The Great Gatsby (photo by Matthew Murphy and Evan Zimmerman)
Spring is upon us, and with it comes a bouquet of new productions. See what’s blooming on local KC stages, including these shows now (or soon to be) in full flower.
THE CONCERT THAT SHOULD HAVE BEEN
Now through April 19 | New Theatre Restaurant
Dinner theater welcomes back Victor Trevino Jr., Graceland’s Ultimate Elvis Tribute Artist, in a concert staging that pairs Mr. Hound Dog with another rock icon and shimmy-shaker par excellence: his highness Sir Elton John. All this and that tasty, bountiful buffet. Tickets at www.newtheatre.com.
EVERYBODY
Now through March 22 | City Stage at Union Station
Tony ® Award winning playwright Branden Jacobs-Jenkins serves up a modern adaptation of the 15th-century morality play Everyman, one of the first recorded plays in the English language, this time produced by KC Actors Theatre. In Jacobs-Jenkins’ retelling, the eponymous character sets out on a frantic journey to find companions for the inevitable trip to Death, discovering that only “Love” will stay. Tickets at www.kcactors.org.
JAZZ: THE WOMEN WHO SHAPED ME
Now through March 15 | Quality Hill Playhouse
Internationally acclaimed vocalist/entertainer and Kansas City treasure Eboni Fondren presents a dynamic one-woman show she conceived and wrote, celebrating legendary women of jazz. Billie Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughan and more get the Eboni treatment in this entertaining evening of jazz standards. Tickets at www.qualityhillplayhouse.com.
TROJAN WOMEN MCI
March 11 – 29 | Unicorn Theatre
Unicorn Artistic Director Ernie Nolan puts his stamp on a bold reimagining of Euripides’ classic Greek tragedy, this time set to tunes by Kate Kilbane with a book by prodigious playwright Lauren Gunderson. Four women are held captive. Among them, Cassandra waits, painting her nails and plotting justice for her sisters. The outcome may not be pretty. Tickets at www.unicorntheatre.org.
LONG TIME SINCE YESTERDAY
March 12 – 21 | Just Off Broadway Theatre
A group of successful professional Black women confront the suicide death of an old friend, forcing them to come to grips with the truths about their own lives and the tragic event that brought them back together, all while navigating the challenges of being women. Tickets at www.kcmeltingpot.com.
THE GREAT GATSBY
March 17 – 22 | Music Hall
F. Scott Fitzgerald’s Roaring Twenties novel becomes a blockbuster musical in this touring edition of the play that’s still packing them in on Broadway. Tickets at www.kansascity.broadway.com.
DIARY OF A WIMPY KID
March 17 – April 18 | City Stage at Union Station
Middle-schooler Greg finds himself thrust into a world where undersized weaklings share the hallways with kids who are taller, meaner, and already shaving. When Greg’s bestie Rawley’s star starts to rise, Greg tries to use him to his own advantage, kicking off a chain of events that will test their friendship. From the award-winning young adult book series. Tickets at www.tya.org.
LILLY AND THE PIRATES
March 24 – May 3 | The Coterie in Crown Center
Ten-year-old worrywart Lilly is afraid of the water, which doesn’t help when her globetrotting scientist parents get shipwrecked. Lilly must overcome her fear of the sea, find the hidden island, and outsmart a bunch of treasure-hungry pirates to save her parents. Tickets at www.thecoterie.org.
MOBY DICK: A SEA SHANTY
March 26 – April 19 | Music Theater Heritage in Crown Center
MTH artistic director Tim Scott dreamed up this seafaring sojourn with Captain Ahab and that great white whale. Obsession and the unrelenting power of the sea shape the images and songs—many of them authentic folk music and sea shanties—of this bold new work. Tickets at www.musictheaterheritage.com.
JIM THE WONDER DOG
March 27 – April 12 | Englewood Arts in Independence
Martin City Melodrama presents the story of Jim, a canine conjurer who could predict the Kentucky Derby winner and tell the difference between license plates. No wonder this reBarkable pup appeared in Ripley’s Believe It Or Not! and stars in a musical tribute to a whole host of man’s best friends. All this and a free slice of pizza included with every $15 admission. (Talk about your dinner theater!) Tickets at
www.englewoodarts.art.
STEREOPHONIC
April 7 – 12 | Kauffman Center
The Tony® Award winning Best Play of the year tells the tortured tale of an up-and-coming rock band—loosely based on Fleetwood Mac—and the pressure and pain they face in coming up with a follow-up hit—loosely based on the multi-platinum Rumours. Arcade Fire’s Will Butler wrote a terrific score, though it’s not a musical. It’s a play about making music and art told with fly-on-the-wall intimacy by the musicians who birthed it. Tickets at www.kansascity.broadway.com.
HARE AND TORTOISE
April 11 | Starlight Theatre
The classic tale of persistence over speed comes to Starlight indoors for kids from ages 5 to 9. Tickets at www.kcstarlight.com.
Compiled by Mark Edelman
