An irony of the Internet Age is that it can seem tougher than ever to get at the whole truth. Everyone seems to have their version and the ability to share it with the world in a nanosecond.
So take time this weekend (more than a nanosecond would be nice) to peel back some layers of activities that promise to reveal more than a familiar surface.
Jack Nicholson doesn’t think you can handle the truth, but I do. See what I just revealed? I’m a name dropper. Your turn!
1. Middle of the Map Festival: Aimee Mann
Singer/songwriter Aimee Man has spent decades revealing pieces of herself through her art. Equipped with a clever and often brutally honest point of you, Mann fronted the 1980s band ’Til Tuesday, which spawned the hit, “Voices Carry,” before going solo with a maturing muse that refused to be contained by commercial niceties. The thoughtful songs she wrote and recorded for director Paul Thomas Anderson’s 1999 film drama, “Magnolia,” were tuneful yet heavy duty in tone, including the Academy Award-nominated “Save Me.” As a Middle of the Map Festival concert headliner, Mann won’t hold back. How could she? Also on the bill: Charles Bradley & His Extraordinaries, Son Little and John Velghe & the Prodigal Sons.
Saturday, 7 p.m.; Arvest Bank Theatre at the Midland, 1228 Main St., Kansas City, Mo.; tickets: $35.
What’s underneath a sheep’s heavy coat? A more comfortable sheep, for sure, once the creature is separated from its bushy burden. Witness the annual tradition of sheep shearing at Missouri Town 1855, where the skilled hands of historic reenactors using old-time tools will do the welcome deed. After shearing – baa, that feels better – other stages of wool production will be demonstrated, from washing and dyeing to spinning and weaving. Your wool socks won’t look the same to you again.
Saturday, 9 a.m.-4:30 p.m.; Missouri Town 1855, 8010 East Park Road, Lee’s Summit, Mo.; admission: $4-$7.
3. Jane Lynch: ‘See Jane Sing!’
Best known for her expertly acerbic comedy chops as high school coach Sue Sylvester on TV’s “Glee,” as well as in such movie laugh fests as “Best in Show” and “The 40-Year-Old Virgin,” Jane Lynch is currently on tour with a cabaret act offering her favorite Broadway tunes and American standards. Don’t worry, Lynch will also go for laughs when the tour hits Johnson County Community College, with help from another versatile performer, Kate Flannery, who played matter-of-fact sexaholic Meredith on TV’s “The Office.” This one should be fun.
Friday, 8 p.m.; Yardley Hall, Carlsen Center, Johnson County Community College, 12345 College Blvd., Overland Park, Kan.; tickets: $28-$175.
4. Kansas City Ballet: ‘Rite of Spring’
People went crazy for Igor Stravinsky’s wildly provocative orchestral work for ballet,“The Rite of Spring,”when it was first performed in Paris in 1913. Crazy as in a near riot. Sure, times have changed, but it wouldn’t hurt to be on watch when the uninhibited musical masterpiece is reinterpreted by the Kansas City Ballet with support from the Kansas City Symphony. What might excited audience members reveal about themselves? Hopefully, nothing more than a few eyebrow twitches. But who am I to discourage free expression?
Friday and Saturday, 7:30 p.m.; Sunday, 2 p.m.; Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts, 1601 Broadway, Kansas City, Mo.; tickets: $35-$125.
There’s a bunch of ways to run 5 kilometers, but no more vibrant a way than the Color Run, a non-competitive 5K in which participants of all ages get pelted with different bright colors as they make their way through the course. Promoters suggest a white outfit as the best canvas to ultimately reveal your mobile rainbow. Run slow and get even more colorized.
Saturday, 8 a.m. start (registration starts at 6 a.m.); Arrowhead Stadium, 1 Arrowhead Dr., Kansas City, Mo.; entry fee: $44.99.
6. Kansas City Burlesque Festival Performer Competition
The Kansas City Burlesque Festival will be teasing and pleasing at several venues around town, but the third annual fest’s big reveal is its performer competition on Saturday at the Folly Theater. Judges will crown the fest’s 2016 Queen, selected from a bevy of beauties from the around the country, all of whom will seductively move – and remove bits of clothing – to the strains of live jazz. Works for me. No revelation there!
Saturday, 8 p.m.; Folly Theater, 300 W. 12th St., Kansas City, Mo.; tickets: $22-$65.
Brian McTavish is a regular arts and culture contributor for KCUR 89.3. Reach him via email at brianmctavish@gmail.com.
