Theater Review: “Clue – A New Comedy”

  • CLUE – A New Comedy
  • The Kauffman Center, Kansas City, Missouri
  • April 2, 2024

 

Last week audiences at the Kaufman Center for the Performing Arts in Kansas City learned the answer to a mystery: Could the laughs from Jonathan Lynn’s 1985 movie adaptation of the game Clue work on stage?

 

It didn’t take Sherlock Holmes, Jessica Marple or even Beniot Blanc to know the answer was yes. Because Lynn’s movie had a single location and was set in roughly real time, it didn’t take much effort for Sandy Rustin, Hunter Foster and Eric Prince to make the tale work in another medium.

 

In many ways Clue is funnier live. Watching the cast scampering from a potential killer seems sillier on stage because there isn’t far for them to run. In addition, any fisticuffs that occur during the play seem amusingly innocuous. Greg Balla’s fight choreography ensures the struggles don’t stray into the sadistic or macabre.

 

Lynn’s storyline and much of his dialogue remains. A group of anonymous strangers have been lured to a mansion by a series for letters. Professor Plum (Jonathan Spivey), Mr. Green (John Shartzer), Miss Scarlet (Michelle Elaine), Mrs. White (Tari Kelly), Mrs. Peacock (Joanna Glushak) and Col. Mustard (Jon Treacy Egan) are not using their real names, and there is a good reason for it. All have managed to run afoul McCarthy-ite witch hunts in 1954 and have additional issues that would be golden for a blackmailer.

 

Their host, the butler Wadsworth (Mark Price), reveals that they are the victims of a blackmailer named Mr. Body (Alex Syiek). He appears and informs them his demands are going to increase. When the lights in the New England mansion go out, so does the chaos that ensues receives some help from Lee Savage’s sets, which morph into different rooms with interrupting the action. As a result the story leaps floors and covers more ground.

 

The original movie featured a dream team of character actors (Tim Curry, Madeline Kahn), but the current touring cast is up for the task as well. Shartzer and Elaine, in particular, seem to enjoy sinking their teeth into their roles and lead viewers to hope their characters aren’t the ones who made Mr. Body live up to his name. There are no intermissions in the current production, so the play is a test of the cast’s endurance, and they handle the demand of being “on” constantly effortlessly.

 

For fans of the game there are dozens of little nods to how a round of it would proceed. The weapons come straight for the box that Hasbro sells.

 

As of this writing, the current producing is in Cleveland, and audiences there are in for a treat. Clue manages to be a frothy delight despite the fact it involves fatalities. If the game Ais afoot in your city, you won’t have to be a Hasbro stockholder to enjoy the fiendish plot unraveling.

 

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Concert Review: Roger Waters: This is Not a Drill

 

 

Roger Waters: This is Not a Drill

T-mobile Center/Kansas City, MO

September 3, 2022

 

IN THE FLESH AND OUTSIDE THE WALL

 

Near the ceiling of the T-Mobile Center, the electronic signs warned patrons not to use offensive language and advised reporting people who engaged in that sort of discourse to management.

 

Thankfully, Roger Waters missed that note before hitting the stage last Saturday night. There were enough F-bombs to flatten Moscow.

 

Throughout his 2½ hour set, the former Pink Floyd bassist, lyricist, singer and driving force made his views on politics explicit. When some Pink Floyd fans lament the activist bent in his more recent music, it’s tempting to wonder if they had simply been using the Floyd for chemical recreation and missed Waters’ agitation in the words for “Us and Them” and the entire George Orwell-inspired album Animals.

 

At 78, Waters may be campaigning for the release of Wikileaks founder Julian Assange during his performances, and his set seemed like a refutation of some of the themes he and his former bandmates explored in The Wall.

 

This was for the best.

 

Waters conceived The Wall because he was disturbed by how fame and massive area shows (like the one he was giving when I saw him) had separated Pink Floyd from their audience.

 

Nearly 4½ decades later, Waters seemed sociable. The slender Englishman bounced around the stage. He quoted Wilbert Harrison’s “Kansas City” and made a point of thanking fans who had held onto their tickets for two years. Covid ruined a lot of plans. He even left the T-Mobile Center marching through the crowd with the band. He repeatedly acknowledged that his shows were for the fans, and they clearly returned the love.

 

For a guy who has written tunes about grief, alienation and even the price of nuclear war, Water came off as contagiously giddy. Even when he briefly tripped over the words to one of his newer songs, Waters’ enthusiasm buoyed the entire night.

