Monthly Archives: May 2013

Arts Center Children’s Theatre geared for Adults Tonight

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jamesgiantadultThe Arkansas Arts Center is hosting an event tonight featuring the Children’s Theatre production of James and the Giant Peach.  The twist is that this event is for adults 21 and over.

Billed as “Giant Peaches and Fuzzy Navels” the event starts at 7pm with a reception.  It will feature refreshments (including adult beverages which use peaches as ingredients) and a musical performance by Paul Morphis.

At 8pm, the production of James and the Giant Peach will start.

The title character is played by Jeffrey Oakley.  Mark Hansen and Aleigha Morton play his horrible aunts.  Others in the cast are Garrett Flood as Old Green Grasshopper, Anna Tess Frost as Spider, Jeremy Matthey as Centipede, Jhonika Wright as Ladybird and Cassandra Nary as Earthworm.David Wood has adapted Dahl’s story for the stage.  The production is directed and designed by Alan Keith Smith.  Erin Larkin designed the costumes, and Penelope Poppers is the lighting designer.

James and the Giant Peach opens tonight and runs through May 12.  Public performances are Fridays at 7 p.m., Saturdays at 3 p.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m.

Bradley Anderson is the artistic director of the Arkansas Arts Center Children’s Theatre. Dr. Todd Herman is the executive director of the Arkansas Arts Center.

Final week to see DEATH OF A SALESMAN at Ark Rep

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Salesman (1)This is the final week to see the much-praised production of Arthur Miller’s Pulitzer, Tony and New York Drama Critics Circle winning Death of a Salesman at the Arkansas Repertory Theatre.  The production runs through May 12.

Death of a Salesman has been hailed as the greatest American play.  The central character, Willy Loman, has been compared to heroes in Aristotlean proportions.

But at the heart of all the hype is family bound by love and crushed by disappointments as they struggle to make sense of life.  Though set in the post World War II era, these themes resonate today.

Arkansas Rep Producing Artistic Director Robert Hupp is directing this production.  He has assembled a powerhouse cast led by Robert Walden as Willy Loman.  In her Arkansas Rep debut, Broadway vet Carolyn Mignini plays Linda Loman, his wife.  Their two sons are played by Avery Clark and Craig Maravich.  Clark has quickly become a Rep audience favorite through his performances in Hamlet, The 39 Steps and Henry V.  Maravich is making his Rep debut.

Others in the cast are Broadway vet William Metzo, Arkansas Rep vets Jay E. Raphael and Joe Menino, and Christopher Ryan and Kevin Sebastian, Stephanie Gunderman , Rachael Small and Andi Watson.

The design team includes Mike Nichols (sets), Rafael Colon Castanera (costumes), Allan Branson (sound), Lynda J. Kwallek (props) and Kenton Yeager (lighting).  Hupp commissioned a new recording of Alex North’s iconic score for this production.

The show plays at 7pm on Wednesday and Thursday, 8pm on Friday and Saturday, and 2pm and 7pm on Sunday.  For more on the production see this review.

LR Film Fest announces Golden Rock competitors

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The Llrff_mp_hdr_logoittle Rock Film Festival is pleased to announce the following films as Official Selections for the 2013 Golden Rock Narrative Competition lineup.

The Narrative Feature film lineup this year brings to Little Rock an impressive list of award winning filmmakers including David Riker, Justin Schwarz, Sean Gallagher, Destin Daniel Cretton, Brad Simpson and Adam Rifkin among others and a cast lineup that includes noted actors Griffin Dunne, Abbie Cornish, Brie Larson, Stuart Margolin and stars from the hit HBO TV Series “Girls” – Christopher Abbott and Alex Karpovsky.  LRFF2012 alumni Destin Daniel Cretton returns to open LRFF2013 with his film Short Term 12.

Each of the following films will compete for the LRFF2013 Golden Rock Narrative for Best Feature title.

Some will be also eligible for the Oxford American Best Southern Film Award and the Heifer International Humanitarian Award.

  • Burma, directed by Carlos Puga (82min).
  • Coldwater, directed by Vincent Grashaw (104 min)
  • Good Night, directed by Sean Gallagher (85 min)
  • Hide Your Smiling Faces, directed by Daniel Patrick Carbone (81 min)
  • Junk, directed by Kevin Hamedani (104 min)
  • Reality Show, directed by Adam Rifkin (92 min)
  • Short Term 12, directed by Destin Daniel Cretton (96 min)
  • The Discoverers, directed by Justin Schwarz (104 min)
  • The Girl, directed by David Riker (90 min)
  • This is Where We Live, directed by Josh Barrett and Marc Menchaca (92 min)
  • Wajma-An Afghan Love Story, directed by  Barmak Akram (115 min)
  • Zero Charisma, directed by Katie Graham & Andrew Matthews (87 min)

All screenings for the LRFF2013 (May 15th – May 19th, 2013) will be held in downtown Little Rock/NLR this year.

May 7 Architeaser

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hamMay is Arkansas Heritage Month.  As a way to celebrate it, the next few Architeasers will focus on facilities connected to the Department of Arkansas Heritage.

