Theatre ,
Suspenders of disbelief
Classic French farce possesses all the precariousness of a bullfight with the precision of a David Mamet play. The characters are put in some form of peril, usually marital; the actors must summon up the verbal dexterity of speed talkers for whom a missed cue leaves a joke flat. As with other things French-cooking and love-it looks easier than it is. American playwrights like Neil Simon have a rat-a-tat television rhythm to their writing alternating between satire and sentiment that deprives their comedy of escalating to the upper reaches: French farce has its physical component as well, of doors slamming and characters running face to face into one another and scrambling backward. One understands why the French film critics of the Sixties saw Jerry Lewis as one of their heirs and an auteur: he stopped at nothing.
If farce was historically considered juvenile, performed after a drama and then a monologue of some sort, its tenets-small cast, a trifle of accident or coincidence, compactness of scenes-still applies, with contemporary variations. In the Kansas City Repertory Theatre's version of Georges Feydeau's A Flea in Her Ear, which premièred on May 22 (directed by Gary Griffin), in a Marx-Bros-like adaptation by David Ives, characters spin like human revolving doors and witty remarks are traded faster than shares during a Wall Street frenzy. Ives, a versatile author who has his own stage credits both as a playwright and a musical collaborator, as well as that of several clever children's books, follows other translator-adapters of the 1907 farce (such as Rumpole author John Mortimer). Yet, he has not so much updated Feydeau, which would be akin to updating Le Sacre du Printemps to make the music snappier, as he has brought out the hoot in the bourgeoisie. It is Woody Allen's New Yorkers without the Jewish jokes.
All it takes is a pair of suspenders anonymously sent in the mail to Victor Emmanuel Chandebise (Broadway actor John Scherer), the gentleman of a fine household in Paris, but opened by his wife, Raymonde (Broadway and film actress Carol Halstead), to set the pandemonium in motion. The suspenders, found at a louche motel, belong to Chandebise but were loaned out to his nephew Camille (Jonathan Root), an agitated young man with a speech impediment, whose lack of verbal clarity does not apparently prevent his active nightlife. When Raymonde and her best friend, Lucienne Homenides (Anne Nathan, a Broadway Sondheim veteran), compose an over-the-top billet doux to entrap Chandebise, the mistakes multiply alongside the jokes, double-entendre and otherwise.
The inverted logic of the play is espoused by the rapscallion Tournel (John Pasha), a good friend of Chandebise, who woos Raymonde with the plan that if her husband is unfaithful then her own affair is in order, but if he is faithful then her own affair will be good for her. The second act rises to order as one of the characters is discovered by the audience to be an exact duplicate of another; the raison d'être does not matter: a farce is a farce is a farce. Feydeau wrote at a time of changes-British suffragettes stormed Parliament, Einstein's Theory of Relativity was published, a riot disrupted the Irish première of Synge's The Playboy of the Western World-though France was still governed by hierarchies, and so Feydeau's comedies were popular without shaking audiences out of their comfort levels. That would not happen until the opening of En attendant Godot, in 1953, which brought to bear the first existentialist farce.
A Flea in Her Ear, much like Michael Frayn's theatrical comedy Noises Off and Preston Sturges's 1948 movie Unfaithfully Yours, if about anything, is about the love of performing. The Rep cast takes dialogue that needs a specific Mel Brooksian mania and finds it; this is one of those ensembles that probably could entertain an audience with a Chinese takeout menu. As in many comedies, the oomph comes through the performances. Here, the director, following Ives's follow-through of Feydeau's original stage directions, calls upon his actors to play up to the audience; but never in such a way that we feel we have been mugged. My favorite moment the entire night might have been toward the end, when all of the actors have fled the stage for one reason or another, and for thirty seconds or so there is no one onstage; the joke takes a moment to roll through the theatre. I think it comes from our pausing to reflect on all the tumult that has come and gone: a comic nervous breakdown.
The evident pleasure taken by the actors is something David Ives need not translate from the French. Mark Robbins's performance as the cunning Doctor Finache, who helps Chandebise to a certain extent and stands as the play's voice of reason, fits securely along John Scherer's and Anne Nathan's. They make these turn-of-the-century stereotypes into individuals with passion and purpose (wrong-headed or right). John Pasha's Tournel is a delight, purring intimations of love like Pepé le Pew; while Tournel's opposite in love, the Spanish hothead Carlos Homenides, who suspects his Lucienne of improprieties, is played by Thom Rivera channeling the apoplectic bowler John Turturro played in The Big Lebowski.
This season at the Rep has found bracing drama in Tennessee Williams, musical innovation in Winesburg, Ohio, and now comedy for comedy's sake in A Flea in Her Ear. With so many offerings, any selection is bound to be eclectic: the question is whether the different plays clash or engage each other. By the audience's response on Opening Night, all's well that upends well.
