From the Tony Award®-winning creators of the Broadway classic Ragtime, this dazzling show transports us from the twilight of the Russian Empire to the euphoria of Paris in the 1920s, as a brave young woman sets out to discover the mystery of her past. Pursued by a ruthless Soviet officer determined to silence her, Anya enlists the aid of a dashing conman and a lovable ex-aristocrat. Together, they embark on an epic adventure to help her find home, love, and family.
Anastasia features a book by celebrated playwright Terrence McNally, a lush new score by Stephen Flaherty (music) and Lynn Ahrens (lyrics) based on original direction by Tony Award® winner Darko Tresnjak with choreography by Peggy Hickey and tour direction by Sarah Hartmann.

BoskSoul is the brainchild of multi-instrumentalists and composers David Boisvert and Charlie Harris.  Charlie and David write and perform in a way that blurs the conventional lines associated with various genres.  Over the last few years Charlie’s music, as a composer and artist in different musical projects, has been featured in print media as well as jazz and folk radio nationally.  In this same span, David, a highly sought-after saxophonist, performed with such diverse artists as five-time Grammy Winner Victor Wooten and Eric Struthers, the lead guitarist for Dr. John and the Neville Brothers.  David from Nashville and Charlie from Kansas City met ten years ago at Wooten Woods-the musical complex built and maintained by Victor Wooten.  After jamming together on and off over the years in Nashville and Kansas City, they decided upon an ambitious project-not only pen original compositions, but also produce, arrange, and play all the instruments on the compositions in live settings.  What began as a side project, between their busy schedules with other musical projects, blossomed into a true labor of love that produced two singles now available on all major streaming networks.
BoskSoul will be featured in the Folly’s LIVE! in the Lounge Series where they will not only be performing songs from the previously mentioned soundtrack, but also, for the first time, will be performing music for their soon to be released album.  As they like to say, “we are just beginning and welcome to the world of BoskSoul.”

SISTER ACT is the feel-good musical comedy smash based on the hit 1992 film that has audiences jumping to their feet! Featuring original music by Tony- and eight-time Oscar winner Alan Menken (Newsies, Beauty and the Beast, Little Shop of Horrors), this uplifting musical was nominated for five Tony Awards, including Best Musical.
When disco diva Deloris Van Cartier witnesses a murder, she is put in protective custody in the one place the cops are sure she won't be a found: a convent! Disguised as a nun, she finds herself at odds with both the rigid lifestyle and uptight Mother Superior. Using her unique disco moves and singing talent to inspire the choir, Deloris breathes new life into the church and community but, in doing so, blows her cover. Soon, the gang is giving chase, only to find themselves up against Deloris and the power of her newly found sisterhood.
Filled with powerful gospel music, outrageous dancing and a truly moving story, Sister Act will leave audiences breathless. A sparkling tribute to the universal power of friendship, SISTER ACT is reason to REJOICE!

Calvin Arsenia has built a reputation for turning the arts world on its head. While the harp has allowed this Kansas City native to become a man of the world (gaining followings in Paris, Edinburgh and at the Outlyre Harpist Festival in Austria), it’s his unique ability to craft a stimulating setting at his live shows that has all eyes fixed on this conspicuous musician and his breathtaking approach to harp music.
His angelic, classically trained voice soars over audiences, enchanting even the fussiest of fans, beckoning them to join him as he flirts between genres. He dances between indie, jazz and electronic music while calling upon rare harmonies and arrangements from his team of performers. But the music is just one part of his prodigious performances. Arsenia believes the art is in crafting the perfect moment. His music is best served live, with sensational performances and high fashion from the visually striking performer who stands more than six feet tall.

The Happy Together Tour 2022 takes the stage at the Kauffman Center to perform the greatest pop rock hits from the ‘60s and ‘70s. The touring sensation that has crisscrossed the nation delighting audiences for over a decade returns this summer with a show full of chart-topping hits from an undeniable 61 Billboard Top 40 smashes. The show features music legends The Turtles, Gary Puckett & The Union Gap, The Association, The Vogues and The Cowsills. Don’t miss out on this show jam-packed with talent.
Kauffman Center Presents is made possible by the John N. and Marilyn P. McConnell Foundation.

