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This Olathe Calendar of Events is presented by the Kansas City Real Estate Network.
April 2011 - Posts
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"Big Band Summit: The Master Returns" was the final concert for the Kansas City Jazz Orchestra’s 2010-2011 season, but the first under the direction of new Artistic Director Kerry Strayer.
more at kansascity.com
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Interview on KXTR's Music Moves
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KCPT hops along with 12th Street Jump, KCUR's jumpin' jazz and blues comedy hour. This dynamic radio show toasts the careers of famous jazz players each week with trivia, comedy and musical offerings from their renowned house band, with added musical styling's from featured guest artists. You can catch the show live, in person at the Downtown Marriott or over the airwaves every Saturday night at midnight on KCUR.
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In times of war, “neutral” places like bars enjoy a precarious existence - the owner must make a living, so must be willing to serve both sides and walk a fine line between business and politics. This makes for riveting stories, when done right - after all, Casablanca and Cabaret are famous for their depictions of such situations.
more at Camp
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Creation history formed the backdrop of the Kansas City Symphony's inventive concert Friday night at the Lyric Theater.
more at kansascity.com
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After 18 years, is it the end of the line for the Heart of America Shakespeare Festival?
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Like any skilled musician — or, even more to the point, anyone skilled in helping equip musicians with proper instruments — Leo Posch trusts his ear. Come to think of it, he also relies a great deal on his eyes, hands, fingers and other information-gathering receptors when it comes to his career calling. He builds and repairs guitars, banjos and mandolins, often for respected names in the industry.
more at the Lawrence Journal-World
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Got too much stuff? “Stuff” and customers needed for this garage sale to help support animal rescue efforts in Olathe! 185 N Parker St., Olathe, 66061 -- former Dollar General store at Santa Fe and Parker (K-7), next to Price Chopper. Donations of clothing, household goods, pet care items accepted: May 3 and May 5, 6:00 – 8:00 PM. Sale Dates: Saturday, May 7 from 8:00 AM – 3:00 PM and Sunday, May 8 from 9:00 AM – 2:00 PM
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F. J. Haydn "The Representation of Chaos" from The Creation
Milhaud La création du monde (The Creation of the World)
Avner Dorman Frozen in Time, Percussion Concerto (US premiere)
Dvořák Symphony No. 8
Join Michael Stern and the Symphony in a celebration of the Earth beginning with Haydn's "The Representation of Chaos" from The Creation, a gripping musical account of the primordial bedlam that reigned before the birth of the world. Milhaud takes a different vantage point with a jazz-inflected ballet based on an African creation story. Percussionist Martin Grubinger performs Avner Dorman's Frozen in Time, a work the composer calls "an imaginary snapshot of the Earth's geological developments from prehistoric times to the present day." Dvořák's thrilling and masterful symphony provides a capstone to this titanic program. 
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A Sunday visitor to Lawrence’s First Presbyterian Church, 2415 Clinton Parkway, will find the Rev. Kent Winters-Hazelton up front and a cross-section of Lawrence in the pews, that much is obvious. But what might not be so obvious is the elephant in the room and in your ears — the beautiful music coming from the church’s organ. The large instrument and the performer behind it, Lawrence’s Sharee Thompson, can change the whole weight of a service, according to Winters-Hazelton.
more at the Lawrence Journal-World
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The Topeka Symphony Orchestra will close its 65th season Saturday night with a program of the most classical of classical music, "The Three B's: Bach, Beethoven & Brahms."
more at the Topeka Capital-Journal
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Beginning May 9, all school district email addresses will change from “.com” to “.org”. Please make note of this change and update any email addresses you use for school or district staff.
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Beginning May 9, all school district email addresses will change from “.com” to “.org”. Please make note of this change and update any email addresses you use for school or district staff.
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On April 30th, Patrick Rea will show the trailer for his upcoming feature film “Nailbiter,” as well as one of his newest shorts, the sci-fi noir thriller “Times Up Eve.”
more at CinemaKC
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Steve Balderson's new film, "The Casserole Club" focuses on a group of mod 1960's era suburban housewives. Close-knit and neighborly, they are all bent on one-upping each other, trying to prove that each is "the hostess with the mostess." They begin a recipe club, and hold dinner parties, testing out their new casseroles. But when the gatherings become increasingly focused on boozy flirtation, and more than recipes start getting swapped, the story moves swiftly from stylized and campy to a drama about irresponsibility, selfishness, and damaged people.
"The Casserole Club" is an intricate landscape of desolation, unspoken desires, and empty lives laid bare. Raw and uncompromising, it is evocative of classics like "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?" and the more contemporary "American Beauty." Set in America during the NASA moonwalk, the moon, is a metaphor for the film's tragic heroines, who are filled with mystery, secrets and the untapped potential of people who exist without really living.
Starring Susan Traylor, Kevin Richardson, Daniela Sea, Mark Booker, Starina Johnson, Garrett Swann, Pleasant Gehman, Hunter Bodine, Michael Maize, and introducing Jennifer Grace.
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It seems that everyone likes trains. Grandparents, travelers, children…you name it. Luckily, Kansas City offers ample opportunities to take in a train ride. Here’s a rundown of some railway-related activities!
 It’s that time of year…when Thomas & Friends/Day Out With Thomas… more
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HMC performs "They Sang to Me" (Don White, soloist) as guests of the Turtle Creek Chorale in Dallas, TX, June 2006. For more information about HMC, visit http://www.hmckc.org
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In the crazy rush to the theaters to see all of the amazing performing art that the Fringe Festival offers, it's easy for the Visual Arts to get overlooked. While we may not have the actors and stages we certainly have plenty of action and even trucks! Trucks? Yup! Trucks! You may have heard of the Lost Horizons Night Market, where renegade artists in rented trucks create amazing experiences to share ( http://www.wired.com/underwire/2010/05/lost-horizon-night-market/). Well, it's time to bring that energy to Kansas City. I can't think of a better way to do that than through this 11 day extravaganza! Your donation will support the foundation of the Night Market revolution in KC. Our artists are creating funky, art-without-boundaries workshops (imagine a figure drawing class run by burlesque models, a paper-mache costume creation workshop, or getting down and dirty with some clay and a throwing wheel, on the spot!) while offering a beautiful blend between traditional and non-traditional “Fringey” gallery spaces. In addition to all of the collected artists, we'll engage the public by giving them the tools to create a piece of work (perhaps for the first time), surrounded by the energy of other artists, participants and "Fringers". Then, we'll provide the means for them to display it for everyone to see (inside of one of our Community Trucks none-the-less. What a debut to share with friends! )
Your donation along with our creativity will help us rent the trucks, buy insurance (so crucial), purchase some supplies, tell everyone we know and then some and throw open the doors and supply our Fringe-goers with deliciously free interactive experiences!
There is an artistic, creative community out there just waiting to be engaged. You can help spread the word by donating and getting our project off the ground! Visit www.kcfringe.org for more information.
more at Kickstarter
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The Shakespeare Festival is a beloved summer tradition for a generation of Kansas Citians. A professional production of Macbeth is scheduled to run from June 14 through July 3 in Southmoreland Park, but the Festival doesn't have the funds it needs to pay for the show.
more at Infozine
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A role in a play forced Hank DeLong to look up “smarmy” in the dictionary. “A shallow personality,” is what the definition held for DeLong, an Independence truck driver by day who says he didn’t even participate in high school theater. Still, DeLong dyed his hair light brown and trimmed a thin mustache for his role as Teddy Hitchell in the Encore Theatre’s comedy “Every Little Crook and Nanny,” which opens Friday night at the Roger T. Sermon Community Center’s Powerhouse Theatre.
more at The Examiner
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Lawrence’s thriving filmmaking scene is unusual, in that the efforts of a student organization — KU Filmworks — have led to the creation of festivals and other major happenings. It has managed to develop its own identity, complete with landmark figures. The opposite of insular, KU students have plenty of chances to get involved, whether through acting, directing or ripping up the paint of the screen.
more at the University Daily Kansan
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The Kansas City Jazz Orchestra is starting a new chapter of its life, with a new musical director. And from all indications, it’s a great start.
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More than 460 origami cranes made by Black Bob Elementary students will benefit children affected by the March 11 earthquake and tsunami in Japan. The paper cranes are part of the OshKosh B'gosh Cranes for Kids program in which the company will send one article of clothing to Japanese children for every paper crane they received by April 25.
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Panther pride is rampant at Pioneer Trail Middle School after staff and students learned their school was named the 2010-11 Middle School of the Year by the Kansas Association of Middle School Administrators (KAMSA). The school and Principal Michael Wolgast will be recognized at the KAMSA spring conference luncheon on May 9 in Topeka.
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Directing “Peer Gynt” has become a habit for David Schweizer. He keeps coming back to it. Again and again. And again... And so now he’s staging it yet again, this time for Kansas City Repertory Theatre in a production that will travel to the La Jolla Playhouse in California after its Kansas City run. Using only five actors, it will rely as much on the audience’s imagination as stagecraft.
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A collaboration with Maura Michelle Garcia, Soumitra Dasgupta, and myself. Dasqupta paints on video, I edit the video and Garcia dances with the video as background to her piece The Little People.
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If you’ve been to the multiplex lately, you’ve noticed movie theaters aren’t just for movies anymore. They show operas and rock shows and sporting events — and now, theater.
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Cold beer and distraction" are what draw men to Mama Nadi's bar. And the bar's entertainments help customers forget the horror of the civil war outside in the same way that the pleasures of Lynn Nottage's Ruined help the audience.
more at The Pitch
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It’s taken 41 years, but Leavenworth’s Cody Choraliers are now champions. The 39-member barbershop chorus, a member of the international Barbershop Harmony Society, took top honors in its division at April 9’s Central States District convention in Wichita, Kan. The Central States District includes most of Kansas, parts of South Dakota and Nebraska and all of Missouri and Iowa.
more at the Leavenworth Times
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This is a preview video of Peer Gynt at the Kansas City Repertory Theatre. This show is a co-production with La Jolla Playhouse. Peer Gynt is written by Henrik Ibsen and this production is adapted and directed by David Schweizer. The cast is comprised of Danny Gavigan, Birgit Huppuc, Luis Moreno, Kate Cullen Roberts and Evan Zes. Scenic design is by David Zinn, costume design by Christina Wright, lighting and projections by Darrell Maloney, sound design by Ryan Rumery and Mary Honour is the stage manager. 
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This article is from the March 2011 issue of KC Stage
“The time on stage, where it’s like you’re not you anymore: you’re transformed to a different place. You can be completely free, you know? There’s just something really enlightening about it that so far in my life I haven’t found anything that comes to that level. The hard work is definitely hard work, but when you have those moments on stage, it makes it all worth it.” So says Kimberly Cowen, one of two ballerinas playing the leading lady in the Kansas City Ballet’s production of Giselle, about why she does ballet.
Cowen should know — she’s been dancing since she’s been four, and been performing on stage since the age of nine. “There wasn’t a lot of dance exposure on television when I was young. There is now, but there wasn’t when I was young,” she says with a wry smile. “But ice skating was on quite often. And I used to try to imitate the ice skater in the family room, and I guess I just one day I said to my mom that I wanted to be a dancerella, and so she enrolled me in like an after school program at the local elementary school.”
She grew up in the West County area of St. Louis, attended the Nathalie Le Vine Academy of Ballet, graduated early from high school, and moved to Kansas City to join the ballet. That was 19 seasons ago.
“I was lucky,” Cowen says about her time at the Academy, “because besides just being a ballet school, she had a small company that once I was nine, I believe, I got to start performing — which I think makes a big difference. Some schools, the only chance {the kids} get to perform is maybe once at the end of the school year, or some of them just do studio workshops and things like that. And then they turn 18, and they’re trying to find a job. Yes, they’ve trained to do it, but to have the real experience ...” she trails off wistfully. “And so I feel lucky — I think that that’s probably one of the things that helped me the most, because I feel at home on the stage, because I’ve been on the stage since I was nine. And when you’re a kid, you don’t have the same fear, you know?”
You’d think being involved in dance since the age of four that perhaps Cowen’s parents were the stereotypical ‘stage moms’, pressuring her to dance. Not so, she says. “Since it was a small school and a small company, parents had to volunteer to help you know with costumes and fundraising and all kinds of things like that,” she says. “My parents were very involved and I told them that they could be involved with helping it be successful, but I didn’t want them hanging around, I didn’t want them watching. I was like, ‘If I ever hear you talking to another parent about, “Well, my Kimberly does blah blah blah,”, I will quit,’” she says with a laugh.
“My parents have always been extremely supportive,” she’s quick to add. “They kind of had to be. I mean, all the shoes over the years and sending me away to summer programs and things like that — it was definitely dedication on their part.”
