This weekend in Kansas City: The Royals play the Twins, the Takács Quartet at the Folly and Party for the Planet at the KC Zoo

Serious Bruce Springsteen fans have seen him in concert dozens of times since he began performing more than 40 years ago, and at the rate he’s going they might get to see the Boss dozens of more times. The current tour, which began in January, coincides with the release of the retrospective “The Ties That Bind: The River Collection.” Don’t arrive late: Springsteen doesn’t have an opening band because he usually plays for more than three hours. Each performance on the River Tour will be available for sale on live.brucespringsteen.net.

7:30 p.m. Thursday, April 7. Sprint Center. 816-949-7000. sprintcenter.com. $57-$152.

Among Henry Kissinger’s many famous quotes are “Power is the great aphrodisiac” and “The illegal we do immediately. The unconstitutional takes a little longer.” Given the current state of affairs in U.S. politics, the 92-year-old former secretary of state likely will have many more interesting things to say when he receives the Harry S. Truman Legacy of Leadership Award at the Truman Library Institute event. Mark Halperin and John Heilemann, best-selling authors and managing editors of Bloomberg Politics, also will speak.

7 p.m. Thursday, April 7. Muehlebach Tower of Downtown Marriott. 816-268-8200. trumanlibraryinstitute.org. $175.

Call them the Fab Four of string music. Four music students in Budapest formed the Takács Quartet in 1975. Original members Károly Schranz (violin) and András Fejér (cello) are now joined by Edward Dusinberre (violin) and Geraldine Walther (viola) in the group that has taken up residence in Boulder, Colo., where the members are faculty fellows at the University of Colorado. The quartet was nominated for a Grammy Award last year.

8 p.m. Friday, April 8. Folly Theater. 816-561-9999. chambermusic.org. $20-$30.

Now that the much-hyped season-opening World Series rematch with the New York Mets is in the rear-view mirror, the Royals can get down to the day-to-day business of trying to repeat in the American League Central Division. You might not remember that the Twins finished second to the Royals last season, albeit 12 games behind the eventual world champions. The Royals were 12-7 in their 2015 season series, but the Twins split 10 games at Kauffman Stadium.

7:15 p.m. Friday, April 8; 6:15 p.m. Saturday, April 9, 1:15 p.m. Sunday, April 10. Kauffman Stadium. 800-676-9257. kansascity.royals.mlb.com. $17-$114.

Although “Bond: A Soldier and His Dog” is described as a one-man show, the one man is hardly alone on stage. Logan Black gets plenty of help from his co-star, a yellow Lab. Black wrote the play based on his experiences in 2006 in Iraq, where he was an Army dog handler partnering with a young dog named Diego. The play was a hit when it debuted at last year’s KC Fringe Festival, which has brought back an expanded version this spring.

7:30 p.m. Friday, April 8, and Saturday, April 9; 2 p.m. Sunday, April 10. 816-888-8100. kcfringe.org or theworldwar.org. $10-$25.

Guest violinist Bella Hristova will join the Symphony for its “World Tour: From Gershwin to Debussy,” which will take the audience from France to Spain and beyond. Gershwin’s “An American in Paris” and Debussy’s “Ibéria” will be featured, along with David Ludwig’s Violin Concerto, a piece co-commissioned by the Symphony.

8 p.m. Friday, April 8, and Saturday, April 9; 2 p.m. Sunday, April 10. Helzberg Hall, Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts. 816-471-0400. kcsymphony.org. $23-$96.

Heidi Van does more than play Marilyn Monroe in this play by Rosary Hartel O’Neill; she inhabits the entire being of the late actress/cultural icon. All the action of the one-woman play takes place in the mind of Monroe as it follows her rise and ultimate demise while delving into America’s obsession with fame and beauty.

8 p.m. Thursday, April 7 (runs through April 24). Fishtank Theater. fishtanktheater.blogspot.com. $20.

Kansas City’s newest outdoor attraction is for the Tarzan (or Jane) in all of us. The seven-acre course provides the chance to swing, shimmy and slide for two or three hours through the Swope Park treetops on five zip lines as well as on swings, rope ladders, bridges and other obstacles 40-plus feet off the ground. The adventure isn’t for everybody: It is limited to those 10 and older, 55 inches and taller, and 285 pounds or lighter.

9 a.m. Saturday, April 9 (open weekends and select weekdays through May, then daily). Swope Park, 7331 Oakwood. 800-971-8271. goape.com. $38-$58.

The first Earth Day was celebrated in 1970, when activists around the world saw the need to treat our planet with more respect so it would be healthy for future generations. Among the gloomy predictions was that 75 to 80 percent of all animal species would be extinct in 25 years. Well, at least it hasn’t gotten that bad. This year’s Earth Day won’t be until April 22, but the zoo will get a head start with two days of kid-centric activities. Included will be a program on reducing your carbon footprint.

10 a.m.-3 p.m. Saturday, April 9, and Sunday, April 10. Kansas City Zoo. 816-595-1234. kansascityzoo.org. $11.50-$14.50 general admission.

What Bruce Springsteen is to New Jersey and the East Coast, John Mellencamp is to Indiana and the Midwest. The Rock and Roll Hall of Famer, who still lives in Bloomington, Ind., will perform songs from “Plain Spoken,” his 22nd studio album, as well as hits from his 40-year career. You can expect a visit from “Jack & Diane,” among others. Carlene Carter, daughter of June Carter Cash, will open.

7:30 p.m. Saturday, April 9. Lied Center. 785-864-2787. lied.ku.edu. $41.50-$117.

If you get the IFC network and can find it amid the hundreds of other channels, you might have noticed a show called “Maron.” It’s a comedy written by and starring Marc Maron, who plays a fictionalized version of himself. Kind of like Jerry Seinfeld and “Seinfeld,” only without the millions of viewers. In any case, the real Maron is taking a break between the third and fourth seasons of his show to go back to his roots as a stand-up comic. Meanwhile, you might want to check out his podcast, “WTF With Marc Maron.”

7:30 p.m. Sunday, April 10. Arvest Bank Theatre at Midland. 816-283-9921. midlandkc.com. $30-$35.

The Royals and Chiefs have their ups and downs, but Kansas City’s fountains never have a bad year. Of course, if you want to be literal, they do have their ups and downs, but all of them are always worth watching. The city’s 48 fountains return to life on the second Tuesday each April. A ceremony at Theis Park will mark the occasion and celebrate the restoration of five bronze statues by Swedish artist Carl Milles. It will also help kick off the Feast of Fountains, a fundraiser for the city’s fountains.

11 a.m. Tuesday, April 12. William Volker Memorial Fountain, Theis Park. kcparks.org/event/2016-fountain-day. Free.

Fred Andrews, who died at age 62 in February, started the Kansas City Filmmakers Jubilee in 1997. It featured 10 short, locally made films. Nearly 20 years later the event is known as the Kansas City FilmFest and has screenings of more than 50 films, including full-length features and documentaries from around the world. The opening night event will be a red-carpet screening of “Jeremy Scott: The People’s Designer” with Jeremy Scott, who got his start in a small Missouri town, on hand for a Q&A.

5:30 p.m. Wednesday, April 13; 5:50 p.m. April 14; 1:10 p.m. April 15; 10:30 a.m. April 16; noon April 17. Cinemark on the Plaza. kcfilmfest.org. $10-$80.

This story was originally published April 6, 2016 at 5:00 AM with the headline "This weekend in Kansas City: The Royals play the Twins, the Takács Quartet at the Folly and Party for the Planet at the KC Zoo."