It’s impossible to be too nice to mom.
But given that Sunday is the official day to recognize all that mothers mean to us, this weekend offers an opportunity to do something exceptionally agreeable with the maternal forces in our lives. Music! Dance! Sports! Author elbow-rubbing! Appreciation of benevolently confined animals – especially the mothers!
Note to moms: ideally, this should be figured out by loved ones on your behalf. However, feel free to take charge and make the mother-inspired magic happen. Not only because you deserve it, but because it’s impossible to think you don’t. Run with it.
1. Downtown Open Urban Golf Tournament
"Caddyshack" ain't got nothing on this wacky golfing event that utilizes downtown landmarks, rooftops, sidewalks and bars. In effect, it’s a golfing bar crawl, with golf clubs and foam golf balls provided to participants, who’ll ride the streetcar to each hole (and watering hole). Golfing slots are now sold out, but you and mom can join the gallery at Washington Square Park, where there will be all-afternoon food trucks, music and games, and where the casual competition concludes with the course’s 16th hole. Be there when prizes are awarded for best score, best attire, longest putt and longest drive – but, alas, no recognition for the funniest impression of Bill Murray as demented golf course groundskeeper Carl Spackler. Maybe next year.
Saturday, noon-6 p.m.; Washington Square Park, Pershing Road and Grand Boulevard, Kansas City, Mo.; admission: free.
The famous 1980 movie comedy, “9 to 5,” about a trio of female office workers who fight back against their openly sexist male boss, might seem outlandishly dated in 2017. At least let’s hope so! Seriously, you’ve come a long way, mom, so it’s okay to have a retro-laugh at the ridiculous revenge executed by the put-upon gals depicted in this hit Broadway musical based on the film. And with songs by Dolly Parton (who co-starred with Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin in the screen version) you know you’ll be humming a happy tune all the way home, where you will not cook or clean – promise?
Thursday, Friday and Saturday, 7:30 p.m.; Sunday, 3 p.m. (2 p.m. Mimosas with Mom); Metropolitan Ensemble Theatre, 3614 Main St., Kansas City, Mo.; tickets: $24-$54.
3. Kansas City Royals vs. Baltimore Orioles
May motherly love fill Kauffman Stadium this weekend and inspire our struggling Royals to smash dead the Orioles. Too much? Hey, we need wins, whatever it takes. Co-opting the power of mom to string a few victories together and avoid a lost season seems reasonable. It’s not as if mom doesn’t like a winner. C’mon, boys in blue, you know that mom loves you no matter what, but there’s nothing wrong with scoring runs — preferably at least one more than the other team. Whatever the outcome, the first 20,000 fans on Saturday get a Danny Duffy bobblehead and the first 10,000 female fans on Sunday get a ladies sun hat. Forgive me, mom, but I’m still waiting for the return of Royals Halter Top Day.
Friday, 7:15 p.m.; Saturday, 6:15 p.m.; Sunday, 1:15 p.m.; Kauffman Stadium, 1 Royal Way, Kansas City, Mo.; tickets: Starting at $19 Friday; $31 Saturday, $16 Sunday.
4. Kansas City Ballet: 'Directors Choice'
Get classy with mom and take in three Kansas City choreographic premieres, including Val Caniparoli’s "The Lottery," with music by Robert Moran, based on the gripping short story by Shirley Jackson about a small town's yearly death-by-stoning event as determined by chance. Don't pick the slip of paper with the black spot! Also on high-toned tap: George Balanchine’s quintessential classical ballet, “Theme and Variations,” and Jerome Robbins’ oh-so-jazzy “Interplay.”
Friday and Saturday, 7:30 p.m.; Sunday, 2 p.m.; Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts, 1601 Broadway, Kansas City, Mo.; tickets: $35.50-$125.50.
5. Story Center Speaker Series: Anna Quindlen
If mom’s a reader, she might get a kick out of meeting Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist turned best-selling novelist Anna Quindlen, who will discuss her creative process. Quindlen’s books include the semi-autobiographical, “One True Thing,” about a young woman caring for her dying mother, which was adapted into a 1998 movie starring Meryl Streep, who received a Best Actress Oscar nod for her portrayal of the mom. Quindlen’s latest novel is “Miller’s Valley,” about the strength and fragility of American small town family life from the 1960s to today. You know there’s got to be a mom in it.
Saturday, 6 p.m.; Mid-Continent Public Library's Woodneath Library Center, 8900 Flintlock Road, Kansas City, Mo.; admission: free (online registration requested).
Moms get free admission and a carnation on Mother’s Day at the Kansas City Zoo, but that’s just the start of the celebration. Visitors are encouraged to observe interactions between the zoo’s non-human moms and offspring, including gorilla Makari and her little (well, for a gorilla) daughter Masika; and orangutan mother Josie and her youngster Dusty. Hey, I just got a wild image of Josie and the Pussycats. You know, Grr and Purr. Well, mom thought it was funny!
Sunday, 9:30 a.m.-5 p.m.; Kansas City Zoo, 6800 Zoo Drive, Kansas City, Mo.; regular admission: $11.50-$14.50; free for ages 2 and younger.
Brian McTavish is a regular arts and culture contributor to KCUR 89.3. You can reach him at brianmctavish@gmail.com.
