Eclipsed by Danai Gurira at the Unicorn Theatre

I knew "Eclipsed" was going to be brilliant, and difficult to watch, but I was not prepared. This story sits in your bones and makes you consider all the wars women fight across the world, and the fights the women of Liberia have had to wage.

The story follows the wives of a commanding officer. The wives were taken during raids, and the play pulls no punches regarding murder, rape or war crimes. What is different is all of the story is told from the point of view of the women, women whose very identities and names are wiped out due to war and man's whims. All of the actresses were amazing, but Teisha M. Bankston was a powerhouse. It was amazing to watch her transformations.

Hand to God at The Unicorn 9.8.16

Last night I watched Hand to God by Robert Askins at The Unicorn Theatre. The Unicorn's calling card is a play or musical with heart that has been put into a blender with some methamphetamines. Everything is just a little off base. In this case, a puppet has become possessed in a church basement and has taken over a young boy named Jason (Bob Linebarger).

I don't know where Mr. Bob Linebarger has been, but the boy needs help and to do these things more often. He plays not only himself, but the psychotic puppet Tyrone, to perfection. It is scary good. There is a scene, I can't ruin it for you but it is worth all the prices of admission from now until the end of time, where Jessica (Mariem Diaz) is playing puppets with Jason. Jessica wrangles her puppet Jolene while Jason wrangles Tyrone. The audience was dying. We couldn't stop. We couldn't hardly let the actors finish their scene. It got awkward how long they just stood there. Just go watch that scene. I swear on the graffiti wall of a church basement.

Now I think Pastor Greg (Marc Liby) is just adorable. I think he's just the cutest since I saw him in Hands on a Hardbody. He can hold his own as the relatively normal force in this cast of crazies. Whenever he is on the docket, watch him. He's very changeable, so it's hard to recognize him from show to show. I love him.

Heidi Van (Margery) I have not seen act before. I was an idiot and didn't see Marilyn/God at the Fishtank. She is an actor, creator, producer and extremely well respected in Kansas City. She's also fucking AHMAZING. Sweet lord the scene in the office with Matthew J. Lindblom (Timmy) also had the audience rolling. Margery could have been a character written off as a caricature, but Heidi Van is too much of an expert for that. Margery had depth and tilted the show around her. And for someone to steal attention from a demonic god damn puppet is a masterpiece of epic proportions.

Kansas City. Only in Kansas City. My friend turned to me and said "Hey, wasn't Matthew J. Lindblom in that rap musical about Lupis?" Yes. Only in Kansas City. One month you're in scrubs rapping about Lupis for KC Fringe, the next month you're strutting around with some of KC's finest in the most hilarious show of the season. You've made it, kid.

The sets and puppets were incredible. Emily Swenson and Sarah White created something living and changeable that was a masterclass in small space design and quick change. All scene designers need to check out the work they did for the quick changes. It was amazing and innovative.

This one can't be missed. Don't be an idiot. Go see it. You'll never look at puppets the same way again.

The Whale - The Unicorn Theatre

The Whale was beautifully done and masterfully written. It was difficult to stomach, at times, so be prepared if you have a weak gag reflex. One of the audience members next to me almost lost it during on of the more graphic scenes dealing with food. 

We all have addictions. It can be food, drugs, religion, alcohol or smoking. Our addictions take a toll on us physically, and the pain we feel we try to control chemically with a variety of methods. The Whale explores all of this, along the back drop of a very sad man who is dying under his 600 pound frame. He urges his students to write the truth and tell the truth, all while hiding alone in his grief. 

It's a painful play to watch, whether or not you can relate to the body and weight issues addressed in the play. It forces the observer to decide if they will be authentic, honest and true, or if they will hide. Hiding can take many forms, and uses a variety of vices. 

This one broke my heart, and will stay with me for a very long time. 