In her 19 seasons at the Ballet, this is Cowen’s third time performing the role of Giselle. “The first time we did Giselle,” she says, “I didn’t really think it was going to be quite the experience that it ended up being. I knew I was going to love it,” she’s quick to continue, “I knew that it’s a big deal: it’s a classic, it’s been around forever, it’s something that all these ballerinas have done over the years that establishes who they are. I tend to be more powerful when I dance,” she continues with a smile, “like that’s my natural instinct, and in Giselle, she’s very fragile, and so I didn’t know that I would connect with the steps. The first time we did it, it really was a career-altering experience for me. And the second time around, I was just so nervous. But I was older, so I approached some things differently. So, this time around, it’s going to be really interesting, because I feel like I’ve experienced so much more and the whole approach to it.
“In ballet, we spend so much time perfecting perfect arm movements and our placement and our turnout, and for me, personally, I always feel like I dance better when I have a storyline. It gives me purpose behind the steps that I’m doing and then the steps actually have emotion and feeling and that kind of takes you out of that mind frame of trying to be perfect, you’re just dancing. And it really takes you through a broad range of emotions and even dance styles and everything all within one ballet, which just doesn’t happen very often.”
Ballet’s an unusual artistic challenge for dancers, as you have prior performances of the production that the staging usually is based on, combined with the fact that the dancers are double-cast. Cowen talks about how she manages to still make the role her own while still maintaining consistency with both the staging of the ballet mistress Karen Brown and what the other Giselle is doing.
“A dancer in general — I mean, it’s kind of bad to say this, but we do kind of like to be told what to do within a certain degree,” she says with a smile. “Dancers don’t like to just kind of go out and have no idea what’s going to happen: we practice, practice, and practice and we like that consistency. So when it comes to the acting, you really feel exposed, because it’s a different realm than what we do every day.
“We spend a lot of time trying to figure out those little subtleties. And you can even think through it a million times on your own at home, and then you’ll do the scenes with your partner, and something that he does can change what your reaction should be. It’s a fun experience, because we don’t do that all the time in ballet. So, I love doing that. Not every dancer does, but that to me makes it so much more complete.
“I think that it’s kind of like a quiet atmosphere, just a few people in the room and we try out some things, and if you all of a sudden you feel like, ‘You know what? I really like this moment when we do this.’ If you share that with your partner, you can kind of start to solidify some things. In some cases, it’s just the relationship you have with your partner, too.
“And it’s interesting, because sometimes you just try something and it does not work, and you just kind of have to stop. You’re like, ‘Okay, well, that doesn’t work.’ But it’s constantly a learning experience, and watching the other people in the room try it sometimes, you’re like, ‘Wow — that wasn’t anywhere where my brain was going.’ But that works, you know, and it makes you think about it differently. But it’s mostly just we communicate as much as we can at the beginning, and then at a certain point it does kind of solidify, and then there might be little subtleties, but the timing always has to be the same.”
Cowen loves being a ballet dancer, but readily admits it’s a hard job. “Some of the things that can be hard as a dancer — and really, it’s true with everything in life, but for some reason I feel like maybe we take it more personally — but most of our feedback in the day is negative in nature, because you’re trying to get better at what you do. You don’t have someone patting you on the back all the time telling you do a good job, because they want you to get better. So they’re always telling you what you’re doing wrong. And sometimes that can really take it out of you, like, ‘Oh, my gosh — can I do nothing right?’” she says with a laugh. “So, I think the important thing is that to remember that that’s what you’re there for, that’s what they’re for is to help you get better, and that for every one thing that you’re doing wrong you probably did five things right, but it’s a building process and at any age, you’re still learning in the field.
“The other thing is to just be open to different ways of approaching things, different styles, because you never know when something might work to your advantage if you had followed that path. I’ve known a lot of people over the years who don’t want to branch out, they want to kind of stick to their little niche what they’re good at, and they end up not having as many opportunities because of it, so it’s better to be open to it and it’s okay if it doesn’t work out, at least you know instead of holding back.
Being open to new experiences is also how Cowen would approach breaking the stereotype attached to ballet.
“It’s interesting, because there are a lot of people in Kansas City who’ve been to The Nutcracker but have never seen any other ballet. And I think it’s great that they come to The Nutcracker, but I think they’d be surprised at how much they would enjoy one of our regular season shows. There are people out there that love the tutus and like the classic, ideal image of the poised ballerina on the stage and that sort of thing, and other people love to come to the ballet because they want to be challenged artistically.
“And that’s one of the things that I think Kansas City Ballet specifically does a really good job of trying to make sure there is a broad variety of styles and movement qualities and to kind of try to appeal to every dance lover out there — and even maybe some who aren’t dance lovers, to make them realize that they would enjoy ballet, it’s not all about pink tights and pointe shoes. For example, our spring show, we’re doing a piece that’s all David Byrne music {“The Catherine Wheel Suite”} and very rockin’ the house, it’s just fun and crazy and free, so we do all kinds of stuff. We were just talking about it today, actually, how after doing Giselle where we’re all going to be pulled up,” she says, subconsciously pulling her arms into a tight embrace, “and trying to be perfect, and then we’re going to be like, ‘ahhhh!’” she continues, waving her hands around frantically.
And why should people go to the ballet and try something challenging? “Well, the other thing that’s hard, too, is back when ballet first was in its heyday, going to the theatre was the thing to do,” Cowen says. “Now, our society has changed so much and there’s so much stimulation out there, you know? People aren’t content with sitting in the doctor’s office waiting to go in to see their doctor, they have to be on their phone doing something. Everyone is multitasking all the time, and maybe over-stimulated. And there are so many special effects in movies these days, and so the stage is a much simpler presentation. And to be able to still captivate people and make them want to come out is our challenge. But I know for myself, watching with someone in person is a totally different experience than anything you see on any screen: even if it’s 3-D, it doesn’t matter. It can really touch you in a different way. I mean, I watch films all the time that help me with different time periods and things that we’re working on, all of those things are great, but if you get an opportunity to see something in person, you should, because it’s live like that and raw in the moment, anything can happen. It’s really a special thing, I think.
Giselle will be performing at the Kansas City Ballet March 10-13. For more information, visit www.kcballet.org.
Online-only Extended Interview
Was it ballet from the beginning, or did you go into other dance styles as well?
When I first started, I did ballet and tap. Then once I joined an actual ballet school, I really only did ballet until maybe I was 11 or 12 in the summertime we would start to branch out and do some other styles. Now, it's so different. I mean, kids grow up now with a lot of different styles. So I feel pretty fortunate because I really had a strong base in the classical ballet technique, but I think coming here at a young age and being exposed to so many things helped me be able to be versatile, which is really what you need now. There's no company out there that really just does one thing anymore.
First time on stage - tell me a little bit more about that.
The Nutcracker was the first thing I did, which I think is a great introduction for kids, because there's an opportunity to do some dancing and then also roles that do require you to have personality, and they get to mingle with the adults and see what it's going to be like. I know for me, the adults, they really can leave like a big impression on you, so ... it's fun when we do shows now with the kids, because you just see it in their eyes: they're having the times of their lives.
Tell me what a typical day. Obviously, it's a much more rigorous schedule than most people.
Well, we work five days a week. We usually start around the nine o'clock hour, and we go 'till 5:30. We have an hour for lunch in the middle of the day. We start off our day with what we call class, and it's basically serves two purposes: one, to warm up all your muscles in your body accurately so you don't injure yourself during rehearsals; and two, to continue to work on your technique and your craft. We start off our day with that, that's an hour and a half long. And then usually, we have two hours of rehearsal in the morning and three hours after lunch and it depends on where we are in the process of the show. In the beginning stages, you might do a lot of standing around or waiting for your turn, or you might have a day where you're learning, so you are constantly repeating over and over and over and over and over again to get it to sink in. And then later on in the process, you're just running sections of it or even the whole ballet, just to start to get that continuity and everything.
And whenever it's not your turn, since we do have two casts, you know, especially in a ballet like Giselle, there's so many details that everyone will be in the back thinking through different things that they could do, that arm gesture this way or whatever, just without having to exert yourself too much, being able to think a little bit more about what you want to accomplish when it is your turn.
You know, it's interesting, because we go through periods of time where the show will be really difficult and you're dancing your butt off, and then we'll go through a period of time that the creative process sometimes is a little bit slower than when someone already knows what it is and they just teach it to you real quick compared to, 'Well, let's see, what if we try this,' and you have to be open to just kind of not being worried about what you're going to look like, but just kind of try something and see what happens. And then the choreographer and the dancer kind of bounce back off of each other, so those are some of the different types of days that we could have.
I know for me personally, the days go by a lot faster when I'm really working hard, you know? You look up at the clock and you can't believe that you've been in there for two hours already. And strangely enough, it feels better on your body, too, when you just keep dancing. If you stop and take a break, at least for me anyway and maybe that's my age talking, but when you stop and take a break, then it's like, 'oh, boy, I don't know if I can get back up and do it again.' You just want to kind of keep going, even if you keel over at the end.
Getting close to the end of female dancers' ability.
Definitely. I mean, what's interesting is that it kind of depends on the individual, how your body holds up to it, maybe the opportunities you're given at the right times, the size of the company, and the type of repertoire you do. In a small company like this in Kansas City, it's going to be a little bit harder to generate the whole star quality, you know? In New York City Ballet or American Ballet Theatre, they have their really established stars and people go to see those specific dancers, so they can probably dance a little bit longer because their name and their history and everything can carry them, but here in Kansas City, there are so few dancers. So yeah, it's closer to the end than it's ever been before.
Planning on staying in Kansas City? Any future plans?
You know, Kansas City really has felt like home to me. You know, it really has. Growing up in St. Louis, Kansas City is similar in some regards. They're still very different cities, but - and my parents would hate for me to say it - but it does feel like home because I've been here for a long time. And it's changed a lot since I've been here. The arts have really grown in the amount of time I've been here, and I feel like it's a great city, it has a lot of things to offer, so I can very easily see myself sticking around, and I like the Midwest.
Have you thought about what you're going to do when you do have to retire from ballet?
I feel like I think about it every day, and I just don't exactly know yet, you know? I'm pretty sure that in some capacity I'll definitely want to stay attached to the ballet, because it's just something that I've been doing for so long, and it's part of who I am.
Have you thought about yourself choreographer at all?
I don't know about choreography, but I do teach in the school. And I've been teaching, strangely enough I started teaching in the summer after we did Giselle the first time. That's kind of funny, I never really thought about it. I really enjoy teaching the kids and watching their growth and being able to just help build their confidence, because that's a huge part of whether or not you're successful.
Do you feel there's a lot of new stuff going on in the world of ballet?
Oh, all the time. I mean, it's kind of amazing to me, since I don't really consider myself a choreographer, the fact that people can still come up with new things. I'm like, 'Are you sure it hasn't already been done before?' Just because ballet's been around for a very long time. But different body types move in different ways, you know? People who are very long have maybe a more languid and slower approach to things, and they start experimenting with their bodies and it can bring out something completely different than someone who's maybe a little bit more athletic and shorter in stature - they're going to do powerhouse moves. So, to me, the people who can really come up with this great art and like have it stand the test of time, it's just beyond me. Yes, it's difficult to do things accurately when you're told what to do, but to be the one who's making it up? I mean, that takes a special skill, that's for sure.
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This year’s Dance Division annual Spring Dance Concert featured a professional-level, prestigious ballet presented with a special agreement from the Anthony Tudor Trust as part of the annual “Great Works Project”.”
more at University News
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The fifth annual “Hardhats for Habitat” show will feature performances by Central Standard, a barbershop-style group, and Dick Wilson, of 94.9 KCMO, who will play the show’s narrator, Mark Twain. Over the last four years, more than $15,000 has been raised and donated to Habitat for Humanity through the chorale’s performances.
more at The Examiner
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There's something for everyone -- experience an exciting, eclectic evening of dance with three great ballets. The Catherine Wheel Suite by Twyla Tharp, the award winning creator of the smash hits Nine Sinatra Songs and Billy Joel's Movin' Out. A world premiere by Kansas City Ballet Artistic Director William Whitener... Mercy of the Elements set to music by Rimsky-Korsakov, and the Kansas City premiere of the ballet Moves by the legendary Jerome Robbins... creator of West Side Story. 
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Chet North, head trainer for Kansas City's major league soccer team, Sporting KC, put on a mini soccer clinic for the 3- to 5-year-olds in the early childhood disability class at Heartland Early Childhood Center.
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The Heart of America Shakespeare Festival must raise $100,000 by May 4 or cancel its planned production of “Macbeth” in June and July.
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But then Jim Heeter, the chamber’s executive director, started talking about something that had real potential: a Kansas City arts festival, something like the Edinburgh Festival, the Miami Book Fair or the Spoleto Festival, a 17-day spring extravaganza in Charleston, S.C. The more I thought about this, the more it seemed like a great idea.
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Area high school and college will have the opportunity to earn up to $500.00 to be used toward tuition, boarding or books at the college of his/her choice. Application deadline is April 30, 2011. This is an incredible opportunity for a student to earn necessary college money, by participating in something that he/she enjoys! The internship requires the student to be available to work / study on our summer productions at The Barn Players Theatre.
