Dan Bukovac and Ben Martin Receive the Excellence in Leadership Award
Beginning in 2023, the English-Speaking Union began an initiative to acknowledge and recognize ESU members for the exceptional volunteer work they do for ESU.
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2025 Shakespeare Competition Winners Announced
The Kansas City Branch of the English-Speaking Union is excited to announce the winners of its 41st annual Shakespeare Competition held on February 23, 2025. Emma Scherman, a sophomore from Paola High School, Paola, Kansas, won First Place in the ESU Kansas City Branch Shakespeare Competition.
2025 Shakespeare Competition Winners Announced
ESU Kansas City Members Attend Production of Julius Caesar by Heart of America Shakespeare Festival
On June 26, 2024, ESU Kansas City members attended the Shakespeare political thriller of Julius Caesar by the Heart of America Shakespeare Festival (HASF). It was a spectacular Shakespeare production with powerful performances by the entire cast. The lavish stage scenery was exceptional with colorful period costumes. Everyone had a great time outdoors at Southmoreland Park. Prior to the start of the play, ESU members attended the Show Talk hosted by Dr. Felicia Londre.
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The Kansas City ESU Branch Announces the 40th Anniversary of the Dedication of the Winston and Clementine Statue on the Country Club Plaza
May 12, 2024 marked the 40th anniversary of the dedication ceremony of the famous bronze statue in Kansas City titled “Married Love.” In 1984, the ESU Kansas City Branch was a major benefactor to help fund a permanent bronze statue of Winston and Clementine Churchill in a prominent location in Kansas City. The statue was designed by British sculptor Oscar Nemon, who had created several Churchill works. The sculpture is titled, “Married Love” and at 6 feet by 12 feet, it is a larger version of the original at Blenheim Palace in Oxfordshire, England, where Churchill was born and later proposed to Clementine.
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ESU Kansas City Members Tackle Trivia at 2024 IRC WorldQuest
Members of the ESU Kansas City Branch joined many other local organizations in Kansas City on May 1, 2024, to compete in the International Relations Council’s annual trivia fundraiser. This was ESU’s third year entering the competition
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Pierre Madlangbayan Wins First Place People’s Choice Award Two Years in a Row
Pierre Beatrix Madlangbayan, a senior from Garden City High School, Garden City, Kansas, representing the ESU Kansas City Branch, won First Place in the People’s Choice Award for the second time in two years! Pierre was a semi-finalist among 44 students nationwide who competed in the 2024 National Shakespeare Competition held at Lincoln Center in New York City, April 15, 2024.
Jeannette Nichols, Long-Time Patron and Member of the ESU Kansas City Branch Passed Away March 28, 2024.
Jeannette Nichols, 98, was a long-time member of the Kansas City Branch of the English-Speaking Union. She was very active in the ESU in 1970s and 1980s.
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Ben Martin Receives Award for Community Arts Activities in Lee’s Summit, MO
Ben Martin, ESU Kansas City’s long-time member, past President and current Programming Chair, recently received special recognition from the Lee’s Summit arts group Lee’s Summit Creates. Ben was awarded for his dedication to arts in the Lee’s Summit, Missouri community.
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Happy Birthday, Edwina Sandys, MBE
Edwina Sandys, artist and granddaughter of Clementine and Winston Churchill, celebrated her 85th birthday on December 22, 2023. Upon seeing his first granddaughter, Winston wrote to his wife: “She was perfectly well in the afternoon, sitting up and could see me. The baby is tiny but perfect…” We couldn’t agree more.
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19 Cents Worth of Christmas
George Harter is the founder of Music Theater Heritage and he has a wonderful story to tell about the power and meaning of the holiday season. This short 3-minute video is worth sharing with family and friends.
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150th Anniversary of the Kansas City Public LIbrary
The English-Speaking Union Salutes The Kansas City Public Library’s 150th Anniversary! December 5, 2023, marks the 150th anniversary of the Kansas City Public Library. Founded in 1873, the library will celebrate its sesquicentennial all year long in 2024.
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Ben Martin Tells Story About Directing A Chorus Line
On August 14, ESU members and friends gathered at Roots Seasonal Cuisine in Lee’s Summit for dinner and storytelling by Ben Martin. Ben, at the far end of the table told his experiences directing A Chorus Line in 2010 at Lee’s Summit West High School just before he retired as a 34-year theater teacher in Lee’s Summit High Schools. Ben invited four of his students to the group dinner who were in his production of A Chorus Line. Wonderful stories and memories. The musical that has changed so many lives in a positive way. It’s showing at Music Theater Heritage in Crown Center through August 27, 2023. Don’t Miss it.
Julie Robinson Honored for ‘Above and Beyond’ Work With Refugee, Immigrant Communities
The English-Speaking Union of Kansas City congratulates long-time ESU member, Julie Robinson, for her commitment and support of immigrant communities as part of her position with the Kansas City Public Library as Manager of Refugee and Immigrant Services Empowerment.
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King Charles III Coronation
Congratulations and best wishes to King Charles III on the occasion of his coronation on May 6, 2023, from members and friends of the Kansas City (Missouri) Branch of The English-Speaking Union of the United States.
Nathan Darrow, Acclaimed Actor and Kansas City Native, Performs Hamlet in Kansas City ESU Kansas City Branch Holds Meet & Greet Luncheon for Darrow
Nathan Darrow, acclaimed actor on Broadway and London stage and in TV and film productions, is a Kansas City, Missouri native. He graduated from Shawnee Mission North High School in Overland Park, Kansas. During his junior and senior years at Shawnee Mission North, Nathan entered ESU Kansas City Branch’s annual Shakespeare Competition and was a finalist in 1993 and 1994. His sponsoring teacher was Maureen Davis
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Rare Shakespeare First Folios Tour U.S. ESU Kansas City Branch is One of Six Partners with Kansas City Public Library to Bring a First Folio Exhibit to Kansas City
This is a story about determination, perseverance, and unity of purpose. The cast of characters in this non-fiction story all had the same passion and obsession as a man named Henry Clay Folger, a business titan in the 19th Century, who amassed the largest collection of First Folios in the world. We’ll learn more about Henry Clay Folger later in the story.
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