Top 10 Summer Events in Kansas City! (In no particular order)

10. Theatres in the Park (Shawnee Mission Theatre in the Park, Gladstone Theatre in the Park, Starlight Theatre). All three venues are promising exciting seasons including “Jesus Christ Superstar,” “Annie Get Your Gun,” and “Little House on the Prairie.” Visit their websites for details. Gladstone Theatre in the Park is free admission and the two other theatres cost very little.

9. The Boulevard Drive-In is one of the best-kept secrets in Kansas City. Take a trip back in time with your friends and family to watch some of the summer’s best releases. And bonus, on Saturdays and Sundays from 6:30am-1:30pm there’s a Swap n’ Shop.

8. Kansas City Fringe Festival offers opportunities to artists and enthusiasts alike, featuring dance, theatre, and art presentations/performances throughout the week. The festival supports some of the most talented artists in Kansas City.

7. Kansas City Irish Fest technically not a summer event, falling on September 4th this year, but I included it anyway. It features exciting music, food, and entertainment all Irish in nature, and my favorite Kansas City arse-kicking Irish band, The Elders.

6. Quixotic’s “Paix Reveuse” promises to be a dazzling display of images and sound. Live at the Madrid Theatre three days in June, this is a theatrical event not to be missed.

5. Jazzoo creates such buzz every year that makes me wish I’d bought a ticket. But this year despite the steep cost, I plan on attending and I recommend it based on the opinions of my closest friends. On top of unlimited food, beverages, and great Kansas City jazz music, this year attendees will have the chance to feed the polar bears!

4. First Fridays in the Crossroads District features free admission to art galleries and performing artists in the Crossroads District. Also enjoy some of the best food in the city and unique boutiques nearby.

3. Crown Center Friday Night Flicks offers free outdoor classic and/or popular movies. This year’s lineup: “Pretty in Pink,” “Jurassic Park,” “Hairspray,” “Julie & Julia,” “Groundhog Day,” “Ocean’s Eleven,” and “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone.” Guests are encourage to bring blankets, chairs, and if so desired, picnics, and beverages (including beer and wine).

2. Heart of America Shakespeare Festival ‘s “Richard III” offers free summer Shakespeare at Moreland Park near the Plaza. Each summer the festival is free and is always a wonderful evening of theatre. Bring food, wine, treats, and a blanket. This year, Brio will also be providing a happy hour for guests with delicious appetizers and drinks for sale before each show.

1. Walnut Valley Music Festival is my personal favorite and true #1 on this list. Every third weekend of September, the festival takes place in Winfield, Kansas and proves to be the most fun, laid back, and best bluegrass, flat-picking festival around. Get there early to find a prime camping spot. Do not miss this festival.

NEWS!

Check out my post about The KC Rep's 'Venice' on http://kc.townlow.com

Looks like I'm going to be writing for them more often! I got an email the other day asking if I'd be interested in writing for them on a regular basis. So look out for them all you Kansas-Citians.

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Monday is Funday in Southern California

$2.50 Margaritas at Acapulco with Paula and Liz

I also got the chance to meet Paula's friend Liz. She is such a sweetheart. Paula and Liz have a hilarious repartee and I can tell they are going to be lifelong friends. I was so happy to get the chance to talk with her and get to know her more. Side note, she is the President of her sorority Alpha Phi. I can't think of a better person to lead a group of women.

And don't forget the half-priced guacamole!! DELISH!! Fresh and wonderful.

After a couple of margs and some guac, I dropped the girls off at the dorms and headed to meet up with Kyle to have dinner with David and Adrianna--which is always a great time. We had some delicious chicken, paired with asparagus, and my modified version of Paula Deen's "Is it really better than Sex?" cake. Basically good food, and awesome conversation about the world including and not limited to politicians, education, conspiracy theories, and wine. After dinner, we played this dance Wii game that Adrianna received from I think one of David's family member's? I can't remember. Irregardless (which is not a word, though I continue to use it), we played and had a blast doing so. The boys actually ended up winning more points than Adrianna or I did. And I have to say that I am absolutely AWFUL at this game. Like really bad. But it was still a blast. Check out how intense the action was. So intense that the picture is blurry:

All in all, a fabulous Monday! Can't wait for LOST tonight at the Lewis home...even though I have absolutely NO IDEA what is happening in that show. I just am excited to see Bonnie and Cy. Also: my parents arrive in Orange tomorrow! Yahoo!

BEACH!!!

"Where am I going to see colors like that? Must be awfully lucky to see colors like that. I bet they don't even know how lucky they are."

Woke up late this morning. Lazy day. Pleasantville was on. Aren't we lucky to see color? Beach later today. :-)

Beautiful Morning in California

Goodmorning California! Since I'm going to be here for such a long time this summer off and on I thought I would document thoughts, musings, and theatrical encounters here. Today I woke up and laid around for about 45 minutes before I finally decided to suit up for a run. Do you know what I noticed? Almost every house has either a palm plant or a rose plant of some kind. And it made me think...we are truly blessed with a bountiful life! We have beautiful houses, flowers, sunlight, friends, family, green grass, mechanisms like planes, sprinklers, and buses, playgrounds, relationships, schools, food, water, fountains. I think about all the places without water, food, and as I run down Lincoln Ave. in Orange I spot a home with an Orange Tree in the backyard. Incredible. We truly live a life of abundance and bounty. I feel incredibly blessed. I can't help but see God in all of these things. And I also can't help but see a call to action. Of course, I'm sure God is not happy with the way we've pillaged the planet and the way we have engaged in fatal conflicts and hatred, however, I am sure He is pleased when we are living to our potentials; full of love, inspiration, creativity, joy and peace in our hearts. The question is, how do we make it happen more often?

