In the Pink

SAT 5/22
So, the Three Tenors -- you know, Placido Domingo, Luciano Pavarotti and the third guy of Seinfeld fame -- are old. Sure, they're talented and all, but ... they're old. And they aren't really reaching out to a younger demographic, which is sort of necessary if they want to keep their genre thriving a few years from now when its current fanbase is dead. This is where the American Tenors come in. This young trio (or younger, at least) was selected from a national search -- kind of like MTV's Making the Band for the opera set -- and one of the three happens to be from Kansas City. And though the trio seems to be swapping members at a Destiny's Child-like pace, consider local boy Nathan Granner the Beyoncé of the group. We won't comment on the quality of their recordings (except to say they haven't been particularly well-received by critics). But the guy from Kansas City is supposed to be good, so we're proud to inform readers of Granner's performance as that bastard Pinkerton in Madama Butterfly.

The free performance marks the fifth anniversary of the Kansas City Puccini Festival, under the direction of Conductor Andy Anderson. It's scheduled for 7:30 p.m. Saturday at St. Francis Xavier Church, 1001 East 52nd Street, but there is a 6:30 p.m. preconcert lecture. Call 816-523-5115 for more information. -- Annie Fischer

Broader Than Broadway
The Symphony gets a little help from its friends.

5/21-5/22
Members of New York's insular, yet bountifully talented, theater community join the Kansas City Symphony under guest conductor Crafton Beck on Friday and Saturday nights for Broadway Celebration. Sampling such relatively safe shows as 42nd Street, The Phantom of the Opera and Showboat, the orchestra is joined by Debbie Gravitte, William Michaels and Christiane Noll (who wowed Kansas City audiences last winter playing the kidnapped heroine in Urinetown). The vocalists represent a trio equally comfortable on Broadway stages and in intimate and formerly smoky rooms such as New York's Cafe Carlyle and Feinstein's. Consider the Music Hall (201 West 13th Street) a happy medium. The performances start at 8 p.m.; ticket prices range from $26 to $52. Call 816-471-0400 for tickets or see www.kcsymphony.org. -- Steve Walker Damage Done
The Brick enters the Danger Rock zone.

THU 5/20
Self-anointed danger rockers Ike Turner Overdrive lost the Farmers Ball battle for studio time, but they won the war for rock infamy. At the height of their finale at the KJHK 90.7 Farmers Ball last month, members of ITO destroyed their equipment, sending a bass drumhead flying into the crowd on an accidental collision course with one audience member's nose. The band was immediately disqualified by the college radio station's judges. Though its contest-winning hopes were quashed, the band won the hearts and the rumor-mill lips of many fans that night.

ITO brings its triumphant self to the Brick (1727 McGee) on Thursday night with Filthy Jim and the Stretchmarxxx. For details, call 816-421-1634.-- Michael Vennard

Wanna Dance?

5/20-5/22
Overland Park will host the Regional Dance America Festival this weekend for the first time in thirty years. The three-day festival, which promotes preprofessional dance companies from nearly every Midwestern state, includes classes, auditions and three public performances at Johnson County Community College (12345 College Boulevard). Festival hours are 7 p.m. Thursday and Friday, and 7:30 p.m. Saturday. Ticket prices are $20 to $25; call 913-469-4445 to purchase them. -- Fischer