News on your favorite shows, specials & more!

Kansas City Theater Reviews Page 2

View the latest BroadwayWorld reviews of live + streaming theatre in Kansas City.

Review: CATCH ME IF YOU CAN at New Theatre & Restaurant Photo Review: CATCH ME IF YOU CAN at New Theatre & Restaurant
by Alan Portner - December 02, 2023

“Catch Me If You Can” at New Theatre Restaurant is a comedic turn on the Murder Mystery genre. It will keep you guessing from the opening curtain until the big reveal at the end of the show. San Francisco Marketing Consultant Daniel Corbin (Ross Hellwig) has sneaked away for a holiday weekend with ...

Review: A CHRISTMAS CAROL at Kansas City Repertory Theatre Photo Review: A CHRISTMAS CAROL at Kansas City Repertory Theatre
by Alan Portner - November 22, 2023

Last night, November 21, 2023, a Kansas City tradition, the 42rd annual (almost) Kansas City Repertory Theatre production of Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol” opened at the Spencer Theater on the UMKC campus for an extended run through Christmas Eve. Except for the Covid year when the live produc...

Review: WE ARE BLOOD at OCTA Theater Photo Review: WE ARE BLOOD at OCTA Theater
by Steve Wilson - November 19, 2023

Thought-provoking, humorous, suspenseful, and not your normal holiday story, are the words that best describe WE ARE BLOOD, now playing at the Olathe Civic Theatre Association in Olathe, Kansas. The 90-minute drama written and directed by Ryan Bernsten runs through November 20 at the theater....

Review: 4000 MILES A Play by Amy Herzog Opens in Kansas City at Warwick Theatre Photo Review: 4000 MILES A Play by Amy Herzog Opens in Kansas City at Warwick Theatre
by Steve Wilson - November 13, 2023

Brilliant, excruciatingly real, warm, and humorous are the best ways to describe seeing 4000 MILES, which may turn out to be one of the best play offerings in Kansas City this year. The Met at the Warwick’s production of 4000 MILES written by Amy Herzog and directed by Karen Paisley continues at The...

Review: THE GRAPES OF WRATH at The Arts Asylum Photo Review: THE GRAPES OF WRATH at The Arts Asylum
by Alan Portner - November 11, 2023

A new production of the 1990 award winning stage adaption of “Grapes” by Frank Galati plays now through November 19 at the new Arts Asylum in the lower level theater of their new facility at 824 E Meyer Boulevard in the Brookside neighborhood of Kansas City.  The play won the 1990 Tony Award for Bes...

Review: THE SOUND OF MUSIC at Lyric Opera Of Kansas City Photo Review: THE SOUND OF MUSIC at Lyric Opera Of Kansas City
by Alan Portner - November 09, 2023

Now being performed at the Kauffman Center and concluding this weekend is a wonderful rendition by the Lyric Opera of Kansas City of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s final composition together, “The Sound of Music”  This production is as good as it gets. Framed by massive settings by Peter J. Davison and g...

Review: JEKYLL & HYDE at KC Ballet Photo Review: JEKYLL & HYDE at KC Ballet
by Kelly Luck - October 15, 2023

An instant hit for fans of the gothic and the macabre...

Review: THE ROCKY HORROR SHOW Opens at The Black Box Photo Review: THE ROCKY HORROR SHOW Opens at The Black Box
by Steve Wilson - October 09, 2023

Fall has come to Kansas City, the leaves have begun to turn, the haunted houses are preparing for Halloween, and my favorite musical THE ROCKY HORROR SHOW has opened at the Black Box in Kansas City. The cult classic with book, music, and lyrics by Richard O’Brien only gets better with each productio...

Review: LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS at Theatre In The Park (Indoors) Photo Review: LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS at Theatre In The Park (Indoors)
by Alan Portner - October 08, 2023

Seldom does an entertainment attain a level of fiendish absurdity that affords audiences belly busting hilarity after more than forty years.  The indoor space at Theatre in the Park’s Johnson County Heritage Center offers a super production of 1982’s “Little Shop of Horror.”...

