THEATRE
A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder
Through Oct. 9
Farmers Alley Theatre
In a display of his considerable talents, Jeremy Koch will play all eight of the doomed heirs who meet their ends in creative ways in this comedy.
The play features Koch as the doomed D’Ysquith family members as well as a cast that includes Broadway actress Becca Andrews and local actors Lori Moore, Michael Morrison and WMU graduate Elliott Litherland.
Show times are 7 p.m. Sept. 29, 30, Oct. 1, 6, 7 and 8 and 2 p.m. Oct. 2 and 9 at Farmers Alley Theatre, 221 Farmers Alley. Tickets are $45, or $15 for students, and can be purchased online at farmersalleytheatre.com or by calling 343–2727.
Side By Side by Sondheim
Oct. 7–16
Kalamazoo Civic Theatre
This revue of songs by musical genius Stephen Sondheim will be presented by the Civic’s Senior Class Reader’s Theatre in the Parish Theatre, 405 W. Lovell St.
Sondheim wrote music and lyrics for some of the best-known musicals, including West Side Story, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, A Little Night Music and Into the Woods. The Senior
Class Reader’s Theatre is a program for adult performers 50 and older.
Show times are 7:30 p.m. Oct. 7, 8, 14 and 15 and 2 p.m. Oct. 9 and 16. Tickets are $17–28 and available online at kazoocivic.com or by calling the box office at 343-1313.
Pride and Prejudice
Oct. 21–30
Kalamazoo Civic Theatre
Local radio personality Stefani Bishop takes on the role of the bold Lizzy Bennet in the Civic’s performance of Jane Austen’s classic tale of latent love.
The show will also feature Robert Davidson as the vaguely handsome, mildly amusing and impossibly aggravating Mr. Darcy, who may or may not win the marriage-resistant Lizzy’s attentions.
Show times are 7:30 p.m. Oct. 21, 22, 28 and 29 and 2 p.m. Oct. 23 and 30 at the Carver Center Studio Theatre, 426 S. Park St. Tickets are $15–$21.50 and can be purchased online at kazoocivic.com or by calling the box office at 343–1313.
The Thanksgiving Play
Oct. 28–Nov. 6
WMU Theatre
Just in time to stir up a little dinner-table conversation, Western Michigan University Theatre presents Larissa FastHorse’s wickedly funny satire of a troupe of terminally “woke” teaching artists who are scrambling to create a pageant that somehow manages to celebrate both Thanksgiving Day and Native American Heritage Month.
Show times are 7:30 p.m. Oct. 28, 29, Nov. 3, 4 and 5 and 2 p.m. Nov. 6 in WMU’s Williams Theatre.
Tickets are $6–$21. To purchase tickets or for more information, call 387–6222 or visit wmich.edu/theatre.
Disney’s Newsies
Through Oct. 2
Kalamazoo Civic
The Tempest
Through Oct. 9
Williams Theatre, WMU
The Lightning Thief: The Percy Jackson Musical
Through Oct. 8
York Theatre, WMU
MUSIC
Alexander Malofeev
Oct. 9
Gilmore Rising Stars Series
This 20-year-old Russian pianist, who gained world-wide recognition after winning the International Tchaikovsky Competition for Young Musicians in 2014 at age 13, will perform works by Beethoven, Medtner and Rachmaninoff at 4 p.m. in the Wellspring Theater, 359 S. Kalamazoo Mall.
Malofeev also won the Grand Prix at the International Grand Piano Competition for young pianists in Moscow in 2016 and was named the Young Musical Talent of the Year at the International Piano Festival of Brescia and Bergamo, Italy, in 2017. That year he also became the first Young Yamaha Artist.
Tickets are $25 for the in-person performance and are on a name-your-price basis for virtual viewing.
For tickets or more information, visit the thegilmore.org.
Victor Gould Trio
Oct. 23
Gilmore Rising Stars Series
Jazz pianist Victor Gould, whose debut album, Clockwork, was voted the top Debut Jazz Album in NPR Music’s 2016 Jazz Critics Poll, will showcase his inventive, expressive talents at 4 p.m. in the Wellspring Theater.
Gould has been playing piano since age 4 and was one of the first recipients of the Herbie Hancock Presidential Scholarship at Berklee College of Music. Joining him will be bassist Tamir Shmerling and drummer E.J. Strickland.
Tickets are $25 for the in-person performance and are on a name-your-price basis for virtual viewing.
For tickets or more information, visit the thegilmore.org.
Legends of the West
Oct. 15
Kalamazoo Concert Band
In its first performance of a season titled “Tales, Tunes and Treks,” the Kalamazoo Concert Band will bring forth visions of cowboys and life on the Western frontier.
