Stage Capsule Reviews

The Grey Zone Dark times are coming to Avila University. Tim Blake Nelson’s Holocaust drama digs into the moral morass of the Sonderkommandos, squads of Jewish prisoners who received some death-camp amenities in exchange for their assistance in ushering victims into the gas chambers and disposing of the corpses afterward. Inspired by a Primo Levi essay, Nelson’s bracing play traces the bloody atonement of one such squad at Auschwitz: the doomed prisoners’ revolt of October 1944. Through Feb. 26 at Avila University’s Goppert Theatre, 11901 Wornall, 816-501-3699.

Hey There, Harvey Girl The Mystery Train gang, which winningly transforms the Union Café into a railroad crime scene, again presents murder with appetizers. As always, the script comes from local talent, and it’s threaded with Kansas City history. This time, the cheerfully unpredictable story is something about the decorous Harvey Girls traveling in an Old West dining car. Real-life diners are invited to interrogate cast members, make sense of the clues and solve the crime. (Some will have scripts themselves.) The audience participation makes a fine time finer; as funny as Wendy Thompson’s lines are, hearing your neighbors embellish (or butcher) them and then watching the quick-witted cast improvise responses is half the pleasure. Through April 1 at the Hereford House, 2 E. 20th St., 816-813-9654.

The Nerd Sunny, skilled performances from the principals — especially Ron Megee, plutocrat du jour Kip Niven and appealing straight man Craig Benton — can’t keep author Larry Shue’s comedy from grating. Everything is subordinate to the laugh, including sense and character; it’s a shame, then, that most of the jokes are as sharp as a wet Frito. Some connect, though, and much of the ginned-up crowd roared once the show made it through its laborious set-ups to deliver the payoffs. Still, you feel the punch lines coming before they hit, which inspired audience members to shout them to the cast. Written back before geeks took over our culture, The Nerd has no sympathy for its titular twerp, who is a monster of annoyance. This is Birth of a Nation for geek haters. Through Feb. 26 at American Heartland Theatre at Crown Center, 2450 Grand, 816-842-9999. (Reviewed in our Jan. 19 issue.)

Once Upon a Mattress Many moons ago, when musical fairy tales were goofy escapes instead of grist for strained, mean-spirited mocking (Shrek) or laboriously conceived meta-textual examinations of our primal fears and desires (Into the Woods), people lined up by the thousands for the jokey sweetness of Once Upon a Mattress, and they liked it just fine. Then it was on TV a year back, and nobody cared. Come out and show the Blue Springs City Theatre’s huge cast that we’re not all cynical, pop-addled deconstructionists. Amuse yourself during duff bits by thinking of questions that “once upon a mattress” could be the answer to — “Have you ever met this woman, Mr. Clinton?” is a freebie. Through March 5 at Blue Springs Civic Center, 2000 N.W. Ashton Dr. in Blue Springs, 816-228-0137

Pump Boys and Dinettes It’s nostalgic sing-along time when Olathe’s homey Chestnut Fine Arts Center puts on this bighearted ’80s musical about the guys and gals pumping gas and slinging home fries at a North Carolina highway pit stop. The music explores the honkier side of American roots music, aiming for that vanishing point — as Elvis Costello calls it — where rock, country and blues all become the same thing. Not much plot, but plenty of music, love troubles and gentle ribaldry. The gals all work at the Double Cupp Diner. Musical highlight “The Night Dolly Parton Was Almost Mine” keeps with the Cupp theme. In most productions, the boys are a band, playing the instruments themselves; it’ll be interesting to see how Olathe swings it. Through Feb. 26 at Chestnut Fine Arts Center, 234 N. Chestnut Street in Olathe, 913-764-2121.

Say Goodnight, Gracie Oh, God, you New Theatre devils. Overland Park’s thoroughly professional and often sparkling dinner theater offers this wistful one-man show about the life of George Burns. Suspended in a limbolike state after his death, the play’s Burns (Joel Rooks) is unable to gain admittance to heaven until he, according to press materials, “gives the Command Performance of his lifetime for God.” If you think demanding a free show before giving up the good stuff is churlish of God, you understand how we feel about having to pony up for dinner before getting to see these rock-solid New Theatre shows. Through April 9 at New Theatre Restaurant, 9229 Foster in Overland Park, 913-649-7469.