 

Opening with “Comfortably Numb,” the performance of the offering from The Wall missed David Gilmour’s soaring and then ominous guitars solos. Nonetheless, it still sounded captivatingly eerie.

 

That song came with unsettling images of bombed out rooftops and people mindlessly waking through lines as the walked through lines mindlessly. The screens would be raised and lowered at strategic moments and supplemented the newer songs to illustrate why Waters had written pointed tunes line “The Powers That Be” and “The Bravery of Being Out of Range.” He ran a slide show of unarmed people across the world who had died in police shootings. The list seemed even more urgent that night because it included Donnie Sanders, who had died here in Kansas City.

 

The screens also enabled Waters to add backstory to songs he was performing from Wish You Were Here. Waters still mourns original Pink Floyd leader Syd Barrett and slides of the band’s early lineup made the tunes even more poignant. Seamus Blake’s passionate sax solos on those tunes and on “Money” and “Us and Them” certainly helped. The rest of the band delivered a solid, tightly rehearsed set. Apart from “Comfortably Numb,” they followed Gilmour, Nick Mason and Richard Wright’s original playing on the Floyd songs.

 

The dancing animated pigs on “Money” made of up for any lack of spontaneity.

 

In addition, longtime fans were rewarded with the expected lasers, giant inflatable pigs and sheep and theatrics that recalled Alan Parker’s movie of The Wall.

 

When Waters broke into songs from Amused to Death or Is This the Life We Really Want, the crowd lost none of its enthusiasm. It probably helped that the enormous screens displayed a disclaimer letting anyone who objected to his takes on indigenous rights or police shootings to “f**k off to the bar.”

 

It’s a nod to his newer song “The Bar,” which deals with being able to freely discuss difficult topics. Waters clearly knows how to entertain (who doesn’t love giant, floating pigs?), and much of his outrage is sadly warranted. His songs may have launched a thousand bong hits, but if Bob Dylan, whom he cited in his show, can write “Blowin’ in the Wind,” Waters can warn us about the urgency of addressing nuclear war.

 

I attended the show as a guest of Kansas City Veterans for Peace, Chapter 97. I’m merely a former military contractor (a cubicle jockey) who doesn’t want troops being put into peril for a fool’s errand, and nuclear conflict certainly qualifies. Waters correctly cited Kansas’ Dwight D. Eisenhower, who repeatedly expressed many of the same concerns.

 

That said, I’d like to have a beer with him at a bar sometime. I’m not sure how we’d get along, or if alcohol would be conducive to the topics at hand. I have quibbles about Mr. Assange, but challenging subjects don’t get the attention they need when people simply shut up and sing.

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Kansas City Theater Review: “Anastasia”

 

  • ANASTASIA
  • Starlight Theater – Kansas City, Missouri
  • August 11, 2022

 

Ever since I was a teenager, I’ve been obsessed with the fall of the Romanov dynasty in Russia. Whenever I see works for fiction and literature ignoring the facts, I simply assume it’s a day and go back to the books I have on my shelf like Edvard Radzinsky’s The Last Tsar: The Life and Death of Nicholas II.

 

It’s doubtful that anyone who watched the Starlight Theater’s current production of Anastasia expected a history less. Thankfully, the touring play consistently delivers eye candy worthy of a Faberge egg.

 

The musical from writer Terrence McNsally, composer Stephen Flaherty and lyricist Lynn Ahrens (the trio behind Ragtime) draws its inspiration from 1997 cartoon, so the visual pizazz is to be expected. Thanks to a series of backdrops and projection, the play can change location and time as easily as movies can.

 

The history be damned tale starts in 1917 St. Petersburg, just before the Russian Revolution and quickly moves ahead a decade where the renamed city Leningrad is abuzz because the heir to the Russian throne , the Grand Duchess Anastasia might still be alive.

 

The play never answers how she survived when the rest of her family perished, but the ambitious Deputy Commissioner Gleb (Ben Edquist) sees her as a threat to the fragile order of the new Soviet Union. Meanwhile, two struggling con artists Dmitry (Sam McLellan) and Vlad (Bryan Seastrom) think they can convince the still-grieving Dowager Empress (Gerri Weagraff) that just about any woman living in the streets of Leningrad could pass as her missing granddaughter.

 

The search for the proper imposter proves more difficult than anticipated even though Vlad himself has spent decades posing as an aristocrat. Their most promising candidate is a street sweeper named Anya ((Kyla Stone), who takes to Vlad’s instruction with astonishing ease. Ironically, the ruse may be easier for her because she’s an amnesiac, so the invented history might actually be true.

