Great Scott! Back to the Future, the beloved, cinematic classic is now a Broadway musical. Winner of the 2022 Olivier Award for Best New Musical, four WhatsOnStage Awards, including Best New Musical, and the Broadway World Award for Best New Musical, Back to the Future: The Musical is adapted for the stage by the iconic film’s creators Bob Gale (Back to the Future trilogy) and Robert Zemeckis (Forrest Gump) and directed by the Tony Award®-winner John Rando with original music by multi-Grammy® winners Alan Silvestri (Avengers: Endgame) and Glen Ballard (Michael Jackson’s “Man in the Mirror”), alongside hit songs from the movie including “The Power of Love,” “Johnny B. Goode,” “Earth Angel,” and “Back in Time.” When Marty McFly finds himself transported back to 1955 in a time machine built by the eccentric scientist Doc Brown, he accidentally changes the course of history. Now he’s in a race against time to fix the present, escape the past, and send himself… back to the future. When Back to the Future hits 88mph, it’ll change musical theatre history forever. Duration 2hrs, 40 mins with 1 intermission. Recommended For Recommended for ages 6+ with. Children under 4 will not be admitted. Advisory: Back to the Future includes flashing lights, strobe effects, smoke/haze and pyrotechnics throughout.

Presented By Rebekah Taussig Rebekah Taussig lost the use of her legs as a toddler during cancer treatment. Growing up in a wheelchair, she didn’t see herself reflected in TV shows, ads, books, or movies. But what she did see was disability depicted as a frightening deformity, held up as inspiration for those in “typical” bodies, or even as an indicator of some kind of innocence or magical power – and none of that represented her lived experiences. She talks to the Library’s Kaite Stover about the eight essays in her book, Sitting Pretty: The View from My Ordinary, Resilient, Disabled Body, that largely deal with Taussig’s shifts in self-perception and her relationship with the world around her. They also discuss the public consequences of ignoring differences in ability; everyone, she says, lives in a body with limitations, so conversations about accessibility benefit a far larger population than most imagine. The talk is part of Big Read 2025, a free, city-wide reading and public engagement initiative of the National Endowment for the Arts, in partnership with Arts Midwest, that aims to broaden our understanding of our world, our communities, and ourselves through the joy of sharing a good book. Taussig is a lifelong Kansas Citian and author of a forthcoming children’s book, We Are the Scrappy Ones. She’s also an educator and disability advocate with a Ph.D. in English, focused on creative nonfiction and disability studies, from the University of Kansas. She runs the Instagram account @sitting_pretty, writes for her Substack This Too, and co-produces the weekly podcast Scratch That. ASL interpreters at featured presentation  

  Presented By David Wayne Reed Shelf Life was a popular show-and-tell storytelling series at The Brick hosted by writer and director David Wayne Reed. Throughout its five-year run, the stories at each event were sparked by an object and followed a theme, such as winning, time, and unwanted gifts. As part of Big Read 2025, a free, city-wide reading and public engagement initiative of the National Endowment for the Arts, Shelf Life returns with a focus on soma, or the body, exploring how we live in our bodies, how we relate to our physical selves, and how our bodies carry us through the world. The event features five new stories from Kansas City-based creatives, including Reed, Big Read featured author Rebekah Taussig, musician and amputee advocate Billy Brimblecom, actor, choreographer, and director Vanessa Severo, and visual artist and educator Kathy Liao. There’s a “power of sharing one’s own story on stage,” Reed says, “and the palpable empathy … from the audience.” ASL interpreters at featured presentation.