Time for weekend calendar picks from KC Studio editor Alice Thorson! This weekend is your last chance to see three great plays: Unicorn Theatre‘s production of Hir, The Black Repertory Theatre of Kansas City‘s production of the musical Memphis and Metropolitan Ensemble Theatre‘s The Unsinkable Molly Brown. The Heart of America Shakespeare Festival is still underway with this year’s production of Much Ado About Nothing, free in Southmoreland Park. Friday, Saturday and Sunday, the KC Symphony finishes the season with Berlioz and Bernstein’s Age of Anxiety with pianist Ran Dank (featured in our May/June 2018 issue). Also Friday night, jazz/blues bassist Tyrone Clark performs at the Blue Room. Sunday, see renowned artist Ai Weiwei’s documentary Human Flow in the Nelson auditorium. And Sunday night, help help support the Kansas City Chamber Orchestra at Musical Mystery on Broadway! for more events this weekend, visit Kansas City’s most comprehensive arts calendar at kcstudio.org/events.
Hir
May 30, 2018 – June 24, 2018
Unicorn Theatre
When a soldier returns from a war zone in the Middle East to his suburban home, he discovers a household undergoing a total upheaval. His mother has been liberated from an oppressive marriage after his father’s stroke, and with the help of his newly out transgender brother, she is passionately dismantling the patriarchy. In Taylor Mac’s progressive and absurd comedy, this family may find that even the most radical changes can’t always free you from the weight of the past.
Memphis
May 31, 2018 – July 24, 2018
Penn Valley Theatre
Memphis is a musical by David Bryan (music and lyrics) and Joe DiPietro (lyrics and book). It is loosely based on Memphis disc jockey Dewey Phillips, one of the first white DJs to play black music in the 1950s. It played on Broadway from October 19, 2009, to August 5, 2012. The production won four 2010 Tony Awards, including Best Musical.
This musical looks at a time when the music business had drawn the line between Music and Race!
The Unsinkable Molly Brown
June 14, 2018 – June 24, 2018
Warwick Theatre
Miners, brawls, pretty girls, love, romance, maritime disasters and Meredith Willson’s music and lyrics!
The Unsinkable Molly Brown is the rags-to-riches love story of Molly and Leadville Johnny Brown, owners of the richest mine in the U.S. at the turn of the twentieth century. A comedic, yet honest, commentary on the classes and the human spirit of the Colorado settlers, this grand musical is a tour de force with rousing and sentimental songs, as well as dances that are reminiscent of the times.
Much Ado About Nothing
June 12, 2018 – July 1, 2018 | Free
Southmoreland Park
A Century of Bernstein: SEASON FINALE FANTASTIQUE with BERNSTEIN
June 22 & 23, 2018 @ 8:00 pm
June 24, 2018 @ 2:00 pm
Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts
The Kansas City Symphony 2017-18 season finale will set your heart and soul ablaze with two theatrical masterpieces. In Berlioz’s Symphonie fantastique, a lovesick composer plunges into a deep sleep where he encounters a series of visions involving his beloved, culminating in the stunning “Dream of a Witches’ Sabbath.” Almost two centuries after its stunning premiere, Symphonie fantastique remains one of concert music’s wildest adventures. Inspired by W.H. Auden’s “fascinating and hair-raising poem,” Bernstein’s Age of Anxiety features a central section where the solo piano emerges as the protagonist (perhaps Bernstein, himself) in this larger-than-life human drama.
Tyrone Clark
June 22, 2018 @ 8:30 pm | $10
American Jazz Museum – The Blue Room
In a musical career spanning nearly 40 years, Tyrone Clark, born in Chicago, has played professionally since he was eighteen. Although adept in a variety of musical genres, Clark’s concept and interpretation of playing is stylistically best described as rooted in the Kansas City jazz tradition. Described by a fellow musician, Clark is one of the few who impeccably delivers that style. He is a “full” bassist and always right there – “just when you need him.” His sure drive and sense of rhythm and melody impress audiences and musicians alike.
Such proficiency has placed Clark on stage and in studio alongside such talents as: Author Prysock, Hank Crawford, Eddie Harris, Benny Golson, Cyrus Chestnut, Nicholas Payton, Milt Jackson, Billy Taylor, Max Roach, Kevin Mahogany, Luqman Hamza, Lisa Henry, Ahmad Alaadeen, Ronnel Bright, The Pete Eye Trio, and The Madden Brothers.
Along with Cyrus Chestnut and Nicolas Payton, Clark was among the musician featured in the 1997 Robert Altman production of “Kansas City,” the soundtrack of the movie, and the follow-up extended release, “The Music of Kansas City.” In addition to a number of pop and gospel recordings, Clark’s jazz studio work includes accompaniment for vocalist Lisa Henry and saxophonist Ahmad Alaadeen on their respective releases. Additionally, Clark has toured Japan, Europe and throughout the United States.
Film | Ai Weiwei’s Human Flow
June 24, 2018 @ 1:00 pm – 3:30 pm
Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art
Experience a screening of Human Flow, an epic film journey across 23 countries led by the internationally renowned artist Ai Weiwei. Over 65 million people around the world have been forced from their homes to escape famine, climate change and war in the greatest human displacement since World War II. The documentary reveals the staggering scale of the refugee crisis and its profoundly personal human impact.
Prior to the screening of Human Flow, award-winning short film Global FC by local Kansas Citian Mariya Dostzadah Goodbrake will be playing on a loop. The three-minute film shows how Global FC strengthens Kansas City and serves the religiously mixed refugee community with a soccer program.
Mingle with representatives from KC For Refugees and Global FC at their information tables after the film. Find out more about how they help refugees in Kansas City and how you can make an impact locally too.
Musical Mystery on Broadway
June 24, 2018 @ 5:30 pm – 9:00 pm | $100 – $750
Grand Street Cafe
The Kansas City Chamber Orchestra is hosting a charming evening of music, merriment and mystery – Musical Mystery on Broadway! It will be great fun and a fabulous way to support the KCCO and our upcoming season and Classical Adventures Education Program. We promise a festive evening of wonderful food, signature cocktails, a select silent auction, and a variety of entertaining performances including a classic Broadway surprise or two
As our inside group of supporters we know you love to introduce friends and family to the KCCO and have a fun time doing it – so we want to give you an early heads up to save the date: Sunday, June 24, and ask you to consider hosting a table or underwriting a portion of this event. If you attended Musical Mystery Cruise last year you know what a great time it was, and once again we have the wonderful talents of Kansas City Mystery Players to bring us a custom designed Mystery for all to solve – and for those who dare – to participate in!