Review: ALWAYS A BRIDESMAID at New Theatre Restaurant Photo Review: ALWAYS A BRIDESMAID at New Theatre Restaurant
by Alan Portner - September 26, 2023

A new production of a light comedy called “Always a Bridesmaid” is about a week into a three month run at New Theatre Restaurant.   The show (by playwrights Jessie Joes, Nicholas Hope and Jamie Wooten) is a frothy, light, and entertaining look into the lives of three female high school  buddies from...

Review: CAVALLERIA RUSTICANA / PAGLIACCI at Lyric Photo Review: CAVALLERIA RUSTICANA / PAGLIACCI at Lyric
by Kelly Luck - September 24, 2023

Lyric season opens with a double does of opera vérité...

Review: SKELETON CREW at Kansas City Actors Theatre Photo Review: SKELETON CREW at Kansas City Actors Theatre
by Alan Portner - September 20, 2023

Kansas City Actors Theater last week opened their new production of “Skeleton Crew” a relatively new (2016) play by Dominique Morisseau on the City Stage located on the lower level of Union Station....

Review: TICK, TICK...BOOM! at The Black Box Photo Review: TICK, TICK...BOOM! at The Black Box
by Steve Wilson - September 09, 2023

The Barn Players' production of TICK, TICK. . .BOOM! opened Friday, September 8 at the Black Box Theatre inside the Johnson County Arts & Heritage Center in Overland Park. Directed by Kipp Simmons, with vocal arrangements and orchestrations by Stephen Oremus the musical runs at the center through Se...

Review: GRAND HORIZONS at Kansas City Actors Theatre Photo Review: GRAND HORIZONS at Kansas City Actors Theatre
by Alan Portner - August 20, 2023

“Grand Horizons” is the tongue-in–cheek moniker given the senior development to which the fifty-year, mostly amicable marriage of Bill and Nancy French has recently been downsized. “Buckle your seat belts… it is going to be a bumpy (and funny) ride.”...

Review: A CHORUS LINE at Music Theater Heritage Photo Review: A CHORUS LINE at Music Theater Heritage
by Alan Portner - August 13, 2023

“A Chorus Line” from Music Theater Heritage is a not-to- be missed interpretation of a challenging show. Tickets are available online at www.musictheaterheritage.com online or by telephone at 816.221.6987....

Review: LITTLE WOMEN THE BROADWAY MUSICAL at The Black Box at The Johnson County Arts Photo Review: LITTLE WOMEN THE BROADWAY MUSICAL at The Black Box at The Johnson County Arts and Heritage Center
by Steve Wilson - August 13, 2023

What did our critic think of LITTLE WOMEN THE BROADWAY MUSICAL at The Black Box At The Johnson County Arts And Heritage Center?...

Review: ROCK OF AGES Comes to Kansas City at The Warwick Theatre Photo Review: ROCK OF AGES Comes to Kansas City at The Warwick Theatre
by Steve Wilson - July 24, 2023

Opening night for ROCK OF AGES at the Warwick Theatre was a performance for the ages. Nick Padgett, Producing Artistic Director of Padgett Productions, co-directs the musical with Matthew Allen, which runs through August 6th at the Warwick. The choreography was designed by Allen and the musical dire...

Review: IRVING BERLIN'S WHITE CHRISTMAS at Theatre In The Park Photo Review: IRVING BERLIN'S WHITE CHRISTMAS at Theatre In The Park
by Alan Portner - July 18, 2023

Shawnee Mission Park’s “Theatre in the Park,” marks the season with an oddly appropriate July production of “Irving Berlin’s White Christmas.” The item up for view and review is a very nice production of Irving Berlin classic songs and the familiar tale based on a 1954 movie of the same name.  There...

Review: DREAMGIRLS at New Theatre & Restaurant Photo Review: DREAMGIRLS at New Theatre & Restaurant
by Alan Portner - July 13, 2023

The point of musical theater (for most people) is pure entertainment, and the New Theatre & Restaurant original production of 1981’s DREAMGIRLS hits the bullseye. DREAMGIRLS is directed by Jerry Jay Cranford and stars a comparatively large, twenty-one member cast backed by an eight-piece orchestra. ...

Review: LEGALLY BLONDE: THE MUSICAL at Starlight Theatre Photo Review: LEGALLY BLONDE: THE MUSICAL at Starlight Theatre
by Alan Portner - July 09, 2023

Broadway veteran Carrie St. Louis is Starlight’s Elle Woods.  She is super in the role.  St. Louis is cute and bubbly, but no dumb bunny with a huge mezzo-soprano voice that dominates a theater with eight thousand seats.  She is also a determined and skilled dancer....

