KCAT Announces 8th Season

Kansas City Actors Theatre (KCAT) announces its "Excellent Eighth" Season with four shows including two mysteries, one holiday spoof and one regional premiere.

Kansas City Actors Theatre presents a "Summer of Mystery" to kick off its 2012 - 2013 season. It begins with a production of the longest-running play in the world, none other than Agatha Christie's The Mousetrap. This classic murder mystery gets the KCAT treatment. "Those unfamiliar with the play will enjoy the chills and laughs as the harried detective tries to solve the mystery before another of the eccentric lodgers winds up a corpse on the floor of Monkswell Manor. And those who have seen the play before--well, quite likely they don't remember whodunit, and can have a shivery good time all over again!" notes KCAT Artistic Committee Chair Mark Robbins.

Next is Tom Stoppard's The Real Inspector Hound, a funny, somewhat absurdist take on the Mystery genre. Those who see The Mousetrap will see the same actors once again playing eccentric characters in a Christie-esque murder mystery. Only this time, the play is observed by a pair of equally eccentric theatre critics who muse on matters from the existential to the lustful, in between bouts of actually critiquing the performance. However, things take a weird turn when the critics find themselves "pulled in" to the mystery in a very real way...

KCAT's final shows of the season bring the company back to Unicorn Theatre as co-producers. First up is the holiday spoof Inspecting Carol. Daniel Sullivan's play features a small struggling Midwestern theatre company trying to stage a production of A Christmas Carol amidst scrutiny by a federal arts agency and a case of mistaken identity. Actors Theatre Board President John Rensenhouse noted, "Inspecting Carol is one of the funniest plays I've ever had the joy of being involved with...anyone who loves the theater or has seen productions of A Christmas Carol will howl with delight at the crazy and loveable spirit of this play."

KCAT and Unicorn Theatre join forces again for its final show of the season, the regional premiere of the 2011 Tony Award nominated Good People. David Lindsay-Abaire's humorous play explores the struggles, shifting loyalties and unshakeable hopes that come with having next to nothing in America. Facing eviction and scrambling to catch a break, Margie thinks an old fling, who has made it out of the Southie neighborhood in Boston, might be her ticket to a fresh new start.

KCAT's summer productions will be staged at Union Station's H&R Block City Stage. The Mousetrap runs from August 4 - 26 followed by The Real Inspector Hound from September 1 - 16. Inspecting Carol can be seen on the Unicorn Theatre's Main Stage from November 28 through December 23 and Good People runs from February 27 through March 24, 2013 on Unicorn Theatre's Main Stage.

Season subscriptions go on sale April 23 at www.kcactors.org or by calling the Central Ticket Office at 816.235.6222.

Now in its eighth season, The Actors Theatre is Kansas City's only artist-led, artist-driven theatre company dedicated to producing classic and modern-classic plays featuring Kansas City theatre artists.

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