KAUFFMAN CENTER OPEN HOUSE | This Sunday, September 18, 11 a.m.- 5 p.m.

KAUFFMAN CENTER OPEN HOUSE

When: Sunday, September 18, 11:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
Where: Muriel Kauffman Theatre, Helzberg Hall, and four outdoor stages around the Kauffman Center
Registration: Open House is a free public event and registration is optional. However, online registrants will automatically qualify for a drawing to win two tickets to the Theater League’s production of MILLION DOLLAR QUARTET at the Kauffman Center.

___________________________________________________________

What began as a sketch on a napkin has become an architectural icon and home for the performing arts in Kansas City. The Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts has changed Kansas City’s skyline, and will soon change the experiences of artists and audiences throughout the region.

The Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts will be bustling with a free community open house, Sunday, September 18. More than 40 of Kansas City’s finest performing arts groups, composed of approximately 450 individual artists will perform.

NOTE: This is a free and open event and no tickets will be issued. By registering for this event, you will receive updates regarding the Open House program including performance announcements and parking instructions.

In addition, you will automatically qualify for a drawing to win two tickets to the Theater League’s production of MILLION DOLLAR QUARTET at the Kauffman Center.

Backpacks and other large bags will be searched. Safety is our number one priority for this fun-filled weekend, and we thank you for your cooperation.

To register for this event follow the process through the “purchase” button:

 

SCHEDULE OF PERFORMANCES FOR COMMUNITY OPEN HOUSE*
SEPTEMBER 18, 2011
*Performance Schedules are subject to change

Printable Kauffman Schedule

MURIEL KAUFFMAN THEATRE

12:05     Kansas City Ballet Reach Out and Dance Program

12:10     Wylliams – Henry Dance Company

12:25     Owen Cox Dance Group

12:40     Quality Hill Playhouse

12:55     Kansas City Ballet Reach Out and Dance Program

1:00        City In Motion

1:15        Storling Dance

1:30        El Grupo Folklorico

1:45        Kacico Dance

2:00        Kansas City Ballet School

2:30        Tamara Sanders Dance Duo

3:00        Angel Rattay

3:15        Megan Birdsall

3:30        Ruskin Quartet

3:45        School Of Rock

4:00        Ginger Frost High School Honors Artists and Lyric Opera Youth Chorus

4:15        Nova 4/Fedra Cooper

4:30        Out of Bounds/Val Price

4:45        Mambo De Leon

HELZBERG HALL

12:00     Kansas City Youth Symphony

(25 min set, 30 min strike)

1:00        Kansas City Youth Jazz Band

1:20        Jasmin Xixa Jazz Flute

1:40        Alaturka Classical/Jazz

2:00        Kansas City Boys/Girls Choir

2:20        Fine Arts Chorale

2:40        Bach Aria Soloists

(30 min set)

3:20        Kansas City Wind Symphony

3:40        Heartland Men’s Chorus

4:00        Kansas City Chamber Orchestra

4:20        Music Art Inst. Children’s Choir

4:40        KC Symphonic Percussion Group

STAGE 1: FRONT WEST

12:00     Rob Foster

12:40     Ten String Symphony

1:20        Shawnee Mission HS Drumline

2:00        Rob Foster

2:40        Paul Mesner Puppets

3:20        Drew Six

4:00        Paul Mesner Puppets

4:40        Kansas City Mass Choir

STAGE 2: FRONT EAST

12:20     Wild Women

1:00        Juan Carlos Chaurand

1:40        Wild Women

2:20        Shawnee Mission West HS Drumline

3:00        Shanice/Maurice Hayes

3:40        Bridgid Driscoll

4:20        Matthew McKinney

STAGE 3: EAST COURTYARD

12:00     Cimino

12:40     Rob Foster

1:20        Ten String Symphony

2:00        Kansas City Mass Choir

2:40        Juan Carlos Chaurand

3:20        Matthew McKinney

4:00        Drew Six

4:40        Shanice/Maurice Hayes

STAGE 4:  WYANDOTTE

12:20     Trampled Underfoot

1:00        Trampled Underfoot

1:40        Juan Carlos Chaurand

2:20        Matthew McKinney

3:00        Kansas City Mass Choir

3:40        Shanice/Maurice Hayes

4:20        Bridgid Driscoll

Printable Kauffman Schedule

VIDEO | A First Look Inside the Kauffman Center

or watch video here

• Learn more at TheaterLeague.com

Emily Lykens, Season Marketing Manager with Theater League, give us her first impressions of the new Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts and explains more about the Kansas City Broadway Series and the shows Theater League will present at the Kauffman. Season tickets are on sale now – visit www.theaterleague.com or call 800.776.7469 to purchase today and secure your great seats at the Kauffman Center!