 

Because she projects the right blend of innocence and latent sophistication, Stone effortlessly anchors this current touring production. Her clear, confident singing voice certainly doesn’t hurt.

 

The late McNally has retooled the storyline of the animated movie in a manner that is both more logical and entertaining. The less said about the cartoon’s version of Rasputin, the better. Gleb makes a lot more sense as an antagonist and Edquist has just enough charm to make viewers tolerate how slimy and single-mined he can be.

 

The romance between Anya and Dmitry feels as if it were copied and pasted from another musical. It’s more fun to watch the wily Vlad woo a countess (Madeline Raube) than it is to watch the leads discover each other.

 

The weather on Tuesday night was pleasant, but occasionally motorcycles reminded me why the outdoors and musicals may not be the best of combinations.

 

At the same time it was rewarding to see the play in the Swope Park surroundings where the scenery could compete with the images on stage.

 

 

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Concert Review: Brian Wilson with Chicago – Kansas City

 

  • BRIAN WILSON with CHICAGO
  • Starlight Theater – Kansas City, Missouri
  • June 20, 2022
Brian Wilson’s 80th Birthday Party or How Chicago Set the Starlight on Fire

 

June 20 would have been s a big day for music even if Brian Wilson and his accomplished band had stayed in California and enjoyed the surf. The composer, arranger and producer of countless hits for the Beach Boys and others turned 80, and the Internet was full of tributes. In one video fellow musicians Elton John, Joe Walsh and even actor Jeff Bridges wished him well. Naturally, the clip played just before he and the band took the stage.

 

Wilson can no longer hit those acrobatic high notes and now gently croons Beach Boy Mike Love’s vocal parts and spends much of his own shows watching on as Darian Sahanaja and a gifted ensemble perform the songs and a few covers in a way that sounds better than Wilson’s compositions might have sounded when he was touring with the Beach Boys in the early 1960s. Thanks to Beach Boys cofounder Al Jardine, his son Matt and decades of improvement in amplification, Wilson’s dense harmonies and complicated arrangements now work live.

 

Sahanaja, who worked with Wilson on resurrecting his lost album SMiLE also knows how to make tunes like “Good Vibrations” and “Heroes and Villains” reach their full depth on stage. The former was recorded in four different studios, and the 12 people on stage ably made it work on a hot clear night.

 

Maybe you don’t need to work the crowd if your songs and your band’s performance are this good.

 

Midway through the set South African Blondie Chaplin who played with the Beach Boys in the 70s and who has teamed up with the Rolling Stones and others roared though “Sail On, Sailor,” “Wild Honey” and “Long Promised Road,” a song by Brian’s younger brother Carl, which provides the tile to a terrific documentary on Wilson that is currently playing on the PBS streaming app. Chaplin’s wailing voice and stinging guitar licks seem like a bolt of lightning has hit the Starlight despite the clear, sunny evening. The energy rose and kept nearly 60-year-old tunes from seeming as if they were preserved in amber.

 

The Jardines both have fine voices, and Matt’s falsettos were the highlight of “Don’t Worry Baby.” Jardine can still plead for Rhonda’s help and sound like he means it.

 

In the documentary, Wilson appears to be happiest and most animated when he’s in the studio coaxing out arrangements. For his birthday show, there were hints when he altered the playlist slightly. As the he led the crowd in the Ronette’s “Be My Baby,” his fondness more than made up for the fact that he doesn’t have the late Ronnie Spector’s superhuman vocal chops.

 

Wilson always gets a standing ovation for “God Only Knows,” but he also seemed to hit his stride later in the set when he broke into a rousing version of “Surfin’ U.S.A.” Wilson had to use a walker to get on and off the stage, but that song almost made you think that he was getting ready to join his late brother Dennis to catch some tasty waves. Dennis was the only Beach Boy who ever got on a board, but Brian still understood that even people from Kansas or Missouri could love the sport through music.

 

Another pleasant surprise can when Chicago’s horn section joined Wilson’s band for “Darlin’.” Trombonist James Pankow, trumpeter Lee Loughnane and sax player Ray Herrman seamlessly fit in the tune, which boded well for the rest of the set.

 

Chicago is celebrating a 55th anniversary of its own, and cofounders Pankow, Loughnane and singer-keyboardist Robert Lamm all seemed elated to be back on stage after covid had sidelined the band for a few years. All are in their mid-70s and perform with a gusto that would make younger men jealous. Pankow, in particular struts around with his trombone as if it were a small harmonica.