For over two decades, Grammy Award-winning master trumpeter and composer Chris Botti has amassed a spectacular variety of honors, including multiple Gold and Platinum albums, to become the largest-selling instrumental artist in the United States.
There’s nothing like a Chris Botti concert. He’s the complete package: a dazzling trumpeter at home in everything from jazz to pop to rock, a brilliant bandleader who lets his players shine, and a born showman whose joy at being onstage is infectious. See him live and you’ll understand why some of the world’s biggest musical stars have been eager to share his stage.

Alicia Keys is a modern-day Renaissance woman—a 15-time Grammy Award-winning artist/songwriter/musician/producer, an accomplished actress, a New York Times best-selling author, a film/ television and Broadway producer an entrepreneur and a powerful force in the world of activism. Now, Keys makes her highly-anticipated return to the stage to bring her repertoire of worldwide hits to iconic venues across North America and Europe, including a stop at Starlight Theatre Wednesday, August 24, 2022.
Since the release of her monumental 2001 debut album, “Songs in A Minor,” Keys has sold over 65 million records and built an unparalleled repertoire of hits and accomplishments. The first single “Show Me Love” earned Keys a record-extending 11th number 1 on the Billboard Adult R&B Songs airplay chart. In addition to music from her new album, Keys will be bringing her classics—from “No One” to “If I Ain’t Got You” to “Girl on Fire”—to life in a special multi-media, artistic experience on the ALICIA – THE WORLD TOUR stage each night. A meditation on love and life, the show will be a true celebration, filled with the magnetic energy that only live music can create.

Making Movies is a band that makes American music with an asterisk: because their sound encompasses the entirety of the Americas. It’s through this broader perspective that Making Movies crunches classic rock into Latin American rhythms — African-derived percussion and styles like rumba, merengue, mambo and cumbia — in a way that feels oddly familiar yet delivers the invigorating chills of hearing something singularly special.
​​Over the course of their career, the quartet has turned heads as a newcomer on NPR’s “Tiny Desk Concerts” (with "A La Deriva"), a voice for immigrant rights (with "I Am Another You" which reached No. 3 on Billboard's Latin Pop Album chart) and as a co-writer alongside salsa icon Rubén Blades (with the Latin Grammy nominated song "No Te Calles”).
The band employs a standard rock lineup of guitar/bass/drums/percussion, but members also incorporate synthesizers, effects pedals and indigenous instruments from Latin America into their music.  They interweave styles as divergent as cumbia and blues, salsa and soul, Cuban son and rock'n'roll––all boiled down into their own original sound.
Making Movies has toured extensively, appearing with the likes of Arcade Fire, Rubén Blades, Los Lobos, Hurray For the Riff Raff, Bomba Estereo, Galactic, Flor De Toloache and Thievery Corporation. The band's fourth album will be released summer 2022 on the L.A.-based label Cósmica Artists.

Almost four years after his first foray into unfamiliar concert territory with his highly-acclaimed Ridiculously Self-Indulgent, Ill-Advised Vanity Tour, “Weird Al” Yankovic is pressing his luck again, this time with The Unfortunate Return of the Ridiculously Self-Indulgent, Ill-Advised Vanity Tour. The tour marks Weird Al’s long-anticipated return to the concert stage after his hugely successful Strings Attached Tour in 2019 where he performed each night alongside a full symphony orchestra. Once again drawing from his back catalogue of 14 studio albums, Weird Al promises to deliver a different set list every night, with no two shows the same. As before, rather than focusing on the hits from his career, the show will feature Yankovic’s non-parody material – the somewhat more obscure pastiches and original songs that have largely escaped the pop culture radar but are adored by his long-time fans. And like the last Vanity Tour, he is leaving behind the high-octane theatrics that he’s known for and going bare-bones – no costumes, no props, no video screens … just Al and his band of almost four decades in smaller, more intimate venues, hanging out on stage, playing music. Kauffman Center Presents is made possible by the John N. and Marilyn P. McConnell Foundation.

