Visitor Info

Open & Free

The Festival stage is situated at the base of a sloping hill in Southmoreland Park. Admission to the Festival is free.

• • Open seating on the hill is on a first-come, first-served basis.

• • There are designated areas for blankets and for lawn chairs.

• • Beach chairs are allowed in the blanket area as long as the chair seat rests on the ground.

The gates open at 6:00 p.m. nightly. At that time any waiting audience members will be allowed into their reserved seats or to select their non-reserved blanket spot or chair seating area. We appreciate everyone’s consideration in arranging their seating so that everyone can see the stage.

Chair Rental:

If you do not bring your own lawn chairs, plastic chairs are available for rental in the merchandise tent for $10 per chair per evening.

Accessible Seating:

Accessible seating is available nightly. Please speak with the reserved seating coordinator in front of the stage or with any Festival staff member for assistance.

The Festival offers a discount for groups of 15 or more that plan to reserve seats of $3 off per seat. For information on how to redeem this discount, please call 816-531-7728.

In the park, enjoy a variety of items available for sale from Festival vendors. Food and drink sales help keep the Festival free. Cash and major credit cards are accepted. We encourage you to bring cash, as there will be more available locations for you to purchase food and drink tickets. 1 ticket = $1.

You may also bring your own food and drink to the Festival.

Our gates open at 6:00 PM nightly. We offer the following Pre-Show Activities:

Shakespeare Parody at 6:30 PM and 7:15 PM: Presented nightly in the park prior to the performance. The script is written by the teens with the guidance of teaching artists and presented in an improvisational style.

Show Talk at 7:00 PM: A nightly presentation given in Southmoreland Park prior to the Festival performance. The presentations are made by Dr. Felicia Londré, Curators’ Distinguished Professor of Theatre at the University of Missouri-Kansas City and Honorary Co-Founder of the Heart of America Shakespeare Festival; and by Phillip blue owl Hooser, a local arts educator and playwright.

Take advantage of our special group discount to treat your guests to a pre-show meal and reserved seats. For more information about renting our Private Party Tent, please contact Hannah Fuhlhage at 816.531.7728.

Due to growth and exciting new entertainment options in the neighborhood, street and lot parking in the area is more limited than usual. Consider carpooling, Uber/Lyft or Z-Trip, riding your bike, taking a Bird or a bus.

Subject to availability, parking is available at:

• • The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art for $14 CASH per car (Friends of Art park free) * Festival parking unavailable June 21st.

• • 44th Street and Warwick Boulevard (free)

• • 45th Street and Oak Street (free)

• • 48th Street and Rockhill Road (free)

• • UMKC Oak Street Parking Garage (free)

Vehicles transporting patrons who have special needs or who are in a wheelchair can check in at the street closure signs and will be allowed to drive to the special needs access point. Golf cart transport is available from this point to the patron’s seats. Golf carts will also transport patrons after the show and return them to the special needs access point. Special needs/handicapped parking will be allowed for any patrons with a state-issued handicapped hang tag or sticker on Oak or Warwick Streets on a first-come, first-served basis as long as space is available. Call (816) 531-7728 for additional information or to gain answers to questions about special needs accessibility.

Southmoreland Park is located in the heart of Kansas City, Missouri. The park is just two blocks east of the Country Club Plaza and across the street (to the west) from the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art. Click here to link to an online map.

From the North

• • Take I-29 south to I-35 south.

• • Exit at Southwest Trafficway (Exit 1A).

• • Drive south several miles.

• • Immediately after 46th Street, turn left on Roanoke Parkway.

• • Continue east 1-1/2 miles on 47th Street/Emanuel Cleaver II Blvd. to Oak Street.

• • Oak Street is the first stoplight after Main Street.

From the Southeast

• • Take U.S. 71 north.

• • Exit at Swope Parkway/Brush Creek Blvd.

• • Go beyond the stoplight at Swope Parkway and get in the left lane.

• • Turn left at the next light, on Brush Creek Blvd.

• • Drive west on Brush Creek Blvd. to Oak Street.

From the Southwest

• • Take I-435 to I-35 north.

• • Exit right at Shawnee Mission Parkway (Exit 228B).

• • Drive east several miles.

• • After passing State Line Road, stay in the right lane and continue past the next light.

• • Move one lane to the right (Ward Parkway) and drive east.

• • Continue past the light at Wornall Road.

• • Turn left at the next intersection, J.C. Nichols Parkway/Baltimore Avenue.

• • Get in the right lane and go to the second light (Emanuel Cleaver II Blvd.).

• • Turn right on Emanuel Cleaver II Blvd.

• • Go east 3 blocks to Oak Street.

From the East

• • Take I-70 west to I-435 south.

• • Exit at Eastwood Trafficway (Exit 65) and turn right.

• • Drive west until the road ends. Turn right at Blue Parkway (US-350).

• • Drive west on Blue Parkway for several miles.

• • Go through the stoplight at Troost Avenue. The street turns into Volker Blvd.

• • Follow Volker Blvd. toward the Country Club Plaza.

• • Turn right on Oak Street and continue north to the stoplight at Emanuel Cleaver II Blvd.

From the West

• • Oak Street is the first stoplight after Main Street.

• • Take I-70 east to I-35 south.

• • Exit at Southwest Trafficway (Exit 1A).

• • Go south several miles.

• • Immediately after 46th Street, turn left on Roanoke Parkway.

• • Continue east 1-1/2 miles on 47th Street to Oak Street.

Seating
Accessible seating is available nightly. Please speak with the reserved seating coordinator in front of the stage or with any Festival staff member for assistance.

Signed Performances
We will offer signed performances and will update the site as we confirm the dates.

Service and Assistance Animals
Certified Service and Assistance animals are allowed at the Festival. Please speak with the reserved seating coordinator in front of the stage or with any Festival staff member for assistance.

Parking
Special needs and wheelchair access parking is available on the east side of the park on Oak Street. Vehicles transporting patrons who have special needs or who are in a wheelchair can check in at the street closure signs and will be allowed to drive to the special needs access point. Golf cart transport is available from this point to the patron’s seats. Golf carts will also transport patrons after the show and return them to the special needs access point. Special needs/disabled parking will be allowed for any patrons with a state-issued disabled parking hang tag or sticker on Oak Street on a first-come, first-served basis as long as space is available. Call (816) 531-7728 for additional information or to gain answers to questions about special needs accessibility.

Reserved Seats: We have a “no refund” policy for reserved seats. Given the nature of outdoor theatre, we will, however, honor rain checks for reserved seats in the event of show cancellation due to weather. Call (816) 531-7728 to reschedule your reserved seats for a remaining performance (subject to availability). If you are unable to reschedule, please contact us at (816) 531-7728.

The show must go on — and will, unless conditions are unsafe for the company and our audience members. Should the decision be made to delay or cancel a performance because of weather conditions, a notice will be posted on the Festival’s Facebook and Instagram pages and an announcement will be made in the park. It will also be posted on the Festival website homepage. This decision is made as close to show time (8:00 p.m.) as possible, so we won’t announce a cancellation during normal business hours. If it’s sprinkling, plan on bringing a rain coat to the park!

The Heart of America Shakespeare Festival is proud to have IN Kansas City Magazine as our media sponsor and creator of our season program book. The program will be available online closer to our summer Festival. Physical copies will also be available in Southmoreland Park during our production run.