Stage Capsule Reviews

 Dinner With Friends This superior production from Kansas City Actors Theatre connects with its audience, quickly and deeply, digging into the particulars of two marriages — one failed and the other coasting. In the process, Dinner unearths universals about romantic relationships. Melinda McCrary, at her tremulous finest, plays Beth, who breaks down at a dinner party, announcing that husband Tom has left her for a stewardess. We take her side, but when we meet Tom (played with swagger and sorrow by Mark Robbins) we feel for him, too. If it's tricky for the audience to take sides, it's excruciating for the couple's friends. David Fritts does subtle and stellar work as Gabe, a husband who is a bit bored himself but would never admit it. Through Sept. 2 at Union Station's City Stage, 30 W. Pershing Rd., 816-235-6222. (Reviewed in our August 16 issue.) (Alan Scherstuhl)

La Cage Aux Folles Home of astonishing costumes, wild production numbers, and the invigorating accompaniment of Musical Director Molly Jessup, the Unicorn Theatre whips La Cage into pure dessert — and a surefire hit. As drag-show impresario George, Jim Korinke brings twinkly class and paternal warmth. As Albin, the fluting, birdlike star of George's drag revue, Ron Megee continually tops himself, coming up with many bits of business that still seem funny days later: his passing confusions; the way he thrusts his pelvis to drumbeats in a spangle-shagged miniskirt; the dignified manner in which he duckwalks through low curtains so as not to lose one of many absurd hats. For all its dom gear and fellated croissants, La Cage is the happiest and most bighearted of all the top-tier musicals, arguing for the importance of family. Through Sept. 23 at the Unicorn Theatre, 3828 Main, 816-531-7529. (Reviewed in our August 16 issue.) (Alan Scherstuhl)

Oklahoma! Dozens labor to pull off the New Theatre's excellent Okie-by-Broadway dinnertime extravaganza: ace actors, singers, dancers and tech people, as well as a small orchestra and a fight choreographer. Patrick Du Laney and Jessalyn Kincaid, Kansas City's most ferociously talented young actors, are showcased here, and comic force Deb Bluford offers superior corn pone as Aunt Eller. What sticks is the image of Du Laney (as Jud) and Adam Monley (as Curly), clutched together in violence. This Oklahoma! is the best show in the territory. Through Sept. 2 at the New Theatre Restaurant, 9229 Foster, Overland Park, 913-649-7469. (Reviewed in our July 26 issue.) (Alan Scherstuhl)