Stage Capsule Reviews

melia Bedelia Over the course of thirty Amelia Bedelia books, author Peggy Parish put her titular housekeeper in the employ of various dotty families. The domestic’s most notable trait is her literal, concrete take on the world; she’s the kind of person who, when told to strike a match, hits one with a hammer. For Theatre for Young America’s production, playwright Karen Abbot has melded a few of Amelia’s adventures into one hourlong tale that director Evan Gamsu says plays like classic farce. Working for a couple with an infant and an eye toward a wealthy acquaintance’s estate, Amelia, played by Ashlea Christopher, will no doubt complicate matters. Nov. 3-20 at the City Stage at Union Station, 30 W. Pershing, 816-460-2020.

The Art of Conquering Aja The opiate-influenced writing of Lewis Carroll is the inspiration for a new theater collaboration bridging Lawrence and Kansas City talents. The Borograve Theatre Company found its name in Through the Looking Glass, in which a creature called a borograve — a cross between a corkscrew and a badger — lives in the grasses around a sundial. The troupe’s premiere show, The Art of Conquering Aja, is written by Paige McLemore and features as its heroine a former art student and kleptomaniac whose stress is elevated by a visit from her Vegas lounge-singer father. The company promises cacophony, chaos and an intentional salute to the Coen brothers. At 7:30 Nov. 5 and 8 p.m. Nov. 6 at the Ecumenical Christian Ministries, 1204 Oread, in Lawrence, 785-341-3070.

Cinderella It’s hard to believe that the Cinderella story has roots in a legend that goes back 1,000 years. She’s so skillful at making lemonade from the lemons she’s given, she could be a Teen People cover girl. While the New York City Opera offers Rodgers and Hammerstein’s musical version this month with such twists as having drag performer Lypsinka play the wicked stepmother, puppeteer Paul Mesner makes his version a homage to his heroine’s back story that updates her attitude in fresh and funny ways — sort of like Lindsay Lohan as a marionette. November 3-14 at Unity Temple on the Plaza, 707 W. 47th St., 816-235-6222.

Deathtrap Though Rosemary’s Baby is probably Ira Levin’s best literary contribution, his dramatic thriller Deathtrap isn’t too shabby. Fans of the back-stabbing classic All About Eve will find parallels in Levin’s story of a failing playwright and a cocky young protégé who convinces his mentor that they should collaborate. Most plays that start as one thing and turn into quite another are usually entertaining, and to this end, Deathtrap‘s many ruses pay off handsomely. The play is simultaneously witty and spooky and offers a couple of actresses good roles in the form of a dotty psychic and the elder writer’s hypochondriacal wife. Nov. 4-14 at the City Theatre of Independence, 201 N. Dodgion, 816-325-7367.

OOPS! Got milk? Neither does the children’s-theater branch of the Martin City Melodrama & Vaudeville Company, called Martin City Jr., which opens its second season with OOPS!, a world premiere musical by the troupe’s associate artistic director, Jon Copeland. Copeland and Martin City founder Jeanne Beechwood star in the piece, which follows the adventures of Princess Daisy (surely not the Judith Krantz character of the same name), whose travels from the planet Milky Dud to save the world from a milk shortage land her mistakenly on an Earth plagued, let’s hope, by the persnickety lactose-intolerant. Through Nov. 14 at Martin City Melodrama & Vaudeville Co., Metcalf South Shopping Center, 9635 Metcalf in Overland Park, 913-642-7576.

Picasso at the Lapin Agile Fans of the old Steve Martin, who would do his stand-up wearing a gag arrow-through-the-head, were somewhat surprised by his growth as a writer. Before his acclaimed novel Shopgirl and his lucid New Yorker essays, he dazzled many with his witty play, Picasso at the Lapin Agile, now being staged by the University of Missouri-Kansas City’s Theatre Department. Set in a realistic Paris bistro, the story broaches the fantastic in its invention of a meeting between two seemingly disparate geniuses, Pablo Picasso and Albert Einstein. What’s sublime is that their interaction reads true, and what’s predictably silly is a visit late in the show from Elvis Presley. Nov. 5-14 at the Spencer Theatre, 4949 Cherry St., 816-235-6222.

The Tall Tale of Pecos Bill If the image of cowboys sitting around a campfire conjures up only the flatulence scene from Blazing Saddles, Theater for Young America offers a corrective with a slice of Western folklore dating back to those late-night poetry jams. Directed by Val Mackey, the show features Paul Orwick as the titular legend, whose résumé includes throwing a lasso around the Big Dipper and creating the Mojave Desert by regurgitating a heap of quicksand. In a salute to that ancient theatrical genre in which cowboys appeared in vaudeville shows, the production also features original compositions by Kansas City’s Cheryl Benge. Through Nov. 19 at Theater for Young America, 5909 Johnson Dr. in Mission, 913-831-2131.

Topdog/Underdog Playwright Suzan-Lori Parks deservedly won the 2001 Pulitzer Prize for this biting and moving play that defines America on her terms. Its only characters are two African-American brothers named Booth and Lincoln who, despite cruel childhoods and social debits, manage to have an appetite for the better life they’re owed. Sharply directed by Mark Robbins, the play is so filled with pain that you want to look away. That tactic would only obscure the powerful performances of Cedric Hayman and Damron Russel Armstrong, actors who have traded in their own skin to bring these men to life. Through Nov. 7 at Unicorn Theatre, 3828 Main, 816-531-7529.