The Show Must Go On: As theaters reopen after being closed for two years due to COVID-19, members of the performing arts community believe that it will benefit KC as a whole

From KC Ballet and Starlight Theatre to the Nelson Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City visual and performing arts have been reopening and scheduling shows for the upcoming seasons since August of this year, working to make debuts post-COVID-restrictions. 

One of these theaters is Musical Theater Heritage, who still have a few COVID-19 protocols in place, such as a mask requirement, no food or drink allowed in the theater and either proof of vaccination or a negative COVID-19 test needed for entry.

Following the footsteps of MTH, the Kansas City Repertory Theatre has started booking shows again, with their rendition of “A Christmas Carol,” being the first show to come back. Auditions were held on Sep. 11, the cast list was announced on Oct. 19, and they’ve been practicing since. 

This will be the 42nd year KCRep has put on the production, and it’s become not only a tradition in the KC community but also a necessity, according to East alum and the returning Ghost of Christmas Present Matt Rapport.

“I think on a practical note, as far as the people in the theater community, it provides a lot of work for a lot of people at a time of the year that’s really good to have [it],” Rapport said. “It’s also indisputably the KCRep’s biggest selling show, so it injects a lot of money into their company, which of course helps them produce things down the line and other things they do.”

To Indian Hills eighth grader Eliza King, who is playing the roles of Fan and Belinda in “A Christmas Carol,” theater is an important part of the KC community that brings people together. 

“It doesn’t really ask much of the audience,” King said. “It’s kind of a universal experience, like in whatever way, most people experience some sort of musical theater and I think it kind of ties us together.”

Though KCRep has had only one other production this year, MTH has put on many performances over the last few months. However, MTH still struggles after the biggest wave’s of COVID-19 in 2020 and this past summer. They don’t know whether these fluctuations will further affect their ticket sales. Already, they have fewer tickets to sell due to “killing” seats — the practice of spacing seats apart between parties for safety measures. 

MTH’s Executive Director of Operations and Finance and East parent Carly Lee worries that people have gotten out of the habit of attending live performances and public gatherings, but she hopes that it instead unifies the KC community. 

“[I’m hoping live performances] bring us together,” Lee said. “There’s been a lot of divisiveness and a lot of picking sides over mask mandates and vaccine mandates and I’m hoping that theater can again become a place where people come together from all different backgrounds, all different beliefs and experience different voices and live theater together.”

MTH also uses their productions as an opportunity to appreciate cleverness and artistry in theatrical choices. Because MTH is built off its founder George Harter’s radio show “A Night on the Town” that discussed theater history, this has become the root of their mission — they even go as far to have discussions about a show’s history before the performance (though less so during COVID-19), according to Lee. They take pride in creating opportunities for local performers, artists and up-and-coming actors with various sizes of events and venues. 

“We always try to give a new perspective that comes from understanding the history and the evolution of the American musical,” Lee said. “I also think that we try to do that through our education program and summer camps.”

Along with performances, theater classes are coming back in person as well, like KCRep’s Theater Youth Ensemble, the KCShakes’ student classes and MTH’s summer classes for K-12. Classes during the 2020 season were either closed in MTH’s case or virtual with KCShakes. King, who was a part of KCRep’s Youth Ensemble, feels that classes are welcoming communities that students should experience. 

“I feel like I’m with like-minded people, so it makes me feel a lot more comfortable,” King said. “I mean it’s really open and accepting and The Rep in particular, they do a lot to make sure everyone feels comfortable there.”

Rapport and others in the theater community believe that the reopening of performing arts theater will also benefit the rest of the KC community not only because theater can be impactful and important, but add light-heartedness during times of inconvenience. 

“The culture of theater is often thought of as we can change society, we can wake up society, we can ‘hold a mirror up to nature’ as Hamlet says and have this impact,” Rapport said. “And that’s a tricky one for me because while I agree with that I also think there’s nothing wrong with just something that’s just entertaining and distracting and enjoyable for them.”