Wichita’s theater scene heats up

As the summer heats up, so does Wichita’s theater scene.

Music Theatre Wichita, the city’s premier regional Broadway home, is launching its 45th whirlwind summer of five shows squeezed into 10 weeks, including the premiere of the new “Nice Work If You Can Get It” and one of the first regional productions of “Mamma Mia!” allowed the freedom of its own artistic vision.

This year’s theme, says longtime MTW producing artistic director Wayne Bryan, is “Thank you for the music” (a sly nod to ABBA-flavored “Mamma Mia!,” of course), which “celebrates the innovative composers who changed the face of musical theater,” from George Gershwin to Rodgers and Hammerstein to Andrew Lloyd Webber.

Also this summer, Kechi Playhouse is crafting its 34th season as a tribute to audience favorites.

“I like to do new works,” says Kechi founder Misty Maynard, who jokes that she’s been spearheading this community theater for more than half her life. “But, I tell you, a lot of plays written these days aren’t quite right for our audience. They don’t want to be shocked and they don’t want to ponder, they just want to laugh. I looked through our archives to bring back audience favorites we haven’t done for 10 or 12 years, like ‘Charley’s Aunt.’ And that has generated a lot of excitement.”

And Wichita Children’s Theatre & Dance Center, which has been around for 69 years, is celebrating its 25th season of summer shows: one Broadway musical performed by aspiring teen actors for all audiences and three shows by adult professionals geared to young children.

“We are the only one left doing participatory theater for children 2 to 8,” says Children’s Theatre executive director Monica Flynn. “We are encouraging and creating the audiences of tomorrow.”

Meanwhile, one of Wichita’s newest theatrical entities – DZ Productions – is planning two musicals, including the premiere of Broadway’s hot ticket last year, “Hedwig and the Angry Inch,” now that co-founder Dalton Zogleman has just graduated from Rutgers University. He and his business partner (and mother), Deanne Zogleman of Newman University’s music department, had been doing only one show a year at Crown Uptown Theatre while he was still in school.

Overall, local theater groups are offering nearly 30 shows during the three months of summer, from full-fledged Broadway musicals to spoofy original melodramas to intimate musical cabarets, from intense dramas to classic comedies to even participatory romps for children.

Here’s a look at what’s scheduled. As always, dates may change at the last minute.

Professional

Music Theatre Wichita

“Nice Work If You Can Get It” (June 15-19) – Classic Gershwin songs (“’S Wonderful,” “Let’s Call the Whole Thing Off,” “Lady Be Good,” “But Not for Me”) propel this frothy 2012 Broadway romp about unlikely romances between bootleggers and society folk in 1927. A Wichita premiere.

“Disney’s Beauty and the Beast” (June 29-July 3) – Based on the classic French fairy tale and the acclaimed 1991 Disney animation, this “Tale as old as time” about the unlikely pairing of a spunky village girl and a spoiled, cursed prince features Alan Menkin hits like “Be Our Guest,” “If I Can’t Love Her,” “Human Again” and the title tune. Last presented by MTW in 2004.

“Oklahoma!” (July 13-17) – Rodgers and Hammerstein’s first collaboration turned the American musical into an art form in 1943 by seamlessly integrating music, dance and drama into a tale about an eager cowboy courtin’ an independent gal in 1906 just as the Oklahoma territory was becoming a state. “Oh, What a Beautiful Morning,” “People Will Say We’re in Love” and the rousing title tune are now ingrained in our culture. Last at MTW in 2003.

“Jesus Christ Superstar” (July 27-31) – After 26 years, MTW is reviving this once controversial but still powerful 1970 Andrew Lloyd Webber/Tim Rice retelling of the last days of Jesus through intense, eclectic songs like “I Don’t Know How to Love Him,” “Everything’s Alright,” “Can We Start Again, Please” and the rousing title tune.

“Mamma Mia!” (Aug. 10-14, 19-21) – New staging by MTW (one of the first allowed after a 14-year Broadway run) distinguishes this ABBA-flavored romantic romp about a single mom living on a picturesque Greek island whose daughter is determined to find her father before her wedding day so he can walk her down the aisle. Repurposed songs include “Dancing Queen,” “Lay All Your Love on Me,” “The Winner Takes It All” and the title tune.

Details: Performances in Century II Concert Hall, 225 W. Douglas; shows at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday-Thursday, 8 p.m. Friday, 2 and 8 p.m. Saturday, 2 and 7 p.m. Sunday. Season tickets (five shows): $260-$120 evenings, $220-$114 matinees. Individual show tickets: $64-$28 evenings, $58-$26 matinees. Call 316-265-3107. Info: www.mtwichita.com

Roxy’s Downtown

“Fly By Night” (June 17-July 16) – This 2011 rock musical is a winsome love triangle involving a melancholy sandwich maker bored by his humdrum life and two entrancing sisters he meets during the New York blackout of 1965.

