Originally created as an arm of the University of Missouri-Kansas City (UMKC) and known as the Missouri Repertory Theatre for most of its 45-year history, the newly dubbed Kansas City Repertory Theatre has actually been independent from the university for most of that time, but the two organizations maintain a close relationship. KC Rep’s 630-seat Spencer Theatre (recently renovated to add extra leg room, to everyone’s delight) is located in UMKC’s James C. Olsen Performing Arts Center. The company has also established a new performing space, the state-of-the-art Copaken Stage, located in downtown Kansas City (the Rep warns patrons to plan to arrive early on nights when there’s a show at the nearby Spring Center because of the traffic).

Though the Kansas City Rep’s annual season often includes classics and recent Off-Broadway plays, more often the KC Rep’s chooses works that reflect the richness of the American experience past and present. August Wilson dramas, bio-musicals that celebrate the life and music of Hank Williams and Woody Guthrie, and stage adaptations of American literary favorites like Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird and Louisa May Alcott’s Little Women are just a few. KC Rep also tries to make its shows more accessible by offering sign-interpreted performances and even a Spanish-interpreted performance of the annual production of A Christmas Carol.