REVIEW:
Kansas City Repertory Theatre
A Flea in Her Ear
by Georges Feydeau
Directed by Gary Griffin
Runs through June 7
Spencer Theatre, 4949 Cherry, Kansas City, MO
For tickets call 816-235-2700 or online at www.kcrep.org
Fiona's List May 27 - June 7
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Fiona's Number One Choice for this week is the premier concerts of the Simon Carrington Chamber Singers in Kansas City and Lawrence on Saturday the 30th. Professor Carrington is one of the current choral giants. He was a founding member of the King’s Singers, with whom he sang for 25 years. He was then Director of Choral Activities at Kansas University for nine years, moving on to the New England Conservatory of Music and has just retired from Yale University. Saturday's concerts will be performed by a group of 24 singers, most of who have sung in one of Simon's groups. They are now scattered across the United States and are paying their own expenses to sing with him again this week. I'm personally expecting it to be a fabulous concert. If you've agreed with my picks in the past, I hope you will want to attend this concert too. (The names of the singers and works to be performed can be found on the KCMetropolis calendar located under KC Events.)
Until next Wednesday morning, Fiona
MULTIPLE DAY PERFORMANCES Kansas City Symphony presents
<><><>fiona's PICK<><><>
The Simon Carrington Chamber Singers present
<><><>fiona's PICK<><><>
SINGLE DAY PERFORMANCES UMKC Conservatory of Music and Dance presents
UMKC Community Accordion Orchestra
St. Andrew's Episcopal Church and Grace United Methodist Church present
<><><>fiona's PICK<><><>
Community of Christ presents
<><><>fiona's PICK<><><>
UMKC Conservatory Community Music & Dance Academy presents
Hands-on-Workshop with Balinese Master Percussionist/Composer I Ketut Gede Asnawa
Community of Christ presents
Organ recital
Community of Christ presents
Organ recital
Community of Christ presents
Organ recital
Kansas City Swing Dance Club presents
Original "Fedora's" Tango Lorca
Community of Christ presents
Organ recital
Community of Christ presents
Organ recital: Thom Greathouse
UMKC Conservatory Community Music & Dance Academy presents
<><><>fiona's PICK<><><>
Community of Christ presents
Organ recital: Jan Van Otterloo
Bach Aria Soloists with Owen/Cox Dance Group presents
<><><>fiona's PICK<><><>
Carnegie Arts Center presents
Music Appreciation Series: Musical Conversations
The Jewish Community Center presents
<><><>fiona's PICK<><><>
Northland Symphony Orchestra presents
Summer Pops Concert: American Musical Theater
Village Presbyterian Church presents
<><><>fiona's PICK<><><>
Grace and Holy Trinity Cathedral presents
<><><>fiona's PICK<><><>
UMKC Conservatory of Music and Dance presents
Master's Recital: Diane Riffie, organ
THEATRE LISTINGS
A Flea in Her Ear
New Theatre Restaurant presents
Don't Dress for Dinner
American Heartland Theatre presents
Unnecessary Farce
The Chestnut Fine Arts Center presents
Babes in Hollywood: The Music of Judy Garland and Mickey Rooney Quality Hill Playhouse presents
All Sinatra
Here is a list of other "fiona favorites"
ABEL RAMIREZ Big Band on Tuesdays from 7:30 to 9:30 p.m. Ari's Greek Restaurant, 2049 E. Santa Fe, Olathe, KS No cover charge. Phone 913-393-3950 for more information.
BMW Band, live jazz Fridays from 6 to 9 p.m. Lafferty's Lounge, 6301 Blue Parkway, KCMO, 816-924-6888
BOB REEDER, KATHY MURPHY and the rest of the group, Thursdays 9 p.m. to 1 a.m. O'Dowd's at Zona Rosa, 8600 NW Prairie View Rd, KCMO, 816-268-6333
EDDIE DELAHUNT, Irish singer Wednesdays AND Sundays 8 p.m. - ? O'Dowd's, 4742 Pennsylvania, KCMO, 816-561-2700
EDDIE DELAHUNT Fridays, 6 p.m. - ?, Mike Kelly's Westsider, 1515 Westport Rd, KCMO, 816-931-9417
<><><>fiona's other PICK of the week<><><> High Vibe (MAX BERRY, guitar; DENNY OSBURN, keyboards, and MICHAEL OSHIVER, harp) Wednesday May 27th from 7 to 11 p.m. Crazy Olives at the Argosy Casino, Riverside, MO
JOE DEFIO Little Big Band on Fridays and Saturdays from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. Ari's Greek Restaurant, 2049 E. Santa Fe, Olathe, KS No cover charge. Phone 913-393-3950 for more information.
