Monthly Archives: May 2015

RIP B.B. King

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The one and only B.B. King has left us. While he will no longer be creating new music, he will live on in our memories and in the rich musical legacy he has left.

Here is a photo of him performing at the amphitheatre in Riverfront Park in July 2008.  Also on the bill (and sitting in with B. B. King at the end) was Willie Nelson.

BBKing Willie

Photo by Linda Banks

Over the years, King made numerous appearances in Little Rock and throughout Arkansas.  Ten years ago, he headlined the 2005 Riverfest.  But he had started his career playing in segregated and smaller settings.  His earliest Little Rock performance which has been documented was at Club Morocco in 1951 sharing the stage with Floyd Dixon.

Regardless of where he played, King poured his heart and soul into the performance. Even as he got older and faced health difficulties, he never gave less than his all in a performance.  When he went on stage, any age or infirmity limitations seemed to melt away.

 

The Tonight Show Starring Kevin Delaney airs on May 22

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Delaney MOD NBC

Photo from Museum of Discovery

David Letterman leaves the air on Wednesday, May 20.  One of the new stars of late night TV returns for his third appearance on Friday, May 22.

Kevin Delaney, director of visitor experience at the Museum of Discovery, will make his third appearance on “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon” at 10:35 p.m. Friday, May 22, on NBC.  Delaney serves as the show’s “science expert” and performs multiple science demonstrations with Fallon serving as his lab assistant.

“I am honored to return to ‘The Tonight Show’ and represent the Museum of Discovery and Arkansas,” said Delaney. “It’s exciting to have this opportunity to showcase how amazing science is, all while serving the museum’s mission of igniting a passion for science, technology and math.”

Delaney was chosen after “Tonight Show” producers reached out to more than 50 museums across the country in search of the right candidate. Following a test show in February, Delaney made his successful “Tonight Show” debut on May 5, 2014 and returned again on November 7. To watch his first two appearances, visit http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OELiqiIHZEI andhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iQWtZd8jM3g

To learn more about Delaney, visit https://www.museumofdiscovery.org/kevin-delaney-tonight-show-jimmy-fallon

The Museum of Discovery’s mission is to ignite a passion for science, technology and math in a dynamic, interactive environment.

Heritage Month – Lamar Porter Field

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Lamar PorterLamar Porter Athletic Field is located in the Stifft Station neighborhood. Construction started in 1934 and continued for 18 months by the Works Progress Administration on a 10 acre site.

The 1,500 seat grandstand included club rooms, shower and locker rooms and a concession stand. It was first used by Boys’ Club teams in 1936. By 1937, City leagues and American Legion teams used it.  A playground, softball field and tennis courts were constructed next to the baseball field.

Lamar Porter Field is remarkable not only for its architecture, but also for its history.  Thousands of boys growing up in Little Rock played ball here.  One of those was future Baltimore Oriole Hall of Fame third baseman Brooks Robinson.  He has come back numerous times and has aided in fundraising efforts to restore the field.

The baseball sequence from A Soldier’s Story with Denzel Washington was filmed at Lamar Porter Field.

The field is named in memory of Lamar Porter, whose family donated the land and some money to help with the construction.  A Little Rock native, he was killed in May 1934 while he was attending Washington and Lee University.

Today Lamar Porter Field and the multipurpose field are home to RBI (Reviving Baseball in the Inner-city) which is an official program of Major League Baseball. Both Catholic High School and Episcopal Collegiate use Lamar Porter as their home field.

Lamar Porter Field was placed on the National Register of Historic Places on December 6, 1990.

Twelve Hours of Film Viewing Possible in Day 5 of Little Rock Film Festival

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LRFF2015posterIf you have the stamina, you can watch films from 10 in the morning until 10:30 tonight today with the Little Rock Film Festival.

At 10am at The Joint – Made in Arkansas” Shorts Block 6 with “Go to the Ball with Me, Jenny” (Cole Borgstadt), “Simple” (Scott McEntire), “Stay a While” (Michael Kelley), “Sassy & the Private Eye” (Tanner Smith), “The Whisperers” (Jason Miller) and “Perfect Machine” (Jarrod Paul Beck).  At 10:30am – 7 Chinese Brothers (Ron Robinson Theater), I Am the People (Butler Center) and “Made in Arkansas: The Hanging of David O. Dodd – Bill and Margaret Clark Room.

Those four locations will again be busy at 12:30 with:

  • Western – Ron Robinson Theater
  • Tired Moonlight – Butler Center
  • “Made in Arkansas” Block 3 – The Joint
    • “Undefeated” (Nathan Willis), “Little Brother” (Eric White), “Spoonin’ the Devil” (Michael Carpenter), “Meredith” (Scott Eggleston), and “The Town Where Nobody Lives” (Al Topich)
  • “Adventure” World Shorts Block – Bill and Margaret Clark Room
    • “Twelve Traditions” (Jonathan Cuartas), “Dust” (Mike Grier), “The Answers” (Michael Goode), “Spearhunter” (Adam Roffman), “The Other Side” (Scott Brown), “Big Boy” (Bryan Campbell) and “September Sketch Book” (Ronnie Cramer)

There will be a panel at 2:15 “Making Million Dollar Films for Thousands” in the Filmmakers Lounge.

