Performing Arts Series – Johnson County Community College

The Carlsen Center consists of multiple theaters, but the shining star of these is Yardley Hall which is the biggest of the venues. Live performances are the order of the day here and some of them are simply spectacular. In this venue, I have seen Lyle Lovett, Hot Tuna, Peter Frampton, Dr. John with The Blind Boys of Alabama (The Bilnd Boys stole the show), Jazz Winterlude Performances (this year Deborah Brown stole the show) and many other performances. Yeah, they have some duds like Debby Boone (so incredibly skippable), but they do a great job of bringing in some really incredible acts.
The acoustics here are wonderful and there’s really not a bad seat in the house. If you can’t get student tickets, you’ll pay a pretty penny for most performances. The one nagging thing that bugs me about this place kind of demonstrates me at my worst nitpickiness, but the mauve walls are just atrocious, especially since they don’t go with the red curtains and seats. Please, I beg of you, JCCC, hire a painting crew to do something, anything, with the walls. Otherwise, I love the facility.

Very nice facility. They have a wide variety of acts from Russian ballets to Peter Frampton. The acoustic in Yardley are very good. I have even been to several lecture here that were very nice.

The Carlsen Center is a number of different stages, but Yardley Hall is the focus, and where most people will normally attend a performance at JCCC. The venue itself is spartan in design, but full of modern convenience and comfort.
If JCCC can figure out its ongoing parking situation, this place will be perfect. With the Nerman and Café Tempo nearby, it’s an ecosystem of art and performance, even in ol’ Johnson County :-)

This review is for Yardley Hall, though as Rob M mentions, the Carlsen Center also consists of other theaters.
Design: think super modern, sleek, and pristine. No drinks or food are allowed inside and I can get behind this, when you’ve a concert hall so clean, that you feel you could conduct surgery in. Of course this also lends to a bit of a sterile feel, and I do prefer my old, glorious theaters, BUT…
The sound! STELLAR! Amongst the best sound I’ve heard in KC area venues. If you come for a concert here, you will hear every single note that you’re supposed to hear. It’s crystal clear and absolutely state of the art.
So, 5 stars for the sound experience. The lighting could have used some help, as they didn’t dim the theater lights until well after the first band started playing. Just a pet peeve of mine and it seems really amateur to do such a thing. Another weird glitch had the theater black out suddenly at some point after the first band finished. Not sure if this is a stage management thing or what.

The Carlsen Center at Johnson County Community College is the major performing arts venue in Johnson County (suburban Kansas City). The Center consists of Yardley Hall, an acoustically fine concert hall, and the Polsky Theater. The Center also includes the Bodker Black Box Theater and a Recital Hall. Yardley Hall is the site of one of the Kansas City Symphony’s classical music subscription series (on Sunday afternoons). The Carlsen Center also has a subscription performing arts series of its own. In addition, there are free series of classical music recitals and jazz performances at noon on certain Mondays and Tuesdays during the academic year. Performance and series information is available on the Center’s website.
The Carlsen Center is part of the JCCC campus, located at the intersection of College Blvd. and Quivira Rd. in Overland Park.