BWW Preview: THE MUSICAL OF MUSICALS (THE MUSICAL!) Comes to the Quality Hill Playhouse in Kansas City

The Musical of Musical (The Musical!) opens on April 25 at the Quality Hill Playhouse in Kansas City. Joanne Bogart and Eric Rockwell wrote the musical that opened off-Broadway in 2003 at the York Theatre and again in 2005 at the Dodger Stages. The musical played on London's West End utilizing the same cast from March 31, 2006 through April 22, 2006 at the Sound Theatre., Jon

The girl cannot pay her rent, the classic melodrama plot, is presented as five self-contained "mini-musicals." Bogart and Rockwell wrote original material for the show, capturing the style and dramatic flair of Rodgers and Hammerstein, Stephen Sondheim, Jerry Herman, Andrew Lloyd Webber and Kander and Ebb.

The performers at Quality Hill Playhouse are challenged with the mission of performing in styles from harmonious 1940's Broadway (Oklahoma and Carousel) to the "concept musical" (Sweeney Todd and Company) to rock opera (Evita and Jesus Christ Superstar). J. Kent Barnhart on piano leads Tim Scott, Jon Daugharthy, Julie Shaw, and Ashley Pankow to the task. Barnhart provides musical direction for the Musical of Musicals (The Musical!). In 25 years, Barnhart has produced over 100 musicals, plays, and cabaret revues.

Tim Scott returns to Quality Hill where he was last seen in the Your Hit Parade, kicking off the current season. Scott one of the co-founders of Musical Mondays for the Musical Theater Heritage has appeared at The Coterie Theatre, American Heartland Theatre, Unicorn Theatre, and Starlight.

Daugharthy last was seen at Quality Hill in the hit All Sinatra. He has performed with The Kansas City Symphony in The Magic of Christmas. Other local appearances include The American Heartland Theatre, The New Theatre, the Metropolitan Ensemble Theatre, and The Chestnut Fine Arts Center. Outside the Kansas City area, he has appeared at Tokyo Disneyland, Opryland Productions, and the Busch Gardens.

Shaw, besides appearing several times at Quality Hill, has appeared at Theatre for Young America, The American Heartland, Chestnut Fine Arts Center, The Coterie Theatre, and the Unicorn Theatre. She created the theatre program at the Barstow School in Kansas City.

Making her debut at Quality Hill is Pankow who was in the original cast of the first national tour of The Marvelous Wonderettes. She has been involved in over 40 productions, including performances in New York, on national tours, and in Regional Theatres across the country. She performed with Dyan Cannon, in Fox on the Fairway at the New Dinner Theatre. She previously appeared in Footloose at Starlight Theatre. She will portray Nellie Forbush in Musical Theater Heritage's production of South Pacific in August.

Rick Truman returns to Quality Hill Playhouse as Stage Director for the musical. He has previously directed Side By Side By Sonheim, Tapestry, and Pete 'n' Keely. He has directed several Sondheim musicals, including the Civic Opera Theater of Kansas City production of Passion, Assassins at Avila University, and Company at the Bell Road Barn Players.

Musical of Musicals (The Musical!) plays at Quality Hill Playhouse through May 25, 2014. Tickets are $32 each and discounts are available for students, groups, and seniors. Purchase tickets at the Quality Hill Playhouse website or call the box office at 816-421-1700. Photo courtesy of Quality Hill Playhouse.

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