Giving Kansas City the Bird

23Thursday

Who could forget the funny yet poignant movie with Julia, Dolly, Daryl, Sally, Olympia, and Shirley? Julia got Sally's kidney and then bit the dust anyway. Steel Magnolias, the bittersweet story about relationships between women, hasn't seen its last production yet. March is National Diabetic Awareness Month -- diabetes is the reason Julia needed Sally's kidney. In the spirit of helping prevent the disease, Oak Park High School presents Steel Magnolia. A percentage of ticket sales will go to the American Diabetes Association. The show begins today and runs through Saturday night; all shows are at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $6.50. For more information, call 816-413-5300.

24Friday The Heartland Men's Chorus is back at it again, only this time the men aren't singing -- they're bringing. Kansas City's belt-it-out boys bring to the stage Forever After by New York playwright Doric Wilson -- a pioneer in the gay theater scene. Forever After is an on-the-ball comedy about two men and their toils in their labor of love. It could just as easily have been called "The Man Show." The story begins on their one-year anniversary, which is interrupted by "the wisecracking, toga-wearing muses of comedy and tragedy." The entire play is done in drag, with the two wrangling muses doing their best to break up the men in love. This production will benefit the Heartland Men's Chorus. Performances will be held tonight at 8, Saturday at 8 p.m., and Sunday at 4 p.m. at Broadway Baptist Church, 3931 Washington. Tickets are $10. For more information, call 816-931-3338.25SaturdayThe world of pop culture has infiltrated every pore of America. A glance in any direction includes visuals of Pokémon, the Simpsons, and those freaky manufactured boy bands that have surfed onto the radio waves, making the whole pop radio experience irritatingly damp. But Planet Comicon, Kansas City's largest pop culture/comic book convention, takes a different look at pop culture. The event runs from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. today. Mark Goddard (you know, Major Don West on Lost in Space) and Yvonne Craig (that babelicious Batgirl on the classic Batman show) will fly into town to make special appearances and stretch their obscure stardom out as long at they can. For the older culties, meet every feeble-minded fella's wish: Playboy Playmates in person. Look Ma, a real live bunny! There will also be tournaments, dealers (of comics, smart-ass!), comic book writers, door prizes, and exhibits of all kinds. Where can you find Gotham KC? Overland Park International Trading Center, 115th & Metcalf, will host the superheroes and their creators today and tomorrow (10 a.m. to 4 p.m.). The first 500 entrants Saturday and the first 200 Sunday receive a free grab-bag (just don't grab a bunny) of magazines, comics, cards, and more. Tickets are $12 for both days. For more information, call 913-345-1069.

If I had a hammer, I'd go get a dulcimer. A hammered dulcimer is not a wasted person from Duluth, Minn., but rather an instrument that entered into existence way back in ancient Persia. It is actually considered the great-great-grandma of the modern-day piano. If you'd like to know more about this stringed thing you bang on, Linda Thomas, a Kansas City music teacher, is giving a hammered dulcimer workshop today at Johnson County Community College, 12345 College Boulevard, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Participants will learn fiddle tunes, hymns, Irish dance tunes, and lots of other Anglo-Saxon activities. There will be some discussion on music theory, but the majority of the workshop will be spent hammering out those good ol' mountain songs (dulcimers are huge in the Ozarks!). But that ain't all: Dan DeLancey, flat-pick guitarist extraordinaire, will join Thompson tonight, same place, for a concert that would make Mel Bay proud. The concert begins at 7:30, with donations accepted. For more information, call 816-763-5040 or 816-356-1879.

26Sunday

The Kansas City Musical Club presents Nathan Brandweintoday at 3 p.m. at Unity Temple on the Plaza, 707 W. 47th Street. Brandwein began his study of the piano at the age of 4 and made his orchestral debut at the age of 7. He grew up in the Kansas City area and is currently on a full ride to the University of Colorado in Boulder. During his young years he received many piano honors -- among them, Top Virtuoso in the 1995 Mid America Music Festival and in 1999 the National Young Artist Division in the Glenn Miller Competition. For more information on the young Kansas City pianist, call 913-341-5291.

27Monday

Former First Lady Rosalynn Carter has spent more than 20 years dedicating herself to helping people with mental illnesses. She has worked, specifically, to reduce stigma and discrimination against people with mental illness. Maybe that's why Jimmy was always associated with nuts? Who knows. Rosalynn Carter will speak today at a public forum, joining forces with Truman Medical Center's Behavioral Health Network to help educate people and raise funds for the cause. Carter will be discussing her book, Helping Someone with Mental Illness. Catch her at the Hyatt Regency Crown Center, 2345 McGee, at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $25. For more information, call 816-235-2700.

28TuesdaySome days there is nothing better to do than think about the future. Today is the day to go hunting -- for a new job. Put the past behind you and lock yourself into a brand new rut, a new 9-to-5. Longview Community College will host "First Impression: Putting Your Best Foot Forward." This first-ever session will begin at 10:30 a.m. in the student cafeteria with a fashion show followed immediately by a makeup show. What does this have to do with a job fair? Well, it's a silly, silly world, with silly, silly folk running it. Sometimes jumping through hoops is necessary to get to the point when you can initiate a simple takeover. At this fair, not only can you learn how to fill out a resume, but you also can learn how to do your hair AND put on your makeup. Men are encouraged to attend. Longview Community College is located at 500 S.W. Longview Road. For more information, call 816-672-2000.