In Wednesday’s (10/13) Kansas City Star, Steve Paul writes, “It was just the other day when Julia Irene Kauffman, after more than 15 years of planning, fretting, fundraising and building, got a real sense of what all that effort was leading up to. … Kauffman, in an interview Wednesday with The Star and at a party for benefactors, revealed what many in the community have been waiting to hear: an opening date and plans for the inaugural weekend. … Three events are in the works for Sept. 16-18 [2011]. … On Sept. 16, famed operatic tenor Placido Domingo will headline and help launch the opening of the Muriel Kauffman Theater, the 1,800-seat proscenium theater. … The event will have an opera-to-Broadway focus, and will include performances by two future resident companies, the Lyric Opera of Kansas City and the Kansas City Ballet. On the next night, attention will turn to Helzberg Hall, the 1,600-seat concert space in the round, which will be host to violinist Itzhak Perlman with the Kansas City Symphony and its music director, Michael Stern. … The Kauffman center is a $413 million project, including a $47 million city-funded garage and a $40 million endowment. … Construction on the project is closing in on 75 or 80 percent completion.”
Posted October 14, 2010
