The six organizations that are part of the performARTS inaugural season are all busy this winter and even more so this weekend.
• CHARLOTTE STREET FOUNDATION: Artist Anne Lindberg leads three talks this weekend as a Charlotte Street Artist Fellow. A series of four gallery tours and talks by local artists at The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art in Kansas City began Jan. 13 to celebrate the 15-year anniversary of Charlotte Street Foundation, which has been cultivating Kansas City artists since 1997. The artists, all Charlotte Street Visual Awards Fellows, will engage participants in the museum’s spaces and highlight works that speak to their artistic sensibilities, then discuss their personal art through presentations in Lens 2.
“We are excited to be celebrating 15 years of cultivating Kansas City artists,” said David Hughes, founder of Charlotte Street Foundation. “Art patrons will enjoy this unique opportunity to hear Kansas City’s own successful artists sharing their thoughts and passion for the collections in the Nelson-Atkins.”
Mark Southerland and Peregrine Honig presented the first lecture Jan. 13. Lindberg’s Feb. 10 filled up so quickly, two more times, 1 and 2 p.m. Feb. 12 were added. The final two are Tom Gregg March 9 and David Ford, May 11. The event is free; however, tickets are required. Go to the Nelson-Atkins online calendar at nelson-atkins.org to register. The tours will be repeated twice each evening and all participants will enjoy a presentation on the artists’ own work.
• COTERIE THEATRE: The Wrestling Season tackles subject matter seldom addressed but vital to youth and their families: the search for identity and the peer pressure that accompanies it. Using only the setting of a wrestling mat, eight young people struggle with the destructive power of rumors and how others see them. The young wrestlers are played by Sam Cordes, Tosin Morohunfola, Francisco Villegas, Meredith Wolfe, Kelly Gibson, Andrea Morales, Eva Viro and Rufus Burns.
The Referee, played by Greg Brostrom, comments on the action inside and outside with hand signals and commands. Commissioned by the Coterie in 2000, this show is sure to bring about many conversations. The hard-hitting play runs now through Feb. 19.
• KANSAS CITY ACTORS THEATRE: The Kansas City Actors Theatre’s production of Billy Bishop Goes to War starts Feb. 10 at the he National World War I Museum at Liberty Memorial. The show honors a partnership with UMKC Theatre and one of Kansas City’s true gems, the National World War I Museum at Liberty Memorial.
Last season, the theater group staged Oh What a Lovely War at the museum and it was a hit for all. This contemporary classic of Canadian theater uses music and stagecraft to examine what heroism means…and what it takes to turn an innocent into a warrior. The show, directed by John Rensenhouse, runs through Feb. 26. Cary Mock and Grant Fletcher Prewitt star.
• PAUL MESNER PUPPETS: Paul Mesner Puppets continues its run of Strega Nona. The sweetest witch who helps the entire town leaves her magical pot with a mischievous fellow and it all goes humorously wrong from there until Strega Nona returns.
The show runs now through Feb. 19 at the Paul Mesner Puppet Studio, 1006 E. Linwood Blvd.,Kansas City, Mo.
• QUALITY HILL PLAYHOUSE: Quality Hill Playhouse’s run of My Romance comes to an end Feb. 19. The revue features singers Lauren Braton, Jon Daugharthy, Stephanie Laws and pianist/emcee/singer J. Kent Barhart. Ken Remmert on drums and Brian Wilson on bass round out the musicians for the performance.
The cabaret setting becomes a little bit history and a whole lot of entertainment about the partnership of composer Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart and the lovely music the two made such as Isn’t It Romantic?, You Took Advantage of Me, I Could Write a Book, I Wish I Were in Love Again, My Romance, This Can’t Be Love and more.