The free concert is set for 7:30–9 p.m. at Chenery Auditorium, 714 S. Westnedge Ave.
Deirdre “D.S. Sense” Smith
Oct. 26
Dalton Center Recital Hall
This Detroit hip-hop artist will perform at 7:30 p.m. as part of the Western Michigan University School of Music’s Bullock Series.
Smith is an artist, activist, public speaker and entrepreneur with an extensive recording and performance resume. Her music is a blend of genres, utilizing unique styles and rhythms. As an activist, she works to promote women’s and LGBT rights. She will give a pre-concert talk at 7 p.m. Tickets are $5–$15 and available online at wmich.edu/music/events.
Thornetta Davis
Sweetbriar Sisters
Taking Turns Organ Program
Wayfaring
Various dates & venues
Connecting Chords Music Festival
A ukulele trio, a blues queen and a duo playing a historic organ are all part of the lineup for the Connecting Chords Music Festival this month. Here are the details on the scheduled performances:
Thornetta Davis, seen at left, an international singer and songwriter crowned Detroit’s “Queen of the Blues” in 2015 by the Detroit Blues Society, brings her strong, melodic command and smooth delivery to Bell’s Eccentric Cafe, 355 E. Kalamazoo Ave., at 7 p.m. Oct. 4.
Sweetbriar Sisters, an all-female ukulele trio, will perform vintage songs from 1900 to 1950 from 5–6 p.m. at the Kalamazoo Public Library, 315 S. Rose St. This free performance is part of the library’s 150th anniversary celebration.
The “Taking Turns” Organ Program, at 4 p.m. Oct. 23 in the KNAC Building/First Baptist Church, will feature organists Steve Flick and Autumn playing works by Bach, Liszt, Mendelssohn and others on the church’s Létourneau organ. Admission is free.
Wayfaring, a duo of bassist/vocalist Katie Ernst and multi-instrumentalist James Falzone, will perform jazz, hymns, folk songs and original compositions at 7 p.m. Oct. 27 at Bell’s Eccentric Café.
Tickets for the Thornetta Davis and Wayfaring concerts are $5–20. To purchase tickets or for more information, visit mfsm.us.
Flora, Fauns & Beethoven 6
Oct. 22
Kalamazoo Symphony Orchestra
Guest violinist Daniel Bae, the 2022 Stulberg International String Competition gold medalist, will join the KSO to perform this program inspired by the outdoors.
The program will include Debussy’s Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun, followed by Bae performing Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto. The program will conclude with Beethoven’s Symphony No. 6 in F Major, “Pastoral.”
The concert is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. at Chenery Auditorium, 714 S. Westnedge Ave. Tickets are $5–$67 and available at kalamazoosymphony.com.
Johnaye Kendrick
Oct. 27
Jazz in the Crawlspace
Grammy-nominated jazz vocalist Johnaye Kendrick will perform at 7:30 p.m. in the Crawlspace Comedy Theatre as part of the Jazz in the Crawlspace concert series.
A graduate of WMU’s music program, Kendrick also has a master’s degree in music from Loyola University and an artist diploma from the Thelonious Monk Institute. In 2020, Kendrick’s vocal ensemble, säje, was nominated for a Grammy for its original composition “Desert Song.”
Kendrick will perform with pianist Matthew Fries, bassist Carlo De Rosa and drummer Keith Hall.
The Crawlspace venue is in the KNAC (Kalamazoo Nonprofit Advocacy Coalition) Building, at 315 W. Michigan Ave. Tickets for the concert are $5–$12 in advance or $10–$15 at the door. For more information, visit kzoojazz.com.
VISUAL ARTS
Art Hop
Oct. 7
Downtown Kalamazoo
Hispanic Heritage Month will be the theme of the October Art Hop, running from 5–8 p.m. in downtown Kalamazoo.
This free event organized by the Arts Council of Greater Kalamazoo features a variety of artists’ works as well as live music and the chance to visit downtown businesses.
The Arts Council has an app that provides a guide and map of Art Hop sites, information about participating artists, and walking directions. For more information or to access the app, visit kalamazooarts.org.
We’ve Only Just Begun: Celebrating a Century of Collecting Art at Western Michigan University
Oct. 25–Nov. 19
Richmond Center for Visual Arts, WMU
More than 80 works by artists from around the world, including well-known American artists Andy Warhol and Robert Rauschenberg, are featured in this 100th anniversary exhibition The exhibition, which is part of the 50th anniversary celebration of the WMU College of Fine Arts and is drawn from the more than 3,500 works in the university collection, brings together a range of media from diverse geographic areas, time periods and styles. It includes examples of American Impressionism, European Neoclassicism and Romanticism, Japanese and Chinese ceramics, art of Asian and African origins, 20th-century Modernism, Pop art, and Postmodern painting and printmaking.
