UMKC’s weekly arts, culture and sports roundup

Every week, the University of Missouri-Kansas City offers an array of on-campus activities. It’s nothing new. UMKC has a long legacy of hosting countless culturally enriching events. These activities are part of what give UMKC a vibrant campus life, and make UMKC an arts and culture powerhouse. The influence of UMKC-based and UMKC-trained alumni extends well beyond the campus’ edge, so their activities are listed here as well.

Featured Event: “The Foreigner”

Kansas City Repertory Theatre will open “The Foreigner,” the award-winning comedy written by Larry Shue.

In the play, Froggy and Charlie take a vacation to a fishing lodge in Georgia, where local residents’ dark secrets and scandalous plans are revealed. Zany antics ensue as shy Charlie is put in the middle of an uproarious battle between good and evil.

Called “solid entertainment,” by The New York Times and “…a constant invitation to relax and laugh at the foolishness of life…” by the Village Voice, it continues to be one of the most widely-produced plays in the country.

Larry Shue is the award-winning playwright of “The Foreigner.” Shue began his career as a playwright and actor after serving in Vietnam. He was the resident playwright at Milwaukee Repertory Theatre where he wrote “The Foreigner,” winner of two Obie Awards and two Outer Critic Circle Awards. Shue’s career was cut short when he died in an airplane crash in 1985 while working on a film adaptation of “The Foreigner” for Disney.

Jerry Genochio returns after directing last year’s critically-acclaimed “American Buffalo.” He is the theatre’s producing director. He will also be directing the Rep’s holiday show, “The Santaland Diaries,” which will run Nov. 20 – Dec. 22, at Copaken Stage.

What: The Kansas City Repertory Theatre presents “The Foreigner,” a play about a man named Charlie Baker who needs to get away, and his friend Froggy knows just the place – his favorite fishing lodge in rural Georgia.
Where: Spencer Theatre, 4949 Cherry St, Kansas City, Mo.
When: Through Nov. 3.
Get more details.

Friday, Oct. 25 – Thursday, Oct. 31

What: Robert K. Massie: “Russia, the Romanovs and the Coming of the Great War,” presented by the Cockefair Chair lecture series.With more than 6 million books sold worldwide, Massie is widely regarded as the foremost expert on the Russian royal family. He earned a Pulitzer Prize for his biography, “Peter the Great.” From 1959–1962, Massie was on the staff of Newsweek where he was a book reviewer, foreign news writer and U.N. bureau chief.
Where: Pierson Auditorium, UMKC Atterbury Student Success Center, 51st and Holmes, Kansas City, Mo.
When: 7 p.m., Monday, Oct. 28.
Get more details.

What: The University of Missouri-Kansas City’s Gallery of Art will present two concurrent exhibitions featuring the work of painter Joey Borovicka and photographers Cheryl Childress and Lawrence Robinson.
Where: UMKC Gallery of Art, 5100 Rockhill Rd, Kansas City, Mo.
When: The exhibition will run through Nov. 1.
It’s free. Get more details.

What: UMKC Theatre presents “Big Love” by Charles S. Mee. Based on Aeschylus’s “The Suppliants,” it is about fifty brides who flee to a manor in Italy to avoid marrying their fifty cousins. While the brides and grooms wait for their wedding day, the characters raise issues of gender politics, love, and domestic violence.
Where: Copaken Stage, 1 H&R Bloch Way, Kansas City, Mo.
When: Now through Oct. 27.
Get more details.

What: Fall Dance Concert with the Conservatory Wind Symphony.
Where: White Recital Hall, James C. Olson Performing Arts Center, 4949 Cherry St., Kansas City, Mo.
When: 7:30 p.m., Thursday, Oct. 31.
Get more details.

What: UMKC women’s soccer vs. Idaho.
Where: UMKC’s Volker Campus, Durwood Soccer Stadium, Kansas City, Mo.
When: 4 p.m., Friday, Oct. 25.
Get more details.

What: UMKC volleyball vs. Chicago State. It’s buck night!
Where: UMKC’s Volker Campus, Swinney Recreation Center, Kansas City, Mo.
When: 7 p.m., Friday, Oct. 25.
Get more details.

What: UMKC volleyball vs. Grand Canyon.
Where: UMKC’s Volker Campus, Swinney Recreation Center, Kansas City, Mo.
When: 7 p.m., Saturday, Oct. 26.
Get more details.

What: UMKC women’s soccer vs. Seattle.
Where: UMKC’s Volker Campus, Durwood Soccer Stadium, Kansas City, Mo.
When: 1 p.m., Sunday, Oct. 27.
Get more details.

What: UMKC volleyball vs. Bakersfield.
Where: UMKC’s Volker Campus, Swinney Recreation Center, Kansas City, Mo.
When: 7 p.m., Thursday, Oct. 31.
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What: Danny Orendorff, 2013-14 Charlotte Street Foundation Curator-in-Residence, presents a lecture about his curation career, including his premiere exhibition at la Esquina, We’ll Make Out Better Than Okay. His lecture is entitled, “Activism, Affect, and Curating Contemporary Art.” This is a part of the 2013-2014 Visiting Artist & Scholar Lecture Series.
Where: Fine Arts Building, 106, 5100 Rockhill Rd, Kansas City, Mo.
When: 10:30 a.m., Monday, Oct. 28.
It’s free. Get more details.

What: Exhibition by UMKC Studio Art adjunct faculty, Dylan Mortimer. His exhibition, “Illuminate” will be on display at the Nerman Museum of Contemporary Art.
Where: Nerman Museum of Contemporary Art, 12345 College Blvd, Overland Park, Kan.
When: Now through Feb. 9.
It’s free. Get more details.

What: “The Fox on the Fairway,” starring three-time Academy Award nominee Dyan Cannon. This chaotic comedy takes audiences on a hilarious romp that pulls the rug out from underneath the stuffy denizens of a private country club.
Where: The New Theatre Restaurant, 9299 Foster, Overland Park, Kan.
When: Now through Nov. 3.
UMKC Connection: Co-owners Dennis Hennessy and Richard Carrothers are both UMKC graduates and both were presented in 2012 with honorary doctorates by the UMKC College of Arts and Sciences.
Get more details.