Alas, sometimes things go wrong at the ballet. Tutus can tear wide open. Lights can fail at a critical moment. Scenic backdrops can get hung up and not appear before an audience’s waiting eyes. And dancers, bless them, might even miss an entrance – which makes it difficult to stage a proper twinkle-toes spectacle in the first place.

Over the past few years Kansas City audiences have thrilled to Frank Oakley III’s notable performances in Jitney at the Metropolitan Ensemble, Blacktop Sky at the Unicorn, Rosa Parks at the Coterie, The Freedom Riders at UMKC and at the Shakespeare Festival.