This weekend in Kansas City: Uncorked, Zona Rosa’s Kansas City Easter Parade, Hyde Park’s Spring Frolic, Mike Smith at Stanford’s

It has been said that pain and suffering inspire great comedy. Mike Smith, a comedian from Kansas City, knows a lot about hardship. His official biography states that “after serving a total of 10 years in prison, (his) desire for change led him to the comedy stage in an attempt at redemption.” Although most of his comedy is edgy, Smith’s offhand style betrays little bitterness. He defends cyclist Lance Armstrong, bemoans the racism of his white neighbors, defends marijuana use and ponders the national debt. Smith suggests that police informants are “what happens when black people don’t stick together. You know what happens when white people don’t stick together? Barack Obama.”

8 p.m. Wednesday, March 23, and Thursday, March 24; 7:45 and 9:45 p.m. Friday, March 25, and Saturday, March 26. Stanford’s Comedy Club. 913-400-7500. stanfordscomedyclub.com. $10-$35.

The comedy of Jo Koy is characterized by a terrific combination of cruelty and tenderness. His occasionally unflattering responses to aspects of everyday life are hilarious. The Los Angeles-based humorist jokes about keeping incriminating film footage of misbehaving children as evidence to be used against them when they become churlish teenagers. He recalls that when his mother diagnosed his sleep apnea she suggested that Koy’s condition “sounded like someone was killing a bear.” His impression of his concerned mother dispensing advice about avoiding danger in bars is equally hysterical. Koy’s observational humor was featured more than 100 times on late-night television talk show “Chelsea Lately.”

7:30 p.m. Thursday, March 24; 7:30 and 10 p.m. Friday, March 25; 7 and 9:45 p.m. Saturday, March 26. Kansas City Improv. 816-759-5233. improvkc.com. $25-$35.

The plotlines and characters of dozens of Disney-related vehicles tend to become jumbled in the minds of generations of children and their parents. The “Disney on Ice: 100 Years of Magic” spectacle could entangle their memories even further. A show that’s marketed as “everything you love about Disney … in one spectacular ice show,” the presentation acts as a survey of the company’s most beloved creations of the last century. In one climactic scene, Nemo skates by Donald Duck as Elsa of “Frozen” shares the ice with Snow White. Mickey Mouse serves as the genial “Mouse-ter of Ceremonies” in a dizzying cavalcade of more than 30 classic songs, including “Let It Go” and “Hakuna Matata.”

7 p.m. Thursday, March 24, 10:30 a.m., 3 and 7 p.m. Friday, March 25, 11 a.m., 3 and 7 p.m. Saturday, March 26, 3 p.m. Sunday, March 27. Sprint Center. 1-888-929-7849. sprintcenter.com. $22-$92.

As the author of books about the history of Kansas City’s jazz and as the director of the Marr Sound Archives, Chuck Haddix is a respected scholar. In the guise of alter ego Chuck Haddock, Haddix acts as a disc jockey who plays “the finest in blues, soul, rhythm and blues, rock ’n’ roll, jumpin’ jive and zydeco.” He has been hosting “a public radio party in your living room” on KCUR for 30 years. Haddix and his appreciative listeners will celebrate the achievement at Knuckleheads on Thursday. Music will be provided by two Kansas City ensembles who owe a portion of their successes to Haddix’s enthusiastic support. Katy Guillen & the Girls and the Danielle Nicole Band will perform house-rocking versions of the blues.

7 p.m. Thursday, March 24. Knuckleheads. 816-483-1456. knuckleheadskc.com. $20 in advance.

Thomas Frank’s “What’s the Matter With Kansas?” has served as an essential text for social historians and political commentators who seek to understand the seismic cultural and political shift that has altered the political climate in the United States in recent years. Although the prescient 2004 study condemned strategies employed by Republican operatives, the new book by the graduate of Shawnee Mission East High School paints an unflattering portrait of the party’s opponents. Frank suggests that the primary theme of “Listen, Liberal: Or, What Ever Happened to the Party of the People?” is the Democratic Party’s “failure over the last few decades to do anything really meaningful about income inequality.”

6:30 p.m. Thursday, March 24. Plaza branch of the Kansas City Public Library. 816-701-3407. rainydaybooks.com. Free, registration is required.

Kendrick Lamar has made some of the most critically acclaimed music of the new millennium. The rapper from Compton, Calif., is an astute social commentator who occasionally incites reactions from pundits who don’t entirely understand the complexities of his message. Thursday’s forum at the Lawrence Arts Center, consequently, may prove valuable for people who are curious about the intricacies of Lamar’s lyrics to incendiary songs like “The Blacker the Berry.” Tony Bolden, an associate professor of African and African-American Studies at the University of Kansas, will moderate the discussion. Two additional KU professors and a student will also examine Lamar’s work. Kansas City rapper MC Storm may expound on Lamar’s influence during her performance.

