KANSAS CITY THEATER REVIEWS

From the first bar of the opening song the audience quickly realizes this is not just another musical, it is an experience. The spectacular production of IN THE HEIGHTS opened Saturday, August 10 at Musical Theater Heritage in Crown Center under the direction of Nedra Dixon. This is the first produ...

What a roller-coaster of emotions at a preview performance of A DOLL'S HOUSE on the City Stage inside Union Station. The three-act play produced by the Kansas City Actor's Theatre opens Saturday, August 10th and runs through August 25th. Darren Sextro adapted and directs A DOLL'S HOUSE from the 1...

This very week, eighty years ago, preview showings of the film a?oeThe Wizard of Oza?? opened on silver screens in Wisconsin and Massachusetts. Audiences were wowed. The new a?oeTheatre In The Parka?? production of Dorothy and Toto's big adventure is every bit as spectacular and fun as the 1939...

'A Bronx Tale,' playing this week at Starlight Theatre, is one of those hidden gems of a show that enjoyed a fairly limited Broadway run. And because the Broadway run ended last fall after 700 performances (for now), a good portion of the New York cast has signed up for the touring company and are p...

Leawood Stage Company, the mainly city supported suburban, community theater program under the Leawood (KS) Park and Recreation District operates in several city controlled locations including the outdoor Ironwoods Amphitheatre. The current production, Cole Porter's "Kiss Me Kate," opened this pa...

Director Barbara Nichols has created magic in the White Theatre's production of PETER PAN THE MUSICAL. This summer treat for the whole family, which opened on July 6 at the theater located at the Jewish Community Center in Overland Park, should not be missed. The show runs through July 28 at the t...

Meredith Willson's 'Music Man' at 'Theatre In The Park' could not be a more iconic community theater rendition of early twentieth century Iowa and Americana unless the entire forty-six member cast entered by running through a framed newsprint mock-up of Grant Wood's 'American Gothic.'   As a matte...

A superb touring production of Andrew Lloyd Webber's classical-dance-musical opera 'Cats' from 1982 opened Tuesday evening at Starlight Theatre inside Swope Park for a week long run. 'Cats' unlike many touring shows makes maximum use of its huge venue and the stage possibilities made available throu...

What do you do when some Bozo commits murder? You go see the newest show being offered by Padgett Productions, CLOWN BAR, at Immersive KC (formerly Prohibition Hall) in Kansas City. The hilarious campy comedy written by Adam Szymkowicz runs Friday and Saturday nights through July 20. This 65-minu...

Jukebox musicals have become a too dominant form both on Broadway and for its touring cousins. The music is familiar and audiences flock to relive old favorites. "Beautiful: The Carole King Musical" playing this week at Starlight Theatre is one of the best of this form. It is very entertaining an...

The musical offshoot of 'Kind Hears and Coronets is clever and thoroughly entertaining....

Humorous and delightful, A WRINKLE IN TIME is summer entertainment for children of all ages. A WRINKLE IN TIME presented by Theatre For Young America is now playing at the City Stage inside Union Station in Kansas City. Valerie Mackey the Artistic Director of Theatre For Young America directs this...

The Tony Award-winning musical HAMILTON opened Tuesday, June 18, 2019, at the Music Hall in Kansas City and continues through Sunday, July 7. The American Theater Guild presents the smash Broadway musical featuring rap, jazz, blues, traditional-style show tunes, and hip-hop. Does it deserve all the...

A summer treat for the kiddies in ELEPHANT AND PIGGIE'S "WE ARE IN A PLAY" opened Friday, June 14 at the Coterie Theatre in Kanas City. Directed by Shanara Gabrielle the children's musical written by Mo Willems concludes the 40th season for the theater. Willems author of the popular Elephant and P...

You're not in Kansas anymore Toto, you're at The Starlight Theatre in Kansas City for the opening night of THE WIZARD OF OZ. Based on the 1939 film classic, THE WIZARD OF OZ opened on Monday, June 10 and runs through Sunday, June 16. Philip Wm. McKinley directs his 13th production with Starlight T...

ROCK YOU! A WILD RIDE THROUGH THE MUSIC OF QUEEN was presented by the Heartland Men's Chorus at the Folly Theater in Kansas City, on June 8 and 9, wrapping up the 31st season for the chorus. I have seen numerous shows by the chorus and in my opinion, this tribute takes the crown. Kathleen McGuire ...

The Queen of France, an assassin, and a freed slave woman run into each other at an artist's loft in 1790s Paris. 'The Revolutionists' is a comedy about the serious subject of female subjugation through the centuries....

Musical Theatre Heritage not only brings OKLAHOMA! to the Kansas City stage, but also to 2019. The musical classic OKLAHOMA! opened on Saturday, June 8 at Crown Center and runs through June 30. The 1943 box-office smash was the first written by the team of Richard Rodgers and librettist Oscar Ham...

TTIP's Annie' is a solid, Tim Bair, community theatre production of a show that has inspired thousands of little girls to get up on a stage for the first time and belt 'The Sun Will Come Out Tomorrow.'...

I am a big fan of campy rock musicals and what's not to like with EVIL DEAD THE MUSICAL. Hilarious, wonderful music, appropriate scenery, fabulous talent, and a talking moose. Throw in a half dozen zombies and you have the makings of a wonderful night at the theater. That's what Padgett Productio...

Starlight Theatre's opening offering for the 2019 summer season 'Rock Of Ages' was the single most disagreeable theatrical experience in more than fifty years spent attending live theater.  The performance of this rude, crude tribute to 1980s rock bands was probably OK, but it was impossible to hea...

The Barn Players bring Mark Haddon's novel to life on the Arts Asylum stage...

For audiences feeling the need for a pleasant, two-hour sojourn into a gentler time, Paul Osborn's 1939 comedy of manners 'Mornings at Seven' at Kansas City Actors Theatre inside Union Station will fill their collective nostalgia voids.  Dennis Hennessy's KCAT production is blessed with nine excell...

The KC Ballet ends its 2018-19 season with an evening of firsts....

MAMMA MIA! what a fabulous show. You can dance. You can jive. Having the time of your life is what you're in for when attending Padgett Productions MAMMA MIA! now playing at Prohibition Hall in Kansas City. The jukebox musical which runs through May 19 benefits Children's Mercy Hospital with a p...