LYNN ZIMMER and The Jazz Band Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Sundays from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays from 6:30 to 10:30 p.m. Gaslight Grill, 5020 W. 137th Street, Leawood, KS, 913-897-3540
MARILYN WOOD, piano, Mondays 7 to 10 p.m. (open mic night) Fridays 9:00 to midnight and Saturdays 7 to 10 p.m. Californos, 4124 Pennsylvania, KCMO, 816-531-7878
SONS of BRASIL Thursday May 28 from 7:30 to 11:30 p.m. Jardine's, 4536 Main St, KCMO, 816-561-6480
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KC Events this week and beyond
Click here to see all the events on the KC Events performing arts calendar.
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As an arts organziation or musician, you can add and edit your own events.
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- Click on Submit an Event or Manage Your Events.
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Classical,
PREVIEW: Simon Carrington's choral homecoming
All of us have at some point in our lives come across a person who has made an everlasting impact on us. The name we typically give to such a person is a mentor. Webster defines a mentor as a 'wise and trusted counselor or teacher' or as an 'influential senior sponsor or supporter.' This weekend in Kansas City and Lawrence, a group of musicians will join together to celebrate not only their art but their mentor, Simon Carrington.
The newly formed Simon Carrington Chamber Singers was not the former KU choral director's idea. He said that it was first suggested to him by former students. "It's been talked about for several years," he said. "We were going to do it last year, but the scheduling didn't work out." The ensemble is made up of almost entirely musicians whom Carrington had a direct hand in training. Many are former KU music students. Others come from his days as an educator at the New England Conservatory and Yale University. "They're all coming on their own dime, just for the sheer pleasure of making music," Simon said. He was quite humbled by the eagerness and strong desire of all involved to work to make these inaugural concerts a reality.
Some of the area's best known and talented vocalists are members of the group. Amy Waldron, a KU alum and member of Octarium and Collegium Vocale, is the ensemble's co-creative producer. Other local favorites include countertenor Jay Carter, UMKC choral director Ryan Board, soprano Ida Nicolosi, Fine Arts Chorale director Terri Teal, and many more.
No one (including the singers and Carrington himself) has heard the group yet. They are meeting this week for the first time as a group and working out what their ensemble 'sound' will be. Carrington is anxious to see how this week goes, getting a feeling for the new choir. He hopes that in years to come the ensemble can thrive and present concerts, recordings, and tours, but he knows that is something they would need to work hard to build toward.
In the meantime, this weekend's performances are the only things on Carrington's mind, wanting them to be absolutely top notch. The program, titled "Chiaroscura: Contrasts of Light and Shade - 600 years of glorious choral music" follows a concept that is close to his heart. "I always try to do programs that spread across the centuries, showing a range of repertoire," he said. The program will start in the Renaissance and make its way through the ages up to the present day. The first selection will be the Kyrie from Josquin's Missa Gaudeamus. An uncharacteristic homophonic work by William Byrd titled Emendemus in Melius follows.
The concert will continue with works by Purcell (17th century), Charpentier (18th century) and Brahms (19th century) before moving to a collection of works written in the 20th century. Arvo Pärt's famous setting of Magnificat is included, as is Poulenc's Salve Regina. Using some bit of networking for the concert's programming, Carrington's longtime friend from his King's Singers days, Bob Chilcott, wrote the work Weather Report, and local composer and William Jewell College faculty member Ian Coleman (whom Carrington met at KU) wrote Hold Fast to Dreams specifically for this concert. Coleman's work will thus be given its world premiere performance this weekend. Joining Carrington and his Chamber Singers is Dale Morehouse, playing the piano and organ, and Dr. Paul Laird, KU faculty member, playing the cello.
In speaking with former students about Simon Carrington, they all naturally speak of him with the highest regard, but a common thread tends to be a discussion of his approach to style in choral music. When asked about this, he said, "So much is linked to the text itself. Quite simply, the color in the vocal tone should match the color in the expression of the text." Simon went on to say that he has travelled the world for many years and has heard very many choirs. The one consistent element he ends up missing is a choir's lack of commitment to a particular text of context from which a piece makes its statement.
After 15 years as an educator (following 25 years of singing and touring with the King's Singers), Simon is retiring from teaching at the end of this academic season. He will move back to France to live, where he will continue his work in music as a freelance artist. When asked why he chose Kansas City and Lawrence to give these inaugural concerts, he said he has always held the American Midwest in high regard. "I'm always trying to convince people on the east coast how good the choral tradition in the Midwest truly is."
PREVIEW:
The Simon Carrington Chamber Singers
Home Ground Concert: Chiaroscuro - Contrasts of Light And Shade
Saturday, May 30 at noon
Grace and Holy Trinity Cathedral
13th & Broadway, Downtown Kansas City, MO
Saturday, May 30 at 7:30 p.m.
