Skip Navigation

Sarah Young

Sarah Young

Classical and Musical Theatre Contributor

 

Sarah Young is a freelance writer and performer in opera, theatre, choral and musical theatre. She has been seen locally with Wichita Grand Opera, Kansas City Symphony Chorus, Kansas City Civic Opera, Lawrence Community Theatre, Chestnut Fine Arts Center and in other local venues.  She studied voice at the University of Kansas, and has been trained in artist programs at Indiana University, Aspen Opera Theatre and the American Institute of Musical Studies in Graz, Austria.

The Van Cliburn launches another exciting young talent

Mon, Feb 22, 2010

The Van Cliburn launches another exciting young talent

In a varied program that revealed multiple emotional and technical levels, the nineteen-year-old Haochen Zhang - 2009 Van Cliburn Gold Medalist - displayed the composure, skill and artistry of a performer twice his age.

Breathtaking Beethoven

Tue, Jan 12, 2010

Breathtaking Beethoven

Hearing the Takács String Quartet is an exercise in ear training. They have that polished, burnished and seamless sound that comes when four musicians play with orchestral unity and unselfish responsibility to one another.

Choral cure for the winter blues

Tue, Feb 23, 2010

Choral cure for the winter blues

Musica Sacra under the direction of Timothy McDonald demonstrated their collective choral skills and sensitivity last Saturday in a program featuring the two great cathedral composers of Salzburg: Mozart and Johann Michael Haydn.

An evening of musical mystery

Tue, Apr 20, 2010

An evening of musical mystery

Last week Venue Visitation presented the Choir of New College Oxford - a choir of thirty-two men and boys that produced an astonishingly clear mixed harmony sound only possible with a row full of young trebles. Known for their interpretations of Renaissance and Baroque music, the Choir was founded in the 14th century to provide the liturgy for the Oxford chapel.

Quality Hill swings through Harry Warren tribute

Tue, May 04, 2010

Quality Hill swings through Harry Warren tribute

There are a few things of which one can always be certain when attending a performance at Quality Hill Playhouse: First: the performance will be crisp, clear, impeccably rehearsed and skillfully managed. Second: pianist, singer, director and raconteur Kent Barnhart will charm the socks off the audience and play the keyboard like a house afire. Third: the evening will be full of wonderful familiar standards from the American Songbook.

Quality Hill swings through Harry Warren tribute

Mon, May 10, 2010

Quality Hill swings through Harry Warren tribute

There are a few things of which one can always be certain when attending a performance at Quality Hill Playhouse: First: the performance will be crisp, clear, impeccably rehearsed and skillfully managed. Second: pianist, singer, director and raconteur Kent Barnhart will charm the socks off the audience and play the keyboard like a house afire. Third: the evening will be full of wonderful familiar standards from the American Songbook.

KC Civic Opera Celebrates 25 Years

Tue, May 25, 2010

KC Civic Opera Celebrates 25 Years

Kansas City Civic opera celebrated its 25th anniversary in style last weekend: "I Pagliacci" was a staged concert version with only a platform as the set, no costumes and minimal staging. The chorus and small orchestra conducted by Jeremy Mims were located on the stage. Directed by Rick Truman, this pared down production really allowed the audience to focus on the intensity of Leoncavallo's score.

Splendid music in the grass

Mon, Jun 14, 2010

Splendid music in the grass

The fifth annual Symphony in the Flints Hills went on as scheduled this past Saturday, June 12, despite the threat of storms throughout the day and the buckets of rain that fell everywhere but on Ed Bass’s flint hills ranch, Bluestem Cattle Company, in Bazaar, Kansas. Over 6000 people descended on the prairie, traveling unimproved gravel and dirt roads to reach the South Clements Pasture and get in touch with nature—complete with porta-potties.

Little House in Kansas City

Tue, Jun 29, 2010

Little House in Kansas City

Starlight Theater opened its 60th season last week with the tour of "Little House on the Prairie: The Musical," a production developed at the Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis.

