Beth & Mark’s Big Bang! - Big Bang Buffet & Beth Marshall Presents

Content Warning: This production and review contain references that may be sensitive to some viewers.

Theatre has always been a collection of individuals on the fringe that hold up the mirror to human existence. Typically, this reflection on society hints at subtle issues or flaws, but it rarely holds it up to the theatre community. “Beth & Mark’s BIG BANG!” is precisely what the Kansas City theatre world never expected and probably did not want. Mark Manning and Beth Marshall present a show that asks the difficult questions we all asked after the incidents that culminated in the shocking events of December 24th, 2022.

The BIG BANG! is melding two narratives around a central location: The Coterie Theatre. Both actors, being friends for over 30 years, can share openly, in an evocative piece of storytelling, the thoughts of their lives that intersected during the most traumatic experiences of one of their lives. This truthful and earnest telling of challenging to listen to events illuminates the need for those of power in the industry to not be above those who are powerless. With other themes such as interracial dating, slut shaming, body positivity, and victim blaming, this show is uncomfortable but necessary, especially in the current political climate, with art becoming the scapegoat for so many issues.

Those of us in the theatre world are constantly told that “The show must go on,” but at what point does the show need to stop? In our world of pushing boundaries, how far is too far? “Beth & Mark’s BIG BANG!” is not just a show. The BANG is a wake-up call to all of us to remember that being silent only helps the perpetrators of harm, and sometimes, the show must not go on.