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Kansas City's Online Journal of the Performing Arts

By Kristin Shafel Omiccioli   Wed, Jul 27, 2011

The audience of around 100 at Off Center Theatre late Saturday night was in good spirits and laughed all the way through The Rocky & Bullwinkle Horror Picture Show Parody. A “live-action 3-D cartoon,” the mash-up characters follow the plot and music of The Rocky Horror Picture Show with lyrics and references to the cartoon.

Starting off with a bang, “Animated Cartoon Features” laid the ground work for the rest of the show with its cartoon-referencing lyrics, the coordinated dancing, and a giant pair of lips. Seriously. A definite highlight for the ensemble was “Toon Warp,” the best-executed parody in the show of the favorite song from Rocky Horror.

Doogin Brown and Rachel Pallente, as our protagonists, Cowpatty (Bullwinkle/Brad) and Missy (Rocky J. Squirrel/Janet), played their silly gullibility marvelously. Brown’s impeccable comic timing and delivery gave us many of the best one-liners of the night, and Pallente’s bright and soulful voice shone especially on “The Floor Wax Show” near the end.

I attended Egads!’s production of Evil Dead: The Musical last fall and was pleased to find several of those actors return for R&BHPSP. Aurelie Roque was perfection as Dementia (Natasha/Magenta)—her deep Russian accent and exaggerated sensual swagger were spot-on. Noah Whitmore stole the show often as Whiplash (Snidely/Riff-Raff) and later as Fearless Leader. Whitmore wholly embodied these wacky characters with his superb affectations and physicality. Samn Wright as Studley (Dudley Do-Right/Rocky Horror) played the dim-witted goody two-shoes cutey to a T.

Katie Kalahurka was notable as the quirkiest of the bunch in her two roles. Dan Hilliker, as a mash-up of Mr. Peabody/Dr. Scott, mastered the voices and accents of those two characters in his lead song “Sherman’s German.” The Narrator, Bill Pelletier, repeatedly injected surprises into his role with deadpan Kansas City quips.

Leading the ensemble was director Steven Eubank as Dr. Bad-N-Uffski (Boris/Dr. Frank-N-Furter). Eubank’s dancing and singing were highly energetic and impressive (even more so in fishnets and 4-inch heels), and his portrayal of these two villains was delightfully wicked.

The entire cast matched accents and the cartoons’ voices excellently and all had polished and pleasant singing voices, although often in the first half the microphone balance was off and it was difficult to hear soloists over the ensemble. Spotlights were occasionally sluggish to reach the soloist or main action. Only one glaringly awkward moment took place in this massive Fringe show though, when an actor missed their mark/line. Despite these few opening-night issues, the actors kept the momentum going wonderfully, playing off each other’s lines with appropriately whip-quick timing while giving the deliciously cheesiest jokes room to breathe.

R&BHPSP is a refreshing romp through nostalgia for those who remember watching Rocky & Bullwinkle on Saturday morning and throwing toast at a midnight showing of Rocky Horror. Featuring a multi-talented group of actors from a company with a laid-back yet clever sense of humor, R&BHPSP is a Fringe offering not to be missed.

REVIEW:
Kansas City Fringe Festival
The Rocky & Bullwinkle Horror Picture Show Parody
July 23–29, 2011 (Reviewed July 23)
Off Center Theatre in Crown Center
2450 Grand Blvd, Kansas City, MO
For more information visit www.kcfringe.org

Top Photo:  Steven Eubank as Dr. Bad-N-Uffski (Copyright (C) All Rights Reserved to Reggie Banks, Sr. BCP (Blackberry Castle Photography) 1994-2011) Used with permission

By Laura Vernaci   Wed, Jul 20, 2011

On a steamy Sunday afternoon, art-hungry prospectors graciously gathered inside The Nelson-Atkins Museums’ quaint and intimate Atkins Auditorium to observe Owen/Cox Dance Group’s interpretation of Roxy Paine’s Ferment. Inspired by this 56-foot stainless steel sculpture, which in April took permanent residence in the Kansas City Sculpture Park, Jennifer Owen and Brad Cox created a collaborative and unique 20-minute work, A Tree That is a Tree is Not a Tree.

The six dancers began in a tree-like pose, the most concrete moment of the entire piece. As if in slow motion, they broke out individually and into pairs, melding their bodies and displaying true moving art. Laura Jones and Marcus Oatis performed a brief, supportive duet that was reminiscent of different sizes of branches supporting one another. The dancers used their arms and legs to symbolize the sculpture’s bare, protruding branches.

After exploring the space amidst an unhurried and smooth jazz composition, the dancers and musicians switched gears completely, jumping into an upbeat and light hearted yet abrupt section. Honing in on the sculpture’s name, Ferment (meaning agitation or disturbance,) the oral and visual accents were decidedly haphazard. Despite the chaos, there were several controlled, shining moments. Oatis moved with precision and purpose, performing the choreography while adding dimension rather than just miming the steps. Jones was light in comparison, attacking the melody more than the sporadic rhythm, but also displayed an abundance of energy and confidence. Betty Kondo and Michael Davis were a charming pair to watch, as well. Jennifer Owen and Chloé Abel also temporarily took center stage, before opening up the floor to the group again.

Both of the work’s themes were representative of Paine’s Ferment. The dreamlike sequences illustrated the sculpture’s strong, silent silhouette that it exudes on the hill of the Sculpture Park. The harsh, random movement touched on the sculpture’s erratic beauty, which is the base of much nature and art. Owen’s stylistic choreography and Cox’s unconventional arrangement combined pleasing symmetry with asymmetric discordance. The majority of the performance was abstract rather than literal, leaving the audience to take in the visual concepts and transform them into their own work of art, be it a tree or not. 

REVIEW:
Owen/Cox Dance Group
A Tree That is a Tree is Not a Tree
Sunday, July 17 at 2 p.m.
The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art
4525 Oak Street
For more information visit http://www.owencoxdance.org

Top Photo: Laura Jones and Marcus Oatis (Photo by Charles Stonewall)

By   Sat, Sep 22, 2012

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By Kristin Shafel Omiccioli   Wed, Jul 27, 2011

The audience of about 70 was spellbound Tuesday evening at City Stage in Union Station, taking in the popular Kansas City Fringe Festival offering Worth. Although director Jay Akin’s condensed version successfully packs a powerfully emotional punch into one hour, a staging of the full two-act play would be an advantageous experience and hopefully will come to Kansas City someday soon.

Written by former Metropolitan Ensemble Theatre actor Forrest Attaway, Worth’s tragic story begins austerely enough—one man owes another money for rent. The plot quickly twists into complexity, though, thanks to the intricately developed characters and the dark side of very real, weighty topics—family, work, sexuality, and money. Before long, the disquieting ties between all individuals involved become grimly clear.

Paul Orwick leads the ensemble with his compelling portrayal of Adam, a businessman with apparent demons on his back, brilliantly creating an equally wretched and menacing personality. Ben Gulley—trained as an operatic tenor—displays his earnest acting chops as Bill, a depressed loser wrung out by a loveless marriage, and easily projects his strong voice with impressive passion when necessary. Jan Chapman’s character, Bill’s wife and Adam’s sister, Marcy, is hindered most by the play’s abbreviation. While wonderfully played by Chapman, Marcy still could have used a few more scenes to develop from a smart-mouthed housewife in denial to the internally complicated, suffering person we discover later. Kyle Dyck is convincing and gives a heartfelt rendition as Marcy’s awkward and piteous son, Jason.

Seemingly worlds away from the family is Q, a surprisingly articulate pimp in a convoluted relationship with his two hookers. Whit Welker is well suited for the rugged and sinister Q, nailing the character’s intimidating and controlling nature. Michelle Wilke captures novice hooker Hanna’s naïveté well without falling into the “hooker with a heart of gold” stereotype. Mary Donaldson also adds depth to her hooker character, the jaded Chastity, with the intentionally aloof telling of how she started in the business.

Binding together the scenes and appearing as somewhat of a poetic prophet is Victor Raidee-Wexler as Mr. White. Raidee-Wexler’s artfully crafted monologues at the opening and between scenes are highlights of the show—poignant, ominous, mysterious and affective.

Thought-provoking, real, desperate, disturbing, and ultimately fascinating, Worth is definitely worth your while.

REVIEW:
Kansas City Fringe Festival
Worth
July 23–30, 2011 (Reviewed Tuesday, July 26)
City Stage, Union Station
30 W. Pershing Road, Kansas City, MO
For more information visit www.kcfringe.org

Top Photo: Worth playwright, Forrest Attaway. Bottom Photo: director Jay Akin.

By Calli Parker   Wed, Jul 27, 2011

IFCKC brings the best of their Westport Café basement offerings to Fringe this year with two distinct programs split between four showings. Each program begins with the silent, short film Fringe Follies, especially made for this year’s festival by local filmmaker, Todd Norris. Norris’ film embodies everything Fringe, casting fellow festival performers and starring burlesque darlings Annie Cherry as herself and Damian Blake (a.k.a. Artemus Vulgaris) as the tramp. The film is a cleverly sweet introduction to all things Fringe.

Several of the offerings in Program One are clips and promos for upcoming projects. Ranging from a behind-the-scenes look at Vixen Pin-up Photography, clips from Stephen and Mary Pruitt’s “dark redemptive drama” Terminal, and Tim DePaepe’s thoughtful documentary, AB, about little-known modern artist, Albert Bloch, the viewers are introduced to Kansas City’s truly diverse film community.

To touch briefly on some of the other offerings:

• Gone are the days of quiet living room dramas with Matt Connolly’s, A Good Crease. It’s an exaggerated depiction of our own unconventional and dysfunctional families with a happy ending only a mother can provide.
• Dustin Adair’s Pro Choice is a comedic short involving a couple’s ideal future child through the use of selective genetics. While not a topic that usually provokes a steady stream of laughter, the giggles continued well into the credits.
• James Schweers’ 4:30 perfectly encapsulates the strange magnetism of customers to female bookstore employees. Record store and other retail gals will empathize as well.

Also included are senior thesis films from recent graduates from the Kansas City Art Institute. Michael Dirnberger’s Working Blues is a lackluster, albeit mature look at the current U.S. unemployment situation and Frank Gotay’s A Brush With Life explores the tedious internal creative process of an aging artist.

Resurrected from the 2009 IFCKC contest, Every Picture Tells A Story, Timothy Harvey’s Playing With Fire features fire performer, Yosh. The piece could seem out of place if it wasn’t edited so seamlessly and if this wasn’t Fringe, where everybody is free to let their freak flag fly.

Support your local filmmakers and visit Fringe Central this week for the Best of IFCKC Shorts; these are not your little brother’s Youtube videos.

REVIEW:
Kansas City Fringe Festival
Best of IFCKC Short Films
July 24–28, 2011 (Reviewed Program One July 24)
Fringe Central
1730 Broadway, Kansas City, MO
For more information visit www.kcfringe.org

By Lee Hartman   Tue, Jul 26, 2011

Pete Bakely’s Jet Propulsion, showing at the Unicorn Theatre as part of the Kansas City Fringe Festival, has a great concept and astounding story in the main character Jack Parsons, one of the forgotten—or, in his case, shunned, marginalized, and intentionally deleted—founders of the American space program. Parsons was a silver-spoon scientific genius who also happened to be a mystic pagan magician and possible associate of Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard.

Building on that premise, Jet Propulsion sets up the four-character play as a vaudeville production, complete with minstrels, puppetry, and dancing. Parsons, played by Matt Leonard, is predictably situated as the straight man to the shenanigans and chicanery of British mage Aleister Crowley (Jeremy Lillig) and L. Ron Hubbard (Ryan Neal). Actress Virginia Hubbard (sadly, no relation) played multiple roles, though her most important is Cameron, who may or may not be the Whore of Babylon and bringer of the Moonchild. Thankfully, Bakely’s writing doesn’t dwell or get bogged down in the metaphysical or technical. He may be a little free-wheeling with the history, but it is evident that the subject matter is remarkably well researched.

Leonard was a strong lead and took on the difficult task of making a frequently raving genius sympathetic. He mostly succeeded during his solo moments. Neal, as Hubbard, couldn’t match Leonard. Portraying L. Ron Hubbard as a Willy Wonka-esque ringleader, he simply lacked the charisma, charm, comedic timing, and smarminess required of the role. Lillig, as the money-grubbing magician Aleister Crowley, was very funny in his faux-Egyptian headwear and caftan costume, and delivered some of the best one-liners of the show. Virginia Hubbard was able to make each of her characters distinguishable through body language and slight vocal changes, but her main role of Cameron was stiff. I couldn’t tell whether she was going for otherworldly, ethereal disconnection or fear of Parsons’ frenzied rants.

As an in-progress play, the show is rough around the edges but has great potential, due in part to the bizarre subject matter and leading man Leonard. The strongest writing is in Parson’s soliloquies and the shady dealings of Crowley. The vaudeville premise never goes far enough, and Bakely should consider working with a songwriter to flush out L. Ron Hubbard’s songs. Solidifying Crowley as a ventriloquist can be furthered by more instances of him using Parsons as a mouthpiece.  Better costuming throughout and sturdier props would also greatly help the production. With a few more working iterations of the play, Bakely could have a show that truly harnesses the “power of earth and glory of demons.”