APPLICATION REQUIREMENTS
Currently be currently enrolled in a high school or college theatre program, and be from the Metro Kansas City area
- Have a minimum GPA of 2.75
- Provide a letter of recommendation from an instructor or counselor at the school that he/she attends
- Provide a cover letter of introduction by describing his/her interest in the performing arts
- Provide a current theatrical resume listing his/her experience in the performing arts
HOW TO APPLY
Send a resume, recommendations and letter of application to Eric Magnus, Artistic Director, The Barn Players, emagnitude@me.com. Deadline for application is April 30, 2011. Interviews will be held at The Barn Players at 6219 Martway, Mission, KS 66202. Announcement will be made by May 15th, 2011.
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His shows represent extreme physical exertion: marathon drummer Martin Grubinger. 
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I’m not going to mention the individual’s name, because this person satisfied the court order, repaid what was stolen, and the incident was expunged from their record. And this person is still active in the music community. Still, if I was in a position to hire musicians, this is one – who I’ve actually never met – that I would not hire because of what they put me through. I’m not bitter, but I remember. It was a helluva way to take over a Jazz Commission.
more at kcjazzlark
and here is part 2
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Join Health Partnership Clinic for our annual fundraising event!
DATE: Saturday, August 13, 2011
TIME: 6 p.m. - 11 p.m.
LOCATION: Overland Park Sheraton Hotel
Please contact Lauren Davis at (913)433-7588 or email Ldavis@hpcjc.org for more information.
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This presentation will be an interactive theatre experience delivered by the KU Theatre Department. Interactive theatre is practice in a fictional setting for real life situations that can be difficult to handle through hands on experience. “A Case of the Mondays” will look at a leadership challenge where a new office manager has to deal with a staff resistant to change. This script will deal with office politics and personnel management.
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KC Symphony conductor Michael Stern introduces Helzberg Hall
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 The Truman Trolley is getting ready to roll! Once again the bright red Truman Trolleys will visit the Independence Square and circle past major tourism attractions during spring, summer and early fall. Local residents and tourists from Kansas City can… more
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The Kansas City Actors Theatre (KCAT) announces its 2011-2012 season, and a return to repertory theatre, and a continuation of last season's professional partnerships.
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Erin Thompson started working at the Lyric Opera as an unpaid Production Assistant just seven years ago. Since then, Thompson has quickly worked her way up to become the Company’s Stage Manager. Thompson recently sat down to talk about how the Lyric Theatre has truly changed her life.
more at the Lyric Opera
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Meredith Adkins (née Fuller), a 1980 SM East graduate who used to work at the Prairie Village pool, is getting her turn in the limelight as part of a new reality show.
more at the Prairie Village Post
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Ruined Rating: 4
Ruined Unicorn Theatre
It has been a while since a theater completely carried me to another world, but such is the case with The Unicorn's production of Ruined. Lynn Nottage received the 2009 Pulitzer Prize for this play of war-torn Africa and its dual story of brutality toward women and the land.
Scenic Designer Erin Walley and Sound Designer Ryan Matthew Hall make Mama Nadi's establishment a "character" itself, a little place of escape for miners and soldiers alike. With a deliberate casual-looking placement of tables and chairs and the central bar, the setting is inviting as a gathering place, respite from an outside where sounds include both jungle birds and occasional gunfire,.
Mama (Nedra Dixon) is a spitfire, fully in command of her place and her people. She deals shrewdly with the shrewd trader, Christian (Walter Coppage), and the two display good chemistry of two people who know each other and know how to work with and around each other. In addition to the requested goods, such as lipstick, Christian shows up this trip with two young women, hoping Mama will take them. Salima (Samra Teferra) has been abducted from her village, raped by soldiers and witness to her baby's brutal murder; Sophie (Caroline Gombe), Christian's niece, has faced similar brutality, and was, ultimately, "ruined" (genital mutilation) by her captors. Mama is willing to take Salima who can be put to use entertaining the miner and soldier customers, but she balks at the seemingly useless Sophie. Bribed with Belgian chocolate and Christian's charms, she finds a place for the girl with a sweet singing voice and a good mind for arithmetic.
The girls make a place at Mama's, along with feisty whore Josephine, who dreams of a life of grandeur when regular client, Mr. Harari (John Rensenhouse) will take her away to "the city." Their daily work brings them in contact with military leaders from both sides of the ever-present conflict, Commander Osembenga (Mykel Hill) and Jerome Kisembe (Damron Russel Armstrong). At times, it is difficult to distinguish these two leaders—each is determined, ruthless and merciless in approaching the fight This is either a weakness of character differentiation or a grand anti-war statement, demonstrating that war is only about the fight itself with no real care or concern for the cause.
Act I of the play is energy-charged, moving instantly from scene to scene as all the characters populating Mama's world are introduced. Act II began to lose focus and might benefit from tightening and editing. Each character seems to have a turn with an obligatory monologue that slows the action and, sometimes, confuses the flow of the play.
Gombe and Teferra, as Sophie and Salima, demonstrate important moments, but sometimes exhibit a lightness of mood that would seem impossible for young women who have endured so much. Outstanding performances by Dixon, Coppage, Anyanwu and Rensenhouse clearly define their characters and make them real and believable.
The overall result is a feeling of transportation to another world, certain to provoke lingering thought and questions.
read the review at KC Stage
 
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For the first time in 10 months, “Winter’s Bone” isn’t playing on a Kansas City movie screen. The Oscar-nominated Ozarks drama had its last show times Thursday evening at the Screenland Crown Center and the Screenland Armour.
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As nature bursts forth at every turn, the Kansas City Symphony and conductor Michael Stern will celebrate planet Earth with music evocative of creation. The concert of music by Franz Joseph Haydn, Darius Milhaud, Antonin Dvorak and the U.S premiere of a work by Avner Dorman is at 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 2 p.m. May 1 at the Lyric Theatre, 1029 Central Ave.
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Topeka Jazz Workshop Inc., through its fund at Topeka Community Foundation, has awarded awarded five college scholarships.
more at the Topeka Capital-Journal
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You only have one week left to see “Ruined” at the Unicorn Theatre. It is definitely not the feel-good production of the season. But it’s the most important.
more at the Vignette
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Directly in the heart of art district, at 1715 Wyandotte, resides the Fishtank Performance Studio. Curated and co-founded in 2009 by Kansas City’s own theatre artist Heidi Van, the cozy recital bungalow seats a maximum of three dozen attendees. But it’s in this nook of a performance space where residents have the exceptional privilege of viewing some of Kansas City’s finest conceptual theatre works, specifically Boom! An International Lost and Found Family Marching Band.
more at The Vignette
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Concluding the Kansas City Repertory Theatre’s 2010-2011 season is Henryk Ibsen’s Peer Gynt, in an adaptation by David Schweizer, who also directs it. The production is already in previews and opens April 29th at the Copaken Stage downtown. David is a prominent figure in American theater who has directed several off-Broadway productions as well as works at Lincoln Center, London’s Barbican Centre and on stages throughout Europe. Regionally he has staged works at Trinity Repertory Company, Arena Stage, Center Stage, Mark Taper Forum, Geffen Playhouse, McCarter Theatre and others. David, who is 61, has had a lifelong fascination with Ibsen’s sprawling masterpiece, which he has reduced to a chamber version using five players and a sound score that eschews, for the most part, Edvard Grieg’s famous music. We recently sat down to chat about Ibsen, Peer, and David’s own 40-year relationship with this play.
more at The Independent
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Oscar Madison is divorced and enjoying the bachelor lifestyle in his own apartment, which is decorated in what can only be described as early American junkyard. His best friend, fastidious neatnik Felix Ungar, shows up distraught and suicidal announcing that his wife has given him the boot. George Wendt (Oscar) of Cheers fame and Tim Kazurinsky (Felix) of Saturday Night Live join us to today to discuss their parts in Neil Simon's famous play, The Odd Couple.
listen at KCUR (mp3)
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The River City community Players’ newest production, “Mixed Nuts,” has come with a series of surprises for the cast and crew alike. Director Jonathan Wehmeyer, a theater instructor at Benedictine College in Atchison, Kan., who will be making his directorial debut in the show that starts Friday, said as it relates to his actors, those surprises have been pleasant.
more at the Leavenworth Times
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Ben Vereen, who was the first performer to take the stage of the Municipal Auditorium-turned-Topeka Performing Arts Center, returns Saturday night to celebrate its 20th anniversary.
more at the Topeka Capital-Journal
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Members of the SM East Chansonettes — a choir made up primarily of sophomore girls — made their annual Day Tour yesterday, performing at three healthcare facilities and the Power & Light District.
more at the Prairie Village Post
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The AMC Theatres Kansas City FilmFest 2011 concluded in style after another great collection of feature and short films from around the world were shown to appreciative and packed houses at the AMC Mainstreet 6 theater last week. Also highly popular were the various seminars and panels on filmmaking, featuring visiting and local artists. The road ahead looks bright as AMC and the festival organizers find their footing together as partners and head into the future as the Kansas City film festival.
more at Review
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In our time, college “jazz festivals” have become commonplace. Invite some school bands from around the region to show their stuff, bring in some clinicians, and it works. It makes for a solid day or two of jazz education and maybe a good concert in the evening. But there’s something to be said for the expanded approach that Jim Mair and his crew at Kansas City Kansas Community College are taking next week. They’re stretching their festival out over six days and calling it the Kansas City Jazz Summit.
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The Arts Council of Metropolitan Kansas City Board of Directors approved $7,200 in new funding for local artists through the ArtsKC Fund Inspiration Grant program. These projects represent artists from multiple disciplines, different stages in their career, and various project types. Inspiration Grants are an investment in human capital, providing direct support to “art-treprenuers” whose abilities to advance their careers and produce work have a positive effect on our local economy.
Actor/creator Heidi Van, co-founder of the Fishtank Performance Studio, will use her $950 Inspiration funding to purchase a portable professional sound system for a new production, “Window Play.” The sound system will enhance the production values of this show and others that debut at the Fishtank and make it easier for them to be toured to other sites, such as the New Orleans Fringe Festival.
Playwright and author David Wayne Reed will use is $1000 grant to help bring cult-favorite Late Night Theatre back to life with a production of “Mother Trucker 2,” a sequel to Reed’s original drama “Mother Trucker” that debuted in 2004. ArtsKC funding will support production costs for the scenery for the play, which features an on-stage pickup truck.
more at ArtsKC
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Kansas City Art Institute animation students will be featured on the April 23rd show as Ryan Tonner presents “Luchadorable,” and Stuart Bury shows “My Best Friend” and his 2010 Student Academy Award winning short “Dried Up.”
more at CinemaKC
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It’s been a Passion for some of them for 20 years.For others, it’s a new experience. But for those involved in the annual Living Last Supper at Bethel AME Church — scheduled for 7 p.m. Friday — there is no question why they continue.
more at the Leavenworth Times
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It takes mettle to write a play about turmoil in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, where civil wars have brought years of rampant pillaging, murder and sexual abuse. Ruined is a problematic but gutsy play, and it won Lynn Nottage the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 2009. The Unicorn Theatre’s production of Ruined, a co-production with UMKC Theatre that opened April 16th, has much to offer, and brings home much of the horrible realities of a situation that continues to rage in the Congo. If there are moments of sluggishness in the show, which Ricardo Khan directs, and if at times the play thwarts one’s yearning for satisfying dramatic conclusions, it is on the whole a powerful, savvy piece of theater brought off with panache by several strong performers.
more at The Independent
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2011 Kansas City Starlight Theatre Broadway Season: The King and I - June 6 - 12 9 to 5 The Musical June 21 - 26 Guys and Dolls - July 12 - 17 Cinderella - August 2 - 7 Xanadu - August 15 - 21
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The Kauffman Center is committed to engaging and inspiring our community's children for generations to come. Donate to the Children's Wall and you will forever connect your child to this iconic building while helping us complete the capital campaign. Your child's hand, along with his/her name and age, will be permanently included in this colorful, artistically-arranged design of 1,000 handprints.
This is a $1,000 donation, which is fully tax-deductible and payable over multiple years. Handprints submitted by May 1, 2011 guarantees your child's hand will be in place for the inaugural season. RSVP for the final handprint-making event at our construction site office: Sunday, May 1, from 2:00-4:00 p.m. by replying to this email. Or call Jennifer Lapka Pfeifer at 816-994-7238 if another date and time is more convenient to you.
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For decades, Film Row - the area between 17th and 19th streets on Central and between Wyandotte and Broadway on 18th Street - was the midwest's connection to the movie biz.
more at KC Confidential
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Leigh Miller Muñoz hunches over a table filled with supplies.Wood, Duco cement, an X-Acto knife and crochet thread are all laid out. Metal instruments with pointed pricks sit on shelves above her. The room is 70 degrees, at precisely 30 percent humidity. Reruns play on the flatscreen television next to the table.
more at the Lawrence Journal-World
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Zhou Long, UMKC Conservatory Research Professor of Music Composition was just awarded a Pulitzer Prize for Madame White Snake, which premiered on February 26, 2010 by Opera Boston at the Cutler Majestic Theatre. Madame White Snake is a deeply expressive opera that draws on a Chinese folk tale to blend the musical traditions of the East and the West. Libretto by Cerise Lim Jacobs.
more at UMKC
and at kansascity.com
and at NBC Action News
and at KCTV-5
and at the New York Times
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“Being a woman is a terribly difficult task, since it consists principally in dealing with men,” said Joseph Conrad, author of Heart of Darkness. While Lynn Nottage's 2009 Pulitzer Prize play Ruined does not completely succeed, it is still theatre worth seeing, especially if you wish to think as well as to be entertained.
more at Infozine
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Doug Allen, Theatre Maintenance Supervisor, has been at the Lyric Theatre even longer than the Lyric Opera of Kansas City. Throughout his forty-one years at the Lyric Theatre, Allen has acquired many memories.
more at the Lyric Opera
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Ribbon Cutting Ceremony to take place at 5:30 PM. Drink samples and hors’ d’oeuvres will be served.
