The 2011-2012 performing-arts season is one of the most exciting in Kansas City’s history, thanks partly to the inauguration of the Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts. But the new downtown icon is not the only game in town: In fact its presence seems to have spurred other groups to new heights, in the spirit […]

After one of the most gruelingly hot summers in Kansas City history, Our Town gets a fabulously hot autumn – culturally speaking, that is – with a sizzling selection of musical artists, dancers, visiting celebrities, vibrant drama, and raucous comedies available for your pleasure. Below are our highly opinionated suggestions of choices for the fall […]

Several of Kansas City’s major performing arts organizations have announced their 2012-2013 seasons in recent weeks and now is the time to think about subscribing or renewing your existing subscriptions. Some renewal deadlines have already passed, so call soon. Phone numbers are listed below. Check websites for more information. Scroll down for a summary of […]

Italy, Ireland, Mexico, Cuba, Russia, Scotland, China, Canada, Australia: The Harriman-Jewell Series’ 2012-2013 season boasts one of the most cosmopolitan rosters in its 46-year history, and also one of the most varied. The goal, says executive director Clark Morris, is to maintain the international excellence for which the Series is known while achieving an impressive variety of […]

This year will go down in history as a milestone in Kansas City’s performing arts life, as the opening of the Kauffman Center has spurred all of our local arts groups to new heights. Here are a few of my favorite moments of the year, listed in chronological order. All of these have been reviewed […]

 January 6th-February 9th: Beer for Breakfast (American Heartland Theatre). Four buddies plan a weekend hunting trip, only to have one of the wives show up instead of her husband. What ensues is a sort of battle of the sexes “country-style,” with plenty of wit. January 20th-26th: Yo-Yo Ma, cello (Kansas City Symphony). Dvořák’s Concerto is one of the […]

Ah, summer. Kansas City used to be a downright sleepy place during the warm months, culturally speaking—but no longer. In recent years, perennial favorites such as the Starlight Theatre, the Heart of America Shakespeare Festival and Summerfest have been joined by all sorts of presentations large and small. To help you keep it all straight, […]

It was the moment Kansas City had waited for, anxiously and at times with faltering hopes, for 16 years. Suddenly, there it was: This September 16th through the 18th the Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts opened with a celebration that was as spectacular as the building’s architecture, as welcoming as its glittering glass Brandmeyer Hall lobby, […]

Hollywood can make movies about playwrights, poets, painters. It can make you bawl over the death of a dog, feel you’re genuinely on board the Titanic or evoke precisely the melancholy of a small town in the Deep South. But when it comes to making films about classical music, it’s time to drag out every […]

This week we supplement the information placed on this blog in April summarizing the 2010-2011 seasons of the Kansas City Symphony, the Lyric Opera of Kansas City, the Kansas City Ballet, the Harriman-Jewell Series, and the Friends of Chamber Music. Today we look at the series offered by area institutions of higher learning, which over […]

It was an auspicious year for the performing arts in Kansas City, with few signs that arts groups were “holding back” in anticipation of next year’s first season in the Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts. We obviously weren’t able to attend everything in 2010: It’s been a long time, in fact, since Kansas City’s […]

January 14-February 6: Another American: Asking and Telling (Kansas City Repertory Theatre). Actor/playwright Marc Wolf interviewed some 150 individuals about the U.S. military’s recently repealed “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy, and the play that resulted won an Obie Award. January 21: Sequentia, Voices from the Island Sanctuary(Friends of Chamber Music). The sanctuary in question is the walled Cathedral of Notre Dame […]

The Lied Center of Kansas has also announced an intriguing series for 2010-2011, with “something for everyone,” in the words of executive director Tim Van Leer. Of special interest are the rock musical Spring Awakening with choreography by Bill T. Jones, pianist Frederick Chu and David Gonzalez’ reimagining of Carnival of the Animals and Peter and the Wolf, Armitage Gone! Dance with a new evening-length work, the genre-defying Turtle […]