Stage Capsule Reviews
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)
Hello, Dolly! This is how summer ends, with another not-quite perennial hauled out under whatever stars that light pollution haven’t yet scraped away. It’s your last chance of the year to enjoy the many new toilets Starlight has put in — no more sneaking away ten minutes before intermission for you. Michelle Lee of Knots Landing fame stars as the titular matchmaker, and her dresses appear to be real feats of engineering, but the real point is always Jerry Herman’s tunes. Fun fact that the press people will probably omit from the program: While filming Gene Kelly’s strained ’68 film version, Walter Matthau reportedly told La Streisand that she had “the talent of a butterfly’s fart.” Aug. 8-14 at Starlight Theatre, 8601 Swope Parkway, 816-363-7827.
The Master Builder As fall comes on and the musicals lumber off toward extinction, intelligent life emerges. Here, it’s Ibsen’s kinda-autobiographical account of kinda-architect Halvard Solness’ fears, artistic insecurities and kinda-hots for a much younger woman. A key question (among many — this is Ibsen, after all): Is success worth the sacrifice it costs? Speaking of sacrifice, here’s hoping that director Marianna Vogt has gutted plenty of bulls to the theatrical gods, because a masterpiece like this is just what this town needs. It’s a free show, and it’s good for you. Aug. 11-13 at 8 p.m., and Sunday, Aug. 14 at 2 p.m. at the Boley Gallery, 12th and Walnut.
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)
