By Kellie Houx, Editor of KC Studio
The anticipation of opening the next season for an arts group can be exciting and daunting. Those feelings might be from the actors, singers, dancers, musicians, presenters and directors or they could be from an audience, ready to embrace fall and all its artistic glory.
THEATER
Kansas City Repertory Theatre is producing an important second production of the new musical “Saved,” (Sept. 10-Oct. 3) about the complicated lives of students attending a Christian high school, and based on the popular MGM film of the same name. The original stage production, under the direction of Gary Griffin, opened Off-Broadway in 2008, where it received mixed reviews. Griffin will also direct this new production of the musical.
Second and even third productions of new works are part of the process of developing plays and musicals, and are frequently necessary for a show to reach its full potential. Since its New York premiere, “Saved” has had extensive rewrites and new songs have been added. “No new musical knows what they have until it is put in front of an audience and feels that response,” said Griffin about the second production. “After my experience in Kansas City [as director of] A Flea in Her Ear, I believe that Kansas City Rep embraces the audience and artistic aesthetic that will best serve our further development.”
Artistic director Eric Rosen says he picks shows by asking directors what they are passionate about and since he develops musicals of his own too, he wanted to reach out to Griffin again. “I don’t know anything like this musical. There is a real lack of dramatic material about faith and religion. There is a crisis of faith as the kids struggle. It’s a challenging piece. It fits with the sense of eventfulness that I want to see at the theater. That’s what this season will be.”
www.kcrep.org
At the New Theatre Restaurant, the season opens with “The Sunshine Boys” (Sept. 1 – Nov. 7). The show centers on the comedy team of Lewis & Clark. They were huge during the days of vaudeville, but now they don’t speak. During a retrospective, the two are brought back together.
“Part of the reason that New Theatre is the most attended year-round theater in Kansas City is because we only present shows that people want to see. We don’t do dark, deep dramas or ‘art pieces,’ we go for the laughs and the audiences follow,” says Rob McGraw, the vice president of sales and marketing. “And if you enjoy laughing and just want to have a good time, you will not want to miss our production of ‘The Sunshine Boys’ for a number of reasons. It’s Neil Simon at his funniest. The New York Times called the show “epically funny” and it really is. Next, the show stars Howard Hesseman, the guy who played Dr. Johnny Fever on ‘WKRP’ and Mr. Moore on ‘Head of the Class.’ Take a look at this guy’s credits on IMDB sometime. He’s been everywhere and done everything. Interestingly enough, Hesseman was even in the 1975 feature film of ‘’The Sunshine Boys’ with George Burns and Walter Matthau.”
www.newtheatre.com
At the American Heartland Theatre, another professional theater “committed to providing Kansas City citizens with a variety of programming from favorite classics to the best of Off-Broadway” enters its 24th season with “The Love List.” The show (Sept. 10 – Oct. 24) is a comedy that warns you to be careful what you wish for. Two men concoct a list of the attributes of the ideal woman — the “top ten” best qualities in a mate.
“When this allegedly ‘ideal woman’ actually arrives on the scene the men quickly learn that their list could use a few revisions. It’s ‘Weird Science’ meets the ‘Odd Couple.’ Men and women will both get a kick out of this hilarious show,” says publicist Morgan A. Perry. “We chose this show because it made us laugh. Every member of the staff who read it found themselves laughing out loud. But more than that it is also touching too. It's a nice look at friendship and trying to find that perfect someone. It’s a great show to open our 2010-2011 season.”
www.ahtkc.com
Darren Sextro had a chance to see a new staging for the 1938 Thorton Wilder play, “Our Town” at the Barrow Street Theatre in New York. When the Olathe Community Theatre Association decided to include the play in its 2010-2011 season, Sextro jumped at the chance to direct. “I was inspired by the new staging. Director David Cromer, who directed ‘The Glass Menagerie’ here in 2009 moved straight into directing ‘Our Town.’ He’s given an astounding version. I worked with the producers in New York and have been granted the intellectual property rights. They seem to have a soft spot in their hearts for community theater.”