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Ribbon Cutting Ceremony to be held at 5:30 PM. Light food and drinks will be served.
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Ever wonder about Ben Franklin and his "shocking" experiments with electricity? The Coterie Theatre's next production is an interesting look at just this, and our guests today - Jeff Rosenblatt, Kyle Hatley, and Ted Swetz - discuss the significance of Franklin's scientific work. Tune in and hear some fascinating insights about the man, the myth, and the legend behind the bifocals.
listen at KCUR (mp3 link, following the EPA interview)
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Christian Youth Theater Kansas City (CYT KC) announces its 2011-2012 show season featuring 11outstanding family shows. This season will mark the 12th year for CYT in Kansas City. Fall shows include A Christmas Carol, Tom Sawyer, Aida - School Edition, and Robin Hood. Winter shows include Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Alice - A Wonder Full New Musical, Mulan, Jr., and Seussical, Jr. Spring shows will be Schoolhouse Rock, A Little Mermaid, and Charlotte's Web.
more at Broadway World
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Director Ricardo Khan talks about the Unicorn's production of Lynn Nottage's Pulitzer Prize Winning Play, Ruined, playing April 16-May 1, 2010. More information about the Unicorn production at www.unicorntheatre.org. 
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Composer James Mobberley and playwright/director Kyle Hatley have been selected as the 2011 Charlotte Street Foundation Generative Performing Awards Fellows. Selected through a competitive, two-phased process by a panel of performing arts professionals from 29 nominated artists, Mobberley and Hatley will receive unrestricted cash Awards of $7,500 each. A public performance of their work is planned for fall, 2011.
more at the Charlotte Street Foundation
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This article is from the March 2011 issue of KC Stage
It is certain that today’s children will be living in an incredibly different world than that of their parents. Technology is progressing at an astounding rate, so fast that it is often difficult to keep up with the latest innovations. For those in the performing arts and performing arts education, there is an entirely new world of resources that were not available just a few short years ago. For a truly comprehensive education in performing arts, it is vital for educators and students to become familiar with the ample resources instantly available at their fingertips.
Audio and video recordings have both existed since the late 19th century. The development of radio and the growing popularity of motion pictures in the early 20th century made it possible for a single musical or dramatic performance to be experienced by a much broader audience than ever before would have been possible. Audio and video recordings have been available in a variety of formats throughout the 20th century, but with the introduction of CDs and DVDs in the latter part of the century, home audiences were able to experience audio and video recordings with incredible clarity. Both CDs and DVDs use digital recording technology to encode audio and video as binary data. With the advent of the World Wide Web in the 1990s, the exchange of information, including audio and video files, multiplied to an unprecedented degree.
Unfortunately, the ease with which the internet facilitates file-sharing led to a general disregard for the copyright laws meant to protect the works of writers and artists of all kinds. The Recording Industry Association of America has sued numerous individuals alleged of file-sharing as well the developers of file-sharing software and websites. The public’s unwillingness to pay $20-30 for a new release CD led to the development of websites and software such as iTunes that are designed to sell digital music over the internet either by song or by album. The end result is that music of all kinds is available for download at the usual price of 99 cents per song (which inevitably drove down the cost of CDs over time). While streaming video sharing sites such as the incredibly popular YouTube still lie under the looming cloud of liability for the copyright infringement of their users, many in the entertainment industry are now realizing that offering good quality streaming media for free can be extremely lucrative. Monty Python profited from this revolutionary concept when, after numerous users had uploaded low quality clips of their comic sketches to YouTube, they chose not to enforce their right to have the illegally shared files removed, but instead responded by opening their own YouTube channel and legally sharing high definition videos of many of their sketches, with a link to their website where users can purchase their DVDs. What was the result of this crazy idea? A whopping 23,000% increase in DVD sales.
From an educational standpoint, the access to a variety of free or very inexpensive audio and video recordings makes it possible to use a much greater amount of multimedia in instruction and research. In addition to recordings, there are numerous books that can be acquired online. Google is revolutionizing research with its “Google books” search engine ( books.google.com). Entering a search term will yield text snippets from every book in the online database. Material that is in the public domain may be viewed and downloaded for free. Some copyrighted material may offer preview excerpts, which at times offer a considerable portion of the book to be viewed for free. If one discovers material and wishes to view it in its entirety, many of the copyrighted books have links to purchase online. Of course, poor students can always resort to the tried and true method of finding these materials in the library or using interlibrary loan (to search library collections around the world, visit www.worldcat.org).
Today’s musicians have the great privilege of accessing musical scores from hundreds of years of music history for free at the Petrucci Music Library ( http://imslp.org/wiki). The Petrucci Music Library offers more than 70,000 public domain musical scores, including everything from the “Seikilos Epitaph” from ancient Greece to the great composers of the Romantic period and of the early 20th century. Most of the music composed in the 20th century and beyond is under copyright protection, but some modern composers have chosen to allow certain works to be freely shared on this website.
In addition to the growing number of free resources available, there are also a number of extremely valuable subscription sites available. However, before paying for an individual subscription, check to see whether your school or library already has a subscription, as you may be able to access them either at your library or via remote access with a user name and password. Among these are Oxford Music Online and Oxford Art Online – encyclopedia of music and art, respectively; Naxos Music Library – a collection of over 250,000 audio tracks; Theatre in Video – which contains hundreds of play performances and documentaries; and JSTOR – a database of scholarly journals.
There are so many resources available, it is not possible for me to touch on each one, but I should mention the usefulness of online forums and e-mail lists, both of which are designed to connect people with similar interests, including a plethora of different performing arts organizations. Virtually all professional membership groups have forums for discussion and knowledge sharing.
With a world of resources at our fingertips, one might ask, “what will they think of next?” Someday there will surely be musical search engines that will help users figure out the name of that song whose title eludes them by humming a few notes into a microphone and waiting for the search engine to comb through a database of centuries of music in order to find a match. Science and technology are progressing so quickly, that fantastic ideas of twenty years ago are the realities of today. It is important as students and teachers to seek out these technologies and find out how to use them to enrich the educational experience, giving today’s students the comprehensive education that current and future technology can provide.
Find out more about Samuel Stokes at http://stokesmusic.tripod.com.
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The Technology Student Association program at Olathe East High School added another stellar state competition to its already strong 11-year history of exceptional performances.
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The man who brought West Side Story into your lives choreographed another piece, Moves, that is equally as moving and beautiful. The Kansas City Ballet invites you to enjoy this Kansas City premiere of Jerome Robbins' piece, which is part of three works signaling the final season of performances at the Lyric Opera.
more at Present Magazine
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 There’s lots going on in the next few days…particularly on Saturday – the day before Easter! If you’ve got family or friends in town for the holiday weekend, there are activities listed for Saturday from ALL corners of… more
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Terence Blanchard made his choices clear Saturday night at the Gem Theater: Keep contemporary jazz alive and vibrant, and make sure its lineage by employing a new breed of young lions.
more at kansascity.com
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Winners of the 2011 Focus Film Festival, sponsored by Lawrence High School, were announced Sunday afternoon at Liberty Hall.
more at the Lawrence Journal-World
and a preview at Lawrence.com
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I know that I am witnessing the finality of an era in Kansas City as the Lyric Theatre will soon shut its doors and reopen on the stage of the Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts. But all is not lost because in true Lyric fashion, Figaro has been transformed into a modern-day production, igniting the audience with a curiosity rarely witnessed in an opera house.
more at The Vignette
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Speaking of cheery, that’s also an appropriate way to describe the Chestnut Fine Arts Center’s production of the musical “Godspell.”
more at The Johnson County Sun (after the Enchanted April review)
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The universal desire to depart from one’s dreary daily life has been the inspiration for many an example of theatrical escapism. The Metropolitan Ensemble Theatre’s production of “Enchanted April” is a case in point. This sunny and genial play clings to its optimistically romantic notions without a whiff of apology. It’s enough to make Pollyanna seem like a cynic.
more at The Johnson County Sun
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A city-wide youth talent competition will culminate on Saturday, April 23, when Olathe's Got Talent comes to the Olathe East High School auditorium, 14545 W. 127th St., Olathe. The event is sponsored by Olathe East's theater department and the Olathe Noon Optimist Club. Proceeds will benefit East's theater department, community youth projects and provide a special contribution to the Olathe Miracle League Baseball project.
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The UMKC Conservatory of Music and Dance is pleased to announce that Kansas City Symphony Music Director Michael Stern will receive an honorary Doctor of Musical Arts from the UMKC Conservatory of Music and Dance, May 7, 2011 at Spring Commencement, where he will also give the commencement address.
more at the Kansas City Symphony
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When the 65-voice community chorus performs its "Sounds of Spring" concert at 7:30 p.m. tonight at Countryside United Methodist Church, 3220 S.W. Burlingame, the program will include "Blackbird," a song Paul McCartney wrote and the Beatles recorded for the 1968 double album, "The Beatles," also known as "The White Album."
more at the Topeka Capital-Journal
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First up was an interview with David Adams, the producing general director of Civic Opera Theater of Kansas City; and then we talked about audience etiquette and told some horror tales of bad audiences.
more at Stage Savvy
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When used to describe a theatrical production, the term “slick” can be seen as pejorative. It can sometimes mean that a play’s interesting rough edges have been worn off. In the case of the Kansas City Repertory Theatre’s solid production of the classic 1966 Broadway musical “Cabaret,” however, the word applies in only a positive sense.
more at The Johnson County Sun
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The district's annual Science Night for elementary, and now middle school, students will be from 5-8 p.m. Wednesday, April 27, at Santa Fe Trail Middle School, 1100 N. Ridgeview, Olathe. This year's theme is A Night of Flight, and activities for students and parents alike will focus on all things airborne.
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The Columbia Civic Orchestra, under the direction of Stefan Freund and Ned Horner, returns to the Missouri Theatre Center for the Arts stage with its final concert of the 2010-2011 season Saturday evening. And in this performance, it proves there’s far more to Spanish music than the average citizen might realize. Pulling from various eras of Spanish musical history, the orchestra will turn three expansive and gorgeous works up to the light.
more at the Columbia Daily-Tribune
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“Ruined,” a drama by Lynn Nottage that claimed the 2009 Pulitzer Prize, receives a thoughtful but uneven production at the Unicorn Theatre, despite the presence of some of the most gifted actors in town.
more at kansascity.com
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Egan, with wavy hair, a plaid shirt and close-cropped beard, wrote “The Serpent Rope” as his master’s thesis at the University of Missouri-Kansas City Conservatory of Music and Dance. As such, it might have been destined to rest eternally on paper. But on this recent Friday morning, thanks to an expanding partnership between the Symphony and the conservatory, Egan is getting a rare opportunity for a student. He is hearing a good chunk of the piece — its 15-minute closing part — played by seasoned musicians in all its challenging glory.
more at kansascity.com
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Olathe Northwest High School will host a fundraiser April 23 to benefit Project Graduation events at all four high schools. Northwest seniors will sell Speedy Car Wash cards to raise money for substance-free, post-graduation events across the district.
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Olathe students from elementary, middle school and high school levels earned dozens of awards during the recent Greater Kansas City Science and Engineering Fair. Among the honorees is Olathe Northwest High School's Tyler Howard who was selected as a Grand Award winner and will compete at the 2011 International Science and Engineering Fair in Los Angeles.
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Referring to Bela Fleck as a banjo player is akin to calling LeBron James a professional athlete or suggesting that Albert Einstein was a physicist. While technically accurate, the characterizations fail to convey the real worth of each man’s contributions.
more at kansascity.com
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Kansas City's students of burlesque and seasoned professionals show the audience their educational skills outside of the studio! Performance equals experience and this is how it's gained! Featuring Chicago heartthrob headliner Vaudezilla's Red Hot Annie!
