Tickets on Sale for KC Rep's 50th Anniversary Season, Featuring OUR TOWN, ANGELS IN AMERICA, STICKY TRAPS and More

Eric Rosen, artistic director of Kansas City Repertory Theatre has announced the 2014-15 season, continuing its tradition of presenting stirring classics and evocative new works created by the finest local and national talent available.

"There has never been a more exciting time for theatre in Kansas City, or for KC Rep," said Rosen. "When I think what we have accomplished since our founding by the inestimable Patricia McIlrath in 1964, I am astounded. Fifty years of serving our community as an artistic forum for exploring life's issues in ways that inspire us, challenge us, and even make us laugh. And now, as we are preparing to launch our 50th anniversary, KC Rep's 2014-15 line-up resonates with transformative works, both familiar stage classics and innovative new plays, all featuring casts of Kansas City favorites as well as notable visiting artists. I am especially pleased that David Cromer and Gary Griffin, whose respective productions of The Glass Menagerie and A Flea in Her Ear garnered national acclaim for KC Rep, will be part of our artistic celebration this year."

50th Anniversary Block Party

To kick off this milestone season and to say thank you to the community for 50 years of support, KC Rep will host on September 28, the 50th Anniversary Celebration Block Party, a large-scale, family-friendly event that is free to the public. KC Rep will transform the UMKC parking area adjacent to Spencer Theatre into a festive space with food vendors, activities, and performances by local theatre artists. The Block Party, starting at 10am, will be a collaboration with UMKC during their annual Founder's Week celebration. UMB is the Corporate Sponsor.

OUR TOWN

Written by Thornton Wilder

Directed by David Cromer

September 5-28, 2014

Spencer Theatre

The 2014-15 season of Kansas City Repertory Theatre opens September 5th with one of the greatest American plays ever written, Our Town, by Thornton Wilder, the three-time Pulitzer prize-winning playwright and novelist and directed by David Cromer, MacArthur Foundation 'genius' grant recipient and director of KC Rep's 2009 production of The Glass Menagerie which received national and local critical acclaim. This enduring American story will feature a predominantly local cast of favorites (including Charles Fugate, Peggy Friesen, Gary Neal Johnson), traveling artists, UMKC faculty and selected UMKC graduate students, examines the everyday lives of an average town's citizens in the early twentieth century. Cromer's 2009 Off-Broadway revival of Our Town ran for more than 600 performances, making it the longest-running production of the play in its history. In his glowing review of David Cromer's new production, The Wall Street Journal's theatre critic Terry Teachout wrote, "You'll never see a better Our Town- or anything else- as long as you live." This co-production with UMKC Theatre will feature redesigned seating at Spencer Theatre in the James C. Olson performing Arts Center on the UMKC campus and will run September 5 through 28th. Sprint Foundation is the exclusive corporate sponsor.

Conversation Series

Patrons are invited and welcome to attend these FREE post-show forums to learn more from the artists and creative teams about the production.

A Conversation with David Cromer

August 18, 7:30pm at UMKC's White Hall (inside James C. Olson Performing Arts Center, next to Spencer Theatre) RSVP to Box Office at 816-253-2700. KC Rep Artistic Director Eric Rosen will moderate the discussion. $20 suggested donation at the door.

Meet the Creative Team: Sept. 10, following the 7 pm performance

Scholars' Forum: Sept. 20, following the 2pm performance

Actor's Forum: Sept. 21, following the 2pm performance and Sept. 24, following the 7 pm performance

THE WHO AND THE WHAT

Written by Ayad Akhtar

Directed by Eric Rosen

October 17-November 16, 2014

Copaken Stage

From the Pulitzer Prize-winning writer of Disgraced and the best-selling author of American Dervish, comes a thrillingly fierce and funny new play about identity, religion and the contradictions that make us who we are as Americans. Brilliant Pakistani-American writer Zarina is focused on finishing her novel about women and Islam when she meets Eli, a young convert who bridges the gulf between her modern life and her traditional heritage. But when her conservative father and sister discover her controversial manuscript, they are all forced to confront the beliefs that define them. A passionate and searing look at a family divided by faith, bonded by love and searching for truth in contemporary America. The cast will include Kansas City artist Rusty Sneary.

At KC Rep, Rosen has also directed Clay; Winesburg, Ohio; the world premieres of A Christmas Story, The Musical! and Venice; Cabaret; August: Osage County; The Whipping Man; Pippin; Death of a Salesman and Romeo and Juliet.

Conversation Series

Patrons are invited and welcome to attend these FREE post-show forums to learn more from the artists and creative teams about the production.

