Stage Capsule Reviews

A Dog’s Life While we remain skeptical that theme — as opposed to stories or characters — is where a playwright should strike first in search of heart and humor, the American Heartland’s long string of themed shows — marriage, menopause, Christmas — has boasted big hits and, in last month’s Leaving Iowa, at least one critical darling. A Dog’s Life is its latest low-concept stab at sitcom universality, promising whatever “foibles and follies” of dog ownership aren’t copyrighted by Marmaduke. But we’d be lying if we didn’t admit to having hope: The hilarious Jessalyn Kincaid, who had us eating up Leaving Iowa like Puppy Chow, is here cast as “Little Dog.” Through April 22 at the American Heartland Theatre at Crown Center, 2450 Grand, 816-842-9999.

The American Songbook: Music of the 1950s The latest Quality Hill Playhouse cabaret revue might sound like the same old same old, but that’s probably true only for those with a grudge against consistent excellence. This time, J. Kent Barnhart’s crooning quartet revels in the last decade in which their beloved American songbook was steadily adding new chapters. Expect highlights from West Side Story, My Fair Lady and Mr. Tony Bennett. Best of all, the quartet includes cabaret king James Wright, who can be as tender as he is funny, and champion belter Amy Coady, who sometimes takes a break from saving Kansas City’s musical theater scene to cut loose like this. Through April 1 at Quality Hill Playhouse, 303 W. 10th St., 816-421-1700.

Registering Loss: The Long Goodbye and Life Under Water Two challenging dramas from challenging dramatists Tennessee Williams (you know him) and Richard Greenberg (you should know him). In Williams’ The Long Goodbye, a dead mother and fallen sister haunt a writer; and we mean haunt in the allusive, melancholy way rather than , like, Ghost Whisperer or something. Greenberg’s Life Under Water concerns the idle rich, some adultery and some coming-of-age stuff in the Hamptons; any chance to reclaim it in our memories from that late ’80s American Playhouse adaptation starring Keanu Reeves is worth a haul out to JoCo. Through March 4 in the Black Box Theatre at Johnson County Community College’s Carlsen Center, 12345 College Blvd., Overland Park, 913-469-4445. Sax, Violence, and All That Jazz Another interactive dinner-time murder farce from the Mystery Train — which, by our count, has staged far more plays by Kansas City authors than any other theater in town the past few years. (That those plays all involve local history is a bonus.) The killing takes place on the dining car of a Union Station-bound train, as always, with the audience playing detective between courses. This time, the year is 1944, and the milieu is the waning days of Kansas City’s jazz age. Fridays and Saturdays through April 7 at the Hereford House, 2 E. 20th St., 816-813-9654.