Named “Best Folk Ensemble 2015” by the KC Pitch, “Standout Concert of the Year” by the Joplin Globe and four-time Folk Alliance International official showcase artists, Victor & Penny are Jeff Freling (Blue Man Group, Chicago) and Erin McGrane (George Clooney's "Up in the Air" and cabaret troupe Alacartoona). The group just released their fourth album, Electricity, which joyfully captures the energy, humor and soaring musical improvisation of their live show.

Classically trained reeds virtuoso James Isaac fronts his own highly respected jazz quartet, The James Isaac Group. Bassist Rick Willoughby attended the UMKC Conservatory of Music and is a member of Quixotic, The Snow Globes and the Barclay Martin Ensemble. Multi-instrumentalist Kyle Dahlquist (trombone, accordion, glockenspiel and vocals) rounds out the ensemble.

“If music be the food of love, play on.” Shakespeare’s comedy of mistaken identity, music and the madness of love, Twelfth Night finds new life as the celebratory kick-off to our 22-23 season. A tale of unrequited love that is both hilarious and heartbreaking. Twelfth Night starts when a ship is wrecked on the rocks. Viola is washed ashore but her twin brother Sebastian is lost. Determined to survive on her own, she steps out to explore a new land. So begins a whirlwind of mistaken identity and unrequited love. Where music is the food of love, and nobody is quite what they seem, anything proves possible. Directed by Associate Artistic Director Nelson T. Eusebio III and featuring original music by Jason Ma, poetic design, and a killer cast of actors, this funny, fresh, and contemporary take on one of Shakespeare’s most romantic works will open KCRep's 22/23 season.

Relive the magic of year six in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince™ in Concert with the Kansas City Symphony. With this film, based on the sixth installment of this classic saga, fans of all ages can now experience the thrilling tale of Harry’s obsession with a mysterious potions book accompanied by the music of a live symphony orchestra as Harry soars across the big screen in HD!

Everyone’s invited to the joyous Broadway hit that New York Magazine hails as “smart and big-hearted” while The New York Times declares it “makes you believe in musical comedy again!” The Prom is a new musical comedy about big Broadway stars on a mission to change the world and the love they discover that unites them all. Variety raves, “It’s so full of happiness that you think your heart is about to burst.” And The Hollywood Reporter cheers, “It’s comic gold!” The Prom features direction and choreography by Tony Award winner Casey Nicholaw (Mean Girls, The Book of Mormon), a book by Tony Award winner Bob Martin (The Drowsy Chaperone) and Tony Award nominee Chad Beguelin (Aladdin), music by Tony Award nominee Matthew Sklar (Elf) and lyrics by Tony Award nominee Chad Beguelin. You belong at The Prom!

The opening of a new Kansas City Symphony season is cause for celebration and we can hardly wait to share this exhilarating program with you! James Lee III’s vivacious Amer’ican, a work inspired by paintings emblematic of America, is a 21st-century response to Antonín Dvořák’s call for American composers to embrace Black and Indigenous music. Filled with colorful flourishes and dense textures, Amer’ican offers Lee’s unique perspective on our country’s history and his hope for the future.
Dazzling audiences with his flawless technique and incomparable warmth, Kansas City favorite Gil Shaham brings his absolute mastery to Saint-Saëns’ most famous violin concerto. An elegant work that blends graceful sophistication with fiery virtuosity, the concerto’s exciting conclusion will bring you to your feet.
Aaron Copland sought to express the breadth of America in his Symphony No. 3. Composed at the end of World War II, the symphony reflected what Copland called “the euphoric spirit of the country at the time.” Incorporating his inspiring Fanfare for the Common Man into the symphony, Copland captured the heroism and optimism of the era. Spacious and lyrical, this lofty music was described by Boston Symphony Music Director Serge Koussevitsky as “the greatest American symphony ever written.”

For the ninth festival of contemporary and modern dance, the Midwest Trust Center brings four choreographers to create original works for four local dance companies to perform at the world premieres. Each new work will then be owned by the dance company for two years for use in their own programs.

