Robert Trussell

December 1, 2016

Tennessee Williams: From the Page to the Stage

If you spend time with Tennessee Williams’ short stories, a few things come into sharp relief. For one, his short fiction from the 1930s and..

November 29, 2016

Forrest Attaway: A Rebel Deserving Applause

Rogue. Nomad. Rebel. These labels describe the slightly larger-than-life persona of Forrest Attaway, an itinerant actor who drifted into town back in 2007. But they also describe many of the roles he’s played on Kansas City stages in the last nine years — by which he established himself as one of the city’s best actors.

November 6, 2016

Spinning Tree’s “Nine,” an American Musical Born of Italian Cinema, Showcases Talent and Hard Work

“Nine,” the 1982 Broadway musical nominally based on Federico Fellini’s surrealistic satire, “8 1/2,” is enjoyable to the extent that you can relate to the..

October 23, 2016

Neil LaBute Play at Unicorn is, Like, Whatever

I wish I could say how many times “whatever” is uttered in the meandering dialogue of The Way We Get By. But I wasn’t counting...

October 22, 2016

Death and Money Collide Onstage at KC Rep

Ayad Akhtar’s The Invisible Hand is a brainy thriller balanced precariously between a melodrama and an international finance seminar. It’s fascinating, unique and even educational..

October 1, 2016

Love, Loss and Memory at the Living Room

Two-character plays present daunting challenges to both writers and actors, but the genre will be with us forever because of one shining virtue: They’re cheap..

September 17, 2016

KC Rep Opens Season with a Spectacular ‘Evita’

Kansas City Repertory Theatre kicks off its 2016-17 season with a visually dazzling production of the musical Evita, a modern classic that benefits from the..

September 11, 2016

Cinnamon Schultz is Riveting in Kansas City Actors Theatre’s Production of Classic ‘Streetcar’

Blanche DuBois, caught in a time loop, remains forever a moth drawn to the open flame of Stanley Kowalski. Indeed, “The Moth” was a working..

September 1, 2016

So Many Choices

As Kansas City theater companies open their 2016-2017 seasons, here’s what subscribers and prospective theatergoers can expect: Drama. Comedy. Dramedy (or, if you prefer, tragicomedy). Classics (or, if you prefer, old chestnuts). Musicals, new and old. And no shortage of local, regional and world premieres.

Author: Robert Trussell