This photo has sat on the bar for over a year, inspiring us to keep going.
It’s been a minute, but now the doors are fixed, windows clear, massive undertaking rebuilding the fire-damaged 112-year-old building successfully done, casting underway for the season opening in September. Kansas City, The Warwick Theatre is opening again at last!
Many thanks belong to so many generous and helpful donors (local and all over the country), people, workers, volunteers, and contractors. Is it the same? No. The Warwick and the MET are the phoenix. We will never be the same again because, well, you can’t go through something like this and come out unchanged. You do come out recommitted to the things that matter — serving the community, making sure great plays that are rarely seen get seen in our city, that the doors are open to everyone and that all people know they are and feel welcome there.
The 2025-26 season features outstanding selections, the conclusion of Kate Hennig’s Queen’s trilogy. Mother’s Daughter, A Man for All Seasons featuring Todd Schnake in the leading role. Silent Sky, Lauren Gunderson’s luminous new play about Henrietta Leavitt, her discovery of mapping stars, which surely will give us direction someday, and (drum roll please!) the return of The Shawshank Redemption to the Warwick stage, reuniting one of the MET’s most spectacular casts, featuring Keenan Ramos and Chris Roady.
Shawshank made its North American premiere at the Warwick in 2019. What a privilege to bring it back. The Warwick and great plays belong to all people. It is a home for ideas, connection and creativity.
We hope you will join us this season. Rediscover the venue and find a reason for your own celebration. The arts transport us and show us what is possible when we aren’t sure what to do next. They can provide the imagined journey that leads us to new insights we can use in daily life. Like love, the arts never fail to fill us back up again.
Feb. 7, 2024, began with flames that could have left a beautiful building destroyed and cast a small theatre into oblivion. Now, The Warwick and the MET are back. We are so excited to be home. Join us for a great experience and make this your home too. For the complete 2025-2026 season, visit metkc.org.
– Karen Paisley
