Now that Turkey Day’s out of the way – except for the leftovers – here’s your chance to shake off any lingering tryptophan-induced lethargy and take advantage of the long weekend’s entertainment choices.
That could mean being serenaded by a retiring country music legend, having the kids get their faux Victorian picture taken with a treasured toy or just screaming your happy head off at a body-slamming wrestling throw-down.
It could also mean that while you’re out there having a great time, someone else gets the leftovers. Hide the dressing!
1. Kenny Rogers
The 78-year-old country music legend whose 1978 hit, “The Gambler,” came to signify his show-business persona is in the midst of his final concert tour. Count on Kenny Rogers to make it a memorable one. “The Gambler’s Last Deal Christmas and Hits Tour” will deliver the biggest songs of Rogers’ amazingly successful career, including “Lucille,” “Lady” and “Love Will Turn You Around,” as well as some holiday cheer. But the house may come down in Independence when local fans get their last chance to see and hear their venerable hero sing the one about knowing when to hold ’em, when to fold ’em, when to walk away and when to run. Here’s a sure bet: The only thing running will be the tears.
Friday, 7:30 p.m.; Silverstein Eye Centers Arena, 19100 E. Valley View Parkway, Independence, Mo.; tickets: $19-$155.
2. Darling Daguerreotypes Family Friendly Workshop
The “Forever Young: Victorian Photographs of Children and their Toys” exhibit at the National Museum of Toys and Miniatures collects more than 100 mid-19th-century daguerreotypes of kids posing with their playthings. In conjunction, on the day after Thanksgiving, kids and their families can come to the museum for a workshop that begins with young ones having their picture taken with a favorite toy from home or one supplied by the museum. Then they get to decorate a Victorian-style case to hold their pretend old-timey photo. Memories in the making!
Friday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.; National Museum of Toys and Miniatures, 5235 Oak St., Kansas City, Mo.; workshop free with admission: $5 for ages 5 and older.
Back in his hardcore punk-rock period in the 1980s and ’90s as front man for Black Flag and the Rollins Band, Henry Rollins was known to get into it with over-aggressive attendees of his rage-filled gigs – as in being punched in the face and punching back. Rollins was a bruiser then and still looks like one. But these days when the 55-year-old cultural warrior goes onstage, he vents his feelings more thoughtfully as a strictly spoken-word artist. What’s more, Rollins has fully developed other facets of his vibrant career over the years to become a book author, newspaper columnist, screen actor and TV-and-radio host. Has he mellowed? You be the judge at his highly confessional stand-up-style show. More than anything, I’d say he’s morphed from a potential alienator into a caring communicator. Which also requires a lot less stitches.
Friday, 8 p.m.; Uptown Theater, 3700 Broadway, Kansas City, Mo.; tickets: $18-$40.
It’s become a Thanksgiving weekend tradition for Kansas City favorites the Rainmakers to rekindle their homegrown appeal with local fans who helped set the band on its way to bigger things in the mid-1980s, including a surprisingly dedicated following in Norway. Get ready for such party songs as “Let My People Go-Go” (a top-20 hit in the U.K. back in the day) and “Big Fat Blonde” (yes, really), as well as such socio-politically charged material as “Government Cheese” and “Drinking on the Job,” which includes the band’s most famous lyric: “The generation that changed the world is still looking for its car keys.” Hey, how about a song that tells us where we left them?
Friday and Saturday, 7 p.m.; the recordBar, 1520 Grand Blvd., Kansas City, Mo.; tickets: $15.
Call professional wrestling fake all you want, but there’s truth in advertising when it comes to the name of World Wrestling Entertainment – it’s nothing if not entertaining. Brawlers of both sexes will contend for the crowd’s favor at this WWE holiday tour stop in KC, featuring WWE champ Dean Ambrose grappling with A.J. Styles in a “World Championship Street Fight” – except it’s not really in the street. Oh, well, I tried. Also look out for WWE women’s champ Becky Lynch and Alexa Bliss. Special added attraction somewhere in the building: Official WWE artist and Kansas City’s own Rob Schamberger will be painting live. Seek him out and say hi. You’ll be blown away by his work!
Saturday, 7:30 p.m.; Sprint Center, 1407 Grand Blvd., Kansas City, Mo.; tickets: $15-$100.
Of all the things you’re thankful for this holiday weekend, here’s one you probably haven’t considered: Not being incarcerated for a crime you didn’t commit. To assist those who are locked up but shouldn’t be, KC blues-rockers Katy Guillen & the Girls are headlining a benefit concert for the Midwest Innocence Project, a not-for-profit organization committed to releasing the wrongfully convicted in the five-state region. Also playing for the cause: Chris Meck & the Guilty Birds, the Old No. 5s and the Geezers. If I may: Don’t think it couldn’t happen to you.
Sunday, 6:30 p.m.; the recordBar, 1520 Grand Blvd., Kansas City, Mo.; tickets: $35.
As TV’s “The Partridge Family” used to croon: “Come on, get happy!” That 1970s hit series is just one of the many highlights in the career of famed singer, actress and Academy Award winner Shirley Jones represented in this feel-good stage musical starring the 82-year-old showstopper herself sharing memories and songs. Revisit her greatest moments (with the help of a little theatrical magic) in such classic movie musicals as “Oklahoma!” and “The Music Man.” Also featuring Jones’ son, Broadway and TV actor Patrick Cassidy, “Have You Met Miss Jones” is wrapping up its world-premiere run this weekend at the New Theatre Restaurant. So put down those Thanksgiving leftovers – c'mon, you’ve already had enough dressing – and meet “Miss Jones” before it’s too late.
Friday, 6:30 p.m.; Saturday, 11:40 a.m. and 6:30 p.m.; Sunday, 12:15 and 6:30 p.m.; New Theatre Restaurant, 9229 Foster St., Overland Park, Kan.; tickets: $42-$59.