Yearly Archives: 2014

COWS typing T H E E N D today at 2 and 4

Posted on by

aacctcowsToday at 2pm and 4pm, the typing cows will be preparing to remove the paper from the typewriter one final time at the Arkansas Arts Center Children’s Theatre production of Click, Clack, Moo: Cows That Type.

“This classically hilarious children’s story about some rebelliously clever farm animals will come to life on stage at the Arkansas Arts Center Children’s Theatre as they engage in peaceful protests to improve their working conditions,” said Arkansas Arts Center Children’s Theatre artistic director Bradley Anderson. “This delightful tale about negotiation and compromise is enjoyable for any age.”

Farmer Brown thinks it’s odd when he hears typing sounds coming from the barn but his troubles really begin when his cows start leaving him notes demanding better working conditions before staging a strike. Join the Arkansas Art Center Children’s Theatre as a bunch of literate cows turn Farmer Brown’s farm upside down. Click, Clack, Moo: Cows That Type is adapted by George Howe and James E. Grote from Doreen Cronin’s original book with illustrator Betsey Lewin.

The cast for Click, Clack, Moo: Cows That Type includes: John Isner, of Little Rock, as Farmer Brown Jeremy Matthey, of Little Rock, as Duck Moriah Patterson, of Sheridan, as Cow 1 Aleigha Garstka, of Little Rock, as Cow 2 Veronica Lowry, of Charlottesville, VA, as Hen

Bradley D. Anderson is the artistic director and the director for the production. Choreography by Moriah Patterson, musical direction by Lori Isner, costumes are designed by Erin Larkin, technical direction by Drew Posey, lighting design by Penelope Poppers, scenic design and properties by Miranda Young and Sarah Gasser is the stage manager.

Presenting sponsors are Landers FIAT in Benton, Arkansas Blue Cross and Blue Shield, and in honor of Dorothy and Fallon Davis by Dr. Scott and Shannon Davis. Also sponsored by All Aboard Restaurant and Martha Logue.

Recognized by The Drama League as one of the best regional theatre companies in America, the Arkansas Arts Center Children’s Theatre is the only professional company in Arkansas that produces children’s literary works for the stage. Since 1979, Children’s Theatre has been creating unique experiences for family audiences.

For more information, visit arkansasartscenter.org or call (501)372-4000.

General Admission Tickets are $12.50 for children and adults & $10 for AAC members.

CLYBOURNE PARK at Ark Rep closing this weekend

Posted on by

ClybourneIn real estate, “closing” is a good thing. In theatre, “closing” means a production is ending. Bruce Norris’ Pulitzer and Tony winning Clybourne Park closes its run this Sunday.

A few seasons ago, the Arkansas Rep produced Lorraine Hansberry’s seminal work A Raisin in the Sun. Clybourne Park explores events which happened before and after Hansberry’s play.

Clybourne Park is a bitingly funny and fiercely provocative play about the volatile combination of race and real estate. Written by Bruce Norris and directed by Rep founder Cliff Baker, its searing wit, intriguing plot twists and hard hitting social commentary make Clybourne Park a theatrical tour de force not to be missed.

In 1959, a white couple sells their home to a black family (the fictional Younger family from A Raisin in the Sun), causing an uproar in their middle-class neighborhood. Fifty years later in 2009, the same house is changing hands again, but the stakes have changed.

As neighbors wage a hilarious and pitched battle over territory and legacy, Clybourne Park reveals just how far our ideas about race and identity have evolved.

The cast includes Shaleah Adkisson, Ryan Barry, Katie Cunningham, Lawrence Evans, LeeAnne Hutchison, Robert Ierardi, Jason O’Connell, and David Tennal.

The creative team includes scenic designer Mike Nichols, costume designer Yslan Hicks, lighting designer Yael Lubetzky, sound designer Allan Branson and properties designer Lynda J. Kwallek.

The play was first performed in 2010 at Playwright’s Horizons. Following that production Norris received the 2011 Pulitzer Prize for Drama. A subsequent production was mounted on Broadway in 2012. The Broadway production was nominated for four Tony Awards and won the Tony for Best Play.

Clybourne Park is made possible in part by a grant from the Arkansas Black Hall of Fame Foundation, a component fund of the Arkansas Community Foundation.

For a review of Clybourne Park, read this.

