Yearly Archives: 2013

Tickets to WICKED in LR go on sale today!

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wickedOz returns to the Rock as the Tony winning musical Wicked returns to Robinson Center Music Hall from September 25 through October 6.

Tickets go on sale today.

When Wicked was here in 2010, it set box office records.  It also sold out in a record time.

Based on the best-selling 1995 novel by Gregory Maguire, Wicked, has won a Grammy and three Tony Awards.  Wicked features songs by Stephen Schwartz (Godspell, Pippin, and Working) and a book by Winnie Holzman (“My So Called Life,” “Once And Again” and “thirtysomething”).  It tales the untold story of the witches of Oz.  The musical is directed by two-time Tony Award-winner Joe Mantello (Take Me Out, Love! Valour! Compassion!, The Receptionist).

Two other girls meet in the Land of Oz.  One – born with emerald-green skin – is smart, fiery and misunderstood.  The other is beautiful, ambitious and very popular.  “Wicked” tells the story of their remarkable odyssey, and how these two unlikely friends grow to become the Wicked Witch of the West and Glinda the Good.

Presented by Celebrity Attractions, the production takes center stage at Robinson Center Music Hall for a limited two-week engagement.

The performance schedule is as follows:

  • 7:30 p.m Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Sunday
  • 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday
  • 2 p.m. Saturday and Sunday
  • 2 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 26 (special matinee)

Prices start at $43.

Tickets can be purchased here, or by calling (501) 244-8800 or stopping by the Celebrity Attractions Box Office at 300 S. Spring, Little Rock.

For more information about the performances, click here.

Ballet Arkansas Master Class today

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BalletArkPacific Northwest Ballet Soloist, Kiyon Gaines, will teach an open master class for dancers today, August 11th at Shuffles & Ballet II studios, 1521 Merrill Drive, in Little Rock. The class will run from 1pm to 2:30pm.  Please arrive early to register. The class fee is $25 and the observer fee is $15.

Both participant and observer numbers are limited; advance reservations are required. Email info@balletarkansas.org to reserve your spot.

This class is the first in a series of Master Classes to be taught by Ballet Arkansas’ guest choreographers for the 2013-2014 Season. Mr. Gaines is choreographing a new work for Ballet Arkansas’ spring concert, Momentum, which premieres at the Arkansas Repertory Theatre April 25-27, 2014.

KiyonHeadshotKiyon Gaines is from Baltimore, Maryland. He trained at Baltimore School of the Arts, Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre School, the School of American Ballet, and Pacific Northwest Ballet School. He joined Pacific Northwest Ballet as a member of the corps de ballet in 2001 and was promoted to soloist in 2012.In addition to his performing career, Mr. Gaines is a choreographer. Among other works, he created blitz…Fantasy, SCHWA, Infinite Intricacies, and Interrupted Pri’si’zh’enfor PNB’s annual Choreographers’ Showcase performances, and SCHWA was taken into PNB’s repertory during the 2007 Celebrate Seattle Festival. In 2008, Mr. Gaines choreographed M-Pulse, set to a commissioned score by Cristina Spinei, and in 2012, Sum Stravinsky, both for Pacific Northwest Ballet’s repertory. He has also participated in the prestigious New York Choreographic Institute.

Leading Roles  – George Balanchine’s Agon, Coppélia, The Four Temperaments, A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Puck, Bottom), Symphony in C, and Symphony in Three Movements; Val Caniparoli’s The Bridge and Torque; Ulysses Dove’s Red Angels, and Serious Pleasures; Sonia Dawkins’ Ripple Mechanics; Nacho Duato’sJardí Tancat and Rassemblement; William Forsythe’s One Flat Thing, reproduced; Paul Gibson’s Sense of Doubt; Ronald Hynd’s The Merry Widow; Jiri Kylian’s Petite Mort and Sechs Tänze (Six Dances); Mark Morris’ A Garden; Victor Quijada’s Suspension of Disbelief; Jerome Robbins’ The Concert, Dances at a Gathering, Glass Pieces, and Fancy Free; Kent Stowell’s Cinderella (Harlequin) and Silver Lining; and Twyla Tharp’s In the Upper Room, Nine Sinatra Songs, and Waterbaby Bagatelles.  Originated Leading Roles: Paul Gibson’s The Piano Dance, Susan Stroman’s TAKE FIVE…More or Less, and Twyla Tharp’s Opus 111

Featured Roles – George Balanchine’s Prodigal Son, La Sonnambula, and La Valse; Nicolo Fonte’s Within/Without; Ronald Hynd’s The Sleeping Beauty; Peter Martins’ Fearful Symmetries; Kent Stowell’s Firebird, Nutcracker,Swan Lake, and The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet; Paul Taylor’s Roses; and Christopher Wheeldon’sCarousel (A Dance) and Variations Sérieuses.

