KC Melting Pot Announces Its 2020-2021 Season

KC Melting Pot Theatre has announced its 2020-2021 season, reflectively and timely themed "This is America." Inspired by Donald Glover's 2018 video essay of the same name about the history of race relations in American culture, the season will feature four main-stage productions that examine democracy, civility, truth and acts of complacency that disfigure public discourse.

According to KCMPT's Artistic Director, Dr. Nicole Hodges Persley, "Our national discourse is fractured, which hinders our efforts to evolve. We must learn from the mistakes of our past in order to move toward new futures that are free of systemic inequalities. Theatre is a place where we can reimagine and rehearse solutions for new beginnings."

The season opens in September with a revival of Pulitzer Prize winning playwright Suzan-Lori Parks' The America Play which tells the story of an African American gravedigger, Foundling Father, who resembles Abraham Lincoln and creates a vaudeville style act where customers pay to see him in a reenactment of Lincoln's assassination. Years later, his wife and son dig up the hole where he performed and share memories of his greatness within the "Great Hole of History."

In November, KCMPT will produce James Baldwin's Tony Award winning play The Amen Corner, a compelling tale set in the 1960s about Sister Margaret, a pastor at a storefront church in Harlem. Margaret's racy past and troublesome relationships come back to haunt her. Trying to practice what she preaches in the pulpit, Sister Margaret must confront her past in this timeless tale about faith, religion and temptations that challenge our sense of righteousness.

February's offering is Yasmina Reza's God of Carnage, winner of the 2009 Tony Award for Best Play. God of Carnage follows two couples who reside in an über chic Brooklyn neighborhood. After a playground incident leaves one of their children injured, the parents all agree to get together to discuss the matter. As the couples get to know one another over drinks, all the politeness and decency break down to reveal the impact of excess, bigotry and privilege on the lives of children who model at school the behaviors they see at home.

The season ends in May with the world premiere of Lewis J. Morrow's Begetters, a dark comedy about Spicer and Norma, a long married couple in their twilight years who reach a crossroads of discontent. Seeking therapy to purge their grievances, they discover the tarnished artifacts of their legacy that they leave as their inheritance.

As Kansas City's premier African American theater company, KCMPT continues to offer diverse and inclusive theatre experiences that teach, critique and model a better America for us all.

All productions will be held at:
Just Off Broadway Theatre
3051 Central in Penn Valley Park
Kansas City Mo. 64108

Tickets:
General admission $25.00
Seniors (60+)/Students - $20.00
Community Nights - $15.00 (Wednesday and Thursdays Only)
Group discounts and Press comps available
Tickets can be purchased at www.kcmeltingpot.com or calling 816-226-8087.
A handling fee is applied to credit/debit card purchases.

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