Victor Raider-Wexler News

On Sunday afternoon, the KCAT artistic Board decided to end our current run of 'St. Nicholas' at the Buffalo Room.

Kansas City Actors Theatre will be producing a presentation of Conor McPherson's a?oeSt. Nicholasa?? from March 11 to 29 at the Buffalo Room in the Westport district of Kansas City. The production will feature Victor Raider-Wexler (a?oeMorning's at Seven,a?? a?oeA Moon for the Misbegotten,a?? a?oeAnd Then There Were Nonea??) and will be directed by Dennis Hennessy, who previously directed audience-favorites a?oeThe Gin Game,a?? and this season's a?oeMorning's at Sevena?? and also serves as Artistic Director of the New Theatre.

Kansas City Repertory Theatre continues its 2019/20 season with a beloved holiday tradition, Charles Dickens' A CHRISTMAS CAROL. This year's production is an adaptation by Geoff Elliott with direction from KCRep Associate Artistic Director Jason Chanos. A CHRISTMAS CAROL begins previews Friday, November 22, opens Saturday, November 30 at 8 pm, and continues through Sunday, December 29. Performances take place at Spencer Theatre on the UMKC campus.

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 excellent actors of appropriate age to bring this stylish 1939 play-script to life. 

Kansas City Actors Theatre presents Paul Osborn's "Morning's at Seven," which will run from May 22 to June 9 at the City Stage in Union Station.

Kansas City Actors Theatre has completed casting for its production of Paul Osborn's "Morning's at Seven," which will run from May 22 to June 9 at the City Stage in Union Station. The production will be directed by Dennis Hennessy of The New Theater in Overland Park, and will star Deb Bluford, Greg Butell, Krista Eyler, Peggy Friesen, Jeannine Hutchings, Gary Neal Johnson, Merle Moores, Victor Raider-Wexler, and Mark Robbins (KCAT co-founder). The production will also feature set design by Gary Mosby, costumes by Sarah M. Oliver, lighting design by Shane Rowse, sound design by Jon Robertson, and props from Shawnna Journagan.

Kansas City Actors Theatre has completed casting for its production of Paul Osborn's "Morning's at Seven," which will run from May 22 to June 9 at the City Stage in Union Station. The production will be directed by Dennis Hennessy of The New Theater in Overland Park, and will star Deb Bluford, Greg Butell, Krista Eyler, Peggy Friesen, Jeannine Hutchings, Gary Neal Johnson, Merle Moores, Victor Raider-Wexler, and Mark Robbins (KCAT co-founder).

Indecent is about the power of theater to dazzle and uplift. Playwright Vogel has discussed plays that make the hair stand up on her neck. That is exactly what Indecent does: makes the hairs stand up on the back of the neck, and we may be at a loss to explain.

Paula Vogel's 2015 play Indecent, in a production now arrived at Center Stage after stops at D.C.'s Arena Stage and the Kansas City Rep, is a staggering tour de force of playwriting prowess that is also a tour of a largely forgotten world: international Yiddish theater shortly after the turn of the last century. A play about a play about a play, it follows Sholem Asch's God of Vengeance on a circular path, from Lodz, Poland in 1906 to Warsaw, to various stages in Europe, through Ellis Island and various New York theaters, culminating with an abortive stay on Broadway, and thence back to Lodz once more, at the peak of the Holocaust. And then, in a sort of coda, it concludes in Connecticut with the last days of Mr. Asch. All these parts are contained within an initial framing device in which, like Pseudolus in A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, a stage manager named Lemml (Ben Cherry), introduces the players and musicians, apparently members of a turn-of-the-century Yiddish theater troupe, and identifies the kinds of parts they will play (like male and female Ingenues). Everything that follows, i.e. a play about presenting a play, is presented as a play performed by this troupe.

The Kansas City Actors Theatre is proud to announce its lineup of plays for 2019-2020 at the City Stage in Union Station. This is the company's 15th season of productions showcasing Kansas City's own top theatre professionals.

The Kansas City Actors Theatre is proud to announce its lineup of plays for 2019-2020 at the City Stage in Union Station. This is the company's 15th season of productions showcasing Kansas City's own top theatre professionals.