All-Female cast of "1776" gives birth to a new tradition

Tue, Aug 24, 2010

All-Female cast of "1776" gives birth to a new tradition

The accolades have been coming fast and furious for Musical Theatre Heritage’s all-female cast of "1776," and the praise is well and truly deserved.

Topeka Symphony Orchestra opens its season in style

Wed, Sep 29, 2010

Topeka Symphony Orchestra opens its season in style

The opening concert of the Topeka Symphony Orchestra's 2010–11 season, with works by Strauss, Haydn, and Sibelius, sets a high bar for performances to come.

Quality Hill honors lyricist Sammy Cahn

Tue, Oct 05, 2010

Quality Hill honors lyricist Sammy Cahn

Though his name may not be familiar, Sammy Cahn's songs certainly are. Quality Hill Playhouse paid tribute to this legendary American songwriter in their new cabaret revue, "Come Fly With Me."

Neil Berg gives his regards to Broadway

Fri, Oct 01, 2010

Neil Berg gives his regards to Broadway

“Neil Berg’s 100 Years of Broadway” is perfect for the musical theatre fan and neophyte alike. Berg performs the greatest hits and the songs we know even if we haven’t seen the show.

Still here and better than ever

Tue, Nov 02, 2010

Still here and better than ever

Marilyn Maye is a high-steppin’, song-beltin’ dame! "Her Party at the Playhouse" cabaret show at Quality Hill is one for the ages.

Strings on fire

Tue, Nov 02, 2010

Strings on fire

With works by Respighi, Pärt, and Shchedrin channeling Bizet, the Topeka Symphony's strings and percussionists wow with a powerful performance.

Impressions of Baroque Venice

Tue, Nov 16, 2010

Impressions of Baroque Venice

Q: What do you get when the resident ensemble of Vivaldi's own San Vidal Church plays an evening of Baroque staples at the Lied Center? A: A rapt audience unwilling to let the musicians leave the stage.

Christmas quartets at Quality Hill

Tue, Nov 23, 2010

Christmas quartets at Quality Hill

It's that time of year already. The Quality Hill Playhouse offers the season's first musical production of your favorite Christmas fare. Becky Barta, Cary Mock, LaTeesha McDonald Jackson, and pianist/emcee J. Kent Barnhart brought all the warmth of a cozy fire.

PREVIEW: Opera and musical theatre for Spring 2011

Tue, Jan 11, 2011

PREVIEW: Opera and musical theatre for Spring 2011

Operatic offerings and musical theatre revelry abound this spring throughout the metro. Whether it is Mozart, Handel, Gilbert and Sullivan, or those cheeky blokes from Monty Python, the area's staged works are sure to please.

Life’s loves, laughs, and laments

Tue, Jan 18, 2011

Life’s loves, laughs, and laments

Quality Hill Playhouse opened the New Year with a return to Playhouse favorite: "Blues in the Night: The Lyrics of Johnny Mercer," a production that reminds us not only of Mercer’s tremendous versatility, but also of his longevity and influence.

Flint Hills serenade

Tue, Jun 14, 2011

Flint Hills serenade

For six years over 7000 people have driven back-country roads and carried their lawn chairs out into the middle of a pasture all to sit and listen to the Kansas City Symphony perform various works of Americana in the Flint Hills. With a beautiful sunset as the backdrop, KSC highlighted the theme "Kansas and the Civil War."

Dance and romance with Fine Arts Chorale

Tue, Feb 15, 2011

Dance and romance with Fine Arts Chorale

Celebrating the 100th birthday of Independence, Missouri-born screen and dance legend Ginger Rogers, the Fine Arts Chorale's Valentine's concert at Californos was enjoyed by a sell-out crowd.

Chorale shines through darkness

Tue, Mar 08, 2011

Chorale shines through darkness

As spring approaches the daylight hours keep pushing back the night. Adding to that radiance was the Kansas City Chorale's "Darkness and Light" program featuring works that highlighted that duality.

