2015 Season

Everyone had an interesting evening at the Play Reading for Larry Belew's new comedy, THE EARLY BIRD BREAKFAST CLUB! 21 audience members and 10 readers! Pictured from left to right - Victoria Owings, Benjamin Smith, Karen Abshire Bell, Delno Ebie, Drew Tombrello, Sally Pedruzzi, Crystal Meek, Deb Campbell, Judie Belew and Donna Murphy.
A Big Thank You to Cindy Pursell for bringing Cookies!

COME BE A PART OF OUR SPRING PLAY READING!

Friday April 19th, the Kechi Playhouse is hosting a reading of Larry Belew's original script
The Early Bird Breakfast Club.
Doors will open at 7 pm and the reading will start at 7:30.

The cast is as follows:

Delbert -- Drew Tombrello

Freida Peabody--Karen Abshire Bell

Shayanne McDonald--Victoria 

Carla Byers--Sally Pedruzzi

David Markham--Delno Ebie

Kevin Oglethorpe--Benjamin Smith

Martha Byers-Orr--Crystal Meek

Karen Evans--Deb Campbell

Marion Andrews--Judie Belew

Stage Directions -- Donna Murphy

Admission is FREE and we hope you will stay briefly afterwards for the feedback session.

    Announcing
   AUDITIONS

The first auditions of the 2013 season will be held Monday and Tuesday, April 15 and 16 starting at 7 pm at the Kechi Playhouse located at North Oliver and 61st Street. 


Needed are actors for the first two shows ~

You Take the Cake, which will rehearse in May and run June 6 to June 30th.  This original comedy is set in a bakery during prohibition. There are parts for two gangsters,  two lovable vagrants, a cop and a crazy would-be-actress who bakes cakes,                AND

 The Importance 
of Being Earnest
which rehearses in June and runs July 4 - 28.
Parts for 4 women – a stern mother, two air-headed young ladies, and a governess, and 5 men –  a  reverend, two butlers, and two young men in search of  romance.

Reading material will be provided. 
Auditions for the August, September, and October shows will be held later in the summer 

CASTING CALL in KECHI!

The Kechi Playhouse will hold auditions for ALL I REALLY NEED TO KNOW I LEARNED IN KINDERGARTEN on Tuesday, July 12 starting at 7:00 in the evening. The script, based on the well-known book by Robert Fulghum, is a collection of stories and reflections, some funny, others serious. It has a flexible cast, which means there might be a perfect place in the show for YOU! Rehearsals will start August 6th and there will be 16 performances during September with shows on Thursday, Friday, Saturday evenings and Sunday Matinees. Reading material will be provided. The Playhouse is located at North Oliver and 61st Street North. For more information call (316) 744 - 2152. We hope to see you soon!

Comedy about Fake Fortune Teller predicted to be a HIT!

Everyone should love our July show, a darling, new play about a fake fortune teller. Even cast members, Glen Sharp, Tanya Anderson and Viviano Legorreta are laughing while they work to nail down lines for opening night. The show, a new comedy entitle, The Psychic by Sam Bobrick, will run June 30 through July 31. Performances are Thursday - Saturday evening at 8 pm and Sunday Matinees start at 2:30. Tickets on Thursdays and Sundays are $10, while Fridays and Saturdays are $11. We love both walk in traffic and reservations, so it's your choice to surprise us by showing up or to have us put your name in our book. Just be sure to get to the Kechi Playhouse before the fun ends July 31st! For more information call 744 - 2152.

Auditions for Comic "Murder Mystery" in Kechi . . .

Kechi Playhouse will hold auditions for A Little Murder Never Hurt Any Body by Ron Bernas on Tuesday, June 14^th starting at 7:00 p.m. The Playhouse is located at north Oliver and 61^st Street, or for those of you with GPS systems,100 East Kechi Road.

The play, a very silly comedy with parts for 2 women and 4 men, will run for 16 performances, August 4 – 28.

The story opens on New Year’s Eve with Julia and Matthew announcing their resolutions for the coming year. Julia, after declaring that she has decided to read Dr. Zhivago, is taken aback upon learning that Matthew’s resolution is to kill her before the year is out! Other characters are their rather addle-brained daughter Bunny, her finance Donald, Buttram the Butler and a hard working, if somewhat inept, detective named Plotnik.

Shows are Thursday through Saturday evenings with Sunday matinees starting at 2:30. Rehearsals will run through July. Reading material will be provided, so come on out and bring a friend!

RASHOMON, the first show for 2011, opens in Kechi

Everyone's hard work this last month has paid off – our first show for 2011, Rashomon, opened at the Playhouse June 2nd and we want everyone to come see a performance! Perhaps these production photos will tempt you to drive over to Kechi and check it out for yourself. Showtimes on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday is 8 pm while Sunday matinees start at 2:30. Tickets are $10 on Thursday evenings and Sunday afternoons and $11 on Fridays and Saturdays. Rashomon will run until June 26 and, while we recommend reservations, they aren't necessary – come on out and we will find space for YOU!

Planting Time in Kechi!

Everyone driving by the corner of North Oliver and 61st Street knows the Kechi Playhouse is about to open when they see the flower pots filling up with new spring flowers, and this year is no exception. The cast of Rashomon is busy almost every night rehearsing and by June 2nd everyone should be ready to open our 150th production. David Dennis and Abri Geist have created some marvelous sword fights and Christy Railsback is stitching up costumes like mad. Our 29th season is opening with a bang and you don't want to miss it. Come take a mythical trip with us back to Old Japan. We'll see you at the theater!

Coffee, Anyone??