REVIEW:
Kansas City Fringe Festival
Jet Propulsion
July 22–29, 2011 (Reviewed Monday, July 25, 2011)
Unicorn Theatre, Jerome Stage
3828 Main St., Kansas City, MO
For more information, visit www.kcfringe.org

Top Photo: Cast of Jet Propulsion (Photo by Pete Bakely)

By Lee Hartman   Mon, Jul 25, 2011

An all-ages mixed crowd of over sixty gathered for Saturday’s opening performance of Super Spectacular! To Opera with Love at City Stage in Union Station as part of the Kansas City Fringe Festival. Billed as the opposite of traditional opera (i.e. long, boring, unintelligible, and expensive) two members of the Donovan Ensemble strove to perform 6 operas in 7 minutes each thus making opera short, exciting, easy-to-understand, and … low rent. The duo, Joe Kolbow and Johnnie Niel, succeeded on all accounts. I had a smile plastered on my face the entire hour at their campy antics, clever song/aria mash-ups, and the spot-on skewering of all things operatic.

Merril Garrick, played by Kolbow, is a dandy, smoking-jacket wearing, Robert Goulet-meets-Errol Flynn Thespian with a capital “T.” Accompanied by his schoolboy man-servant/sidekick, Emmet (played by Niel), the two begin Garrick’s mad-cap preparations for the Lifetime channel biopic of opera legend Pavarotti. Unbeknownst to Garrick, Emmet also has designs to audition. General tomfoolery and shenanigans ensue as the pair explore the inherent ridiculousness of Carmen, La bohème, Aida, Salome, Pagliacci, and Madame Butterfly.

Carmen, La bohème, Salome, and Madame Butterfly were the most successful and uproarious. Through clever use of tacky props, outlandish accents and bargain basement costumes the twosome sang snippets of the opera—with altered lyrics to summarize the plot beyond even Cliffnotes synopses—interspersed with pop songs. Salome was entirely pop tunes though, as “Emmet wrote that section using songs he heard on the radio.” Part of the charm of the production was figuring out which pop song they were singing and how it related to the opera plot. I may never be able to listen to Madame Butterfly without hearing REM’s “Losing My Religion,” Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believing,” Neil Diamond’s “Coming to America,” and Guns-n-Roses “Sweet Child of Mine” and vice versa.

Kolbow and Niel are exceptionally talented actors, singers, and quick-change artists. Their comedic timing is spot-on as is their pitch. Kolbow has perfected a constipated yell, full of righteous indignation, which is equally hilarious and smart, as it saves his voice. I wish they had kept the running gag of sing-screaming the fallen heroine’s name at the conclusion of each section though. Niel, in and out of drag, balances the mixture of foil and partner-in-crime perfectly.

Whether you’re an opera aficionado or not, Super Spectacular! is a joyous romp that will have you smiling and singing long after you leave the theatre.

REVIEW:
Kansas City Fringe Festival
Super Spectacular! To Opera with Love
July 23–30, 2011 (Reviewed Saturday, July 23, 2011)
City Stage, Union Station
30 W. Pershing Rd., Kansas City, MO
For more information visit www.kcfringe.org

By Lee Hartman   Sat, Jul 23, 2011

Playing to an eager and appreciative audience of just over fifty at METSpace, Kevin J. Thorton strode out in his half-hipster/half-GQ wardrobe of skinny tie, t-shirt, thin black suspenders, perfectly hemmed and fitted gray pants, and worn brown shoes and not riding the twin albino tigers with glitter canons as he would have had the latecomers believe. With snark, sadness, and sass, I Love You (We’re F*#ked) is one man’s journey through life, love, lust, and loneliness.  This is his singular journey and he never lets you forget it as he often states, complete with batted eyelashes, “Kevin J. Thorton, that’s me.”

Nostalgic autobiographic monologues are interspersed with melancholic songs, moments of rhymed couplets, stand-up, current events, and enough 80s–90s cultural references (TLC, Boyz II Men, Members Only jackets, Spice Girls, etc.) to make your head spin. Thorton’s words, ideas, and tangents fly fast and free as if he were the smarty-pants spawn of Bo Burnham and Kathy Griffin. At times it seems Mountain Dew flows in his veins instead of blood. But he is also willing to revel in the awkward silences, moments, and insecurities.

Structured in three large sections, the hour-long show goes by in a laugh-filled flash. Numerous set pieces do not necessarily flow well into one another but Thornton is skilled enough to make you willing to follow him on his devilish little sojourns. His wink/smirk combination is winning and helps counteract the more serious nature of break-ups and beheadings. Yes, beheadings. The second section, “Blood Stories,” is a dark, demented and too real take on a car accident, beheading, impalement, and a mistaken anal sex mishap. The theme song is quite catchy and equally horrific/hysterical. This act is bookended by stories about his crush on Ricky Schroder, the New Year’s Eve 1990 Church Lock-In, and comparing his ex-boyfriend to Sigourney Weaver’s Alien: Resurrection baby. His reverse euphemisms for sex to food and the etymology of the phrases “balls to the wall” and “shit hits the fan” verge on slightly generic stand-up but are still very funny.

During events like the Kansas City Fringe Festival it is often hard to find the gems among the many offerings. This show is one of them. Please go enjoy Thorton’s “coy demeanor and strangely perfect teeth” and his wonderful show.  

REVIEW:
Kansas City Fringe Festival
I Love You (We’re F*#ked)
July 22–30, 2011 (Reviewed July 22)
METSpace
3614 Main St, Kansas City, MO
For more information visit www.kcfringe.org

By Kristin Shafel Omiccioli   Fri, Jul 22, 2011

Hidden behind a haphazard arrangement of mismatched sheets draped from the ceiling, Buran Theatre Company’s Bill Murray’s Cousin Live in Concert! attempts to “call Uncle Bill” with a mixture of mildly distorted electric guitars, languid singing and light use of processed electronic loop effects featuring clips of Bill Murray’s voice. The music has a relaxed alt-rock feel thanks to the basic chord progressions and simple twangy guitar solos. The vocal intervallic harmonies were pleasant enough and some interesting textures were achieved throughout.

The quasi-psychedelic, stream-of-consciousness quality of composition was passable, though the performance of the music was unpolished. The uniform tempo throughout quickly became tedious and the guitars were just out of tune enough to make me question if it was intentional. Balance was an issue as well between the voices and instruments, and not all the lyrics were clearly heard or understood from behind the curtain of sheets.

The lengthy introduction made me wonder when something was going to happen, waiting for the performers to emerge, for a change in the music to grab my attention. Instead, the entire one-hour show is performed exclusively behind the curtain of sheets. Being offstage disengaged the audience and was a severe detriment to the show. The audience of twenty or so (decent for the upstairs room at Vulcan’s Forge) trickled out and within twenty minutes only myself, my guest, and another reviewer remained. Watching performers instead of sheets would have improved the experience exponentially.

I do admire Buran Theatre Company’s humorous and sanguine marketing strategy—it definitely intrigued me—but Bill Murray’s Cousin sadly did not live up to the expectations set by the show’s title and the upbeat nature of its description with a convenient narrative to exploit. I loved the premise—there were so many directions it could have gone. The few references to Bill Murray were equally vague and conspicuous, and ultimately confusing. The performance overall has the ambiance of a casual basement jam session instead of a performance art festival offering.

REVIEW:
Kansas City Fringe Festival
Bill Murray’s Cousin Live in Concert!
July 22–30, 2011 (Reviewed July 22)
Vulcan’s Forge
3937 Washington Street, Kansas City, MO
For more information visit www.kcfringe.org

By Victor Wishna   Tue, Jun 28, 2011

The 7^th Annual KC Fringe Festival is an unfiltered, uncensored sampling of Kansas City’s cultural arts and runs July 21–31st, 2011.  The 11-day festival is jam-packed with live theater, dance, performance art, visual art, spoken word, puppetry, storytelling, film and fashion.  At 17 venues throughout Kansas City, the KC Fringe Festival presents 358 live performances, 327 in the performing arts category alone, and exhibitions by 82 participating companies.  Local and regional artists from Missouri and Kansas are featured along with national artists from an additional 14 states including New York, Washington, Florida, California, Texas, Illinois, Minnesota, Iowa, Tennessee, Indiana, Arkansas, New Jersey and Georgia.

 Top returning local artists & 2011 shows:

• Burlesque & BOYlesque Downtown Underground bring you a performance that embodies the game of life humans have been playing throughout the centuries:  the battle of the sexes, burlesque style!
• Steven Eubank, Artistic Director, Egads! Theatre Company presents "Rocky and Bullwinkle Horror Picture Show Parody" --  This musical parody is a looney mash-up of the midnight cult classic The Rocky Horror Picture Show and Jay Ward’s beloved cult classic cartoon characters. Let’s do the toon warp!
• Bryan Colley and Tara Varney, producers of the KC Fringe’s 2010's "Khaaaaan! the Musical" present "Hexing Hitler."  In 1941, five people gathered in a remote Maryland cabin to kill Adolph Hitler using witchcraft. This is the true story of what happened that night.
• Susanna Lee/Lucky Deluxe presents “Getting Lucky,” a bawdy blend of standup, striptease, and audience participation; seamlessly presented in 1-woman show format by Lee.
• Heidi Van will perform a TBA window show at The Fish Tank
• Stephanie Roberts, Slow Burn Productions & UMKC Theatre Faculty, presents "The Mask of the Broken Heart."  From the Creator & Director of Boom! and Tallahassee, this thriller combines humor, pathos and beauty while paying tribute to film-noir and Commedia dell'Arte.  Roberts plays 13 characters in this masked mystery.
• Brother John presents “IRKS!” -- a near death experience and a heavenly comedy club, provide a rare opportunity for a struggling comedian to express embittered issues and personal irks only to discover the real person that’s been sabotaging his success.
• Voler - Thieves of Flight  - One of the top shows of the KC Fringe 2010, Voler - Thieves of Flight present "Tordu Vol:  A Twisted Tale of Flight" -- a sizzling and exciting cabaret in the sky.

What’s New in 2011 at the KC Fringe Festival:

• 1-day ECOFringe to educate people about sustainable options including co-op farms, recycling, food not lawns, and organic culinary vendors
• Two LGBT world premiere plays performed by high school and college students
• New fiber arts project launches spearheaded by local artist Becky Blades

 About KC Fringe Festival
The KC Fringe Festival develops audiences, stimulates economic growth and supports the creative community at large.  By making the arts readily visible, available and affordable, the festival supports and inspires local organizations year-round. The KC Fringe Festival is a service to the community, building bridges between audiences, artists, businesses and civic organizations.

For more information visit http://www.kcfringe.org/2011/index.php

Click here to check out individual listings on the KC Events calendar.

By Erik Klackner   Fri, Aug 05, 2011

The final concert of the 2011 Summerfest was a study in contrasts, with works ranging from the Classical period through 2006 and a scope encompassing the light and brief to the musical sprawl of Brahms’ great Serenade. The performance at the profoundly musty but beautiful and austere St. Mary’s Church downtown was very well-attended, and the audience was rewarded with a satisfying evening of well-played music.

The program began with Muzio Clementi’s Trio op. 31, no. 2. During his day, Clementi’s reputation was not far behind that of Joseph Haydn. Of course, not long ago people thought Ashton Kutcher was going to be a movie star. Clementi’s star faded drastically, and is now most well known, at least among my family and friends, as the guy who wrote a piano sonatina with a movement easy enough for even me to pass a piano proficiency exam. This loss of reputation is undeserved, though. Clementi, while certainly no Haydn, was a fine composer, and his abilities are on full display in the fresh and refined Trio for piano, violin, and cello.

The trio is in some ways a piano sonata with ambient effects; the cello often doubles the piano left hand and the violin the right, though not exclusively. This lends itself to intonation issues, but tuning was generally non-issue despite the tough musical circumstances. The balance was wanting, and I found myself wishing for more cello, particularly because cellist Susie Yang plays with a sweet, singing tone. Violinist Mary Grant produced a full, vibrant sound that really exploded in the hall, especially in the upper register. Pianist Dan Velicer was in command of the music, easily navigating the difficult runs and maintaining crisp articulation throughout both movements.

Next came Three Character Pieces for bassoon and viola by Karim al-Zand. Composed for colleagues on the faculty at Rice University, it is compact and generally cheerful music with a truly distinctive sound. It must have been a remarkable challenge to create an engaging work for probably the two most unheralded instruments imaginable, but al-Zand succeeded (to an admittedly surprising degree).

The first movement was a beautiful, flowing exchange between the two performers. Bassoonist Joshua Hood exhibited a gorgeous tone in the middle and upper registers, where most of the movement took place. I’m notoriously difficult to please in the bassoon department, but Hood’s warm sound was fantastic to my ears. Sean Brumble’s viola was equal to the smooth tone challenge with a rich tone of his own, including some really resonant overtones that rang luxuriously in the hall. The second piece contained some tricky rhythms, but the communication between players was flawless. More metric difficulties lie in the final movement, a bouncy, quirky dance. Brumble laid a solid rhythmic foundation throughout, and Mr. Hood handled the constant leaps and shifts easily. This was a charming performance of really charming music.