“Beehive: The ’60s Musical” – (Aug. 12-Sept. 4) Back again by popular demand is this all-woman show tracing the evolution of the turbulent 1960s through its music, from the fun times of “The Name Game” and “One Fine Day” to the unrest of “The Beat Goes On” and “You Don’t Own Me” to women’s empowerment with “Natural Woman” and “Society’s Child.”

Details: Performances at 412½ E. Douglas; 8 p.m. Friday-Saturday; “Beehive” also has 2 p.m. Sunday matinees. Tickets: Show only $30 (premium), $27 (general), $20 (cheap seats). Dinner available: $15 extra (doors open at 6:30 p.m., food service 6:30-7:30). Call 316-265-4400.

DZ Productions

“Edges” (July 21-23) – Coming-of-age song cycle by Benj Pasek and Justin Pauls (creators of “A Christmas Story,” “Dogfight”) about the trials and tribulations of moving into adulthood in search of love, commitment and meaning.

“Hedwig and the Angry Inch” (Aug 26-28) – Wichita premiere of the ground-breaking, hilarious and poignant four-time Tony Award-winning glam-rock musical about a transgender rock ’n’ roll goddess who is determined to find her place in the world despite a botched sex-change operation.

Details: Performances at Crown Uptown Theatre, 3207 E. Douglas; “Edges” at 8 p.m. Thursday-Saturday; “Hedwig” at 8 p.m. Thursday, 7 and 10 p.m. Friday, 8 p.m. Saturday. Tickets: $12 adults, $10 students; available at the door.

Dinner Theatre

Mosley Street Melodrama

“Sedgwick County Bandstand” (May 26-July 16) – Original melodrama by Carol Hughes that spoofs “American Bandstand” and all those “Dancing With the Stars” contests.

“Bite it, Wichita 2! The Prequel, or How Julia Got Her Gravy Back” (July 21-Sept. 3) –Written by J.R. Hurst, this original romp tackles television food networks and America’s new obsession with persnickety cuisine.

Details: Performances at 234 N. Mosley in Old Town; shows at 7:50 p.m. Thursday-Saturday (doors open at 6, dinner 6:15-7:30). Tickets: Dinner/show, $27 adults, $23 seniors 60-plus, $21 children under 12; show only: $17 all ages. Call 316-263-0222. Info: www.mosleystreet.com

Non-equity

Wichita Community Theatre

“Breaking the Code” (June 8-19) – Hugh Whitemore’s 1986 drama is about eccentric British mathematician Alan Turing, who was a key player in breaking Germany’s Enigma Code during World War II and helping pioneer computers, despite being marginalized and ultimately prosecuted for being gay.

“Outside Mullingar” (July 13-24) – John Patrick Shanley’s drama, nominated for a Tony Award as best play of 2014, tells of the poignant relationship between two lonely, middle-aged Irish farm neighbors: A shy man who is afraid to tip his toe into the dating pool and the woman who has been pining for him for years.

[title of show] (Aug. 10-14) – Jeff Bowen and Hunter Bell’s 2008 ironically titled, Tony Award-nominated, tongue-in-cheek musical is about a composer, a lyricist and their two actress pals who scramble to put together a new musical in time for a festival. This clever how-to show-within-a-show becomes its own creation.

Details: Performances at 258 N. Fountain; shows at 8 p.m. Thursday-Saturday. Tickets: $12 adults, $10 seniors/military/students (special $8 tickets on opening nights). Call 316-686-1282.

Kechi Playhouse

“Over the River and Through the Woods” (June 3-26) – Joe DiPietro’s thoughtful comedy about family and commitment when a bright young man is offered a career-changing opportunity across the country and his grandparents seek to keep him from leaving by introducing him to a girl they hope will make him stay.

“Charley’s Aunt” (July 1-31) – Brandon Thomas’ classic 1892 farce about three Oxford University students who persuade one in their circle to dress as the aunt of one to play the proper and necessary chaperone when their girlfriends come to call.

“Tons of Money” (Aug. 5-28) – Alan Ackybourn updates the classic 1922 Will Evans/Arthur Valentine British farce about a hard-up inventor who pretends to be his cousin to escape the clutches of his creditors.

