BWW Previews: FLOWERS IN THE WARDROBE, an Original Work Opens in Kansas City, 5/10

Whim Productions of Kansas City, Mo. describes their next production as, "Dark, campy classic meets Narnia in Flowers in the Wardrobe." Written by Producing Artistic Director and founder of Whim Productions, Kevin King, this show is the first full-length play by the theatrical company.

King, whose work appeared in The 12 Plays of Christmas at the Fishtank Performance Studio in December of 2013, has written all previous productions by Whim. The production company created two theatrical entries for the Kansas City Fringe Festival, Film Classics Presents: Heaven So Far in 2011 and Film Classics Presents: Suspicion in 2012. The 2011 piece was the seventh best-attended production of the Kansas City Fringe Festival. Whim will again participate in the festival this year.

Take a bunch of Flowers in the Attic add a cup of The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, then toss in a smidgen of Steven Eubank and you have Flowers in the Wardrobe. Eubank is the Artistic Director of Egads! Theatre Company, which is currently rehearsing their next production Lysistrata Jones. His directing credits include Evil Dead: The Musical, The Rocky Horror Show, Carrie: The Musical, and Godspell among others. "We're so excited to have Steven on board! His campy aesthetic is a perfect fit for the crazy story I've written," King said.

Flowers in the Wardrobe is a comically twisted tale of four children living in an attic. It is a magical tale of young love, talking animals, incest, and imprisonment as the children survive in their own ways. Seeking comfort in cookie binges, dirty dancing, and loving each other in the wrong way the children's lives change when they are offered a chance of adventure and escape by a magical wardrobe. The wardrobe takes them to a land of talking beavers, a trustworthy faun, and a witch bearing Turkish Delights.

Stefanie Stevens, Matt Sweeten, Alisa Lynn, and J. Will Fritz portray the children in Flowers in the Wardrobe. Stevens has appeared in Damn Yankees and Film Classic Presents: Heaven So Far. Sweeten appearances include Romeo and Juliet and The Importance of Being Earnest. Lynn has performed in Picnic and Big Love, while Fritz has appeared in As You Like It and Our Author Died Today. Other members of the cast include Amy Kelly, Genewa Stanwyck, Andy Perkins, Pete Bakely, Diane Bulan, and Philip blue owl Hooser.

Flowers in the Wardrobe will be produced at the Arts Asylum at 1000 E. 9th Street in Kansas City. The Arts Asylum is an all-inclusive visual and performing arts center and is open to all art forms. The Asylum has 22 studio spaces and 3 performance/gallery spaces.

Purchase tickets at Brown Paper Tickets for shows running from May 10 through May 31, 2014.

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