‘Fresh Prince’ writer brings the laughs to Kansas City’s Harris Park | Opinion
On Saturday, comedian and actor Alex Thomas entered the quaint theater at Midtown Sports and Activity Center at Harris Park in Kansas City and couldn’t help but marvel at his surroundings. Outside was a nine-hole putting space — the lush greenery of this urban golf course is hard to miss.
Inside, Thomas poked fun of a venue he likened to a tool shed.
“I’m in Kansas City performing in a barn,” he said.
Thomas was joking, of course. The air-conditioned dwelling features a well-lit stage, about 60 cushioned chairs, two television screens and a quality sound system.
I couldn’t help but laugh — and so did the other folks inside this intimate gathering. Thomas was in town for the second installment of the ”Comedy on the Green” series, a fundraiser for Harris Park, a golf course and park in the city’s Ivanhoe neighborhood.
Sporting distressed blue jeans, a crisp white and green golf shirt with matching green suede Puma sneakers, Thomas performed twice in front of packed crowds. He told the first audience that he spent three decades in show business. And then the barn bit — the opening to a sidesplitting hourlong set — continued.
“I’m celebrating 30 years as a comedian this week,” Thomas said. “And look at where my career has taken me.”
The theater sits atop a hill near the golf course at Harris Park, which also features a basketball court and playground. The sprawling complex is the brainchild of Chris Harris, a former college athlete who turned a once blighted neighborhood near East 40th Street and Wayne Avenue into an urban oasis.
“He is the only Black man in America to gentrify his own neighborhood,” Thomas said. He was joking — or was he?
Thomas, a native of South Central Los Angeles, is best known for his role on “The Jamie Foxx Show” and the movie “The Players Club,” starring Foxx and rapper-turned-entertainment mogul Ice Cube. He was also a writer on the original “Fresh Prince of Bel-Air,” starring Will Smith.
Between sets, he praised Harris for investing in the same community on Kansas City’s East Side that he was raised in.
In a 2016 profile of Harris in The Star, then-reporter Ian Cummings wrote: “By the time Harris was grown, the neighborhood had fallen into decline. Across the street he saw abandoned houses and trash dumps, which he cleared out to build the park with a playground and basketball court.”
“He literally put his money where his mouth is,” Thomas said.
Harris said he was grateful for Thomas and the other comedians who performed there over the weekend. Kansas City native Tidy Dillard opened the first set and mentioned his nonprofit Comedians Against Bullying. Most of his jokes were crude but still hilarious.
Dillard was followed by D. Ford, a native of Greenville, Mississippi, now living here. Ford joked about how Kansas Citians like to make things uniquely their own, “like the national anthem.” A round of applause followed. When he delivered his “home of the Chiefs” punchline, laughter erupted.
Kansas City residents Tonya Jackson and Ayanna Bridges attended the first show together. They both agreed the positive energy of the evening stood out.
“It was great,” Jackson said. “I had a real good time.”
Bridges added: “I loved it. It was great energy, cool people and wonderful comedians.”
Harris said: “It’s really not about the comedy, it’s about the comics coming and supporting what we’re doing here in our neighborhood. (Thomas) is bringing support, he’s bringing eyes, he’s bringing everything that we need to enhance our neighborhood and that’s us coming together.”
On Saturday, Thomas brought laughter and comedic genius to that little “barn.” He said he was only joking.
But was he really?
This story was originally published June 11, 2025 at 5:07 AM.
