Kansas City, MO - American Heartland Theatre in Crown Center has announced its 2009-2010 Season, celebrating the theatre’s 23rd season of productions. AHT continues its tradition of providing variety in live theatre by showcasing 3 Kansas City Premieres, 2 AHT favorites and 1Tony award winning musical in its upcoming season.
Productions include
I’ll Be Back Before Midnight; It’s a Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play; Glorious!; I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change; The Dixie Swim Club and The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee.
This season’s productions will feature local and out-of-state performers. For more information on the theatre, visit
www.ahtkc.com.
I’ll Be Back Before Midnight
September 11, 2009 – October 25, 2009
Written by Peter Colley
Somewhere between Agatha Christie and a Hitchcock thriller, this mystery has the audience laughing out loud one moment and gasping in horror the next. Jan, who’s recovering from a nervous breakdown, and her husband, Greg, rent a remote cabin where she can recuperate. Soon Jan finds herself tormented by strange sounds in the night and visions of a vengeful ghost. Is she having another breakdown? Is someone trying to drive her mad? What happens to this fragile wife as bodies appear and disappear? A first rate thriller and a wonderfully spooky ghost story.
I’ll Be Back Before Midnight has been described by the Toronto Globe & Mail as the most popular stage play in Canadian history. It has been produced in 25 countries, 48 of the 50 states in the U.S. and every province in Canada. It was adapted into the feature film, Illusions.
This exciting yet hilarious thriller is sure to please!
"No amount of praise seems excessive... you’ll either be shivering in your seat or rolling out of it with laughter."
- New York Theatre Voice
"Playwright Peter Colley has skillfully interwoven the laughter
with the horror... an emotional roller coaster ride... with more
twists and turns than a country road!".
- Barrie Banner
"A first rate thriller."
-London Free Press
It's a Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play
November 5, 2009 – December 27, 2009
Adapted by Joe Landry from the screenplay by Frank Capra
The "On the Air" light flickers on and the magic begins. Experience the captivating story of George Bailey as a live radio broadcast, set in the Manhattan studios of radio station WBFR on Christmas Eve, 1946. This heart-tugging drama brings a new dimension to the film classic, yet still captures all the sweetness and joy of the original. Featuring seasonal musical selections by the company and radio sound effects by
AHT favorite Kenny Remmert, this is a most welcome holiday treat, guaranteed to put a lump in your throat and a smile in your heart. This holiday classic for the whole family makes its Kansas City debut at AHT -- don’t miss it!
"One of the best holiday shows around. Fresh and inventive. Highly recommended."
- The Chicago Sun-Times
"Outstanding! It's a wonderful night. Bringing new meaning and fantastic new sound to the heartwarming story of good will and good cheer in the face of adversity. Don't forget to put this inspiring show on your holiday To-Do list."
- KPBS, San Diego
"'It's A Wonderful Life' is indeed wonderful! This instant
must-see show has ascended to the top of the pyramid of holiday productions - the best of an already glorious tradition."
- Lake County News-Sun
"Critic's Pick! Amazing!"
- BackStage LA!
GLORIOUS! - The true story of Florence Foster Jenkins, the worst singer in the world
January 8, 2010 – February 21, 2010
Written by Peter Quilter
A charming musical based on the true story of Florence Foster Jenkins, an eager but hopelessly inept American soprano, who built a whole career out of unintentionally butchering beautiful music. From opera arias to English folk songs, she gathered fans in the process and actually sold out Carnegie Hall. At the pinnacle of her improbable fame, in the mid-1940s, she even charmed real artists like Cole Porter, who may have admired her chutzpah as much as they relished the sheer ludicrousness of her performances. Glorious! is not to be missed.
"People may say that I can't sing but no-one can ever say I didn't sing." That was Florence’s retort to critics and she was right, she certainly did "sing". Ms. Jenkins recorded nine arias on five 78-rpm records in her lifetime, which have been reissued on three CDs. You’ll have to hear it to believe it, but she really is the worst singer in the world. (Clips of this surprising soprano can be found on-line.) But Glorious! really isn’t about singing. It’s about an extraordinary woman who had the guts to follow her dream, and managed to entertain a lot of people along the way.
