Joan Crawford Comes To The Unicorn for Christmas

Ron MeGee and Jeff Church are back at the Unicorn this holiday season, this time serving up a dose of classic Hollywood. A Very Joan Crawford Christmas, featuring the incandescent Ron MeGee as Joan Crawford, is the Unicorn's irreverent nod to the holiday season. Filled with classic Crawford movie moments, advice on how to please your man, face-offs with her mortal enemies, costume changes galore and Ron MeGee's unique brand of comedy, this is definitely not a show to miss this holiday season. Directed by Jeff Church, A Very Joan Crawford Christmas also features Jessica Dressler as Mamacita/Bette and Jeff Smith as Carl.

A Very Joan Crawford Christmas plays on the Unicorn's Jerome Stage located at 3828 Main Street, Kansas City, MO 64111. Previews are December 8, 9 and 10. The play runs December 11th - 26th. Performances Wednesday through Saturday are at 8:00 pm, Sundays at 3:00 pm and 6:00pm (except December 19th when there is only a 6:00pm performance). There is also a performance Saturday December 18th at 11:00pm and Monday December 20th at 8:00pm.

To purchase tickets, call 816-531-PLAY (7529) EXT. 10, online at www.UnicornTheatre.org or in person at the box office located at 3828 Main Street, Kansas City, MO 64111. Tickets start at just $30. Special discounts are available for seniors (60+), Students and Patrons Under 30.

About The Show

Kansas City's own Joan Crawford returns for a holiday visit along with her loyal housekeeper, MamacitA. Settle in, listen up and learn: How to keep the sensitive male ego happy ("avoid moisturizer, it just smears all over your husband's pajamas"). How to host a dinner party with taste and texture ("put a hairdresser next to a professor of physics"). How to drink Pepsi with Vodka ("you'll learn to love it, dammit"). And be sure to visit the craft room to decorate a wire hanger for the tree, but clean up that mess! Give Joan the respect she's entitled to!

Come to the Unicorn Early and Visit Christina's Craft Room
We invite you join us in "Christina's Craft Room" one hour before the show starts to make your own wire hanger Christmas tree ornament. Select ornaments will make an appearance in the show that night. While the craft room is free to ticket holders, Christina does encourage you to make a donation when you come in the door. All donations will go to the AIDS Service Foundation of Greater Kansas City.

Happy Half Hour
Enjoy drink specials from 7:00p.m. - 7:30p.m. Wednesdays - Saturdays.

Special Events
The Christmas Party to End All Christmas Parties
Sunday, December 12th 2:30pm

Benefiting Unicorn Theatre. Starting at 2:30 p.m., join us at the Unicorn to make a wire-hanger ornament followed immediately by a special 3:00 p.m. matinee performance of A Very Joan Crawford Christmas. Then saunter down the street with us to a Post-Performance Party at Bistro 303, 303 Westport Road, Kansas City, MO 64111. Tickets are $60 per person and includes one ticket to the matinee performance at the Unicorn, wine, nibbles, holiday cake and world-class gossip at the Bistro 303 Post-Performance Party. Sponsored in-part by Bistro 303. Call the box office at 816-531-7529 ext. 10 to reserve your tickets.

Pro Wire Hangers Art Opening
Monday, December 20th 6:30p.m. - 7:30p.m.

Joan Crawford might hate them, but some local artists love them. The Unicorn has asked distinguished local artists and friends of the theatre to make art out of wire hangers. Come and see the results at this special reception and silent auction. Artists and friends include Peregrine Honig, Tyson Schroeder, Peggy Noland, Ann Brown, Bernie Koehrsen, Annie Cherry and the Kansas City Burlesque Society, Andrew Chambers, David Wayne Reed, Hector Casanova and more. Benefits for the silent auction will go to the AIDS Service Foundation of Greater Kansas City. This event is free to the public. Light appetizers will be served and there is a cash bar. While you are here, make your own wire hanger Christmas ornament in "Christina's Craft Room".

