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Stage Capsule Reviews

Reviews and previews of upcoming shows.

By Alan Scherstuhl

Published on December 14, 2006

Christmas in Song Now that J. Kent Barnhart and Quality Hill Playhouse have remembered that all God's children got rhythm, Christmas in Song is better than ever — maybe the best Christmas show in town. Many of the songs are unfamiliar, but the arrangements are lively. Barnhart's singers all excel: Matt Leisy's tenor is gliding and golden, Elaine Fox's opera-trained pipes shine light on her songs, and radiant newcomer LeShea Wright is a soul-drenched gospel singer with a voice both plush and raw. Through Dec. 25 at Quality Hill Playhouse, 303 W. 10th St., 816-421-1700. Reviewed in our Nov. 23 issue.

Subject(s):

Stage Capsules
Every Christmas Story Ever Told As labored, pandering messes go, this has its moments, mostly involving Ron Megee, who seizes every chance he can to shine in a show otherwise bereft of highlights. Ripped from The Complete Works of Shakespeare (Abridged), Every Christmas Story sends actors dashing satirically through libraries of familiar material — in this case, Christmas tales. Megee stars with the funny Martin English and the grating Ken Remmert. Digging deep into his gift — that unique alloy of abandon and elegance — Megee makes each of his many characters here memorable, hitting grace notes that no one else would have thought of and bringing delights the script never could. Through Dec. 31 at the American Heartland Theatre, 2450 Grand, 816-842-9999. Reviewed in our Nov. 30 issue.

A Scarrie Carrie Christmas Carol

Late Night Theatre's fa-la-la-la-lating of Stephen King and Brian DePalma's lurid classic, Carrie, is all splatter-paint pleasure, a send-up as compelling as a story as it is a pop-culture joke machine. Chadwick Brooks' excellent Carrie is somehow both shrieky and understated. Phil Kinen's script lances the originals while simultaneously celebrating what worked so well in them. And Kimberly Queen is John Travolta. As if all that weren't treat enough, directors Kinen and Ron Megee also add a satiric Christmas Carol ending and that gorgeous, glam-rock marvel Spencer Brown singing "Live and Let Die." As wild as a virgin birth and twice as bloody, it's the clear highlight of Late Night's anniversary season. Through Dec. 31 at Late Night Theatre, 1531 Grand, 816-235-6222. Reviewed in our Dec. 7 issue.

12 Days of Schtickmas Another silly, all-ages Christmas show from the Martin City Melodrama, that troupe of last-century throwbacks that has for 22 years specialized in over-the-top vaudevillian comedy. Its holiday show is best-known for the set piece "Water Glass Symphony," a musical goof that might have killed on Ed Sullivan. What keeps the shows selling out, though, are the good spirits, the sight gags and the chance to boo and hiss in a way that'd get you booted from the Unicorn. Reservations are recommended. Through Jan. 1 at Metcalf South Mall, 9601 Metcalf in Overland Park, 913-642-7576.



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