Wichita Theatre Newsroom Page 14

With magical pixie dust PETER PAN the Musical flies into The Lewis and Shirley White Theatre at the Jewish Community Center of Greater Kansas City with 11 performances beginning July 6-28. Evening performances are at 7:30 p.m. and matinees are at 2 p.m.

You got trouble, right here in Kansas City as Theatre in the Park (TIP) presents THE MUSIC MAN opening on Friday, July 5. The third production of TIP's historic 50th summer season, THE MUSIC MAN is Americana at its best and is the most requested show in the theatre's history! Performances of THE MUSIC MAN continue Saturday and Sunday, July 6 & 7 as well as the following Wednesday, July 10 through Saturday, July 13. The TIP box office opens at 6:30 p.m. on performance evenings, the gates to the seating area open at 7 p.m., and all performances begin at 8:30 p.m.

An American in Paris finished a 's'wonderful' week-long run at Music Theatre Wichita.

From the alps of Austria to the perfumery of Paris, Music Theatre Wichita continues its excellence in musical theatre standards with their second show of the summer season, An American in Paris; a suitable show selection set after the end of World War II. Based on the 1928 orchestrations of George Gershwin during his time in Paris and also the 1951 MGM film starring Gene Kelly, this stage adaptation of An American in Paris was most recently on Broadway in 2015 at the Palace Theatre in New York City. It wasn't until then that this filmed musical was tailored for the stage by playwright Craig Lucas. Regional theatres across the United States are eager to produce the production now that the copyrights are available, four years after the initial Broadway debut. Music Theatre Wichita's production is no exception by any means, incorporating a revolving stage and projections bringing Broadway right here to our own all-American City, Wichita.

BroadwayWorld has a first look at MT Wichita's AN AMERICAN IN PARIS! Check out the photos!

Music Theatre Wichita has begun its 2019 Season with a brand new production of The Sound of Music, starring Broadway artists Catherine Charlebois (Wicked), Mike McGowan (Mormon, Priscilla), and Katie Banks-Todd (Phantom), along with Jennifer Byrne (The Evil Dead) and Monte Riegel Wheeler (The "It" Girl) leading a 52-member cast. The production was created with new scenic designs by Adam Koch, enhanced with Alpine backdrops by XuZheng He, choreography by Brian J. Marcum (Elf - The Musica), and a 29-piece orchestra conducted by Thomas W. Douglas. 

Theatre in the Park opens the second outdoor production of its 50th season on Friday, June 21. Performances of CHITTY CHITTY BANG BANG continue Saturday and Sunday, June 22 and 23, and Wednesday, June 26th through Saturday, June 29th.

Wichita has a brand-new theatre called Madcap Comedy and Improv Troupe! Now well into what appears to be the first season for the company, they have presented their second full-fledge production after Neil Simon's The Odd Couple under the direction of Cameron Carlson. And it's a good one! Filled with hilarity and sharp comedic acting by only a cast of seven, Ken Ludwig's Baskerville did not disappoint. Catch it this weekend before it closes.

Opening Night. There's nothing like it in the world. Jitters can occur. Mistakes could happen. One hopes everything comes together and the rehearsal time and hard work has paid off. Luckily, for Music Theatre Wichita's producing artistic director Wayne Bryan, opening night was nothing short of absolute shear success for his season opener “The Sound of Music.” Music Theatre Wichita is in its 48th year.

On a rainy night, The Diviners was presented by Wichita Community Theatre, a play written by Jim Leonard, Jr. and set during the depression era of a small town named Zion, Indiana. The play has a rich production history having been performed on the upper east coast during the year 1980 when it was first written for the American College Theatre Festival in Washington, D.C. Many theatres and high schools subsequently followed and produced The Diviners until of course Wichita Community Theatre decided to wisely include it into their current 2018-2019 season. The show has similar themes seen earlier in the season and centers mainly around the relationship of C.C. Showers, a former preacher, and Buddy Layman, a mentally challenged young boy whose mission is to divine or search for running water yet at the same time has fears of water himself.

Picture it: Wichita, 2019. No, I'm not referencing the Golden Girls. I'm simply talking about Roxy's current production of Love! Valour! Compassion! and the fact it took nearly twenty-one years for the show to be revived on a Wichita Stage. The last time the show was seen was in 1998 when Wichita Community Theatre presented the production, three years after the initial Broadway debut in 1995. Twenty-one years later and Wichita is finally ready, again! And the show is well worth the wait because now we have east coast style of theatre right here in the city of Wichita.