Joan Crawford X-MAS Eve CELEBRITY-ation
Friday, December 24th 7:00pm

Kansas City's two favorite Ron's come together for this very special X-MAS eve event. Join us at 7:00pm for hors d'oeuvres, cocktails, crafts and Ron Simonian in the lobby as Santa Claws. He'll even let you sit on his lap, but only if you've been naughty. At 8:00pm join Joan Crawford (Ron MeGee) on The Jerome Stage for a production of A Very Joan Crawford Christmas. After the show, join Santa-Ron and Joan-Ron and Cynthia Levin for a champagne toast to health, prosperity and NO MORE WIRE HANGERS EVER! Single Tickets for this one-night event are $40 per person or a $10 upgrade for season ticket holders who pre-ordered Joan tickets when they bought a subscription. Purchase on the phone at 816-531-7529 ext. 10 or online at www.UnicornTheatre.org.

Cast and Creative Team
The Team of Jeff Church and Ron MeGee
Are you wondering how this incredible team came together? It started in the year 1990 in a bohemian locale called Cafe Lulu. Ron was a performance artist and Jeff was interviewing for the Coterie Artistic Director job. Ron performed a PeeWee Herman "masturbation" piece, and Jeff was mesmerized. A friendship immediately began. Jeff bankrolled Ron's very first production ever in this city, Nasty Sally Searsucker, a disco opera performed at Lou Jane Temple's loft. (Jeff would have recouped his investment had the fire marshal not shut the show down.)

After that, Ron soon auditioned for Jeff at the Coterie and won the roles of John and the pirate Smee in Neverland. Under Jeff's tutelage, Ron would shuttle from actor to director during the time the Coterie's national reputation was growing. Jeff produced some memorable Ron MeGee-directed productions at the Coterie: School House Rock Live I and II, Really Rosie, and for Coterie At Night (for which Ron serves as Resident Director) Breakfast Club Live Mondays, Spooky Dog, Night of the Living Dead (twice), Maul of the Dead and Sorority House of the Dead.

During this time, Ron invited Jeff on a few Late Night Theatre journeys at Ron's own theatre, including co-directing Rosemarie's Baby, and Jeff directing Sweet Underground Charity. Also together they staged many beloved incarnations (5) of David Sedaris' Santaland Diaries, both for the Unicorn and Late Night Theatre.

Proud moments they share together include Jeff directing Ron in the acclaimed The Laramie Project at the Unicorn, as well as the memorable La Cage Aux Folles, and Sister Mary Ignatius. They are most proud of the significant money they helped fundraise for AIDS WALK last year with Pride & Joy and Other Plays by Paul Rudnick. And now they have conquered Joan Crawford, and realize that Pepsi and Vodka DO go together, like their friendship. (It burns but it's tasty.)

Director Jeff Church has directed such memorable Unicorn productions as Bare, Sister Mary Ignatius Explains It All For You, La Cage Aux Folles, The Laramie Project, Love! Valor! Compassion! and is the Producing Artistic Director for The Coterie Theatre. Ron MeGee has been seen in Sister Mary Ignatius Explains It All For You, La Cage Aux Folles, The Laramie Project and The Salvation of Iggy Scrooge. Jessica Dressler and Jeff Smith both make their Unicorn Theatre debuts with this show.

The creative team also includes Evan Hill for scenic design (Unicorn scenic design debut), Richard L. Sprecker for lighting design (Unicorn lighting design debut), David Kiehl for sound design (recently at Unicorn: Speech & Debate and 9 Parts of Desire), Jon Fulton Adams for costume design (recently at the Unicorn: The Seafarer, [title of show], And Her Hair Went With Her and Grey Gardens), Gary Campbell for properties design (recently at the Unicorn: [title of show], 9 Parts of Desire and rightnextto me), Andrew Chambers for makeup design (previously at the Unicorn: La Cage Aux Folles, Loving Lucy and Hedwig and the Angry Inch) and Tanya Brown as Stage Manager (recently at the Unicorn: The Clean House, Mauritius and Green Whales).

More information online at www.UnicornTheatre.org

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