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Kansas City Repertory Theatre
50th Anniversary Concludes with Innovative Staging of New Rock Musical Stillwater
Featuring words by Broadway writer Nathan Tysen
and music byacclaimed local band Joe’s Pet Project
May 13ththrough May 24th insidethe Spencer Theatre Scene Shop
in a developmental production
Kansas City, MO (April 28, 2015)— Kansas City Repertory Theatre concludes its 50th anniversary season witha developmental production of Stillwater, a new rock musicalstaged by the Rep’s Artistic Director Eric Rosen. Stillwater is an angst-filled love letter to a generation rebounding from the economic and cultural shocks of the last ten years. Music and Lyrics are by Salina KS native Nathan Tysen, lyricist of the spring 2016 Broadway-bound musical Tuck Everlasting and the anticipated adaptation of Amelie premiering at Berkeley Rep this fall. Stillwater features acclaimed Midwestern band Joe’s Pet Project, performing a rock, pop and alt-countryscore. Stillwater tells the story of two love triangles intersecting: six unbridled twenty-somethings: a drug dealer, his recovering addict ex-girlfriend, and the neighbor who loves her; plus an indie musician on the brink of stardom, his unfaithful girlfriend, and her desperate one-night stand. Performances run May 13ththrough 24th, presented in a one-of-a-kind performance space - the first ever production inside the Spencer Theatre Scene Shop.
The ensemble cast, drawn locally and across the country, includesDavid George, Curt Hansen, F. Michael Haynie, Shanna Jones,Ryan McCall,andEmily Shackelford. Joe’s Pet Project members include: Nathan Tysen, Lance Gilchrist, Jason Hammond, John Hobson, andRyan McCall.
Performances begin Wednesday, May 13 and run through Sunday, May 24, in a specially constructed theater in the scene shop of KC Rep’s Spencer Theatre on the UMKC campus.High res rehearsal photos can be found here. Appropriate for ages 17 +. Critical reviews are not invited.
New Works Revealed
May 15, 2015 @ 8pm
Stillwater performance to begin at 9:15pm
Get a FREE first peek at the brand new World Premiere plays that will be featured in our 2015-2016 season.
Join us to hear short excerpts of Blueprints to Freedom; An Ode to Bayard Rustin, Roof of the World, Fire in Dreamland, and Lot’s Wife, the four outstanding new plays featured in the KC Rep’s 2015-2016 season. Hear these scenes come to life, and don’t miss the chance to be the first in Kansas City to get a sneak peek at these incredible World Premieres!
Journey with us from the heart of the civil rights movement, to the unmapped mountains of 20th Century Afghanistan, to Coney Island’s battered shore, to the rehearsal of a parlor room noir mystery drama. These new plays pulse with searing love stories, humor, intrigue, and surprising revelations as past and present collide to unearth powerful insights into our current world of daily life and politics.
We’re thrilled to present the work of powerhouse American playwrights, Michael Benjamin Washington, D. Tucker Smith, Rinne Groff, and KC Rep’s Artistic Director, Eric Rosen.
About the Artists
Nathan Tysen (Nick / Playwright / Vocals / Acoustic Guitar/ Harmonica)KC Rep: debut.Nathan has been writing and performing with Joe’s Pet Project for over ten years. In 2014, he was awarded both the Edward Kleban prize for most promising lyricist and the Fred Ebb award for excellence in musical theatre songwriting (Co-won with composer Chris Miller). Work with Miller includes the Broadway-bound adaptation of Tuck Everlasting, The Burnt Part Boys, Fugitive Songs, The Mysteries of Harris Burdick, two circuses for Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey, and a song for the revue Stars of David. Nathan is currently working on an adaptation of Jean-Pierre Jeunet's filmAmélie with Dan Messé of the band Hem and Craig Lucas (Opening at Berkeley Rep this summer). TV: Songs for Sesame Street and The Electric Company. Originally from Salina, KS, Nathan now lives in Brooklyn. Education: MFA: NYU, BFA: Missouri State Univ.
