"Slammed!" review by ChaimEliyahu

Slammed!  See this show!
Rating: 5


Slammed: KC Speaks Out on the Recession
UMKC Theatre



OK, I admit it:  I approached this show with a sense of duty. As an advocate of socially-engaged theater, how could I not attend a local attempt to produce a show on citizens' efforts to weather this tough economy? Imagine my delight to discover such a beautifully crafted piece of theater, performed with such skill by a cast of 15 wonderful actors, with such elegant set, sound and lighting?

"Slammed! KC Speaks Out on the Recession" grew out of work begun last August, with the show's cast and director interviewing about 50 K.C.-area community members.  The show opens with a beautifully composed sequence in which interviewees' perspectives are drawn together to present the Big Picture of what's happened in the economy with a clarity I have not heard from *any* source, much less in so entertaining a setting as this, filled with humor, irony and music.

>From there, we begin to hear the real stories of K.C. residents, a surprising number of them named (with interviewees' consent). Through sensitive, funny and moving portrayals by a uniformly strong company,several share sustained accounts of how their lives have come unraveled through business failure, job loss and the falling action of homelessness, lowered expectations and keeping up appearances. Working in continuing collaboration with her student company, director Stephanie Roberts of the UMKC faculty has created a fast-moving series of dramatic sequences that, through story-telling, song, and well-crafted scenes, bring this potentially leaden subject matter vividly to life.

As animated post-show discussion confirmed, the audience is left with the sense that in talking honestly about the situation, we are discovering ways of helping each other through this in community.  I found myself hearing with compassion points-of-view that normally shut me down and raise my hackles. And we are never left without some redeeming vision of hope, help, humor and possibility.

Don't miss this truly remarkable show!  Through Sunday only:  tickets available through UMKC's Central Ticket Office.  Do check in the CTO, as the house was packed on Wednesday's opening night.


read the review at kcstage.com