The first half closed with another brief escapade, Joan Tower’s witty Petroushskates, an homage and play on the famous Stravinsky ballet of the almost-same name. It’s like The Lion King on ice, only instead of lions, meerkats, and warthogs, it uses demon puppets and charlatans. Echoes of Stravinsky’s music intersperse with faint allusions to waltzes, elegant lines, and frantic scurrying mischief in a whirlwind frenzy of energy.

Petroushskates was the low point of the evening. The balance was an issue, with the cello again struggling to be heard. The clarinet solos were beautifully executed by Jane Carl, and no instrument benefited more from the acoustics; Carl’s clarinet sound filled the space with surprising depth. The final section, with its manic energy and relentless momentum, lost a bit of time as it moved and the intensity lagged because of it.

The entire second half of the program was comprised of Brahms’ Serenade no. 1 in D major. Most famous in its arrangement for full orchestra, Brahms went through a series of instrumentations trying to get it right, including versions for octet, nonet, small orchestra, and two pianos. Brahms quest to tackle the symphony, and overcome the psychological hurdle of Beethoven in the process, is well documented. The Serenade is his first step in this process.

The performance on Sunday used a version for wind quintet and string quintet. It is remarkable to hear the first stirrings of a great orchestral composer being shaken out in a chamber ensemble; many stylistic features that would become hallmarks of Brahms’ mature style are on display. The Summerfest performance was wonderfully executed and offered a glimpse of Brahms beginning to come to grips with his craft.

I must mention the combative setup: string on one side facing winds on the other. I confess I had thoughts of Deadliest Warrior in my head (“who will reign supreme in the battle between instrument families?”). My Netflix habits aside, it was a good choice, because the balance between the ten players was magnificent. The solos throughout were expertly handled, but special mention is needed for hornist Kelly Cornell, who was, and likely is, a rock star. The opening Allegro molto possesses all the weight and gravity of the mature Brahms, and the ensemble was up to the task, bring a heavy but flexible sound to the full ensemble sections. The first scherzo had a gently relaxed tempo, which contrasted nicely with the rustic peasant music in the trio that featured a particularly meaty lower register. The Adagio occasionally lacked energy, but the dynamic contrast, which was an occasional issue, was at its best in this movement. The dueling minuets of the fourth movement again brought Deadliest Warrior to my mind, with the winds handling the first minuet and the strings the second. Both sections were well played, but the winds were particularly graceful. The second scherzo was robust and hearty, played with the same kind of “at full sail” pomp as the famous scherzo from Mahler’s First Symphony. The rondo finale closed the work in strong fashion, with tremendous energy in the dotted rhythms of the main theme. Also noteworthy was the wonderful musical contrast in the third section, with crisp pizzicato strings counterbalanced by fluid lyricism in the winds. The coda closed the work out in style, gathering energy as it went and finishing with grace. It was a fitting end to an adventurous and transformative season. 

REVIEW:
Summerfest: Week 4
Saturday, July 30, 2011
White Recital Hall, UMKC Campus
4949 Cherry St., Kansas City, MO
Sunday, July 31, 2011 (Reviewed)
St. Mary’s Episcopal Church
1307 Holmes, Kansas City, MO
For more information, visit www.summerfestkc.org

Top Photo: Summerfest Musicians (Photo by Kami Brady)

By Lee Hartman   Thu, Aug 04, 2011

At 45 minutes, the Kansas City String Quartet’s Friday performance at the Pembroke Hill School was aural sorbet for the soul, a perfect respite from the oppressive heat and refreshing in its brevity. That is not to say, however, that their performance of Franz Schubert’s final string quartet was light entertainment.

The performers’ impressive vitas read like compendiums of the country’s best schools, festivals, and orchestras. Regardless of pedigree, coming together for two weeks to teach and mount a string quartet concert is not an easy feat. Professional string quartets often have that unspoken level of communication that guides their performances, and that is only gained from years of practicing together. Though not perfect, violinists Andy Simionescu and Elizabeth Suh Lane, violist Peter Chun, and cellist Paula Kosower tackled the D. 887 with fervor.

This quartet is not your typical Schubert. It is experimental, boundary-smashing, century-leaping excellence.  Shades of future Bruckner and Mahler and even Shostakovich and Bartók can be heard. It’s also a complete tour de force of near-constant playing and a bow-arm workout of epic proportions. No player can hide; everyone must be “on” at all times.

The first movement was the most successful. Tight tremolos were delightfully distinctive from the sixteenth-note sextuplets, thus the Quartet was able to distinguish between the musical materials that in lesser hands could have become a murky, muddled mess. Wide-leaping melodies (with double stops thrown in for good measure) created multiple lines of counterpoint, making the Quartet at times seem more like an octet or even a string orchestra. Chun and Kosower negotiated these passages with more dexterity than the two violinists.

Kosower shined in the second movement during her lyric solos. Part of the charm in the second movement is that the accompaniment often coquettishly avoids the strong downbeat. The ensemble played with a delicateness in these moments that contrasted exceedingly well with the more furious unison sextuplets and crisp, fanfare-ish thirty-second notes. The final chord of the movement was controlled, balanced, and bravely pianissississimo.

The Scherzo showed the Quartet’s cracks. After a sloppy beginning and near-disastrous miscue/entrance between Chun and Kosower, the piece clipped along, but on the louder sections Simionescu’s tone became uncharacteristically strident and screechy. The Trio section lacked ensemble precision and was syrupy.

Rollicking along in compound duple meter, the fourth movement was rhythmically dance-like and melodically simple. Extreme dynamic opposites made the piece sparkle, but Simionescu lost control at one point, sacrificing tone and expression for accents and volume. He quickly recuperated at the next lower dynamic and the Quartet finished with aplomb, much to the delight of the 100-plus audience members. 

REVIEW:
Kansas City String Quartet
Faculty Concert
Friday, July 29, 2011
Centennial Hall
The Pembroke Hill School
5121 State Line Rd., Kansas City, MO
For more information visit www.kcstringquartet.org

Top Photo: Elizabeth Suh Lane, Paula Kosower, and Peter Chun of the Kansas City String Quartet (Photo by Julie Assel)

By Nihan Yesil   Wed, Aug 03, 2011

T.S. Eliot said, “Half the harm that is done in this world is due to people who want to feel important.” Bill Rogers seems to have come to the same conclusion with his dark comedy Caldwell's  Bomb.

When the play opens, it is the summer of 2010, in a town in Southwest Missouri, and a few men, "deputized by God" and calling themselves Eagles of Liberty, decide to take charge and put the world in right order. The town is getting ready to welcome a U.S. senator, who will be visiting to announce the construction of a new call center that will provide residents with new job opportunities. And what an opportunity for the Eagles to show this "accomplice of the Devil" what they are made of, in the most explosive way possible—if only they had the slightest idea as to how to work a rocket or the wits to figure out the manual that came with it.

After encountering the kind-hearted, slow-minded Caldwell (Matthew Melson), who has a knack for fixing things and knows how to rig a bomb, they realize he is the solution to their problem. The head of the Eagles, Jimbo Jolley (Richard Alan Nichols), and his unemployed fellow crusader, Earl (Scott Cordes), forcefully convince Caldwell to make a bomb for them, so as to blow up the gym where the senator will be addressing some 300 townspeople. This is where the dirt gradually hits the fan.

Caldwell's Bomb is a sincere satire and commentary on the danger posed by domestic extremists. Along the way, the play explores a range of current problems—from the recession to underage pregnancy, immigration, welfare, crystal-meth labs, racism, education, the condition of art and artists, and even high school football and the case of Tiger Woods—with honest questions and witty jokes.

The production was simply staged, and well thought out. The stellar cast delivered the non-stop flow of dialogue with remarkable craftsmanship. Caldwell is a familiar literary character in essence: The wise fool. While the other characters constantly emphasize his slowness and stupidity he makes the shrewdest of comments and poses meaningful questions. Melson, a UMKC sophomore acting student making his debut outside academic theater, conveyed the innocence and the curious mind of Caldwell with a notably endearing performance. He is definitely a local talent to watch.

Richard Alan Nichols plumbed the depth of his craft with a stunning performance that traced the transformation of Jimbo Jolley from a smart old man with an excruciating arthritis problem to a nasty bigot whose twisted interpretation of the Bible justified his crooked worldview. 

As a couple, Cordes and Cheryl Weaver played off each other with a beautiful chemistry. The only woman in this four-person ensemble,Weaver stood in the middle of the three men as the sensible Deena like a strong pillar that holds the structure together, while Cordes provided most of the evening’s comic relief.

The cast showed a surgical attention to detail in their performance. The actors put forward some of their best work when they didn’t have any lines. Melson’s frequent silences as the passive Caldwell demanded their own attention, particularly in the scene where he sit at the table and mind his own business while Earl and Jimbo engage in a ten-minute dialogue.

Overall, Caldwell's Bomb, with the direction of Herman Johansen and the efforts of an outstanding cast, was certainly a highlight of the Fringe Festival.

REVIEW:
Kansas City Fringe Festival
Caldwell's Bomb
July 22–30, 2011 (Reviewed Friday, July 29)
Unicorn Theater, Main Stage
3828 Main Street, Kansas City, MO
For more information, visit http://kcfringe.org

Top Photo: Scott Cordes in Caldwell's Bomb (Photo © 2011 Joseph Maino Photography used with permission)

By Libby Hanssen   Wed, Aug 03, 2011

On the opening night of Mamma Mia!, playing at Starlight Theatre in Swope Park, I was transported. Not to a Greek isle, mind you, but to my college dorm room, listening to my roommate play ABBA’s Greatest Hits on repeat. It’s been over a decade since I’ve deliberately listened to the hits of this Swedish sensation, but I was amazed at how well the songs had stuck in my memory.

And it’s all about the songs. The plot is negligible, serving as a conduit for the music; the show is really a dance party masquerading as a Broadway musical. That being said, not every cast member was strong vocally. This created a few too many pitch issues and some straining in the upper registers. Additionally, the balance through the speakers was skewed treble, making it difficult to discern the lyrics over the orchestra.

But man is this a fun show! Turn the volume up and add a strobe light and even the quietest taverna becomes a discotheque. The energy was high throughout, though the acting wasn’t very convincing. The exceptions were Kaye Tuckerman as Donna, with a tortured “The Winner Takes It All,” and the comedic timing of Mary Callanan and Alison Ewing. Callanan stole the show during “Take A Chance On Me.” 

The choreography wasn’t overly intricate, even for Broadway, though the scuba-suited and flippered chorus line during “Lay Your Love On Me” was hilarious, easily the best moment of the first act.

The simple scenery, just the inside and outside of the inn, was pleasantly clean-lined and the blue/green/white palette was crisp and inviting, though I quickly became disengaged with the strict color scheme of the costume choices in the first half. However, when the palette blossomed into the fuchsias and tangerines of the final scene it worked really well. The ABBA throwback costumes, complete with neon Lycra and silver platform boots, were super fun.

Be forewarned: Mamma Mia! isn’t fully a family show, though the tunes are as catchy as can be. Sexual innuendo, though not surprising given the source material, was prevalent, with about a PG rating.

The audience enjoyed the show, despite the ridiculously humid conditions. From my seat, I could see at least one grandmotherly octogenarian singing word-for-word along with cast; the audience practically created a surround sound effect during “Mamma Mia.” Most of the audience stayed through the three encore numbers. 

REVIEW:
Kansas City Starlight Theatre
Mamma Mia!
Tuesday, August 2, 2011 (reviewed); Runs through August 7
4600 Starlight Road, Kansas City, MO
For information and tickets call 816-363-7827 or visit www.starlightkc.com

Top Photo: Kaye Tuckerman (Photo: Mamma Mia! North American Tour 2010 by Joan Marcus)

By Calli Parker   Wed, Aug 03, 2011

The sizzling chanteuses and emcees of The Kansas City Society of Burlesque and Bee’s Knees Burlesque teamed up for an unforgettable show in Grimm and Bare It, a certifiable hit of the 2011 Kansas City Fringe Festival.

The organizers turned away droves of curious spectators every night, and those able to claim a seat on the couches and mismatched chairs left tantalized, tickled and likely a bit turned on.  Nestled in the aptly named, The Living Room, the “creative gang bang” incorporated the best burlesque of Kansas City on and off the stage.  The collaboration was a bawdy, theatrical interpretation of Grimm’s Fairy Tales or as Ms. Kitty von Minx (The Queen) proclaims, “This is tits with a story, not pussy with a plot:” a helpful introduction for the uninitiated to the world of burlesque. Staged simply by Tyson Schroeder and featuring a gypsy-jazz score by Mark Lowery and Circus Contraption, the performers owned every part of the stage, the audience whooping at every clever line and lace untied.