“Moon Over the Brewery” (Sept. 2-25) – Bruce Graham’s touching, gently humorous coming-of-age tale of a precocious teen girl with an imaginary friend in a dreary coal-mining town whose single mom, an eccentric artist who paints at night with help from a miner’s helmet light, tries to find a man to be the anchor of their lives and comes up with an unlikely choice.

“Proof” (Sept. 30-Oct. 23) – David Auburn’s 2000 drama, which won both the Tony as best play and a Pulitzer Prize, revolves around the daughter of a recently deceased mathematical genius with mental problems who finds herself in fear of following in her father’s dark footsteps when his graduate assistant discovers a game-changing proof about prime numbers among the old man’s papers.

Details: Performances at 100 E. Kechi Road, Kechi. Shows at 8 p.m. Friday-Saturday and 2:30 p.m. Sunday. Tickets: $13 Friday-Saturday, $12 Sunday matinee. Call 316-744-2152.

Guild Hall Players

“The Mountaintop” (June 2-5) – Katori Hall’s stirring look at Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in Memphis in 1968 won the Olivier Award for best new play. Directed by Darian Leatherman, featuring Arietta Austin and David Williams.

“Ring of Fire” (July 28-31) –2006 jukebox musical created by Richard Maltby Jr. and William Meade using nearly 40 of Johnny Cash’s classics like “I’ve Been Everywhere,” “Folsom Prison Blues,” “I Walk the Line” and the title song to tell a timeless American story of struggle, misadventure, love, faith and redemption.

Details: Performances in St. James Episcopal Church, 3750 E. Douglas; shows at 8 p.m. Thursday-Saturday and 7 p.m. Sunday. Tickets: $12, $7 students. Call 316-683-5686. Info: www.stjameswichita.org

WSR Signature Theatre

“1776” (July 2-3) –Now an annual patriotic tradition for Signature Theatre, this Sherman Edwards/Peter Stone musical retelling of events surrounding the crafting of the Declaration of Independence won the Tony Award as best musical of 1972.

“Butterflies Are Free” (Aug. 19-21) – Leonard Gershe’s beloved, Tony Award-winning 1969 comedy-drama about a blind man whose controlling mother disapproves of his relationship with a free-spirited hippie was turned into a hit 1972 movie with Edward Albert and Goldie Hawn.

Details: Performances in Scottish Rite Auditorium, 332 E. First St. “1776” at 8 p.m. Saturday and 7 p.m. Sunday; “Butterflies” at 8 p.m. Friday-Saturday at 2 p.m. Sunday. Tickets: $10-$18 through Select-A-Seat at www.selectaseat.com or call Leroy at 316-648-9043.

Children’s Theatre

Wichita Children’s Theatre & Dance Center

Heather Muller Black Box Theatre

“Smokey Joe’s Cafe” (July 28-31) – Broadway’s longest-running musical revue is a celebration of the music of Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller, who wrote such classics as “Jailhouse Rock,” “Spanish Harlem,” “Fools Fall in Love,” “Poison Ivy,” “Love Potion No. 9” and “Stand by Me.”

Details: Performances in Black Box Theatre, 201 Lulu; shows at 7 p.m. Thursday-Friday, 8:30 p.m. Saturday and and 2 p.m. Sunday. Tickets: $8.50; premium, $12.50 (group discounts available). Call 316-262-2282. Info: www.wctdc.com

Picnic Theatre

“The Musical Adventures of Flat Stanley Jr.” (June 16-17 & 24) – Jeff Brown’s popular kids’ book about a 10-year-old boy who is flattened when a bulletin board above his bed falls on him has become a “flat-tastic” musical as Stanley travels the world – stamped, posted and canceled from Hollywood to Honolulu – to try to become three-dimensional again.

“Hansel & Gretel” (July 7-8) – Hansel and Gretel get lost in the woods and stumble upon the Witch’s ginger- bread house and are so hungry they begin eating. The silly, near-sighted Witch decides to teach the naughty children a lesson about how to treat other people’s things.

“Jack and the Beanstalk” (July 14-15 & 22) – Times are rough so Jack’s mom sends him out to sell the family cow so they’ll have money for food. He sells the cow to a local peddler for beans — well, you know the rest. He almost gets caught by the Giant, but the Giant’s housekeeper saves him and helps trick the Giant into giving Jack the Golden Goose.

Details: Performed by Wichita Children’s Theatre’s adult company for youngsters age 2 to 8 with audience participation. Performances at 201 Lulu; call for show times. Tickets: $6; special pizza shows, $7.50 (group discounts available). Call 316-262-2282. Info: www.wctdc.com

This story was originally published June 3, 2016 at 2:49 PM with the headline "Wichita’s theater scene heats up."