St. John the Evangelist Catholic Church
1234 Kentucky, Lawrence, KS
For more information about the new ensemble and the upcoming concert, visit www.simoncarringtonchambersingers.com. Tickets are available at the door or by calling 816-214-9928.
Film,
"Cowtown Ballroom" is an entertaining revelation
For 38 months in the early 1970s, the Cowtown Ballroom was the hottest place for live music in Kansas City, yet its place in our city's history has been obscured by time and remembered only by those of the "Baby Boom" generation who experienced it. Now everyone can relive that brief but remarkable period by viewing the enlightening independent documentary Cowtown Ballroom... Sweet Jesus.
Co-produced and Co-directed by Joe Heyen and Anthony Ladesich, Cowtown Ballroom...Sweet Jesus embarks on a surprisingly complex journey that spans not only the countercultural revolution of the late 1960s and early 1970s, but also the height of the Kansas City's unique jazz sound in the late 1920s and 1930s. This is primarily done with an avalanche of interviews involving concertgoers, musicians and promoters alike that date back to when the Cowtown Ballroom was known as the El Torreon in 1927.
With insights from musicians like the legendary B.B. King, who was familiar with both venue incarnations, Heyen's film portrays Kansas City as being a nexus point for a variety of sounds like delta blues, big band and jazz. Furthermore, in King's eyes Kansas City was a unique place where black Americans had an opportunity to flourish and experiment with music.
Eventually, the El Torreon was used as a skating rink, but as the psychedelic wave crashed onto Kansas City from both coasts, a vision was born to foster local music talent and in a nutshell the Cowtown Ballroom was born. For 38 months, until its owners were forced to close it because of economic reasons, the venue played host to acts like the Kansas City Philharmonic, Van Morrison, Frank Zappa, Linda Rondstadt, B.B. King, Foghat, the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, and the Ozark Mountain Daredevils.
Despite the brevity of some of the interviews, every musician who played at the Cowtown Ballroom remarkably seems to remember their one appearance there and how much they enjoyed it. Interviews with former hippie concertgoers are often the most entertaining of the bunch as their recollections of events sometimes varies with seemingly how much LSD they took at the time. Heyen and Ladesich smartly gave this documentary some scholarly weight too by including interviews with Chuck Haddix, director of the Marr Sound Archives at UMKC's Miller Nichols Library, and UMKC history professor Dr. Mary Ann Wynkoop.
Cowtown Ballroom... Sweet Jesus is quite insightful and coincidentally provides a nice counterweight to the darker Kansas City documentary currently in theaters - Black Hand Strawman. Heyen's effort, which has excellent production qualities all around, is also a great time capsule in that it shows how the music business was before it became as corporate as it is today.
On a letter grade scale from A being excellent to F for failing, Cowtown Ballroom...Sweet Jesus receives an A- .
Cowtown Ballroom...Sweet Jesus is unrated and has a running time of 80 minutes.
Now Showing
Tivoli Cinemas
Westport Manor Square, 4050 Pennsylvania, KCMO.
Visit www.tivolikc.com or call 913-383-7756 for showtimes.
City Stage,
Theatre Column for May 27 - June 10
Now Playing
New Theatre Restaurant
Don't Dress for Dinner
By Marc Camoletti
Runs April 15 - June 21
9229 Foster, Overland Park, KS.
Starring Jamie Farr (Klinger from televisions famed M*A*S*H), this twisting comedy ran for two years in Paris and an astonishing seven years in London where it played for over 2000 performances between the Apollo and Duchess Theatres.
This rollercoaster ride of a play involves a husband, a wife, a mistress, a best friend and a cook. What possible mischief could come from these Marc Camoletti characters? Author of the recent New Theatre production Boeing-Boeing, Camoletti trained as an architect until three of his plays were produced in Paris simultaneously which launched his career. This French born playwright has seen great success with his works - many of which have been produced in 55 countries. 18 of his plays have seen 20,000 performances in Paris alone. Although he passed away in 2003, his hilarious works are still being produced to this day.
For tickets call 913-649-SHOW or online at www.newtheatre.com
American Heartland Theatre
Unnecessary Farce
By Paul Slade Smith
Directed by William J. Christie
Runs May 8 - June 21
Crown Center (Upper Level)
2450 Grand Boulevard, Downtown Kansas City, MO
From their website: "A farce, indeed, and a very good one, too! This laugh -out loud comedy has everything one can hope for in a modern-day farce: two likeable cops operating way out of their league, a supposedly crooked mayor with impeccable timing, his innocent-acting wife, a shy accountant with a penchant for dropping her drawers, a nervous double agent who'd like to get IN those drawers, a Scottish hit man whose brogue gets thicker the angrier he gets, two adjoining hotel rooms, simmering sexual tension and eight doors a slammin'"
The cast includes John Wilson, Jill Szoo, Jessalyn Kincaid, Kevin Albert, Craig Benton, Zach Woods, and Cynthia Hyer.
