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1 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: Ellen McDonald FOR TICKETS: Box Office at or Kansas City Rep Announces Tickets Now On Sale for All Productions of 50 th Anniversary Season Return of Pulitzer Prize Winners David Cromer (Our Town) and Tony- nominated Gary Griffin (Angels in America) and KC Premiere of An Iliad by Obie-Award winners Lisa Peterson and Denis O Hare (HBO s True Blood) and The Who and the What by Pulitzer Prize Winner Ayad Akhtar Kansas City, MO (August 11, 2014) Eric Rosen, artistic director of Kansas City Repertory Theatre has announced the season, continuing its tradition of presenting stirring classics and evocative new works created by the finest local and national talent available. There has never been a more exciting time for theatre in Kansas City, or for KC Rep, said Rosen. When I think what we have accomplished since our founding by the inestimable Patricia McIlrath in 1964, I am astounded. Fifty years of serving our community as an artistic forum for exploring life s issues in ways that inspire us, challenge us, and even make us laugh. And now, as we are preparing to launch our 50 th anniversary, KC Rep s line-up resonates with transformative works, both familiar stage classics and innovative new plays, all featuring casts of Kansas City favorites as well as notable visiting artists. I am especially pleased that David Cromer and Gary Griffin, whose respective productions of The Glass Menagerie and A Flea in Her Ear garnered national acclaim for KC Rep, will be part of our artistic celebration this year." 50 th Anniversary Block Party To kick off this milestone season and to say thank you to the community for 50 years of support, KC Rep will host on September 28, the 50 th Anniversary Celebration Block Party, a large-scale, family-friendly event that is free to the public. KC Rep will transform the UMKC parking area adjacent to into a festive space with food vendors, activities, and performances by local theatre artists. The Block Party, starting at 10am, will be a collaboration with UMKC during their annual Founder s Week celebration. UMB is the Corporate Sponsor. Page 1

2 OUR TOWN Written by Thornton Wilder Directed by David Cromer September 5-28, 2014 The season of Kansas City Repertory Theatre opens September 5 th with one of the greatest American plays ever written, Our Town, by Thornton Wilder, the three-time Pulitzer prize-winning playwright and novelist and directed by David Cromer, MacArthur Foundation genius grant recipient and director of KC Rep s 2009 production of The Glass Menagerie which received national and local critical acclaim. This enduring American story will feature a predominantly local cast of favorites (including Charles Fugate, Peggy Friesen, Gary Neal Johnson), traveling artists, UMKC faculty and selected UMKC graduate students, examines the everyday lives of an average town's citizens in the early twentieth century. Cromer s 2009 Off- Broadway revival of Our Town ran for more than 600 performances, making it the longestrunning production of the play in its history. In his glowing review of David Cromer s new production, The Wall Street Journal s theatre critic Terry Teachout wrote, You ll never see a better Our Town- or anything else- as long as you live. This co-production with UMKC Theatre will feature redesigned seating at in the James C. Olson performing Arts Center on the UMKC campus and will run September 5 through 28 th. Sprint Foundation is the exclusive corporate sponsor. A Conversation with David Cromer August 18, 7:30pm at UMKC s White Hall (inside James C. Olson Performing Arts Center, next to ) RSVP to Box Office at KC Rep Artistic Director Eric Rosen will moderate the discussion. $20 suggested donation at the door. Meet the Creative Team: Sept. 10, following the 7 pm performance Scholars Forum: Sept. 20, following the 2pm performance Actor s Forum: Sept. 21, following the 2pm performance and Sept. 24, following the 7 pm performance THE WHO AND THE WHAT Written by Ayad Akhtar Directed by Eric Rosen October 17-November 16, 2014 From the Pulitzer Prize-winning writer of Disgraced and the best-selling author of American Dervish, comes a thrillingly fierce and funny new play about identity, religion and the contradictions that make us who we are as Americans. Brilliant Pakistani-American writer Zarina is focused on finishing her novel about women and Islam when she meets Eli, a young convert who bridges the gulf between her modern life and her traditional heritage. But when her Page 2