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Many things to be enthused about last night, regarding Kari Johnson’s and Robert Burke’s KCeMA performance at Unity Temple.
more at Chamber Music Today
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In the theater world, many of the old categories are breaking down, and more and more artists are refusing to be pigeonholed. Actors aren’t just actors anymore. Some are actors and singers and songwriters and playwrights and producers and directors. And if that gets too cumbersome, they can always opt to call themselves “generative artists.”
more at kansascity.com
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Backstage at the Lyric Theatre, Debbie Morgan has been working to finish the props for The Marriage of Figaro. Taking a break from upholstering a chair, Morgan talked about the fond memories she has acquired from 12 years of working at the Lyric Theatre.
more at the Lyric Opera
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The Kansas City Boys and Girls Choir will join the Fine Arts Chorale to present “Alliance of Ages” at 3 p.m. today at Village Presbyterian Church, 6641 Mission Road, Prairie Village.
more at kansascity.com
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He really is like me, only worse. Rating: 5
Thom Pain (based on nothing) Relevance Productions
Trevor Belt and Scott Cox are back for a revamp of their hit show "Thom Pain (Based on Nothing)" at the She&Her Production space in the West Bottoms. This time, they mean business, because it's a fundraiser for Relevance Productions.
I had the pleasure of seeing this show opening night. The crowd was small but lively. My only impression of the show was from reading the script (which I did not, unfortunately, enjoy very much). But if there's one thing I can say about me, it's that I love being pleasantly surprised.
Thom Pain is a man just like you and me, only worse. He's wracked with painful (and joyful) memories that he simply can't keep inside anymore. The observance of his life stretches into the observance of human nature, and although perhaps not all of us have experienced all the pain there is to endure in life, Thom has gotten pretty close.
As he recounts the loves and losses of his life, the audience is thrown backwards and forwards and side to side from laughing, frowning, and sitting in painful silence. I've personally never experienced so many emotions in such rapid succession while watching a show. Scott Cox and Trevor Belt have created a production that focuses in -- painfully, so -- on one man and one man alone. One man who feels sorry for himself as many times as he counts himself as blessed. One man a lot like you and me.
His reminiscences can become warnings, and it all wraps up into one bleak yet somehow hopeful package. Is life worth living in the end? The constant struggle? The incessant pain? To quote the man, "Big things going wrong, but a million little things going right"? By the end of the show, I couldn't help but smile, the smile was *forced* upon my face, and I liked it. A lot.
This show might not be for everyone, but I encourage everyone to see it. See it with an open mind, don't expect or anticipate anything. I promise, if you do, you'll be pleasantly surprised by the impact it can have on you.
read the review at KC Stage
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This is my favorite song off the new album. Makes me cry every time I hear it. Its a little different from her version, but I hope you like it anyway.
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The high lonesome twang of bluegrass stars the Del McCoury Band and the joyous cacophony of the New Orleans institution the Preservation Hall Jazz Band might strike most observers as a completely incompatible combination. Yet the unlikely pairing collaborated seamlessly Thursday at the Lied Center in Lawrence.
more at kansascity.com
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The Metropolitan Ensemble Theatre production of “Enchanted April” falls in line with some of the Midtown theater company’s strongest work and, like many shows at the MET, is sightly ragged, a little out of balance, blemished with small imperfections but performed with integrity.
more at kansascity.com
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The Kansas City Symphony has received a challenge grant of $300,000 from anonymous donors. To meet the challenge, the Symphony must raise the same amount by June 30 -- the end of the Symphony's fiscal year -- through new or additional gifts from individuals.
more at the Kansas City Symphony
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Broadway Across America is bringing another classic show to the Music Hall this week: West Side Story opens Tuesday, April 5, and runs through Sunday, April 10. This production, directed by Arthur Laurents, is re-created for the tour by David Saint, the associate director on Broadway. I had the opportunity to chat with actor Stephen DeRosa, who plays Glad Hand. DeRosa's credits include Hairspray and Henry IV on Broadway, many productions Off-Broadway and in regional theater, a guest spot on Ugly Betty, and a regular role on the first season of Boardwalk Empire on HBO.
more at Camp
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The Kansas City Symphony has received a challenge grant of $300,000 from anonymous donors. To meet the challenge, the Symphony must raise the same amount by June 30 -- the end of the Symphony's fiscal year -- through new or additional gifts from individuals.
more at the Kansas City Symphony
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I can’t really say how many times “The Odd Couple” has been staged in Kansas City through the years. I can’t even be sure how often I’ve seen Neil Simon’s comedy about a neat-freak and an unapologetic slob rooming together. So while the basic storyline may not hold many surprises, Simon’s superior craftsmanship and his acute sense of timing continue to coax laughs from a willing audience, as we see in the fast-paced production at the New Theatre.
more at kansascity.com
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At the height of the AIDS epidemic in the mid 1980's a group of gay men came together in Kansas City to seek emotional and social support through their shared passion for singing. Today, the Heartland Men's Chorus is perhaps the metro's best known and most prolific choirs. They're celebrating their 25th season this year. Randy Mason had a chance to visit with Artistic Director Dr. Joseph Nadeau.
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Many celebrities have boosted their public images by giving thousands of dollars to a charity, adopting a child from a developing country or writing a tribute-in-song about a natural disaster. Some of the stars in question have slightly gray motives, though certainly others are pure of heart. But there is no doubt at least one music group, Sierra Leone’s Refugee All Stars, is able to paint a picture of civil war and refugee life from an intensely personal place that most musicians simply can’t touch. After all, the group has lived it.
more at the Columbia Daily-Tribune
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The Olathe Public Schools Special Services Site Council will host a free seminar for parents of students with disabilities. What Did You Do Over the Summer? Opportunities for Students with Special Needs is the topic of the April 21 meeting. It begins at 6:30 p.m. in the Instructional Resource Center, 14090 Black Bob Road, Olathe.
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As the recently re-elected treasurer of a national non-profit organization, Bentwood Elementary music teacher Corbin Trimble is more excited than some people might expect, considering the economic downturn and how it's affected so many organizations. He's looking forward to beginning his second term as treasurer of the American Orff-Schulwerk Association (AOSA) in July.
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KC Stage is coordinating the 2011 Free Night of Theater program, scheduled for this October. Please let us know if your organization would like to participate. The Free Night of Theater - originally started on one day during October - has grown to where it can be any time in October, and we will probably pick a two week window that gets the most theatres participating. So, if you already have knowledge of what you're doing in October, let us know shows and dates and whether you'd be willing to offer up a production for this program.
Started in 2005 by the Theatre Communications Group with over 150 companies in Austin, Philadelphia, and San Francisco, almost 8,000 attendees participated, viewing over 120 performances. Of those trying a new theatre in 2005, 29% returned and purchased tickets, and 3% of those purchased a subscription to that theatre.
The program has grown each year, and Kansas City was a participant starting in 2007. In that year, according to TCG, 398 participating theatre companies presented more than 600 performances offering more than 30,000 tickets. Of the people who participated, 41% returned to that theatre; 80% have gone to a theatre since the free night, including 38% of those who were labeled as someone who attends theatre infrequently (two times or less).
We at KC Stage realized we are in a unique position. With the over 200 organizations that are registered with us, Kansas City could easily become the biggest participator in Free Night of Theater, introducing new theatre-goers to the thrill and passion of live performing arts. This is especially needed in today's economic times, where too many people think the performing arts are 'just a luxury' that can be dropped and cut from government budgets and their own entertainment choices.
If you don't have a show in October, we're always looking for dedicated, passionate people who are willing to donate time to help connect to potential participating theatres, resources toward getting partners in business and the media to help spread the word of the program, and ideas as to how best get the word out to the right audiences.
If you would like to help coordinate the Free Night of Theater for 2011, or if you are in an organization that would like more information on how to participate in Free Night of Theater, please send send an e-mail to Angie Fiedler at afiedler@kcstage.com or call us at (816) 23-STAGE.
We realize everyone's time is valuable, and want to make sure your involvement is as effective as possible, and would benefit from any time you're willing to share, from twenty minutes to twenty hours. We have a short volunteer survey so you can help us use your talents and time the most effective way possible.
We're hoping to set up a meeting soon, and are currently looking at places to host. Let us know if you have any other questions. For more information on Free Night of Theater, including stats from prior years, visit the Theatre Communications Group.
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Dan Andersen, the lead organizer of last year’s inaugural Prairie Village Jazz Festival, has stepped down from his position as co-chair of this year’s event. Kathy Peterson, who had been Andersen’s co-chair until his announcement yesterday, will assume the lead organizing role.
more at the Prairie Village Post
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Choreographer Alvin Ailey launched his career in 1958 in a small New York hall with a troupe of eight dancers. By the early 1980s, spurred on by a coterie of Kansas City enthusiasts and arts patrons, he had planted a flag in Kansas City, bringing his company for regular performances and starting educational outreach programs that have grown exponentially ever since. On Wednesday, the Kansas City Friends of Alvin Ailey celebrated that fruitful relationship and watched a baton being passed.
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When actor George Wendt describes his college days at Rockhurst, what inevitably comes to mind is Bluto, the indelible character played by John Belushi in “Animal House.” In truth, Wendt’s days as an economics major at the Jesuit school might not have been all that wild.
more at kansascity.com
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Twenty-plus years ago, the poetic trumpeter Terence Blanchard, who comes to the Gem Theater on Saturday, was one of those “young lions” who were bringing new blood and new attention to acoustic jazz.
more at kansascity.com
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During the April 7 meeting, members of the Olathe Board of Education approved a strategic plan for 2011-16 and adopted a slight modification to the 2012-13 school year calendar.
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The Pulitzer Prize for drama usually goes to a play that reflects or comments on American life, but jurors who awarded the 2009 prize made an exception.
more at kansascity.com
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Marisa MacKay knows burlesque. Knows it up, down, backward, forward. She has performed at venues in this town, and she has been to burlesque festivals in other towns. So she and her husband, videographer Scott Smith, had a bright idea: Why not have a festival in KC?
more at kansascity.com
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The combination of the video imagery and the live and the electroacoustic music was imaginative and highly listenable and watchable. Joan Grossman’s video was elegant... with a simple beauty that leveraged symmetries across the vertical and/or horizontal axes in the center of the 8 x 6-meter projection screen in Epperson Auditorium. The video involved replication and reflection of imagery in kaleidoscope fashion, at times with superimposed additional imagery blended into the central part of the visual field.
more at Chamber Music Today
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 So, here’s a suggestion for a fun Saturday. Something a little out of the ordinary, perhaps. Wake up early and head downtown to The City Market. This market starts rocking at 6am! The Farmers’ Market really gets fun in… more
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On February 13, 2011, the acclaimed mezzo-soprano Joyce DiDonato returned to sing her fourth recital for the Harriman-Jewell Series on her birthday and in her hometown. She was joined by pianist David Zobel, who played for DiDonato's 2006 recital, to perform arias and songs by Rossini, Haydn, Chaminade, Hahn, Buzzi-Peccia, Di Chiara, and Leoncavallo. Following the recital program, Series Director Clark Morris wheeled a birthday cake onto stage to celebrate the occasion. This recording was approved by Ms. DiDonato. www.hjseries.org 
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Whatever it takes to get laughs.Topeka-born actor Gregg Binkley expressed that sentiment recently while describing a particularly comical episode of "Raising Hope," a sitcom on Fox for which the 48-year-old Washburn Rural High School graduate plays a grocery store manager.
more at the Topeka Capital-Journal
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UMKC’s Conservatory of Music and Dance has purchased three new Steinway grand pianos, which were delivered to the Conservatory March 28, 2011.
more at UMatters
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The lesson of the Lyric Opera’s innovative production of “The Marriage of Figaro,” its last at the Lyric Theatre, may be that madcap farce doesn’t fit too comfortably with the elongated formality of Mozart’s lush score.
more at kansascity.com
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This article is from the March 2011 issue of KC Stage
If you’re looking to accept donations, register people for events, or sell items online, there are many applications out there to help you complete any one of these transactions. But what if you’re looking to process more than one type of payment? What if your needs are a little out of the ordinary? Are there any software options that will support a variety of online transactions?
There are, but keep in mind that a multi-tasker – something that supports many types of transactions - are unlikely to provide top of the line support for all of those. Some focus on just one particular payment type, while others offer a number of payment types, but lack deep functionality for any one feature. But if you have multiple, straightforward needs that require less specialization — for instance, you’d just like to take basic online donations, sign up members, and sell a few items — you have a number of options.
Hosted Online Payment Specialists
If you’re looking for software to support several typical kinds of payments without a lot of complicated setup, it makes sense to use an online service that offers payment forms hosted on the vendor’s server. Hosted online payment tools allow you to link out from your Web site to one or many forms that can process an unlimited number of payments. The forms can often be customized to match your Web site (at least to some degree), thus creating a relatively smooth transition from your site to the vendor’s. Because you don’t have to create and host the payment form yourself, you don’t need to worry about security issues, and you generally don’t need to know any code to set them up.
Some options here are: Paypal Standard, Click & Pledge, Auctionpay, Gifttool, MemberClicks and CharityWeb.
Hosted Online Integrated Packages
If you plan to revamp your entire website and are open to switching to a new constituent database, a hosted online integrated package is worth considering. These packages offer support for payments as well as content management, e-mail blasting, and more — all centered around an integrated constituent database. Some options here are Kintera and Convio. Membership-based organizations should also take a look at integrated tools with a membership focus, including the aforementioned MemberClicks, Affiniscape, GoMembers, NetForum by Avectra, and Aptify.