Review: JOSEPH AND THE AMAZING TECHNICOLOR DREAMCOAT at White Theatre Photo Review: JOSEPH AND THE AMAZING TECHNICOLOR DREAMCOAT at White Theatre
by Alan Portner - July 05, 2023

The White Theatre at the Jewish Community Center closes out its eighteenth season with an excellent production of a story ripped from the scrolls of Genesis, chapters 37-50. It is an early sung-through musical collaboration by Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber, JOSEPH AND THE AMAZING TECHNICOLOR DREA...

Review: GYPSY: A MUSICAL FABLE at Music Theater Heritage Photo Review: GYPSY: A MUSICAL FABLE at Music Theater Heritage
by Alan Portner - June 19, 2023

Part of the fun of live theater is revisiting favorite materials and seeing how new directors and new actors re-interpret the material.  Often, the resulting production is only peripherally connected to the original show.  One example of this phenomenon is “Gypsy: A Musical Fable,” often called the ...

Review: MEET ME IN ST. LOUIS at Theatre In The Park Photo Review: MEET ME IN ST. LOUIS at Theatre In The Park
by Alan Portner - June 18, 2023

“Meet Me In St. Louis,” the onstage version of the 1944 film of the same name, is a delightful evening outdoors at Shawnee Mission Park’s Theatre In The Park.  I cannot recall being as pleasantly surprised by a show as I was by this one.  It is a broadly drawn slice of Americana performed by a top-n...

Review: EVIL DEAD THE MUSICAL at Warwick Theatre Photo Review: EVIL DEAD THE MUSICAL at Warwick Theatre
by Steve Wilson - June 04, 2023

“Look Who’s Evil Now,” it’s the cast and crew of Padgett Productions EVIL DEAD THE MUSICAL, which opened Friday, June 2 at the Warwick Theatre in Kansas City, Missouri. The splatter zone was sold-out for the opening, and the raucous crowd only added to an exciting hilarious romp at the cabin in the ...

Review: Cirque du Soleil's CORTEO At T-Mobile Center Photo Review: Cirque du Soleil's CORTEO At T-Mobile Center
by Alan Portner - May 26, 2023

If, by chance, you are still looking for something fun to do with your visitors this holiday weekend, I highly recommend Cirque du Soleil’s incredible “Corteo” now playing at the T-Mobile Center. This is family entertainment of the first order; unlike almost anything you will ever have witnessed. It...



Videos


Merrily We Roll Along in Kansas City Merrily We Roll Along
B&B Live (9/13 - 9/22) Tracker
PHOTOS VIDEOS
A Raisin in the Sun in Kansas City A Raisin in the Sun
TheatreSquared (8/21 - 9/15)
Paragon Ragtime Orchestra in Meet Me at the Fair!: Music from the Great World’s Fairs in Kansas City Paragon Ragtime Orchestra in Meet Me at the Fair!: Music from the Great World’s Fairs
Midwest Trust Center at Johnson County Community College (11/17 - 11/17)
L.A. Theatre Works 'A Room with a View' in Kansas City L.A. Theatre Works 'A Room with a View'
Midwest Trust Center at Johnson County Community College (3/14 - 3/14)
Ken Ludwig’s Moriarty: A New Sherlock Holmes Adventure in Kansas City Ken Ludwig’s Moriarty: A New Sherlock Holmes Adventure
Arrow Rock Lyceum Theatre (9/6 - 9/15)
'Our Planet Live – A Netflix Documentary Series' with Dan Tapster in Kansas City 'Our Planet Live – A Netflix Documentary Series' with Dan Tapster
Midwest Trust Center at Johnson County Community College (5/1 - 5/2)
Owen/Cox Dance Group: The Nutcracker & the Mouse King in Kansas City Owen/Cox Dance Group: The Nutcracker & the Mouse King
Midwest Trust Center at Johnson County Community College (12/13 - 12/15)
Uptown in Kansas City Uptown
Midwest Trust Center at Johnson County Community College (4/19 - 4/19)
VIEW SHOWS  ADD A SHOW  

Recommended For You