News And Events
It's a Wonderful Life - Live Radio Play
News
Just in Time for the Holidays

Choose One of Four Opening Weekend Performances
Re-imagined for the stage as a live 1940s radio broadcast, the iconic world of George Bailey and his affable helper angel, Clarence, unfolds as never before. Featuring an ensemble cast, holiday music, and sound effects performed LIVE on stage, this beloved holiday classic is a treat for the entire family!
ESU Members and Friends of ESU are invited to attend any of the opening weekend performances of It's A Wonderful Life: Live Radio Play at a special group discount price. Tickets to this holiday classic will be offered to ESU members and Friends of ESU at 20% off the regular ticket prices.
When: Choose any of these performances: Thursday, December 7 at 7:30 pm; Friday, December 8 at 7:30 pm; Saturday, December 9 at 7:30 pm; or Sunday, December 10 at 2:00 pm.
Tickets: Call the theater box office at (816) 221-6987. Box office hours: Tues.-Sat. noon to 6:00 pm. Tell them you are ordering a reserved seat(s) for the ESU discount. You can pay over the phone by credit or debit card. Tickets can be held at at will call. The 20% discount only applies to the above four performances on opening weekend.
Location: Crown Center Shops, 2450 Grand Blvd., Kansas City, MO. 3rd floor.
Parking: Free parking with validation slip available at theater.
It's a Wonderful Life: Live Radio Play premiered in 1996 at Stamford Center for the Arts in Stamford, Connecticut, and has since been produced around the country to critical acclaim. This production by Music Theater Heritage is for the whole family and brings out the true spirit of the holidays. Don't miss this classic.
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2024 Shakespeare Competition
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All Kansas City Metro Area High Schools are Invited to Our Annual Shakespeare Competition and 40th Anniversary Celebration

2024 marks the 40th year for The English-Speaking Union's Shakespeare Competition in Kansas City. Registration is underway for all Kansas City Metro High Schools and Home School Programs to enter the Shakespeare Competition. The deadline to register your school is February 2, 2024.
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Happy Hour: The Dark Secret Behind Charles Dickens' Christmas Tales
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Join Us for Our Next ESU Happy Hour

The Dark Secret Behind Charles Dickens' Christmas Tales with Andrew Halls
Sponsored by the ESU Cleveland Branch
When Charles Dickens died, a child famously asked if this meant Father Christmas would die, too. Such was the power of Dickens' grip on the popular imagination, the Christmas season almost seemed his own creation. Dickens inspired millions with visions of a glowing, holly-strewn celebration, rich in sentiment and good cheer, underpinned by recurrent themes of memory, loss and redemption. These Christmas tales held secrets, dark secrets, personal to their author, too. In this talk, Andrew Halls explores Dickens' Christmas Books and Christmas Stories, showing that some of the most beloved tales of 19th century England and America contain unsettling insights into the mind, motives, and desires of one of the most popular, most known - and yet most hidden - novelists in history. This ESU Happy Hour is sponsored by the Cleveland Branch. ESU Happy Hour programs are online, free, and open to all members and the public. Registration is required.
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Save the Date: Annual Meeting and Lecture Program
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Save the date for our ESU Kansas City Annual Meeting and Lecture Program.
Our program will include a luncheon at O'Neill's Restaurant in Leawood, Kansas, followed by our distinguished keynote speaker. More details coming soon. All ESU members and Friends of ESU are invited to attend this annual event. Mark your calendar for Saturday, February 3, 2024 at 12 pm.
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Happy Hour: Ending the Regency Marriage
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Join Us for Our Next ESU Happy Hour

Ending the Regency Marriage: Annulments, Divorces, and Desertion with James F. Nagle
Sponsored by the ESU Seattle Branch
Ending a Regency marriage could be daunting! The formal processes could be complicated, lengthy, expensive, and very public and embarrassing. Thus, one or both spouses often used other methods. James F. Nagle of the Jane Austen Society of North America will educate and entertain us about Regency Divorce and other methods of the time for ending a marriage. This Happy Hour is sponsored by the ESU Seattle Branch. All ESU Happy Hour programs are online, free, and open to all members and Friends of ESU.
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