This production, of 'Indecent', triumphs through it's precision and timing of choreography, music, and intricate scene movement . Incorporating period musical numbers, that give reference to the time, this show is complete from beginning to its dramatic conclusion. "Indecent" runs approximately one hour and 45 minutes and is performed with no intermission.  The show runs through February 10, 2019 and tickets are available at KCRep.org or by calling (816) 235-2700

Arena Stage presents Pulitzer Prize winner Paula Vogel's thought-provoking play Indecent. Inspired by the 1923 Broadway debut of Sholem Asch's Yiddish drama The God of Vengeance, and the controversy that surrounded its themes of censorship, immigration and anti-Semitism, Vogel explores the behind-the-scenes story of the courageous artists who risked their careers and lives to perform this piece of theater under the most challenging circumstances. Infused with music that combines standards from Yiddish theater with folk traditions of the early to mid-20th century, Indecent, a co-production with Baltimore Center Stage and Kansas City Repertory, is directed by Eric Rosen, with choreography by Erika Chong Shuch and music direction and original music by Alexander Sovronsky. The production runs November 23 - December 30, 2018 in the Kreeger Theater.

Arena Stage presents Pulitzer Prize winner Paula Vogel's thought-provoking play Indecent. Inspired by the 1923 Broadway debut of Sholem Asch's Yiddish drama The God of Vengeance, and the controversy that surrounded its themes of censorship, immigration and anti-Semitism, Vogel explores the behind-the-scenes story of the courageous artists who risked their careers and lives to perform this piece of theater under the most challenging circumstances. Infused with music that combines standards from Yiddish theater with folk traditions of the early to mid-20th century, Indecent, a co-production with Baltimore Center Stage and Kansas City Repertory, is directed by Eric Rosen, with choreography by Erika Chong Shuch and music direction and original music by Alexander Sovronsky. The production runs November 23 - December 30, 2018 in the Kreeger Theater.

Arena Stage presents Pulitzer Prize winner Paula Vogel's thought-provoking play Indecent. Inspired by the 1923 Broadway debut of Sholem Asch's Yiddish drama The God of Vengeance, and the controversy that surrounded its themes of censorship, immigration and anti-Semitism, Vogel explores the behind-the-scenes story of the courageous artists who risked their careers and lives to perform this piece of theater under the most challenging circumstances. Infused with music that combines standards from Yiddish theater with folk traditions of the early to mid-20th century, Indecent, a co-production with Baltimore Center Stage and Kansas City Repertory, is directed by Eric Rosen, with choreography by Erika Chong Shuch and music direction and original music by Alexander Sovronsky. The production runs November 23 - December 30, 2018 in the Kreeger Theater.

Arena Stage celebrated opening night of Pulitzer Prize winner Paula Vogel's thought-provoking play Indecent. Check out the photos below!

There are some plays in the history of Broadway that you just scratch your head as to why they didn't have a longer run. Paula Vogel's Indecent is definitely one of those plays. It opened to rave reviews on Broadway, won the Tony Award for best direction and only ran 128 performances. The award win gave the show a considerable box office bump, but not enough to convince the show's producers to make a run of it in the summer heat. Thankfully, PBS preserved the Broadway production for posterity and the play is now getting a much deserved second life in regional theaters across the country.

Arena Stage presents Pulitzer Prize winner Paula Vogel's thought-provoking play Indecent. Inspired by the 1923 Broadway debut of Sholem Asch's Yiddish drama The God of Vengeance, and the controversy that surrounded its themes of censorship, immigration and anti-Semitism, Vogel explores the behind-the-scenes story of the courageous artists who risked their careers and lives to perform this piece of theater under the most challenging circumstances. Infused with music that combines standards from Yiddish theater with folk traditions of the early to mid-20th century, Indecent, a co-production with Baltimore Center Stage and Kansas City Repertory, is directed by Eric Rosen, with choreography by Erika Chong Shuch and music direction and original music by Alexander Sovronsky. The production runs November 23 - December 30, 2018 in the Kreeger Theater.

Actor Ben Cherry is gearing up to star in Indecent at Arena Stage. He chatted with NBC Washington about the production, and gave a preview of what's to come. Check out the full feature below!

Arena Stage at the Mead Center for American Theater announces the full company for Pulitzer Prize winner Paula Vogel's thought-provoking play Indecent. Inspired by the 1923 Broadway debut of Sholem Asch's Yiddish drama The God of Vengeance, and the controversy that surrounded its themes of censorship, immigration and anti-Semitism, Vogel explores the behind-the-scenes story of the courageous artists who risked their careers and lives to perform this piece of theater under the most challenging circumstances. Infused with music that combines standards from Yiddish theater with folk traditions of the early to mid-20th century, Indecent, a co-production with Baltimore Center Stage and Kansas City Repertory, is directed by Eric Rosen, with choreography by Erika Chong Shuch and music direction and original music by Alexander Sovronsky. The production runs November 23 - December 30, 2018 in the Kreeger Theater.