Rolling Your Own Payment Solution
The hosted online payment specialists or online integrated tools listed above can be a practical way to integrate payment processing into your website. However, if you need to create custom workflows or business rules, or if you would like to integrate data directly with your database, hosted solutions are likely to feel limiting.
This route will require some technical chops (the ability to integrate HTML forms with calls to web services or APIs, for instance) and a bit of a learning curve to master the rules of the specific payment gateway. However, someone with experience in payment processing can likely set up a basic payment form in less than a day.
Keep in mind, though, that you’re likely to need a lot more than just a basic payment form. Should you decide to create your own payment solution, you’ll be entirely on your own when it comes to creating or maintaining site functionality. You’ll also need to purchase services beyond the payment processor itself. You’ll need to set up a Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) certificate for your Web site payment forms to protect the credit-card information. Depending on which payment gateway you choose, you may also need to get your own merchant account as well. Some options here include: PayPal Pro, IATS, Vanco, PayPal Payflow, and Authorize.Net.
Wrapping It Up
Accepting online payments from your website requires a bit of setup and a vendor to help process transactions, but it shouldn’t be prohibitive for any organization. From straightforward tools like PayPal or Click & Pledge to robust solutions like CharityWeb, online integrated tools, or Authorize.Net, there are good options for any requirements. Choose a vendor with an eye to your specific needs and the actual transaction volume and amounts you expect to take in, and you’ll be set up for successful — and lucrative — payment processing.
For More Information
Idealware, a 501(c)3 nonprofit, provides impartial information to help nonprofits choose software—and they have more resources about online project management software. All these resources are free.
A Few Good Online Payment Multitaskers:
http://www.idealware.org/articles/fgt_payment_processing.php
Online Payment Processing in Pictures:
http://www.idealware.org/articles/payment_processing_ pictures.php
A Few Good Methods for Processing Credit Cards:
http://www.idealware.org/articles/fgt_process_credit_cards.php
A Few Good Event Registration Tools:
http://www.idealware.org/articles/fgt_event_registration.php
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Behind the scenes on the last day of shooting The Statement of Randolph Carter, based on the short story by H. P. Lovecraft. A fabulous Kansas City area residence served as Miskatonic University, where we also had a fully restored 1912 Ford. 
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Summer Conference
Please join us for Summer Conference June 1-3, at Olathe Northwest High School. Click here for more information and forms.
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The ongoing opportunity to hear Bobby Watson tear it up is one of the best things Kansas City has to offer. No matter the setting, the jazz giant's exuberance is infectious.
more at Plastic Sax
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An exclusive interview with the cast, after the premier of their new indie film, Homecoming at the KC Film Festival at AMC Theatres. Actors: Sean Hackett, Brea Grant and Tom Fox Davies
more at Ramsey Mohsen 
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Winners in the just-completed AMC Theatres Kansas City FilmFest at the AMC Mainstreet:
• Heartland category: Feature documentary: “The Pruitt-Igoe Myth: An Urban History” (Chad Friedrichs). Feature narrative: “Au Pair, Kansas” (J.T. O’Neal).
• US/International category: Feature documentary: “Worst in Show — The World’s Ugliest Dog” (Don Lewis). Feature narrative: “Homecoming” (Sean Hackett). Short narrative: “Baby” (Daniel Mulloy). Short documentary: “Smolarze (Charcoal Burners)” (Piotr Zlotorowicz). Short animation: “The Lighthouse” (Po Chou Chi).
• CinemaJAZZ category: Feature: “The Anatomy of Vince Guaraldi” (Andrew Thomas). Short: “Horace Washington” (David Berry).
• AMC Theatres Young Filmmaker Awards: Top prize: “It Was Like That” (Morgan Dameron). Narrative: “As a Puzzle” (Tyler Doehring, Kitley Jewell). Documentary: “The Bricklayer” (Gregory Sheffer). Experimental: “This … Is the Orange Line” (Nathan Maulorico). Animation: “Hell for Bread” (Trent Coffin).
• Indie Pioneer Award: Andy Anderson.
• Outstanding Service Award: The late U.S. Rep. Karen McCarthy.
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The Lyric Opera’s new production of The Marriage of Figaro is well-sung, confidently acted and executed with a deft comic touch. Whether or not you buy into its conceit of setting the opera as a contemporary backstage drama, the production is at least consistent—at times relentlessly so—in its transfer of Mozart’s and Da Ponte’s 18th-century master-servant conflict to that of a modern management-labor structure.
more at The Independent
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Doors line both sides of the hallway belonging to the newly opened Columbia Academy of Music. Each is labeled with a letter of the alphabet. “You know how guitar players will call every note a sharp when they’re playing scales?” director of operations Andrew Weir said, smiling, as he strolled past each small studio room. “We named one of the classrooms ‘B Sharp.’ ”
more at the Columbia Daily-Tribune
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The New Theatre Restaurant will kick off its 2011-2012 season with a reprise of “Move Over Mrs. Markham,” an early-’70s sex farce by Ray Cooney and John Chapman.
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Starlight Theatre has announced that Lou Diamond Phillips will headline its production of the Oscar & Hammerstein classic “The King and I” in June.
more at kansascity.com
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It’s time to start adding those late spring festivals to your calendars! Kansas City is home to several top-notch art festivals. The first one to hit is the Brookside Art Annual. This year’s event takes place the last weekend… more 
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Now with two shows in production! The KC Business Show and the KC Wedding Connection! 
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All people in Kansas City may not know the work of Robert Altman. But they will likely know his name, that he is famous, and that he came from this place. Kansas City, though not Paris, has its share of romance — certainly its legacy of creativity. Altman came from this humble yet robust alchemy and produced narrative work that looked very much like reality and which set a standard for a style that influences work to this day.
more at Review
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Shows begin at 8 p.m. in Yardley Hall of the Carlsen Center unless otherwise noted.
- The Miles Davis Experience: 1949 to 1959 recaptures this period of American history through photos, narratives and Ambrose Akinmusire Quintet's jazz music. World premiere. Sept. 30, 2011
- Peter Frampton performs in its entirety Frampton Comes Alive!, the most successful album of all time, in a 35th anniversary tour that also includes newer tunes. Oct. 1, 2011
- Makaha Sons continue a 30-year tradition of Hawaiian music that carries the promise of sandy beaches and the spirit of aloha. Oct. 15, 2011
- The Los Angeles Guitar Quartet, Grammy-winning musicians, perform masterworks from bluegrass to Bach. Oct. 22, 2011
- Aquila Theatre, New York City, tours with a bold interpretation of
- Shakespeare's Macbeth 7 p.m. Oct. 27, 2011 and Oscar Wilde's The Importance of Being Earnest Oct. 29, 2011
- Bella Gaia ("Beautiful Earth") is a multimedia journey of our world expressing the moving beauty of planet Earth with images from space and live onstage music. 7 p.m. Nov. 3, 2011*
- • Munich Symphony and Gloriae Dei Cantores, led by Philippe Entremont, perform Mozart's Requiem and Schoenberg's Transfigured Night. 7 p.m. Nov. 6, 2011
- 69o South: The Shackleton Project is an installation-in-motion inspired by Sir Ernest Shackleton's Antarctic expedition, conceived by Phantom Limb Puppet Company/Kronos Quartet. Nov. 11, 2011
- The Max Weinberg Experience features the drummer/bandleader for Bruce Springsteen and Late Night/The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien, plus his eight-piece band. Nov. 12, 2011
- ArcAttack plugs high-tech wizardry into gee-whiz show biz to generate a truly "electrifying" family show of science and entertainment. Nov. 18, 2011
- Rock band, Get the Led Out, delivers Led Zeppelin classics true to the rock super group's studio-recorded versions in The American Led Zeppelin. Nov. 19, 2011
- The Grammy-winning Turtle Island Quartet takes us on a joyous voyage through world holiday music in a Solstice Celebration: A Festival of Lights. Dec. 3, 2011, Polsky Theatre
- The 12-member Burning River Brass performs traditional Christmas classics and jazzy udpates of Nutcracker Suite, Christmas Toons and Pas de Deux in Our Kind of Christmas. Dec. 16, 2011
- John Preece stars as Tevye in this musical, because, without tradition, our lives would be as shaky as a Fiddler on the Roof. 7 p.m. Jan. 8, 2012
- Percussion legend Poncho Sanchez and his Latin Jazz Band mix salsa tunes with party blues, Calypso jive, jazz-standards-turned-Latin-standards and good fun. Jan. 21, 2012
- American pianist Simone Dinnerstein displays her affinity to Bach with works from her Bach: A Strange Beauty CD, plus Schumann and Chopin. Jan. 28, 2012
- Ensemble Español Spanish Dance Theater heats up the night with Spanish classical ballets, folkloric suites and fiery Flamenco dramas. Feb. 3, 2012
- Henson Alternative: Stuffed and Unstrung is a live, outrageous, puppet show for adults only, brought to life by The Jim Henson Company. Feb. 18, 2012
- Louisiana's four-time Grammy-nominated Pine Leaf Boys present their own inimitable brand of Cajun music with youthful exuberance. Feb. 25, 2012, Polsky Theatre
- Danú, one of today's leading traditional Irish ensembles, features virtuosi players on flute, tin whistle, fiddle, button accordion, bouzouki and vocals. March 3, 2012
- "Tschaikowski" St. Petersburg State Orchestra plays a repertoire of 19th to 20th century music including Stravinsky's Firebird Suite. 2 p.m. March 4, 2012
- The Soweto Gospel Choir, 26 voices from an urban area of Johannesburg, South Africa, celebrates the unique and inspirational power of African Gospel music. March 24, 2012
- Debby Boone and her side men bring a Rat-Pack inspired performance of swing classics in Swing This. 2 p.m. March 25, 2012
- In An Evening with Groucho, Frank Ferrante plays the legendary Groucho Marx in this fastpaced comedy packed with songs, stories and audience interaction. April 13, 2012, Polsky Theatre (Marx's Duck Soup provides a warm-up, $5) 7 p.m. April 12, 2012 Polsky Theatre
- Ricky Nelson Remembered is a multimedia show featuring Ricky's music played by his twin sons, Matthew and Gunnar, with film footage of the entire family. 7 p.m. April 22, 2012
- Moscow Festival Ballet performs The Sleeping Beauty, a full-length ballet in three acts, premiered in 1890, with music by Tchaikovsky. April 28, 2012 *Co-sponsored by the JCCC Student Environmental Alliance.
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We'll also talk with Rockhurst High School graduate Sean Hackett about his film Homecoming, which is showing on Saturday at the FilmFest. Hackett describes Homecoming as "a love letter to the young men and women that missed out on the "college experience" due to their military obligations in Iraq/Afghanistan. Almost a decade into this war and many soldiers feel misperceived, unrecognized, and unsure where they will belong when this unpopular war is over. As filmmakers, the cast and crew dared themselves to stay away from war film"hot topics" (PTSD, Injuries, Alcoholism, Politics) and focus on a deeper subject that applies to what these men and women sacrificed - their 20s.
listen at KCUR (mp3)
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Possibly the best, most compelling imagery to accompany music ever, these animated paintings [mainly watercolors] by the talented artist/violinist Natasha Turovsky, daughter of I Musici’s founder, Yuli Turovsky that were projected during their performance in Kansas City tonight.
more at Chamber Music Today
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Garage Band Class
Beginning Guitar Student
Samantha Drehle plays
Ben plays Stairway to Heaven
Young Guitar Student
Lilliana plays
Guitar Student
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So it all starts when Ben Franklin, inventor of bifocals, daylight saving time and the lightning rod, walks into an “electrical show” and watches a young man be electrocuted. That’s the opening of Laurie Brooks’ “Ben Franklin’s Apprentice,” a play that tells a story of family turmoil and scientific inquiry in the 18th century and addresses a very old question: Are science and religion incompatible?
more at kansascity.com
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There are extremes of misery in the world that defy comprehension. In the war-torn Democratic Republic of the Congo, violence and sexual brutality against women and girls have remained at epidemic levels for more a decade. “The sexual violence in Congo is the worst in the world,” United Nations undersecretary general for humanitarian affairs John Holmes told The New York Times in 2007. “The sheer numbers, the wholesale brutality, the culture of impunity—it’s appalling.”
more at The Independent
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In “Zielinski,” Columbia-based filmmakers Chase Thompson and Ryan Walker have patched together one of the most intriguing locally produced documentaries I’ve seen. It’s the riches-to-rags story of John Zielinski — journalist, photographer, author and self-appointed arbiter of the truth. Whether he strikes a chord or rubs you the wrong way, you won’t soon forget this fascinating character.
more at the Columbia Daily-Tribune
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There are extremes of misery in the world that defy comprehension. In the war-torn Democratic Republic of the Congo, violence and sexual brutality against women and girls have remained at epidemic levels for more a decade. “The sexual violence in Congo is the worst in the world,” United Nations undersecretary general for humanitarian affairs John Holmes told The New York Times in 2007. “The sheer numbers, the wholesale brutality, the culture of impunity—it’s appalling.”
more at The Independent
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J.T. O'Neal has a graduate master's degree of public health from Harvard University and is currently director of an occupational medicine residency program in St. Paul, Minn., but what this graduate of Kansas University and KU Medical Center really wants to do is make movies.
more at the Lawrence Journal-World
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The Unicorn Theatre has a reputation for producing some of the most provocative, culturally relevant manuscripts in existence. To continue pursuing their distinguished level of production, the Unicorn unveiled the In-Progress Play Reading series in 2007.
more at The Vignette
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Figaro (Andrew Gangestad, not featured) plans to distract the Count (Troy Cook, not featured) with anonymous letters warning him of adulterers in hopes that the Count will be too busy looking for imaginary adulterers to interfere with his and Susanna's (Sari Gruber) wedding. Figaro advises the Countess (Katie Van Kooten) to keep Cherubino (Brenda Patterson) around by dressing him as a girl. Will his plan work?
