UMKC’s weekly arts, sports and culture roundup
Each 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:
What: UMKC Theatre and The Acting Company Present William Shakespeare and X: Or, Betty Shabazz vs. The Nation
UMKC Theatre, The Acting Company, University of Kansas, University of Central Missouri and University of Missouri are embarking on an artistic and educational collaboration featuring Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar and a newly commissioned play about the life and assassination of Malcolm X by Marcus Gardley; X: Or, Betty Shabazz vs. The Nation in rotating repertory.
Where: James C. Olson Performing Arts Center; 4949 Cherry St., Kansas City, Mo.
When: Feb. 21 through 23
Single tickets are $25 for adults, $20 for seniors, $15 for UMKC faculty and staff and $10 for all students. Packages for both plays are available: $45 for adults, $35 for seniors and $25 for UMKC faculty and staff. For tickets, call the Central Ticket Office at 816-235-6222 or purchase them online.
Feb. 15 – 21
What: How To Use A Knife
It isn’t easy running a busy restaurant kitchen in New York City, but it may be the last chance Chef George gets to turn his life around. Behind the scenes, the kitchen sizzles with two rowdy Guatemalan line cooks, an entitled young busboy and an eerily quiet African dishwasher. When secrets from the past bubble to the surface, Chef George discovers he holds more than his own life in his hands. How To Use A Knife is by Will Snider and directed By Sidonie Garrett. It is produced at Unicorn Theatre as part of a National New Play Network Rolling World Premiere with the support of Peter Emch.
Where: Unicorn Theatre, 3828 Main St., Kansas City, Mo.
When: Now through Feb. 19
UMKC Connection: Three UMKC Theatre graduates started Unicorn Theatre. Tickets can be purchased online.
What: Side by Side by Sondheim
Nominated for both London’s Olivier Award and Broadway’s Tony Award for Best Musical, Side by Side by Sondheim celebrates the music and lyrics of Pulitzer, Tony and Academy Award-winning Stephen Sondheim, arguably the most important musical theater composer in American history. Side By Side ran in London and New York for well over a thousand performances, making it one of the most successful musical revues of all time.
Where: Spencer Theatre, James C. Olson Performing Arts Center; 4949 Cherry St., Kansas City, Mo.
When: Now through Feb. 19
Tickets are available from the KC Repertory Theatre online.
What: The Way of the World
UMKC Theatre presents The Way of the World, a classic Restoration comedy. The production is written by William Congreve and directed by Theodore Swetz, the Patricia McIlrath Endowed Chair in Theater Arts, Acting at UMKC.
Where: Grant Hall, 5228 Charlotte, Kansas City, Mo.
When: Now through Feb. 27
Tickets can be purchased from the Central Ticket Office.
What: Tender
Tender deals with daily rituals that center around the construction of self. Bodily adornment and the fabrication of private, domestic spaces are explored through work featuring secondhand belongings, worn textiles and leather. The details of human presence are implied, but the lack of a visible body allows the artist to focus on the longing and vulnerability of these small presentations of personal artifacts. The artist is Katy McRoberts.
Where: UMKC Gallery of Art, Room 203 of the UMKC Fine Arts Building, 5015 Holmes St., Kansas City, Mo.
When: Now through March 2
It’s free.
What: Inside the Art Life of Adrienne Walker Hoard
Beyond her life as a professor at UMKC, Adrienne Walker Hoard, M.F.A., Ed.D., is an accomplished painter, photographer and jewelry maker. Her work will be on display at the Miller Nichols Library.
Where: Dean’s Gallery, Fourth Floor, Miller Nichols Library, 800 E. 51st St., Kansas City, Mo.
When: Now through May 19
What: Boeing-Boeing
This stylishly retro production was a monster comedy hit on London’s West End and a Tony winner on Broadway. Bernard is a bachelor juggling a very precarious social calendar. He is engaged simultaneously to three different flight attendants. Helped by his long suffering housekeeper Bertha (Debra Jo Rupp), Bernard has devised a sophisticated timetable so that each girlfriend visits him on their layovers and remains oblivious of the other two. Everything proceeds like clockwork until the arrival of the new double speed Super Boeing which changes the schedules of the airlines. Bernard’s old school friend Robert arrives unexpectedly and unwittingly joins in this farcical whirlwind of mayhem.
Where: New Theatre Restaurant, 9299 Foster St., Overland Park, Kan.
When: Feb. 15 through April 23
For tickets and show times, visit the website.
UMKC Connection: Co-owners Dennis Hennessy and Richard Carrothers are both UMKC graduates; the UMKC College of Arts and Sciences presented both honorary doctorates in 2012.
What: V-Day UMKC 2017
This is a benefit performance of The Vagina Monologues. All proceeds benefit the UMKC Women’s Center.
Where: UMKC Student Union Theatre, 5100 Cherry St., Kansas City, Mo.
When: 6:30 – 9 p.m., Thursday, Feb. 16
Advance tickets are $10 for students and $20 for adults; at-the-door tickets are $15 for students and $25 for adults. Tickets can be purchased from the Central Ticket Office.
What: UMKC Women’s Basketball vs. Chicago State
Where: Swinney Recreation Center, 5030 Holmes, St., Kansas City, Mo.
