10 THINGS I LOVE ABOUT YOU, JULIA: Kauffman sparks yet another worthy arts project

By Paul Horsley

First Julia Irene Kauffman put up more than $100 million from the foundation named for her mother, Muriel McBrien Kauffman, and from her own resources to build one of the most grandly spectacular performing arts centers in the world – smack-dab in the heart of Kansas City. Now the Kauffman Foundation’s Chair and CEO, who must certainly rank as one of the great arts patronesses of our time, has pledged $20 million to seed a project that could be just as much of a game-changer as the Kauffman Center has proven to be: a downtown campus for the UMKC Conservatory of Music and Dance, which for decades has moldered in some of the worst facilities of any major performing-arts school in the country. “We’re glad to accept this challenge,” said Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce Chair Russell Welsh. The $20 million challenge grant, the second largest in UMKC’s history, is to be matched by $20 to $25 million in additional private funds, which the Missouri legislature has ruled it will match dollar-for-dollar. The cost of the Conservatory’s move is estimated at $90 million.

“The Muriel McBrien Kauffman Foundation is proud to lend our support of the UMKC Conservatory of Music and Dance,” said Julia on the stage of the Kauffman Center’s Muriel McBrien Theatre, in a public announcement June 26^th attended by nearly 200 donors, arts leaders, Chamber of Commerce and Downtown Council officials, and civic and university leaders including Kansas City Mayor Sly James, Chamber Chair Welsh, UMKC Chancellor Leo Morton and Conservatory Dean Peter Witte. “The Conservatory is a vibrant community resource,” she said in a statement earlier, “and we believe the Downtown Arts Campus project has the potential to bring excitement and broad revitalized economic development to downtown, to the Kauffman Center, and to other arts groups located downtown.” The Arts Campus, which is being developed together with the Chamber and the Downtown Council, is earmarked as one of KC’s “Big 5 ideas”; though its initial aim is to bring the Conservatory to the Crossroads District, subsequent phases will bring other university-based arts programs downtown. “The support of Mayor Sly James has been immeasurable in moving to this point,” Julia said.

The mayor underscored his vigorous support of the plan, praising its prospects for bringing people into the downtown area from all parts the city and the nation. “It’s about jobs, it’s about residents, it’s about customers by the hundreds,” he said. “But most importantly it’s about music, it’s about laughter, it’s about youth, it’s about the opportunity to validate the artistry, the culture, the talent that we have in this city.” Those who respond to this challenge grant are “as bold and as visionary as the people who issue it,” he added, and the end result of their efforts will be a “home to the creative energy of the young, talented musicians and performers that come into this area from all around the country.”

During the presentation UMKC piano professor Robert Weirich playing a spirited movement from a Haydn sonata and director of jazz studies and saxophonist Bobby Watson serenaded Julia with “There Will Never Be Another You.” Chancellor Morton called it “another great day in the great city that I love,” adding that “everywhere I go I brag about this city. This is one great place, and today is another example of why we’re so proud of it.” With this project the Conservatory can further enhance its ability to “attract the very best talent from around the world,” he said. Dean Witte emphasized Julia’s track record in fulfilling projects she supports – like the $400 million PAC – and said that the idea of a downtown campus has been crucial to the success of such great conservatories as Juilliard and NEC.

Two locations have been suggested for the new Conservatory, one directly east of the PAC and the other to the west and south of the Center, on land that is partly underdeveloped at present. The school would benefit from its proximity to the Center, which it would put to use as much as possible, and to the KC Ballet’s new Todd Bolender Center and the Lyric’s new Opera Center in the East Crossroads. The mayor praised Julia and her family for their commitment to the city, which has “made our lives a lot richer.” He thanked Julia on behalf of all the budding artists who have had, and will have, the chance to perform at the Center, adding: “I want to thank you for the fact that, when I go places I get to tell them about this Center, and tell them it’s the best in the world, and they can’t say anything about it.”