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Tonight, 2,051 voices from 58 countries are getting together for a singalong like none other. Those voices will be melded together into a the Virtual Choir 2.0 — a Web project from composer/conductor Eric Whitacre. Each singer recorded themselves singing a chosen song, “Sleep,” to a Web cam while following along to a video of Whitacre conducting. Once all the individual videos were submitted, Whitacre had them all digitally combined, so that they could become one large choir singing together to the music.
more at the Lawrence Journal-World
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Kansas City is at the center of the film universe this week because the Kansas City FilmFest is under way and that means filmmakers actors and industry officials are in town. There is a Hollywood buzz in the metro these days because of one man.
more at KCTV-5
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Traditional Music Society performs at the Kansas City Young Audiences Artful Fools Day reception. 
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After a 24-year run of performances, the 940 Dance Company will present its final concerts at 7:30 p.m. April 14 and 16 at the Lawrence Arts Center, 940 N.H.
more at the Lawrence Journal-World
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Media Blasters Inc. and Shriek Show’s Fresh Meat label proudly congratulate writer/director/actor Ty Jones and his new feature thriller, Last Breath for winning the Best Narrative Feature Award at the recent Ninth Annual Garden State Film Festival in Asbury Park, NJ. The film was selected for the festival’s highest honor from among the over 150 films screened in competition.
more at CinemaKC
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In the piano dress rehearsal from the Lyric Opera of Kansas City production of Mozart's "The Marriage of Figaro", Cherubino (Brenda Patterson) sings a song he wrote for the Countess (Katie Van Kooten), assisted by Susanna (Sari Gruber). Cherubino, sings "You ladies who know what love is, is it what I'm suffering from?"
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Russian composer Modest Mussorgsky created a suite of 10 musical portraits for piano, inspired by an 1874 exhibition of a friend’s paintings and architectural projects. But most of those works were lost.
listen at KCUR
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Fine performances, exceptional dancing and an exciting new take on an American classic make the touring production of “West Side Story” at the Music Hall a memorable theatergoing experience.
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Executive Director Jeffrey J. Bentley and dancers Kimberly Cowen and Caitlin Mack on the progress of the Bolender Center for Dance & Creativity.
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I'd already heard a lot of great music in 2011, but Joe Lovano's concert Saturday at the Folly Theater topped it all. Startlingly innovative, Lovano and his Us Five band demonstrated that jazz still contains entire universes of untapped potential.
more at Plastic Sax
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Back in fall of 2008, Lawrence musician Sam Billen decided he wanted to make a Christmas album and hand out 1,000 copies to loved ones and strangers.
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Kristi Mitchell, a music teacher at The Barstow School, not only has a leading role in a musical salute to Barbra Streisand, she’s bringing a choir with her.
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Pies from the Porn Kitchen, written by UMKC playwriting student Natalie Liccardello, is part of the Fishtank’s mission statement to “nurture the development of new work and inspires theatrical entrepreneurship.” As a result, the piece is still a work-in-progress, and a lot of my review is about the script as well as the production itself.
more at Stage Savvy
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Fred Andrews still can't quite believe what happened in a UMKC auditorium 15 years ago. More to the point, he can't believe what has happened in 15 years since that fateful event, when he screened 10 of his favorite short films by local filmmakers to a receptive and encouraging house.
more at Review
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"Ben Franklin's Apprentice" is showing until May 7, 2011 at the Coterie Theatre, on Level 1 of Crown Center in Kansas City, Mo. Tickets at http://www.coterietheatre.org.
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If you’ve been a regular reader of KC Kids Fun, you are well aware that Kate and I are history buffs. (And British Monarchy enthusiasts, but that’s for another post!) It’s a great time to… more 
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It didn’t take long to realize, after saxophonist Benny Golson stepped up to the Blue Room microphone, that something extraordinary was in the works.
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R. Keith Brumley, Director of Design and Technical Production, began working for the Lyric Opera of Kansas City in 1984. Brumley recalled that one of his favorite funny memories occurred when he was watching a production early in his career.
more at KCUR
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Legendary and iconic dancer Jacques D’Amboise was in Our Town on April 1st to promote his new memoir, I Was a Dancer.
more at The Independent
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Prospective students are invited to learn about the graduate and undergraduate programs available on the Edwards Campus. Free GMAT and GRE test prep classes offered at 7:30 p.m.
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The KC Rep’s latest production, “Cabaret,” opened to a packed house on March 25. The musical explores late 1920s, early 1930s Berlin at the height of entertainment culture during the pit of economic strife.
more at University News
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And ACTION! This week, April 6-10, the Kansas City Filmmaker’s Jubilee is rolling out the red carpet to present its annual Kansas City Film Fest.
For five days, more than 135 films will be screened across four theatres, while a lengthy list of visiting and local artists will converge on KC to participate in workshops, panels, parties and screenings.
more at University News
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December 10, 2010 - first night of principal photography. A behind-the-scenes look as we set up and rolled cameras on this adaptation of the short story by H.P. Lovecraft.
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Jazz appreciators, move to the edges of your seats: April marks the 10th annual Jazz Appreciation Month. The celebration was originally initiated by the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C., and now the fever has spread all over the country — not daring to miss Columbia. The “We Always Swing” Jazz Series is poised for action, bringing in acts from around the country and even beyond the border. “We kind of outdid ourselves with four concerts” for Jazz Appreciation Month, series Executive Director and Tribune columnist Jon Poses said.
more at the Columbia Daily Tribune
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Performances of Baroque operas are rare enough, but rarer still are productions that take into account all aspects of 18th-century performance practice—not just historically informed singing and period instruments but also costumes, décor, gestures and stage direction that reflect what an audience of the period might have experienced. Normally one can hear such things only in cities like Paris, London or Amsterdam, and it was thus with great anticipation we attended the Boston Early Music Festival’s production of Handel’s Acis and Galatea, which despite a few reservations was one of the major theatrical and musical events of the Kansas City season.
more at The Independent
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Staying young at heart is important to renowned classical pianist Alpin Hong. It not only adds variety to his hectic life, but also helps some audiences, those not of the traditional tuxedo-and-cummerbund crowd, relate to his classic repertoire.
more at the Lawrence Journal-World
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We had a chance recently to speak with Sylvia Stoner, who portrays Rose in MET's production of Enchanted April. Stoner, an actor and opera singer, recently portrayed the key role in Transformations, produced at the MET Space by the Civic Opera Theatre of Kansas City. In Enchanted April she temporary rests her operatic voice to engage in a purely dramatic role. Linda Ade Brand was the director of Transformations and also directs Enchanted April.
Here is what she told us in our interview:
Question: We know your performances as a singer from the Lyric Opera, Civic Opera, Kansas City Repertory Theatre (Christmas Carol) and other venues around town. But this role is an acting role only...can you give us some background on how you perceive yourself as an actress, and how pure acting differs from operatic singing?
Answer: I have always thought of myself as an actor. While at Skidmore College I majored in both theatre (acting concentration) and music. Perhaps the theatre community does not perceive me as an actor, but I have actually done quite a bit of acting and directing in Kansas City. I have to admit that I love both theater and music and would rather not label myself as a "singer who acts" or "actor who sings."
It is interesting, however, to note the difference between roles available to me in the theater as opposed to opera. For example, I sang the role of Lisa, a fragile 18-year-old, in [Tchaikovsky's opera] Pique Dame this summer. Fortunately for me, Tchaikovsky wrote the role for a soprano voice that could cut through his gorgeous but heavy orchestration. However, I am more realistically cast as Rose in Enchanted April. I can personally relate to her life experiences and understand her.
Pure acting requires the actor to make a choice onstage. In opera, the music dictates the choice that must be made. In both straight plays and opera, the artist must continue to discover or the story dies. Often it is a special challenge in opera to create a scene "with" your partner onstage, especially if this partner acts "at" you all night. Opera singers occasionally forget to stay committed to the text or listen to one another onstage. It's so easy to just plug in with the music and the conductor and forget to tell the story.
Question: You have worked with director Linda Ade Brand before, most recently in the Civic Opera Theatre's production of Transformations which took place in this same theater. Transformations and Enchanted April are very different works, however. How would you compare one to the other, especially in terms of working with Linda?
Answer: In Transformations, Linda challenged the singers to serve both the music and the text. It was a very challenging work musically and we could not dare approach the drama until we knew the music. Linda had an abundance of patience with us, in regards to bringing the music to life with the drama. The opera had to be carefully blocked from the beginning, whereas the blocking was not set in the play at the beginning of our scenes work. In both the opera and the play, Linda collaborates with the artist to create a character and tell the story. I feel that Linda holds the same expectation for me to be committed to my character and colleagues in both the play and the opera.
Question: Tell us a little about working with the other ladies in this cast and how the four of you are learning to play off against one another in your very different roles.
Answer: In Enchanted April, there are four other female characters: Lotty, Lady Caroline, Mrs. Graves, and Costanza. Each of these roles is portrayed by outstanding local actors who are very giving onstage. It is thrilling to work with them. Since all of our characters change dramatically throughout the course of the play, it's quite a lot of fun to see how each of us affects the other's transformation.
Question: After Enchanted April, what is coming up next in your schedule that your fans might be able to see?
Answer: I have fans? I will be performing again in the annual Bloomsday event at the Irish Museum and Cultural Center on June 16. I am pleased to join the full-time voice faculty at Washburn University this fall, where I will also direct opera.
I am very grateful for the opportunity to act with MET. This has been a very rewarding experience for me.
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In keeping with their mission to provide inoffensive entertainment for all ages, the Martin City Melodrama and Vaudeville Company offers two programs. One is suitable for the whole family and the other is aimed squarely at the youngest theatrical demographic.
more at the Johnson County Sun
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It would be quite a fascinating exercise to seat both the writer of Ecclesiastes and Missouri United Methodist Church Music Director Alex Innecco at the same table and witness what sort of conversation transpired. Innecco, a gregarious Brazilian who also directs the Columbia Chorale and 9th Street Philharmonic Orchestra, might agree with the biblical scribe’s contention that “there is nothing new under the sun.” But he would probably add a clever caveat: Everything that’s old now once was new.
more at the Columbia Daily Tribune
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The show playing at the Unicorn Theatre until March 27 -- Two Jews Walk Into a War -- is part current events, part history, part theology lesson, and part vaudeville routine. Set in Kabul, Afghanistan, it tells the story of two old Jewish men hiding from the Taliban in a makeshift synagogue. Zeblyan (played by Robert Elliott) is an angry, rebellious fighter. Ishaq (played by Jim Korinke) is a quieter, more pious man. The two cannot stand each other, and their mutual friend, who was the only thing keeping them separated, has been killed.
more at Camp
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Underage drinking is preventable. That's the message behind a free presentation for area parents and students at 7 p.m. Wednesday, April 13, in the auditorium of Olathe East High School, 14545 W. 127th St., Olathe.
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This spring's production, "An Itsy Bitsy Spider Who Changed the World" is an imaginative delight. After watching the show, my girls (ages 5 and 3) gave it two thumbs up.
more at KC Parent
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Kansas City Rep has hit its peak this season with an outstanding staging of the Tony award winning 1966 musical, Cabaret. The Rep takes Kander and Ebb’s fabulous music, and Joe Masteroff’s gripping story, and keeps the audience enthralled from opening curtain, to curtain call. The Rep had a couple of missteps this season, namely, Saved and Circle Mirror Transformation, but this production puts them firmly back on track.
more at KC Active
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As of April 17, the phone numbers at Bentwood and Pleasant Ridge elementary schools will change. This will make them part of the district's digital phone system.
Bentwood's NEW phone number — (913) 780-7320
Pleasant Ridge's NEW phone number — (913) 780-7590
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Spinning Tree Theatre debuts with the Midwest premiere of Off-Broadway's hit revue celebrating the music of Tony Award-winner William Finn. The composer of Falsettos and The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, Finn's songs are passionate, funny, always personal, and soar with intelligence and beauty.
more at Broadway World
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The Quality Hill Playhouse’s latest musical revue is a part of their “American Lyricist Series,” a salute to some of the greats from Tin Pan Alley. “Look to the Rainbow: The Lyrics of Yip Harburg” is an overview of the work of the man best known as the wordsmith behind “The Wizard of Oz.”
more at the Johnson County Sun
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Members of the Olathe Board of Education are anticipated to approve the district's Strategic Plan for 2011-16 during their regular monthly meeting at 5:30 p.m. Thursday, April 7, in the Education Center, 14160 Black Bob Road, Olathe.