3 conservative father and sister discover her controversial manuscript, they are all forced to confront the beliefs that define them. A passionate and searing look at a family divided by faith, bonded by love and searching for truth in contemporary America. The cast will include Kansas City artist Rusty Sneary. At KC Rep, Rosen has also directed Clay; Winesburg, Ohio; the world premieres of A Christmas Story, The Musical! and Venice; Cabaret; August: Osage County; The Whipping Man; Pippin; Death of a Salesman and Romeo and Juliet. Meet the Creative Team: Oct. 22, following the 7 pm performance Scholars Forum: Nov. 1, following the 2pm performance Actor s Forum: Nov. 2, following the 2pm performance and Nov. 5, following the 7 pm performance A CHRISTMAS CAROL -- 34th Annual Production Written by Charles Dickens Directed by Jerry Genochio November 21-December 26, 2014 For many Kansas City families, A Christmas Carol is the official beginning of the holiday season. Experience compassion for Ebenezer Scrooge as a boy, delight with him as a merry young man, and watch his transformation into a cold-hearted miser but don t dismay, hope and redemption await. Directed for the first time by Jerry Genochio and featuring a cast of Kansas City s favorite actors and up-and-coming young talent, A Christmas Carol is a magical, musicfilled holiday event. Kansas Citians will want to note that this production will mark the 100 th KC Rep production for Gary Neal Johnson. Genochio (American Buffalo, The Foreigner and SantaLand Diaries) made his highly regarded KC Rep directing debut staging David Mamet s American Buffalo in May THE SANTALAND DIARIES Written by David Sedaris Directed by Eric Rosen December 6-24, 2014 Brian Sills (Cabaret) returns to KC Rep as Crumpet, America s favorite irreverent elf, in an encore production of David Sedaris hysterical tale of elfin woe in a hilarious send-up of his brief, misguided career as a Macy s elf. The show skewers our sentimental love of all things Christmas the happy children, the gifts, the spritely elves and the good cheer. The Santaland Diaries shows us the other side of what it s like to work at Santaland; the result is merrily Page 3

4 subversive, but always fun! This production will be directed by KC Rep s Artistic Director Eric Rosen. AN ILIAD Adapted by Denis O Hara and Lisa Peterson from the Roger Fagles translation of The Iliad by Homer Directed by Jerry Genochio Starring Kyle Hatley January 23-February 8, 2015 Homer's epic poem roars back to life in a lean and muscular new telling that reunites on stage two members of KC Rep s artistic team, Producing Director Jerry Genochio and Resident Director Kyle Hatley. The two worked together in 2013 as director and actor, respectively, on The Foreigner and they reunite for this tour-de-force production of An Iliad, an enthralling new play that illuminates the human cost of war. Playwrights Obie Award-winning Lisa Peterson and Denis O'Hare (HBO's "True Blood") have created a spellbinding work of theatre spanning three millennia. Pure theater: shocking, glorious, primal, and deeply satisfying. Timeout NY Genochio (American Buffalo, The Foreigner and SantaLand Diaries) made his highly regarded KC Rep directing debut staging David Mamet s American Buffalo. Hatley is a multitalented writer, director and actor (The Glass Menagerie, Death of a Salesman, The Whipping Man and The Foreigner). Meet the Creative Team: Jan. 28, following the 7 pm performance Scholars Forum: Feb. 7, following the 2pm performance Actor s Forum: Feb. 8, following the 2pm performance and Feb. 11, following the 7 pm performance ANGELS IN AMERICA Part I, Millennium Approaches Part II, Perestroika Written by Tony Kushner Directed by Gary Griffin February 20-March 29, 2015 This Pulitzer Prize- and Tony Award-winning play by Tony Kushner forever transformed the landscape of American theatre. Angels in America is a riveting, thought-provoking masterpiece about the AIDS epidemic in the 1980s. Then, as now, Angels in America explores the social, political and moral issues confronting us as individuals and as a nation. Both parts of Angels in Page 4

