Performance

The Harriman-Jewell Series has brought world-class classical music and dance to Kansas City for more than four decades. On Thursday, July 15, the tall, soft-spoken co-founder of that series died. Richard Harriman was 77.

By Laura Spencer

Kansas City, MO – The Harriman-Jewell Series of concerts built a national reputation, both as a launch pad for up and coming musicians, and as a place where world famous artists tried out new material.

Performing arts leader Richard Harriman, who guided the Harriman-Jewell Series for more than four decades (first as director, then as artistic director) died Thursday, July 15, 2010.

By Laura Spencer

Kansas City, MO – In 1965, Richard Harriman co-founded what's now known as the Harriman-Jewell Series - as an English professor at William Jewell College in Liberty with a passion for performing arts.

Update March 2012: The Coterie brought the show to New York for a run at the New Victory Theater. Reviews: Kansas City Star, New York Post, and  New York Times.

If your travel budget is tight this season, Metropolitan Ensemble Theatre invites you to vicariously experience the glory and grandeur of Florence, Italy in its new show, "The Light in the Piazza."

Kansas City, MO – "The Light in the Piazza" won a 2005 Tony Award for its composer Adam Guettel. The grandson of the Rodgers half of musical legends Rodgers and Hammerstein, Guettel demonstrates that the apple doesn't fall far from the tree. KCUR's Steve Walker reports.

As part of its spring program, the Kansas City Ballet presents two world premieres - including one by choreographer Toni Pimble. Pimble studied at the Royal Academy of Dance, and danced with companies in Germany before co-founding Eugene Ballet Company in Oregon 1978 where she's artistic director.

By Laura Spencer

Though the Unicorn Theater has always been quick to pounce on the most buzzed about plays in New York, it has actually launched many new plays. In fact, a quarter of the shows over the years have had their world premieres in Kansas City. The latest is called "Green Whales," and while it tackles tough subjects in comedic ways, it is giving everyone involved a voice in bringing this new play to fruition.

The Kansas City Art Institute includes a who's who roster of artists who've studied or taught at the college in its 125-year history. Among the notable figures: animator Walt Disney took Saturday classes as a child; Thomas Hart Benton headed the painting department from 1935 - 1941; Robert Rauschenberg studied fashion design in 1948; and Nick Cave graduated in 1982 from the fiber department. Cave's Soundsuits will be featured at a performance this weekend.

By Laura Spencer