IN BRIEF: THE DEATH OF CUPID

Aristophanes’ Lysistrata is a classic comedy from the 5^th century B.C. notable not just for its masterly storytelling but for its always-contemporary subject: the battle of the sexes. Yet despite its light-hearted vein, the larger subject of the role of the gods in human affairs is a weighty and symbolic one, and has been dealt with in a variety of ancient mythologies and even in Wagner’s sprawling Ring of the Nibelung. Kyle Hatley set a tall order for himself when he determined to adapt Aristophanes’ story into a contemporary modern-dress play, and the result is funny and surprisingly engaging considering its problematic foundations. The Death of Cupid: A Whiskey Musical, which runs at The Living Room through July 14^th, thrives on the strength of the core story: The women of Athens have declared a “sex strike” to force their soldier-husbands to make peace with their warring armies. The men stay home from battle, all right, and the effect of the imposed abstinence has, well, perhaps predictable results. (Suffice it to say they sport “prosthetic” erections in their pants, which actually look quite convincing.)

Directed by Hatley, the cast is headed up by Megan Herrera, who gives a detailed, impassioned performance as Lysistrata, a widow mourning her husband slain in battle. (Katie Gilchrist as Khaos serves as a kind of narrator.) But as Hatley’s title suggests, his version skews the attention toward Cupid, in a hilarious portrayal by Daria LeGrand dressed in Pampers and a long cape (with wings and a quiver of arrows, of course). Cupid is shrill and aggressive, shooting his arrows at everyone in sight. But his behavior is being called into question, both by the women of Anthens (“You’re nothing but a hit man in a diaper”) and by the gods – Aphrodite (the radiant Vanessa Severo), Hera (Casey Scroggins), Apollo (Sean Hogge, who strums the guitar stage left) and eventually the war-goddess Athena (Natalie Licardello, in a wildly energetic performance that leaves no prisoners). Cupid’s response is, naturally enough, to declare that this is what he was put on earth to do. But the more mature gods realize Cupid thwarts free will, without which humans are not fully human: It is the older goddesses who come to understand that their relevance is waning in the world. Convincing Cupid of this is another matter.

The preexisting songs used throughout – “Balm in Gilead,” “Eyes on the Prize,” “We Are Climbing (Our Own) Ladder” – seemed oddly out-of-place. (Were they even necessary?) Hatley’s direction keeps the action moving swiftly – until the end, which breaks down into endless philosophizing about free choice and human love. Nevertheless The Death of Cupid contains a strong internal narrative that survives this production’s whimsical clap-trap, and if its language falls short of poetry its story remains intact due to fine performances and an intimate space in which the audience feels a part of the action.

The Death of Cupid runs through July 14^th. For tickets call 816-533-5857.

IN BRIEF: THE KANSAS CITY DANCE FESTIVAL

Small dance companies come and go in Kansas City. At any given time at least a half-dozen are active. Most are modern-dance oriented, and a few venture into the avant garde. Some begin strong and spin off into weird irrelevancies. The Kansas City Dance Festival is a bit different from any established so far. The repertoire at its debut performances on June 28^th and 29^th at Spencer Theatre showed an eclectic mix that still reflected the values of classical ballet in which its founders, veteran Kansas City Ballet dancers Logan Pachciarz and Anthony Krutzkamp, are steeped. The co-founders invited several of their friends from Cincinnati Ballet, BalletMet, Nashville Ballet, the Joffrey Ballet the Owen/Cox Dance Group and of course the KCB, for a rich and fascinating program ranging from the classical to the modern. It was an auspicious start to a festival that one hopes can become an annual event.

The Pas de Deux from Le Corsaire featured the tender grace of Jacqueline Damico and explosive leaps and turns from Cervilio Amador. In Yuri Possikov’s Bells Pas de Deux Yumelia Garcia is sensuously entangled with Ogulcan Borova, whom she then summarily dismisses. Anthony (filling in for Cervilio) danced Adam Hougland’s short, fast and impassioned solo from Mozart’s Requiem, the “Dies Irae” to be exact, in which he seemed to be resisting some unseen force – the Day of Wrath itself, perhaps? The first half concluded with a striking piece by Anthony, Similar, rich and deep and featuring fine partnering by Jill Marlow and Jon Upleger, aided by two other pairs who at times echoed the main couple, at times played off their movements. It was flawed, for me, only by its treacly music.

