Theatre

Alone Together

The bittersweet feeling of becoming empty nesters doesn’t last long in the Broadway comedy Alone Together. Just as all three kids finally move out, they slowly start trickling back in, returning home to mom and dad one by one. Starring The Brady Bunch’s Barry Williams and featuring Cathy Bennett, this show explores the chaos and joy of family life. 

At New Theatre & Restaurant in Overland Park, the play is a full dining and entertainment experience, complete with waitstaff, cocktails and a gourmet buffet.

September 1–November 16. New Art Theatre & Restaurant.

The Color Purple

Deep like the hue it’s named after, the musical The Color Purple brings emotion to every scene with compelling dialogue and music that spans several genres, including jazz, gospel and blues. Presented by KCRep, this inspiring stage musical is based on Alice Walker’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, which follows the journey of Celie, a young Black woman in the early 20th century rural South, as she overcomes hardship.

September 2–21. Spencer Theatre. 

The Book of Mormon 

Follow along as two missionaries travel to Uganda, eager to share and teach their faith, only to realize they also have much to learn in this nine-time Tony Award-winning Best Musical. As the pair navigates their tumultuous relationship and the complex realities of mission work, in the The Book of Mormon, satire is merged with show-stopping musical performances, delivering both humor and heart to Kansas City’s Music Hall.

September 16–21. Kansas City Music Hall.

Life of Pi

Starlight Theatre’s outdoor venue will come alive this season with Life of Pi. Based on Yann Martel’s best-selling novel and adapted for the stage by Lolita Chakrabarti, the play tells the story of a boy named Pi who survives a shipwreck and finds himself stranded on a lifeboat with a group of wild animals. With themes of survival and faith, it will be a visually sensational production that combines live actors, life-sized puppetry and scenic stagecraft. 

September 16–21. Starlight Theatre.

RENT 

While the struggles of living with HIV/AIDS may be hard to fully understand, RENT gives us a window in. Jonathan Larson’s iconic Tony Award-winning musical follows a group of artists in 1990s New York as they search for love and meaning while facing poverty amid the AIDS crisis. Presented by Music Theater Heritage, this show, which first opened on Broadway in 1996, is one of just 10 musicals to win the Pulitzer Prize for Drama, and its message still rings true.

October 2–26. Main Stage at Crown Center.

Disney’s Beauty and the Beast

Disney’s “tale as old as time” is returning to the stage as the North American tour of Broadway’s Beauty and the Beast is making a stop at Kansas City Music Hall. You can join Belle, the Beast, Lumière, Chip and the rest of the beloved cast for an evening of enchantment alongside classic music tracks like “Be Our Guest” and “Beauty and the Beast.” Members of the original Tony Award-winning artistic team reunited for the touring production, creating new sets and costumes designed to reimagine the story like never before.

October 28–November 2. Kansas City Music Hall.

Hello, Dolly!

Hello, Dolly! says hello to KC. The White Theatre at the Jewish Community Center presents this musical adaptation of Thornton Wilder’s play The Matchmaker, following the bold and charming Dolly Gallagher Levi as she heads to Yonkers, New York, to find a match for the single and wealthy Horace Vandergelder. Revived on Broadway four times and staged around the globe, the show’s memorable music, dance, humor and heart continue to resonate with audiences.

November 1–23. The White Theatre at The J.

Magic Valley Community Theatre’s Little Women 

If you’re looking for something new, Magic Valley Community Theatre’s Little Women makes its world premiere this fall at the Unicorn Theatre. After a workshop last year with Clubbed Thumb and Concord Theatricals in NYC, the final version of this play is ready for the stage. A play within a play, the story follows the actors playing the March sisters on closing night of Little Women, but the real drama is happening offstage, where personal chaos unfolds as they scramble to make their dreams come true and perform the play at “nationals” in Rochester. It might just have you wondering what’s going on behind the scenes of the show you’re watching.

November 12–December 7. Unicorn Theatre.

The Disappointments

Kansas City Public Theatre presents The Disappointments, a story that teaches hope and resilience in the face of addiction. Directed by Elizabeth Bettendorf Bowman, this free show centers on Second, a man who enters treatment for drinking after receiving an ultimatum from his wife. There, he meets a group of fellow “disappointments,” and together, they face the challenges of recovery and healing.

In addition to its main run, the production will also be performed at two community-based venues prior to opening night, connecting theater with recovery support and outreach: Healing House KC (Nov. 9), a substance use disorder recovery organization, and Independence Boulevard Christian Church (Nov. 11), which will offer a hot meal, hygiene products, clothing and a free medical clinic to attendees. 

November 15–17. Kansas City Public Theatre.

& Juliet 

“O happy dagger, / This is thy sheath”—except the blade never falls. Instead, Juliet drops the dagger, picks up a pen and rewrites her famously tragic ending in Shakespeare’s classic tale. Presented by Broadway Across America at the Kansas City Music Hall, & Juliet shows what happens when Juliet steps beyond others’ expectations, leaving Verona for Paris to claim a second chance at life on her own terms. Featuring pop hits like “Since U Been Gone,” “Roar” and “I Want It That Way,” this musical is a fun, empowering twist on a timeless story.

November 18–23. Kansas City Music Hall.

A Christmas Carol

As always, KCRep welcomes the holiday season with one of Kansas City’s most cherished annual productions, A Christmas Carol. But this year’s show carries a special significance. After more than 1,100 performances since 2000, Gary Neal Johnson will take his final bow as Ebenezer Scrooge. Honoring both the tradition and the man who has been its beating heart for more than two decades, this Charles Dickens classic is the perfect way to get into the Christmas spirit. 

November 22–December 27. Spencer Theatre.

Ebenezer Scrooge’s Big KC MO Christmas Show

Directed by Ernie Nolan, Ebenezer Scrooge’s Big KC MO Christmas Show is back at the Unicorn Theatre, and it’s anything but your run-of-the-mill Christmas Carol. Set not in London but right here in KC, this playful retelling features just five actors taking on dozens of the classic roles, including Scrooge, Tiny Tim, the ghosts and more. It may not be traditional, but it’s sure to make you laugh and get you ready to celebrate the holiday season.

December 3–28. Unicorn Theatre. 

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