Grimm and Bare It was expertly helmed by Artemus Vulgaris, as Jacob Grimm, and Victor Vector, as Wilhelm Grimm: a.k.a. The Brother’s Grimm. Composed loosely around the brothers as they toil over the creation of those oh-so familiar fantasy stories, the storytelling eases you into every delectable entrance of each of the featured artists.

The ensemble cast dazzled as it peeled, shook and sang between the Brother’s comedic, tongue-in-cheek narration. Sweet Louise’s Cinderella was played with cute naïveté of a drunken housewife on a cruise ship. Daisy Buckët’s, Disney-fied, Snow White had the audience erupting in laughter even after she had been thrown down the well…twice. Sleeping Beauty, portrayed by Annie Cherry, lulled Jacob Grimm to sleep and enchanted the audience with a breathy version of “Dream a Little Dream of Me” all while peeling her baby blue layers. The Queen’s Apple induced a Lynchian, hallucinatory dream of “the apple that peels itself” revealing not only the poison it contains but the lovely Violet Vendetta. Other standouts were Scarlet LaFever’s sassy Blackbird, and Honey Valentine’s vengeful, pouty Red Riding Hood, the latter of which was paired well with a sultry cover of Shivaree’s “Goodnight Moon.”

These may not be quite the stories your grandmother told you but they’re every bit as entertaining and memorable. Luckily for those that were unable to squeeze into a Fringe performance, the cast is reuniting at The Living Room August 18, 19, and 20 for a special 2-hour extended edition of the production., which means you can still experience happily ever after, burlesque style. 

REVIEW:
Kansas City Fringe Festival
Grimm and Bare It: Once Upon A Time in the Land of Bump and Grind
July 23–29, 2011 (Reviewed Friday, July 29)
The Living Room
1818 McGee, Kansas City, MO
For more information visit http://kcfringe.org

Top Photo: Violet Vendetta (Photo (C) Steve Thompson - All Rights Reserved 2011.  Used with permission)

By Megan Browne Helm   Mon, Aug 01, 2011

Cool limestone brick walls, ornate wrought iron details and three story high ceilings gave the main room of Castle Caenan on Johnson Drive in Shawnee the right ambiance and acoustic for a cozy evening of early European music. The Jewell Early Music Society treated its audience like royalty at the launch of the third annual Jewell Early Music Summer Festival (JEMS Festival) with a program of German and Austrian Baroque music by Schütz, Muffat, Ristori, Pachelbel and, of course, J.S. Bach.

The Kansas City Baroque Consortium under the leadership of Trilla Ray Carter, joined with members of St. Louis Baroque and local singer/scholars Jay Carter, Ben Winters, Anthony Maglione, and Sarah Tannehill Anderson to present a series of concerts that provide an enlightened escape from the heat. This year’s theme is The Grand Tour and 150+ years of European musical treasures will be examined, played and sung over the 10 days of the festival. The opening concert was also a fundraiser for the Joplin Instrument Fund which Carter, a Joplin native, is coordinating.

“Paratum cor meum, Deus” from Heinrich Schütz’s Symphoniae Sacrae, op. 6, SWV 257 was sung by countertenor Jay Carter. Audiences unfamiliar with the countertenor voice may well marvel at Carter’s well-placed resonance and strength of line. He sang the alto with a bright brilliance. Carter has a formidable early music education and his interpretation was flawless. I encourage interested readers to attend his Baroque Outside the Box presentation Monday, August 1^st at William Jewell entitled “Rhetorically Singing.” He is as engaging a demonstrator as he is a performer; just don’t be alarmed by his low speaking voice.

The ensemble seemed to thoroughly enjoy themselves as they performed Sonata No. 1 a 5 in D major “Armonico Triuto” for five strings and continuo by Georg Muffat . Four lively movements were loaded with all of the charming Baroque conventions. There were soaring and cascading, arc motives, suspensions that pushed and pulled as well as the detailed ornamentation that seemed to curl the ends of phrases. They also performed Partie IV in E-moll from Musicalische Ergotzung by Johann Pachelbel which raced along with lighting fast runs which was as fun to watch as listen to.

Sarah Tannehill Anderson joined Jay Carter and therobo player Jeffrey Noonan, for Giovanni Alberto Ristori’s “Amor ah! Amor meus” from Divoti affetti alla Passion di Nostro Signore. Never having heard a piece by this mysterious Italian composer who spent most of his career in Germany, I was intrigued. The piece had only recently been resurrected by Bruce Carvell of St. Louis and is described as a Lenten chamber duet. I didn’t have the best vantage point to see the singers’ expressions but having been a Catholic from St. Louis, I often expect these early liturgical pieces to be dripping with an over-the-top, breast-beating, almost operatic fervor. The interpretation Friday night was wonderfully sung but with a respectful, stable sorrow. I think a juicier, cathedral acoustic would have melded their beautiful voices but it was still breathtaking to hear something so old sound fresh and new.

The evening concluded with Aus der Tiefen, Cantata 131 by J.S. Bach. Bass Benjamin Winters from Octarium and William Jewell Choral Director, Anthony Maglione joined Carter and Anderson as they created a well rounded, super group of a quartet. Winters wowed in the second movement arioso, “So Du willst, Herr.” He expertly coordinated with the Baroque oboe, played by Charles Wines while the soprano soared above in a descant-like counterpoint. Few basses have the flexibility to pull off the complicated runs but Benjamin Winters sang them with confident ease. In the tenor aria, “Meine Seele wartet auf den Herrn,” Maglione and Carter continued the solo/counterpoint motive. Their timbres were so similar and their vocal lines overlapped that at times it was difficult distinguish their voices which gave this movement a tighter and distinctly different feeling than the previous duet. The balance was perfect throughout the cantata, voices together and in tandem with the greater ensemble.

The JEMS festival has a stable of musicians who have studied at this country’s finest early music institutions such as Longy, Oberlin, Yale and The Westminster Choir College. They have had the privilege of working with some of the most esteemed conductors in the field such as Simon Carrington, Nicholas McGegan, Helmut Rilling, and Trevor Pinnock. Some are highly distinguished scholars publishing noteworthy compositions, articles, podcasts and books. They chose to come to Kansas City to work with early music students and avid fans for this exciting festival. We are fortunate, indeed.

The American early music movement has been simmering on the East and West coasts for nearly thirty years and William Jewell College deserves a round of applause for bringing together such a talented group of musicians to enlighten and entertain the Midwest. Escape the heat and take The Grand Tour this weekend and next week. You will feel transported. 

REVIEW: 
Jewell Early Music Summer Festival (JEMS Festival)
Concert 1 (REVIEWED)
The German and Austrian Baroque
Tuesday, July 26, 2011
Renee Kelly's at Caenen Castle
12401 Johnson Drive, Shawnee, Kansas 66216
For more info visit http://jewell.edu/william_jewell/gen/william_and_jewell_generated_pages/WJC_Events_Calendar_m41.html 

 UPCOMING:
Concert 3
The English Renaissance
Saturday, July 30, 7:30 p.m. 
Founders' Hall at Grace and Holy Trinity Cathedral
415 West 13th Street, Kansas City, MO 64105
For more information contact Trilla Ray-Carter: jemsfest@gmail.com. 

The Jewell Early Music Workshop
August 1-5, William 
The Jewell Early Music Workshop for vocal, choral and instrumental performance explores historically informed performance practice of the Baroque period. Hosted by William Jewell College, participation is open to advanced high school and college musicians, accomplished amateurs, and instructors. Participation fees are $125-$250 for the week. Interested observers may attend morning or afternoon sessions for $10 which includes the daily afternoon Seminar Series: "Baroque Outside the Box", exploring rhetoric, gesture, performance practice and research of early music.

The Workshop Seminar Series: Baroque Outside the Box!
Illuminating discussions and informal performances for the interested observer and ingenious learner.
August 1-4, 3:30-4:45 Gano Chapel, William Jewell College
Topics include: "Rhetorically Singing", the language of early music, with Jay Carter, countertenor; "Why Corelli Counts" with Jeff Noonan, lute; and "Harmonia Artificiosa - Altered Tunings in the High Baroque" with Bill Bauer, violin.
For more information contact Trilla Ray-Carter: jemsfest@gmail.com.

Free Workshop Showcase Concert
Featuring participants and faculty of the 2011 Jewell Early Music Summer Workshop.
Friday, August 5, 5:00 p.m. 
Liberty United Methodist Church
1001 Sunset Avenue, Liberty, MO 64068
Admission is Free 
Special Evening Concert and Dinner package is available for August 5th.
Please inquire for details at jemsfest@gmail.com 

Concert 4
Final Concert: Handel, the Ultimate Cosmopolitan
August 5, 8:00 concert, 7:00 pre-concert talk
Liberty United Methodist Church
1001 Sunset Avenue, Liberty, MO 64068
For more information contact Trilla Ray-Carter: jemsfest@gmail.com.

Top photo: Kansas City Baroque Consortium

By Laura Vernaci   Sat, Jul 30, 2011

On a hot July Tuesday night, with a gracious slight breeze, audience members young and old packed into Starlight’s outdoor amphitheatre for the Rodgers and Hammerstein version of one of the most popular fairy tales. Cinderella is Starlight’s fourth production of the season and its second self-produced show. 

A familiar face from last summer graced the stage as the gorgeous Cinderella. Kara Lindsay appeared for the first time in the 2010 Kansas City premiere of Little House on the Prairie when she portrayed the eager, independent, and frequently stubborn Laura Ingalls Wilder. As Cinderella, Lindsay brought spunk and sparkle again, which ignited the young princesses in the audience. Her energy lit up the stage once the curtain opened as Cinderella bumped into the disguised Prince in the village. In a clumsy, nervous act, Cinderella lost her shoe, foreshadowing the more famous glass slipper scene.

The first act introduced all of the story’s familiar characters as everyone prepared for the main event, the royal ball. Local artist Melinda MacDonald, who played Queen Maisie, had a beautiful, stately voice with a smooth and calming soprano. MacDonald joyfully juxtaposed the cheery, yet disorderly, King Max (Whit Reichert.) Claybourne Elder as the Prince was particularly stiff and vapid in contrast to Lindsay’s animated portrayal, preventing them from having a believable attraction. Elder did have a handsome presence and voice, but would be better suited for a more illustrious role. Tina Johnson as the zany Fairy Godmother appeared to be trying to hard.

Probably the most amusing of the entire cast was the threesome made up of the Stepmother (Paula Leggett Chase) and her daughters Joy and Portia. Laura E. Taylor played Joy, the lankier of the two with her Who-like hair. Each of Taylor’s actions were precise and apropos, from her snotty strut to her witty vernacular. Portia, performed by Shannon Connolly, was less intelligent and engaging but still a comical delight. All three had perfectly shrill voices, whether talking or singing (though Connolly’s speaking voice sounded shocking similar to that of Tracy Turnblad), and they commanded attention, provoked laughter, and hands down had the best chemistry. The most entertaining scenes of the night were “The Stepsisters’ Lament” and “A Lovely Night.”

Tying all of the leads together was the professional adult ensemble, as well as the enjoyable Blue Star All-Star Teen Chorus and the Children’s Chorus. The teens and children were fantastic, remaining enthusiastic throughout and carrying themselves as skilled actors and actresses. The main ensemble was pleasing in the first half during the town scenes and dance piece, but appeared tired and bored during the second act while at the ball. Most fared much better at singing than dancing as technique, posture and unity were hard to come by. Luckily everyone perked up toward the end during the search and wedding sections. Even Elder showed a glimpse of passion as the couple began their happily ever after.

During the two-hour show, there were intermittent technical issues with the microphones, which made the lines and song lyrics indistinguishable at times. The orchestra under the direction of Anthony Edwards and lighting designer Sean Glass executed their talents successfully. The quality of costumes was slightly disappointing, especially Cinderella and the Fairy Godmother’s dresses, and the overbearing scenery was far from functional or lavish. Cinderella’s quick change into her golden ball gown was noticeable from the house sides as was Fairy Godmother’s cloudy entrance through the window.

Cinderella was not an extraordinary, enthralling affair, typical to most Rodgers and Hammerstein productions. More akin to a theatre in the park presentation, Starlight’s Cinderella was still a delight for all ages, especially those who dare to dream the impossible.

REVIEW:
Starlight Theatre
Cinderella
July 25-31, 2011 (Reviewed Tuesday, July 26)
Starlight Theatre
4600 Starlight Road, Kansas City, MO
For more information, visit www.kcstarlight.com

Top Photo: Kara Lindsay as Cinderella in Starlight Theatre's production

By Victor Wishna   Wed, Jul 27, 2011

The seventh annual Kansas City Fringe Festival is the biggest yet, which only magnifies the blessing and the curse therein: with 115 productions and exhibitions at 17 venues, there is more and better stuff to see, but it is impossible to get to everything. Creative risk is the festival’s hallmark—and that goes as well for the audience; even the most fervent Fringer will have to choose some shows over others: “To go, or not to go,” is the gnawing question.

