Author: Vivian Kane

Three Black women dressed in costumes from different eras sit on a stage faced forward.U
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March 23, 2023

Unicorn Theatre’s Time-Hopping ‘Marys Seacole’ Is No Ordinary Biodrama

Anyone familiar with Drury’s work knows that this will be no straightforward biography.
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Two ghostly looking young girls stand on a staircase looking straight forward.L
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March 13, 2023

Lyric Opera’s “The Shining” Is Horrific, Haunting and Absolutely Gorgeous

Lyric Opera’s production of The Shining makes us wonder why horror-opera isn't more of a thing.
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Two Black actors argue over a dinner table.K
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February 18, 2023

KC Melting Pot’s “Fairview” Subverts Structure and Expectations To Engage in Complex Questions About Race & Art

KC Melting Pot Theater continues to explore the ways in which race and class play out in the very acts of producing and consuming theatre.
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An older woman in a 1950s housedress sits looking melancholy.K
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February 16, 2023

KCRep’s Captivatingly Absurd World Premiere “Flood” Explores the Dangers of Privilege & Complacency

Mashuq Mushtaq Deen’s new play Flood offers as good an argument as I can imagine in favor of a resurgence of the Theater of the Absurd.
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A white man and a Black drag queen pose together.T
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January 31, 2023

The White Theatre’s “Kinky Boots” Balances Out a Few Stumbles With Heaps of Fun and Heart

Cyndi Lauper and Harvey Fierstein’s musical celebration of drag and gender expression in a battle against judgmental bigotry is as relevant as ever.
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A young Black woman stares intently ahead. An Asian woman stands at a podium behind her.A
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January 26, 2023

At KCAT, ‘Smart People’ Is an Aimless Exploration of Human Contradictions

"Smart People" is about the myriad ways racism manifests—from the quotidian to the systemic to the neurological.
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The cast of Hadestown performing.T
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January 20, 2023

The Underworld Comes To Kansas City With the North American Tour of “Hadestown”

If there’s one thing you can count on with a touring Broadway show it’s top-tier production value and Hadestown is no exception.
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Three kitchen workers have an animated discussion.A
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December 14, 2022

At the Unicorn, “Clyde’s” Presents Deft Social Commentary by Way of Sandwiches

Currently onstage at the Unicorn Theatre is an astute commentary on the prison industrial complex. And also sandwiches. 
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A young Black woman in a red Christmas outfit belts while singing.T
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December 14, 2022

The Living Room’s “Milking Christmas” Is an Uproariously Original Bit of Holiday Madness

The cast is working off an incredible script but it’s their capacity for spontaneity that really allows the work to shine.
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