Kansas City’s Shakespeare Festival: A ‘gateway’ to arts, community and the laughter we need
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KCTV) - It’s time to pull out the lawn chairs and blankets- Shakespeare in the park is back.
The Heart of America Shakespeare Festival has been a Kansas City tradition for 33 years. It’s a free event, but no small feat, bringing together dozens of theatre professionals for three weeks of performances.
This year, it runs from June 17 through July 7, and all you need is yourself, though picnics are encouraged.
The show
“Love’s Labour’s Lost” is one of William Shakespeare’s earliest comedies, written in the mid-1590s before “The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet.”
“Obviously, we all know ‘Romeo and Juliet’ gets darker and whatnot,” said actor Justin Barron, who plays Don Armado. “This is more of a lighthearted take on young love. It’s more of a realistic take, I would say, too.”
“It’s about four young men who make an oath to swear off the comforts of this world — women, food, sleep — and then a princess of France comes to their court and their rules kind of get upended," actor Phillip Shinn explained.
Actors Phillip Shinn (left) and Justin Barron (right) rehearse ahead of the opening night of Shakespeare's "Love's Labour's Lost"
Shinn plays Ferdinand, King of Navarre. He said this play sets itself apart from Shakespeare’s other works and gives audiences something bigger to think about.
“It kind of plays around with how much the human will can override the human emotions, and sort of towards the end of the play, there’s a nice integration of them both.”
“Without giving it away,” he said, “it ends differently than any other Shakespeare comedy.”
The best part of it all? It’s funny.
Garrett said she chose it for just that reason.
“We need to laugh right now. We all need a laugh,” she said firmly. “Especially when we come together as a community to laugh, it’s really therapeutic and fun and makes you feel better about life.”
The “why”
Community and accessibility are the lifeblood of the Festival.
“It’s such a unique experience in the Kansas City theatre community because it is free, but it’s also this thing that’s older than the country we’re living in right now,” Barron said. “It’s this human experience that so many people around the world share.”
Barron, an Olathe North graduate, had never attended a Festival performance until he was hired to act in one.
“Since then, I’ve brought all the family out, and everybody feels like now it’s something that everyone can relate to. It’s something that my family talks about a lot, something they look forward to.”
"It is a joy and a privilege to get to bring this to a city park each year where there’s nothing and a theater springs to life, a village springs to life," said Sidonie Garrett, director of "Love's Labour's Lost" and executive artistic director of the Heart of America Shakespeare Festival.
“Love’s Labour’s Lost” is Shinn’s eighth production with the company since 2011. As a born-and-raised Kansas Citian, he benefited from its mission for accessibility from a young age.
“I went to Camp Shakespeare growing up, and I just think it’s a really cool opportunity to give back to the community,” he said.
Garrett hopes that the festival encourages people to step out of their comfort zones and into the world of theatre and the arts.
“We’re a gateway experience because there’s no cost,” she said. “Many people come here and say, ‘I’m going to try this because there’s no barrier.’ And that may mean once I’ve seen a play at the Shakespeare festival, I say, ‘Oh, let’s take the kids to the Coterie Theatre.’”
She believes it’s the simple fellowship of sharing laughs and a picnic dinner that keeps these 400-year-old pieces of art relevant to modern audiences.
“I think we provide an opportunity for people to say that live theatre is for me.”
The Festival runs from June 15 to July 7, 2025.
Anyone wanting to see this year’s production can show up at Southmoreland Park on Tuesdays through Sundays, from now until July 7. Gates open at 6 p.m. and performances start at 8 p.m.
The festival is free, but there is an option to reserve seating ahead of time for $25 on weekdays and $35 on weekends. Picnic dinners are welcome, and food and drink are available to buy.