Wichita, Kansas. Population of 390, 591 and home to the top 40th outdoor celebrations in the world, The Wichita River Festival, now in its 46th year. If you've never been to River Fest, then you have missed out on hearing the Wichita Symphony Orchestra Pops Concert, or having breakfast with the Admiral, or a stellar firework show under a Kansas sky, or even the axe throwing Paul Bunyan Lumberjack Show. That's right. Nothing says 'good old Midwest' like pronto pups and lumberjacks. And if you don't want to have anything to do with the crowds, then visit Mosley Street Melodrama for their current production of Gone with the Windwagon, a spoof on both the Wichita River Festival and the second most favorited novel next to the Bible, Gone with the Wind. Written by Carol Hughes and Directed by Cindy Summers, this melodrama plays every weekend from now until July 13th.

Lynn Nottage, a two-time winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Drama, is the Playwright Honoree of the 39th William Inge Theater Festival.

The hills are alive Wichita as Music Theatre Wichita presents Rogers and Hammerstein's The Sound of Music June 12-16.

Playing for its final weekend, Bloomsday at Wichita Community Theatre examines the trivial but serious nature of both young and refined love and romance. Now, for those unfamiliar with the holiday, Bloomsday is actually a true festival of the life of Irish writer James Joyce, observed annually in Dublin and even in the United States on the sixteenth of June each year. The celebration focuses on Joyce's first date with his soon to be wife and also the main character of his novel Leopold Bloom. In this production, Wichita Community Theatre not only captures the essence of Dublin during the time period but also shines through with the true meaning of the show-we only get one chance at life.

Centered around Carole King's life and biography, Beautiful: The Carole King Musical is an appropriate cap to The American Theatre Guild's 2018-2019 season. This first national tour is filled with well-rounded, talented performers from all over the United States, including members who have been a part of the company for three years or more. Though the script itself for this pseudo jukebox musical may be a bit lacking compared to favored classics such as Cinderella, seen earlier in the season, the individual vocal and acting abilities are worth paying full ticket price.

Running until May 5th, Avenue Q at Roxy's is a must-see show. Why? I will tell you why. Wichita, you now have progressive theatre! So long are the days where shows were filled with only politically correct topics and material or the shows that would only lend itself to be considered a safe choice. No, Avenue Q holds nothing back from this modern day take on Sesame Street. This show, however, is more than just puppet sex on stage or blatantly stating the obvious that the internet is for porn. This show has true grit and heart and you got to catch it because it's only playing for now.

Set in a fun and funky hair salon, Shear Madness concludes The Forum Theatre Company's 2019 production season in a big and bold way. The plot, almost from Clue the movie, has action that centers around figuring out exactly who murdered Isabel Churney with none other than hair cutting shears. If you go, which I do highly recommend, pay close attention to the action at the beginning of the show. It will be useful later to help solve the murder mystery. Filled with Wichita current events and references plus greatly polished improv from the cast, you can't keep from laughing but also appreciate the hard work and dedication which went into crafting out a carefully selected play thanks to producing artistic director, Kathy Page Hauptman.

There are three doors on this colorful 1980s set designed by Ben Juhnke, and immediately I think 'FARCE!' The 1980s tunes are pumping from the sound system, making the patrons move and groove in their seats. The atmosphere is lively, and the audience is upbeat and happy, chatting away until the action on stage catches their attention. A pre-show pantomime begins; Simeon Rawls and Jen Bechter begin their day in the beauty salon 'Shear Madness'; patrons begin to enter the shop and hilarity ensues. This pantomime continues for at least 15 minutes before any of the actors speak, and it is hysterical. The action is clean, quick, and understandable. The hilarity continues on until the last few minutes of the play. I will not reveal the ending, but suffice it to say these last bits are intense and dramatic, and showcase some serious acting chops.

For the first time in forever, Disney's FROZEN JR. is playing at Wichita Theatre in Kansas from June 7 to 22, 2019.

It's going to be one fine day in Wichita Kansas when BEAUTIFUL: THE CAROLE KING MUSICAL comes to Century II Concert Hall on May 15 and runs through May 19, 2019. 

The madness erupts at a hairstyling salon when suddenly, between a shampoo and a style, the old lady upstairs gets mysteriously murdered and everyone's dying to know whodunit?

The Kansas City Chamber Orchestra is pleased to announce that acclaimed Kansas City conductor, Ward Holmquist, will guest conduct their upcoming concert.

Opening April 12 and running to May 5, AVENUE Q, the Triple Crown Tony winner is part flesh, part fabric and packed with heart. Another "coming of age" parable, notable for its use of puppets, this wacky musical comedy brings us characters from the other side of Sesame Street.

Written in response to the murder of Matthew Shepard in 1998, the play's story parallels the New Testament account of the birth, death and resurrection of Jesus. In McNally's version the Christ figure is named Joshua, born and raised in Corpus Christi, Texas, in the early 1950s. Joshua, who is gay, leaves Corpus Christi to find a more accepting environment and gathers a group of disciples with his message of love and tolerance. The play is rated R for adult language, simulated violence and adult themes.