It’s Super Bowl weekend in Kansas City, which means much of the city’s attention will understandably be focused on Arizona. But the big game is just a few hours of an otherwise packed weekend.
Here are eleven great things to do in Kansas City this weekend, February 9-12, including: My Fair Lady at the Kauffman, Adam Sandler at T-Mobile Center, and a Red Kingdom Super Bowl watch party at P&L.
Refuge
This unique bilingual show features an original score and dynamic puppetry to tell the story of a young migrant who must travel through the harsh and magical desert in hopes of a new life in America.
January 25—February 12. Times vary. Unicorn Theatre.
Flood
This absurdist tragic-comedy will run its full production and world premiere since the onset of the pandemic cut its first run short. The play centers around an unhappy wife who just wants to have tea with her artist husband who is completely devoted to building his masterpiece. Meanwhile, the waters outside their apartment continue to rise, threatening change and perhaps tragedy.
January 31—February 19. Times Vary. KCRep Copaken Stage.
My Fair Lady
Director Bartlett Sher’s revival of the Broadway classic My Fair Lady has brought surprisingly great reviews, with many critics extolling this timeless retelling of the story of Eliza Doolittle, a young, poor Cockney flower seller, and linguists professor Henry Higgins, who is determined to transform Doolittle into his idea of a “proper lady.”
February 7—12. Times vary. Kauffman Center.
Fairview
Fairview is a Pulitzer-winning play written in 2018 by Jackie Sibblies Drury. The dark comedy follows a sitcom-like middle class Black family as they prepare a birthday dinner for their grandmother, only to be surveilled by four white people. “[Fairview] takes an interesting look at various views of race and ethnicity and the misconceptions that are accepted purely based on stereotypes,” says the show’s director Lynn King.
February 9—18. Times vary. Melting Pot Theatre.
Ruth Reinhardt Conducts Sibelius
German guest conductor and violinist Ruth Reinhardt makes her Kansas City Symphony debut in this wide-ranging program, including Finnish composer Jean Sibelius’ Symphony No. 5. Written with a strong sense of nationalist pride, Sibelius’ music conveys a deep love for his homeland and its sweeping Nordic landscape.
February 10—11, 8 pm; February 12, noon. Helzberg Hall.
Ian Munsick
Ian Munsick fuses his classic western Wyoming-native background with the country-pop sound of his new home in Nashville. Munsick is coming to Liberty Hall, bringing his “Long Live Cowgirls” Tour, named after his popular single featuring Cody Johnson.
February 10. 8 pm. Liberty Hall.
Winter House Concert
The Kansas City Museum will be hosting an intimate concert with Dianne Daugherty playing the Japanese Koto. Daughtery is a music enthusiast, koto presenter, and an educator of Japanese language and culture. Here, she will share her knowledge about the 13-string koto and demonstrate the surprising versatility of the beautiful instrument. Although not widely known in the west, the Japanese koto remains a vibrant and living tradition, with Daughtery performing a variety of pieces from traditional, folk, and modern styles.
February 11. 2 pm. Kansas City Museum.
Adam Sandler
The A-List celebrity-comedian is extending his renowned tour, Adam Sandler Live, into 2023, with new dates including a highly anticipated stop in KC. Sandler’s last comedy special for Netflix in 2018 was his first in twenty years and met critical and commercial success, proving that fart jokes are timeless.
February 11. 7:30 pm. T-Mobile Center.
Voices of Mississippi
Voices of Mississippi is a new multimedia event that celebrates the music, art and storytelling traditions of the people of Mississippi. Based on the 2019 Grammy Award-winning project of the same name, this program mixes live musical performances with multimodal elements such as film, photos and audio recordings, with original creator William “Bill” Ferris serving as the program’s host.
February 11. 7:30 pm. Yardley Hall.
Lucy Loves Desi: A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Sitcom
Playwright Gregg Oppenheimer, son of I Love Lucy creator Jess Oppenheimer, retells this fast-paced, witty tale of Lucy and Desi’s tumultuous battles with CBS over their ideas that changed television forever. Originally written for L.A. Theatre Works, the behind-the-scenes story of the iconic sitcom mirrors the heart and humor that first made it legendary.
February 11, 8 pm; February 12, 2 pm. Polsky Theatre.
Red Kingdom Block Party
The Chiefs are back for their third Super Bowl in four years, this time against fierce competitors the Philadelphia Eagles. Although the game in sunny Glendale, Arizona, Chiefs fans will show up and show out wearing red in support. Arguably the biggest Super Bowl event in KC will be the Red Kingdom Block Party in Power & Light. This daylong celebration includes multiple DJs, giveaways, cheer squads, drumlines, photo ops and more red kingdom shenanigans. The big game will be projected on the largest outdoor screen in the city inside the KC Live! Block and on a large screen on Grand Blvd.
February 12. 10 am. P & L.