Jennifer Owen’s Canned Heat, which opened the second half, is a powerful pas de trois accompanied live by percussionist Sam Wisman performing stunningly delicate music by Eckhart Kopetski. The music’s shifting, gamelan-like rhythms are echoed in the hyperactive precision of the movement – a series of freeze-poses here, a totem-like Graham stance there, a hint of African dance but always with a comic sensuality, a wink and a nod. It was capped by a furious finale. Jen was joined by Adrienne Benz and Michael Davis in what was, for me, a highlight of the evening. Equally compelling was Salvatore Aiello’s Satto, a duet for Rachel Coats and Jon Upleger danced on a floor of white strips spread so as create diagonal lines. She rolls onto the stage, looking weary; he is wearing only a sumo-like diaper. The music is a blur of Asian melody and African rhythms, and at the piece’s climax the couple engages in a series of virtuosic “holds” in positions so impossible they look almost like Momix.

With a selection from Don Quixote we were squarely back in the classical realm, and Yoshiya Sakurai was splendid in the title role. This Don Q. is neither Don Juan nor Don José, nor is he Cervantes’ Quixote. Instead he is sexy and weirdly heroic, and Yoshi’s technical command of the character never flagged. The Satanella Pas de Deux was another classical duet featuring, again, Yumelia and Ogulcan. She is demure and he is there just to woo her: She says no and then – well, okay. They express their joy in a series of dynamic leaps and turns. The program’s finale was the fiercely accomplished Angeli by Ma Kong, for three couples featuring Jill and Logan. Set to gorgeous operatic music by Vivaldi, the piece riffs off of classical steps but imbues them with modern touches including loose turns, slaps and snaky body-hurls. Rachel, Geoffrey Kropp, Tempe Ostergren and Yoshiya filled out the cast.

IN BRIEF: THE MOUNTAINTOP

Katori Hall’s play The Mountaintop, with which the Unicorn Theatre closed its season, is a powerhouse tour of Martin Luther King, Jr’s last night on earth. Taking place entirely in a dowdy Memphis motel room, it opens with King (Walter Coppage) exhausted after a long day, which has included his famous (and final) speech, the “mountaintop speech.” “They’re really going to burn me on the cross for that one,” Martin says of the speech, with an ironic chuckle. Enter the play’s other character, Camae (Chioma Anyanwu), a motel maid who brings her customer a cup of coffee and then doesn’t seem to want to leave. There’s something strange and deep about this woman, but we’re not sure what it is.

Along the way Martin muses over his life and career, and on the racism that would soon kill him. “They hate so easily, and we love too much,” he says. He also ponders the fact that Malcolm X was 39 when he died – Martin’s current age. He has feared for his life for most of his career. “A negro man isn’t safe in a pulpit,” he says. Camae holds her own in the conversation, challenging Martin on some issues and standing to deliver a sermon of her own – which Martin punctuates with “Yes, Lord!” “Tell it, now!” “Praise God!” Both he and Camae seem to have a premonition that something is about to happen. But a final revelation casts the whole situation into a completely new and (for me) completely surprising light. The Unicorn’s stripped-down but hard-edged production, directed by Mykel Hill, was one of the best plays I saw this season. Walter does not try to sound exactly like Martin, and that is in his favor – there’s a bit of Walter still there, though Martin is the end result. Chioma is bright and forthright in the role of the ostensibly hard-hearted maid, with her raging profanity and her “don’t-f–k-with-me, pastor,” attitude serving as a perfect foil to Walter’s staid but good-natured humor. At the end Martin sees before him a series of projected images reflecting the slow-moving progress of racial justice that not even he might have imagined in 1968. We are left to ponder whether or not we are “there yet.”

To reach Paul Horsley send email to phorsley@sbcglobal.net or follow him on Facebook (paul.horsley.501) or Twitter @phorsleycritic.