The Tragic True Story Behind Kansas City Choir Boy
In acclaimed artist Todd Almond’s newest theatrical piece, Kansas City Choir Boy, all eyes are definitely on his leading lady, Courtney Love. Yet, dig a little deeper & you will discover that this hour-long rock story told in song, combines music usually found inside a rave on a Saturday night & Greek mythology inspirations, has a tragic, true story behind it which is that of an episode of Law & Order: SVU.
With not much to draw from visually, the theatregoers enter the venue at The Kirk Douglas Theatre in Culver City to see, simply, 2 chairs, a keyboard & some other mundane, small props within this very intimate theatre. The show begins & we see Almond, playing our Kansas City Boy. An old ‘Boob tube” TV blasts, & as our leading man works on his music, he is struck as he sees his old flame, Althea (Courtney Love), has been found dead in New York.
Recollections flood his mind, as he begins having flashbacks of this mysterious, small city girl who felt her destiny was anywhere but Kansas City, & that the big lights of Manhattan were calling her name.
Prior to the start of this cryptic, compact & clever play, I was extremely interested that this piece is based on a true story.
Todd Almond was having thoughts of Sarah Fox, one of his talented classmates from his days at Julliard. While he was not much acquainted with Sarah, she was a dynamic force in the Theatre Arts Department, & had a promising theatrical career ahead of her. This was all cut much too short when in May of 2004, Sarah was found murdered a day after telling her room-mate she was off for one of her jogs. She would never be seen alive again.
They have yet to determine who murdered Sarah Fox, & it is over 10 years later.
This is extremely disturbing. I was interested to read more about female murder victims in The USA, & came across this article as well as several eye-opening others.
Almond & Love do a dazzling performance, with our Rock Icon demanding the stage while allowing plenty of space to let her co-stars shine. I hope Sarah’s family finds Kansas City Choir Boy as profound as I did.
(*Disclosure: I received media credentials to this performance. All opinions are my own.)