Time for another round of weekend calendar picks from KC Studio editor Alice Thorson! All this weekend at the Kansas City Convention Center, the American Association of Woodturners presents its annual symposium, with many events (including their trade show) open to the general public. KC Meltingpot Theatre opens their production of The Ironing Man tonight at Just Off Broadway, while Unicorn Theatre’s Priscilla Queen of the Desert: The Musical continues through July 2. Friday night, Westport Center for the Arts presents a staged reading/performance of River Like Sin by Lindsay Adams. And Friday through Sunday see the farewell tour of Mamma Mia! at Starlight Theatre. And opening on Saturday is an exhibition celebrating 20 years of the American Jazz Museum. For more ideas this weekend, visit Kansas City’s most comprehensive arts calendar at kcstudio.org/events.
AAW’s 31st Annual International Symposium
June 22 – June 25
Kansas City Convention Center
Come learn. Leave inspired.
The conference will bring together more than more than 1,500 turners from around the globe to learn, share, and celebrate the art and craft of woodturning making it the largest woodturning event in the world.
For registered attendees, the Symposium features classroom-style demonstrations led by internationally known woodturners and top woodturning talent, as well as topics that appeal to wide variety of skill levels — bowls, boxes, vessels, hollow forms, spheres, spindle turning, multiaxis turning, segmented turning, natural edge turning, ornament, jewelry, finishing techniques, surface design, texture and embellishment, to name a few.
Many events are open to the public, including an enormous trade show jam-packed with the newest woodturning products, tool and lathe manufacturers, and supplies; an Instant Gallery and themed exhibitions; as well as benefit auctions and opportunities to support local charities.
The Ironing Man
June 22-25 @ 7:30 pm – 9:30 pm | $15 – $25
Just Off Broadway Theatre
Do honor and duty trump circumstance?
Johnson Lee, aka “The Ironing Man” makes a living ironing clothes for the residents of his apartment building and nearby locations. He’s considered saint-like by those who know him. His vice…too much daytime television.
An unannounced visit from a stranger stirs memories from Lee’s past and causes both men to reflect on how their sense of duty and honor have led them to be in the same room today. How will circumstance affect their futures?
KC MeltingPot Theatre continues its tradition of supporting the new work of local Kansas City playwrights with its upcoming production of The Ironing Man, a new play by Denny Dey.
This character study features local favorites Granvile O’Neal and Kevin Fewell, with supporting actors Elizabeth Hillman, Emmy Panzica, Derek Trautwein and Seth Haynes.
Priscilla Queen of the Desert: The Musical
June 22-25 @ 7:30 pm
Unicorn Theatre
Come along on a journey of self-discovery and the road trip of a lifetime that will have you dancing out of the theatre! Based on the cult film, Priscilla is the heartwarming adventure of three friends who hop aboard a battered old bus searching for love, family and the best of drag. Featuring Ron Megee with dancefloor favorites from Madonna, Cyndi Lauper, Donna Summer and more!
Staged reading/performance of River Like Sin by Lindsay Adams
June 23 @ 7:30 pm – 8:30 pm | $15
Westport Presbyterian Church
River Like Sin takes audiences to rural Kansas, where a dancing river keeps a struggling Revivalist community alive in the 1930s. Everything changes for young Wren Walker when she crosses the river on a dare, and discovers the Town Ghost spoken of only in whispers is an elderly, blind woman whose tears keep the river flowing. As Wren continues to visit, the woman stops weeping and the land begins to dry up. When the crops wither and dust begins to fill their lungs, the townspeople grow angry, looking for something, or someone, to blame.
The cast includes: Hannah Freeman, Joseph De Maria, Kyle Dyck, Cindy Siefers , Jeff Smith, Amy Attaway , Davis Derrick, Lindsay Roland, and Margaret Shelby.
Mamma Mia!
June 23 – June 25
Starlight Theatre
Don’t miss the farewell tour!
MAMMA MIA! is the ultimate feel-good show that has audiences coming back again and again to relive the thrill. Now it’s your turn to have the time of your life at this smash-hit musical that combines ABBA’s greatest hits, including “Dancing Queen,” “S.O.S.,” “Super Trouper,” “Take a Chance on Me” and “The Winner Takes It All,” with an enchanting tale of love, laughter and friendship. Whether it’s your first visit or your 14th, see the show that has the whole world coming back for more, because every time feels like the first time at MAMMA MIA!
Legacy Plays On: 20 years of the American Jazz Museum
June 24, 2017 – December 31, 2017
American Jazz Museum
The Legacy Plays On! reincarnates the American Jazz Museum’s inaugural theme in commemoration of 20 years serving the local and national communities through research, exhibition, education, and performance. Explore the history of the American Jazz Museum in this celebratory exhibition!
- Origins of the museum — why it was created and the needs it would meet, the planning and construction process, the key figures, and the opening reception
- Venues and performances dedicated to the advancement of the art form and growing the jazz audience
- Programs and events through which the museum engages the community Traditionally, the museum has also hosted Kwanzaa celebrations and Martin Luther King Jr. Day events, meeting the need for cultural engagement and allowing the museum to serve as a good steward to the community.
- Temporary and traveling exhibitions that have passed through the Changing Gallery. High art, folk art, high-tech, literary, and cultural histories, have all been themes of past exhibitions
- Highlights from the museum’s permanent collection (including rarely-seen artifacts)
The community’s role in the history of the museum is just as important now as ever. For the first time in the history of the American Jazz Museum, there will be portions of the 20th anniversary exhibit that are community curated. Facebook fans voted in three Visitor’s Choice polls in April and May 2017. The three artifacts selected for the Jewels of the Collection section will be on display for the first three months of the exhibition and then will rotate to show the runners up.
The last 20 years of the American Jazz Museum have been remarkable, and The Legacy Plays On! will be full of old favorites, new surprises, and an exciting look at what you can expect for decades to come.
