Dinner and a Show: KC
Enjoy dinner and a live show at one of Kansas City’s premier theaters.
The Coterie is Kansas City’s professional children’s theater, located on the first floor of Crown Center. From Sept. 22 to Oct. 25, watch The Miracle Worker, the story of Helen Keller, a child who has been deaf and blind since infancy, and Annie, her young, determined teacher who opens Helen’s world to language. From Nov. 17 to Jan. 3, A Charlie Brown Christmas takes the stage. The Peanuts holiday mood is set with a live jazz trio playing the original Vince Guaraldi arrangements! And Justice for Some: The Freedom Trial of Anthony Burns is showing Jan. 26-Feb. 21, telling the story of Anthony Burns, a fugitive slave who goes to trial in the North in Boston, is fiercely defended but ultimately is returned to his Southern master. Crown Center is home to many fantastic restaurants, but all-time faves for the kids will always be Fritz’s Railroad Restaurant where trains deliver food to your table, d’Bronx, the New York-style delicatessen and pizzeria, and Streetcar Named Desire, a cozy bar and grill.
The Kansas City Repertory Theatre performs on two stages, one on the UMKC Campus near the Country Club Plaza and the other in the Kansas City Power & Light District. Both shopping districts are home to dozens of excellent restaurants appealing to any palate. From Sept. 11 to Oct. 4, enjoy Sunday in the Park with George a musical inspired by the life of Georges Seurat and his famous painting “A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte.” From Oct. 16 to Nov. 15, watch Blueprints to Freedom: An Ode to Bayard Rustin, directed by Phylicia Rashad and telling the story Bayard Rustin, the brilliant proponent of non-violent civil resistance in the 1960s. A Christmas Carol, showing Nov. 20 to Dec. 26, is back for its 35th season. Santaland, showing Dec. 3-24, is a hysterical tale of the misguided career of Crumpet, a Macy’s elf. The Diary of Anne Frank is showing Jan. 29-Feb. 21. Newly discovered writings from her diary and actual survivor accounts are interwoven to tell the chilling story of the lives of people persecuted under Nazi rule.
Enjoy the Kansas City Ballet’s performances at the Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts. The Three Musketeers is showing Oct. 9-18, a ballet of swashbuckling, swordplay and daring in the French court of Louis XIII. Dec. 5-25 this year marks the presentation of an all new production of The Nutcracker. Kansas City Ballet artistic director Devon Carney promises a traditional yet boisterous, adventurous and reimagined production. Swan Lake, showing Feb. 19-28, is one of ballet’s true romantic classics. Los Tules, one of the most authentic and delicious Mexican restaurants in town, is across the street. And for upscale dining, you can enjoy brunch or dinner next door at the elegant Webster House.
Little ones will delight in Theatre for Young America’s live plays at Union Station. The upcoming season includes Skippy Jon Jones (Oct. 13-Nov. 14), The Legend of Sleepy Hollow (Oct. 27-31), The Best Christmas Pageant Ever (Nov. 24-Dec. 26), The Toughest Kid in the World (Jan. 19-23) and Junie B. Jones: The Musical (Feb. 9-March 19). Stop in at Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory for a treat before or after the show!
Blue Springs City Theater is showing On the Worst Day of Christmas Dec. 3-13. Competition is in the air as Amanda MacAfee, director of her church’s annual Christmas pageant, is overwhelmed by the ever-expanding Christmas pageant of the other church in town. A favorite family-friendly restaurant in Blue Springs, Burgers American Grill, is a locally-owned fast casual restaurant.