One more thing: An interpreted performance will be available for the hearing impaired on June 17 at 7:30pm.
For tickets call 816-842-9999 or online www.ahtkc.com
Kansas City Repertory Theatre
A Flea in Her Ear
by Georges Feydeau
Directed by Gary Griffin
Runs May 15 - June 7
Call or visit the website for performance times.
Spencer Theatre at UMKC
4949 Cherry, Kansas City, MO
In their own words: Having recently directed The Color Purple on Broadway, Olivier Award-winner Gary Griffin brings us a new adaptation of Feydeau's masterful French farce that was a recent hit at the Chicago Shakespeare Theatre. The story begins when Madame Raymonde Chandebise suspects that her husband Victor's lack of affection indicates he is having an affair behind her back. To prove her suspicions, Raymonde writes an anonymous letter to him requesting a romantic rendezvous at a disreputable hotel. Victor misinterprets the letter and sends his friend Tournel, a notorious womanizer, in his place. This results in a series of misunderstandings, misplaced jealousies, mistaken identities and numerous side-splitting complications.
For tickets call 816-235-2700 or online at www.kcrep.org
Theatre for Young America
The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe
Extended run now through June 20
H&R Block City Stage in Union Station.
Theatre for Young America has extended its presentation of The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe through June 20on the H&R Block City Stage in Union Station. This extension is allows patrons who see The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe to have the opportunity to view Disney's Chronicles of Narnia Exhibit at Union Station. The Chronicles of Narnia Exhibit, runs May 22nd through August 23rd. Tickets for exhibit are available throuhg Union Station at (816) 461-2020 or go online at www.unionstation.org.
This adaptation is based on the C. S. Lewis novel of the same name. The first on a seven book series, it is s the story of four children, Susan, Lucy, Edmond and Peter who escape the London blitz of World War II, when they are sent to live with their uncle in the countryside. Lucy's discovery of a magic wardrobe in her uncle's home, leads her and her siblings into a world where "it is always winter, but never Christmas", the land known as Narnia. Here the children discover strange wonders: centaurs, talking beavers, goblins, fairies, and a fawn-like creature known as Tumnus, who befriends the children. But Narnia is a land of contrasts as well. There is evil, in the person of the ambitious and calculating White Witch who battles to rule all of Narnia, and goodness and nobility, embodied in the powerful Lion King Aslan, who opposes her and her diabolic schemes.
For tickets call 816.460.2083. or online at www.unionstation.org
The Chestnut Fine Arts Center
Babes in Hollywood: The Music of Judy Garland and Mickey Rooney
Directed by Brad Zimmerman
Thursday May 21 through Sunday June 21
Call or visit the website for performance times
Chestnut Fine Arts Center
234 N Chestnut, Olathe, KS
Babes in Hollywood salutes the legendary musical careers of Judy Garland and Mickey Rooney and features such American classics as Over the Rainbow, You Made Me Love You, Easter Parade, But Not for Me, The Man Who Got Away, On the Sunny Side of the Street, Meet Me in St. Louis, That's Entertainment, Where or When, Born in a Trunk, Yankee Doodle Boy, Come Rain or Come Shine, Strike up the Band and many more.
For tickets call 913-764-2121. Visit www.chestnutfinearts.com for more information.
On Going
Coterie Theatre at Night
The Breakfast Club
Directed by Ron McGee
Open ended run every Monday night
Westport Coffeehouse
4010 Pennsylvania, Kansas City, MO
A resurrection of the defining 1980's "Brat Pack" movie is being played out on stage as Ron McGee directs The Breakfast Club. More then a cult classic, this play - adapted from the original 1985 film - takes us on a retro-journey of five teenage strangers forced to live out a Saturday detention. Souls are revealed, love sparks, and reality sets in as this play not only reminds us of how times in America once were but how everything stays the same. It should be noted that this production is not suited for those under 16 or 17 years of age.
One More Thing: Stay after the play and hangout with the cast on stage, drink coffee, and listen to 80's music.
Another Thing: Visit www.youtube.com/user/anthonyalexanderpro to watch interviews of the cast and learn about their research of the characters they are portraying.
For tickets call 816-474-6552 or online www.coterietheatre.org
Coming in Early June!