Tribute to Philip Seymour Hoffman at Ron Robinson Theater this weekend

Posted on by

One of the advantages of the new CALS Ron Robinson Theater is the fact it can be programmed fairly quickly.

In tribute to the late stage and screen actor/director Philip Seymour Hoffman, the Little Rock Film Festival and Central Arkansas Library System have programmed a special weekend of films celebrating his career.

It kicks off tonight at 7pm with Magnolia and continues tomorrow at 7 with Charlie Wilson’s War.  On Sunday, his Academy Award winning performance as the title character in Capote will be screened at 4pm.

All films take place in the CALS Ron Robinson Theater inside the Arcade Building on the CALS campus.  The screenings are free.

MAGNOLIA – Paul Thomas Anderson’s 2000 film is an epic mosaic of interrelated characters in search of love, forgiveness, and meaning in the San Fernando Valley. Arkansan Melinda Dillon and Hoffman were just two of the actors in this ensemble film.

CHARLIE WILSON’S WAR – Mike Nichols and Aaron Sorkin’s comic drama was based on a Texas congressman Charlie Wilson’s covert dealings in Afghanistan, where his efforts to assist rebels in their war with the Soviets have some unforeseen and long-reaching effects.  Tom Hanks, Julia Roberts and Hoffman teamed up to lead the cast of this movie.

CAPOTE –  During his research for his book In Cold Blood, an account of the murder of a Kansas family, Truman Capote writer develops a close relationship with Perry Smith, one of the killers. Hoffman won an Oscar for his uncanny portrayal of this brilliant and troubled writer. Catherine Keener received an Oscar nomination for her performance as lifelong Capote friend, reclusive author Harper Lee.

Little Rock’s 9th Street and Ark Rep’s CLYBOURNE PARK focus of Mosaic Templar FRIDAY Lunch Program

Posted on by

ClybourneRescheduled from earlier in the week, as part of the Mosaic Templars Cultural Center lunchtime “It’s in the Bag” lecture program, members of the Ninth Street Community and Clybourne Park cast members will discuss how Arkansas Rep’s production of Clybourne Park relates to issues of race, property, history and legacy in our own communities.

The “It’s in the Bag” Lunch ‘n Learn Series offers a chance to learn about a host of topics designed to educate, inspire and entertain. Mosaic Templars Cultural Center provides soda and water, and attendees bring their own lunch. “It’s in the Bag” Lunch ‘n Learn Series is free and open to the public.

For decades, Little Rock’s Ninth Street with the hub of African American business and social life in Little Rock.  This can be traced back to 1854 when the family of Chester Ashley gave land to a group of black Methodists so that they could erect a church at 8th and Broadway.

Through urban renewal efforts and changing migration patterns as well as the integration of previously all-white businesses, Ninth Street lost its identity as an important hub for Little Rock’s African American community.  With the opening of the Mosaic Templar’s Cultural Center and efforts to restore the Dreamland Ballroom on the top floor of Arkansas Flag and Banner, efforts are underway to remind others of the important role this area played in Little Rock’s history.

The program begins at 12 noon.  Mosaic Templar’s Cultural Center is located at 9th and Broadway in downtown Little Rock.

The Mosaic Templar’s Cultural Center is an agency of the Department of Arkansas Heritage.

Lecture on artist Carroll Cloar tonight at Arkansas Arts Center

Posted on by
https://i0.wp.com/arkarts.com/image/Moonstricken-Girls-copy.jpg

Moonstricken Girls, 1968, Arkansas Arts Center Foundation Collection: Purchase, Seth Ward Acquisition Fund. ©Estate of Carroll Cloar

In anticipation of the exhibition, The Crossroads of Memory: Carroll Cloar and the American South, the Arkansas Arts Center is offering a special panel discussion with three scholars on the work of Carroll Cloar.It will take place tonight at 6pm in the Arkansas Arts Center Lecture Hall. A reception starting at 5:30 will precede it.

The panel will be moderated by Stanton Thomas, Ph.D., organizing curator and catalogue author, The Crossroads of Memory: Carroll Cloar and the American South. Panelists: Richard Gruber, Ph.D., Director Emeritus, Ogden Museum of Southern Art, University of New Orleans; David Lusk, representative of the Estate of Carroll Cloar, David Lusk Gallery, Memphis & Nashville; and Patty Bladon, Director of Development, University of Memphis College of Communication and Fine Arts.

