This weekend’s calendar picks from our editor, Alice Thorson, include: the 2016 NCECA Conference, the premiere of Kansas City Repertory Theatre‘s production of the musical The Fantasticks, Owen/Cox Dance Group, Matthew Morrison with the Kansas City Symphony at the Kauffman Center, and Patti Austin at the Gem. For more ideas this weekend, check out Kansas City’s most comprehensive arts calendar at kcstudio.org/events. We hope to see you out!
NCECA 2016, 50th Annual Conference
March 16 – March 19
Kansas City Convention Center
The 50th Anniversary Conference of the National Council on Education for the Ceramic Arts will explore the personal, social and aesthetic forces that animate creative work with elemental materials, methods and ideas in the midst of the information age. Kansas City, Missouri, the geographical epicenter of the continental US, is an urban nexus of fountains, bebop and technological innovation. Its horizon connects farmland with cultural complexity. An amalgam of global traditions and local vision, the region’s legacy of great art institutions, patrons, artists and educators has long held an important role in the development of North American ceramic arts. Makers, Mentors and Milestones will highlight issues of contemporary practice, celebrate the impact of influential figures and movements that have shaped the field, and create opportunity to envision collectively what lies ahead.
Conference related exhibitions and events will be happening throughout the area all weekend. Click here to see a full list of exhibitions, or visit the main calendar page to see everything that’s going on!
The Fantasticks
March 18 @ 8:00 pm
March 19@ 8:00 pm
March 20 @ 7:00 pm
Kansas City Repertory Theatre-Spencer Theatre
Music by Harvey Schmidt
Book & Lyrics by Tom Jones
Directed by Jerry Genochio
A hilarious and captivating musical journey that tells the triumphant story of two young lovers, their meddling fathers, and the wall that divides them. With its memorable soundtrack that has touched generations of musical theatre audiences, this timeless classic will be brought to new life on KC Rep’s Spencer stage.
A Soldier’s Tale
March 19 @ 8:00 pm – 9:30 pm | $13 – $26
Polsky Theatre, JCCC
Witness Stravinsky’s fanciful tale about a soldier’s Faustian bargain with the devil, brought to life by Owen/Cox Dance, Robert Gibby Brand, and NAVO – conducted by Shah Sadikov. A Soldier’s Tale (L’Histoire du soldat) is a theatrical work “to be read, played, and danced” (“lue, jouée et dansée”) by actors and dancers, accompanied by a septet of instruments.
A post-performance Artist Talk and question and answer period with the dancers, musicians, actor, and choreographer will follow each performance. This discussion gives audience members an inside view of the creative process behind the work.
MATTHEW MORRISON with the KANSAS CITY SYMPHONY
March 19 @ 8:00 pm | $45
Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts
Aram Demirjian, associate conductor
The Kansas City Symphony GLEEfully welcomes Emmy-, Golden Globe- and Tony-nominated star Matthew Morrison for this one-night-only performance. Best known for his role as the optimistic high school glee club director Will Schuester on the TV show “Glee,” Morrison is no stranger to a career filled with song and dance. Morrison joins the Symphony to perform Broadway hits from his latest album, “Where It All Began,” and Sinatra standards including “Luck Be a Lady” and “The Lady Is a Tramp.” This concert will be performed without an intermission. Tickets start at $45.
Jammin’ at the Gem: Patti Austin
March 19 @ 8:00 pm
American Jazz Museum – Gem Theater
Grammy winner Patti Austin crosses all musical genres, has made 17 solo albums, and has performed her award-nominated hit songs on the GRAMMYS® and the Oscars. As a performer, songwriter and vocalist she has had a star-studded career that began at the age of four, making her one of the most beloved artists over the world and a mainstay on the Billboard Jazz Albums charts. Her most recent release, Avant-Gershwin, won Austin the Grammy for Best Jazz Vocal Performance.