Eric Rosen(Director)Eric was the founding Artistic Director of Chicago’s About Face Theatre (AFT) from 1995 to 2008, and is a writer, director and producer. Original projects include Venice (KC Rep, Center Theatre Group-LA, Public Theater-NYC, “Best Musical of 2010”– TIME Magazine, original cast recording-Ghost Light); Wedding Play (Steppenwolf/AFT, Jefferson nomination); Winesburg, Ohio (Steppenwolf/AFT-Jeff Award, Philadelphia’s Arden Theatre Company—Barrymore Award, KC Rep); Clay (AFT, Lookingglass Theatre-Chicago, Center Theatre Group, KC Rep, Lincoln Center/CT3-Drama Desk Nomination, Jeff Award); and Undone, Whitman and Dream Boy (Jeff Award, several productions across the country). In addition to Venice, other KC Rep directing credits include: Clay; Winesburg, Ohio; world premiere of A Christmas Story, The Musical! (a hit musical on Broadway—three Tony nominations, including Best Musical); Cabaret; August: Osage County; The Whipping Man; Pippin; Death of a Salesman; Romeo and Juliet; Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike, a critically-acclaimed production of Ayad Akhtar’s The Who & The Whatand, most recently, Hair: Retrospection. Additional directing credits include productions at Lincoln Center, Center Theatre Group, Steppenwolf, Goodman, Centerstage, Alliance, Lookingglass, Chicago Shakespeare, Hartford Stage, 5th Avenue, Prince, Cincinnati, Melbourne (Australia) and workshops at Sundance, O’Neill, Playwrights Horizons, and the Public Theater. He has developed and produced over 40 world premieres, including Doug Wright’s Pulitzer Prize- and Tony Award-winning I am My Own Wife and work by Mary Zimmerman, Frank Galati, Stephen Flaherty, Moisés Kaufman, David Cale and The Civilians, among others. He holds a doctorate in performance studies from Northwestern University and serves on the Board of Directors of Theatre Communications Group, the national organization of non-profit theatres.
David George (Wilbur)KC Rep: debut. TV/Film: “Man Without A Face,” “Last Light,” “Maverick,” “Volcano,” “The Wonder Years,” “Lord Of Illusions,” among others. Mr. George is a former touring guitarist with Legend John Fogerty. He currently writes, records and performs with his Kansas City based band A Crooked Mile. Albums: So You (Bonus Single EP) washandpicked by Kansas City Star as the Best Release of 2014; Radiant Man(UniGlobe Records)is due out in 2015. David George & A Crooked Mile have shared the stage with The Lumineers, Jacob Dylan, Styx, Art Alexakis, REO Speedwagon and Don Felder (Eagles) as well as having performed at Boulevardia,The Crossroads Music Festival, MidCoast Takeover, South By Southwest, and The Folk Alliance Conference. Education: BA Film and TV, UMKC.
Lance Gilchrist(Drums / Percussion / Vocals)KC Rep: debut. Lance dove headfirst into music at age 4, beginning with piano, violin and guitar, eventually finding the perfect fit behind the drums. A founding member of Joe’s Pet Project, his inspiration draws from countless genres including pop, rock, metal, and blues. Influenced heavily by John Bonham, Vinnie Coliauta and Steve Gadd, Lance is most at home when settling back into a groove with his long-time partner in rhythm, Jason Hammond. Over the past 25 years, he has played in numerous bands including Downside Up, The Kristie Stremel Band, and Bitter Sane.
Jason Hammond(bass)KC Rep: debut. Always figuring he would be a drummer, Jason was persuaded by his fourth grade music teacher to try the bass for a year. All things strings came naturally. He has studied classical guitar as well as piano. Starting in his first band alongside fellow JPP member Lance Gilchrist, there was no turning back. He has traveled with numerous bands including, Rogue, Bitter Sane, The Blades, Jack Trice and the Road Dogs, The Kristie Stremel Band, and JPP. He has been presented with the IAJE award for outstanding musicianship, and is a Kansas honors scholar. Jason is a proud husband and father to wife Melanie, and boys Miles and Cale. He currently resides in Salina, KS where he is general manager for Harley Davidson Honda of Salina.
Curt Hansen (Charlie) KC Rep: debut. Broadway: Hairspray, Next to Normal. First National Tour: Wicked (Fiyero), Next to Normal (Gabe) Regional: Parade (CTG), Girlfriend (Actors Theatre Louisville). TV/Film: Nickelodeon's “Big Time Rush” (Dak Zevon), “The Good Wife.”
F. Michael Haynie (Wyatt)KC Rep: debut. Broadway:Wicked, Holler If Ya Hear Me. Off Broadway:Deadland (Jasper), Carrie (MCC), Dogfight (2nd Stage). Film/TV: Peter Pan Live (NBC), Not Fade Away (Paramount), "Us & Them" (Fox), "Morons" (co-writer/creator).
