The Coterie Theatre

The Coterie Theatre is embarking on its 40th season of producing new works for young audiences and their families. Although a big anniversary seems to be a natural time for reflection, artistic director Jeff Church says the Coterie is taking a different approach. “Often theaters use anniversaries to look back at what’s been accomplished. But at the Coterie, we serve as an early introduction to live theater to many of the young people in our audience, and those experiences become touchstones that are shared with their friends and classmates, brothers and sisters, parents and grandparents. It inspires us to use this anniversary as not just an opportunity to look back but as a springboard for what’s coming ahead—how we’ll connect to the next generation.”

Since its inception in 1979, the Coterie has produced live theater and educational programs that have been enjoyed by more than a million youth and family audiences alike. Founders Judith Yeckel and Vicky Lee, two graduate theater students from UMKC, began the organization with the intention of serving children from all walks of life. “The Coterie’s reach is phenomenal,” executive director Joette Pelster says. “We serve urban, rural and suburban schools and families.”

As a multigenerational theater serving k-12 children, the Coterie aims to bring classics to life, while also tackling important social issues in the process. “We believe live theater and acting classes should not end for a child in elementary school,” Pelster says. “A significant portion of our programming is directed at the middle and high school student, an age often underserved in the arts.” The Coterie’s influence has reached beyond the stage to include theater classes, in-school workshops and playwriting intensives throughout the metropolitan area.

The Coterie is a nationally recognized forerunner in children’s theater, and its new season boasts an exciting lineup comprising two plays and four musicals. The season kicks off with Becoming Martin, the Coterie’s 51st world premiere commissioned by the University of Kansas’ film studies professor and Cannes Film Festival Grand Prix winner Kevin Willmot. Becoming Martin, written for audiences 11+, chronicles the early life of Martin Luther King, Jr., his early admittance into Morehouse College at 15 and the relationship that formed between him and college president Dr. Benjamin Mays. The show runs from Sept. 18 to Oct. 21 in community partnership with the Black Archives of Mid-America and Big Brothers Big Sisters Kansas City.

“For those families who have made it a tradition to visit the Coterie during their holiday and summer breaks, we will not disappoint,” Church says regarding the theater’s bringing back its two most requested shows, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer and Elephant & Piggie’s We Are in a Play. “We’ve heard over and over again how much parents and grandparents love these two productions because the adults love watching their kids watch the show! Seeing them witness the wonder and magic of live theater is as much fun as the shows themselves!”

Lauren Greenlee is a boy mom, a theater fanatic and a writer hailing from Olathe.

For tickets and a list of the complete season of shows, visit TheCoterie.org.