Heidi Gardner is always early. On a sunny Tuesday morning in New York, the Saturday Night Live star is already seated at David’s Café in the East Village when I show up. Gardner wears a black airbrush-style T-shirt with NBA all-stars on it. She orders eggs and bacon, “not too crispy.” She asks for a… Continue reading How Heidi Gardner went from a hair stylist taking improv classes to Saturday Night Live star
Photography was just beginning when the first California gold was discovered in 1848. As eager prospectors swarmed in search of wealth, early photographers trailed behind them selling them small photo portraits known as “daguerreotypes.” They didn’t know it at the time, but their work made the California Gold Rush the first major event to be… Continue reading Nelson-Atkins Museum shows some of the oldest photographs in the world
When one thinks of emo music, they’re not likely to imagine the current lineup of 30- and 40-something dads who make up The Appleseed Cast. That’s not to say that the band, fronted by adoptive Kansan Chris Crisci, doesn’t look the part. Sure, their beards may be a bit greyer than those of their younger… Continue reading Lawrence’s Appleseed Cast are emo road warriors 20 years after breakthrough
You can’t put Calvin Arsenia in a box. Arsenia is the current darling of Kansas City’s music scene, perhaps exactly for that reason: He’s a singer-songwriter, of course, but also a classically trained harpist whose music drifts easily into pop, soul and electronica. His debut full-length album, 2017’s Cantaloupe, was a moody, fantastical, genre-defying experiment.… Continue reading Calvin Arsenia recorded his new EP with legendary LA studio musicians
In April, one of Kansas City’s most iconic independent movie theaters closed. Tivoli Cinemas was a beloved institution — cover girl Heidi Gardner even worked there as a teen — but the Westport theater couldn’t survive the Netflix era. Across the country, small theaters are waging a tough battle to stay open. And with AMC… Continue reading Your guide to Kansas City’s five indie movie theaters
Productions centering on and celebrating women of color were rare when playwright Ntozake Shange published For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide/When the Rainbow Was Enuf in 1979. Identified only by the color of their clothing — Lady in Red, Lady in Blue, Lady in Yellow and so on — the play’s seven characters perform… Continue reading Ntozake Shange’s iconic choreopoem gets a 40th anniversary production in Kansas City
