fantasticks” and “Miss Saigon.”

This story was originally published May 26, 2016 at 5:17 PM with the headline "Music Theatre Kansas City makes pro debut."