Luckily, in some cases, instinct is rewarded: If Hamlet vs. Zombies (tagline: “Something is Rotting in the State of Denmark”) appeals to you based on the title alone, you will not be disappointed. This hyperkinetic and hyper-literate spoof, which the Springfield, Mo.-based Skinny Improv has brought to Union Station’s H&R Block City Stage, delivers on its promise to “finally answer the question: What would happen if Denmark were attacked by a zombie horde?” Whether you dig Shakespearean drama or are immersed in horror-film subculture, you’ll appreciate the effort of co-writers Jeff Jenkins and Bryant Turnage—who are obviously educated fans of both genres. And if you come in just looking to be entertained, well, that will work fine, too.

This Hamlet opens largely as the Bard originally intended, albeit in a contemporary setting (the characters wear modern garb and wield automatic weapons and smart phones): the young prince (Eli Kurtz) suspects that his father the king has been murdered by Uncle Claudius (Turnage), who has usurped his throne and now plans to marry his wife, the clueless Queen Gertrude (Jennifer Eiffert). Hamlet broods to his servant and pal Horatio (Jenkins), while passive-aggressively pursuing Ophelia (Julia Garland), the daughter of the buffoonish Polonius (Jake Young), Claudius’s counselor and seeming co-conspirator. Oh, and there’s also O’s excitable brother Laertes (an unhinged Nathan McVay).

But what happens next isn’t in the CliffsNotes: it turns out the king is not dead exactly—he’s undead, part of a legion of zombies that Claudius plans to unleash on the enemies of Denmark (primarily the Norwegians, the target of a running gag, and the English, to whom Claudius dispatches the newly undead Rosencrantz and Guildenstern). Hamlet and Horatio get a whiff of the scheme and, employing a band of hapless traveling players as well as their own impressive knowledge of zombie movie memes, attempt to unravel Claudius’s plot—all the while blasting their way through waves of stiff, brain-hungry bodies (the players also double and re-double as the tattered hordes).

The nonstop dialogue—with bits and pieces, including most of the famous lines, pulled from the original—flows with an Elizabethan lilt at times (“Entrails did lay like garlands upon the king!”) and a contemporary snarkiness. The script has good fun with Hamlet’s mommy issues, shortcomings as a lover, and propensity for ill-timed soliloquies and general grandiloquence (as the prince settles into his hallmark speech, Horatio—being chased around the stage by Hamlet’s dear old undead dad—yells out at him: “Do you really think this is a good time for that?”). And the running commentary on such cult classics as Night of the Living Dead, Resident Evil, and even Slither (“Slither? Who sat through Slither?” “Laertes did!”) proves that zombies are spoof-worthy, too.

Swift staging and tight transitions—Jenkins also directed—help keep the pace up, and rapid, well-timed entrances and exits turn a cast of 12 into a convincing legion of darkness. The special effects, such as they are, are rather ingenious: The actors provide their own gunshots—“Bang! Bang! Bang bang bang!”—and as each zombie is hit, he or she chucks a handful of red confetti into the air. Before long, the stage is bathed in blood, i.e. carpeted in colorful paper—gory, yet festive.

Above all, it is the constant energy of the entire cast that keeps this zombie farce alive and thrashing. Kurtz embodies Hamlet with the right mix of bravado and angst, and Jenkins has cast himself well as the prince's shaggy, sardonic sidekick. Garland plays Ophelia as an alluring alpha—midway through, she reemerges in full Rambo regalia, from the bandana to the bandoliers, spraying imaginary bullets in all directions. Turnage is fun to watch as the conniving, slightly incompetent villain. And McVay’s Laertes is just way too over the top—until you remember that this is a blood-n-guts, slapstick send-up of Shakespeare’s most famous play.

It would be possible to further expound on the thematic overlaps and shared moral lessons of Shakespearean tragedy and the horror-movie tradition: both deal with the fragility of life, question the meaning of existence, speak truth to power, explore love and lust, and expose tragic human flaws (in slasher films, as Claudius points out, individual, amoral choices—like going off into the woods to have premarital sex—always lead to death).

But such over-analysis isn’t necessary. Hamlet vs. Zombies is a fun idea that’s intelligently developed, enjoyably executed, and more than entertaining enough to justify 90 minutes of anyone’s time. No question. Go.

REVIEW
Kansas City Fringe Festival
The Skinny Improv
Hamlet vs. Zombies
Runs July 23–30, 2011 (Reviewed Sunday, July 24).
H&R Block City Stage, Union Station
30 W. Pershing Rd., Kansas City, MO
For tickets and more information, visit www.kcfringe.org 

Top Artwork: Originally from the Springfield Shakespeare Project.

By Nihan Yesil   Wed, Jul 27, 2011

I was anxious when I read "collective improvisation" as the description for the music of River Cow Orchestra’s Zen Jazz performance. It is a tricky genre as it can easily—and often does—go in the direction of a chaotic expression of indistinguishable melodies, ideas that lose direction, pieces that seem to go forever, in short, a musical experience that leave the listener in a confused state of mind. I couldn't have been more wrong. From the very start my ears were hit by freshness, sincerity, and innovation of sound. It took me only five minutes to feel almost embarrassed for not having heard of this Kansas City gem before.

The event took place at the modest setting of the Kansas City Fringe Festival’s Fringe Central with a scant attendance. As the soft synthesizer pedals and ostinato motives opened the evening, the piercing notes on the trumpet set the tone for the night and put the audience into an immediate trance. The music was accompanied by digital projection on a large screen that provided a backdrop for the ensemble, offering a rare performance of visual and sonic expression outside of a rock concert.

RCO presented eight pieces that were created on the spot without charts or any preconceived idea of structure, which I found hard to believe due to the uncanny level of synergy and communication. So many times the musical transitions were collective, and rhythmic shifts on the drum and bass—the backbone of any jazz ensemble—were synchronized. They must have been channeling each other at some subconscious level.

The pieces, or excursions as the trumpet player E. E. Pointer put it, took the audience through a journey of styles from psychedelic to funk, acid jazz, traditional jazz and contemporary classical music in the likeliness of Eric Dolphy, Charlie Haden, Charles Mingus, even Pink Floyd and Radiohead. Little surprises, like a musical quote from the Wizard of Oz and Middle Eastern melodies, Pointer rang out in one of the "excursions" took me out of my trance.

In addition to musical elements, River Cow Orchestra employed spoken word: both improvised and previously written. "I saw her in the backroom / Her eyes cut my air / Her eyes grabbed me in the throat" is a little quote from percussionist Greg Field I managed to jot down. As several pieces were opened by Field's words, I made a note to myself: “He must be a poet.” I found out after the performance he indeed was, and I found his poetry striking.

The projected visuals result’s was a heightened performance as the play of color and light engulfed the musicians. Keyboardist Brent Bowman is the ensemble’s video artist. He prepares a visual component that is projected on the screen for the each performance, however none other than himself knows the video selection of the day, nor do they see what is projected on the screen as they play.

The visuals Bowman selected for July 23^rd's performance was a seamless composition of time-lapse imagery of natural phenomena. The passing of clouds, blossoming of flowers, emerging of seeds and spread of mushrooms transformed into abstract images of a symbolic language as the music unfolded. The idea served as a perfect metaphor for the philosophy of the ensemble. Just like each seed visually emerged and grew into a full body, the musical ideas grew into full-blown thoughtful compositions. The visual component and the music complemented each other in a way that is rare to come by.

Much to my surprise and enjoyment, the pieces were fashionably short. The musicians played with such awareness of time, sound and aesthetic that as soon as the initial musical idea grew and ripened they concluded with an elegant ending. As a result, the pieces had individuality, thus making them memorable.

River Cow Orchestra's philosophy is to explore the process of artistic improvisation rather than focus on creating a music product for entertainment. "We emphasize musical mood and place an aesthetic premium on the character and personality of each musician rather than the technical skill of each individual." Do not be fooled by the modesty of this statement for each player is high-level musician with the skill of a Zen master.

I was overjoyed and impressed by River Cow Orchestra's performance. It was one of the best spontaneous musical creations I experienced. If you're asking what Zen has anything to do with jazz, you only need to see River Cow Orchestra in action to understand. Go "fringe" this while there is still time.

REVIEW:
Kansas City Fringe Festival
River Cow Orchestra: Zen Jazz
Saturday, July 23 and Friday, July 29, 2011 (Reviewed Saturday July, 23)
Fringe Central
1730 Broadway, Kansas City, MO
For tickets call 816-359-9195 or online at www.kcfringe.org

Top photo: Greg Field and Don McCarter of River Cow Orchestra

By Lee Hartman   Wed, Jul 27, 2011

Summerfest’s Sunday evening concert at St. Mary’s Episcopal Church was well attended by those who have come to appreciate the group’s championing of musical rarities. From an early Haydn string quartet to the peculiar instrumentation of Martinů’s Musique de chambre, No. 1, the assembled musicians gave fine renditions of the four pieces they presented.

String Quartet in G major, op. 9, no. 3 showed Haydn’s move toward solidifying the string quartet genre in its four-movement structure, upon which many later composers would expound. This piece isn’t without its own quirks, however, as the Minuet, typically the third movement, swapped places with the second-movement Largo.  It was in these two movements that the quartet played most convincingly. Violist Jessica Nance and cellist Alexander East emphasized beats two and three instead of the typical downbeat, making the Minuet charmingly different. The starts and stops in the Largo contrasted the lightness of the arpeggiations with the mournful cello and viola writing.

Carlos Chávez, the Mexican composer best known for his fantastic cycle of six symphonies, arranged four pieces by other composers for his Trio for Flute, Viola, and Harp. The combined timbres were effective, especially when flutist Shannon Finney was in her lower registers. Four-note motives swirled around in the arrangement of Debussy’s “Snow is Dancing,” creating images of flurries perfect for such a hot day. As with the Haydn, it was the two central movements that were the most compelling. De Falla’s “Asturiana” and “Polo” were contrasting in the former’s dark lushness, reminiscent of Respighi, and the latter’s bouncy ostinato. I wish the musicians had attacked “Polo” with a more aggressiveness, however. The arrangement of Debussy’s “Golliwog’s Cakewalk” was the least successful in that it lacked performance energy and, compositionally, the harp-writing was murky.

Though the first-half pieces were overall well played, I enjoyed the second half of the concert much more.  Lowell Liebermann’s Fantasy on a Fugue by J.S. Bach, op. 27 begins and ends with the pianist playing the opening and closing phrases of Bach’s B minor fugue (No. 24, WTC Bk. I). The middle section unfolded as if the other instruments emerged as part of the pianist's imagination. These additional instruments added new sounds and techniques unavailable to a corporeal pianist. Though tonal, as is most of Liebermann’s work, it is still decidedly 20th century in its composition. The combined timbres of the wind quintet with piano never fought with each other and intonation was tightly controlled. The piece possesses many tricky transitions, which the musicians navigated with ease, save for one that never seemed to arrive. This piece would complement the similarly orchestrated Poulenc Sextet on any chamber concert.

Bohuslav Martinů, like Chávez, wrote six wonderful symphonies, but his chamber music is equally enjoyable.  Musique de chambre, no. 1 is no exception. Like much of Martinů’s music, it’s a collection of great moments that build upon each other into a sunny eruption of syncopated melodies and sparkling textures. The Summerfest musicians highlighted the timbres inherent to the strange combination of clarinet, harp, piano, violin, viola, and cello. The three strings worked well in conjunction as the piano and harp laid the groundwork for the clarinet to weave through. After the briefly out-of-sync opening, the ensemble locked in and delivered a stellar performance of the difficult work.

REVIEW:
Summerfest
Transformations: Week 3
Saturday, July 23, 2011
White Recital Hall, UMKC Campus
4949 Cherry St., Kansas City, MO
Sunday, July 24, 2011 (Reviewed)
St. Mary’s Episcopal Church
1307 Holmes Kansas City, MO
For more information, visit www.summerfestkc.org

By Michael D. Smith   Tue, Jul 26, 2011

Is traditional print media on life support waiting to take its last breath before an anonymous blogger does a Dr. Jack and pulls the plug? Obituaries have already been written for many institutions but not so for the New York Times. Filmmaker Andrew Rossi gained access to the influential news organizations for one year to create Page One: Inside the New York Times.

From early on it’s made clear that newspapers have been failing because advertising revenue collapsed far faster than anyone anticipated. Want ads went to monster.com. Classifieds went to craigslist. Newspapers didn’t adapt quickly enough and new generations get their news faster elsewhere, and often for free.

Rossi’s film has some elements of a true documentary. For example, for those without any journalism experience there are scenes of educational value which delve into how a story is formulated, investigated, and ultimately deliberated before going to print.

However, a significant portion of Page One deals with the media desk at the Times as its staff struggles to cover what’s happening in the world of media. It becomes more of a social commentary on how important the Times is to planet Earth and how internet media outlets couldn’t survive without its news coverage.

While the Times is a valuable news agency, its organization often comes across as arrogant and pompous. True, Rossi does touch upon past scandals involving Judith Miller and Jayson Blair, but for the most part the Times is painted as a type of Rocky who should never be counted out despite layoffs, lost profit margins, and hostile internet attacks.

