MAY
28-June 15: Kansas City Actors Theater; The Roommate; The recent star-vehicle Broadway production of Jen Silverman’s dark comedy divided critics sharply; but actors Carla Noack and Jan Rogge, and director Darren Sextro, are ready for the challenge; H&R Block City Stage at Union Station Kansas City; kcactors.org.
31 and June 1: Choral Spectrum; Stronger Together; Michael Robert Patch leads this ensemble, dedicated to the LGBTQIA+ community, in a program emphasizing solidarity, inclusion, and love over hate: “standing together because we are stronger together”; Holmeswood Baptist Church. Contact: choralspectrumkc.org.
31 and June 1: Te Deum; Harmony of Connections: Barber’s Reincarnations and American Composers; The program includes music of Samuel Barber, Meredith Monk, Forrest Pierce, and Anthony J. Maglione; Village Presbyterian Church (May 31st) and St. Mary’s Episcopal Church (June 1st). Contact: te-deum.org.
JUNE
1: Kinnor Philharmonic; Gershwin Rhapsody; Christopher Kelts conducts a program of music by George Gershwin, whose Rhapsody in Blue celebrated 100 years last year; pianist Sean Chen is featured in a concert that includes the Second Rhapsody, the Lullaby for Strings and An American in Paris; Lewis & Shirley White Theatre, Jewish Community Center of Greater Kansas City. Contact: 913-327-8054 or thejkc.org.
3-8: AdventHealth Broadway Series/Starlight Theatre; School of Rock: The Musical;Andrew Lloyd Webber works his magic on this adaptation of Richard Linklater’s good-natured 2003 film musical; Starlight Theatre. Contact: 816-363-7827 or kcstarlight.com.
6: NewEar Contemporary Chamber Music Ensemble; Kansas City Contemporary Music Festival; Unconventional music comes to Kansas City’s First Friday celebration, in the only festival of its kind in the area, hosted by our veteran new-music group, newEar, which will also bring some of its own featured performers; Crossroads District venue TBA. Contact: newear.org.
6-8: Kansas City Symphony; Beethoven and Wagner; Augustin Hadelich, one of the great violinists of today, performs the Beethoven Concerto and Asher Fisch conductsParsifal: An Orchestral Quest, a suite that compresses Wagner’s six-hour opera into 45 minutes; Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts. Contact: 816-471-0400 or kcsymphony.org.
11-August 3: Coterie Theatre; A Year with Frog and Toad; This effervescent children’s musical, which William Reale and Robert Reale adapted from Arnold Lobel’s series of books, is directed by Khalia Davis; Coterie Theatre, Crown Center of Kansas City. Contact: 816-474-6552 or thecoterie.org.
12: Kauffman Center Presents; Natalia Lafourcade: Cancionera Tour; The great Mexican singer-songwriter, who performs everywhere from Lincoln Center to Paris’ Bataclán, brings her artistry to our city; Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts. Contact: 816-994-7222 or kauffmancenter.org.
17-July 6: Heart of America Shakespeare Festival; Love’s Labour’s Lost; Sidonie Garrett directs this quirky comedy, whose themes of abstinence and temptation have found echoes in all sorts of theater, film, and more; Southmoreland Park. Contact: 816-531-7728 or kcshakes.org.
20-22: Spinning Tree Theatre; Super Jewels! A New Musical; This enterprising company presents the local premiere of B.K. Bradshaw and Josh Freilich’s musical about friendship and belonging; Johnson County Arts and Heritage Center. Contact: spinningtreetheatre.com.
26-September 7: New Theatre Restaurant; Clue: The Stage Play; Sandy Rustin’s comedic whodunit features characters from the Hasbro board game (Miss Scarlett, Colonel Mustard, Mrs. White, Mr. Green, and so forth), and from Jonathan Lynn’s 1985 film; New Theatre & Restaurant. Contact: 913-649-7469 or newtheatre.com.
27 & 29, July 18 & 20, August 15 & 27: Kansas City Baroque Consortium; A Musical Offering: Music from the Circle of J.S. Bach; This season, Kansas City’s primary early-music ensemble offers three ingenious programs dedicated to (1) Bach’s contemporaries, (2) his offspring, and (3) his activities at Leipzig’s famous Café Zimmerman; Fridays at St. John’s United Methodist Church (June 27th), Village Presbyterian Church (July 18th), and Visitation Catholic Church (August 15th); and Sundays at Gloria Dei Lutheran Church; Contact: kcbaroque.org.
28-29: Heartland Men’s Chorus; Do It with Heart: Concert and Tour; As it celebrates four decades of bringing music to the region, the choir presents anthems of pride and acceptance: in two local concerts at Johnson County Community College and on a subsequent tour; Midwest Trust Center. Contact: 816-931-3338 or hmckc.org.
