The British are HERE!
Opening Night is tonight, Thursday, Dec 8 at 7:30 pm and this week, there are four different performances from two extraordinary talents, Rebecca Vaughan and Richard Fry. You can catch them this week in The British Invasion. Next week an entire new wave of performers arrive. Come join us… bring your brain.
Performances at Metropolitan Ensemble Theatre, 3614 Main Street, KCMO 6411
Call 816-516-4422 for tickets and other information.
Thu, Dec 8 at 7:30 pm & Sun, Dec 11 at 2:00 pm
(In repertory with The Ballad of the Unbeatable Hearts)
I, Elizabeth
Adapted & performed by Rebecca Vaughan
Directed by Guy Masterson
At a vital crossroads in history a young queen steps from the shadows to unburden herself of her many troubles and reveal her innermost thoughts on marriage, succession, religion, war, and the challenges to her throne. But time is against her… Elizabeth I: Queen at 25, political phoenix and famously unmarried, she was the most educated woman of her Age – but who was the woman beneath the crown? Using only Elizabeth’s words, Rebecca Vaughan explores the queen’s struggle to reconcile the desires of womanhood with the duties of sovereignty.
Thu, Dec 8 at 7:30 and Sun, Dec 11 at 2:00 pm
(In repertory with I, Elizabeth)
The Ballad of the Unbeatable Hearts
Written and Performed by Richard Fry
If you could do something to help young disaffected people stop doing bad things to others – or to themselves – and it was really easy to do, would you do it? Fry shows us just how easy it can be in this extraordinary ‘pay-it-forward’ tale. From one young man’s near suicide, we witness the birth of an extraordinary movement dedicated to reaching out to the lost and disheartened, the disenchanted and disenfranchised… and involving them… in hope. Fry’s tour-de-verse is enaging, witty, incredibly cleverand totally believeable. Within minutes, he will have you jumping up and joining up!
Fri, Dec 9 at 7:30 pm & Sat, Dec 10 at 7:30 pm
(In repertory with Smiler)
AUSTEN’S WOMEN
Adapted & performed by Rebecca Vaughan Directed by Guy Masterson
Some of the most rewarding and exciting moments from the complete works of Jane Austen, the queen of English Literature! Brought to the stage in a superb performance of extraordinary virtuosity by Rebecca Vaughan, thirteen of Austen’s beautifully observed women are assembled in one glorious distillation of 19th century feminism. From scenes of high comedy to moments of profound pathos, Vaughan takes us on a rich journey into Austen’s “two inches of ivory” featuring Lizzy Bennet, Emma Woodhouse, Anne Elliot, the Dashwood Sisters and many more, as they fall in and out of love, make friends with some, alienate others and commit notorious improprieties!
Fri, Dec 9 at 7:30 pm & Sat, Dec 10 at 7:30 pm
(In repertory with Austen’s Women)
Smiler
Written and Performed by Richard Fry
Smiler is a mate. A pal. A good egg. He’s fun to be around. He’s got a wicked sense of humour and he loves his music. He is also a wheelchair bound quadraplegic who needs full time care. Amnesty Award nominee Richard Fry’s second in his tour-de-verse trilogy about drunk-driving, disability and ‘Right Said Fred’ is based on Fry’s own friendship with a young man living with traumatic head injuries. Smiler takes us where most mortals fear to tread in this heart-rending yet uplifting spasticated true love story.
central standard theatre · kansas city
a professional company dedicated to innovative theatre partnerships with artists around the world. We seek to open an international theatrical dialogue, helping us to define ourselves as Americans and as artists. Our culture, our heritage defined and celebrated – not just at home in the Heartland, but exported and showcased abroad. And we, in turn, sponsor award winning, dynamic theatre from the fringe festivals in Edinburgh and Adelaide, in Kansas City.
