Aye, Matey
SAT 8/28
It isn’t often that pirate fetishists and the theater set show up at the same soirée. Not so, however, when the Kansas City Repertory Theatre (4949 Cherry Street) kicks off its 41st season from 7 to 10 p.m. Saturday with a Season Preview Pirate Party. The theme isn’t as arbitrary as it might seem. The popular Gilbert and Sullivan musical comedy The Pirates of Penzance is the season’s opener, with a monthlong run starting September 24. David Ira Goldstein, who directed 2003’s gangster sing-along Guys and Dolls, also directs this swashbuckler, which is the first Gilbert and Sullivan production to be pillaged by the theater company.
Buccaneers can revel in the night, which boasts grub, grog and live music, and Rep regulars and interested newcomers can sneak a peek at the upcoming season, eyeballing costumes and set designs. The entertainment includes performance snippets from some of the season’s plays, giving the crowd a chance to kick up their peg legs and clap their hooks. One-night-only season-ticket specials (and eye patches!) are available, along with Rep merchandise, at the free event. Call 816-235-2700 for tickets or more information. — Mark Inman
Rite of String
Ustad Shahid Parvez is a sitar star.
SAT 8/28
The sitar is an Indian stringed instrument with a long neck adorned with twenty metal frets and a resonator shaped like a large, hollowed-out gourd. We wouldn’t exactly consider it a popular instrument, but it has enjoyed some crossover success, mostly with George Harrison. And who would dare dispute the inherent hipness of anything involving the Beatles? Certainly not Ustad Shahid Parvez, a prodigy who gave his first performance at age 8. His family members are sitar authorities, too — he’s among the seventh generation of players. In An Evening of Indian Classical Music at 7 p.m. Saturday at Johnson County Community College’s Carlsen Center (12345 College Boulevard in Overland Park), Shahid Parvez plays alongside Subhajyoti Guha, who specializes in the tabla (a pair of tunable hand drums).
The concert is presented by Pratichi, a Kansas City organization dedicated to preserving Indian arts and culture. Tickets are $20; students get in for half that. Call 913-469-4445 for more information. — Annie Fischer
Stack With Me
It’s still opera —
just more relaxed.
SUN 8/29
A true Cinderella story must involve a magical transformation. Given its entirely new incarnation, the Downtown Central Library seems an appropriate host for Sunday in the Stacks, the Lyric Opera’s new series, which debuts with Rossini’s La Cenerentola. Although the 1817 opera based on the beloved fairy tale is the Lyric’s opening production, the program strives for a less formal atmosphere. At 2:30 p.m. Sunday on the fifth floor of the library (14 West 10th Street), maestro Ward Holmquist (above) plays excerpts on the library’s new Steinway, and the Lyric’s resident set designer, R. Keith Brumley, discusses his staging concept for this and subsequent operas. Call 816-471-4933. — Steve Walker
Free Country
SAT 8/28
Behind the detached demeanors of scooter disciples and thrift-store voyagers are some country music fans. They can’t admit it, obviously; their hipster status would be irreparably tarnished. So we’re doing them a favor and announcing the Rockin¹ Roadhouse Tour (a free concert with Joe Diffie and Mark Chesnutt) at 8 p.m. Saturday at Crown Center (2450 Grand). Perhaps they can, uh, stumble upon it — by accident, of course. Call 816-274-8444. — Fischer
