Upcoming Audio Description Events
The Audio-Reader Network provides trained Audio Describers for live events in Kansas City, Lawrence, and Topeka. The service is utilized primarily by people with vision loss; however, it can also be helpful for people with cognitive or learning disabilities, English language-learners, and people on the autism spectrum. Audio Description has also been shown to help with language development and active listening skills in children.
Upcoming Events/Performances:
The Addams Family
Sunday, June 7 (2:00PM performance)
Plot summary: A wildly fun, heartwarming musical that proves every family is a little bit crazy. Wednesday Addams has grown up and fallen in love with a charming young man from a “normal” family—something that sends shockwaves through the Addams household. As secrets are kept, hilarity ensues, and unforgettable songs bring this quirky, lovable family together in a night of laughter and love.
Location: Theatre Lawrence
4660 Bauer Farms Rd., Lawrence, KS 66049
Box Office: (785) 843-7469.
Tickets: https://www.theatrelawrence.com/the-addams-family
Hadestown
Saturday, June 13 (7:30 pm performance)
Plot summary: Come see what the world could be, where a simple song could change your fate. Hadestown intertwines two mythic tales — that of young dreamers Orpheus and Eurydice, and that of King Hades and his wife Persephone — as it invites you on a hell-raising journey to the underworld and back.
Starlight Theater
4600 Starlight Rd, Kansas City, MO
Box Office: 816-363-7827
Tickets: https://tickets.kcstarlight.com/hadestown
Learn about the new Listen Everywhere Tech program now being used by Starlight on the Listen Tech Training Manual Page (pdf).
- To obtain a device, visit the Guest Information Kiosk located near Box 5 and across from the Merchandise Kiosk and leave your driver’s license or ID with the Starlight staff. After the show, please return your device to receive your ID.
- Note: for the best listening experience, you must be connected to the Starlight Listen Everywhere Wi-Fi. No other internet functionality will be available on the device while using the app.
- Night of the show contact - text 816-278-7827
Disney’s Freaky Friday
Available by request between June 25 – June 28
Presented by Blue Springs City Theatre
Plot summary: When an overworked mother and her teenage daughter magically swap bodies, they have just one day to put things right again. Freaky Friday, a new musical based on the celebrated novel by Mary Rodgers and the hit Disney films, is a heartfelt, comedic, and unexpectedly emotional update on an American classic. By spending a day in each other's shoes, Katherine and Ellie come to appreciate one another's struggles, learn self-acceptance, and realize the immeasurable love and mutual respect that bond a mother and daughter.
Location: Blue Springs South High School Performing Arts Center
1200 SE Adams Dairy Parkway, Blue Springs, MO
Contact: info@bluespringscitytheatre.org or Martha at mkehr@ku.edu to request a described performance
Tickets: https://givebutter.com/Freaky-friday-at-BSCT
Pete the Cat
2 AD Performance available:
Thursday, July 16 (11:00am performance) and Saturday, July 18 (1:30pm performance)
Plot summary: The grooviest cat in town is BACK BY POPULAR DEMAND! For Pete the Cat, life is an adventure no matter where you wind up. So, the minute the groovy blue cat meets The Biddles, he gets the whole family rocking. That is, except for young Jimmy Biddle, the most organized second grader on planet Earth. But when Jimmy draws a blank in art class during the last week of school, it turns out Pete is the perfect pal to help him out. Together, they set out on a mission to help Jimmy conquer second grade art, and along the way, they both learn a little something new about inspiration. Join Jimmy and Pete on an adventure of friendship, all the way to Paris and back in a VW Bus!
Location: The Coterie Theatre at Crown Center
2450 Grand Blvd, Suite 144, Kansas City, MO 64108-2520
Box Office: (816) 474-6552.
Tickets: https://thecoterie.org/2025-2026-season/pete-the-cat-2026/
Remaining KC Starlight Summer Broadway Season
A Beautiful Noise: The Neil Diamond Experience
Saturday, July 11 at 7:30 pm
Plot summary: Created in collaboration with Neil Diamond himself, A Beautiful Noise is the uplifting true story of how a kid from Brooklyn became a chart-busting, show-stopping American rock icon.
https://tickets.kcstarlight.com/beautiful-noise
Monty Python's Spamalot
Saturday, August 8 at 7:30 pm
The musical comedy lovingly ripped off from the film classic, Monty Python and the Holy Grail, Spamalot has everything that makes a great knight at the theatre, from flying cows to killer rabbits, British royalty to French taunters, dancing girls, rubbery shrubbery, and of course, the Lady of the Lake.