7 p.m. Thursday, March 24. Lawrence Arts Center. 785-843-2787. lawrenceartscenter.org. Free.

Cynics are likely to consider “The Legend of Zelda: Symphony of the Goddesses — Master Quest” as a conclusive sign of the imminent collapse of civilization. Enthusiasts would counter that the show is a welcome step forward in the evolution of entertainment. The concept isn’t complicated: A symphony plays arrangements of music based on the melodies of the soundtrack of a video game, and synchronized computer graphics from the game are screened. Audiences cheer the initial appearances of each of their favorite game characters and the successful resolutions of battle scenes. Eimear Noone will conduct members of the Kansas City Symphony in the elaborate four-movement composition.

3 and 7:30 p.m. Saturday, March 26. Music Hall. 800-745-3000. ticketmaster.com. $36-$100.

Organizers of Saturday’s event at Union Station are about to find out whether they can replicate the massive successes of their beer festivals with an event dedicated to wine. The inaugural festival will offer unlimited wine tastings from more than 50 wineries. Major brands like French winery Les Vins Georges Duboeuf, as well as local concerns including Olathe-based KC Wine Co., will be represented. Gourmet food trucks will sell delicacies to attendees who wish to pair wine with food.

1-4 p.m. and 5-9 p.m. Saturday, March 26. Union Station. uncorkedwinefestivals.com/kansas-city. $54.

Simultaneously heartbreaking and heroic, British initiative Kindertransport transferred endangered Jewish children in continental Europe to England at the onset of World War II. Youngsters were separated from their families as they were rescued from the horrors of their native lands. Diane Samuels’ play, first produced in London in 1993, explores the psychological and social ramifications of the effort as it follows the surprising ways in which fictional Kindertransport beneficiary Eva Schlesinger adapts to life in Manchester. The themes of immigration, racism, identity and the unintended consequences of good deeds will be scrutinized in the production directed by Darren Sextro.

Saturday, March 26-April 3. White Theatre at the Jewish Community Center of Greater Kansas City. 913-327-8054. thejkc.org. $21.

Judy Garland serenaded Fred Astaire with the lines “I’ll be all in clover / And when they look us over / We’ll be the proudest couple / In the Easter parade” in the title song of the 1948 musical “Easter Parade.” The quaint tradition of donning formal attire on the holiday is maintained at Zona Rosa. The annual event on the eve of Easter includes a best-dressed contest and parade. Families will participate in competitions including bunny sack races and egg tosses. Children can meet the Easter Bunny and coddle creatures in a petting zoo. The Easter Bunny and a petting zoo are also among the attractions at Hyde Park’s Spring Frolic on Sunday. Little ones are invited to go on an Easter egg hunt at 1 p.m.

Easter Parade: 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturday, March 26; parade begins at 11 a.m. Zona Rosa. 816-587-8180. zonarosa.com. Free.

Spring Frolic: 12:30-3 p.m. Sunday, March 27. Hyde Park (38th Street and Gillham Road). hydeparkkc.org. Free.

Bob Dole wasn’t universally beloved while he was in office. Besides accumulating an expected number of detractors during his decades as a member of Congress representing Kansas, Dole was trounced by Bill Clinton in the 1996 presidential election. In hindsight, Dole seems like the sort of moderate and compromise-oriented political animal that’s almost extinct in 2016. The institute that bears his name will host an examination of the current bitter political election season and offer a forecast of the cloudy future of the Republican Party. The discussion will be led by Alex Castellanos, a political consultant who has worked extensively with Dole, Mitt Romney, Jeb Bush and George W. Bush.

7:30 p.m. Monday, March 28. Dole Institute at the University of Kansas, Lawrence. 785-864-4900. doleinstitute.org. Free.

The striking look of the 2009 movie “Avatar” makes viewers uncertain of what they’re watching. The visual imagery is an engaging combination of live-action and computer-generated graphics. Based on “Avatar,” Cirque du Soleil’s “Toruk” show may have a similarly disorienting effect on audiences at the Sprint Center. The famously stunning illusions and spectacularly athletic aerialists of Cirque du Soleil are accompanied by fantastical creatures from “Avatar.” In addition to a towering set, the “multimedia immersive spectacle” depicts the inhabitants of planet Pandora engaging in colorful festivities, interacting with dinosaur-like creatures and overcoming the threat of a natural disaster.

Thursday, March 31-April 3. Sprint Center. 1-888-929-7849. sprintcenter.com. $35-$130.

This story was originally published March 22, 2016 at 9:47 AM with the headline "This weekend in Kansas City: Uncorked, Zona Rosa’s Kansas City Easter Parade, Hyde Park’s Spring Frolic, Mike Smith at Stanford’s."