The Secret Garden Book Club Film

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ESU Kansas City Branch Co-Hosts a Book Club and Special Film Screening of the Classic 1911 English Children's Novel "The Secret Garden"

The Music Theater Heritage (MTH) at Crown Center is presenting the musical adaptation of The Secret Garden, a classic in children's English literature. MTH, The English-Speaking Union, Kansas City Branch (ESU), and the International Relations Council are co-hosts and invite all ESU members and Friends of ESU you to be part of MTH's new Book Club. Meet and Greet with other book and musical theater enthusiasts and join in discussions about this delightful 1911 novel. The Book Club will meet in-person on Mondays beginning March 13, 20, and 27th at 6:00 pm at the Music Theater Heritage, upper level of Crown Center Shops, 2450 Grand Blvd., Kansas City, MO.

Each of the three Book Club dates will focus on specific chapters in the book. ESU will be part of a discussion panel during each of the Book Club dates. If any ESU members would like to be part of the panel discussion during the Book Club dates, please contact Jeff Schnabel at (816) 878-1239. Even if you are not on the discussion panel, ESU members and guests are welcome to attend the Book Club discussion groups. The Book Club events are free, but registration is required. Read more.

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Churchill: Mobilizing the English Language and Sending It Into Battle with Allen Packwood

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Next ESU Happy Hour

Churchill: Mobilizing the English Language and Sending It Into Battle with Allen Packwood

Please join our next ESU Happy Hour on Wednesday, April 5 at 3:00 pm CT. Allen Packwood will draw on the voluminous Churchill archives to show how Churchill used words to fight and refight the Second World War. This Happy Hour is hosted by the ESU Happy Hour Committee. ESU Happy Hour programs are online, free, and open to all members, and the public. Registration is required. Read more here.

About Allen Packwood

Allen Packwood BA, MPhil (Cantab), is a Fellow of Churchill College at the University of Cambridge, the Director of the Churchill Archives Centre, and a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society. He was awarded an OBE for services to archives and scholarship in the 2016 Queen's Birthday Honors. His book, How Churchill Waged War, was published by Pen & Sword in 2018 and he has recently edited the Cambridge Companion to Winston Churchill. The Churchill Archives Centre is located on the grounds of Churchill College and is home to the papers of Sir Winston Churchill, Baroness Thatcher, Sir John Major, and almost seven hundred of their contemporaries: politicians, diplomats, civil servants, military leaders, and scientists of the modern era. It is still collecting. Allen likes to joke that it is the equivalent of four American presidential libraries! He is responsible for the overall management of the team and collections.

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Winners announced for the Kansas City Branch 2023 Shakespeare Competition

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Garden City, Kansas High School Student Wins First Place in ESU Kansas City Branch 2023 Shakespeare Competition

Garden City High School Student to Compete in the 40th English-Speaking Union National Shakespeare Competition in New York City

Pierre Beatrix Madlangbayan, a junior from Garden City High School, Garden City, Kansas, achieved first place at The English-Speaking Union Kansas City Branch Shakespeare Competition held on February 19, 2023. Her sponsoring teachers are Alice Hilt and Robyn Hilt. Ms. Madlangbayan will receive an all-expenses paid trip to New York City to compete in the ESU National Competition on April 24, 2023 at Lincoln Center, where she will join more than 50 other contestants from around the country. The National Competition, virtual for the last three years because of COVID, returns to New York City for the semi-finals where each student will perform a monologue and sonnet before a panel of distinguished judges as well as their fellow contestants. Based on their performances, ten students will advance to a final round.  

After winning competitions at their high schools, eleven students competed in the Branch Competition held at the Kansas City Public Library's Truman Auditorium. Approximately 100 students and teachers participated in preliminary high school competitions. Max Markovich, a junior from Paola High School, Paola, Kansas, earned second place, and Alyssa Maas, a sophomore from Salina Central High School, Salina, Kansas, was awarded third place in the ESU Kansas City Branch Competition. 

Each student performed a Shakespearean monologue of their choice and recited a sonnet. Competitors were judged on their understanding of their selected texts and on their ability to communicate their interpretation to the audience. Ms. Madlangbayan, impressed the judges by  performing a monologue of the character Mark Antony from the play Julius Caesar and reciting a Shakespeare sonnet. 

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Our Next ESU Happy Hour: The London of Sherlock Holmes

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Join us on Wednesday, March 15, 2023 at 3:00 pm CT for a fascinating look at the fictional British detective, Sherlock Holmes. Sherlock Holmes knows everything about you: he sees your shoes and knows where you come from; he shakes your hand and he knows what job you do; he looks at the wrinkle in your brow and he knows what you are thinking. But how much do you know about Sherlock Holmes? Your tour guide is Annamaria Dall'Anese and she has the answer.

During this virtual tour of Sherlock Holmes's London, you'll answer quiz questions to collect clues to identify a mysterious London location. And, on the way, you will learn a lot about Sherlock and his creator. This Happy Hour is hosted by the ESU Central Pennsylvania Branch. ESU Happy Hour programs are online, free, and open to all members, and the public. Registration is required. Please register here. Read more. 

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King Charles' Coronation Tea Party

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The English-Speaking Union, Kansas City Branch, Celebrates King Charles' Coronation

 SATURDAY, MAY 6, 2023, 2:30 PM
10:30 AM and 2:30 pm Seatings SOLD OUT

All ESU Members and Friends of ESU are cordially invited to attend a special English Afternoon Tea celebrating King Charles' Coronation. The celebration will be held on May 6, 2023—the same day as the King's official Coronation at London's Westminster Abbey, a place that has been the location of coronations for the past 900 years. 

The Royal Family announced, "The Ceremony will see His Majesty King Charles III crowned alongside Camilla, The Queen Consort." The last British Coronation occurred 70 years ago when King Charles' mother, Queen Elizabeth II, was crowned in 1953.

Our Afternoon Tea celebrating King Charles' Coronation will be held at Anna Marie's Teas in Liberty, MO., in a stately 3-story, 5,000 square foot home built in 1913. 

The tea will include a variety of tea sandwiches, sweets, Brenda's signature scones, mock Devonshire cream, fine fruit butter or fruit jams and premium tea.  Our tea will include a special champagne toast to HRH King Charles III and Camilla, Queen Consort. We will again have our popular Trivia Quiz as well as some special door prizes. 

Brenda Hedrick, the owner and proprietress of Anna Marie's Teas, proudly proclaims, "This is not just any tea party--our tea experiences are delightfully extravagant!"

When: Saturday, May 6, 2023 (10:30 am and 2:30 pm sold out)

Where:  343 W. Liberty Dr., Liberty, MO. Directions and parking: Click here        

Tickets: $33 per person. This price is all-inclusive, including taxes and gratuities. Read more.

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