However, Sextro is adapting much of Cromer’s vision to fit the Olathe stage. “We are among the first outside New York to stage the play that has broken down walls and become very immediate. The technical aspects in traditional productions are removed and the show moves quickly with an emotional intensity that 20 actors vested in this show can give. The audience really hears the words and all the outdated feel is stripped away. It’s part of the American theater canon, but now we are letting an audience pay attention to the words and the heart of this classic. This is a production that I want shared with as many people as possible.”
www.olathetheatre.org
“Hot L Baltimore” by Missouri's own Lanford Wilson runs at the Metropolitan Ensemble Theatre Sept. 9 – Oct. 3 in the first professional production in a generation of this 1970s landmark comedy. The play features Marilyn Lynch, Nancy Marcy, Dale Westgaard, Dan Hillaker, Donette Coleman, Jess Akin, Jessica Franz, Brian Berrens and Rachel Nelson. This production opens the MET’s stellar sixth season and is directed by Karen Paisley with set design by Evan Hill.
www.metkc.org
ART PRESENTERS
Arts presenters are part of the Kansas City metropolitan community. These are the groups such as the Friends of Chamber Music, the Lied Center, the Harriman-Jewell Series and the Johnson County Community College Performing Arts Series. General Manager Emily Behrmann says the 20th anniversary will be start of a new focus that maintains and brings in well-known acts and performers. “We want to celebrate what we are already doing right, but continue to elevate the offerings. We also want to bring in more college students and families, especially those with younger children. There is a loyal older crowd, but we really want to create an invitation to the community to experience what arts are taking the stage at Yardley Hall.”
Behrmann says the Johnson County Community College Performing Arts Series is among good company in Kansas City as several groups such as the Lied Center, Harriman-Jewell Series and the Friends of Chamber Music go across the country to seek artists to bring to this corner of the world. “It excites me to bring in diverse guests like legendary singer Natalie Cole and Jungle Jack Hanna. I can’t wait to see the looks on the faces of children when they see the animals. Variety is attractive and I love to share that with the community.”
As a presenting organization, the series revs up quickly in September and October. There are eight acts coming to town: Takács Quartet, Sept. 10; American Voices, Songs of Our Nation, Sept. 11; Natalie Cole, Sept. 25; Jack Hanna’s “Into the Wild” Live, Sept. 30; violinist Robert McDuffie and the Venice Baroque Orchestra, Oct. 16; Michael Bolton, Oct. 20; The Capitol Steps, Oct. 22; and Kansas City’s own Quixotic Fusion’s “Lux Esalare,” Oct. 29-30.
www.jccc.edu/performing-arts-series/
Another arts presenter in town is the Friends of Chamber Music. The 35th season kicks off in October with two pianists. First is Russian pianist Vladimir Feltsman, Oct. 1. Founder and President Cynthia Siebert says, “Hear pianism striking for its definition and incisiveness; it is muscular - almost ruthless yet also capable of melting tenderness. For his Kansas City program, Feltsman juxtaposes some of music's smaller artworks of heart-rending delicacy and depth with the grandeur of the epic-scale Liszt ‘Piano Sonata in B minor.’”
Ivan Moravec performs Oct. 16. The Friends has been honored to present this great pianist several times in more than20 years. “Few pianists of the last century have had Moravec's capacity for the unexpected timing, the sudden jolt of vulnerability, the gleam of a never-before imagined color, the unusual emphasis of an inner-voice or the courage to aim for the essence of meaning. Moravec represents musical artistry of exceptional depth. As we say farewell to this great artist, we take with us musical memories that will last a lifetime,” Siebert says.
www.chambermusic.org
DANCE
The Golem is part of Jewish folklore. The most famous story is the 16th century Prague golem created to protect the Jewish people of the city. According to the story, Rabbi Loew built the golem from the clay of the Vltava banks. Now the collaborative efforts of the Owen/Cox Dance Group dancers and musicians, fashion designer Peggy Noland, artist Nate Fors, violinist Gregory Sandomirsky, Hyman-Brand Hebrew Academy Head of the School Howard Haas and the Paul Mesner Puppets creative team, the golem will be explored the first weekend in October. Composer and pianist Brad Cox is co-artistic director and musical director for Owen/Cox Dance Group (a group he formed with dancer/choreographer Jennifer Owen) says the golem has influenced classic literature such as Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein to a move into science fiction and pop culture such as “Metropolis.”
“It’s the fascination with creating life from intimate objects,” Cox says. Noland is designing costumes while Fors is designing the scrolls that bring the Golem to life. Often the word, “emet” (truth or reality) is written on the creature’s forehead and the removal o the “e” leaving the Hebrew word “met” meaning dead. “It’s a full evening show where we are able to convey the symbolism through the use of dance. Hyman-Brand Hebrew Academy Head of the School Howard Haas will serve as the narrator and the show is first person from the golem’s perspective. And nine dancers will operate the 10-foot-tall Golem.”
www.owencoxdance.org
The Kansas City Ballet opens its season with three pieces by George Balanchine and one by Bruce Marks Oct. 14-17. Balanchine’s “Slaughter on Tenth Avenue” looks at humor, jealousy and the mob. “Mozartina” from Balanchine is a star vehicle in the choreography world as is his “Tchaikovsky Pas de Deux.” “Lark Ascending,” choreography by Marks and music from Ralph Vaughn Williams, examines defying gravity.
