Set in a hotel with two connecting rooms, Unnecessary Farce takes a sting operation to silly new heights that will have audiences rolling in the aisles! Slamming doors abound in this hilarious farce featuring two likable cops operating out of their league, a possibly crooked mayor and his innocent-acting wife, a shy accountant with a tendency to drop her drawers, a double agent who’d like to get IN those drawers and a Scottish hit man with a brogue that gets thicker the angrier he gets! This dazzlingly funny comedy has more tasty twists than a bag of Twizzlers! Unnecessary Farce runs May 8th to June 21st, 2009.
Unnecessary Farce features a hilarious cast of familiar faces and brand new talent.
Some familiar faces include:
- Kevin Albert was last seen on the AHT stage as understudy to the jolly fat guy in Another Night Before Christmas.
- Craig Benton stars in his 11th show on the AHT stage as Agent Frank.
- Cynthia Hyer stars as Mary Meekly. Cynthia previously played Jessica in AHT’s production of Communicating Doors.
- Jessalyn Kincaid stars as Karen Brown. Her tenure at AHT includes a groom-stealer in Perfect Wedding, a tail-chasing dog in A Dog's Life, and a bratty sister in Leaving Iowa.
New to AHT:
- Jill Szoo makes her AHT debut as Billie Dwyer. Jill has been featured in over 20 commercials, directed several university productions and made her KC acting debut at the Metropolitan Ensemble Theatre as Rose in The Woolgatherer.
- John Wilson is also making his AHT debut as Eric Sheridan. A SAG and AEA member, Wilson has been working professionally on stage and in commercial and film for nearly two decades.
- Zach Woods is making his professional theatre debut as Todd. He is a native of Kansas City, MO, having grown up in Grain Valley. He attended Central Missouri State University, where he received a B.F.A. in Theatre Performance.
William J. Christie, who has been part of the AHT family since 1987, directs Unnecessary Farce. Christie has served AHT as an usher, actor, director, resident stage manager, floral designer and holiday tree decorator during his tenure. He last directed A Lion In Winter for AHT in the Spring of 1992. Christie is a fixture of AHT, and we are pleased to have him back in the director’s chair.
Named one of the “50 To Watch” – “writers of exceptional merit and promise” – by The Dramatist magazine in 2007, playwright Paul Slade Smith is pleased his second play, Unnecessary Farce, is being produced in Kansas City, as well as 17 other locations across the country this year.
Unnecessary Farce is not to be missed!
Each theatrical lighting instrument we hang to light our stage uses between 575 and 1000 watts of power - that's enough to reheat a frozen pizza at close range! The 132 lamps used to light Unnecessary Farce draw nearly 115,000 watts, and that equals a lot of heat (up to 10-15° warmer than the temp in the seating area) shining down on the actors while they perform. It's hard work to keep a steady temperature in the theatre that makes it comfortable for both the actors and the audience. We try to keep the temp around 70 degrees at all times.
Taken April 22, 2009
Taken April 24, 2009