This year's collaborative partners are:
Kansas City Ballet, working with Stephanie Martinez
Owen/Cox Dance Group, working with Bryan Arias
Störling Dance Theatre, working with Victoria Marks
Wylliams/Henry Contemporary Dance Company, working with Charissa Barton

Supported, in part, by Kansas Creative Arts Industries Commission; George H. Langworthy, Sr.

Four of Broadway’s brightest stars take the stage with guest conductor Jack Everly and your KC Symphony for an evening of sizzling showstoppers. All your favorites from "The Great White Way" by Andrew Lloyd Webber, Stephen Sondheim, Rodgers and Hammerstein and others.

Described as a “brilliant young string quartet” by London’s Spectator and giving “certainly passionate performances” by The Kansas City Star, Opus 76 Quartet is proud to return as artists-in-residence at the Midwest Trust Center.

Program

String Quartet No. 2, “Company” by Philip Glass (1937-  )
String Quartet No. 16 in F major, Op. 135 by Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827)
String Quartet No. 3 in D major, Op. 44 No. 1 by Felix Mendelssohn (1809-1847)

The 2022 Kansas Arts Councils Symposium builds on the momentum and excitement of the first symposium in 2021. The Symposium was created to bring together emerging and established arts councils and organizations from around the state of Kansas to facilitate professional development, partnership, and celebration of the arts in our communities. The Arts Council of Johnson County and the Kansas Creative Arts Industries Commission are hosting the 2022 Symposium. It will take place on September 29th and 30th, 2022 at the Johnson County Arts & Heritage Center in Overland Park, KS. Email artsjoco@artsjoco.org with any questions.

Matthew Maxey hails from Decatur, Georgia, and currently resides in Atlanta. He was born with a severely profound hearing loss and outfitted with hearing aids at 2 years old. At an early age, it became apparent his life would be anything but ordinary. Fast forward as Maxey attended the prestigious Gallaudet University in Washington, D.C., where he learned sign language to balance the struggle of developing his identity as a double minority in terms of ability and race.
In 2014, DEAFinitely Dope was founded to provide support to those who felt marginalized and ignored by mainstream America. DEAFinitely Dope started as a brand and slowly blossomed into a movement, attracting educational institutions, CNN, ESPN’s The Undefeated, GQ, Cole Haan, ABC news, Chance The Rapper, MTV Video Music Awards and countless more.

Presented in partnership with Johnson County Community College Access Services.

Acclaimed for its “bold interpretive strength, robust characterization and commanding resonance” (Calgary Herald), the Verona Quartet has firmly established itself amongst the most distinguished ensembles on the chamber music scene today.

The Verona Quartet has appeared across four continents, enchanting audiences at venues such as Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center (New York City), Kennedy Center, Library of Congress (Washington, D.C.), Jordan Hall (Boston), Wigmore Hall (U.K.) and Melbourne Recital Hall (Australia), and has performed at festivals including La Jolla Summerfest, Chamber Music Northwest, Caramoor, Alpenglow, and Bravo! Vail, and with the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center.

Co-presented by the Midwest Trust Center and Friends of Chamber Music - Kansas City.

The MTC Kids Jam concert series is specially designed with families in mind! Join us in the MTC lobby at 10 a.m. for art activities led by the Nerman Museum of Contemporary Art, followed by a 60-minute concert with an acclaimed children’s musician. Beloved recording artist and kids’ yoga educator Bari Koral presents Yogapalooza! Bari and her excellent band will take kids and families on a rockin’ music and movement adventure. Together we’ll learn popular yoga poses with a dancing bear, pop like popcorn, “sleep” like a pony in the barn, fly like rocket ships, run with a gingerbread man and much more as we dance, stretch, sing and play to Bari’s award-winning songs. Based on the TV show created and hosted by Bari Koral, Yogapalooza is an interactive concert packed with good times. A favorite of Sirius/XM Kids Place Live and one of the top kids/family artists, Bari has been delighting families with her music for over a decade. Tens of thousands of parents & teachers around the country spin her songs on a regular basis. A sought-after presenter at educational conferences, Bari has trained thousands of schoolteachers how to incorporate yoga and mindfulness into the classroom with her award-winning songs and highly imaginative curriculum. Bari’s popular kids’ yoga YouTube channel is a destination for millions of viewers around the world.