“Our final season at the Lyric Theater is a microcosm of over a decade of performances in that hall. As we prepare to enter a new era of excellence in the glorious Kauffman Performing Arts Center, our repertory continues to represent a broad base of dance. From the romantic classicism of ‘Giselle’ to the spectacular fireworks of Twyla Tharp’s ‘The Catherine Wheel Suite,’ to the local premiere of Jerome Robbins’ masterwork, ‘Moves,’ we will entice audiences with our versatility. Along with three unique ballets by Balanchine, the return of Bruce Marks’ popular hit, ‘Lark Ascending,’ and the premiere of my new ballet, ‘Mercy of the Elements,’ this promises to be a stimulating season,” says Artistic Director William Whitener.
ORCHESTRAL PERFORMANCES
Orchestral offerings in Kansas City can be found in many community orchestras and bands. For the mainstay that is the Kansas City Symphony, join Music Director Michael Stern as the main classical season opens Oct. 8 with Stravinsky’s “Firebird” plus Hilary Hahn performing Sibelius’ Violin Concerto and the Kansas City premiere of “Starburst,” a new work by American composer Jonathan Leshnoff, co-commissioned by the Symphony. Stern, entering his sixth season as music director, will also introduce to Kansas City the world premiere of Adam Schoenberg’s “American Symphony,” commissioned by the Kansas City Symphony, and the American premiere of Avner Dorman’s “Frozen in Time Percussion Concerto” during later concerts.
“We have a tremendously exciting season planned with one world premiere, one U.S. premiere, and two Kansas City premieres, plus an array of great masterworks by Mozart, Beethoven, Brahms, Tchaikovsky and more,” says Executive Director Frank Byrne. “We are particularly excited about our world premiere in March of Adam Schoenberg’s ‘American Symphony,’ which we commissioned. Adam is truly a rising star and we will have the pleasure of giving the premiere of his first full symphony. It promises to be something very special.”
The season opens and closes with two violinists, Hilary Hahn to open, and Stefan Jackiw to close. He is making his first appearance with the Kansas City Symphony. “As in previous seasons, audiences will find that Michael Stern’s programming is innovative, very creative, and thought provoking. We often juxtapose contemporary works with those of the great masters, or we present a wonderful but lesser-performed work by a major composer that provides new insight into this person’s complete output. These musical combinations flow naturally and are very accessible by both new and seasoned audience members, and it is fun to experience it.”
www.kcsymphony.org
The contemporary group newEar starts its 18th season, Spectra 2010-2011, off with “Between Tides” Sept. 11 at the All Souls Unitarian Church. In addition to works by Roderik de Man, Bonnie Miksch and Edward Jacobs, this engaging concert features a work by the student winner of the first newEar Composers’ Competition, Yuan Peiying; “5 Elements.” The centerpiece of the evening will be Takemitsu’s piece “Between Tides” for piano trio.
www.newear.org
VOCAL STYLINGS
Now into its 15th year, Quality Hill Playhouse continues to be a bastion of creative cabaret shows. The opening show, “Come Fly With Me: The Lyrics of Sammy Cahn,” (Sept. 17-Oct. 17) proves that the venue has been known as the place in Kansas City to hear the finest local talent perform works from the American Songbook and continues to be. “Our 2010 – 2011 season, ‘The Lyricist Series,’ salutes the people who wrote the words to the great works of the American Songbook. We begin with Sammy Cahn, who was nominated for 26 Academy Awards for Best Song – and won four of these awards,” says Director J. Kent Barnhart. “… The show is a unique blend of wonderful songs and interesting anecdotes about the history of songs like “Call Me Irresponsible,” “Come Fly With Me,” “High Hopes,” “Love and Marriage,” and “Three Coins in the Fountain.”
Cabaret singer extraordinaire Marilyn Maye performs in late October and the first of November (Oct. 29 – Nov. 7). Maye is known internationally, but she still calls Kansas City home. This is a unique opportunity to hear one of the all-time great song interpreters and a true jazz legend. She appeared a record 76 times on Johnny Carson’s “Tonight Show” and her recording of “Too Late Now” is part of the Smithsonian Institution’s collection of great American song recordings. To preserve and pass on the standards, Maye teaches younger singers in master classes.
www.qualityhillplayhouse.com
