Author Archives: Mark Edelman

War and its tragic, unintended consequences get a compelling appraisal at MISS SAIGON, the finale of Starlight Theatre’s 2013 Broadway musical season (now thru Friday at the outdoor venue in Swope Park)… I hope our President and the “let’s get … Continue reading →

One of the best shows of KC’s summer musical theater season went down last night at the Unicorn… Sorry if you missed it. I’m talking about the feisty midtown theater’s 40th birthday bash, which featured a reprise of their 1991 … Continue reading →

Bouncy, happy middle-aged chicks having a great time reliving the fabulous girl group hits of the 60s…. I’m talking about the audience, not the cast, of American Heartland Theatre‘s farewell production THE BIKINIS, now through August 24 at the venue on the 3rd … Continue reading →

Lions and tigers and bare women, oh my… The 9th annual KC Fringe Festival is upon us. CherylKimmi (a/k/a Wonder Woman) and her 200 volunteers have rounded up another 134 artists to put on 363 shows now thru Sunday. How all … Continue reading →

This Saturday from 4-7pm in front of the Raphael Hotel on the Plaza, a KC icon turns 70… I know what you’re thinking– 70. Old fart. Who’s this, some Kemper–Kauffman–Hall chip off the old Block? A captain of industry, titan … Continue reading →

They’re flashin, they’re dancin– Not just at the musical version of everybody’s favorite ’80s welder movie FLASHDANCE (now through Sunday at Starlight), though that’s got plenty of glitz and moves, too.No, I’m talking about THE ROCKY HORROR SHOW, now thru Saturday … Continue reading →

Sexy stews, hot nurses, a hooker with nothing on under that fur coat– who says it hasn’t been hot at Starlight this week? Check out the well-produced and wonderfully acted national tour of CATCH ME IF YOU CAN (now thru … Continue reading →

Two references to excrement, hot chorus cuties in garter belts and a guy on stilts shouting “blow me”– this ain’t your granny’s Starlight, that’s for sure… All the more reason to head out to Swope Park for the summer theater’s  … Continue reading →

Take a big, classic musical like Rodgers and Hammerstein’s CAROUSEL (now thru April 6  at KC Rep). Get rid of the pretty period clothes, the handsome scenery, and most of the musicians… Add some grit, compliments of local theater trailblazers … Continue reading →

I miss Beena‘s place as much as the next jazz fan… But a quick perusal of our town’s weekly Jazz Calendar (devotedly compiled, I might add with a hefty thank you, by piano whiz Roger Wilder) reminds that, Phoenix-like (the … Continue reading →

I have seen the future of live theater, and it is BATMAN LIVE… Or maybe not. As a long-time Broadway buff, I’m not the likeliest guy to set foot inside the cavernous Sprint Center to get a song and dance … Continue reading →

I was in the right place, and it happened to be the right time— Yardley Hall at Johnson County Community College, where Dr John and his merry band of Cajun kickers held court Sunday night. You could feel the bayou’s … Continue reading →

Saw some interesting new shows on Broadway this Fall. But, as they say, they don’t make em like they used to… CHAPLIN is a new musical about the exciting but not always happy life of the world’s most famous silent … Continue reading →

I have seen the future of jazz, and it just might be Esperanza Spalding… The Grammy-award winning phenom stole hearts and impressed minds with her nimble execution and musical erudition Tuesday at the Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts Helzberg … Continue reading →

The Unicorn Theatre kicks the 2012-13 theater season into coked-up overdrive with the area premier of Stephen Guirgis‘ delightful, touching comedy The Motherfucker With the Hat (now through September 30 at the theater at 3828 Main). Spoiler alert– this play … Continue reading →

How they gonna get em back to the park, now that they’ve seen AI– DA? (okay, that lyric’s a stretch)… Starlight gave up fighting the heat this week, opening the Elton John-Tim Rice, Disney opus AIDA at the Kauffman Center … Continue reading →

Forget Broadway’s Spider-Man. Smack down Cirque du Soleil… Cathy Rigby blows them all away, twisting and turning as she careens overhead in PETER PAN, now through Sunday at Starlight. Those oohs and ahhhs– they were coming from the kiddies, to … Continue reading →