How to Steal a Picasso at the Unicorn

How to Steal a Picasso is my first play of 2016...and I'm thrilled it was. This is my second experience with William Missouri Downs, and I've decided his strength lies in telling us a serious truth fed to us in a farce. With Women Playing Hamlet, the lesson was how women have been left out of the theatre space and their decisions related to taking it back. In this work, art is questioned at its core. Is it art for art's sake or is it only valuable if it is consumable? 

Stephanie Demaree's dramaturg research and writing peels away the layers to reveal the true backdrop is the economic downfall of Detrtoit's bankruptcy trials of 2013-2014. The city debated selling its art that was held at the Detroit Institute of Arts. Doing so would flood private collections with this art, but leave it inaccessible to the public. There were rumors of sales of a Van Gogh during this period. 

The backdrop of Detroit is beautifully created with the set. It's detailed and gorgeously conveys a front lawn, insane entrance with poem flags and older home with walls covered in splatter art. Gary Mosby is a master of his craft, but this set is especially gorgeous. The scene and location is essential to the story, and the actors feel grounded and perfectly placed in this locale. With such a busy set and props, lighting can present a challenge. The props were a delight to look at, and Bret Engle (properties) and Sarah M. Oliver (costumes) did an exceptional work in making sure the busyness of their artistic expressions enhanced rather than distracted from the performances. Alex Perry has presented lighting designs that transition easily without being notice. They are a brighter wash that accents the set and moves our eyes to the various locations. David Kiehl had his work cut out for him the ambient noise throughout the production, but it rolled flawlessly with Tanya Brown and her stage management. 

I have never been more thrilled with one cast. It was the second night, so the middle had a bit of a pacing issue, but there is no doubt by Saturday the audience will be following along. Tommy Gorrebeeck (Johnny Smith) has made his Unicorn debut, and he's shown tremendous humor and emotional range. You know how much I love Katie Kalahurka (Casey Smith). She has transformed her physicality and voice timbre again. She uses the building blocks of the craft to build her characters from the ground up. Walter Coppage (Otto Smith) is synonymous with Kansas City theatre and is the star of the show. I could watch he and Cathy Barnett (Belle Smith) all night long go back and forth. Darren Kennedy (Mr. Walker) was amazingly over the top. 

Visit unicorn.org for tickets. 

Mr. Burns - A post Electric Play

It has taken me a long time to decide on how to write this review. This play seems ecclectic and irreverent, but something is brilliant over the surface. Over time, art changes. The Shakespeare of today is hardly recognizable from the Shakespeare of his time. What he considered crass jokes and throw away lines that he wrote in a hurry for money we now study in a classroom for our doctorates. In the same way, Anne Washburn really hits on what would happen if our modern day society stopped in an apocolypse and what stories would we tell from that point onward. When the play ends, 75 or so years after the first act after the apocolypse, the music and stories told regarding lost television and musical history are far different than what was actually real. Over and over, the characters remind each other of the bits and pieces they recall, hobbling together a show and buying lines from others. At the end, they create something that is so different than what was the original product that we would see on our television screens at the beginning. It is a written testimony of how storytelling and history changes perception, and how what was inane and simple could be misconstrued to be revered or holy.

It is absolutely insane to try and explain or summarize it. The Unicorn's dramaturg did a brilliant job. 

Please visit unicorn.org for ticket information. 

This production is co-created with UMKC and it is absolutely well-done from the set to the costumes to the acting. The start, however, is Manon Halliburton. She gave a chilling monologue delivery at the beginning that set the tone and description of the entire apolocolpyse. If she didn't do her job on point, the entire first act would have been off kilter. She absolutely nailed it. I would highly recommend any aspiring actors watch her from start to finish with her physicality and her voice control - she is a force. Matthew King's over the top humor in the second act was a surprise. He over-played in just the right areas. As a team, the entire ensemble had to ebb and flow between multiple changes, both in character growth, while almost playing themselves as a morality play. This is extremely difficult and demanding work. They did an outstanding job. 

Word of warning, the Simpsons music will be in your head for a week afterwards.