Because God really is everywhere. Beauty. Joy. Love. And sometimes maybe there is just too much getting in the way to really celebrate that. Maybe it's simpler. Maybe it's taking deeper breaths. Maybe it's praying more. I'm not sure. All I know is that it's worth thinking about and asking: What can I do today to be more loving? How can I love others the way I have been loved?

P.S. Roses pic curtsey of The Horst Backyard

Venice at the KC Rep

I saw Venice at the Kansas City Repertory Theatre’s Copaken stage on Saturday night (10pm) with little to no background about Matt Sax or his previous work performed at the Rep, Clay. Venice is a beautifully crafted musical, and its music and lyrics both build a striking and at times, heart-awakening evening of theatre. Venice’s strength lies in its lyrics, music, and theme, accompanied by a predominantly talented cast.

As I watched the story unfold, I had no idea that what I was seeing would end up following Shakespeare’s Othello. I figured it out significantly before the end of the first act. We’ll talk about this later. With new works I find it best to enter the theatre as a complete audience virgin. Meaning, I have no idea what will unfold, but I eagerly await the story, the piece of theatre that will unveil in front of my eyes. That way I can see flaws and celebrate joys that one who is familiar with the work cannot. Some of my friends that attended with me that evening had seen Matt Sax’s Clay and compared the two quite competitively. They certainly had a different opinion about the work than I did.

Just to be clear: the play is titled Venice, set in Venice, and the main character is named Venice. While I tried to involve myself in the world of the play, I found the opening twenty minutes to be confusing. I was introduced to a variety of different terms and phrases unique to the world, like “the disappeared,” “the enemy,” etc., which I assumed were used to separate ourselves from the United States and placing it in our country literally instead of metaphorically. I understood that we found our characters in a war torn country, and that we were not in the United States, however, I didn’t understand the sequence of events and why Willow and Venice loved each other.  And then something even more heartbreaking happens for me as an audience member; I realize this is Othello and I assume the rest of the story. I am crying already at the thought that I know exactly what will unfold. Already a tragic tale, I find myself increasingly upset because I am loving the characters, and I do not want Venice to succumb to the same fate as Othello.

But Act Two shines and surprises me. I was so upset during intermission with my pals. I hate that Othello kills Desdemona. I absolutely hate it. And I hate that Emilia is so spineless. I am angry because I know our characters we’ve met in Venice’s Act One are stronger and better than Othello’s. But Sax and Eric Rosen (playwrights) challenge my preconceptions of the story, and through lyrics, text, and song craft a different message, one more effective and transformative.

On to brass tacks: the acting for the most part was superb. The standouts were Jasmin Walker (Emilia Monroe), Matt Sax (Clown/MC), JD Goldblatt (Theodore Westbrook), and Javier Muñoz (Venice Monroe). Walker’s Emilia is stunning; she is a confident and wonderful actress, weaving together character intentions and performance artistry to create a beautifully complicated character. Sax is barely speaking, but throughout the play I found myself watching him observe, react, and then when he would finally comment it was clear, direct, and insightful. Goldblatt’s “I want to Be Great” song in Act Two took my breath away. He was open, vulnerable, and honest with the text. I felt very few barriers between myself and his character’s journey. I had previously seen Muñoz in In The Heights as Usnavi. He was lovely in both. I found his gently presence as Venice to be lovely, and his temptation to violence and his brother’s poison believable.

I was not, however, impressed with Andrea Goss (Willow Turner) and Clifton Duncan (Markos Monroe). Most of my friends disagreed with me about Duncan, but I think it was that I wanted more evil contemplation than anger. I craved to see Markos as a serpent and an angry brother. I felt he skimmed over text that could have been used to weave his plot. Turner’s Willow was at times annoying and whiney, especially as she approached her death. Both actors’ voices, however, were great and appropriate for the music.

As for technical elements, I felt mostly satisfied, especially with the lighting. There were moments that the color was perfect for the emotional moment of the play. For example, the lights during Theodore’s song which were peach appearing and matched the warmth of Theodore’s revelatory moment in his death. The scene was masterfully done. Another moment of lighting revelation was during Willow’s and Emilia’s last song together. I enjoyed the levels that the set created; they provided the actors and director room to navigate the small Copaken space in a broad way.

But the real star of the show tonight was the text.  At times, I found myself lost in how touching and relevant they were. I starting thinking about things like 9/11, President Obama’s message of hope and change, how fast we can slip into societal chaos, and most of all, love. A few lyrics that screamed out: “I just wanted to love and to be loved,” “I can see the sunrise when I close my eyes,” “Let me be great,” and “if you see something say something.” This musical speaks particularly to my age group, the twenty somethings that have grown up with a war, inherited that conflict, and now are looking to a new leader who promises us hope and change. But beyond the political elements and generational comments, we all crave love, relationships, and achievement. As children most of us were told that if we dreamed it they could do, but the stark reality is that dreams don’t often come true. Dreams, however, make us who we are, shape our personalities, and develop our sensitivities. Venice reminds us that being great, loving others, and healing the world may be simpler and perhaps smaller than we imagined in our dreams. Being great once in a lifetime may be great enough.

Venice touched my heart in a number of ways. I certainly recommend seeing it. It’s worth the flight to LA to catch it at the Center Theatre Group in September.