The event is free for members, $10 for non-members. Tickets are required to attend. Space is limited.

The exhibit, which will run February 28 through June 1, is presented in Arkansas by the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette; Lisenne Rockefeller and the Stella Boyle Smith Trust.

Among those who are sponsoring it in Arkansas are the Bailey Foundation; Sandra & Bob Connor; Terri & Chuck Erwin; Friday, Eldredge & Clark, LLP; Eileen & Ricardo Sotomora; John Tyson & Tyson Foods, Inc.; Arkansas Farm Bureau/Agriculture Council of Arkansas; the Capital Hotel; Cindy & Greg Feltus; the Munro Foundation; J.D. Simpson; Don Tilton; and Gus & Ellis Walton.

 

ASO musicians in Capital Hotel lobby this evening

Posted on by

ASO at CHMusicians from the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra will be performing this evening in the lobby of the historic Capital Hotel. The music will start at 5:00 pm.

In 2011, the ASO started these free concerts in the lobby of the Capital Hotel.  The marble and tile of this historic lobby provide a wonderful acoustic backdrop for the musicians.

The concert will feature short, accessible pieces along with commentary from the musicians.

Unlike concerts in music halls, guests here are encouraged to bring drinks to their seats or to stand and move around while the musicians are playing.  It is a relaxed, informal atmosphere where the audience and musicians alike are able to interact with each other.

This concert is part of the ASO’s ongoing efforts to play throughout the community under the leadership of Music Director Philip Mann and Executive Director Christina Littlejohn.  In addition to the Capital Hotel concerts, they offer occasional free concerts at UAMS and have recently started the INC (Intimate Neighborhood Concerts) subscription series.

Little Rock Look Back: John Herndon Hollis

Posted on by

John Herndon HollisOn February 5, 1870, future Little Rock alderman and acting mayor John Herndon Hollis was born shortly before his family moved to what is now Cleveland County. His parents were originally from Georgia and came from prosperous and longtime families there.

The Hollis family came to Arkansas after the Civil War and settled in Union County. A portion of that county was carved off and became Dorsey County (named after a Republican US Senator from Arkansas) but was renamed Cleveland County after Grover Cleveland was elected President. Cleveland was the first Democrat to be elected President in over 20 years. This name change also reflected the political shift in Arkansas from the Reconstruction-led Republican politics to the Democratic Party politics which would dominate for the next century.

John Herndon Hollis was one of six children, and the only one with a middle name. Herndon had been his mother’s maiden name. As one of his brothers described their childhood in Cleveland County, “they all went to country schools in their home neighborhood, worked hard on the farm in the summertime, and were inside their little Methodist Church every time the doors were open.”

Around 1900, Hollis and his new wife Malinda M. “Linda” Taliaferro Hollis (formerly of Rison) moved to Little Rock.  Together the couple had six children. In Little Rock, Hollis worked in the banking industry. For years he worked for People’s Building and Loan Association.

Hollis was first elected to the Little Rock City Council in April 1904. He would serve as one of the Aldermen from the city’s Fourth Ward until April 1918.  This was on the western border of Little Rock at the time. The family lived at 1510 S. Schiller, which is one block east of Central High, though at the time neither the school nor its predecessor (West End Park) existed.

In April 1908, at the first City Council meeting in the new City Hall, Mayor W. E. Lenon announced his resignation. Because the resignation was effective immediately, there was a vacancy in the office of mayor.  Hollis was selected by his colleagues to serve as acting mayor until a successor could be elected. So from April 1908 through June 1908, Hollis was the City’s chief political and executive leader.

Though he was never formally mayor (and did not resign his position as alderman), since 1908, Hollis’ name has appeared on the list of mayors of Little Rock. The reason seems to be as a sign of respect since there was a vacancy.

There previously had been acting mayors when the mayor would be absent on business or due to illness. But in those instances, the mayor had not resigned. This is the only instance in Little Rock history when a mayor resigned immediately with no successor in place. So John Herndon Hollis holds a unique role in Little Rock history.

Hollis’ wife died in 1920.  He later married Ann Jewell of Little Rock (who was a distant cousin of his first wife). They were married until his death on October 23, 1941.  Ann Hollis lived in Little Rock until her death in 1980.  The Hollis family is entombed in the mausoleum at Mount Holly Cemetery.