Mark Edelman | Report from NYC Broadway Season [March 2011]

The Broadway season is up and running. Nearly every theater is lit or about to open a new show, which is great for theatergoers. I hope you’ll enjoy these notes from the 2010-11 season:

GHETTO KLOWN: If NYC ever experiences another blackout, all they have to do is stick a big plug into the stagedoor at the Lyceum Theatre and let John Leguizamo light up the city. The Latino actor explodes on stage, dancing, rapping and creating more characters than you’ll see in half of the shows on Broadway— all by himself. In a stream of consciousness piece that is alternately hilarious, touching and full of pathos, this talented entertainer take you through his amazing career highlights and lowlights. I’m sure it’s a cathartic experience every night for this guy. For the rest of us, it’s quite a ride.

HOW TO SUCCEED IN BUSINESS WITHOUT REALLY TRYING. This handsome, fun-filled revival at the Hirschfeld Theatre (conveniently located right across the street from the tiny bedroom we rent in NYC) is another winner for the folks who put together last year’s hit revival of PROMISES PROMISES. Rob Ashford directs and choreographs a very talent Daniel (Harry Potter) Radcliffe, John Larroquette and a terrific, great looking company in this musical coemdy from the early 60s musical that’s sort of the light and happy side of TV’s “Mad Men.” Frank Loesser’s score sounds great and the squeals of delight from Radcliffe’s adoring fans remind you of old time star power. And this Brit does a great job with an American accent, singing and speaking like he was born to it.

THAT CHAMPIONSHIP SEASON. Another Pulitzer Prize winner (HOW TO SUCCEED won it, too), this smoldering revival holds an unpleasant mirror up to the later part of those same 60s, as a group of now old and disillusioned small town guys relive their high school basketball glory with their beloved but bigoted coach. This is another memorable star turn, with Kiefer (TV’s “24”) Sutherland and Chris ( Sarah Jessica Parker’s Mr Big on “Sex in the City”) Noth teaming up with British theater vet Brian Cox, stand up funny guy Jim Gaffigan and movie star Jason Patric delivering the goods. If you’re tired of the current crop of Hollywood male bonding movies, THAT CHAMPIONSHIP SEASON is just the anecdote– and a powerful story of betrayal and uneasy redemption.

CELEBRITY SIGHTING: One of the great things about being in New York– the theater district, that is– is seeing film and TV stars taking in a show. Besides all of the above luminaries, Karin and I had another semi-thrill. As we got out of the cab from the airport, we ran into Wallace Shawn coming home after a shopping trip. It turns out, he lives in our building!  And we just saw his great scene with Mandy Patinkin (opening our Kauffman Theatre season in Kansas City next January) in “The Princess Bride.” Shawn plays Vizzini, the bad guy in the movie who loses the poison drink match to Inigo Mandy’s dashing Inigo Montoya. Great movie!

More to come as we cram nine shows into one week.

Latest Photos | Kauffman Center tour photos

A few weeks ago, I was excited to be able to preview the construction of the Kauffman Center as it approached its final stages. In our latest photo upload, we explore the construction process. enjoy! (click image above to view slideshow) – TL Miles

ps- images from 12th Street Jump will follow Kauffman images.

PHOTOS | Kauffman Center under construction

http://www.kauffmancenter.org
Photo credit – TL Miles

Big News for Broadway in Kansas City

• Kansas City Broadway Series Press Release

“We’re excited to be back presenting the Best of Broadway in Kansas City, our hometown. Working with our colleagues at Broadway Across America, we will continue our work enhancing the quality of life in this community with the thrill of live theater, bringing Kansas City audiences downtown to the wonderful new Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts.” – Mark Edelman, President and Founder of Theater League