Author: Rebecca Smith
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Artist to Watch: Elroy Hawkins
It’s sad when Kansas City loses a talented performer to a larger market. It’s gratifying when we get one back. Elroy Hawkins (stage name L Roi Hawkins) has returned to the area after 20 years away, appearing in The Black Repertory Theatre Company’s 2017 productions of “Stickfly” and “A Soldier’s Story,” and in the Unicorn’s March 2018 “Informed Consent.”
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Kevin Willmott Goes Global
Kevin Willmott likes to make waves. Right now he’s approaching tsunami levels. Last year the noted filmmaker and professor of Film Studies at the University of Kansas made national news for wearing a bulletproof vest to his classes to protest guns being allowed on campus. Terming the policy “insane,” he says he will continue wearing the vest till the law is changed.
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Artist to Watch: Katie Karel
In 2015 the British actress Carey Mulligan won raves and a Tony nomination for her role as Kyra in David Hare’s “Skylight,” chronicling the heartrending interplay of two former lovers reunited following the death of the man’s wife. This May, Kansas City audiences will be able to see local actress Katie Karel reprise the role of Kyra in the Kansas City Actors Theatre production of Hare’s award-winning play.