Shakespeare at the Shelter

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shakeatshelterTonight Our House presents “Shakespeare at the Shelter.”  It is a performance of some of William Shakespeare’s most famous scenes presented by residents and alumni of Our House.

Proceeds directly beneift shelter life.  This year Our House is raising money to refurbish the common area at the shelter.  This is where residents eat, receive visitors and spend leisure time.  It is one of hte most used spaces on the Our House campus and is in need of new furniture.

The performance is at 7:30pm.  Tickets are $20 and can be purchased at https://donatenow.networkforgood.org/ourhouse

Our House provides the working homeless – individuals and families – with shelter, housing, job training, education, childcare and summer youth programs, in order to equip them with the skills to be successful in the workforce, the community and their own families.

Envision Little Rock finalists part of 2nd Friday Art Night tonight

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envisinolrIn celebration of the 100 year anniversary of John Nolen’s 1913 “City in a Park” master plan for Little Rock, the Envision Little Rock design competition sought creative ideas for the establishment of an iconic gateway to the city at the intersection of Capitol Ave and I-30. In 1913, Nolen saw Capitol Avenue as the ceremonial boulevard that would transect the gridded streets of downtown Little Rock, establishing a visual and physical connection between the Capitol building and the proposed Choctaw Depot to the east. The competition challenged the public and professional design community to generate innovative concepts for the eastern terminus of Capitol Avenue in Little Rock.

Tonight, studioMAIN will open their exhibition of the competition finalists. The public is invited to come celebrate, discuss, and vote for your favorites. There are 3 public vote awards, in addition to the two main prizes that will be awarded by the Envision Little Rock jury later this month. Polls close August 31st at midnight.

Come see the wonderful group of entries by local designers and students. This is going to be a wonderful evening of big ideas and discussion of our city’s future. Don’t miss out!

studioMAIN is located at 1423 South Main Street.  The reception tonight is from 5pm to 9pm.  It is one of the participating sites in 2nd Friday Art Night.

The Perils of Collecting Rembrandt: Ark Arts Center extended hours and lecture tonight

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In conjunction with the “Rembrandt, Van Dyck, Gainsborough: The Treasures of Kenwood House, London ” exhibit, the Arkansas Arts Center will remain open for extended hours this evening.  The galleries will be open until 9pm.  In addition, Dr. Catherine B. Scallen will be presenting a lecture entitled “Collecting Rembrandt: Perils and Pleasures One Hundred Years Ago.”
Catherine Scallen

Catherine Scallen

Professor Scallen is Chair of the Department of Art History and Art at Case Western Reserve University, where she has taught since 1995. She received her BA from Wellesley College, her MA from the Williams College Graduate Program in the History of Art, and her PhD from Princeton University. After receiving her doctorate, she held a graduate internship in the Paintings Department of the J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles.

A specialist on the paintings and prints of Rembrandt van Rijn, her book, Rembrandt, Reputation, and the Practice of Connoisseurship, was published in 2004.  She has been a faculty lecturer on trips to The Netherlands and Belgium for Princeton University and CWRU, and is the author of two courses for The Great Courses Company, Art of the Northern Renaissance and Museum Masterpieces: The National Gallery, London. Attendees are welcome to stay after the lecture to view Rembrandt, Van Dyck, Gainsborough: The Treasures of Kenwood House, London during the exhibition’s special extended hours.
In addition to the extended gallery hours and lecture, the Best Impressions restaurant will be open until 8:30pm.  Advance reservations are strongly recommended; to make them call (501) 907-5946.
On display through September 8, “The Treasures of Kenwood House” is organized by the American Federation of Arts and English Heritage. It is supported by an indemnity from the Federal Council on the Arts and the Humanities with additional funding from the Samuel H. Kress Foundation. In-kind support is provided by Barbara and Richard S. Lane.

It is presented in Arkansas by: Bank of the Ozarks; Harriet and Warren Stephens, Stephens Inc.; Windgate Foundation.  The exhibition is sponsored in Arkansas by: Chucki and Curt Bradbury; Sandra and Bob Connor; Remmel T. Dickinson; Lisenne Rockefeller.

