Archives: January 2010
Real Mavericks
Behold the Kansas City metropolitan area’s most successful professional-sports franchise! The Missouri Mavericks do not reside in last place — unlike almost all of the city’s other professional teams. And the Central Hockey League expansion franchise may even qualify for a playoff spot in its first year. For any KC resident who’s bored by casinos and interested in witnessing a…
Drinking Liberally, Midweek
The Midweek Drinking Liberally group meets Wednesdays at 6:30 p.m. at Harling’s Upstairs except the first Wednesday of every month when they meet at Californos (4124 Pennsylvania). Second and Third Wednesday of every month, 6:30 p.m.; Fourth and Last Wednesday of every month, 6:30 p.m., 2009 Tags: Night & Day
Old Slang
Tonight is ladies’ night in Mamet-land, when the too-long-in-exile Kansas City Actors Theatre opens Boston Marriage, the only play by David Mamet to boast an all-female cast. That means, forget the rants and the swearing but not the sad sacks driven to desperate cons. This time, those sad sacks wear turn-of-the-last-century gowns. A Victorian-era comedy of sex and schemes, Boston…
More Hockey
Meetings between the Missouri Tigers and the Kansas Jayhawks usually lack one thing: structured violence. All this changes when the Border War takes to the ice at the Independence Events Center (19100 East Valley View Parkway, Independence) at 7:05 p.m. Missouri won the previous two hockey matchups against its bitter rival, but the Jayhawks hope to salvage part of the…
KING FOR A DAY
The Kansas City Art Institute observes Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. today in Epperson Auditorium in Vanderslice Hall (4415 Warwick). The celebration commences with a short documentary about the civil rights movement, after which guest speaker Charles Coulter, a former op-ed editor at The Kansas City Star and instructor of African-American history at the…
Pap of Tap
Gregory Hines earned his street cred on various platforms — singing a duet with Luther Vandross and appearing in Waiting to Exhale, for example — but it was his dancing that first drew attention. Thank You, Gregory, a Tribute to the Legends of Tap honors Hines’ moves as well as those of Fred Astaire, Bill “Bojangles” Robinson, Ruby Keeler, Juanita…
Abstract Ploys
Larry Thomas, Johnson County Community College’s art department chairman, paints remarkable abstractions that resolve into new levels of detail the closer one gets to the canvases, almost like computer-generated fractals. In fact, Thomas deploys digital techniques in his multimedia work, but the overall effect of his extremely kinetic art is painterly. Some works suggest hyper-dimensional architecture, combining swirls of paint…
Eagle Day
Get to know our nation’s national bird a little bit better through eagle presentations by Operation Wildlife, plus a PBS screening and crafts for the kids. Sat., Jan. 16, 10 a.m.-3 p.m., 2010 Tags: Night & Day
Storm Warning
Ever been in an enclosed space with someone playing bagpipes? It’s so loud, you want to hit someone to make it stop. The trick to enjoying the full banshee keen of bagpipe music is to hear it played by more than one piper at a time. Even better: See champion-level pipers, accompanied by drummers and dancers. Who picks the champions?…
Make a Difference
Last April, the new Center for Justice and Sustainability at William Jewell College introduced itself to Kansas City by throwing a benefit rock show, at which patrons got to choose what local charity their cover charge would help. Today and tomorrow, the center invites the curious and the green-hearted to its Summit on Justice and Sustainability. In keeping with the…
Self-Made Woman
It says volumes about the legacy of Florence Foster Jenkins — reportedly the worst singer ever to perform in concert — that not one but two musicals about her lack of talent will play in Kansas City this season. Quality Hill Playhouse opens Souvenir this summer, but the American Heartland Theatre’s Glorious! is already playing, featuring talented vocalist Debra Bluford…
Shapes in the Clouds
Cumulus, an exhibition by Urban Culture Project resident artists, features so many events and individual works that it feels stingy to list only the highlights. But what do you want, a lengthy essay? Studio residents, encouraged to work collaboratively, have responded with a series of interactive and participatory pieces and happenings that begins with tonight’s 7:30 performance piece, “The Four…
Go, Roe
Thirty-seven years ago, Roe v. Wade assured American women more control over their bodies and lives. In honor of the landmark Supreme Court case, and continuing efforts to maintain the right to obtain an abortion, Planned Parenthood of Kansas and Mid-Missouri invites supporters to throw down $37 (or more) to attend the Roe anniversary event Respect: Find Out What It…
You Want Laughs With That?
