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 following list was graciously compiled by Mark Edelman, the founder and president of Theater League. Mark is a playwright who loves writing about theater.
ONE OF THE GOOD ONES | Now thru March 8 | Copaken Stage
Just one more week to Catch KCRep’s current production about the “perfect” Latina daughter who brings her boyfriend home to meet her parents. As tensions run high, we’re asked to tackle an age-old question: what does it truly mean to be an American? Tickets at www.kcrep.org.
THE CONCERT THAT SHOULD HAVE BEEN | Now thru 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 | March 4-22 | City Stage at Union Station
Tony® Award winning playwright Branden Jacobs-Jenkins serves up a 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 | March 4-15 | 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 Vaughn 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 reimagning 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 globe-trotting scientist-parents get ship-wrecked. 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 sea-faring 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 star 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
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