John Hobson (guitar)KC Rep: debut. John picked up the guitar at age 10. He is self-taught by way of Chuck Berry, the Beatles, and Led Zeppelin, via his dad’s record collection. He started his first band in high school, which led to several other bands in college at Kansas University. John is a lover of all things rock. He has a passion for good guitar tone and the equipment that delivers it. He builds custom pedalboards. He loves to experiment both live and in the studio and has a propensity towards improvisation. John is an experienced live sound engineer, having mixed dozens of touring acts. John also uses his studio engineering skills with Joe’s Pet Project, as well as other local acts. Originally from Salina, KS, he currently resides in Stillwater, OK, where he is a commercial construction manager. In addition to Joe’s Pet Project, he plays with the alt-country band Northcutt, and the Val Gladden Band that plays funk and soul. He also shared his riffing, to Lawrence native Kristie Stremel, on her last studio effort “Songwriter”.
Shanna Jones(Martha) KC Rep: Hair: Retrospection, Romeo and Juliet, Santaland Diaries (2013, 2014). New York: Phaedra’s Cabaret, Undone, and The Fall. Regional: Les Miserables (Pioneer Theatre Company); Romeo and Juliet (Utah Shakespearean Festival); Saturday’s Voyeur (Salt Lake Acting Company). Ms. Jones has spent the last two years playing with her band in venues throughout New York City and across the United States. Education: BA, the Actor Training Program at the University of Utah (2008). shannajonesmusic.com AEA Member
Ryan McCall (JD / Music Director / Vocals / Keyboards) KC Rep: debut. Ryan is a founding member of Joe’s Pet Project, playing with the band since 2001 Ryan is currently working as the Music Director for the Theatre Department at the University of Kansas. KU credits: Music Director:Anything Goes, Merrily We Roll Along, Into the Woods, My Fair Lady, The Adding Machine, Flora, The Red Menace, Kiss Me Kate, Elegies for Angels, Punks and Raging Queens Composer:Man Equals Man, Summer and Smoke, The Beaux Stratagem, Noah’s Art, A Midsummer Night’s Dream (North American Premier in its original pronunciation) Chicago Theater After Dark Award for Best New Score 2000 The Sound of One. Ryan has worked professionally with Kansas City Ballet, Second City, Improv Olympic, Dolphinback Theatre Company, and the Giordano Dance Company. He has taught songwriting workshops at the Kansas, Florida and International Thespian Conferences. Ryan has also toured the country playing dueling piano bars, and because of it has an encyclopedic knowledge of American pop music. Ryan is the senior music director for Lovewell Institute for the Creative Arts, an arts program dedicated to teaching young artists how to write for musical theater. Ryan is originally from Salina, KS.
Emily Shackelford (Piper) KC Rep: Hair: Retrospection,The Foreigner, Cabaret. Regional:Nunsense II, Quality Street, Secret Garden (Okoboji Summer Theatre). Local: Afflicted: Daughters of Salem, School House Rock Live, Seussical, Spring Awakening, The Wiz, Lucky Duck (including the New York production at New Victory Theatre), Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day (The Coterie); Kiss Me Kate ,1776 (Musical Theater Heritage); Eating Raoul (Egads! Theatre Company); Aladdin (Starlight at the Kauffman Center); Bingo! The Winning Musical (American Heartland Theatre); Pride and Prejudice (Metropolitan Ensemble Theatre); Death of Cupid (Written and Directed by Kyle Hatley, The Living Room Theatre) Education:BFA in Theatre Arts, Stephens College. AEA Member. Follow her on instagram @emilyareti
The design and production team includes Grace Hudson and Michael Schall(Scenic Design), Michelle Harvey (Lighting Design), Tyler Wilson(Costume Design), Jeffrey Keirsey(Sound Design), Jeffrey Cady (Projection Design) and Brooke Redler (Production Stage Manager).
Ticket Information
All tickets to Stillwaterare $20 to the general public and $10 for KC Rep Season Subscribers. Tickets can be purchased through the KC Rep Box Office at 816-235-2700 or online at For group ticket sales, please call 816-235-6122. All seating is General Admission.
