We had just set the Christmas tree in the flimsy, three-legged, red-and-green metal stand, and tightened the three bolts to hold it. This was Christmas of ’69 or ’70. I was still…
Humor Is an Important Ingredient for These Chefs
Every profession and occupation has its own brand of humor, usually intelligible only to insiders And each group takes its humor seriously. When you joke with your co-workers about your boss, each…
King Lear – Theater Review by Frank C. Siraguso
Ted Swetz as King Lear owns the stage in KC Actors Theatre-UMKC Theatre collaboration Peggy Friesen–Fool, Theodore Swetz–King Lear, Photo: KCAT/Brian Paulette This is the third time I’ve seen Shakespeare’s King Lear…
California Rake
It was during that summer of 1984, while I was living in Long Beach, California, that I first saw them. The two guys cutting the grass in the tiny front yard of…
A Lie of the Mind – Theater Review by Frank C. Siraguso
Powerful performances propel Sam Shepard’s A Lie of the Mind at KC Actors Theatre Brian Paulette as Jake/KCAT photo: Mike Tsai Sam Shepard’s 1985 A Lie of the Mind explores relationships and…
The Book of Mormon, review by Frank C. Siraguso
You’ve heard about it, you’ve read about it, now here’s your chance to see the smash musical, The Book of Mormon live in living color at The Music Hall. Book of Mormon…
Vote, Don’t Drop
The Story of Dave and the Fish Church The Temptation of Saint Anthony–Hieronymous Bosch (or follower), c. 1500–1525 Election 2016 is proving to be weirder than any in living memory. I am…
Evita – Theater Review by Frank C. Siraguso
The Rep’s Evita is a splashy, sassy production the real Evita could appreciate Jenny Ashman–Eva, Mauricio Martinez–Che/KC Rep photo If you, like me, don’t know anything about Eva Peron (May 7, 1919-July…
Our Town – Theater Review by Frank C. Siraguso
At Kansas City Repertory Theatre’s production of Our Town, for one brief evening, we were all residents of Grover’s Corners. Thornton Wilder’s play is about small-town life in New Hampshire in the…
Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead – Theater Review by Frank C. Siraguso
The Kansas City Actors Theatre production of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead examines the truth or folly of self-determination and the isolation of existence. Tom Stoppard’s Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead is…