Metropolitan Ensemble Theatre Announces 18th Season Featuring THE COLOR PURPLE, ONCE & More
The season will also feature The Iceman Cometh and more.
By: Chloe Rabinowitz Aug. 04, 2022
The Metropolitan Ensemble Theatre, Inc. has announced its 18th season. MET, renown for producing Masterwork and Contemporary Classics, will present three plays and two musicals for the 2022-2023 season. Season 18 will consist of the following:
The Last Wife
Sept 16-25, A contemporary retelling of the compelling relationship between Katherine Parr and Henry VIII, The Last Wife is a funny, powerful examination of patriarchy, sexual politics, and women's rights.
The Color Purple
Nov 11-20, This musical adaptation of Alice Walker's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel (and the popular 1985 Steven Spielberg film) spotlights Celie, a downtrodden young woman whose personal awakening over the course of 40 years forms the arc of this epic story.
The Iceman Cometh
Jan 13-22, The Iceman Cometh focuses on a group of alcoholics and misfits who endlessly discuss but never act on their dreams, and Hickey, the traveling salesman determined to strip them of those dreams. Yet hope is essential.
Once
March 3-12, In an unconventional and romantic musical, winner of the 2012 Tony Award for Best Musical, and based on the award-winning 2006 film, what follows is not a traditional love story. Guy, a heartbroken musician busking for coins on the streets of Dublin, meets Girl, a Czech immigrant with a complicated history and a broken vacuum cleaner. Despite their differences, Guy and Girl find common ground, a shared language, and genuine love in creating music together.
That Day In Tucson
May 12-21, This is the real story of an unintentional hero who is thrown into the limelight. In flashbacks, the play depicts what led to that unexpected, crucial day in Tucson in which everything changed for Daniel and for the national political landscape surrounding the gun debate and gun violence, after saving congresswoman Gabby Giffords' life, when a man opened fire on a crowd, hitting 19 people and killing 6.
Season Tickets are currently on sale through September 25, 2022, and individual performance tickets are available starting July 18, 2022. Season Ticket Membership package comparison is available at: metkc.org/tickets-events
SEASON DETAILS -
THE LAST WIFE
By Kate Hennig
We open the season with Kate Hennig's masterful contemporary retelling of the relationship between relationship between Katherine Parr and Henry VIII, The Last Wife is a funny, powerful examination of patriarchy, sexual politics, and women's rights.
Katherine Parr is smart, confident, and passionate: a rising star in a world of intense competition. But her obligatory marriage to Henry is rife with the threat of violence and the lure of deceit; her secret liaisons with Thom, her husband's former brother-in-law, could send her to an early grave; and her devotion to the education and equal rights of Henry's daughters is putting an even bigger strain on her marriage. Does Kate risk her life to gain authority in both her relationship and her political career?
Which love will she be led to if she follows her heart? And what kind of future is there for her children if she makes a crucial mistake?
SHOW SCHEDULE
Friday, Sept 16, 2022, 7PM
Saturday, Sept 17, 2022, 1:30PM and 7:30PM
Sunday, Sept 18, 2022, 2:30PM
Thursday, Sept 22, 2022, 7PM
Friday, Sept 23, 2022, 7PM
Saturday, Sept 24, 2022, 1:30 and 7:30PM
Sunday, Sept 25, 2022, 2:30PM
THE COLOR PURPLE
The season is highlighted this Fall with the presentation of the musical adaptation of Alice Walker's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel (and the popular 1985 Steven Spielberg film) spotlights Celie, a downtrodden young woman whose personal awakening over the course of 40 years forms the arc of this epic story.
With a joyous score featuring jazz, ragtime, gospel, African music and blues, The Color Purple is a story of hope, a testament to the healing power of love, and a celebration of life. It premiered at the Alliance Theatre Company in Atlanta, Georgia and opened on Broadway on November 1, 2005, where it was nominated for eleven 2006 Tony Awards, including Best Musical, Best Book, and Best Original Score. The London off-West End production moved to Broadway in 2015, winning the Tony Award for Best Revival of a Musical.
SHOW SCHEDULE
Friday, Nov 11, 2022, 7PM
Saturday, Nov 12, 2022, 1:30PM and 7:30PM
Sunday, Nov 13, 2022, 2:30PM
Thursday, Nov 17, 2022, 7PM
Friday, Nov 18, 2022, 7PM
Saturday, Nov 19, 2022, 1:30 and 7:30PM
Sunday, Nov 20, 2022, 2:30PM
THE ICEMAN COMETH
By Eugene O'Neill
The third installment for Season 18 is a masterwork that reflects MET's willingness to take on difficult and powerful theatre challenges with The Iceman Cometh. This drama begins as the sad-sack patrons of a New York City bar await the arrival of salesman and drinking buddy Theodore Hickman. Known to the regulars of the watering hole as Hickey, he passionately encourages his fellow alcoholics to give up their pipe dreams and embrace their harsh realities. As Hickey makes his case for letting go of all delusions, to the resentment of his friends, secrets from his own past are revealed.
