By David Markham

A loving send-up of the 1950s, small-town America, teenagers and rock & roll, and a story that will take audiences from the twilight of the Russian Empire to the euphoria of Paris in the 1920s kick of f the Theatre in the Park’s 55th outdoor season in Shawnee Mission Park.

“Bye Bye Birdie,” rated PG, will be on the park’s stage from May 31 through June 2, and June 5-8, while “Anastasia: The Musical,” also rated PG, will be presented June 14-16 and June 20-22.

Each show runs approximately 2.5 hours with one 15-minute intermission.

Other shows in TIP’s 2024 outdoor season are:

• “Anything Goes,” rated PG, June 28 through July 6
• “Hello, Dolly,” rated PG, July 12-20
• “Sister Act,” rated PG-13, July 26 through Aug. 3

Much more information about the theatre and this year’s productions is available at the Theatre in the Park’s website, theatreinthepark.org.

For outdoor productions, the box office opens at 7 p.m., gates to the theatre bowl open at 7:30 p.m. Shows begin at 8:30 p.m. General admission is $10 for adults, $7 for youth ages 4 to 10, plus tax, and free for children 3 and under, but tickets are still required.

Tickets can be purchased at the box office or online. “Anytime tickets” available via either ticket-buying method, are not specific to a certain night or performance, and can be printed out at home and scanned at the gate. A limited number of reserved tickets for outdoor chairs are also available for every performance for $20 each plus tax.

Continuing in 2024 are Thrifty Thursdays. Thursday night performances come with a 20% discount. This makes adult tickets $8 and children’s tickets $5.60, plus tax. The discounted tickets must be purchased at the box office on the evening of the show.

The Movies in the Park program lets participants see popular recent films on a big screen on the TIP stage for only $1 per person at the gate. The first two movies are “The Super Mario Brothers” on June 4 and “Despicable Me” on June 18.

All films will be shown on selected Tuesday nights when musical productions are not scheduled.

Other summer movies are:

• “The Little Mermaid” (2023), rated PG, July 2
• “How to Train Your Dragon,” rated PG, July 16
• “Barbie,” rated PG-13, July 30

Movies start between 8:30 and 8:45 p.m., depending on sunset. The Theatre in the Park’s outdoor location is north of the main entrance to Shawnee Mission Park at 7710 Renner Road in Shawnee.

David Markham is communications specialist at the Johnson County Park and Recreation District.