Overall, Page One would be a snoozer if not for the presence of journalist David Carr, a former crack addict who now writes a weekly column for the Times. He’s straightforward with his opinions and defends his employer with a tenacity that is nothing less than admirable. In many ways he does the same thing Buck O’Neil did in Ken Burns’ Baseball series: he steals the show.

Alas, not even Carr can salvage a documentary that at best is ordinary. It’s old news.

On a letter grade scale from “A” being excellent to “F” for failing Page One receives a C+.

Page One: Inside the New York Times is rated R and has a running time of 88 minutes.

Now showing through July 28 @

Glenwood Arts
9575 Metcalf, Overland Park, KS
Visit www.fineartsgroup.com, or call 913-642-4404 for more information.

By Kristin Shafel Omiccioli   Fri, Jul 22, 2011

Jordan Shipley and Michael McClintock are Mistura Fina (“fine blend”), Kansas City’s own guitar duo specializing in jazz, popular, and traditional folk music of both Brazil and America. Professionally trained in classical and jazz guitar, these two young talents have performed both locally and throughout the United States and Brazil.

The program began with Constance, a lovely instrumental duet played on a classical nylon string guitar by Shipley and semi-hollow body electric guitar by McClintock. This opening song was hesitant and it was difficult to hear the semi-hollow body, but they came together beautifully by the end.

The sexy Choro Pro Ze and upbeat Catavento e Girassol, both by Guinga, featured guest vocalist Karim Memi, whose deep, sultry vocals rounded out the sound. Memi was emotive, mysterious, and had excellent intonation and enunciation. Unfortunately, these early tunes were also still a bit hesitant and plagued with balance issues in the speaker system. Shipley gave us a taste of what was to come with his active, bluesy solo on Choro Pro Ze.

Balance issues were happily resolved by the vampy fourth and fifth tunes, Bebe and Santo Antonio by Hermet Pascaol—also instrumental duets for classical nylon and semi-hollow body. Shipley and McClintock became more energized at this point in the program. Both guitarists’ solos were well crafted with momentum, direction and clear melodic ideas. Trading the main melody between guitars created a nice timbral contrast in these pieces.

Joining the duo on percussion for much of the remainder of the program were brothers Leo and Leandro de Oliviera Pinto, starting with the classic Antonio Carlos Jobim bossa nova Triste. The lengthy introduction allowed Shipley breathing room to shape the melody and harmony on the classical nylon. The percussionists, while tapping simple tambourines, added a fun and welcome texture.

Two pieces by Milton Nascimento followed: Vera Cruz and Cravo e Canela. These lively tunes displayed both McClintock and Shipley’s expertise in both melodic and rhythmic technique. They showed precise control of tempo on the jazzy Vera Cruz and the guitars sounded especially rich and warm on the samba Cravo.

For Jocab do Bandolim’s light-hearted Noites Cariocas, Shipley switched to a cavaquinho (Brazilian ukulele). The noticeable echoed melody was enhanced by the complementary cavaquinho and guitar.

Clarinetist Mauricio Salguero joined the group for two chorinhos (the original Brazilian urban music) by Pixinguinha, first the slinky Naquele Tempo suffered some questionable intonation—humidity affecting the instruments, perhaps—but it was subtle and quite possibly even added to the charm of this piece. Segura Ele was bright and bubbly, with a wickedly near-constant clarinet line commendably performed by Salguero.

With Shipley playing the cavaquinho once again, Mistura Fina closed the concert as a duo with Waldir Azevedo’s Brasileirinho, the most vigorous piece of the evening. The duo exhibited their best dynamic and timbral range with their picking, fingerstyle plucking, and using techniques like palm muting for effect on this up-tempo and bluegrass-tinged chorinho featuring a consistent and repetitive melodic figure (with slight variations).

Mistura Fina’s rapport, relaxed poise and stage presence transcended the urban distractions and heat, putting the audience of sixty or so at ease—I suspect that had not been so miserably hot people would have been dancing. Overall, it was another fine concert in the Kansas City Guitar Society’s “Guitars in the Park” series, and I recommend checking out Mistura Fina at one of their many gigs around town this summer and enjoying more KCGS series presentations—they are a quiet treasure worth discovering. 

REVIEW:
Kansas City Guitar Society
Mistura Fina
Sunday, July 17, 2011
Oppenstein Brothers Park
12^th and Walnut, Kansas City, MO
For more information visit www.kansascityguitarsociety.org 

By Don Dagenais   Wed, Jul 20, 2011

The talented chamber musicians of Summerfest displayed an impressive range of skills, including a rare stint at playing percussion, in the second Summerfest concert of the season at White Recital Hall on Saturday, July 16. 

The highlight of the concert was the multi-movement work, Thirteen Ways, by Thomas Albert, which took the entire second half of the program. This eclectic number embraces a number of compositional and performance styles while making significant demands of the instrumentalists. The Summerfest musicians were more than up to the challenge.

Commissioned by eighth blackbird, the piece has become one of the composer’s most frequently performed works, and the audience could certainly understand why. The opening movements were peaceful, relaxing and seductive, with flowing harmonies and a minimalist compositional style emphasizing undulating repetition, constant rhythmic changes, and a basically tonal harmonic language. Deeper into the piece, however, the music became more and more atonal and challenging, culminating in an interesting movement where all of the performers except the flutist placed their instruments aside and took up an series of triangles, clanging them and then lowering them into, and raising them from, an array of plastic buckets to produce changes in tone.

The work also required the performers to recite lines of a poem before each of the movements, about blackbirds (not surprising, giving the source of the original commission). Xylophonist Michael Zell and pianist Melissa Rose, along with bass clarinetist Jane Carl, provided much of the underlying support for the piece. Also performing were violinist Kristin Velicer, violist Jessica Nance, flutist Sharon Finney and cellist Alexander East. After the musical variety and excitement present throughout the score, the ending of Thirteen Ways rather puzzling, when in the final “evening” sequence the piece more or less just faded away, with no culminating musical climax.

The first half of the program was dedicated to more traditional fare. Alessandro Scarlatti’s Sonata No. 2 in A minor received a vigorous, lilting performance marked by the continuo playing of cellist East, along with Mary Grant and Kristin Velicer on the violin and Marie Rubis Bauer as the harpsichordist. The ensemble played with precision and feeling, especially in the third and fifth movement fugues, finishing with a lilting, almost swinging, final Allegro.

Bassoonist Joshua Hood was the star in the Bassoon Concerto in E minor by Antonio Vivaldi, displaying his accustomed virtuosity and astonishing breath resources in the long phrases required of the soloist. The number required both rapid staccato playing and languid legato phrasing. The final Allegro is a virtuoso showpiece for an instrument which most consider to be mostly a part of the orchestral background. Not so here. Hood was ably accompanied by Grant, Velicer, Nance and East on the strings, and Rubis Bauer supplying harpsichord expertise.

The ensemble also played Jean Françaix’s twentieth-century take on the music of Domenico Scarlatti (the son of Alessandro), billed as Scarlatti 5 Sonatas. Rather than being a modern piece inspired by Scarlatti, the series of numbers is more of a contemporary orchestration of traditional Scarlatti sonatas. The instrumental choices seemed always appropriate, especially when flutist Finney carried the melody with string players Grant, Nance and East providing the accompaniment. Harpist Yumiko Endo Schaeffler added color to the ensemble, and her shimmering harp glissandos were among the highlights of the instrumental support.

As always, the Summerfest musicians showed both virtuosity and a keen sense of coordinated playing, delighting the audience both in passing moments of individual excellence and in finely tuned, precise and sensitive ensemble performance. Halfway through its season, Summerfest looks like it has put together another outstanding series of concerts.

REVIEW:
Summerfest
Week 2 Transformations
Saturday, July 16, 2011 at 7 p.m. (REVIEWED)
White Recital Hall, UMKC
4949 Cherry, Kansas City, MO 
Sunday July 17, 2011 at 5 p.m. 
St. Mary’s Episcopal Church 
1307 Holmes. Kansas City, MO
For more information visit www.summerfestkc.org

Top Photo: Summerfest musicians 

By Lee Hartman   Wed, Jul 20, 2011

Friday’s opening night of the Children of Eden’s U.S. symphonic premiere was not what an event of that magnitude should have been. Playing to a sparse house at the vast Music Hall, that “should have been” feeling of squandered potential unfortunately ravaged the production from top to bottom.

Let it be said that Children of Eden is not a top-tier musical to begin with, nor is it Schwartz’s best work. The tunes of Wicked, Pippin, and Godspell are much more compelling and engaging than the shells of melodies represented by Children of Eden. Tonally, the show is wildly uneven, with cutesy children’s numbers giving way to violent skull-crushing murder. True, Children is two Genesis stories (Adam and Eve, Noah and family) and those elements— innocence and violence—are ingrained in those tales, but the staged result is stylistic whiplash.

The three leads were well cast and had impressive voices. Nathan Granner (Father) played an emotional God with tenderness but ultimately frustration and rage as his mandates are ignored. [Full disclosure: Granner is a founder and board member of KCM] Unfortunately, the show doesn’t give Granner any chances to truly shine vocally. He’s either furious or calm, hardly the character arc worthy of such a commanding voice. Cary Mock had the best characters to work with in Adam and Noah. From the wide-eyed glee of naming animals to choosing Eve over Eden, Mock conveyed the emotions well, and that was exemplified further in the second act when, as Noah, his voice took on a more measured, controlled timbre. Mock and Granner’s best moment was their duet “The Hardest Part of Love.”

As Eve, Erikka Dunn played the character’s inquisitiveness naturally without being bratty or spoiled. Eve, in choosing the apple, came off as more mature and multifaceted than Father with his childish, pointless rules; kudos to Dunn and Granner for playing those scenes well. Dunn’s first solo, “Spark of Creation,” was marred by pitch problems. Unfortunately, this song is one of the major motifs of the musical, and so its theme recurs multiple times. Each time it returned, I was reminded of Dunn’s less-than-stellar initial performance. However, she completely redeemed herself in the gospel-infused “Ain’t it Good.” It had swagger, vibrancy, and soul. In fact, if the musical had only comprised the last three numbers—“The Hardest Part of Love,” “Ain’t it Good,” and “In the Beginning”—I would have been a happy audience member. Alas, there were too many miscues beforehand for me to forget.

As the curtain pulled back for the opening number, the stage was overstuffed with bodies, to the detriment of movement and sound. This problem was compounded by the decision to situate the full orchestra (who was stellar throughout, especially the winds) onstage. With space at a premium, there could have been far fewer Storytellers (I would have cut two per voice part). As they served as the main body of chorus, featured soloists, and dancers, they were supposed to be triple-threats—yet it was clear the vast majority were merely fine singers. By reducing the Storyteller corps, and hiring a cadre of six or so trained dancers, the appearance of professionalism in the production would have skyrocketed. As it was, it looked—though it didn’t sound—like an all-inclusive, come-as-you-are, high-school production, especially when the full ensemble was on stage.

Choreography, in concept and execution, was sloppy and rudimentary throughout. Most puzzling was the very questionable choice of throwing objects. The Snake, played by five of the strongest-voiced, best-harmonizing Storytellers, was required to toss the apple back and forth as each member sang his or her lines. It was dropped countless times, and the lack of coordination became comical to the detriment of the lyrics and the well-executed singing.

The technical aspects of the show were not at the level they needed to be. Though the lighting design was beautiful and rich and the set was well built, the coordination of lighting and sound was severely lacking. The spotlights had trouble tracking the actors. Reverb effect on the body microphones was distracting, and the sins of feedback and leaving live mics turned on backstage occurred far too often.

With such a dismal turnout for opening night, I question the longevity of the show. A nine day run in such a large, expensive hall is certainly ambitious but seemingly fiscally irresponsible. The musicians deserve a better crowd, but because of all the technical and staging problems with the production, it is hard to recommend.

REVIEW:
Piane Productions
Children of Eden
Runs Friday, July 15 through Sunday, July 24, 2011
Music Hall
13^th and Central, Kansas City, MO
For tickets visit http://www.childrenofedenkc.com

By KCM Staff   Tue, Oct 28, 2008

Wed, Jul 27, 2011

For complete Theatre listings through 2011, click here to visit the KC Events calendar.

Coterie Theatre
The Wiz
Runs June 21 through August 7
For tickets call 816-474-6552 or online at http://www.coterietheatre.org
Call or visit the website for performance days and times

Celebrate the power of believing in yourself in the Tony Award winning musical based on the tale we all know by heart. The soaring songs are "Ease on Down the Road," "Brand New Day," "No Bad News," "Be a Lion." It's the timeless classic you know and love with a modern, soulful twist. Join Dorothy and her friends Scarecrow, Tinman, and the Cowardly Lion on their fabulous journey as they "Ease on Down" the yellow brick road in a multicultural view of Oz. A brand new version of Broadway's The Wiz, appropriate for all young people. 

Read the KCM review here.