A Conversation with Ayad Akhtar

October 6, 7:30 p.m. at Spencer Theatre (inside James C. Olson Performing Arts Center, next to Spencer Theatre). Rainy Day Books will also be partnering. Copies of Ayad Akhtar's book, American Dervish, will be available for purchase in the lobby. $20 suggested donation at the door.

Meet the Creative Team: Oct. 22, following the 7 pm performance

Scholars' Forum: Nov. 1, following the 2pm performance

Actor's Forum: Nov. 2, following the 2pm performance and Nov. 5, following the 7 pm performance

A CHRISTMAS CAROL -- 34th Annual Production

Written by Charles Dickens

Directed by Jerry Genochio

November 21-December 26, 2014

Spencer Theatre

For many Kansas City families, A Christmas Carol is the official beginning of the holiday season. Experience compassion for Ebenezer Scrooge as a boy, delight with him as a merry young man, and watch his transformation into a cold-hearted miser -- but don't dismay, hope and redemption await. Directed for the first time by Jerry Genochio and featuring a cast of Kansas City's favorite actors and up-and-coming young talent, A Christmas Carol is a magical, music-filled holiday event. Kansas Citians will want to note that this production will mark the 100th KC Rep production for Gary Neal Johnson.

Genochio (American Buffalo, The Foreigner and SantaLand Diaries) made his highly regarded KC Rep directing debut staging David Mamet's American Buffalo in May 2013.

THE SANTALAND DIARIES

Written by David Sedaris

Directed by Eric Rosen

December 6-24, 2014

Copaken Stage

Brian Sills (Cabaret) returns to KC Rep as Crumpet, America's favorite irreverent elf, in an encore production of David Sedaris' hysterical tale of elfin' woe in a hilarious send-up of his brief, misguided career as a Macy's elf. The show skewers our sentimental love of all things Christmas-the happy children, the gifts, the spritely elves and the good cheer. The Santaland Diaries shows us the other side of what it's like to work at Santaland; the result is merrily subversive, but always fun! This production will be directed by KC Rep's Artistic Director Eric Rosen.

AN ILIAD

Adapted by Denis O'Hara and Lisa Peterson

from the Roger Fagles translation of The Iliad by Homer

Directed by Jerry Genochio

Starring Kyle Hatley

January 23-February 8, 2015

Spencer Theatre

Homer's epic poem roars back to life in a lean and muscular new telling that reunites on stage two members of KC Rep's artistic team, Producing Director Jerry Genochio and Resident Director Kyle Hatley. The two worked together in 2013 as director and actor, respectively, on The Foreigner and they reunite for this tour-de-force production of An Iliad, an enthralling new play that illuminates the human cost of war. Playwrights Obie Award-winning Lisa Peterson and Denis O'Hare (HBO's "True Blood") have created a spellbinding work of theatre spanning three millennia.

Genochio (American Buffalo, The Foreigner and SantaLand Diaries) made his highly regarded KC Rep directing debut staging David Mamet's American Buffalo. Hatley is a multitalented writer, director and actor (The Glass Menagerie, Death of a Salesman, The Whipping Man and The Foreigner).

Conversation Series

Patrons are invited and welcome to attend these FREE post-show forums to learn more from the artists and creative teams about the production.

Meet the Creative Team: Jan. 28, following the 7 pm performance

Scholars' Forum: Feb. 7, following the 2pm performance

Actor's Forum: Feb. 8, following the 2pm performance and Feb. 11, following the 7 pm performance.

ANGELS IN AMERICA

Part I, Millennium Approaches

Part II, Perestroika

Written by Tony Kushner
Directed by Gary Griffin
February 20-March 29, 2015
Copaken Stage

This Pulitzer Prize- and Tony Award-winning play by Tony Kushner forever transformed the landscape of American theatre. Angels in America is a riveting, thought-provoking masterpiece about the AIDS epidemic in the 1980s. Then, as now, Angels in America explores the social, political and moral issues confronting us as individuals and as a nation. Both parts of Angels in America -- Millennium Approaches and Perestroika -- will be presented in rotating repertory at Copaken Stage.

On a recent visit to KC Rep, director Gary Griffin (A Flea in Her Ear, Saved) discussed the landmark play: "No play in my lifetime has been more important than Angels in America. I lived through this time and I knew what it was. There is so much stimuli in this play ... you will never forget it."

Conversation Series

Patrons are invited and welcome to attend these FREE post-show forums to learn more from the artists and creative teams about the production.