 

As a grade schooler, I tried taking up in the instrument and would like to apologize to my teacher and the classmates for the drubbing their ears took from me. It’s a heavy, challenging instrument, and Pankow energetically answered everything guitarist Tony Obrohta threw his way.

 

While the band has had most of its hits with ballads, their live takes on the songs have just enough snap to them to keep the melodies from becoming sleep inducing. One almost wishes that songs like “If You Leave Me Now,” hadn’t downplayed the horns, which are a highlight of the live gigs.

 

Singer-bassist Peter Cetera left the group in the mid-1980s, but Canadian Neil Donnell sings Cetera’s tenor parts with enthusiasm. He used to play in a Chicago tribute band called Brass Transit and adds just enough spontaneity to prevent Cetera’s absence from overwhelming the tunes.

 

Chicago may have sold lots of copies of “Hard to Say I’m Sorry,” but the band really tore into the upbeat coda “Coda.” The same could be said of their takes on “I’m a Man” and “25 or 6 to 4.” The 1969 hit, which was about Lamm’s attempt to finish a song in the middle of the night despite missing two strings on his 12-string guitar, was the second song in the encore and easily proved that some of the band’s best tunes are the rockers.

 

Chicago debuted a new ballad “If This Is Goodbye,” but the highlights were the extended jams. In the middle of the set, drummer Walfredo Reyes Jr. and percussionist Ramon “Ray” Yslas got into a sort of duel as flames played on large screens behind them. The images weren’t an exaggeration.

 

Wilson may have been the birthday boy, but he and Chicago certainly gave back a lot to the crowd that night.

 

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Kansas City Comic Con Debuts as Strong as Gates BBQ Sauce

Kansas City already has some established fan conventions with Naka-Kon (for anime and manga fans) in March, Planet Comicon in May and Crypticon for horror in August. With all of those events happening every year, it’s fair to ask if Kansas City, which has a population of roughly half a million could accommodate yet another con.

If the crowds and the events at this year’s inaugural Kansas City Comic Con two weeks ago are any indication, the area can indeed host more events like this without saturating the market. With lively panels, highly sought after guests, a good location and a seemingly endless amount of well-crafted, imaginative cosplay, it’s no wonder that organizers say that 10,000 people attended.

Kansas City Comic Con, which ran from August 7-9th at Bartle Hall had a daily admission price that was comparable to the daily rate Dragon Con in Atlanta and featured stars like blaxploitation and Quentin Tarantino leading lady Pam Grier, Highlander alumnus Adrian Paul, former Eddie Munster Butch Patrick and Hodor from Game of Thrones, Kristian Nairn.

The event even attracted gaming legend Billy Mitchell, who was unfairly maligned in last summer’s turkey Pixels. Normally it would be flattering if Peter Dinklage played you. There were even some vintage arcade games on hand should anyone wish to match or beat Mitchell’s records.

Billy Mitchell and Twin Galaxies head honcho Walter Day meet fans. The event also attracted The Walking Dead illustrator Tony Moore, Thor and Wolverine veteran Jason Aaron and James O’Barr, the creator of The Crow.

 

Mitchell and Day were on hand for a screening of The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters at Screenland, and Grier introduced Jackie Brown at the nearby Alamo Drafthouse Mainstreet. Grier and Astin each took part in panels and shared candid incidents when filmmaking proved the opposite of glamorous. Astin recalled frequently being in pain from the rigors of making The
Lord of the Rings, while Grier shared some delightfully NSFW moments from the making of Jackie Brown.

The lines for autographs moved with remarkable speed. You could still share a moment with a star, a writer or an artist, and you didn’t have to waste longer than the lifespans of some animalsto get there.

Bartle Hall had plenty of space and adequate lighting and wi-fi. Despite some stray birds who came to take part in the cosplay (even though they wren’t in disguise), it was still a far better venue than the decaying hotel that houses Crypticon in KC. Participants at Kansas City Comic Con didn’t have to scramble to find an adequate room the way they did at Crypticon.

While it was great to have real stars in our midst, the real delight for me was seeing how well people could pass as their favorite movie characters. This woman, for example, was a dead ringer for Charlize Theron in Mad Max: Fury Road.

It would be intriguing to see how Kansas City Comic Con might do in the future. The talent seemed happy there, so others are likely to follow in their footsteps. It’s safe to say that Scarlet Overkill won’t be alone at KCCC next year.

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