Karla Burns

If God ever listened to a poor black woman, the world would be a different place. –Celie The Color Purple is currently playing at Roxy’s Downtown. Their production is impressive, powerful, well-cast, and extremely well-wrought, from performances to design elements and direction. Do yourself a favor and get tickets for this show ASAP. The opening week shows were sold out, and I hear the rest of the run is selling out quickly.

The home going service for Karla Burns will be Saturday, June 12, at 10am at First United Methodist Church, 330 N. Broadway Avenue, Wichita, KS 67202.  Visitation will take place Friday evening, from 6 - 8 pm, at St. Matthew Christian Methodist Episcopal Church at 841 N. Cleveland or from 9 - 10 am at First United Methodist Church prior to the service. If attending the service, the wearing of masks is required. Anyone not physically able to attend the service may watch from home by going to the following link: https://boxcast.tv/channel/f9yfyjzko2esfwfc5vkn   the day of the service.  

Karla Burns, a Tony Award nominee, a Drama Desk Award winner, and a Laurence Olivier Award Winner for Supporting Performance in a Musical for the role of Queenie in Showboat, has died today at age 66.

One of the most well-known short stories ever written by Charles Dickens was a?oeA Christmas Carol.a?? Dickens began writing his second piece of fiction in October 1843 with a later December release date. At the time, he had a personal concern for underprivileged children who turned to crime in order to better improve their social status and wellbeing. a?oeA Christmas Carola?? follows one man, Ebenezer Scroogea?'a miser, who undergoes four visits from ghosts who ultimately transform him into a man of charity, repentance and changed heart. The Forum Theatre Company concludes 2019 with their 7th production of the play now in its biennial session at 330 N. Broadway. Performances are in their final weekend Thursday and Friday at 8:00 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday at 2:00 p.m. Featuring new orchestrations and vocal arrangements, this show is your best bet for traditional Christmas live theatre entertainment here in Wichita.

'Forbidden' is certainly a fitting adjective for Roxy's Downtown current production entitled Forbidden Broadway. If you simply look up the word 'forbidden' in the dictionary, you will find its meaning to be prohibited, not allowed or even banned. It's a clever little title to describe this Off-Broadway parody rated PG-13 which spoofs many lyrics and shows such as Mamma Mia, Cats, and even Hairspray which would send original playwrights and performing artists rolling in their graves with laughter. Opening originally in 1982 by parodist Gerard Alessandrini, the show has gone under many revisions to include even newer musicals. Starring Julia Faust, John Keckeisen, Seth Knowles, Shaun-Michael Morse, Patty Reeder, and Christine Tasheff, Forbidden Broadway runs from now until August 24 at the 1930s cabaret venue in downtown Wichita.

    Wichita's most unique theatre is located at 234 N. Mosely Street. Like the street's name, Mosley Street Melodrama is home to some of the best talent Wichita has to offer and presented in true melodramatic style. Now, if you have never been to a Mosley Street production, there are a few things you ought to know. Every time the heroine enters, you sigh. For the hero, you cheer. But if the villain is cunningly conniving, you boo and hiss. The first act is a melodramatic featured presentation while the second half is a musical revue. Filled with inside jokes only a true Wichitan would understand, Will Santa Drink Canada Dry? Or Go Tell it to the Mountie caps off the theatre company's year in true Christmas-comedic fashion.

It's the last week to vote for the 2018 BroadwayWorld Wichita Awards, brought to you by BroadwayHD! Readers are already setting records as they vote for their favorites. Regional productions, touring shows, and more are all included in the awards, honoring productions which opened between October 1, 2017 through September 30, 2018. Our local editors set the categories, our readers submitted their nominees, and now you get to vote for your favorites! Voting will continue through December 31st, 2018.

There's just two weeks left to vote for the 2018 BroadwayWorld Wichita Awards, brought to you by BroadwayHD! Readers are already setting records as they vote for their favorites. Regional productions, touring shows, and more are all included in the awards, honoring productions which opened between October 1, 2017 through September 30, 2018. Our local editors set the categories, our readers submitted their nominees, and now you get to vote for your favorites! Voting will continue through December 31st, 2018.

There's just two weeks left to vote for the 2018 BroadwayWorld Wichita Awards, brought to you by BroadwayHD! Readers are already setting records as they vote for their favorites. Regional productions, touring shows, and more are all included in the awards, honoring productions which opened between October 1, 2017 through September 30, 2018. Our local editors set the categories, our readers submitted their nominees, and now you get to vote for your favorites! Voting will continue through December 31st, 2018.

There's just one month left to vote for the 2018 BroadwayWorld Wichita Awards, brought to you by BroadwayHD! Readers are already setting records as they vote for their favorites. Regional productions, touring shows, and more are all included in the awards, honoring productions which opened between October 1, 2017 through September 30, 2018. Our local editors set the categories, our readers submitted their nominees, and now you get to vote for your favorites! Voting will continue through December 31st, 2018.

There's just one month left to vote for the 2018 BroadwayWorld Wichita Awards, brought to you by BroadwayHD! Nominations were reader-submitted and now our readers are already setting records as they vote for their favorites. Regional productions, touring shows, and more are all included in the awards, honoring productions which opened between October 1, 2017 through September 30, 2018. Our local editors set the categories, our readers submitted their nominees, and now you get to vote for your favorites! Voting will continue through December 31st, 2018.

Most of us in this area know Michael Kahn as the Artistic Director of Shakespeare Theatre Company (STC). It's a post he will have held for over thirty years when he retires at the end of the company's 2018/19 season.

The Odd Couple (Female Version) opened at the Forum Theatre last night. The production is a fundraiser for the theatre outside of the regular season of shows, and the cast and crew donated most or all of their time and talents.

The cult classic Man of La Mancha, by Dale Wasserman, Mitch Leigh and Joe Darion, is running at Forum Theatre until May 4th. Paul E. Jackson's passionate, magical production proves what it takes to be timeless.