By Paul Horsley Kansas City is becoming one of the coolest cities in the U.S., at least from a performing-arts standpoint. Looking for ideas for your busy arts season? Here are some top events, which taken as a whole make you realize you really don’t have to live in New York or Chicago after all: […]

By Paul Horsley The best of the 2013-2014 performing-arts season has been saved for the second half, it seems: the LA Philharmonic, stage works that have garnered Tonys and Pulitzers, a vampire ballet, a rare Stravinsky chamber masterpiece, top-drawer soloists and a Van Cliburn tribute – pretty darned impressive. Here’s our somewhat opinionated selection. February […]

By Paul Horsley Can anything good, to paraphrase scripture, come out of Prairie Village? Many around the world have proclaimed Joyce DiDonato the greatest mezzo-soprano of our time. The peerless world-renowned star, who appears in the Lyric Opera’s The Capulets and the Montagues, is just one standout in a fall arts season that also includes […]

The year 2012 was a golden one for performing arts in Kansas City, part of an incredible flowering that has been going on for more a decade. This is not so much a “best of” list as it is a collection of performances that struck a nerve with me. The Mousetrap (Kansas City Actors Theatre, August 4st through […]

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 […]