Theatre for Yong America
Treasure Island
Runs June 9 - July 3
Union Station's City Stage
30 West Pershing Road, Downtown Kansas City, MO
In their own words: "Dramatized from the classic novel by Robert Louis Stevenson, this exciting play starts at the Admiral Benbow Inn, where an old sea captain is given the black spot - a death mark - by pirates. Young Jim Hawkins finds the treasure map and soon sets sail for the mysterious Treasure Island. Manned by a crew of rowdy pirates, the ship becomes a scene of mutiny and conflict which spill out onto the island where Jim Hawkins proves his mettle."
For tickets call 816-460-2083 or online at www.tya.org
Unicorn Theatre
Speech & Debate
By Stephen Karam
Directed by Missy Koonce
Runs June 12 - July 12
3828 Main Street, Kansas City, MO
In their words:
"Three misfit teens reluctantly join forces to combat local corruption, sex scandals and bad casting in the high school play by forming their school's first speech and debate team. They soon realize three voices are stronger that one and this could be their chance to finally be heard by the school and even the world. Their expose culminates in a time-traveling George Michael-inspired musical version of Miller's The Crucible."
For tickets call 816-531-7529 or online at www.unicorntheatre.org
City Voices,
Vocal Column for May 27 - June 10
The Simon Carrington Chamber Singers
Home Ground Concert: Chiaroscuro - Contrasts of Light And Shade
Saturday, May 30 at noon
Grace and Holy Trinity Cathedral
13th & Broadway, Downtown Kansas City, MO
Saturday, May 30 at 7:30 p.m.
St. John the Evangelist Catholic Church
1234 Kentucky, Lawrence, KS
In what is proving to be perhaps the most anticipated choral event of the season, this new group of highly skilled musicians will partner with the legendary Simon Carrington to present a cornucopia of choral music. The program features music from the Renaissance to today with composers like Josquin, Byrd, Purcell, Charpentier, Brahms, Chilcott, Pärt, and local composer Ian Coleman. The ensemble is made up of some of this area's (and the country's) best of Carrington's former students.
Tickets are available at the door for both performances. Visit them on the internet at www.simoncarringtonchambersingers.com
St. Andrew's Episcopal Church and Grace United Methodist Church
Westminster Concert Bell Choir (from Westminster Choir College)
Sunday, May 31 at 4 p.m.
St. Andrew's Episcopal Church
Wornall and Meyer Blvd, Kansas City, MO
While this concert is not vocal or choral, it does feature one of the country's best choirs - the Westminster Concert Bell Choir from Westminster Choir College. This world-renowned bell choir is on their 2009 national tour. Don't miss this opportunity to see one of the best at what they do.
Free admission. A free will offering is gratefully accepted.
For more information visit www.rider.edu/888_2107.htm
View one of their YouTube videos at www.youtube.com/watch?v=z4Av4NBqwJE
The Engagement Recital
Ben Gulley, Tenor
Sarah Kleeman, Mezzo
Dale Morehouse, Piano
Tuesday, June 2 at 7:30 p.m.
Country Club United Methodist Church
57th and Wornall, Kansas City, MO
Come and enjoy the merging of these two artists as one on the evening of June 2nd, 2009. This recital will mark the Kansas City debut of mezzo soprano Sarah Kleeman, with tenor and fiance Ben Gulley, and Dale Morehouse on piano.
The program will include works ranging from classical music, contemporary song and musical theater.
Admission charge. Tickets available at the door.
Bach Aria Soloists with the Owen/Cox Dance Group
Baroque in Motion - A Collaborative World Premiere Event
Saturday, June 6 at 7:30 p.m.
White Recital Hall, UMKC Campus
4949 Cherry Street, Kansas City, MO
This is the world premiere of this production, which combines dance vocal music. The choreography is by Jennifer Owen and is set to music by Bach, Ravel, Purcell, Handel, and more. Featured soloists are Grammy-award winning soprano Rebecca Lloyd, tenor David Adams, cellist Paula Kosower (from the Chicago Symphony Orchestra), and harpsichordists Elisa Bickers.
For tickets call 816-235-6222 or online at www.bachariasoloists.com
View one of their YouTube videos at www.youtube.com/watch?v=u53bKpa1YCc
Dance Around the City,
Dance Column for May 20 - June 3
Kansas City Ballet
Kansas City Youth Ballet and School
Spring Performance
Tuesday, May 19 at 7 p.m.
Wednesday, May 20 at 7 p.m.
Folly Theater
12th and Central, Downtown Kansas City, MO
Founded in the Spring of 1997, the Kansas City Youth Ballet is a non-profit dance company attached to the Kansas City Ballet School. The company is made up of younger dancers, aged 13-18 years, who study at the Kansas City Ballet School, under the directorship of Alecia Good.
The Spring Performance is one of two annual performances given by the company each season. These performances showcase original works by local and national choreographers, and occasionally, new emerging artists.
