But we expect more than just an evening of adequacy from director Cynthia Levin, who, in her 25 years at the Unicorn, has established herself as a taker of risks and a lover of hard edges. We're also looking forward to the Unicorn debut of Gary Holcombe (playing the potential stepdad), one of the best character actors in town. Convenience opens at 8 p.m. Friday and runs through December 26.-- Jason Harper
Icy Hot
SAT 12/4
Johnson County Community College has dubbed its Holiday Celebration on Ice a fusion of fire and ice. Not because there are actual flames in the performance, you see, but because the experience will be so hot. The show's creator and choreographer, Latin American ice skater Rosstyn Eduardo Gudino, hails from Miami. And the show begins with a Gloria Estefan rendition of "Silver Bells." Feel the heat at 2 and 7 p.m. Saturday at the Carlsen Center (12345 College Boulevard in Overland Park, 913-469-4445). Tickets start at $25. -- Annie Fischer
Life's cruel at William Jewell
12/2-12/4
In its recent survey of the 357 best colleges, The Princeton Review ranked William Jewell No. 2 for "happiest students." Little did the surveyors know that the theater department at the little Baptist college in Liberty was planning to ring in the holidays with a three-pronged assault on the very idea of human happiness, in the form of the Oresteia by Aeschylus. See the first play in the trilogy at 8 p.m. Thursday and the second and third plays at 8 p.m. Friday. Or take it all in one gut-wrenching dose at 4 p.m. Saturday (with a dinner break). Performances are at Peters Theater, 500 College Hill Road. Call 816-781-7700. -- Harper