Meet the Creative Team: Feb. 24, following the 7 pm performance

Scholars' Forum: March 21, following the 2pm performance

Actor's Forum: March 22, following the 2pm performance and March 25, following the 7 pm performance

HAIR

Book and Lyrics by James Rado & Gerome Ragni

Music by Galt MacDermot

Directed by Eric Rosen

March 20-April 12, 2015

Spencer Theatre

The musical that defined a generation and brought rock music to the theatrical stage, HAIR captures the essence of the revolution and passion of the 1960s. In addition to its legendary score, this production will feature documentary interviews with original Broadway artists, and continues KC Rep's tradition of re-imagining the classic musical.

Conversation Series

Patrons are invited and welcome to attend these FREE post-show forums to learn more from the artists and creative teams about the production.

Meet the Creative Team: March 25, following the 7 pm performance

Scholars' Forum: April 4, following the 2pm performance

Actor's Forum: April 5, following the 2pm performance and April 8, following the 7 pm performance

STICKY TRAPS

Written by Nathan Louis Jackson

Directed by Kyle Hatley

April 24-May 24, 2015

Copaken Stage

In a story that seems painfully too familiar, a grieving mother in a small town not far from Kansas City fights back against a hate-filled church that has come to protest her son's funeral. But her actions have unintended consequences that will test her whole family and the power of their love in the face of hate.

This is Jackson's second new work as KC Rep's Mellon Foundation Playwright in Residence. His previous plays at KC Rep include critically acclaimed When I Come to Die and Broke-ology, both directed by Hatley. Jackson has been hailed by American Theatre magazine as "one of the important new voices of American theatre." US Bank is the exclusive Production Sponsor.

Conversation Series

Patrons are invited and welcome to attend these FREE post-show forums to learn more from the artists and creative teams about the production.

Meet the Creative Team: April 29, following the 7 pm performance

Scholars' Forum: May 9, following the 2pm performance

Actor's Forum: May 10, following the 2pm performance and May 13, following the 7 pm performance

2014-2015 season tickets range in price from $72 to $344. For subscription and ticket information for Kansas City Repertory Theatre's 2014-15 season, contact the Box Office at 816.235.2700 or visit www.KCRep.org.

Season ticket holders receive many benefits including:

· Free ticket exchanges for another performance of the same show for free with 24 hour notice

· Co-operative arts discount card good for special ticket discounts from local performing arts partners.

· For those season ticket holders with young children, subscribers can receive a $10 rebate per production, redeemable at the end of the season, to help pay their babysitter

· Special discounts at 21 participating restaurants for a lovely evening out on the town! Check www.kcrep.org for a complete list of participating restaurants in the Plaza (near Spencer Theatre) or downtown (near Copaken Stage)

· Receive monthly emails with exclusive insider info on upcoming events and special offers

· Save 20% on our lobby gift shop. Stock up on all KC Rep swag!

Social and Digital Media

Receive daily updates by 'Liking' KCRep's Facebook page at www.facebook.com/KCREP and follow KC Rep on Twitter at @KCRep or on YouTube by visiting www.youtube.com/user/kansascityrep.

About Kansas City Repertory Theatre 50th Anniversary - KC Rep's 50th anniversary is a celebration of the countless patrons over the years who have played a major role in our success. What better way to celebrate our patrons than by bringing the highest level of quality to every aspect of the theatergoing experience? That is why we are committed to renovating our main stage home - the Spencer Theatre - in the James C. Olson Performing Arts Center (PAC) on the UMKC campus. A state of the art facility at the time it was built, the PAC has not had a major renovation since it opened in 1979. Now is the time for KC Rep audiences to have a theatre as excellent as the art on its stage.

The renovation will include new lighting and acoustic design; a new stage floor; and 4,000-square-feet of new construction, including new restrooms, and a beautiful expansion of the theatre lobby. Our vision is for all theatregoers -- artists, audiences, students - to experience the Spencer Theatre as a destination for great art.

We are pleased to announce that the Hall Family Foundation has made a lead gift of $3 million toward this $5 million project. All who enjoy great theatre and appreciate having a professional theatre of KC Rep's caliber in Kansas City are invited to join us in celebrating our 50th Anniversary by making a gift to support this essential renovation of our main stage home.

About Kansas City Repertory Theatre - Now celebrating its 50th anniversary, Kansas City Repertory Theatre is one of the nation's oldest and most respected regional theaters. Lauded by The Wall Street Journal, TIME magazine, Variety and the Toronto Sun, KC Rep produces main stage plays and special events at Spencer Theatre, where it serves as the professional theatre in residence at the University of Missouri-Kansas City (UMKC), and Copaken Stage located in downtown Kansas City. Kansas City Rep employs more than 250 professional artists, technicians and administrators, and serves more than 100,000 patrons and 12,000 school children annually. Kansas City Repertory Theatre is led by Artistic Director Eric Rosen and Executive Director Angela Lee Gieras.

To post a comment, you must register and login.