Stage Capsule Reviews
Don’t Fear the Rooster For the fourth year in a row, the E.M.U. Theatre crew brings a festival of original ten-minute plays to sleepy summertime Lawrence. As usual with E.M.U., the show is for grown-ups, penned by folks from the neighborhood. The bill includes Leo Nightingale’s “Faust: A Sex Comedy” as well as “Blown Away” and “Too Far,” a pair of plays co-written by the indefatigable Jeff Sorrels. Also on tap: live local music and, in the lobby, art by Heather Drefke, Josie Thorpe and Melissa Morrell. Through Aug. 21 at the Lawrence Arts Center, 940 New Hampshire, 785-843-2787.
From My Hometown is a good-hearted but lunkheaded show that seeks to pass off Crown Center as the Apollo Theatre. Young soul singers Philly, Memphis and Detroit — each from his namesake city and singing in its style — loiter in Harlem, round-robining through whatever oldies the producers can afford the rights to use. The three leads dazzle, especially Leonard Stalling’s Detroit, but only he has grit in the spirit of the original songs, and everyone is ill-served by arrangements and choreography that are much too showbiz. Otis Redding damn sure never made with the jazz hands. It’s all more about the tyranny of boomer nostalgia than anything else. Through Aug. 28 at American Heartland Theatre, 2450 Grand, Crown Center, 816-842-9999. (Reviewed in the July 13 issue)
Funny Girl Farah Alvin stuns in this revival of the musical bio of Ziegfeld Follies showgirl Fanny Brice. Yes, it’s dinner theater, but it’s probably the best show in town. Director Richard Carrothers parades pleasure after pleasure: Alvin’s witty-patter songs, numbers from the Follies, amusing scenes of Brice’s family. (As her mother, KC’s Jeanne Averill connects hard with each line.) Brice falls in love, and in the big seduction scene, song, story, and performance coalesce with force and emotional clarity. The second act turns a little mopey, but the show rallies at the end, and the dramatic ambition is appreciated. Through Aug. 28 at New Theatre Restaurant, 9229 Foster in Overland Park, 913-649-7469. (Reviewed in the August 4 issue)
Sad Hotel Another interesting selection from the Minds Eye gang, who at the very least have great taste. This time, it’s David Foley’s account of Tennessee Williams’ early-’60s breakup with a male lover. Turns out that years of failure, addiction and consorting with hustlers (this one played by Bryan LaFave, who was adorable as the killer in The Why) don’t help out in relationships. Minds Eye big shot and erstwhile Rocky Horror narrator Craig Aikman is playing the master playwright; Aikman’s a grand comic performer, and the chance to see him stretch is intriguing. Aug. 18-Sept. 3 at the Alcott Arts Center, 180 S. 18th St. in Kansas City, Kan., 913-897-2348.
Troop Train Treachery More event than show, it’s parts mystery, comedy, history lesson, parlor game, quiz show, and fourth-wall-smashing happening. Not to mention charming. You sit at your table, nosh on your bread and chat with actors done up for a 1943 train ride from Union Station. Soon, a corpse is found, a course arrives, and we’re instructed to assist in the investigation as we eat. Some audience members even get to perform meaty parts, sometimes stealing a scene from the funny Mary Gay Rogers and Toby Crawford. Glendora Davis spoons endless complications into her story, but she also adds dashes of local history (burlesque and spies!) and some near-trenchant observations about a woman’s role in yesterday’s world. Through Sept. 17 at Union Station Café, 30 West Pershing, 816-813-9654. (Reviewed in the August 4 issue)