This program typically opens with class demonstrations by the lower level students, presented in fresh and creative ways. Accomplished advanced-level students perform pieces selected from the Company's repertory, including original works created for them. Some of the award-winning choreographers for the KCYB include Keelan Whitmore, Robert Mills, Patrick Corbin, Paula Weber. The Company has performed their works at Regional Dance America Festivals and in Europe.
Always entertaining and suitable for family members of all ages, this show is sure to inspire younger aspiring dancers into joining the world of Ballet.
For tickets call 816-474-4444 or online at www.kcballet.org/kcbschool/kcyb/schedule.html
UPCOMING - Mark your calendars:
Bach Aria Soloists and
Owen/Cox Dance Group Collaboration Concert
Saturday, June 6
White Recital Hall
University of Missouri-Kansas City, 4949 Cherry Street, Kansas City, MO
For tickets call 913-449-5701 or online www.bachariasoloists.com
Quixotic Dance Fusion
Lux Esalare
Friday, June 19 at 8 p.m.
Saturday, June 20 at 8 p.m.
Thursday, June 25 at 8 p.m.
Friday, June 26 at 8 p.m.
Saturday, June 27 at 8 p.m.
Spencer Theatre at UMKC
4949 Cherry, Kansas City, MO
For tickets call 816-235-6222 or online at www.quixoticfusion.com
City Classics,
Classical Column for May 20 - June 3
May Brown Bag Concert
One Piano, Four Hands: Ron Brown and Marian Thomas
Friday, May 22 at 12:10 p.m.
Westport Presbyterian Church
201 Westport Road, Kansas City, MO
If you haven't been to one of the Westport Presbyterian Church's Brown Bag Concerts yet, this would be a great time to check one out. These free concerts, given on occasional Fridays, cater to anyone who cares to spend a lunch hour being entertained by some of Kansas City's finest musicians. And yes, you are permitted to eat your lunch during the concert, but consider bringing something that is soft and chewy and won't make a lot of noise or leave a mess in the pews.
This Friday Ron Brown and Marian Thomas, two of Kansas City's finest organists, will perform a series of entertaining four-hand pieces. On the program are Andante und Variationen by Felix Mendelssohn, the Fantasia I by W. A. Mozart, an Allegro by Franz Schubert, and Souvenirs (Ballet Suite) by Samuel Barber.
Admission is free; bring your lunch if you wish. Cookies and coffee are provided. Donations are welcome. For further details, see www.westportcenterforthearts.org.
Kansas City Symphony
Celebration at the Station
Sunday, May 24 at 7:30 p.m.
Union Station
Kansas City, MO
Memorial Day weekend is the traditional beginning of summer, and a longstanding Kansas City tradition has been the Kansas City Symphony's performance of orchestral favorites at Union Station. The free concert takes place on a platform just south of the station, and with Pershing Road blocked off, the audience members spread all the way up the Liberty Memorial hill. In recent years the concert has attracted over 50,000 people.
No word yet on exactly what the Symphony will play, but you would probably be safe placing your bets on some patriotic favorites along with the ever-present 1812 Overture by Tchaikovsky, which by the way has nothing to do with the United States (it celebrated Russia's victory over Napoleon), but what the heck, it goes well with fireworks. We also understand that live cannons will be involved, so if you get a front row seat you might pack earplugs along with your chips and beer.
Speaking of fireworks, they will be in the lineup too, along with "bluegrass sensation Cherryholmes" (okay, this writer will confess to being in the dark here) and Air Force Gen. Richard B. Myers, a local hero, as the emcee.
We won't even begin to discuss the finer points of musical nuance here, but if orchestral playing along with fireworks on a beautiful early summer evening sandwiched between two great Kansas City landmarks like Union Station and the Liberty Memorial turns you on, this should be a fun evening. Be prepared to share the joy with lots of others.
The performance is free. No tickets are required, but arriving early to reserve a good spot on the Liberty Memorial lawn is not a bad idea. Food booths and souvenir stands should be there aplenty, and for the kids, check out the glow-in-the-dark items offered for sale by the Friends of the Symphony to help raise money for the local band. Look for the "volunteer" buttons on the salespeople.
Kansas City Symphony
Serkin Plays Beethoven
Friday, May 29 at 8:00 p.m.
Saturday, May 30 at 8:00 p.m.
Lyric Theatre
10th and Central, Downtown Kansas City, MO
Sunday, May 31 at 2:00 p.m.
Carlsen Center at JCCC
Overland Park, KS
For the final classical music series of the season, Symphony music director Michael Stern has chosen to bring Peter Serkin to town. Serkin, the son of the great pianist Rudolf Serkin and a world-famous musician in his own right, is (believe it or not) celebrating his 40th anniversary on the concert stage this season.
