Arts & Entertainment courses

Broadway Musicals of the 1950s

The 1950s were a very special decade in the history of the musical with such figures as Rodgers and Hammerstein, Lerner and Loewe, Frank Loesser, Leonard Bernstein, and Jule Styne writing such shows as "The King and I," "The Sound of Music," "My Fair Lady," "Guys and Dolls," "West Side Story" and "Gypsy" for the Broadway stage. This will be survey of the decade's most popular shows, the people who wrote them and the stars who played in them. Instructor bio: Paul Laird is a professor emeritus of musicology who taught at KU for 30 years. He has published widely on the American musical theater and taught dozens of Osher courses over the last three decades.

September 15-29, 2026, Brewster Place Cultural Arts Center
October 1-15, 2026, Tallgrass Creek Retirement Community In Person

"Hamilton" and the Last Two Decades on Broadway

"Hamilton" (2015) by Lin-Manuel Miranda is remarkable for its score, statement about race, appeal to people from both sides of the political spectrum, and its ability to tell us about history and how we perceive it. We'll explore "Hamilton" and discuss other recent Broadway shows, including "Wicked," "Come from Away" and "Dear Evan Hansen." Instructor Bio: Paul Laird is professor emeritus of musicology who taught at the University of Kansas for 30 years. He is has published widely on the American musical theater and taught dozens of Osher courses over the last three decades.

December 1-15, 2026, Tallgrass Creek Retirement Community In Person

Intro to Landscape Painting & Creating Illusionistic Space

This online art course will introduce students to basic concepts of depicting landscape space and creating depth on a two-dimensional surface. We will focus on the important aspects of creating illusionistic space necessary for painting and drawing landscape imagery. We will cover and practice techniques such as value, perspective, layering of forms and scale. Approaches and styles of well-known landscape artists will be viewed and discussed to exemplify the basic principles being introduced. The instructor will teach via Zoom and students will have the choice to participate in-classroom or online. A list of basic supplies will be sent upon registration.

Instructor Bio: Lily Prince holds a B.F.A. from Rhode Island School of Design, M.F.A. from Bard College and attended Skowhegan's residency. Prince has exhibited widely nationally and internationally and was awarded commissions including the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs and numerous hotels. Prince was awarded the prestigious Pollock-Krasner Foundation Grant in painting in 2020.

October 15-29, 2026, Osher Institute, St. Andrews Office Facility and Online

Jon Batiste: A "Genuine National Treasure"

We're celebrating the talents of Jon Batiste, a phenomenal multi-instrumentalist, singer, songwriter, bandleader, dancer, actor and television personality. Influenced by his New Orleans roots, Batiste creates genre-defying music by combining styles of classical, jazz, funk, R & B, gospel and soul. Experience the positive inclusivity and boundless joy of this electric-energy performer, whom Andrew Bruss (Boston Symphony Orchestra) recently described as "a genuine national treasure. Instructor Bio: Baroque recorder player Jean Hein is a retired clarinetist and arts administrator who teaches Osher classes and recorder classes for lifelong learners. Hein served on the board of directors for Early Music America and as director of Columbia Baroque. She holds music degrees from Oberlin Conservatory and Northwestern University.

November 7-14, 2026, Osher Institute, St. Andrews Office Facility and Online

New Carols for Christmas

Carols for Christmas was a well-enjoyed Osher class. Join us for our exploration of a new selection of carols. We'll begin with songs from the collection of "Carols for Christmas" by Sir David Willcocks, including gorgeous, digitized photos from the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Additionally, the class will include carols from around the world and popular Christmas songs. Join us for the musical wonders and delights of the Christmas season! Instructor Bio: Baroque recorder player Jean Hein is a retired clarinetist and arts administrator who teaches Osher classes and recorder classes for lifelong learners. Hein served on the board of directors for Early Music America and as director of Columbia Baroque. She holds music degrees from Oberlin Conservatory and Northwestern University.

Wednesday, December 2, 2026, St Andrews Classroom

The Samurai: From Legendary Warrior to Cultural Icon

Get ready to trace the history of the samurai class in Japan, its distinctive weapons, armor, code of behavior and its part in Japanese history. We'll also look at the samurai in Japanese pop culture, from books to movies (including "The Seven Samurai" and other films), to manga and anime. We'll expand our discussion to non-Japanese books and films about samurai ("Shogun," "The Last Samurai"), re-makes of Japanese samurai films ("The Magnificent Seven," "A Fistful of Dollars") or modern-day people who live by the samurai code ("Ghost Dog," "Le Samourai"), video games with samurai and how to tell the difference between a samurai and a ninja. Instructor Bio: Karl Menninger is a retired government lawyer who has found an avocation teaching courses on disability law, citizenship, comedy and James Bond, among other topics.

October 13-27, 2026, Brewster Place Cultural Arts Center

"The Twilight Zone," "Bewitched" & "All in the Family"

Twitch your nose to join this course, which explores how classic television used entertainment to engage social issues. Focusing on "The Twilight Zone," "Bewitched" and "All in the Family," we'll examine how allegory, fantasy and realism each offered ways to address gender roles, politics, race and cultural change in the mid-century. Through guided discussion and close viewing, we'll consider how these shows helped audiences make sense of their world and why their social commentary still resonates today. Instructor Bio: Taylor Cole Miller is an associate professor of media studies at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse and co-editor of the academic collection, "The Golden Girls: Tales from the Lanai." He also makes TikToks about TV history under the handle @tvdoc.

November 2-16, 2026, Online

Vampires, Frankenstein & Zombies, Oh My! What Movie Monsters Tell Us About Ourselves

Humanity's fascination with monsters predates the world of film. Onscreen, filmmakers since the dawn of cinema have used classic movie monsters to explore everything from the darker sides of human behavior to societal prejudice to specific historical injustices. This course will take a look at three enduring cinema monsters: vampires, Frankenstein's monster and zombies; exploring how each of them has evolved over the decades to comment on humanity and society. Students are encouraged to dress in their Halloween finery for the last class; prizes will be given for the best costumes!Instructor Bio: Abigail Olcese is the film editor at The Pitch, a contributor to Sojourners, Rogerebert.com and Paste, and the author of "Films for All Seasons: Experiencing the Church Year at the Movies." She is an experienced film critic with a special interest in the connections between movies, social justice and Christian spirituality.

October 15-29, 2026, Osher Institute, St. Andrews Office Facility and Online

What Makes Mozart Great?

Some of Western civilization's greatest musical figures are household names. Everyone knows them - by name, at least - and acclaims them as "great." But what makes them great? In any era, there are hundreds, if not thousands, of good composers. But only a few are great. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart undeniably was great. Can Mozart's greatness, or at least some of it, be explained to a person interested in knowing how he was great? Of course. Mozart's genius was astonishing, but not supernatural. His music is right there on paper. One can see, surprisingly clearly, a near-perfect unification of profound expressiveness and impeccable craftsmanship. We'll explore several representative instances from Mozart's oeuvre. The question we'll attempt to answer is, "What makes Mozart great?"Instructor Bio: Martin J. Bergee is a professor emeritus of music education at the University of Kansas. Prior to his appointment at KU, he taught at the University of Missouri. Before his years at MU, Dr. Bergee taught high school and middle school band in St. Joseph, Missouri. In higher education, he has taught undergraduate courses in instructional methods and graduate courses in educational foundations and research techniques. Dr. Bergee's research interests include the history of instrumental music in schools and music performance assessment.

November 2-16, 2026, KU Edwards Campus, 163 Regnier Hall, In Person and Online

Osher Lifelong Learning Institute

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