Today’s Architeaser features architecture from the past and present.  These structures sit side by side on the city block which is home to part of Historic Arkansas Museum.  The center of the photo is anchored by the 2001 expansion to the museum which was designed by the firm of Polk Stanley Yeary (now Polk Stanley Wilcox). Framing the building on either side of the photo are some of Little Rock’s oldest structures.

Historic Arkansas Museum opened in July 1941 as the Arkansas Territorial Restoration.  It includes Little Rock’s oldest structure, the Hinderliter Grog Shop, built in 1827.  In 2001, the name was changed to Historic Arkansas Museum in conjunction with the opening of a 51,000 square foot museum center which capped off a three phase capital building program.

Tales from the South pays tribute to Randy Tardy

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talesfromsouthTonight, “Tales from the South” pays tribute to a longtime Arkansas writer.
Randy Tardy is the retired transportation and business writer for the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette in Little Rock. He covered railroads, airlines and river traffic from 1976 until 2001. Randy, who is now in hospice, would like to share his stories with the world, so they will be read by his close friends.Randy’s stories will be read by Walter Walker, Rex Nelson, and Harvey Joe Sanner. Live music will be provided by The Salty Dogs and blues guitarist Mark Simpson.

“Tales From the South” is a radio show created and produced by Paula Martin Morell, who is also the show’s host, in conjunction with Temenos Publishing Company. The show is taped live on Tuesday nights at Starving Artist Cafe’in the Argenta Arts District of North Little Rock, Arkansas.

The program offers dinner and a show, and shows are $7.50 admission and open to the public. The night is a cross between a house concert and a reading/show, with incredible food and great company. Tickets must be purchased before the show, as shows are usually standing-room only.

“Tales from the South” is a showcase of writers reading their own true stories. While the show itself is unrehearsed, the literary memoirs have been worked on for weeks leading up to the readings. Stories range from funny to touching, from everyday occurrences to life-altering tragedies.

Doors open at 5:00pm. Dinner is served from 5:00 to 6:30pm (dinner price not included in admission charge).  The program starts at 7:00pm.  Advance reservations are required.

UALR Jazz Ensemble Tonight

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The sounds of jazz will emanate from the Stella Boyle Smith Concert Hall tonight when the UALR Jazz Ensemble presents a concert.

The program will include arrangements of “Anything Goes” by Cole Porter; “April in Paris” by Vernon Duke; “Ko-Ko,” “In a Mellow Tone”and “Do Nothing Till You Hear From Me” by Duke Ellington; and “Wherever You Go” by Pat Metheny.

The ensemble features student musicians on saxophones, trombones, trumpets, and rhythm section. Michael Underwood is the director. Admission is free. Call (501) 569-3924 or e-mail mpunderwood@ualr.edu.

UALR to honor film actor Julie Adams this week

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Hollywood actor Julie Adams, a 1946 graduate of Little Rock Junior College, will be honored Friday, May 10, with UALR’s Distinguished Alumni Award, the highest honor given by the Alumni Association.

Julie Adams with Andy Griffith in 1962

Adams with Andy Griffith in 1962

The red carpet will be rolled out for Adams and other award recipients at the William J. Clinton Presidential Library. The annual awards luncheon, hosted by the UALR Foundation Fund Board and the Alumni Association, will begin at 11:30 a.m.

Admission is free. However, guests are encouraged to donate a minimum of $50 to the UALR Alumni Association’s scholarship fund. Limited public seating will be available. Please RSVP by calling the alumni office at 501-683-2694.

Adams, born Betty May Adams, attended Little Rock Junior College from 1944 to 46 and was heavily involved in the drama department and a member of the Trojan Theater Guild.

She hoped to join a summer stock theater in Connecticut following graduation and take her chances as a stage actress in New York City afterward, but the program was full. Instead, Adams moved to Los Angeles.

The rest, as they say, is movie history.

In 1949, Adams landed her first leading role as Polly Medford in the film, “The Dalton Gang,” and continued to appear in numerous other western movies including a starring role in “Bend of the River,” alongside film icon James Stewart.

Adams became an even more recognizable star after being cast as a bathing suit bombshell in 1954’s “Creature from the Black Lagoon.” She was also featured in the musical “Tickle Me” starring Elvis Presley.

In addition to appearing in more than 50 films, Adams has had a range of roles in television, including several appearances as Janice Barton on the popular series “Perry Mason,” the only character among Mason’s clients to be convicted during the CBS show’s nine-year run.

Adams also appeared in “The Andy Griffith Show,” “General Hospital,” “The Jimmy Stewart Show,” “Beverly Hills 90210,” and “Melrose Place.” In 1987, she accepted a recurring role as Eve Simpson on CBS’s series, “Murder, She Wrote.” In the past decade, she has had roles in ABC’s popular series, “Lost,” as well as “CSI: New York.”

Adams, who still resides in Los Angeles, recently completed The Lucky Southern Star: Reflections From The Black Lagoon, an in-depth look at her rise to stardom.