The White Theatre begins its 10th season on Nov. 8 with a production of ‘Fiddler on the Roof.’ ‘Les Miserables’ was one of the most popular plays produced by the theater in its ninth season last year.
This year marks the 10th season for the White Theatre at the Jewish Community Campus, and the production that many had hoped would start it all is instead headlining this anniversary season. "Fiddler on the Roof" will kick off the anniversary season of productions on Nov. 8, on the same date it opened its doors in 2005 with two sold out Craig Taubman concerts.
{mprestriction ids="1"}Don’t expect much fanfare for this anniversary season. Krista Blackwood, director of cultural arts at the Jewish Community Center, which produces events at the White Theatre, said nothing specific has been planned for the anniversary.
"We are currently celebrating by producing better shows than we ever have before," she said.
Ten years ago the White Theatre couldn’t produce "Fiddler" because another theater in town had the rights to it.
"You can say this production of ‘Fiddler on the Roof’ was 10 years in the making," Blackwood said.
Filling a void
When the Lewis and Shirley White Theatre opened in 2005, Scott Slabotsky, the lead fundraiser involved in the effort to get the theater built, said communal leaders had no idea it would become one of the "best community theaters in the entire Midwest." Their goal at the time was simple: To "complete the picture of the Jewish Community Campus," which was built 15 years earlier.
"We wanted to have an element at the Campus that every member of a family could enjoy. We already had a sports and fitness center, a child development center and the Heritage center for seniors on the Campus. But we didn’t have something that every member of the family could attend together and enjoy. The theater truly filled that void," Slabotsky said.
Attendance at the theater has consistently grown over the years.
"Over the past 10 years our season tickets sales have grown exponentially, our attendance for our shows exceeded 15,000 last year, and we have received all kinds of accolades for the quality of several of our shows such as ‘Les Miserables,’ ‘Spamalot’ and ‘To Kill a Mockingbird,’ " Slabotsky said.
Slabotsky said those who provided the financial support for the theater, including the White family, deserve the spotlight for taking the idea of a theater and turning it into reality. Shirley White said people continue to thank her for her role in the theater’s creation.
"Even now, 10 years later, people come up to me and tell me how marvelous the theater is. They didn’t realize how important the theater would be, both to the Jewish community and the general community, as a real treasure. Theater people have said how wonderful it is to work in such a wonderful facility. It’s a jewel in the community," White said.
Blackwood said that as they look back upon the successes of the last 10 years, The J is excited for the next 10.
"Our audience has grown in the past two years; our ticket sales have almost doubled. More and more people are discovering the great theater we have always had here at the Jewish Community Center. We plan to continue providing great community theater productions and engaging visiting artists to the Kansas City community during our 10th season and beyond," said Blackwood, who has been with the White Theatre for three years.
Tradition, tradition
"Fiddler," Blackwood said, is an audience favorite.
"You would not believe how many people are excited we’re finally doing it. Tickets are selling extremely quickly," she said. As this article went to press, there were still tickets remaining for each performance.
The production will be directed by Steven Eubank, who directed "Spamalot."
"We’ve got a great cast. It’s going to be a fantastic show," Blackwood said.
There are three Jewish people in the cast: Irene Blend, Zack Lerner and Slabotsky. Slabotsky frequently has small roles in productions at the White Theatre. It’s something he decided to try after his friend and co-producer Marlis Grad suggested a cameo would give him a better understanding and appreciation of what it takes to put on a show.
"It is an exhilarating feeling to be around all these high energy, passionate and extremely talented people who spend eight to 10 weeks getting ready to put on a production. I continue to be shocked by the fact that these are all volunteers who are coming together to create a performance that will touch the lives of those that share in either seeing or being part of the production," Slabotsky said.
This year also marks the 50th anniversary of the musical, one of the first successful Broadway shows that depicted Jewish characters. Blackwood said that even while most of the successful Broadway composers and lyricists were Jewish in the 1930s, ‘40s and ‘50s, often they were turning Jewish stories into ones that would appeal to a wider audience.
"What makes ‘Fiddler’ special is that it doesn’t read as a Jewish story, it reads as a story about life," Blackwood said.
Attendance for productions in the White Theatre Ticket is healthy, as have been ticket sales since the shooting occurred at the Campus on April 13, shortly before the curtain was supposed to go up for the final performance of "To Kill a Mockingbird." Rick Recht was supposed to perform the next weekend, but The J cancelled that performance. "Spamalot" was produced this summer as planned.
"I think people want to come show their support for the Jewish Community Center and for the White Theatre," Blackwood said. "We have not seen attendance decrease at all; the Kansas City community continues to be supportive of what we do here," she said.
The future
For the past couple of years Blackwood has been exploring ways to bring more Jewish content into the theater. One way she has done that is by bringing local performing arts groups who have their own following into the White Theatre to create Jewish content. Last year the Paul Mesner Puppets came and performed a Hanukah puppet show, "Hershel and the Hanukkah Goblins," which was successful so it’s coming back for encore performances Dec. 20 and Dec. 21. (Hanukkah begins the evening of Tuesday, Dec. 16.)
In addition, Heart of America Shakespeare Festival will present "The Merchant of Venice," March 19-22 at the White Theatre.
"This is Shakespeare’s problem play because of the character Shylock and the Jewish stereotype of that character," Blackwood said.
"We’re going to mount the problem play, talk about why it’s a problem play and explore how we can reframe the interpretation of the Shylock character so that it isn’t a ‘problem’ anymore," she continued. "Not only will we get specific Jewish content, we’ll bring Heart of America Shakespeare Festival fans to the White Theatre, expanding our audience and our reach. It’s a win-win."{/mprestriction}