For Immediate Release
Oct. 9, 2023
Spooktacular Event Benefits KCYA Arts Education Programs, Features Kansas City’s Own Broadway Star and Other Local KC Guests
Kansas City, MO — Oct. 9, 2023 Kansas City Young Audiences (KCYA) invites the public to celebrate the arts as they welcome dazzling Broadway veteran and Kansas City’s own Bryonha Marie, along with local bands Gullywasher and Hudspeth & Taylor, for an enchanting evening of magical music to celebrate the importance of arts education for children and youth.
Spirits of Folly, a Spooktacular Benefit for KCYA, will be held in the C. Stephen Metxler Hall at the Folly Theater on Saturday, Nov. 4, at 8 p.m.
"We are very excited to host our first benefit concert in several years. We are eager to bring together a diverse audience of arts and music lovers for a magical evening of music and fun to support arts education for kids in the Kansas City region. With Bryonha being from KC and our talented local groups co-starring, it’s certain to be a lively and memorable event", said Martin English, KCYA Executive Director.
Kansas City's own Broadway star Bryonha Marie will headline the event. A graduate of Notre Dame de Sion, Bryonha has rapidly established herself as one of the brightest young stars currently on Broadway in the arena of classical crossover.
Best known for her tour de force Broadway performance in the Prince of Broadway, a career retrospective of the work of the late Harold Prince (directed by Prince and Susan Stroman), Bryonha has also thrilled Broadway audiences in The Gershwin’s Porgy & Bess (Serena), After Midnight (featured and principal cover for Patti LaBelle, Toni Braxton, KD Lang and Fantasia), the revival of Ragtime (Sarah’s Friend), and The Book of Mormon.
Special guests include local Kansas City groups Hudspeth & Taylor, an award-winning acoustic blues duo, as well as folk & Americana group Gullywasher. Jaisson Taylor of Hudspeth & Taylor and Chris Hudson and Sam Wright of Gullywasher are all teaching artists for Kansas City Young Audiences.
The event is open to the public, with ticket prices starting at $25. Tickets are on sale now on the Folly Theater’s website. Sponsorship packages are also available and come with a variety of terrific benefits beyond the satisfaction of helping provide children with transformational arts experiences. Learn more about sponsorship. This project was underwritten in part by a grant from the Metzler-Copaken Initiative to Expand the Performing Arts at the Folly Theater.
When: Saturday, Nov. 4, at 8 p.m.
Where: C. Stephen Metzler Hall
The Folly Theater
300 W. 12th St
Kansas City, MO 64105
About Kansas City Young Audiences
Kansas City Young Audiences, founded in 1961, is the original provider of arts education programs for children and youth in the Kansas City metro. Our programs serve approximately 100,000 students annually, and for many, it is their first brush with the arts. Nearly 70% of the students we serve come from lower-income homes and may not have access to these experiences if it weren't for KCYA and our 100 partner teaching artists.
# # #
