Monthly Archives: December 2011

On stage at the Rep: Christmas Spirit(s)

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The Christmas Spirit is alive and well on stage of the Arkansas Repertory Theatre.  Actually three Christmas Spirits (past, present, and yet-to-be) are on stage as the Rep presents the Menken-Ahrens-Ockrent version of A Christmas Carol.

Alan Souza, director of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat returns to helm this production.  He and Bob Hupp, the Rep’s producing artistic director, have assembled a top notch creative team. Mike Nichols (scenery), Michael Bottari & Ronald Case (costumes), M. Jason Pruzin (sound), Lynda J. Kwallek (props) and Cory Pattak (lighting) are the design team.  Helen Gregory returns as music director while Marcos Santana provides choreography.

David Benoit returns to the Rep to play the miserly Ebenezer Scrooge. The ghostly quartet is played by Ryan G. Dunkin (Marley), Shua Potter (Christmas Past), Dennis Stowe (Christmas Present) and Marisa Kirby (Christmas Future).  Other leading roles include Kirt Thomas (Young Scrooge), Laura Medford (Emily), Adam Hose (Bob Cratchit), Lacy J. Dunn (Mrs. Cratchit), Katie Emerson (Sally), Drew Clark (Young Ebenezer) and Johnny Stellard (Fred).  And what would A Christmas Carol be without a Tiny Tim – Price Clark essays the role here.

The production opened last Friday.  Performances resume tonight and continue through Christmas Day.  If you don’t know that date, you are even more heartless than Scrooge.

River City Men’s Chorus: Songs of the Season

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It is perhaps not too early to start standing in line for the final performance of the River City Men’s Chorus 2011 Holiday Concert.  The first two performances (Sunday and Monday) were overflowing.  The final performance is this Thursday (December 8th) at 7pm.

Under the leadership of conductor and artistic director David Glaze, the River City Men’s Chorus concert ranges from the sublime to the silly. There are times it is hard to tell who is having more fun or is more moved – the audience or the singers.

Among the numbers are “The First Noel,” “Hark! The Herald Angels Sing,” “Gaudete!,” “Do You Hear What I Hear?,” “It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year,” “White Christmas” and a soulfully rousing rendition of “Hallelujah” from Handel’s Messiah.

The concert takes place at Trinity Methodist Church at 1101 N. Mississippi St.  The concert starts at 7pm. Doors to auditorium typically open an hour early for the free, open seating.  If weather is inclement, doors to the church (but not auditorium) will be opened even earlier so that audience members can stay warm and dry.

The Sedaris Diaries

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David Sedaris, author of The Santaland Diaries about his experiences working as an Elf at Macy’s one year, will be having a book signing tonight at WordsWorth Books in the Heights.  Sedaris is on a book tour promoting his new book Squirrel Seeks Chipmunk.  Wordsworth has the newest book, Holidays on Ice (which contains Santaland) and many of Sedaris’ other books.

The event tonight is billed as a book signing which may have a brief reading. It is not a Sedaris performance (though he has done two of those in Little Rock over the past few years in support of the Arkansas Literary Festival).

The event is ticketed. To get a ticket, one must purchase a Sedaris book at WordsWorth.  For more information call (501) 663-9198.

Sculpture Sunday: Holidays – Bank of America Christmas Tree

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Since the Worthen Bank days in the 1970s, this building in downtown Little Rock designed by Noland Blass has been lit in December to resemble a Christmas tree on three sides. Though it has gone through two Worthen logos, Boatmen’s Bank, NationsBank and finally(?) Bank of America, this holiday lighting has remained. It is a beacon in downtown that is visible throughout the county at times.

In recent years the building has lit up for other things, most notably a pink ribbon in October for Race for the Cure.  But for 25+ years the only time it deviated from the usual white lighting was during the Christmas tree.  Because of its use of light and architecture it is a temporary public art installation of sorts.

Coming Soon: Mosaic Templars Holiday Open House (Dec 4)

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Join the Mosaic Templars Cultural Center in a one-of-a-kind holiday celebration. Watch the museum come alive for our Holiday Open House event on December 4, 2011 starting at 1:00pm and running until 5:00pm.

This fun event will feature holiday performances by local choir and theatre groups as well as a special presentation featuring Mosaic Templars own Act Out Loud students. We will also have a Kids’ Holiday Craft Corner with a variety of holiday activities including holiday refreshments.

Please bring toys to donate to the Say’s Stop the Violence toy drive to benefit children in the local community. This event is free and open to the public.

For more information about our Holiday Open House event, visit mosaictemplars.com or call 501-683-3593.

The Mosaic Templars Cultural Center is a museum of the Department of Arkansas Heritage.

Sandwiching in History: Union Station

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The Arkansas Historic Preservation Program each month sponsors a Sandwiching in History tour which familiarize people who live and work in central Arkansas with the historic structures and sites around us. The tours take place on Fridays at noon, last less than an hour, and participants are encouraged to bring their lunches so that they can eat while listening to a brief lecture about the property and its history before proceeding on a short tour.

Today at 12 noon, this month’s tour is the Union Station at 1400 West Markham.  It was constructed in 1921 to replace an earlier depot which burned in 1920.  Since the 1870s there has been a railroad station on or near this site.

The current structure was designed by architect E. M. Tucker of St. Louis and exhibits elements of the Italian Renaissance Revival style. The Missouri Pacific Railroad acquired the St. Louis, Iron Mountain & Southern Railroad in 1917 and continued passenger service out of this depot until 1970.

Union Station was a bustling place in its heyday, serving as the point of departure for soldiers leaving Camp Robinson during World War II as well as a whistle stop during Harry S. Truman’s presidential campaign. The building is currently used as office and event space as well as the local Amtrak station.

The Arkansas Historic Preservation Program is an agency of the Department of Arkansas Heritage.

Coming Soon: HAM’s 44th Annual Christmas Frolic (Dec 4)

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Celebrate the holiday season like days past at Historic Arkansas Museum’s annual Christmas Frolic on December 4, from 1 to 4 pm.

Visitors can watch nails being forged at the new Blacksmith Shop, create tree ornaments and holiday cards, sip on hot cider and enjoy ginger cake, play pioneer games, listen to 19th century fiddle music, expect a visit from Father Christmas and do some holiday shopping in the Museum Store. And lots more!

Music will be provided by Arkansas Country Dance Band, Lark in the Morning and roaming fiddlers.

Plenty of free parking is available at 3rd and Cumberland Streets.  Historic Arkansas Museum is a museum of the Department of Arkansas Heritage.

As a child, the Culture Vulture’s parents brought him to this every year. It kicked off the Christmas season for us.  Memories of the hot cider as a kid are almost as warming as the actual cider was.  My ADD however did not allow me to enjoy the candle dipping for very long.  I couldn’t understand why you just couldn’t put the wicks in the middle of the wax, let it harden and then cut them out.