About Kansas City Repertory Theatre
Now celebrating its 50th anniversary, Kansas City Repertory Theatre, at the heart of a great theatre town, is one of the nation's oldest and most respected regional theaters. Lauded by The Wall Street Journal, TIME Magazine, Variety and the Toronto Sun,KC Rep produces theatrical excellence, creating and sharing stories at the center of our nation’s creative crossroads. KC Rep advances the art form while cultivating passionate audiences, artists, and advocates to invest in our region’s creative future. Through its work at Spencer Theatre, where it serves as the professional theatre in residence at the University of Missouri-Kansas City (UMKC), and Copaken Stage located in downtown Kansas City, KC Rep builds community by connecting people through its productions and outreach. KC Rep employs more than 250 professional artists, technicians and administrators, and serves more than 100,000 patrons and 12,000 school children annually. Kansas City Repertory Theatre is led by Artistic Director Eric Rosen and Executive Director Angela Lee Gieras.
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2015-2016 Season At A Glance
Kansas City Repertory Theatre
Kansas City Repertory Theatre ticket office 816.235.2700
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Sunday in the Park with George
September 11- October 4, 2015| Atkins Auditorium at the Nelson-Atkins Museum | Music & Lyrics by Stephen Sondheim | Book by James Lapine | Directed by Eric Rosen
Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine’sPulitzer-Prizewinning masterpieceis an evocative exploration intothe importance of heritage and legacy. Inspired bythe life of Georges Seurat and his famous painting “ASunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte”and featuring aGrammy Award-winning soundtrack,this unforgettable musical merges past and presentinto beautiful, poignant truths about life, love and thecreation of art.
WORLD PREMIERE
Blueprints to Freedom: An Ode to Bayard Rustin
October 16- November 15, 2015 | Copaken Stage| Written by Michael Benjamin Washington|Directed by Phylicia Rashad | Co-production with La Jolla Playhouse
In the political and racial upheaval of 1963, Bayard Rustin – the brilliant proponent of non-violent civil resistance – orchestrates an unprecedented march on Washington D.C. Distanced from the Civil Rights movement by both internal and external forces, Rustin grapples with his last chance for professional restoration and spiritual redemption as he masterminds "a tribute to the ancestors".
The Santaland Diaries
December 3- December 24, 2015 | Copaken Stage | Written by David Sedaris | Directed by Eric Rosen
David Sedaris’ hysterical tale of elfin’ woe is ahilarious send-up of his brief, misguided career as a Macy’self. Featuring an uproarious soundtrack of lively Christmasmusic, The Santaland Diaries shows us the other side ofwhat it’s like to work at Santaland!
A Christmas Carol
November 20 - December 26, 2015 | GRAND RE-OPENING of Spencer Theatre | Written by Charles Dickens |Directed by Jerry Genochio
KC’s favorite holiday tradition is back for its 35th season, presented in the magnificent new Spencer Theatre! This ripping-good telling of the classic story of Ebenezer Scrooge continues to remind us what’s really worth celebrating — at the holidays or any time!
The Diary of Anne Frank
January 29 – February 21, 2016 | Spencer Theatre | Written by Frances Goodrich & Albert Hackett | Newly Adapted by Wendy Kesselman |Directed by Marissa Wolf
In this grippingTony Award-nominated adaptationby Wendy Kesselman from the original stage play,newly discovered writings from the diary of AnneFrank and actual survivor accounts are interwoven totell the chilling story of the lives of people persecutedunder Nazi rule. This adaptation for a new generationsensitively confronts the true horrors of the Holocaustthrough the eyes of a thoughtful young woman.
WORLD PREMIERE
Roof of the World
February 26 – March 27, 2016 | Copaken Stage | Written by D. Tucker Smith|Directed by Eric Rosen
This pulse-pounding workby one of America’s hottestyoung playwrightstells the true story of two worldpowers who sought to claim a new frontier — TheRoof of the World. Part spy thriller and part DowntonAbbey, filled with suspense and romance, this brilliantnew drama is a thrilling and imaginative journey.
The Fantasticks
March 18 – April 10, 2016| Spencer Theatre | Book and Lyrics by Tom Jones| Music by Harvey Schmidt | Directed by Jerry Genochio
Ahilarious and captivatingmusical journey that tells the triumphant story of two young lovers, their meddling fathers, and the wall that divides them. With its memorable soundtrack that has touched generations of musical theatre audiences, this timeless classic will be brought to new life on KC Rep’s Spencer stage.
WORLD PREMIERE
New Works Festival
Presented in rotating repertory
April 22- May 22, 2016| Copaken Stage | Curated by Marissa Wolf
Fire in Dreamland
Written by Rinne Goff | Directed by Marissa Wolf