This photo was taken at Crown Center in Kansas City May 14th when I went up to see the American Heartland's production of The 39 Steps. What a wild and crazy show! Five of us went Cyrstal Meek, Mark Schuster, Charlene Grinsell and sister Storme and we all had a great time.
On the Playhouse front, rehearsals for Rashomon are underway with David Dennis and Abri Geist creating and teaching the big samurai sword fight to Jason LaCoss and Paul Snyder. It is so exciting to see this Japanese folk tale come to life on our stage. Thanks to Mark Anderson and his brother we now have one of the tall plaforms from Wichita Community Theater's production of To Kill A Mockingbird on stage waiting to be turned into the Big Rashomon Gate, and all the actors are working hard on their parts. We should be ready to open by June 2nd so mark your calenders and come get in on all the fun! See You Soon!

Japanese Murder Mystery Cast at Kechi!

Well, the photo isn't really Japan – it's the Wichita temple where I saw the Jade Buddha as he was traveling through on his way to his new home in Australia, but it seems like a good picture for this blog entry, because auditions for RaSHOmon (Accent on the second vowel, please) will be April 25th and 26. Rashomon is a tale of mystery set in old Japan and we think it will be an amazing show. Two of the roles have been taken, but we are still looking for lots of people, and not only for our June show but for our July show as well when we will be doing a comedy called The Psychic. Readings start at 7:00 in the evening both days and we would love to see you here. The Playhouse is at North Oliver ad 61st street. Hope to see you there!

Look what's coming up in 2011 ~

Rashomon June 2 – 26

A tale of mystery set in old Japan.

The Psychic June 30 – July 31

A new comedy about a fake fortune teller.

A Little Murder Never Hurt Any Body Aug 4 - 28

The laughs grow as Matthew plots to kill his wife.

ALL I Need to Know

I Learned In KINDERGARTEN Sept. 1 – 25

A collection of comic and thoughtful vignettes.

The Woman in Black Sept. 29 – Oct 30

A classic ghost story for Halloween.

Tickets are now $10 on Thursdays and Sundays

$11 on Fridays and Saturdays

Only a few more chances to see Giant Spider!

IX'TICHA** Spider-God of the AMAZON!!! only runs until October 31st. Call and make reservations! Shows are Thursday, Friday, and Saturdays at 8:00 and Sunday Matinees start at 2:30. Tickets are $9 on Thursdays and Fridays and $10 0n Fridays and Saturdays.

IX'TICHA Spider-God of the AMAZON at Kechi!

Our last show for 2010 opened Septembr 30th and the following cast, names from left to right

Glen Sharp, Dana Ellison with Tesha, Dave Bailey, Mark Schuster and Crystal Meek. Not pictured is IX'TICHA** the Spider-God played by Mike Shryock. Costumes are by Christy Railsback and lights by Tom Harms with Casey Eubank as Stage Manager. The play is set in the Amazon rain forest and the production is a world premiere.
X'TICHA** is a spoof modeled after the "B" Sci-Fi horror movies of the 1950's. If you enjoy seeing humanity triumph over creatures from the Black Lagoon, irradiated dinosaurs, spacemen from distance planets and scientific experiments gone awry, then we think you will get a kick out of IX’TICHA**. Shows are at 8:00 on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday nights and our Sunday matinees begins at 2:30. IX'TICHA** SPIDER-GOD of the AMAZON!!! runs until October 31st, so if you are looking for some Halloween fun come on down to the Kechi Playhouse at North Oliver and 62st street.
If you see only one show about a giant spider this year, make it IX'TICHA**

'TIL BETH DO US PART, opens at Kechi Playhouse

And It Is Funny! Just check out these photos ~

Kayla Winn as Beth in Kechi's production of 'Til Beth Do Us Part
with her boss Suzannah, played by Deanne Zogleman

Gibby, played by Michael Criss, dreams of a new life far from Cincinnati.

Best friend Margo, played by Brandi Hill, puzzled by her inability
to get a date, laments the lack of a good man in her life.

Completing the cast are performers
Casey Eubank and Charlene Grisell.

'Till Beth Do Us Part will play until August 1st.

Showtimes are 8:00 pm on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday evenings, while Sunday matinees start at 2:30. Tickets on Thursdays and Sundays are $9, and tickets on Fridays and Saturdays are $10.
Walk-in or call ahead, 744 - 2152, but don't miss the Kansas premiere of this delightful new comedy! We Hope To See You Soon!

Hurry - Last Week To See Crossing Delancey!

It's hard to believe that our first production of the summer is almost over, but this will be the last weekend for Crossing Delancey at the Kechi Playhouse. It is a charming show with some wonderful performances, so if you have not seen it yet, plan on making a short trip to Kechi.
Also, the Kechi Fair will be this Saturday, June 26, so you might want to take that in as well. If you have never been to the Kechi Fair, there are lots of things to do. There is a pancake feed at the Kechi Methodist Church in the morning, an arts and crafts show, turtle races (bring your own turtle!) and new this year, a cake baking contest. Entries for the baking contest will later be used as prizes for the cake walk. There is a parade in the morning, inflatables for the kids, and in the evening there will be a street dance. This is Kechi's opportunity to howl - think funnel cakes and free ice cream!
In conjunction with the fair, Karg Art Glass Studio will be having it's yearly Ridiculous Sale, the only time all year when Karg discounts his work and people start lining up at dawn for a chance to get some glass for up to 2/3 off. It is a fabulous deal and well worth the wait to get in.
When you stop to thnk about it, Kechi is THE place to be on Saturday.
Be There or Be Square!