This special exhibition showcases 48 masterpieces from the collection known as the Iveagh Bequest. These magnificent paintings reside at Kenwood House, a neoclassical villa in London. The tour of Rembrandt, Van Dyck, Gainsborough: The Treasures of Kenwood House, London will provide a unique opportunity to view superb paintings outside the United Kingdom. Most of these paintings have never traveled to the United States before, and many of them have rarely been seen outside Kenwood. The highly acclaimed works represent the greatest artists of their periods, including Rembrandt van Rijn, Thomas Gainsborough, Anthony van Dyck, Frans Hals, Joshua Reynolds, J.M.W. Turner and more.

Movies in the Park: THE AVENGERS

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AvengersMovies in the Park concludes its 2013 season tonight.  It has been an all-star blockbuster summer.  So what better way to end it than by showing Joss Whedon’s all-star, blockbuster 2012 flick – THE AVENGERS.  The heroes will start saving the world tonight at dusk, so bring a picnic supper tonight to Riverfront Park and enjoy.

The film stars Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Mark Ruffalo, Chris Hemsworth, Scarlette Johansson, Jeremy Renner, Samuel L. Jackson and Gwyneth Paltrow. It also features the talents of Tom Hiddleston, Clark Gregg, Cobie Smulders, Stellan Skarsgard, Paul Bettany and Alexis Denisof.  Also appearing in the film are Powers Boothe, Jenny Agutter, Harry Dean Stanton, Stan Lee, Thomas Roberts and Lou Ferrigno.

The film was nominated for an Academy Award for Visual Effects.

Movies in the Park is a free outdoor movie series in Little Rock’s River Market. They take place at the First Security Amphitheatre. The mission of Movies in the Park is help foster a sense of community and enjoyment in downtown Little Rock and throughout Central Arkansas by bringing people together to enjoy a movie in a unique setting along the scenic banks of the Arkansas River.

The movie will start tonight at dark. Visitors are welcome to bring picnics but please no glass containers and pick up afterwards. Those choosing not to bring their own picnic,  Riverfront Park does have concessions available for sale.

Bring bug spray, picnic and family and have a good time!

The Little Rock Convention and Visitors Bureau Technical Services department provides all the equipment for the movies.

Today at noon at Legacies & Lunch: Oakland-Fraternal Cemetery

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OakFratFor over 150 years, the Oakland-Fraternal Cemetery has been a final resting place for Little Rock citizens. This City of Little Rock cemetery is the focus on the August “Legacies and Lunch” program today at noon at the Bulter Center.  Jan Davenport, historian of the Oakland-Fraternal Cemetery will be the speaker.

The 160 acres on which Oakland-Fraternal was located was purchased from Mary Starbuck, the widow of Paul R. Starbuck, by the City of Little Rock in March 1863. This became the city’s largest cemetery. Gradually, the total acreage declined as unneeded property was sold. Oakland-Fraternal now includes over 10,000 monuments and sculptures on its 92 acres. As the public cemetery for over one hundred years, the cemetery is representative of Little Rock’s social fabric. United States Senators and Congressmen, Governors, Mayors, merchants, doctors, and educators are all interred in Oakland-Fraternal.  The cemetery is actually comprised of seven different cemeteries which are collectively known by the name “Oakland-Fraternal.”

Legacies & Lunch, a free program offered by the Butler Center for Arkansas Studies on the first Wednesday of each month, will feature Jan Davenport, historian of the Oakland-Fraternal Cemetery, on Wednesday, August 7, noon – 1 p.m. in the Main Library’s Darragh Center, 100 Rock Street.

After years of resting quietly, history is being uncovered at the Oakland-Fraternal Cemetery, as caretakers restore and research aged headstones. The cemetery is Little Rock’s best-kept historical secret and the final resting place for people ranging from working-class families to an assassinated judge. In her talk, “Gone but Not Forgotten: 150 Years at the Oakland-Fraternal Cemetery,” Davenport will discuss her efforts to raise awareness of the cemetery and the stories of the people resting there.

The Butler Center for Arkansas Studies is a department of CALS. It was founded in 1997 to promote the study and appreciation of Arkansas history and culture. The Butler Center’s research collections, art galleries, and offices are located in the Arkansas Studies Institute building at 401 President Clinton Ave. on the campus of the CALS Main Library.

For more information, call 918-3086.