Kansas City Actors Theatre Announces an Expanded 5-Show 13th Season that Includes Agatha Christie, Sam Shepard, and Shakespeare’s King Lear
March 16, 2017, Kansas City, MO – The Kansas City Actors Theatre has announced its lineup of plays for 2017-2018 at the H&R Block City Stage in Union Station and the Spencer Theater on UMKC’s campus. This is the company’s 13th season of productions showcasing Kansas City’s own top theatre professionals.
KCAT’s Season 13 is one of personal passions and an expanded mission. Not only are they extending their season to five shows, but each show has a personal connection for a member of KCAT or the KC theatre community. A tangled murder mystery. A family in fallout. A mad king. A lonely romantic. A night where a past love comes to call. These five stories have touched artists’ souls, and KCAT is excited to share the stories that live up to their mission: Great Actors. Smart Plays.
And Then There Were None
By Agatha Christie
Dates: August 9-27, 2017
Location: H&R Block City Stage at Union Station
Director: John Rensenhouse
Ten suspicious and malicious souls are alone on an island when murder ensues in Agatha Christie’s And Then There Were None. Considered by many to be Christie’s masterpiece, she described it as her most difficult mystery to write. It’s the ultimate stylish, witty, and nerve-wracking whodunit with a built-in puzzle that keeps you guessing.
A Lie of the Mind
By Sam Shepard
Dates: September 13 – October 1, 2017
Location: H&R Block City Stage at Union Station
Director: Cinnamon Schultz
This story of two families linked by an act of violence is marked by Shepard’s measured humor, heart, and steady eye in examining humanity’s potential for both compassion and destruction. This play’s first off-Broadway production in 1985 won both the Drama Desk Award and the New York Drama Critic’s Circle Award for Best Play and is generally considered to be among Shepard’s greatest works.
King Lear
(presented in partnership with UMKC Theatre)
Dates: October 13 – 22, 2017
Location: Spencer Theater in the James Olson Performing Arts Center
Director: Ed Stern
October delivers a new take on Shakespeare’s King Lear, directed by two-time Tony Award winner Ed Stern. Starring Theodore Swetz with a cast that includes Mark Robbins, Peggy Friesen and Logan Black, this classic tale of tragic hubris, sibling rivalry, and heated passions will be produced in a renewed partnership between KCAT and UMKC Theatre.
Sea Marks
by Gardner McKay
Dates: January 10 – 28, 2018
Location: H&R Block City Stage at Union Station
Director: Jan Rogge
Like KCAT’s production of My Old Lady last season, this romantic comedy examines loving relationships in all their complications. It’s the story of a fisherman from a remote Irish island who falls in love with a woman he’s seen only once. As he attempts to woo her by mail, she falls in love with his words. As these two people from very different worlds meet, they realize they must also reflect on what it is to know who they are and where they belong.
Skylight
By David Hare
Dates: May 23 – June 10, 2018
Location: H&R Block City Stage at Union Station
Director: Darren Sextro
Sparks of another sort fly in the final show of the season. Abandoned love and clashing social views collide with wit and wisdom when an older, successful restaurateur comes to visit his much younger former mistress, a schoolteacher in a poor London neighborhood. Over the course of the evening (and the on-stage preparation of an actual meal), they revisit what brought them together and pushed them apart in this love affair that, strangely enough, reflects our world today. One of David Hare’s finer works, Skylight has won both the Olivier Award for best play and a Tony Award for Best Revival.
Season subscriptions are available now at www.kcactors.org or by calling the Central Ticket Office at 816-235-6222.
The Kansas City Actors Theatre is an artist-driven, artist-led company showcasing top talent among Kansas City’s professional theatre community with classic and modern-classic plays. Democratically managed by a group of theatre professionals and community members standing side by side, the Kansas City Actors Theatre is now in its 13th year.
