Here are eleven great things to do in KC this weekend, February 22-25, including: Peter Pan, Symphonic Genesis and Phil Collins and Winterlude Jazz Festival.
Enter The Dragon
Crossroad’s Upper Level gallery’s first exhibition of the year is Enter The Dragon, which celebrates the Lunar New Year, the Year of the Dragon, with a contemporary twist. This exhibition celebrates the hugely influential 1973 Bruce Lee film by the same name, playfully honoring old and new traditions while featuring local and national artists.
February 2–24. Upper Level Gallery.
AnticKS & MOdels + My theater to your eyes: Kahlil Robert Irving
St. Louis-based artist Kahlil Robert Irving presents his newest exhibition, “AnticKS & MOdels + My theater to your eyes,” which engages with the current post-industrial landscape and grapples with how technology challenges perceptions of what we see and how we understand information. Irving engages the Nerman Museum’s architecture by trespassing its gallery divisions and boundaries through an artistic interpretation of immersive theater.
February 9–July 7. The Nerman Museum of Contemporary Art.
Nina Simone: Four Women
KCRep’s 60th anniversary season continues with the soulful journey of Nina Simone’s iconic music and the powerful stories of four extraordinary women in Nina Simone: Four Women. This captivating and moving play features Simone’s music performed live along with the dramatic play, written by Christina Ham, directed by Malkia Stampley and co-produced with Milwaukee Repertory Theatre.
February 13–March 3. Times vary. Copaken Stage.
Whiskey Dynamite
The electrifying show Whiskey Dynamite is returning, is set to captivate audiences once again with explosive performances and an engaging cast. This interactive multimedia performance blends acrobatics, immersive visuals and live music, with Kansas City’s own innovative performance art collective, Quixotic, to bring audiences a unique multi-sensory celebratory experience.
February 23 & 24. Times vary. The Grand Theater (at Crown Center).
Peter Pan
The classic family adventure by J.M. Barrie is reimagined for the stage by the Kansas City Ballet. Re-experience the magic of Peter Pan with old favorites like the Lost Boys, Tinker Bell, Captain Hook and Wendy. Pan convinces the children—and audience alike—to join him on an unforgettable adventure to the enchanted Neverland, made all the more fantastical with the ballet’s astonishing moves.
February 22–25. Times vary. Muriel Kauffman Theatre.
Boots & Pearls: Wine & Whiskey
This wine and whiskey tasting event challenges guests to sample a variety of spirits courtesy from J. Rieger’s mixologists, delicious hors d’oeuvres, and lively entertainment. All proceeds from the event ticket sales go toward helping the visually impaired through non-profit organization Alphapointe, dedicated to empowering people with vision loss to achieve their goals.
February 23. 6 pm. J. Rieger & Co.
The Trials of Cato
Originally formed in Beirut, trio The Trials of Cato have been dubbed “the Sex Pistols of folk,” by honoring folk tradition while modernizing the sound with stomping tunes and captivating stories. They will be playing during The Folk Alliance International Conference, the world’s largest gathering of the folk music industry and community (February 21–25).
February 23. 6 pm. Westin Crown Center Hotel.
Symphonic Genesis and Phil Collins
Kansas City Symphony presents a celebration of Phil Collins’ legendary drums and his iconic band Genesis, featuring guest conductor Stuart Chafetz and vocalists Aaron C. Finley and Brook Wood. Collins’ legacy with Genesis in the ’70s, and later, his work as a soloist in the ’80s shaped and spanned music for decades, with hits like “One More Night” and “In the Air Tonight.”
February 23–25. Times vary. Helzberg Hall.
Winterlude Jazz Festival
Two days of live jazz pulse through Yardley Hall and Polsky Theatre this month as part of the Winterlude Jazz Festival. On day one, February 23, musician and educator Zak Pischnotte will be the guest band leader for the first jazz performance. Pianist Joseph Lafayette Cartwright leads a quartet in the second performance. Day two is jam-packed with jazz. Chuck Haddix, curator of the Marr Sound Archives—a collection of 450,000 historic sound recordings housed in the Miller Nichols Library at UMKC—begins the music-filled day with the “The Kansas City Sound” presentation. Performances by the Brad Gregory Septet are followed by the Earlie Braggs Quartet in Polsky Theatre. The Brian Ward Trio opens for Grammy Award-winning trombonist Delfeayo Marsalis and the Uptown Jazz Orchestra, who close out the weekend of jazz. Featuring up to 18 musicians, the Uptown Jazz Orchestra’s mission is to foster an appreciation for jazz and its New Orleans roots through performances, education and community. Trombonist Marsalis formed the Uptown Jazz Orchestra and the orchestra’s children’s program, Swinging with the Cool School, which teaches thousands of students about jazz through African-American history, stories and sound. Appreciators of all music, not just jazz, will relish in the weekend filled with the sights and sounds of one of America’s most beloved traditions.
February 23-24. Times vary. Yardley Hall and Polsky Theatre.
Project: ID – A Solo Exhibition by Hyperrealist Painter Abel Monagas Alfonso
This much-anticipated solo exhibition, “Project: ID,” features the hyperrealistic paintings of Cuban artist Abel Monagas Alfonso. This exhibition is the artist’s first international exhibition in the United States, and in “Project: ID,” Alfonso explores portraits and transcends the conventional boundaries of hyperrealism, delving into themes of violence, politics and humanity.
February 24. 4–8 pm. Gallery Bogart.
Nope
Part of Screenland Armour’s director series, auteur Jordan Peele’s newest film Nope stars Daniel Kaluuya and Keke Palmer, where residents of small town California witness an uncanny, chilling discovery.
February 24. 7 pm. Screenland Armour.
