KC Ballet "Tom Sawyer" review by Robert Trussell

When I attended the second performance of “Tom Sawyer: A Ballet in 3 Acts,” I got more than I bargained for. I expected a ballet, of course. But I didn’t expect more than one.

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"Slasher Kings" preview by Dan Lybarger

Just in time for Halloween, local playwright and musician Ron Simonian will present his new horror-themed musical play, “The Slasher Kings,” at Union Station from Thursday to Oct. 31 and Nov. 3 to 6.

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Village Presbyterian "Lament for Jerusalem" preview by Patrick Neas

During the contentious era of the Vietnam War and the Civil Rights Movement, Village Presbyterian Church, led at the time by Robert Meneilly, worked hard to bind wounds and heal divisions. The church continues its mission of peacemaking through outreach programs. Village Presbyterian will use its outstanding music to bring together Kansas City’s Christian, Jewish and Islamic communities when the Village Choir and Orchestra presents “Lament for Jerusalem: A Mystical Love Song,” by British composer John Tavener.

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Missouri Citizens for the Arts Advocacy Workshops

It's that time of year to start sharpening your Advocacy skills for the upcoming 2012 State Legislative Session in Jefferson City. Missouri Citizens for the Arts will be traveling throughout the state to host Advocacy Workshops to help you learn how to be better Arts Advocates. Voices will be heard next session.....will it be yours?!

Central Region presented in collaboration with Friends of Historic Boonville, Tuesday, October 25, 3:30 p.m. - 5:00 p.m., at a location to be determined.

Kansas City Region presented in collaboration with Arts Council of Metropolitan Kansas City, October 28, 5:30 p.m. - 6:30 p.m., at the University of Missouri - Kansas City, Student Union Theater (located on first level of the Student Union #103)

Northwest Region presented in collaboration with the Allied Arts Council, Tuesday, November 29, 5:00 p.m. - 6:30 p.m., at NWMSU St. Joseph Downtown Center, 706 Felix, St. Joseph, MO, 816-233-0231 (Dinner following with state legislators - Location TBD)

To RSVP for an Advocacy Workshop, please email Kyna Iman at kynaiman@earthlink.net

KC Symphony "Simply Swingin'" review by Libby Hansen

Steve Lippia brought his big Vegas-show style to Helzberg Hall as the opener for the Kansas City Symphony’s Pops Series. The show, “Simply Swingin’ with Sinatra and Friends,” featured a stellar line-up of pop favorites from the American songbook, capturing the elegance and verve of a bygone era.

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Theatre historian Doug Harvey interview on "It's Our Community"

Dr. Doug Harvey: Author, "The Theatre of Empire: Frontier Performances in America, 1750-1860".

Local jazz CD reviews by kcjazzlark

I came to jazz via Basie. It's music that's great because it makes me feel great, a visceral reaction. Music, for me, doesn't need to be any more complicated than that. Except it always has been. Duke Ellington's Harlem Air Shaft has been, since the first time I heard it, one of my favorite compositions. In three minutes it musically illustrates a cornucopia of joys and sorrows one might hear in a Harlem tenement if, for a day, you just listened. It swings while driving you to think.

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Tokyo String Quartet review by DSM

Juxtaposing the ‘familiar’ with the ‘unfamiliar’ is tremendously helpful as a ‘programming pattern’, and this program performed by Tokyo Quartet in the Friends of Chamber Music series was a case in point. Juxtapositions like this reveal new facets of the familiar works and provide context for apprehending the facets of the unfamiliar ones. Juxtapositions produce dynamic contrasts that boost our minds’ “signal-to-noise” ratio, and we are able grasp ideas and feelings that we otherwise might totally miss.

more at Chamber Music Today