Arts briefs

Playwright puts his mark on ‘Frankenstein’

Kansas City, Mo. An adaptation of “Frankenstein” by Lawrence playwright Ric Averill is being produced at the Coterie Theatre, 2450 Grand Ave.

In Averill’s adaptation of the Mary Shelley classic, Victor Frankenstein (Charles Fugate, above left) is a student who creates an artificial man (Kyle Mowry, above right) while exploring the secrets of life in his laboratory. However, Frankenstein recoils from his creation, inadvertently teaching him to be a monster. The story explores the themes of life and death, nature versus nurture and ethics and science.

The play runs Tuesday-Oct. 27. Show times are 10 a.m. Tuesdays, 10 a.m. and noon Wednesdays-Fridays, 10 a.m., noon and 7 p.m. Fridays and 2 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays. Tickets are $8 for adults and $6 for those 18 and younger. To reserve tickets, call the Coterie Theatre Box Office, (816) 474-6552.

Country singer slated at Ottawa auditorium

Ottawa Country singer Andy Riggs will perform at 7:30 p.m. Saturday at Ottawa Municipal Auditorium, 301 S. Hickory St.

Griggs’ hits include “I’ll Go Crazy,” “How Cool Is That” and “You Made Me That Way.”

Griggs’ sound mixes outlaw country with gospel. He is trained in bluegrass but co-writes songs with Tom Keifer of the heavy-metal band Cinderella.

Tickets range from $18 to $24. Reservations can be made by calling (785) 242-8810.

Buster Keaton takes center stage at festival

Iola The 10th Annual Buster Keaton Celebration will be Saturday-Sept. 29 at Bowlus Fine Arts Center, 205 E. Madison St.

Speakers include Gerald Potterton, a Canadian film and television director, writer and producer; Kaye Malins, a Walt Disney enthusiast from Marceline, Mo.; Robert Arkus, film restorer and preservationist from the Getty Archive; and Annette D’Agostino Lloyd, production coordinator and celebrity biographer at Hollywood Forever Cemetery in Los Angeles.

Highlights include a Keaton film festival; music by the Mont Alto Motion Picture Orchestra; the premiere of the newly restored version of “The Cook”; and the showing of a television episode from the Eddie Cantor Theatre of “The Square World of Alonzo Pennyworth” starring Keaton.

The festival is free. For more information, call (620) 365-4765 or e-mail mary.bowlus@iolaks.com.