https://tickets.kcstarlight.com/spamalot
Disney's Newsies
Saturday, September 12 at 7:30 pm
Set in turn-of-the century New York City, Starlight's Production of Disney's Newsies is the rousing tale of Jack Kelly, a charismatic newsboy and leader of a band of teenaged "newsies." When titans of publishing raise distribution prices at the newsboys’ expense, Jack rallies newsies from across the city to strike against the unfair conditions and fight for what's right!
https://tickets.kcstarlight.com/newsies
Beetlejuice
Saturday, October 3
The ghost with the most is coming to Starlight! Based on the Tim Burton film comes BEETLEJUICE, a musical comedy about making the most of every Day-O. Entertainment Weekly calls it “A FEAST FOR THE EYES AND THE SOUL!”
https://tickets.kcstarlight.com/beetlejuice
Starlight Theater
4600 Starlight Rd, Kansas City, MO
Tickets: www.kcstarlight.com
Box Office: 816-363-7827
Learn about the new Listen Everywhere Tech program now being used by Starlight on the Listen Tech Training Manual Page (pdf).
- To obtain a device, visit the Guest Information Kiosk located near Box 5 and across from the Merchandise Kiosk and leave your driver’s license or ID with the Starlight staff. After the show, please return your device to receive your ID.
- Note: for the best listening experience, you must be connected to the Starlight Listen Everywhere Wi-Fi. No other internet functionality will be available on the device while using the app.
- Night of the show contact - text 816-278-7827
________________
Theaters with no current performances scheduled but AD is available by request
Audio Description is available upon request. Request description when purchasing your tickets.
Tickets: +18162352700 or https://kcrep.org/.
Location information:
Spencer Theatre (UMKC Campus)
4949 Cherry St., Kansas City, MO 64110
OR
Copaken Stage (Downtown near Streetcar Power & Light/13th St. stop)
1 H&R Block Way, Kansas City, MO 64105
Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts
*Performances available By Request*
Location information:
1601 Broadway Blvd., Kansas City, MO 64108
Box Office 816-994-7222 | Kauffman Center's Website.
Flint Hills Shakespeare Festival
The Flint Hills Shakespeare Festival is a community based initiative focused on providing patrons with classical outdoor theater under the stars of Northeast Kansas.
**Contact the Flint Hills Shakespeare Festival to request audio description for any performance!**
Tickets online at flinthillsshakespearefestival.com
Audio Description is available upon request. Request description when purchasing your tickets.
Location information: 940 New Hampshire St, Lawrence, KS
Tickets: 785-843-2787 or visit their website.
Audio Description is available upon request. Request description when purchasing your tickets.
Location Information
Blue Springs South High School, 2000 NW Ashton Dr, Blue Springs, MO 64015
A video about accessibility, parking, and Guest Services at KC Starlight Theater
Additional description opportunities
Art Description
The Lawrence Cultural Arts Commission’s Outdoor Downtown Sculpture Exhibition has a proud tradition. The exhibition was founded by Jim Patti in 1987 and is sponsored by the Lawrence Cultural Arts Commission, which receives financial and staff support from the City of Lawrence. Artworks are displayed in downtown Lawrence, along Massachusetts Street, at Theatre Lawrence and in other areas.
Listen to the tour on the Audio-Reader Soundcloud Page
Museum Description
Watkins Community History Museum
1047 Massachusetts St, Lawrence, KS 66044
Housed in a beautiful, historic building on the corner of 11th and Massachusetts Streets, the Watkins showcases unique and fascinating stories from Douglas County’s past. Admission is free to the public, and donations are appreciated. Visit their website to learn more and plan your visit at https://www.watkinsmuseum.org/visit/.
Dole Institute of Politics
2350 Petefish Drive, Lawrence, KS 66045
Select exhibits at the Dole Institute of Politics have audio description available. Patrons can access description by using a QR code reader downloaded to their smart phone. Visit their events page at https://doleinstitute.org/museum/tours-activities/ to schedule a tour. Virtual tours may also be available.
What is Audio Description?
From American Council of the Blind:
Audio Description aims to bring more meaning and enjoyment to entertainment, cultural, and educational experiences for blind and visually impaired people. The key is making visual imagery accessible. It’s used to enhance movies, television, media, theater and other live performances/events, museums, national parks, meetings, and educational programming. These visual elements can include action, costumes, settings, facial gestures ,facial expressions and other visually important images.
Learn more on our Audio Description About Page.