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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.
Mon, Feb 22, 2010
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.
Tue, Jan 12, 2010
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.
Tue, Feb 23, 2010
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.
Tue, Apr 20, 2010
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.
Tue, May 04, 2010
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.
Mon, May 10, 2010
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.
Tue, May 25, 2010
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.
Mon, Jun 14, 2010
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.
Tue, Jun 29, 2010
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.
Tue, Aug 24, 2010
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.
Wed, Sep 29, 2010
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.
Tue, Oct 05, 2010
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."
Fri, Oct 01, 2010
“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.
Tue, Nov 02, 2010
Marilyn Maye is a high-steppin’, song-beltin’ dame! "Her Party at the Playhouse" cabaret show at Quality Hill is one for the ages.
Tue, Nov 02, 2010
With works by Respighi, Pärt, and Shchedrin channeling Bizet, the Topeka Symphony's strings and percussionists wow with a powerful performance.
Tue, Nov 16, 2010
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.
Tue, Nov 23, 2010
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.
Tue, Jan 11, 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.
Tue, Jan 18, 2011
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.
Tue, Jun 14, 2011
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."
Tue, Feb 15, 2011
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.
Tue, Mar 08, 2011
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.
Mon, Mar 14, 2011
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.
Wed, May 04, 2011
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."
Tue, Sep 27, 2011
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.
Wed, Oct 05, 2011
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.
Tue, Nov 22, 2011
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.
Wed, Dec 14, 2011
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.
Tue, Dec 20, 2011
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.
Tue, Dec 27, 2011
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.
Wed, Jan 25, 2012
Some very familiar love songs are the subject of Quality Hill Playhouse’s current cabaret offering, “My Romance: The Songs of Rodgers and Hart.”
Tue, Feb 14, 2012
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.
Wed, Jan 25, 2012
Some very familiar love songs are the subject of Quality Hill Playhouse’s current cabaret offering, “My Romance: The Songs of Rodgers and Hart.”
Tue, Apr 24, 2012
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.
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