JULY
5-27: Summerfest; The 33rd season; Kansas City Symphony musicians, UMKC Conservatory faculty, and others join forces on four July weekends to present chamber music old and new; Saturday evenings at White Recital Hall and Sunday afternoons at St. Mary’s Episcopal Church. Contact: summerfestkc.org.
5-27; White Theatre at the J; West Side Story; Romeo and Juliet (aka Tony and Maria) take to the mean streets of New York City in the Bernstein-Sondheim-Robbins-Laurents musical that changed Broadway forever; a collaboration with the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce of Greater Kansas City; Lewis & Shirley White Theatre, Jewish Community Center of Greater Kansas City. Contact: 913-327-8054 or thejkc.org.
8-13: Broadway Across America Kansas City; The Wiz; Charlie Smalls and William F. Brown’s musical on Frank Baum’s book won seven Tony Awards in 1975 and became a significant moment in the history of Black representation on the American stage; Municipal Auditorium Music Hall. Contact: americantheatreguild.com/kansascity.
11-12: Moving Arts; A Farewell to Kings; The annual festival of cutting-edge choreography, which was founded in 2013 by KC Ballet dancers and others, has grown into a nationally celebrated festival; this year’s program includes works by Gabriel Lorena, Emily Mistretta, and founding artistic director Logan Pachciarz in collaboration with singer-songwriter Emma Ruth Rundle; Folly Theater. Contact: movingartsco.org.
13-21: Theatre in the Park; Roald Dahl’s Charlie and the Chocolate Factory; David Greig, Marc Shaiman, and Scott Wittman achieved the seemingly impossible in 2013 when they turned Dahl’s kaleidoscopic 1964 fantasy novel into a musical, first on the West End and then adapted for Broadway; this is outdoor community theater at its best; Shawnee Mission Park Amphitheatre. Contact: theatreinthepark.org.
13-27: KC Fringe; Fringe Festival 2025; Kansas City’s most important incubator for up-and-coming performance is now in its 21st season; Audrey Crabtree is executive director, and among this year’s artists is playwright Derek Trautwein; Various venues. Contact: kcfringe.org.
15-26: Theatre for Young America; Puss ’n Boots: A Tale of a Tail; What will we sacrifice for our dreams? asks the intrepid lad of this story, whose journey brings him into contact with a wide variety of characters, including the famous feline of the title; H&R Block City Stage at Union Station Kansas City. Contact: 816-460-2083 or tya.org.
17: Ensemble Ibérica; Chamamé: The Spirit of the South American Missions; Alejandro Brittes is an Argentine composer-accordionist-scholar based in Brazil who fuses his own indigenous Guaraní musical traditions with those of the Jesuit missions of South America and other places; he is joined by André Ely and Carlos de Césaro; Atkins Auditorium, The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art. Contact: ensembleiberica.org.
28-August 2: Heartland Chamber Music Festival; Festival 2025; Kansas City’s prestigious training program offers several public performances by faculty and students through the week, and a grand concert by this year’s guest ensemble, the Ulysses String Quartet; Midwest Trust Center. Contact: heartlandchambermusic.org.
AUGUST
7-18: The Barn Players; 1776; This Peter Stone/Sherman Edwards collaboration, which first appeared on Broadway in 1969, is sure to be strong in this production, with stage direction by Barb Nichols and Darren Sextro and musical direction by Todd Gregory-Gibbs; Black Box Theatre, Johnson County Arts & Heritage Center. Contact: 913-432-9100 or thebarnplayers.org.
8-9: Owen/Cox Dance Group; Creative Intersections; This free outdoor program brings Kansas City dancers and choreographers together each summer for an inspiring outdoor performance; Pilgrim Labyrinth and Butterfly Garden; Hyde Park. Contact: owencoxdance.org.
17: Summer Singers of Kansas City; Beethoven Symphony No. 7 and Mass in C;William Baker conducts a brilliantly ambitious all-Beethoven program, which also includes the Hallelujah from Christ on the Mount of Olives; Grace & Holy Trinity Cathedral. Contact: festivalsingers.org.
24: Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception; Thirteenth French Organ Music Festival; This year’s festival recognizes gifted women organists in our region, including Ann Marie Rigler, Audrey Pickering, Ann Pham, Jan Kraybill, Isabel Alsum, and Sherry Dou, who will perform on the Ruffati Pipe Organ; the host is Cathedral Music Director Mario Pearson; Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception. Contact: kcgolddome.org.
—By Paul Horsley