Off-the-cuff humor is all good, but improvised lattes make us nervous. So, it’s a good thing that Roving Imp Coffee House, the new java joint inside the Roving Imp Theater — the base for a troupe of spontaneous local comedians — has an actual drink menu. The sweet specialty blends of sugar, milk, caffeine and ice are all named for…
Tunes in Babeland
For die-hard followers of Showtime’s lesbian drama The L Word, this month is one of mourning. In years past, fans packed a local movie theater for sold-out premiere events, collectively gasping, groaning and gleefully anticipating the death of that annoying little weasel Jenny Schecter. Well, fear not, L Word lovers: The Human Rights Campaign, the national gay and lesbian advocacy…
Kansas City Royals FanFest
The Kansas City Royals will celebrate the 25th Anniversary of the 1985 World Series victory by paying tribute to members of the championship team at the 2010 Royals FanFest presented by Sprint and Teva Neuroscience. Team members, including Hall of Famer George Brett and 1985 World Series MVP Bret Saberhagen, will participate in a special autograph session on Friday from…
Quicker and Deader
This project is a collaboration of illustrators, writers and editors that rewrite, edit and illustrate an autobiographical text by Rathwell. Clare Doveton has been working in correspondence with Rathwell to create works of art and to bring new creative minds into the project. Jan. 17-Feb. 2, 7-2 a.m., 2010 Tags: Clare Doveton, Night & Day
A slain teen makes some new Facebook friends: reporters
Authorities say 14-year-old Katie Rios was killed in rural Cass County January 7. A teenage relative of Rios’ was arrested that night. A Facebook page set up in the hours after Rios died — “In Loving Memory of Katie Rios” — had nearly 800 fans by the next morning. Among those quick to leave their condolences on the page were…
Nesto the Owner gives Kansas City hip-hop a new voice — if they’ll listen
Ernesto Edwards loves the hate. Munching on pizza at the Pizza Street Buffet in Olathe, the local rapper — better known as Nesto the Owner — plows through the slew of issues he has with Kansas City’s hip-hop scene. “Radio is a big part of why Kansas City isn’t what it’s supposed to be,” Edwards explains. Talent, he is careful…
The Amnesty Chronicles
Dear Mexican: I’m surprised by the choice of the word “amnesty” by those who would demonize immigration reform, especially in the South. Doesn’t the modern well-being of many Southerners derive in some way from their ancestors’ having sworn to amnesty oaths, both before and after the Civil War? Isn’t it being disingenuous to make the “but my family immigrated legally”…
With Matt Damon, KC’s Gary White brings water to developing countries. Maybe he could turn on some ideas for our third-world streets
Kansas City makes it easy to lose faith in people. Elected officials often act like schoolchildren. In the local corporate world, job-shredding incompetents outnumber innovators. A list of the metro’s 200 most repulsive inhabitants would include a fair number of clergy. But every once in a while, someone so decent … so breathtakingly effective … emerges from the heap of…
Letters from the week of January 14
Feature: “Father Troost,” December 24, 2009 Praises Be! Bravo, bravo! J. Malcolm Garcia’s piece was thorough and heartfelt and a true depiction of the Troost corridor. What wonderful God-life work the Rev. David Altschul is doing. He is truly to be commended for living the instructions that God Almighty has set out for humankind in the Good Book: for us…
Find The Pitch