When: 2 p.m., Saturday, Feb. 18
Current UMKC students receive free admission to all UMKC athletic events with ID. Children ages 5 and under receive free admission for all home games. Single tickets start at $7 each and can be purchased online.
What: UMKC Men’s Basketball vs. Chicago State
Where: Municipal Auditorium, 301 W. 13th St., Kansas City, Mo.
When: 5:05 p.m., Saturday, Feb. 18
Current UMKC students receive free admission to all UMKC athletic events with ID. Children ages 5 and under receive free admission for all home games. Single tickets start at $10 and can be purchased online.
What: Senior Dance Capstone Project Part 1
Senior dancers present their choreography. The students are Alaina DeRaedt, Holly Messman, Cameo Miller, Phoebe Perry and Megan Tabel. Performance pieces include Broken (Weber), Speak Your Truth (DeRaedt), Where We Stand (Miller), To Have Loved and Lost (Tabel), Breathe Down (Messman), Something More (Perry), Reminiscent (DeRaedt), There (Miller), Journey Maker (Fuller) and Not the Same but Worthy (Messman).
Where: White Recital Hall, James C. Olson Performing Arts Center, 4949 Cherry St., Kansas City, Mo.
When: 7:30 p.m., Friday, Feb. 17
It’s free.
What: Conservatory Choirs: Celebration of Peace Festival
The Conservatory Choirs join with several area high school choirs to present the fifth annual Celebration of Peace Festival, a concert to benefit the Rose Brooks Center. Performance pieces include Shank: From Where I Stand; Dilworth: Jordan’s Angels; Whitacre: Glow; Dilworth: No Rocks A Cryin; Shank: When God Decided to Invent; Dilworth: Take Me to the Water; Dilworth: Walk in Jerusalem; Riggs: The Old Mill; Dilworth: Shine on Me; Leigh: “The Impossible Dream” from Man of La Mancha; Bairstow: I sat down under his shadow; Brahms: Der Gang zum Liebchen; Britten: Jubilate Deo!; Dilworth: Jeremiah’s Fire; Mozart: Regina Coeli;, Runestad: I Will Lift Mine Eyes; Dilworth: Give Us Our Peace; and Bach: Fugue à la Gigue, BWV 577.
Where: Community of Christ Temple, 1001 West Walnut St., Independence, Mo.
When: 7:30 p.m., Saturday, Feb. 18
Admission is free. Donations will be accepted, which benefit the Rose Brooks Center.
What: Senior Dance Capstone Project Part 2
Senior dancers present their choreography. The students are Kim Alvarez, Sarah Frangenberg, DaJuan Johnson, Harrison Parker and Hannah Wagner. Performance pieces include Anyway (Frangenberg), Life (Johnson), Dawning (Wagner), Mojave (Johnson/Parker), I See You (Parker), Still I Rise (Frangenberg), We’re Falling (Alvarez), Never Cease (Wagner), Togetherness (Parker) and unBroken (Alvarez).
Where: White Recital Hall, James C. Olson Performing Arts Center, 4949 Cherry St., Kansas City, Mo.
When: 7:30 p.m., Saturday, Feb. 18
It’s free.
What: Saxophone Studio Recital
Students are from the studio of Zach Shemon. Performance pieces include Lauridsen/Shumsky: O Magnum Mysterium, Karg-Elert: Twenty-Five Caprices, Biedenbender: Images, Paganini: Capriccio No. 1, Tanada: Mysterious Morning III and Bach: Goldberg Variations.
Where: Room 326, James C. Olson Performing Arts Center, 4949 Cherry St., Kansas City, Mo.
When: 7:30 p.m., Sunday, Feb. 19
It’s free.
What: 11 O’Clock Jazz Band with Blue Valley West Jazz Band
The 11 O’Clock Jazz Band, directed by Dan Thomas, will perform with special guest Blue Valley West Jazz Band. Performance pieces include Jones: Big Dipper, Golson: I Remember Clifford, Ellington/Hodges: Jeep’s Blues, Mancini: Charade, Mingus/Johnson: Moanin’, Styne/Byers: Saturday Night is the Loneliest Night of the Week, Shorter/Brenzel: Nefertiti, Conrad: West Poin, Hefti: The Kid From Red Bank, Pearson: Amanda, Foster: Blues in Hoss’ Flat, James/Jones: Can’t We Be Friends?, Kleener/McConnell: Just Friends, Jones: Tiptoe, Webb/Drover: MacArthur Park and Walton/Foster: Firm Roots.
Where: Blue Valley West High School, 16200 Antioch Rd., Overland Park, Kan.
When: 7 p.m., Tuesday, Feb. 21
It’s free.
What: No Talking
No Talking is based on a short story by Andrew Clements, best-selling author of dozens of books for young readers, including his debut novel Frindle, named in 2007 as one of “Teachers’ Top 100 Books for Children” by the U.S. National Education Association. Adapting No Talking to the stage will be long-time Coterie collaborator Laurie Brooks, playwright of several of The Coterie’s successful world premieres, including The Wrestling Season and Afflicted: Daughters of Salem.
Where: The Coterie, Crown Center, Suite 144, 2450 Grand Ave., Kansas City, Mo.
When: Feb. 21 through March 19
UMKC Connection: Two UMKC graduate theatre students founded The Coterie.
For tickets and show times, visit the website.