Things to do in KC: Photos from Hiroshima, John Mellencamp, Gershwin and more

For more than a decade, Kansas City photographer Katy McCormick explored Japan’s Hiroshima and Nagasaki by taking pictures of trees.

They were the trees that rose from the ashes of the atomic bombs of 1945, standing in school yards, temple grounds, city squares and elsewhere.

Now she has compiled them into an exhibit, “Rooted Among the Ashes: Hibakujumoku / A-bombed Trees,” which will open this weekend at the Harry S. Truman Presidential Library & Museum.

The library will hold an opening reception at 1 p.m. March 31 with McCormick and Clifton Truman Daniel, President Truman’s oldest grandson and honorary chair of the Truman Library Institute. The exhibit will run through Oct. 1.

Admission to the museum is $5-$12. Hours are 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Saturday and noon-5 p.m. Sunday. More information at trumanlibraryinstitute.org.

Classical music

▪ Cellist Yo-Yo Ma and pianist Kathryn Stott, 7 p.m. March 31, Folly (sold out). hjseries.org.

▪ Park ICM Orchestra Spring Concert, 7:30 p.m. March 31, Graham Tyler Memorial Chapel (free). icm.park.edu.

▪ Pianist Jean-Yves Thibaudet, 3 p.m. April 1, Folly ($15-$85). hjseries.org.

▪ Kansas City Symphony, “Gershwin’s ‘Rhapsody in Blue’ and Nielsen’s ‘Inextinguishable,’” 8 p.m. March 31-April 1, 2 p.m. April 2, Kauffman Center ($25-$114). kcsymphony.org.

More music

▪ Koe Wetzel, with The Cadillac Three and Dylan Wheeler, 7:30 p.m. March 30, Cable Dahmer Arena ($50-$80). cabledahmerarena.com.

▪ Key Glock with Big Scarr, 8 p.m. March 30, Uptown ($39.50). uptowntheater.com.

▪ Tech N9ne with King Iso, 8 p.m. March 31, Granada (sold out). thegranada.com.

▪ Tommy James and The Shondells, 7:30 p.m. April 1, Kauffman Center ($35-$125). kauffmancenter.org.

▪ Masters of Percussion featuring Zakir Hussain, 8 p.m. April 1, Yardley Hall ($16-$55). jccc.edu/midwest-trust-center/events.

▪ SF Jazz Collective, 8 p.m. April 1, Gem ($65-$75). americanjazzmuseum.org.

▪ R&B Only Live, 8:30 p.m. April 1, The Truman (sold out). thetrumankc.com.

▪ Tracy Byrd, 8:30 p.m. April 1, Ameristar ($45-$80). ameristarkansascity.com.

▪ John Mellencamp, 8 p.m. April 3-4, Midland ($49.50-$139.50). midlandkc.com.

Theater

▪ “The Craft, An Unauthorized Musical Parody,” Padgett Productions, opens 8 p.m. March 30; runs through April 29, Westport Bowery ($35-$55). padgettproductionskc.com.

▪ “Menopause The Musical,” 3:30 p.m. April 2, Kauffman Center ($51.35-$74.12). kauffmancenter.org.

▪ “Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus! The Musical,” opens 10 a.m. April 4; runs through May 21, The Coterie ($14-$18). thecoterie.org.

More entertainment

▪ The Greater Kansas City Science and Engineering Fair, which has been held virtually the past three years, will return to Union Station with 426 projects from 556 students, public viewing noon-5 p.m. March 30, 9 a.m.-4 p.m. March 31 (free). unionstation.org.

▪ 21c Museum Hotel will present the traveling exhibition “Pop Stars! Popular Culture and Contemporary Art” with 70 works by 50 artists, opening reception 5:30-7:30 p.m. March 31; runs through March 2024. 21cmuseumhotels.com.

▪ Veteran comic Dave Attell will perform at the Kansas City Improv, 7 and 9:45 p.m. March 31 and April 1 (sold out). improvkc.com.

▪ The Owen/Cox Dance Group will offer a new work, “aRound & aRound,” at the City Stage Theatre, 8 p.m. March 31-April 1, 2 p.m. April 2 ($10-$25). owencoxdance.org.

▪ First Sundays will return to Theis Park with music by The Red Headed League, Critterz and The Utilitarians, 1-4 p.m. April 2 (free). kcparks.org.

Dan Kelly

The Kansas City Star

Dan Kelly has been covering entertainment and arts news at The Star since 2009. He previously worked at the Columbia Daily Tribune, The Miami Herald and The Louisville Courier-Journal. He also was on the University of Missouri School of Journalism faculty for six years, and he has written two books, most recently “The Girl with the Agate Eyes: The Untold Story of Mattie Howard, Kansas City’s Queen of the Underworld.”