Virtual theater is here. Yes, it’s all because of the COVID-19 pandemic, which shows few signs of receding anytime soon. Theater companies, obligated to protect the health of performers, crew and spectators, simply cannot stage live plays or musicals. So the next logical step is theater one step removed. On the plus side, theater lovers […]
As the theater community reels from a community-wide shutdown ordered by public officials on both sides of the state line, artistic leaders are faced with two questions: How long? What next? In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Mayor Quinton Lucas on March 13 issued a proclamation declaring a state of emergency in Kansas City that […]
It was a Friday the 13th like no other. Friday is normally a big day for the performing arts. But this was not a normal Friday. For theater companies and other arts organizations, the COVID-19 pandemic suddenly got real. Kansas City Repertory canceled two world-premier productions, one of which was to have opened that night. […]
The stage was awash with lively music, amity, optimism and national pride Tuesday for the opening-night performance of “Come From Away” at the Music Hall. The Tony Award-winning show, set in Newfoundland in far northeastern Canada, celebrates human resiliency on one of the darkest days of the 21st century. This Canadian musical brims with upbeat […]
Kansas City Repertory Theatre offers a handsomely mounted production of “Fun Home,” the musical adaptation of Alison Bechdel’s graphic memoir about growing up in uniquely dysfunctional family in Pennsylvania. The show, adapted by Lisa Kron (book and lyrics) and Jeanine Tesori (music) racked up an array of awards in 2014-15, including five Tonys. While the […]
The Coterie’s production of “The White Rose: We Defied Hitler” by David Meyers hums with relevance. The one-act drama depicting the interrogation of Sophie Scholl, a young resister in Nazi Germany who was tried for treason and executed for distributing anti-Hitler leaflets, will almost certainly bring to mind young people in the here and now. […]