In addition to his interpretations of the music of such classic composers as Beethoven, Brahms and Chopin, Serkin also is known as an avid proponent of the music of 20th and 21st century composers. Among his world premieres are works written for him by Tōru Takemitsu, Peter Lieberson, Oliver Knussen and Alexander Goehr.
In this concert Serkin will display both sides of his artistry. On the classic side, he will tackle Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 2, one of the most spectacular showpieces of the classical repertory. On the newer music side, he will perform Charles Wuorinen's Flying to Kahani: Concertpiece for Piano and Orchestra, which was written for Serkin as soloist.
The Beethoven showpiece was written by the young composer to display his own talents and he used it as his calling card during the early years of his career in Vienna when he was attempting to establish himself as a composer worthy of note. As a result, it demonstrates not only a lush romantic sound, but also difficult cadenzas which are challenging even to the finest of pianists. Serkin is famous for his performances of this piece.
Charles Wuorinen has been a formidable force on the American music scene since the 1970's, and his music is often performed and recorded by orchestras and soloists around the world. According to critic Christian Carey, "his music, while uncompromising in its post-tonal language, combines considerable vigor with abundant appeal." So there you have it.
On the second half of the concert, the Symphony finishes up its season with a performance of Shostakovich's monumental Symphony No. 5, a testament to the fierce determination of the great Russian composer to maintain an individual style in the teeth of Stalinist criticism.
For tickets call 816-471-0400 or online at www.kcsymphony.org.
Simon Carrington Chamber Singers
Chiaroscuro: Contrasts of Light and Shade
Saturday, May 30 at 12:00 p.m.
Grace and Holy Trinity Cathedral
13th and Broadway, Downtown Kansas City, MO
Saturday, May 30 at 7:30 p.m.
St. John the Evangel Catholic Church
1234 Kentucky, Lawrence, KS
Simon Carrington, one of the founding members of the famed Kings' Singers from King's College, Cambridge, has had a varied and fascinating career as a vocalist, conductor, scholar and conductor, including a stint on the vocal faculty at the University of Kansas where he trained a number of local singers, including several now involved in our local singing group Octarium.
On May 30, Carrington will be back in our area with his newly founded Chamber Singers group, made up of local talent, including such impressive singers as Ida Nicolisi, Kacey Coakley, Erin Keller, Ryan Board, Terri Teal, Jeremy Mimms, Jeffrey Carter, Jay Carter and others.
The concerts on that day -- two of them, one in Kansas City and one in Lawrence -- will follow five days of intensive preparation by Carrington of his new choir. The inaugural program will feature the music of Josquin des Pres, Charpentier, Byrd, Purcell, Brahms, Arvo Part and Bob Chilcott (a fellow member of the Kings' Singers). It was also include the world premiere of a new composition of Ian Coleman, a fine local composer who is associate professor of music and department chair at William Jewell College.
For tickets call (816) 214-9928. Further information is available at simoncarringtonchambersingers.com.
UMKC Community Accordion Orchestra
Sunday, May 31 at 2:30 p.m.
White Recital Hall, UMKC Campus
4949 Cherry Street, Kansas City, MO
Now, for something completely different... If you are an accordion fan, or just want to try out some serious accordion music, this free concert should either whet your appetite or satisfy your longings for a time to come. Conductor Joan Cochran Sommers will lead the Accordion Orchestra in Gem of the Kaipara for Accordion Solo and Percussion by New Zealand composer Gary Daverne along with other works. The concert features Kevin Friedrich as soloist.
Free admission
Kansas City Symphony
Brilliant Britten: Free Community Concert
Thursday, June 4 at 7:30 p.m.
Community of Christ Auditorium
1001 West Walnut, Independence, MO
Okay, we're jumping the gun a bit on this one, but June 4 comes up quickly after this column expires, and I didn't want you to miss this one.
Last year the Kansas City Symphony did a terrific recording of music written for Shakespeare's The Tempest by Jean Sibelius and Sir Arthur Sullivan. The evening before the Symphony made the recording they invited the public to a free "dress rehearsal" for the recording, which was a fun evening, giving the audience a chance to preview what they would hear on the CD a few months hence. This year the Symphony is doing the same thing. The Symphony's next recording project involved music of Benjamin Britten. You can attend a free concert on June 3 to hear the Symphony in its final rehearsal for the recording, which is likely to be made the next day.
The recording will include orchestral interludes from Britten's great opera Peter Grimes, along with his Sinfonia da Requiem which dates from the darkest days of World War II. Then in a much lighter vein the Symphony will record Britten's delightful The Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra, one of the most popular works the British composer created.
This concert is at the resonant Community of Christ Auditorium in Independence. Tickets are free, but must be reserved ahead of time with the Symphony box office.
Free tickets are available at 816-471-0400.
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