5 America -- Millennium Approaches and Perestroika -- will be presented in rotating repertory at. On a recent visit to KC Rep, director Gary Griffin (A Flea in Her Ear, Saved) discussed the landmark play: "No play in my lifetime has been more important than Angels in America. I lived through this time and I knew what it was. There is so much stimuli in this play you will never forget it." Meet the Creative Team: Feb. 24, following the 7 pm performance Scholars Forum: March 21, following the 2pm performance Actor s Forum: March 22, following the 2pm performance and March 25, following the 7 pm performance HAIR Book and Lyrics by James Rado & Gerome Ragni Music by Galt MacDermot Directed by Eric Rosen March 20-April 12, 2015 The musical that defined a generation and brought rock music to the theatrical stage, HAIR captures the essence of the revolution and passion of the 1960s. In addition to its legendary score, this production will feature documentary interviews with original Broadway artists, and continues KC Rep s tradition of re-imagining the classic musical. Meet the Creative Team: March 25, following the 7 pm performance Scholars Forum: April 4, following the 2pm performance Actor s Forum: April 5, following the 2pm performance and April 8, following the 7 pm performance STICKY TRAPS Written by Nathan Louis Jackson Directed by Kyle Hatley April 24-May 24, 2015 In a story that seems painfully too familiar, a grieving mother in a small town not far from Kansas City fights back against a hate-filled church that has come to protest her son s funeral. Page 5

6 But her actions have unintended consequences that will test her whole family and the power of their love in the face of hate. This is Jackson's second new work as KC Rep s Mellon Foundation Playwright in Residence. His previous plays at KC Rep include critically acclaimed When I Come to Die and Broke-ology, both directed by Hatley. Jackson has been hailed by American Theatre magazine as one of the important new voices of American theatre." US Bank is the exclusive Production Sponsor. Meet the Creative Team: April 29, following the 7 pm performance Scholars Forum: May 9, following the 2pm performance Actor s Forum: May 10, following the 2pm performance and May 13, following the 7 pm performance Subscriptions and Tickets season tickets range in price from $72 to $344. For subscription and ticket information for Kansas City Repertory Theatre's season, please contact the Box Office at or visit Season ticket holders receive many benefits including: Free ticket exchanges for another performance of the same show for free with 24 hour notice Co-operative arts discount card good for special ticket discounts from local performing arts partners. For those season ticket holders with young children, subscribers can receive a $10 rebate per production, redeemable at the end of the season, to help pay their babysitter Special discounts at 21 participating restaurants for a lovely evening out on the town! Check for a complete list of participating restaurants in the Plaza (near ) or downtown (near ) Receive monthly s with exclusive insider info on upcoming events and special offers Save 20% on our lobby gift shop. Stock up on all KC Rep swag! Social and Digital Media Receive daily updates by Liking KCRep s Facebook page at and follow KC Rep on Twitter or on YouTube by visiting High resolution photos can be downloaded at B-roll is available upon request. About Kansas City Repertory Theatre 50 th Anniversary KC Rep s 50 th anniversary is a celebration of the countless patrons over the years who have played a major role in our success. What better way to celebrate our patrons than by bringing the Page 6

7 highest level of quality to every aspect of the theatergoing experience? That is why we are committed to renovating our main stage home - the in the James C. Olson Performing Arts Center (PAC) on the UMKC campus. A state of the art facility at the time it was built, the PAC has not had a major renovation since it opened in Now is the time for KC Rep audiences to have a theatre as excellent as the art on its stage. The renovation will include new lighting and acoustic design; a new stage floor; and 4,000- square-feet of new construction, including new restrooms, and a beautiful expansion of the theatre lobby. Our vision is for all theatregoers artists, audiences, students - to experience the as a destination for great art. We are pleased to announce that the Hall Family Foundation has made a lead gift of $3 million toward this $5 million project. All who enjoy great theatre and appreciate having a professional theatre of KC Rep s caliber in Kansas City are invited to join us in celebrating our 50 th Anniversary by making a gift to support this essential renovation of our main stage home. To make your gift, please contact Jennifer Ingraham, Sr. Director for Advancement at or ingrahamj@kcrep.org. About Kansas City Repertory Theatre Now celebrating its 50th anniversary, Kansas City Repertory Theatre 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 main stage plays and special events at Spencer Theatre, where it serves as the professional theatre in residence at the University of Missouri- Kansas City (UMKC), and located in downtown Kansas City. Kansas City 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. # # # Please direct all media inquiries to: Ellen McDonald at , (cell) or publicity@kcrep.org. For further information, please visit our Web site at For Tickets: or Page 7