SHOW SCHEDULE
Friday, Jan 13, 2023, 7PM
Saturday, Jan 14, 2023, 1:30PM and 7:30PM
Sunday, Jan 15, 2023, 2:30PM
Thursday, Jan 19, 2023, 7PM
Friday, Jan 20, 2023, 7PM
Saturday, Jan 21, 2023, 1:30 and 7:30PM
Sunday, Jan 22, 2023, 2:30PM
ONCE
By Enda Walsh
Once is a musical based on the 2007 film of the same name by John Carney. Like the film, music and lyrics were by Glen Hansard and Markéta Irglová, including the Academy Award-winning "Falling Slowly". The book for the musical was written by Enda Walsh. The musical premiered at the New York Theatre Workshop in 2011, before transferring to Broadway in 2012. The production received eleven 2012 Tony Award nominations, and won eight including Best Musical, Best Actor and Best Book. The musical also won the 2012 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Musical and the 2013 Grammy Award for Best Musical Theater Album.
The story of a guy who gave up on love and music, and the girl who inspired him to dream again. From the very first note, Once draws you in and never lets go. This emotionally captivating musical is the only show to have music that won an Academy Award, a Grammy Award, an Olivier Award, and a Tony Award. On the streets of Dublin, an Irish musician and a Czech immigrant are drawn together by their shared love of music. Over the course of one fateful week, an unexpected friendship and collaboration quickly evolves into a powerful but complicated love story, underscored by emotionally charged music. Featuring all the magical songs from the critically acclaimed film, including the Oscar-winning "Falling Slowly," this achingly beautiful, joyously uplifting show strikes an unforgettable chord in audiences and speaks to the power of music to connect us all. A show like that only comes around Once.
SHOW SCHEDULE
Friday, Mar 3, 2023, 7PM
Saturday, Mar 4, 2023, 1:30PM and 7:30PM
Sunday, Mar 5, 2023, 2:30PM
Thursday, Mar 9, 2023, 7PM
Friday, Mar 10, 2023, 7PM
Saturday, Mar 11, 2023, 1:30 and 7:30PM
Sunday, Mar 12, 2023, 2:30PM
THAT DAY IN TUCSON
We end our season with this incredibly powerful true story in steeped in relevance as we presently face gun control debate. A shooting rampage in Tucson, Arizona creates international headlines as Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords becomes one of the victims. A young intern from Tucson, Daniel Hernandez Jr., rushes to Giffords' rescue, and he's credited with helping save her life. The media creates a circus around him, transforms him into a reluctant hero and opens up his private life to public scrutiny, especially when he wasn't ready to discuss his involvement in the LGBTQ community. This is the real story of an unintentional hero who is thrown into the limelight. In flashbacks, the play depicts what led to that unexpected, crucial day in Tucson in which everything changed for Daniel and for the national political landscape surrounding the gun debate and gun violence. The play features elements of growing up in a bicultural, bilingual Latino family in the southwest and Daniel's discovery of his commitment to public life. There's also humor and compassion as the play depicts Daniel's real-life friendship with Gabby Giffords, which survives this tragedy.
SHOW SCHEDULE
Friday, May 12, 2003, 7PM
Saturday, May 13, 2023, 1:30PM and 7:30PM
Sunday, May 14, 2023, 2:30PM
Thursday, May 18, 2023, 7PM
Friday, May 19, 2023, 7PM
Saturday, May 20, 2023, 1:30 and 7:30PM
Sunday, May 21, 2023, 2:30PM
All shows are at the Warwick Theater, 3927 Main Street, KCMO 64111
BOX OFFICE CONTACT
metkc.org | (816) 569-3226 | boxoffice@metkc.org
ABOUT THE MET
The Metropolitan Ensemble Theatre has been a Kansas City arts fixture since its inception. The organization resides in the historic Warwick theater which opened in 1912 in Colonial Revival style. Originally, it seated 1,022 on two floors. The MET is entering our 18th season. MET strives to create intimate, emotional, and powerful experiences that promote discussion of social issues and the human experience. Audiences often leave with a broader point of view. We believe in bold risks and inspiring people to participate in live theatre, regardless of personal means. MET celebrates intellectual curiosity, and we believe that theatre is an important tool to help build community and empathy. MET was founded in 2005 and is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization.
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