Robert Trussell

March 6, 2019

Arts News: A Bigger, Better Fishtank

Heidi Van has a new creative home in the West Bottoms. Van wears many hats as a Kansas City theater artist — actress, director, producer,..

March 3, 2019

Women of Color: “School Girls” at KC Rep is a Serious Comedy

Virtually every emotional trauma and competitive humiliation we associate with high school is on full display in Jocelyn Bioh’s “School Girls; or, the African Mean..

March 1, 2019

Women Playwrights Ascendant at KC Rep

In 2010 an arts journalist at the “Denver Post” interviewed theater experts and compiled a list of the 10 most important American plays of the 20th century. The playwrights included all the usual suspects: Arthur Miller (two of his plays were on the list), Tony Kushner, Tennessee Williams (also represented twice), Edward Albee, Eugene O’Neill, Thornton Wilder and August Wilson.

February 25, 2019

The MET Dives Deep with August Wilson’s ‘Seven Guitars’

August Wilson was a great chronicler of human behavior, one who worked on a wide canvas in subtle colors but always with a sharp eye..

February 18, 2019

Race, Gender and History: “Green Book Wine Club” at KC Melting Pot Packs a Punch

Some outstanding performances and a playwright’s audacious approach to history make the latest production at KC Melting Pot Theatre one that will linger in memory...

January 26, 2019

Impressive Production of ‘Indecent’ Evokes Distant but Relevant History

Part musical and part history lesson, Paula Vogel’s “Indecent” illuminates what, for many theatergoers, is an obscure but fascinating event: In 1923 the Broadway cast..

January 21, 2019

Bittersweet Past, Uncertain Future: Chekhov’s ‘The Cherry Orchard’ at the MET

Even in early twentieth century Russia, raw capitalism was destroying natural beauty and remaking the landscape. But it was doing more than that. It was..

January 7, 2019

Arts News: New Alliance Promotes KC Theater

Kansas City is a healthy arts town where professional and community theaters thrive. And while formal co-productions between theater companies have gone on for years,..

December 9, 2018

“Wonderful Life” Succeeds With Simplicity and Charm

Annual holiday shows are a tradition in Kansas City, but only this year did I make it to “It’s a Wonderful Life,” now in its..

Author: Robert Trussell