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Katie Van Kooten, originally of Olympia, Wash., is in Kansas City to sing the role of Countess Almaviva in the Lyric Opera’s production of “The Marriage of Figaro.” The comedy by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart is the last opera the company will perform at the Lyric Theatre before moving to the Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts. As an homage to the theater, the production has been updated to be set in the present and incorporates the building itself into the action. A guide to the opera (opening Saturday; tickets start at $30) is at www.kcopera.org.
more at kansascity.com
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Every serious jazz musician must eventually address his or her relationship with the groundbreaking music of Charlie "Bird" Parker. Few have done so with the imagination and authority Joe Lovano displayed during a bruising performance Saturday at the Folly Theater. Half of the concert was dedicated to selections from Bird Songs, the saxophonist's startlingly innovative new album of music associated with Parker.
more at kansascity.com
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“Everything she experienced became part of herself, to be used over and over in new adventures.” This line from Kate Seredy’s classic children’s book “Gypsy” is a telling statement about a young female being shaped and reshaped, bumping up against others, taking risks and drawing upon her own memories and circumstances to become more and more of what she could be.
more at the Columbia Daily Tribune
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In unscripted pre-show remarks at the Saturday night performance of “Make Me a Song: The Music of William Finn,” musical director Krista Lang Blackwood described Finn as a songwriter who reminded her of Broadway lion Stephen Sondheim, but with more heart.
more at kansascity.com
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Ah, theater folk. You’ve probably heard how superstitious they are — how you can’t say or do certain things in a playhouse without inviting disaster. But perhaps less well-known is how sentimental they can be.
more at kansascity.com
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The Rep and Eric Rosen's musical production of Cabaret is sexy, campy, dark and gritty.
more at Infozine
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Preservation Hall Jazz Band Director and tuba player Ben Jaffe talks with the Lied Center about touring with the Del McCoury Band, the beauty of New Orleans music, growing up in Preservation Hall and so much more.
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Enter your contact info for a chance to win two free tickets to the Unicorn Theatre's Ruined (voucher good for April 13-23).
This contest is open to anyone. It will close April 10 at noon, and the winner will be chosen at random.
Subscribers to KC Stage not only exclusive offers for free tickets just like this one, but they get to enjoy full access to the KC Stage website and receive our monthly print magazine. Subscribe today and support local performing arts.
Questions? Comments? E-mail contest@kcstage.com
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Preservation Hall Jazz Band Director and tuba player Ben Jaffe talks with the Lied Center about touring with the Del McCoury Band, the beauty of New Orleans music, growing up in Preservation Hall and so much more.
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We have to admit, when Bazooka's Showgirls invited us to a dress rehearsal of their new burlesque show, "Frivolitease," we had low expectations. The word "burlesque" has been bandied about so often with so many performers in the last few years, we didn't expect more than a halfhearted fan dance and a few limp tassels attached to titties that didn't care to shake. Were we wrong. This show rocks.
more at The Pitch
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Two burly, bespectacled Kansas Citians dominated an appearance by a Tulsa, Okla.-based band Wednesday at Crosstown Station.
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A rare gem from an age of elegance appeared at the Folly Theater Friday night, when the Friends of Chamber Music presented the seldom performed pastoral drama "Acis and Galatea" by George Frideric Handel.
more at kansascity.com
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Bring your blankets and chairs; sit under the stars in our beautiful Oak Grove Park and enjoy the variety of outdoor entertainment we are offering at the Gladstone Amphitheatre. All events are family friendly and open to audiences of all ages. For more information, visit our website at www.gladstone.mo.us or contact us at (816) 423-4091. All events are free.
May 15th 1:00 p.m. Middle School Melody
June 7th 7:30 p.m. June Tunes - Corbin Jazz Ensemble
June 14th 7:30 p.m. June Tunes - Kathleen Holeman
June 17th 9:00 p.m. Movie in the Park - Shrek Forever After (PG)
June 21st 7:30 p.m. June Tunes - Northwinds Jazz Band
June 28th 7:30 p.m. June Tunes - Steve Epley's Roadhouse
July 4th 8:00 p.m. 4th of July Celebration
July 8th - 10th - 8:30 p.m. Gladstone Theatre in the Park "Flyer: The Musical Story of the Wright Brothers"
July 22nd 9:00 p.m. Movie in the Park - Karate Kid (PG)
July 30th 6:00 p.m. Night Out Against Crime
August 5th -7th 8:30 p.m. Gladstone Theatre in the Park - "Thoroughly Modern Millie"
August 13th 5:00 p.m. Bach to School Bash
October 28th 6:00 p.m. Friday Fright Night
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CinemaKC, a not-for-profit organization connecting film related groups in Kansas and Missouri, is showcasing local filmmakers on a weekly TV show, “CinemaKC” broadcast every Saturday night at 9:30pm on KSMO-TV 62. In April, the work of local filmmakers Ty Jones, Todd Norris, Jon Davis, Marc Havener, Meagan Flynn, Ryan Tonner, Stuart Bury and Patrick Rea will be featured.
more at CinemaKC
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As we get older, we can become set in our ways. But not the Kansas City FilmFest, which in its 15th year is still going through major changes.In 2009, two big local festivals — Kansas City FilmFest and the Kansas City Filmmakers Jubilee — merged into one megafest.
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A Broadway Caliber Show in Kansas City! Rating: 5
Cabaret Kansas City Repertory Theatre
I absolutely loved the show, as did my companion, a 50-year theatre veteran who not only founded several theatres in the local area but has directed and acted in numerous shows over the decades. He has a much more critical and unforgiving eye than I do, and he gave the show a standing ovation!
To be totally honest, I must admit that I have been a little disappointed with the stage fare that the Rep has produced in the last couple of seasons. As a season ticket holder, I was wondering if I had possibly even wasted my money this season. But this show in itself more than made up for all of the other productions this season that I didn't care much for--either in the choice of script itself or the production.
You really cannot go wrong with this show! Don't expect to see the film reenacted--seeing it live is so much better than the film--and quite different. There is never a dull moment--the pacing is excellent, and the time really flies by.
read the review at KC Stage
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 It’s April 1, and that means it’s April Fool’s Day. But to thousands of families in the metro (and from out of town, too!) it means Opening Day at Deanna Rose Children’s Farmstead.
Located at 13800 Switzer and open since… more 
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Join us
Saturday, August 28
at Holiday Inn - Olathe
101 W. 151st Street
Festivities to begin at 6 p.m.
Hosted by the
Olathe Chamber of Commerce
and Garmin International.
To download the flyer, click here or visit
www.olathe.org for even more information!
To sponsor a table, click here!
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As one of the world’s top tenor saxophonists, Joe Lovano could play whatever music he chooses. Lately Lovano, who’s coming to the Folly Theater on Saturday, has been choosing to play the music of Kansas City’s Charlie Parker.
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Nobody Lonesome For Me: A Hank Williams' play with music
September 9, 2011 - October 23, 2011
Written by Lanie Robertson
Kansas City Premiere
It's New Year's Eve 1952, and country music legend Hank Williams is stranded in a gas station. During this fateful night Hank shares his wit, his stories and his music. Hank Williams created one of the most enduring musical legacies with classics like "So Lonesome I Could Cry", "Cold, Cold Heart", "Ramblin' Man",and "Your Cheatin' Heart". This revealing look at America's greatest troubadour celebrates his musical genius, his journey to stardom and his demons. Starring Matthew Brumlow, who is reprising his much-lauded role as Hank Williams.
The Marvelous Wonderettes
November 4, 2011 - December 24, 2011
Written and Created by Roger Bean
Kansas City Premiere
Everyone wants the perfect prom night, but when the entertainment fails to show up to the 1958 Springfield High Prom, it is up to The Wonderettes to save the night! The Wonderettes make the night sizzle with their huge voices and hits such as "It's My Party", "Alleghany Moon", and "Dream Lover". Follow their wise-cracking antics from prom night to their ten-year reunion where we catch-up on their lives and hear fabulous songs such as "Respect", "You Don't Own Me", and "Son of a Preacher Man." The Marvelous Wonderettes is an unforgettable musical trip down memory lane for the whole family!
Beer For Breakfast
January 6, 2012 - February 19, 2012
Written by Sean Grennan
World Premiere
Four middle-aged buddies reunite for a "guy's weekend" complete with old music, cheap beer and enough cholesterol to stop Superman's heart. These guys are out to prove they've still got it, so they are going to party like it's 1978! It's all going well until one of them doesn't show up...but his wife does. Snowed in over night, an epic struggle ensues: Will man be judged the superior sex or will woman prevail? Will love triumph or will old grudges win? And finally, perhaps most importantly, if Doritos are made from corn, why can't they be considered a serving of vegetables?! Starring Kansas City favorites, Cathy Barnett, Scott Cordes, Martin English and playwright Sean Grennan.
The Importance of Being Earnest
March 2, 2012 - April 15, 2012
Written by Oscar Wilde
Currently a smash-hit on Broadway, AHT is delighted to bring Oscar Wilde's famous farce, The Importance of Being Earnest, back to Kansas City. In this glorious comedy of mistaken identities, traditional rules of propriety and etiquette are mocked. Dashing men-about-town John Worthing and Algernon Moncrieff pursue fair ladies Gwendolen Fairfax and Cecily Cardew. Matters are complicated by the imaginary characters invented by both men to cover their on-the-sly activities-not to mention the disapproval of Gwendolen's mother, the formidable Lady Bracknell, played by Kansas City favorite Jim Korinke! It's a comedic masterpiece about class and name-dropping.
As Long As We Both Shall Live - A Mystery Farce
May 4, 2012 - June 17, 2012
Written by Sean Grennan
World Premiere
Addison Ashe is smart. Like, insanely smart. She got perfect SATs, mastered psychology, quantum and auto mechanics, mixed martial arts, yodeling and more - all in a matter of weeks. Despite all that, she's never had too much luck with guys...until now! She's set to marry the man of her dreams, but mysterious murders threaten to cancel their nuptials.What do you do when you're one of the smartest people alive, it's your wedding day, your mother-in-law hates you, the priest is shady, the wedding planner has been killed (leaving you the prime suspect) and now someone is out to get you, too? You'll find out that it's murder to make marriage work these days! See if you can solve the Addison Ashe Mystery, As Long As We Both Shall Live!
Bingo! A Winning Musical
July 6, 2012 - August 19, 2012
Book Michael Heitzman and Ilene Reid
Music and Lyrics by Michael Heitzman, Ilere Reid and David Holcenberg
Kansas City Premiere
Bingo! is a splashy, zany, outrageously funny new musical. Come meet Vern, Honey and Patsy: three pals that weather a terrible storm to play their weekly obsession - bingo. In between the number calling, strange good-luck rituals, and fierce competition, love blossoms and long-lost friends reunite! It's a great night out for the entire family or all of your gal pals. Come play bingo from the comfort of your own seat, win prizes, hear fabulous voices and have great fun!
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The 2011 Olathe Summer Conference will be held from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. June 1-3 at Olathe Northwest High School, 21300 College Blvd. in Olathe. Olathe staff and nationally known consultants will present more than 100 professional development sessions for pre-kindergarten through senior high school educators, administrators and counselors.
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8 a.m.-4 p.m. June 1-3, Olathe Northwest, (913) 780-8036
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One of the 20th century’s most influential playwrights, innovative German author Bertolt Brecht had a profound impact on theatrical production and on theater as a medium for addressing social issues. Yet it’s been more than two decades since Kansas University Theatre has tackled one of his plays.
more at the Lawrence Journal-World
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Former incarnations of Kander and Ebb's legendary musical Cabaret loom so large in the public imagination that subsequent versions require justification of a kind. Nicht problem. The Kansas City Repertory's dazzling new production acquits itself absolutely.
more at The Pitch
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Walnut Grove Elementary teachers kicked off Kansas Assessment season by showing their third- through fifth-grade students some unique ways to prepare for the tests. Based on the NBC television show Minute to Win It, their assembly blended the fun of a game show with the seriousness of doing well on these statewide tests.
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The April 2011 issue of KC Stage is available online for subscribers.
Remember that subscribers get full access to the website as well as a chance to win free tickets to some of Kansas City's biggest shows.
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The highest-ranked German language student in Kansas is Antonio Ortiz of Olathe North High School, and more than a dozen Olathe German language students received medals for their outstanding efforts at Schülerkongress, the state German competition held in Lawrence on March 5. Medals are presented to students who score 39 out of 40 total points, or who rank in the top five among their level.
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Late in the evening of March 4, I stood on Ninth Street, waiting with a throng of True/False Film Fest filmgoers, eagerly waiting to enter the Missouri Theatre Center for the Arts for a screening of the mockumentary “Troll Hunter.” The hold-up, we discovered, was that one completely full theater of people was being exchanged for another completely full theater of people. The Missouri Theatre hadn’t been this lively in recent memory, humming to the point of practically vibrating.
more at the Columbia Daily-Tribune
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