What comprises a revue? Technically, it’s a show consisting of music, dancing and/or skits, often with a lively or sometimes lampooning tone.
More loosely — and we like to keep it loose around here — it’s any entertainment that evokes the essence of a variety show, where a succession of engaging bits makes up the whole.
If you remember The Ed Sullivan Show, then you’re with me. If you don’t, something tells me you’re still with me because you’re curious to see what revue-centric amusements the weekend has in store. Still there? I knew it!
1. Motown the Musical
Diana Ross, Smokey Robinson, Marvin Gaye, Michael Jackson and Stevie Wonder are among the classic Motown recording artists enthusiastically depicted in their early prime in this touring Broadway musical that was nominated for four Tony Awards. Featuring a delightfully dizzying array of 66 tunes, experience hit after hit that collectively became the voice of a generation, including ABC, Where Did Our Love Go, Ain’t No Mountain High Enough, Shop Around and Fingertips, Part 2. To get any closer to yesteryear would take a time machine. Thursday and Friday, 7:30 p.m.; Saturday, 2 and 7:30 p.m.; Sunday, 1 and 6:30 p.m.; Music Hall, 301 W. 13th St., Kansas City, Mo.; tickets: $40-$125
2. Mythbusters: Behind the Myths Tour
Jamie Hyneman and Adam Savage, co-hosts of the Discovery Channel’s hit science-meets-schtick show, Mythbusters, definitely have their myth-questioning demonstrations and silly patter down pat. Think Abbott and Costello meet Einstein, as the duo offers up for fans a mix of zany onstage experiments with audience participation to either debunk or confirm some of the wildest but most persistent myths out there. Take this as either a warning or an enticement: There will be explosions. Thursday, 8 p.m.; Midland Theatre, 1228 Main St., Kansas City, Mo.; tickets: $37:50-$57.50.
3. So You Think You Can Dance
Everyone likes to think they can cut a rug, or at least crease one impressively, but the athletic hoofers on Fox TV’s So You Think You Can Dance shred any flooring surface they inhabit. The show’s live tour offers its current crop of top-10 finalists: Rudy Abreu, Casey Askew, Tanisha Belnap, Emilio Dosal, Zack Everhart, Jacque LeWarne, Jessica Richens, Valerie Rockey, Ricky Ubeda and Bridget Whitman. If you’re familiar with those names, then you know the moves these young folks are capable of and you’ll be ready to cheer both their familiar steps and the ones created especially for this tour. Saturday, 8 p.m.; Midland Theatre, 1228 Main St., Kansas City, Mo.; tickets: $39.50-$69.50.
4. I’ll Eat You Last: A Chat with Sue Mengers
Sue Mengers was a legendary Hollywood talent agent. As portrayed by Donna Thomason in the Unicorn Theatre’s one-woman show based on the late Tinsel Town insider, Mengers shows that she knows everything there is to know about everyone who’s anyone in the business. That’s insane knowledge – and funny stuff. Hear Mengers dice and slice the dish that only she is privy to and bold enough to share. The stories will spill out like acts in a talent show that just keep topping themselves. Thursday (preview), 8 p.m.; Friday (preview), 8:30 p.m.; Saturday, 8:30 p.m.; Sunday, 3:30 p.m.; Unicorn Theatre, 3828 Main St., Kansas City, Mo.; tickets: $25 (previews), $35.
5. KC Improv Company
There’s nothing more serendipitously entertaining than the parade of spontaneous skits provided by improvisational comedy. Check out the KC Improv Company’s take on the anything-can-happen (and probably will) art form. Friday’s show is by the daring pros, including the troupe’s current “rehearsed” piece, Hell’s Donut. Saturday’s performance is by KCIC students who’ve been training for the opportunity to bust a few guts. Feel free to make one of them yours. Friday, 8 p.m.; Saturday, 6 p.m.; Kick Comedy Theatre in the Westport Coffee House, 4010 Westport Road, Kansas City, Mo.; tickets: $8-$11 ($5 students).
6. Kansas City Civic Orchestra: Sounds of the Season
Family favorites, as well as Prokofiev’s Troika from Lt. Kjie and Leopold Mozart’s Sleigh Ride, will be part of the musical variety plate provided in the Kansas City Civic Orchestra’s annual holiday pops concert. An extra treat will be a carol sing-a-long, in addition to any ditties that might get sung in the spirit of the season on the way in from the parking lot. Hey, don’t hold back. Friday and Saturday, 7:30 p.m.; Atonement Lutheran Church, 9948 Metcalf Ave., Overland Park, Kan.; admission: free.
