It’s not really the complete history of Kansas.

“No,” says Elizabeth Sullivan with a laugh. “The title should really be ‘The Incomplete History of Kansas,’ although we cover a vast variety of history.”

She’s talking about Summer Youth Theater’s latest offering, “The Complete History of Kansas in 60 Minutes,” which opens tonight at the Lawrence Arts Center. The play was commissioned by the Arts Center to be part of the city’s celebration of the sesquicentennial of Quantrill’s Raid. The infamous Civil War attack does figure in the script, but so do a number of other important, uniquely Kansas moments.

“We cover everything from Brown v. The Board of Education to the discovery of Pluto to the history of our land to the far reaches of future Kansas,” Sullivan says.

The show is the brainchild of Will Averill and Larry Mitchell and features children in third through eighth grades in a series of vignettes that often take an irreverent view of life in the Sunflower State.

“We’ve got kids running around to ‘The Benny Hill Theme’ as they point out all the strange landmarks in Kansas, Pluto gets angry about being declassified as a planet, and Quantrill’s Raid is played like a boxing match,” Sullivan says.

She’s directed previous shows by Averill for Summer Youth Theater that have a similar bent, notably “Hamlet and Zombies” and “Jason and the Argonauts,” introducing children to classical literature (or in this case history) through comedy. Sullivan sees that as a real benefit.

“I always think drama has the ability to teach anything,” she says. “It’s a way to spark interest.
Even though we may not cover every history lesson in detail, it inspires the kids to dig more deeply into the things that interest them.”

Sullivan’s got 51 students in the play, and there are over 200 roles. So how do you cast a show like that?

“Carefully,” she says, laughing again. “We did it during the process. This show is really more about process than product. It’s about learning to work as an ensemble and sharing roles.”

Thus, actors play more than one part, and even the ones with fewer lines are in many of the scenes.

“We have to have people play the Missouri Bushwhackers and the townspeople of Lawrence and the other planets in the solar system and sunflowers and prairie dogs and so much else,” Sullivan says.

As educational as the process is intended to be, Sullivan doesn’t lose sight of it being fun. A Kansas native herself, she sees a lot to look forward to when the curtain goes up.

“Will and Larry’s writing, the vast variety of characters, making fun of Kansas history,” she enthuses. Then she adds with a smile, “And very talented young actors.”

And so Kansas comes to the Arts Center stage not quite complete but irreverently funny in the hands of Sullivan and her charges.

“I hope audience members leave the show knowing a little more about Kansas history, while laughing and smiling at our community’s youth,” she says.

“The Complete History of Kansas in 60 Minutes” runs July 18, 19, and 20. Curtain is at 7:00pm Thursday and Friday and at 3:00pm on Saturday. Tickets are available by calling the box office at 785-843-2787 or online at www.lawrenceartscenter.org.

Full disclosure: John Phythyon is a paid staff member of Summer Youth Theater.