American Heartland Theatre
The Honky Tonk Angels
Runs July 8 through August 21
For tickets call 816-842-9999 or online at www.ahtkc.com
Call or visit the website for performance days and times

The creator of “Always…Patsy Cline” combines over 30 classic country tunes with a hilarious story about three gutsy gals who are determined to better their lives and follow their dreams to Nashville.  The all-hit song list includes I’ll Fly Away, Stand by Your Man, 9 to 5, Coal Miner’s Daughter, Ode to Billy Jo, These Boots Are Made for Walking, Rocky Top, and I Will Always Love You.  This charming, foot-stompin’ musical has played to sold-out audiences across the country. 
 

Kansas City Fringe Festival
The 7^th Annual KC Fringe Festival
Runs July 21 through 31
For tickets call 816-516-4750 or online at http://www.kcfringe.org/
Call or visit the website for performance days and times

The 7^th Annual KC Fringe Festival is an unfiltered, uncensored sampling of Kansas City’s cultural arts and runs July 21 - 31st, 2011.  The 11-day festival is jam-packed with live theater, dance, performance art, visual art, spoken word, puppetry, storytelling, film and fashion.  At 17 venues throughout Kansas City, the KC Fringe Festival presents 358 live performances, 327 in the performing arts category alone, and exhibitions by 82 participating companies.

Starlight Theatre
Cinderella
Runs July 25 through 31
For tickets call 816-363-7827 or online at www.kcstarlight.com 
Call or visit the website for performance days and times

Presented by Beauty Brands Salon Spa Superstore. Shortly following the royal wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton, Starlight presents Cinderella. The magical fairy tale features Rodgers and Hammerstein's memorable score, including "Impossible" and "Do I Love You Because You're Beautiful?" Hearts still soar when the glass slipper fits. Suitable for all audiences.

Starlight Theatre
Mamma Mia!
Runs August 2 through 7
For tickets call 816-363-7827 or online at www.kcstarlight.com 
Call or visit the website for performance days and times

Presented by Panera Bread. The ultimate feel-good show, Mammia Mia! combines ABBA's greatest hits, including "Dancing Queen," "S.O.S.," "Super Trouper" and "The Winner Takes It All," with an enchanting tale of love, laughter and friendship. Whether it's your first visit or 14th, see the show that has the whole world singing! Suitable for most audiences.

Musical Theater Heritage
Evita
Runs August 11 through 28
Off Center Theatre at Crown Center
For tickets call 816-221-6987 or online at www.mthkc.org
Call or visit the website for performance days and times

Eva Peron was a second rate actress, but when her lover, Colonel Juan Peron, becomes elected president she becomes First Lady of Argentina and wins the hearts of the entire population. This fantastic musical won seven Tony Awards in 1980.

Starlight Theatre
Xanadu
Runs August 15 through 21
For tickets call 816-363-7827 or online at www.kcstarlight.com 
Call or visit the website for performance days and times

Presented by Farmers Insurance. A musical adventure on roller skates, the stage production of Xanadu is an outlandishly enjoyable spoof of the 1980 cult movie classic starring Olivia Newton-John and Gene Kelly. Get ready for disco balls, rainbows and an original score that features such pop-rock hits as "Magic," "Evil Woman" and "Suddenly." Suitable for all audiences.

Kansas City Actors Theatre
The Birthday Party
(Part of The Pinter Project) 
Runs August 16 through September 11
Union Station’s H&R Block City Stage
For tickets call 816-235-6222 or online at www.kcactors.org 
Call or visit the website for performance days and times

The Birthday Party was the first full-length offering from British playwright Harold Pinter, who is now widely regarded as the theatre’s master of enigma and menace. The play takes us to a godforsaken seaside guest house run by Meg and her husband Petey. The only guest is Stanley, a former pianist with a shady past, upon whom Meg dotes. Into this uneasy family come two additional guests, a pair of suspiciously underworldly types who seem to have some unfinished business with Stanley. The style of The Birthday Party swings from the broadly comic to the deeply unnerving, with a nod to the absurd along the way. It’s easy to see why The Sunday Times critic Harold Hobson, responding to the first production of The Birthday Party, wrote that “Pinter, on the evidence of this work, possesses the most original, disturbing and arresting talent in theatrical London.”

Kansas City Actors Theatre
An Evening of Three Harold Pinter One-Act Plays
(Part of The Pinter Project) 
Runs August 18 through September 11
Union Station’s H&R Block City Stage
For tickets call 816-235-6222 or online at www.kcactors.org 
Call or visit the website for performance days and times

The Kansas City Actors Theatre presents three one-act plays by Harold Pinter in one performance as part of its “Pinter Project”. “The Lover” is a comic and slightly scandalous look at how a marriage can adapt and change. “The Collection”, first produced 50 years ago, is an early exploration of a favorite Pinter theme, betrayal. Finally, the reminiscences of a married couple in Pinter’s dramatic sketch “Night” highlight the folly of conflicting memories.

One Night Only
Musical Theater Heritage
Musical Monday
August 1, Off Center Theatre at Crown Center
For tickets call 816-221-6987 or online at www.mthkc.org

 An impromptu evening of musical theater hosted by Tim Scott, featuring KC's finest actors and singers. You never know who will show up, and you never know what songs will be sung, but it's a guaranteed great time. Reservations required.

 For complete Theatre listings through 2011, click here to visit the KC Events calendar.

Wed, Jul 27, 2011

Summer Music at the Cathedrals
Jonathan Gregoire, organist
Sunday, August 14 at 2:00 p.m.
Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception
416 West 12th Street, Kansas City, MO
For more information visit http://www.ghtc-kc.org/music/events.html

The Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception and Grace and Holy Trinity downtown sponsors occasional summer music concerts, and on August 14 the recital will feature young organist Jonathan Gregoire, an alumnus of Interlochen who has given organ recitals throughout the country.

William Baker Festival Singers
Kansas City Summer Singers Concert:
The Masters of the Baroque Era
Saturday, August 20 at 8:00 p.m.
Sunday, August 21 at 2:00 p.m.
Grace and Holy Trinity Cathedral
Broadway and 13^th Street, Kansas City, MO
Tickets available online at www.festivalsingers.org

The 125-voice Summer Singers of Kansas City will perform August 20 and 21 with members of the Kansas City Symphony. Dr. William O. Baker will conduct a performance which will include Vivaldi’s Gloria, Choruses from Handel’s Messiah, Dietrich Buxtehude’s Lord Keep Us Steadfast, Bach chorales from Jesu Meine Freude, Salamone Rossi’s Jewish Music of the Baroque, and Henry Purcell’s Hear My Prayer.

Dr. O. Wayne Smith will accompany the group.

Summer Music at the Cathedrals
Hector Olivera, organist
Sunday, August 28 at 2:00 p.m.
Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception
416 West 12th Street, Kansas City, MO
For more information visit http://www.ghtc-kc.org/music/events.html

The Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception’s summer music concert feature Hector Olivera on the organ on August 28.  A native of Argentina, Olivera entered the Buenos Aires Conservatory of Music at age six, and in recent years has performed solo concerts throughout the United States, Europe, Asia, Australia, Central and Latin America and as guest soloist with prominent symphony orchestras.

By   Wed, Jul 27, 2011

“I cannot find words to express the grief we all feel at the loss of Ellen Campbell. She gave so much to so many,” says Joe Parisi, the Conservatory’s associate professor of bands. “Her beautiful spirit was fueled by the love of her family, students, and friends. This, with so many other truly remarkable qualities made her an irreplaceable human being. The world has lost a great person who has left her indelible mark on many.”

Ellen Campbell received degrees from Luther College (Decorah, Iowa) and Michigan State University. She held faculty positions at the University of New Mexico and Southwest Texas State University before her appointments as assistant professor of horn at the University of Oregon in 1994 and the UMKC Conservatory of Music and Dance in 2005.

"Ellen was simply one of the nicest people I've ever known. She was dedicated to her students (and her students were dedicated to her) in a way that we should all aspire to. She will be profoundly missed by all of us...there will be a hole in our lives forever." - Keith Benjamin, professor of trumpet, UMKC Conservatory.

Her impressive orchestral career included appearances as a soloist with the Houston Symphony, Oregon Symphony and Grand Rapids Symphony, among several others, and as principal horn in the Santa Fe Symphony, Kalamazoo Symphony, Austin Chamber Orchestra, Oregon Bach Festival and the Opera Festival Orchestra in Rome. She had also played horn with the symphony orchestras of Lansing, Eugene, Flint, Austin, and the Michigan Opera Theatre.

As a chamber musician, Campbell served in the Oregon Brass Quintet and New Mexico Brass Quintet—with which she toured Finland, the former Soviet Union, Australia, Mexico, and throughout the United States—and recorded albums with these groups as well as with pianist Victor Steinhardt. She was a member of the Fontana Ensemble for the Fontana Festival of Art and Music for several summers in Shelbyville, Michigan. 

A champion of new music as well, Campbell commissioned and performed new works by living composers such as Mark Schultz and Gary Noland throughout her career. She appears on Noland’s recent album Selected Music from Venge Art on the North Pacific Music label.

Campbell was a dedicated musician and educator in the Kansas City arts community and beyond. Her in-depth and insightful essay “Thoughts on Holding the Horn” was published in the June 2002 edition of the Texas Bandmasters Association’s The Bandmasters Review. For many summers, Campbell was a faculty member and regular guest artist/clinician at the Interlochen Arts Camp in Michigan and was a frequently invited guest performer at regional and international workshops of the International Horn Society, serving as host for their 1996 Workshop in Eugene, Oregon. She presented solo recitals and master classes throughout the United States regularly.

“Ellen was a treasured and respected friend and colleague. She always had the best interest of the students in mind, and sought new and creative ways of teaching,” says JoDee Davis, associate professor of trombone at the Conservatory. “She was levelheaded, honest, fun, and a confidant. Words can’t describe how much we will miss her.”

By   Thu, Jul 21, 2011

 Westport Center for the Arts presents the second “Mostly Foreign Film School,” a series of five notable films shown once a month, beginning Sunday, August 14.

The series begins with “Temple Grandin” (2010) on Sunday, August 14. The movie focuses on the true story of an autistic woman who struggles for acceptance of her condition. On Sept. 18, WCA will show “I’ve Loved You So Long,” a 2008 film that garnered a Golden Globe nomination for it’s portrayal of a woman released from prison and her difficult reunion with her family.

On Oct. 16, participants will be treated to Yasujirô Ozu’s “Tokyo Story,” hailed by critics as one of the world’s finest films.  On Nov. 13, WCA will show “Tully” (2000), the story set in rural Nebraska of two brothers vying for the attention of a veterinarian’s assistant. The series closes on Dec. 11, with “Rabbit-Proof Fence” (2002), which focuses on three aborigine girls as they escape from a settlement camp in an attempt to return to their parents.

Enrollment for the film series is $25 and includes reading lists and discussion of each film. Films will be shown at 6:30 p.m. in the Community Room of Westport Presbyterian Church, 201 Westport Road.

Participants can find enrollment forms on the Westport Center for the Arts website – http://www.westportcenterforthearts.org. Advanced registration is required.

Westport Center for the Arts was founded in 2006 to support community artists and the arts. In addition to the film series, WCA presents Reader’s Theater, monthly Brown Bag Concerts and visual art exhibits.

By   Thu, Jul 21, 2011

Owen/Cox Dance Group just announced its fifth performance season featuring collaborative new works with Park University's International Center for Music, a repeat performance of The Nutcracker and the Mouse King, and a world premiere in partnership with NEA Fellow Nate Fors. 

Fall Performance with Park University International Center for Music
On October 29 & 30, 2011 Owen/Cox Dance Group joins with Park University's International Center for Music in presenting newly choreographed works by Jennifer Owen performed to the music of Stravinsky, Bach and Bartok.  The performances will take place in the university's Graham Tyler Memorial Chapel.

Winter Performance: The Nutcracker and the Mouse King
On December 9, 10, 11, 16, 17, & 18, 2011 the Owen/Cox Dance Group will present its modern jazz adaptation of The Nutcracker and the Mouse King with The People’s Liberation Big Band of Greater Kansas City.  Fifteen musicians of The People’s Liberation Big Band, horn sculptor Mark Southerland, artists Peggy Noland and Peregrine Honig (costume design), vocalist  Lilah Wilder, nine dancers of the Owen/Cox Dance Group, and six students of Paseo Academy of the Fine and Performing Arts will collaborate on this work.  Returning to the original and notably darker E.T.A Hoffman story The Nutcracker and the Mouse King (1816), this production features both original music and radical rearrangements of Tchaikovsky melodies created by a host of innovative Kansas City jazz musicians.  The performances will take place at Union Station’s H&R Block City Stage Theater.

Spring Performance: Bottom of the Big Top and other works
On April 13, 14 & 15, 2012 Owen/Cox Dance Group will premiere a new work in collaboration with NEA Fellow Nate Fors.  The ensemble will also present Bottom of the Big Top and A Good Missouri Song  from the group's 2007-2008 performance season.  The performances will take place at Union Station’s H&R Block City Stage Theater.  On April 20 & 21, the company will perform this program at the Lawrence Arts Center in Lawrence, KS.

More information visit www.owencoxdance.org.