This free exhibition is in the Monroe-Brown Gallery, which is open from 10 a.m.–3 p.m. Tuesday–Saturday. For more information, visit wmich.edu/art.
Captive Beauties: Depictions of Women in Late Imperial China
Oct. 25–Jan. 15
Kalamazoo Institute of Arts
How women during the era of imperial China were viewed through art is examined in this exhibition organized by the Minneapolis Institute of Arts.
Women in that era, which ran from the 13th to the early 20th century, were often depicted in terms of their highly circumscribed lives and total dependence, engaged in duties according to their socioeconomic status. But some artists have hinted at these women’s suppressed urges and emotions, reflecting a growing interest in the inner lives of their female subjects.
The KIA is open from 11 a.m.–5 p.m. Wednesday–Saturday and noon–4 p.m. Sunday. Admission is $5, or $2 for students and free for members. For more information, visit kiarts.org.
Ben Blount: Present Perfect
Oct. 7–Nov. 23
Kalamazoo Book Arts Center
This show features works by a Detroit-born artist, designer and letterpress printer whose art often explores questions of race and identity and the stories we tell ourselves about living in America.
Blount’s books and prints are included in numerous collections, including the Chicago Field Museum, the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, and New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art.
A reception for the artist will be held at the KBAC from 5–8 p.m. Oct. 7, during Kalamazoo’s monthly Art Hop. Blount will also hold a letterpress workshop at the KBAC from 10 a.m.–3 p.m. Oct. 15; registration is required. The KBAC is at 326 W. Kalamazoo Ave.
For more information, visit kalbookarts.org.
Ongoing Exhibitions
Kalamazoo Institute of Arts:
Balancing the Cosmos: Works by Li Hongwei
Through Oct. 2
Unveiling American Genius
Through December
Unmasking Masculinity for the 21st Century
Through Dec. 29
What Is Going on in This Picture?
Through April 1
DANCE
WMU College of Fine Arts’ 50th Anniversary Celebration
Oct. 14
Dalton Center Recital Hall
Students from Western Michigan University’s Department of Dance will perform at this event celebratin
the College of Fine Arts’ 50th anniversary.
Members of the Western Dance Project, the program’s touring dance company, and Ebony Vision Dance Ensemble, a multicultural performing arts ensemble, will be part of the program, which will also recognize the 100th anniversary of the University Art Collection, the 100th season of the Bronco Marching Band, the 40th anniversary of the opening of the Dalton Center and the 15th anniversary of the Richmond Center for Visual Arts.
The celebration is set for 7:30 p.m. For more information, visit wmich.edu/dance/events.
LITERATURE
Elizabeth Kerlikowske
Oct. 4
Zhang Legacy Collections
Learn what houses think of Christmas bows and what umbrellas worry about when poet Elizabeth Kerlikowske reads from her new chapbook, The Vaudeville Horse, at 7 pm. at the center, 1650 Oakland Drive.
Kerlikowske has been publishing poetry and fiction for more than 50 years and is the author of two full-length books, five chapbooks and a children’s book. Her poems and short fiction appear in many journals, including Barking Sycamores, Slab, Poesia, Poemeleon, New Verse News and Peacock Journal and her work has been nominated for six Pushcart Awards. Kerlikowske is also past-president of Friends of Poetry, a Kalamazoo nonprofit dedicated to bringing people and poetry together.
Books are available at the reading or local bookstores.
Melvin Starr
Oct. 6
Parchment Community Library
Historical mystery author Melvin Starr, who has published 15 books in his Chronicles of Hugh de Singleton, Surgeon series, will read from his work and talk about the craft of writing at 6:30 p.m. at the library, 401 S. Riverview Drive.
Starr, who was born and raised in Kalamazoo, has been writing full time after being a history teacher for 39 years. He published his first book in the series, The Unquiet Bones, in 2008. His most recent, Master Wycliffe’s Summons, was published in 2021.
For more information, visit parchmentlibrary.org.
Anne Dueweke
Oct. 11
Richland Community Library
The author of a book that examines the role American colonialism, racial history and attitudes toward race have played in the history of Kalamazoo College will speak at 6 p.m. at the library, 8951 Park St.
Dueweke’s 2022 book, Reckoning: Kalamazoo College Uncovers Its Racial and Colonial Past, looks at the college’s history through a social-justice lens. Its subject matter ranges from the Native American displacement and the founding of the college by Baptist missionaries to the racial climate at the college during its struggles and progress toward equity.
Registration is required to attend. To register or for more information, visit richlandlibrary.org.
