Review: ABOUT ALICE at KC Actors Theatre

Kansas City has no shortage of favorite sons & daughters, those who have gone out into the world and made their unique mark on it. It's always a particular pleasure when one comes back, and we get to experience their gifts, as it were, in person. Such an occasion was the premiere of Calvin Trillin's "About Alice" at the City Stage in Union Station on Saturday night.

Trillin, of course, is well known for a long career as a columnist, writer of short stories and essays, and collections of verse, all peppered with a keen insight and humor. What he is not known for, however, is writing for live theater. After seeing last night's production, this reviewer is inclined to think this may change.

"About Alice", based on the 2006 book by the same name, is about his life with Alice, who was his wife, friend, and muse from the 1960s up until her death in 2001. Calvin (here portrayed by David Fritts) talks us through their history together, from first noticing her at a party to their unusual courtship and long marriage. He takes us through the good years and bad, the cancer attack in the 1970s that nearly ended it all a quarter century early, and the years she spent afterwards fighting to help others and prevent more people from going through what she had undergone. And through it all, Alice herself (Jen Mays) is by his side, filling in the blanks (or occasionally gently correcting him) as they go along.

Fritts & Mays do an excellent job in the performance. As Calvin himself notes at the beginning, those of us who only knew her through his writings didn't really know her, but the performances turned in by the two of them made one come away feeling as if one did. Fritts's Calvin is smart, friendly, with a self-deprecating sense of humor. He really brings across that certain indefinable something that identifies one as midwestern. Ms. Mays' Alice is a smart, confident woman, a compassionate fighter who uses her considerable gifts to help others and acts as a perfect foil to Calvin. Ms. Mays gives Alice a core of kindness and strength that I have no doubt is true to life.

"About Alice" is the story of two extraordinary people who were fortunate enough to find each other and spend a wonderful life together. This reviewer does not believe in "soulmates" or similar notions, but sometimes there really is a perfect match, and sometimes everything lines up just right and something extraordinary happens. This is such a story, and we are privileged to witness it.