By   Thu, Jul 21, 2011

 The Youth Symphony of Kansas City has announced the election of Board President Peter T. Witte and the appointment of Executive Director Steven C. Murray.

Steven C. Murray began as Executive Director of the Youth Symphony organization in December 2010.  His background entails music education, communications and ten-plus years in non-profit management, five of which in professional symphony orchestra administration.  He was recently named as a member of the Youth Orchestra Division Board of Directors of the League of American Orchestras.

The Board of Directors elected Peter T. Witte as Board President in June 2011.  Witte is the Dean of the University of Missouri-Kansas City Conservatory of Music and Dance, serving in the role since August 2008.  He previously served as Chair of the Department of Music and Director of Instrumental Studies at Kennesaw State University in suburban Atlanta.

As a conductor, Witte has led performances in Carnegie Hall with the National Wind Ensemble; served as co-founder and co-conductor of the Metropolitan Atlanta Youth Wind Ensemble; and music director of the Atlanta Wind Symphony.  Mr. Witte has served on the Youth Symphony of Kansas City Board of Directors since 2008.

For more information about the Youth Symphony of Kansas City, please contact Executive Director Steven Murray at 913-722-6810 or smurray@youthsymphonykc.org or visit online at www.youthsymphonykc.org.

About the Youth Symphony of Kansas City
Founded in 1958, the Youth Symphony of Kansas City is an orchestral music education organization comprised of five student orchestras involving more than 300 of the most talented young instrumentalists in the Kansas City metropolitan area.  Students audition and are selected annually for each ensemble and perform more than 15 concerts throughout the region.  The most advanced ensemble, the Symphony Orchestra, has toured nationally and abroad, most recently participating in side-by-side rehearsals with the Kansas City Symphony and performing with the St. Louis Symphony Youth Orchestra.

By   Thu, Jul 21, 2011

Known for high-quality productions and successful collaboration with Kansas City theatre companies, UMKC Theatre announces a stellar line-up of productions for the 2011-2012 season. Back by popular demand are the design-your-own ticket packages and Monday Industry Night performances. For the second consecutive year, UMKC Theatre will co-produce an American masterpiece about war with Kansas City Actors Theatre and The National World War I Museum. 

“We have an exciting season planned this coming year. We will continue our theme of ‘Kansas City’s Best Kept Secret…The Word is OUT!’ by presenting three graduate and two undergraduate productions in addition to four co-productions with professional theatres,” said Tom Mardikes, Chair of UMKC Theatre. “For over 30 years, UMKC Theatre has produced innovative, top-notch plays for theatre-loving KC audiences. The word is OUT – so come see what you’ve been missing!” said Mardikes.

The Graduate season opens in October with the hilarious Roman classic “Comedy of Asses” under the direction of Theodore Swetz and Stephanie Roberts. UMKC Theatre will pull out all the stops with two productions in February: “The Last Days of Judas Iscariot” at Studio 116, Feb. 3-19, and the musical “Billy Bishop Goes to War,” Feb. 10-26, at The National World War I Museum. Three additional co-productions with Equity theatres are scheduled, and the season ends with William Shakespeare’s “The Winter’s Tale” in April at the Helen F. Spencer Theatre.  

Successfully launched last season, theatre goers may design their own ticket package by choosing from any of the MFA and Undergraduate shows at UMKC Theatre the productions, dates and times that best fit their schedules. Four show options are available, ranging from $24 to $45 per package (see the Ticket Information section for options and prices).

Traditionally on Monday nights, the stage is “dark” with no performances. However, UMKC Theatre will feature back-by-popular-demand Industry Night on Mondays so that theatre professionals and others will have the opportunity to see UMKC Theatre performances. Tickets are only $10 each for all UMKC Monday night campus shows and are open to the general public.

MFA Productions
“Comedy of Asses”
This Roman comedy classic still has audiences laughing 2,200 years after it was written by the “Father of Comedy,” Titus Maccius Plautus. There will be singing, dancing, pranks, and puns as audiences see the world upside down in this tale of greed and debauchery. The production will preview Oct. 21-25; open formally Oct. 26 and run through Oct. 30 at the Helen F. Spencer Theatre, Olson PAC.

“The Last Days of Judas Iscariot"
This daring and wildly comic play by Stephen Adly Guirgis was a sensation in New York and London.  Director Barry Kyle will put his own brand of creativity on this performance as the courtroom drama plays out in “God and The Kingdom of Heaven and Earth vs. J. Iscariot.”  The production previews Feb. 3-7 and runs Feb. 8-19 at Studio 116, Olson PAC. 

“The Winter’s Tale”
Written by William Shakespeare, this tale of two kings who are childhood friends turns dark as deceit and misunderstanding threaten one king’s family and the other’s life. Directed by Barry Kyle, the show previews April 20-23 and runs April 24-29 at the Helen F. Spencer Theatre, Olson PAC.

Undergraduate Productions
“The Farnsworth Invention”
Written by Aaron Sorkin who also created “The West Wing,” this story is about the race between a ruthless East Coast media mogul and a self-taught Idaho farm boy on the West Coast to be the first to invent the television. Directed by Ron Schaeffer, the show previews Nov. 10-16, and runs Nov. 17-20 at Studio 116, Olson PAC.

“A Yorkshire Tragedy”
This Jacobean tragedy by Thomas Middleton is based on a true story about Walter Calverley who murdered his children and wounded his wife in 1605. This action-packed play is considered one of the most notorious examples of domestic violence in English history where the language is rich and the sword fights are bloody! The show previews on March 9-13 and runs March 14-18 at Studio 116, Olson PAC.

Co-Productions
UMKC Theatre will co-produce four shows this season with several distinguished Kansas City theatre groups:

“Billy Bishop Goes to War”
Co-produced with Kansas City Actors Theatre at The National World War I Museum
The successful partnership continues with KCAT and one of Kansas City’s true treasures, The National World War I Museum, in this musical drama and one-man show about the Canadian WWI fighter pilot Billy Bishop. Written and composed by John Gray in collaboration with Eric Peterson, it will be directed by John Rensenhouse. Previews are Feb. 10-15, opening night is Feb. 16, and the show runs through Feb. 26. 

“God of Carnage” Co-produced with the Unicorn Theatre and KCAT
by Yasmina Reza This production previews Oct. 19-21 and runs Oct. 22-Nov. 13;
Performances are at the Unicorn Theatre, 3828 Main St.

“The Salvation of Iggy Scrooge” Co-produced with the Unicorn Theatre
By Larry Larsen and Levi Lee
This production previews Nov. 30-Dec.2, and runs Dec. 3 to 24; performances are at the Unicorn Theatre, 3828 Main St.

“The Wrestling Season” Co-produced with the Coterie Theatre
by Laurie Brooks The production runs Jan. 24-Feb. 19 at the Coterie Theatre in Crown Center, 2450 Grand Blvd.

For tickets, call the Central Ticket Office at (816) 235-6222 or purchase online at www.umkctheatre.org  (additional fees apply with online ticket purchase).

About UMKC Theatre
UMKC Theatre has been ranked by U.S. News and World Report among the top graduate theatre training programs in the country. The program trains a select group of highly talented actors, designers, stage managers and dramaturgs for careers in the performing arts. Graduates from the UMKC program are invited to the most prestigious New York competitions and auditions to exhibit their work and secure positions with national and international performing companies. The program is accredited by the National Association of Schools of Theatre (NAST) and is a member of the University/Resident Theatre Association (U/RTA).

The University of Missouri-Kansas City (UMKC), one of four University of Missouri campuses, is a public university serving more than 14,000 undergraduate, graduate and professional students.  UMKC engages with the community and economy based on a three-part mission: visual and performing arts, health sciences, and urban engagement. UMKC has been designated as Missouri’s Campus for the Arts. More information is available online at www.umkctheatre.org.

Thu, Jul 14, 2011

The Choral Foundation announces auditions for:
William Baker Festival Singers, a 50-voice ensemble specializing in sacred a cappella works, spirituals, and an annual major accompanied work, is heading into its 14th season in Kansas City. Auditions are open for all sections, especially tenors and basses.

2011-12 repertoire will feature Bloch's Sacred Service and will include works by Brahms, di Lassus, Bruckner, Lauridsen, Dello Joio, Whitacre, and others.

Rehearsals are Tuesday evenings in Prairie Village, Kansas. Auditions by appointment: 913.403.9223 or Mail@FestivalSingers.org

The Topeka Symphony Orchestra 2011-2012 Auditions

1) Principal Cello, Assistant Horn, Section Violin, Viola, Cello, Bass
Wednesday, September 7 at Washburn University, Topeka
41 services-----Base per service pay: $52/Principal Player; $37/Section Player
Travel allotment for musicians from outside Topeka: $9 or $17 per service (based on distance)
Scholarships available at $10 additional per service for full-time string students.
REGISTRATION DEADLINE: AUGUST 31

2) Concertmaster
Wednesday, August 24, 2011 at Washburn University, Topeka
41 services-----Base per service pay: $240, no additional compensation for mileage.
Auditions will be open (non-blind.)
REGISTRATION DEADLINE: AUGUST 19

• Visit www.topekasymphony.org “Career Opportunities”
• Call (785) 232-2032  or
• Email tso@topekasymphony.org

TOPEKA SYMPHONY YOUTH ENSEMBLES AUDITIONS
Auditions for the 2011-2012 Topeka Symphony Youth Ensembles will be Saturday, August 27, 2011 at Washburn University. The three youth ensembles are Debut Orchestra, Youth Philharmonic, and Youth Orchestra. Rehearsals begin September 6. All rehearsals are on Tuesdays with concerts on November 13, 2011 and March 4, 2012. Any musician 21 years of age and younger may audition. To be a member, a student must also play in his or her school orchestra or band, if such an ensemble exists. Conductors for the three groups are Carolyn Sandquist, Debut Orchestra, Carolyn Rich Voth, Youth Philharmonic, and Jeremy Starr, Youth Orchestra.

There is a non-refundable $10 audition fee payable to the Topeka Symphony. Once accepted into one of the ensembles, there is a non-refundable tuition fee of $55 per student per year for the Debut Orchestra and a $75 fee for Youth Philharmonic and Youth Orchestra, payable to the Topeka Symphony. These charges include costs for music and rental. Tuition assistance is available for those families with a need. Detailed information and registration forms are available at www.topekasymphony.org “Youth Ensembles” or by calling the Topeka Symphony Office at 785-232--2032.

Topeka Symphony Youth Ensembles are sponsored in part by Washburn University.

Kansas City Civic Orchestra Principal Cello Auditions

Principal cello is a volunteer position through audition that oversees and is responsible for the quality, continuity and logistics of the Kansas City Civic Orchestra cello section.  Duties include the following: Rehearse/Perform at a high musical consistency. Coordinate bowings with other string principals – communicate bowings/bowing changes to the cello section. Coordinate/run cello sectionals through the request of the music director, other string principals, at your discretion. Attend all rehearsals, dress rehearsals, concerts (unless coordinated with the music director). Coordinate rotating section members. Attend string auditions at the request of music director. Have continued communication with music director/string principals.

The desired principal should display great musical skills, interpersonal skills, ability to organizeand have a strong commitment to the Kansas City Civic Orchestra.

AUDITIONS: Saturday, August 27, 2011: 1st Lutheran Church (Tomahawk/Stateline Rd) Please e-mail KCCO music director at, cmkelts@yahoo.com to request an audition. Deadline to request audition: Friday, August 19th

AUDITION REQUIREMENTS: A solo piece of YOUR choice (no longer than 5 minutes). Prepared excerpts (to be e-mailed in PDF format) from Beethoven Symphony No. 6. Sight reading at the audition. Short interview.

Auditions for Central Seminary Choir

Central Baptist Theological Seminary announces auditions for the Central Seminary Choir, a stand-alone choir that will do major repertoire.  Conductor, Dr. Rebecca Johnson, is looking for paid and volunteer singers for all parts. Rehearsals will be Thursday evenings at the seminary from 7:00 to 9:00 starting August 25 with the first performance at the Baugh-Marshall Chapel on the campus on Thursday, September 15.  

Two additional performances will be scheduled during the 2011–12 academic year with the rehearsals for same determined at a later date.

Audition will consist of a prepared piece as well as conversation with the conductor.

Auditions by arrangement with Dr. Rebecca Johnson, Director of Sacred Arts and Chapel Musician, rljohnson@cbts.edu or 913.667.5718.


Auditions for Youth Symphony of Kansas City 

The Youth Symphony of Kansas City is holding August auditions on Sunday, August 21, 2011 at Shawnee Mission South High School. 

Applications are open to all instruments except for flute and clarinet.  In particular, brass and string musicians are highly sought.

Audition application forms and complete details are online at www.youthsymphonykc.org/auditions.  A $10 non-refundable application fee is required with each application.

For more information about the Youth Symphony of Kansas City, please visit www.youthsymphonykc.org or call 913-722-6810.

By   Tue, Jul 12, 2011

By   Wed, Jun 29, 2011

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By KCM Staff   Mon, Jun 16, 2008

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