On any given night in Kansas City, residents have live theater at their fingertips. The opportunity to get out and experience it is as easy a making a phone call or getting on the Internet.
If you Google live theatre Kansas City, you will find links to the American Heartland Theatre, Starlight, The Coterie, The Kansas City Repertory Theater, The Unicorn and The Folly. This is a good list of the big boys in Kansas City Theater but what about the little guy?
On February 11, the Kansas City Actor’s Theatre (KCAT) and the UMKC theater department showed their first preview of “Oh What a Lovely War.” The play was staged at the Liberty Memorial World War I Museum. The museum was completed in 2006 but the JC Nichols Auditorium wasn’t finished until late last year.
The Auditorium can seat 230 in the plush red velvet seats. The rows are wide and audience members have plenty of room to stretch their legs and enjoy the performance. The set for “Oh What A Lovely War” was minimal but the atmosphere of the auditorium is enough to draw you in. The show made good use of the auditorium’s amenities. A large movie screen mounted on the light wood walls was used to display images of the World War I era “Oh What a Lovely War” was portraying. The large isles allowed cast members to run through the audience and interact.
The show was good and the space really played a part in that so what’s next?
"This is the first live theatre performance we have had but I think just with the success of this one we will probably do it again." Said Megan Spilker, a representative of the museum.
This is not the only little gem Kansas City has to offer. Kansas City has lots of spaces that are new or just a bit off of the beaten path.
One space that falls in this category is the Fishtank performance space, located in the crossroads district. The Fishtank’s small black box theater doesn’t offer the comfy seats or the capacity of the J.C Nichols auditorium but it finds its own greatness in the intimate feel it provides and its unique mission.
This mission is described on The Fishtank’s blog: “The Fishtank Performance Studio develops work from concept to concert by providing a low-risk, low-cost environment that nurtures new works and inspires theatrical entrepreneurship.” Local actress Heidi Van curates the space and uses the Fishtank to house her theater company, Hybrid. In addition to plays, the Fishtank regularly features improvisational comedy troupes and local performance artists.
If you travel two miles down the road to 3051 Penn Valley Drive you will find yourself in front of the large stone walls surrounding The Just Off Broadway Theatre. Like the Fishtank, JOBT tries to cultivate new artists in the Kansas City area by hosting more than 40 different theater companies who in addition to published works have also developed a considerable number of new scripts.
The Kansas City Parks and Recreation Department owns the theater, which opened in 2000. Under new management, the theater closed last August to receive a much-needed facelift. When the doors reopen in April there will be a new lobby and, in addition to the already existing black box theater, there will be a new performance space.
There is always something exciting about finding a new place and seeing what they have to offer. What Kansas City has behind her curtains may surprise you.
No comments:
Post a Comment