Quilter’s highly enjoyable musical about the unlikeliest of "American Idols" is currently playing in a total of 21 countries and 13 languages and, starting in January 2010, this "glorious" production will make its Kansas City debut on the AHT stage!
"A charming night out which reminds us all what it is to dream."
-CurtainUp
"A blissfully funny hit!"
-Daily Telegraph
"A tantalizing glimpse of a remarkable woman who proved that with no talent, a blithe spirit and loads of money, anyone can get to Carnegie Hall!"
-Stage Noise
I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change
March 5, 2010 – April 18, 2010
Book and Lyrics by Joe DiPietro, Music by Jimmy Roberts
I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change celebrates the universal theme of love and pokes fun at the life experiences we've all either gone through or will go through. I Love You explores every aspect of relationships - the joys of dating, romance, marriage, lovers, babies, husbands, wives...and in-laws. Always funny and fresh, I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change is well-suited for the new couple looking to see what life's going to be like or for the husband and wife that have been through it all and still say "I love you, you're perfect, don't change."
When the off-Broadway run of I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change closed in the summer of 2008, it had played 5,003 performances and 20 previews, an astonishingly long run by any measure, but downright historic for an off-Broadway musical (and second only to the run of "The Fantasticks"). Its 12 year run is a true testament to the enduring charm, wit and wonder of this musical. Returning to the American Heartland Theatre 12 years after its Kansas City premiere, I Love You is
back and better than ever.
"A great date show. A perfect mating dance."
-The Star-Ledger
"It’s funny, it’s witty. Hip antics for the age of safe sex."
-The New York Times
"Hilarious! The most entertaining show on or off Broadway!"."
-Gannett Newspapers
The Dixie Swim Club
May 7, 2010 – June 20, 2010
Written by Jessie Jones, Nicholas Hope, Jamie Wooten
Five Southern women, whose friendship began on their college swim team, set aside a long weekend each year to recharge that friendship. Free from men, kids, and jobs, they meet every August at the same beach cottage on North Carolina's Outer Banks to laugh, catch up, and meddle in each other's lives. The Dixie Swim Club, focuses on four of those weekends over a span of thirty-three years and demonstrates the power of teamwork and the strength of love. This is the story of five
unforgettable women – a hilarious and touching comedy about friendships that last forever. Making its Kansas City premiere, The Dixie Swim Club is sure to delight. Its cast of five finely-drawn characters will have you rooting for each to succeed and survive.
"The next Steel Magnolias"
- A! Magazine For The Arts
The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee
July 14, 2010 – August 22, 2010
Music and Lyrics by William Finn, Book by Rachel Sheinkin, Conceived by Rebecca Feldman
This adorable tale of six young people in the throes of puberty, overseen by grown-ups who barely managed to escape childhood themselves, will have audiences in stitches. The show’s Tony Award-winning creative team has created the unlikeliest of hit musicals about the unlikeliest of heroes for whom a spelling bee is the one place they can stand out and fit in at the same time. This quirky yet charming group of misfits and outsiders learns that winning isn’t everything and that losing doesn’t necessarily make you a loser. Spelling Bee is a light-hearted, feel-good show that prompts such easy to spell adjectives as charming, sweet, endearing and quirky.
"If you bring tissues to The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, you'll be using them strictly to wipe away tears of laughter as you root for the spellers"
-Barrington Stage Review
"Can you spell irresistible?"
-The New York Times
"It is that rarity of rarities; a super-smart musical that is also
a bona-fide crowd pleaser"
-The Wall Street Journal
For reservations and/or information on 2009-2010 season tickets, call 816-842-9999, visit the box office in Crown Center, or visit
www.ahtkc.com. Groups of 12 or more may call 816-842-0202 for reservations (group discounts are available).
Tuesday through Thursday evening performances begin at 7:30pm. Friday and Saturday evening performances begin at 8:00pm. There are also select Sunday evening performances and select matinee & twilight performances throughout therun. Visit
scheduled for each show.
