Kansas City Actors Theatre Announces 2025/2026 Season 21

December 18, 2024 Kansas City Actors Theatre, Theatre

A hilarious dark comedy fresh from Broadway.
A sparkling new take on a Chekhov classic.
A devilishly clever comedy-thriller.
A modern riff on a morality play—that’s different every night!

 

Kansas City Actors Theatre (KCAT) has announced the line-up for its 21st Season, running from May 2025 through March 2026. The 2025-2026 season will feature a smartly adapted Russian-theatre classic, an unique modern update on a Tudor-era morality play, a new work fresh from Broadway, and one of the definitive thrillers of the stage.

The four plays featured in KCAT’s Season 21 are The Roommate by Jen Silverman; Uncle Vanya by Anton Chekhov, translated by Richard Nelson, Richard Pevear, and Larissa Volokhonsky; Deathtrap by Ira Levin; and Everybody by Branden Jacobs-Jenkins. All four productions in Season 21 will take place at the City Stage in Union Station.

“We are hoping to build on the momentum of our very successful 20th Anniversary Season, and I think we’ve got a great line-up of shows to do just that,” said Board President John Rensenhouse. “It’s a wonderful mix of classic, innovative, and entertaining work.”

The season will kick off in May 2025 with The Roommate by Jen Silverman, fresh off its critically acclaimed Broadway debut. “The Roommate is an “Odd Couple” for today with lots of that same comedic payoff,” says Darren Sextro, KCAT Artistic Committee Co-Chair and director of The Roommate. The play follows two women from very different walks of life, as they become not only reluctant roommates, but also unexpected friends who change each other’s lives. “What I most love about Jen Silverman’s script is that it demonstrates that, no matter how far along we are in our lives, we can still choose to change how we self-define, to alter our paths forward,” adds Sextro. This two-person play will feature Carla Noack and Jan Rogge, and will run from May 28 to June 15, 2025.

Up next, for the first time in KCAT’s 21-year history, comes a play from the seminal Russian playwright Anton Chekhov, Uncle Vanya, in an exhilarating new version translated by Richard Nelson, Richard Pevear, and Larissa Volokhonsky. Pairing one of the greatest plays ever written, with one of the world’s most celebrated Russian translators, this new version is shorter, more intimate, and deeply human. “Uncle Vanya embodies KCAT’s mission of exploring humanity with intelligence, sensitivity, and humor,” says Matt Schwader, KCAT Company Member and director of Uncle Vanya. “This unique adaptation, performed by a cast featuring many of KCAT’s core company members, captures Chekhov’s masterful blend of bittersweet humor and poignant insight. With this extraordinary ensemble, audiences will experience a truly special journey—one that celebrates the complexity, resilience, and beauty of the human spirit.” Mixing the tragic with the absurd in this study of Russian middle-class life, as Vanya and his niece Sonya care for the estate of Vanya’s brother-in-law. When the brother-in-law returns with a new wife, affairs are made known, flirtation brings disaster, and the lives of the family come undone. Uncle Vanya will be presented from August 6 to 24, 2025, with a cast featuring KCAT Company Members Chioma Anyanwu, Hillary Clemens, Nedra Dixon, Jerry Mañan, and Victor Raider-Wexler, with the remainder of the cast to be announced.

From September 10 to 28, 2025 KCAT will bring one of the longest-running Broadway thrillers of all time to Kansas City audiences with Ira Levin’s Deathtrap. A washed-up writer of Broadway thrillers is struggling to find his next great idea, but when a former student of his brings a thrilling new script to his doorstep, he sees a chance to make it big once more. It might just be a chance he’ll kill for! Deathtrap is filled with hilarity and twists in equal measure, leaving audiences glued to the stage until its exciting final moments. It will be directed by Ile Haggins, and features KCAT Company Members Brian Paulette and Christina Schafer, with the remainder of the five-person cast to be announced.

The final show of Season 21, Everybody, comes from a playwright who is a Pulitzer Prize finalist, recent Tony Award® winner, and recipient of the MacArthur Genius Award, whose work embodies KCAT’s motto of “Smart Plays.” A modern riff on the 15th Century morality play, Everyman, it follows the main character of “Everybody” as they journey through life’s greatest mystery: its own meaning. It’s a meta-adaptation with a unique twist, where the role of “Everybody” is chosen by lottery every night. “Branden Jacobs-Jenkins’ Everybody is a daring and provocative reimagining of morality plays, challenging audiences to confront their own mortality with humor and unflinching honesty,” says Vanessa Severo, director of Everybody. “This bold choice to stage such a profound and thought-provoking work is a testament to KCAT’s artistic vision and commitment to artistic excellence, pushing creative boundaries, and their dedication to presenting meaningful theater.” Everybody will run from March 4 to 22, 2026 featuring KCAT Company Members Teisha Bankston, Cinnamon Schultz, and John Rensenhouse with the remainder of the nine-person ensemble to be announced.

“Our Artistic Committee has assembled a season that carefully honors every area of our mission. Notably, we’ve done this by also choosing stories that are smartly crafted with great potential to connect emotionally with our audiences,” said Darren Sextro, Co-Chair of KCAT’s Artistic Committee. Teisha Bankston, Artistic Committee Co-Chair adds, “This collection of plays invites us to collectively think and feel, and perhaps laugh and cry, as we grow. It is a reminder of the simple essence of what it means to be human. As an actors’ theatre, we set forth to craft grounded, visceral narratives, which all four of these plays are. In Season 21 we continue to present: ‘Great Actors. Smart Plays.’”

Season Subscriptions are available now at www.kcactors.org/season-21/ or by calling (816) 361-5228!

Season subscriptions are available now at www.kcactors.org/season-21/ or by calling the KCAT box office at (816) 361-5228 (Mon. to Fri. 9AM – 5PM). Early-bird pricing on subscriptions, which is the best deal of the season, is now available to everyone through February 28, 2025. Season subscribers get a slew of benefits including free ticket exchanges, ticket vouchers for friends and family, and parking validation for performances at the City Stage.

Coming Up Next:

Doubt: A Parable, by John Patrick Shanley

The theatre company’s current 20th Anniversary Season concludes from March 6 to 22, with its production of the Pulitzer Prize-winning Doubt: A Parable, by John Patrick Shanley, presented at the Kansas City United Church of Christ—a venue creatively selected to further the themes of the play. It will be directed by company member Gary Heisserer and features Kathleen Warfel, and Company Members Matt Schwader, Christina Schafer, and Teisha Bankston.

Tickets and Info: www.kcactors.org/shows/doubt/

 

Paul for Pete: Politics. Theatre. Life. One Man’s Adventures (or, How I Became a Septuagenarian Fanboy)

Hosted by Kansas City Actors Theatre – Friday, January 10 at the City Stage in Union Station

Now in its fourth print run, adapted for the stage and performed by the author, Paul for Pete has been called “an anthem to taking a chance,” “a story for our times,” and likened to the prose of Philip Roth.

Accompanied by over 350 projected images, Barnes chronicles his experience volunteering for Pete Buttigieg’s campaign for the 2020 Democratic Party presidential nomination, recounting his journey from childhood to adulthood, from despair to hope, from political novice to successful fundraiser and arts policy adviser. His narrative is interspersed with tales from his professional directing assignments at regional theatres, festivals, and training programs across America — and to his unexpected role as caregiver for his partner of nearly half a century, who experienced a stroke halfway through Pete’s campaign.

Tickets and Info: https://bit.ly/KCATPaul4Pete

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