Singing beyond the rainbow

Mon, Mar 14, 2011

Singing beyond the rainbow

The Quality Hill Playhouse season of salutes to lyricists continued this month with “Look to the Rainbow: The Lyrics of E. Y. 'Yip' Harburg". Known to one and all as the composer of “Over the Rainbow,” Harburg could join the ranks of Great American Lyricists on that fact alone, but in this program he articulated a range of thoughts and emotions of the American people in the twentieth century.

De-Lovely music at Quality Hill Playhouse

Wed, May 04, 2011

De-Lovely music at Quality Hill Playhouse

Quality Hill Playhouse continued its American Lyricists Series with the ubiquitous texts of Cole Porter. The three-person show chronicled Porter's life through song and narrative touching on such gems as "Old-Fashioned Garden," "It's De-Lovely," and "Begin the Beguine."

"Noël and Gertie" is nostalgic and great

Tue, Sep 27, 2011

"Noël and Gertie" is nostalgic and great

Quality Hill Playhouse opens its season with the delightful and often poignant "Noël and Gertie," a dramatization of the long collaboration and friendship of theatrical royalty: Noël Coward and Gertrude Lawrence.

TSO goes Bohemian

Wed, Oct 05, 2011

TSO goes Bohemian

With the cleverly-titled "Czech Mates," the Topeka Symphony Orchestra, under exiting Maestro John Wesley Strickler, showcased the talents of violinist Ivan Ženatý on Tchaikovsky's Violin Concerto paired with Dvořák's pastoral Sixth Symphony.

Magical, musical Christmas celebration

Tue, Nov 22, 2011

Magical, musical Christmas celebration

Quality Hill Playhouse's "Christmas in Song" is a charming musical start to the holidays. Vocalists Molly Hammer, LaTeesha McDonald Jackson, and Lindsey McKee joining pianist and musical director J. Kent Barnhart for a program of both traditional and contemporary Christmas music.

Irish songs of the season

Wed, Dec 14, 2011

Irish songs of the season

The Celtic Tenors sang a holiday concert with their droll Irish brogue and oodles of charisma Saturday evening at the Lied Center of Kansas. With tunes ranging from folk to opera to rock, the trio performed to an enthusiastic audience.

"The Giver" gets operatic treatment

Tue, Dec 20, 2011

"The Giver" gets operatic treatment

Adaptations of young adult literature are currently in vogue because of their gripping stories and powerful messages. The Lyric Opera of Kansas City and the Minnesota Opera have joined forces to commission Susan Kander's opera based on Lois Lowry's Newbery Award-winning novel, "The Giver." KCM's Sarah Young spoke with the creative team and the cast of the upcoming production.

Spring 2012 preview: Musical theatre

Tue, Dec 27, 2011

Spring 2012 preview: Musical theatre

From Narnia to the decks of the Titanic and the beaches of the South Pacific, the Kansas City area is full of musical theatre events during the spring of 2012.

Fine “Romance” at Quality Hill Playhouse

Wed, Jan 25, 2012

Fine “Romance” at Quality Hill Playhouse

Some very familiar love songs are the subject of Quality Hill Playhouse’s current cabaret offering, “My Romance: The Songs of Rodgers and Hart.”

“Mozart and More” charms Topeka

Tue, Feb 14, 2012

“Mozart and More” charms Topeka

The Topeka Symphony Orchestra delivered a musical Valentine on Saturday with its “Mozart and More” concert. Under the baton of music director John Wesley Strickler and featuring guitar soloist Nicholas Ciraldo, the TSO offered a varied program of classical and contemporary works.

Fine “Romance” at Quality Hill Playhouse

Wed, Jan 25, 2012

Fine “Romance” at Quality Hill Playhouse

Some very familiar love songs are the subject of Quality Hill Playhouse’s current cabaret offering, “My Romance: The Songs of Rodgers and Hart.”

Come to the cabaret

Tue, Apr 24, 2012

Come to the cabaret

Quality Hill Playhouse presented a lively and versatile revue of the songs of John Kander and Fred Ebb, the songwriting duo behind many of Broadway’s most beloved classics.