At 3pm the films are:

  • God Bless the Child – Ron Robinson Theater
  • Sweaty Betty – Butler Center
  • “Made in Arkansas” Shorts Block 5 – The Joint
    • “Not Interested” (Matt Foss), “The Making of ‘Sensitivity Training’” (Tanner Smith), “’Twas the Night of the Krampus” (Donovan Thompson), “Vampire-Killing Prostitute” (Jordan Mears), “Southern Pride” (Nick Lane), “The Paper Boy” (Thien Ngo) and “I Hate Alphaman” (Hunter West)
  • “Some Lives” World Shorts Block – Bill and Margaret Clark Room
    • “The Resort (Shadae Lamar Smith), “Tom in America” (Flavio Alves), “Elgin Park” (Danny Yourd), “Write with Me…” (Hannah Leshaw), “Chute Fighter” (Laurel Parmet), “Lay in Wait” (Jonathan Ade), “The Murder Ballad of James Jones” (Jesse Kreitzer)

The 5:30 screenings are:

  • Applesauce – Ron Robinson Theater
  • Crocodile Gennadiy – Butler Center
  • “Made in Arkansas” The Grace of Jake – The Joint
  • “One, Two” World Shorts Block – Bill and Margaret Clark Room
    • “Biscayne World” (Ahol Sniffs Glue, Michael Arcos, Ellen Hertzler), “one hitta quitta” (Ya’Ke Smith), “Boxeadora” (Meg Smaker), “Day One” (Henry Hughes), “Hunter’s Fall” (Peter J. McCarthey) and “Bookin’” (John Kirkscey)
  • (T)ERROR – Clinton School

 

The final round of films tonight start at 8.  They are:

  • Breaking a Monster which will also feature a performance by Unlocking the Truth – Ron Robinson Theater
  • Uncle Kent 2 – Butler Center
  • “Made in Arkansas” The Phone in the Attic – The Joint
  • “Comes and Goes” World Shorts Block – Bill and Margaret Clark Room
    • “Tough” (Alfonso Johnson), “Marathon” (Lauren Smitelli), “The Art of Richard Thompson” (Bob Burnett), “Papa Machete” (Jonathan David Kane), “How to Stand Up for Yourself” (Sarah Hanssen), “La Reina” (Manual Abramovich) and “Mr. Gold” (Brian Carlson).
  • Peace Officer – Clinton School

At 9pm, the Tale of Two Cities Party takes place on the Junction Bridge.

Award winning THE MEMBER OF THE WEDDING at Weekend Theater

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TWT Member WedNext at the Weekend Theater is The Member of the Wedding, Carson McCullers unflinching yet heart-warming look back at the transition from childhood to adulthood.

Winner of the New York Drama Critics’ Circle Award and the Donaldson Award in 1950 for best play, The Member of the Wedding is based on the Carson McCullers multi-award winning novel by the same name. The play set during World War II takes place over a few days in late August, 1945.

It tells the poignant story of 12-year-old tomboy, Frankie Addams, who, like many prepubescents, feels disconnected from everything in the world; in her words, an “unjoined person.” Frankie’s mother has died in childbirth, and her widowed father is a distant, vacuous figure who has no idea of the anxiety his daughter is experiencing. Her closest companions in her small racially divided hometown are the family’s African American housekeeper and surrogate mother to Frankie, Berenice Sadie Brown, and her six-year-old pesky cousin, John Henry West. She has no other friends in her deeply southern birthplace and dreams of going away with her soldier brother and his bride-to-be on their honeymoon in the Alaskan wilderness. Frankie Addams desperately wants to become “joined” with the newlyweds in The Member of the Wedding.

Directed by Margaret Pierson Bates, the production opens tonight and runs through May 30 on Friday and Saturday evenings.

The cast includes Danette Scott Perry, Ellis Golden, Alex Harkins, Barry Clifton, Elizabeth Bartyzal, Peter Emery, Amanda Oxford, Stacy Williams Jr., Eric Tate, Akasha Hull, Allison Filbert, Claire Green, Jeffrey Oakley, Hannah Smith, Nikolai Gordeev, Drew Ellis, Keith Harper, Tommie Tinker, Alexander White, Terry White and Ryan Whitfield.

 

Heritage Month – Joseph T. Robinson House

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JT Robinson HouseThe Robinson House or the Foster-Robinson House is located at 2122 Broadway.

It was designed by Frank W. Gibb and built in 1904 for lumber man H. H. Foster.  Senator Robinson purchased the home from Foster’s widow and the house remained in the Robinson family until 1972 (following the Senator’s death in 1937 and his widow’s death in 1958). While visiting the state, President Roosevelt stayed at this house.

The Robinson house is a 2-1/2 story wood frame structure resting on a foundation of granite and brick. The exterior is sheathed in clapboards, and the roof is steeply pitched with a complex and irregular plan. There are four chimneys, two of brick and two of granite and brick. The main facade consists of a full-width porch supported by three square granite posts, above which are two pairs of sash windows, topped by a pair of gable ends, each with two small square windows. The gable ends are finished in stucco with decorative half-timbering. The porch is decorated with flattened Tudor-style arches and ornamental brackets, and shelters the main entrance, which is under the right gable, and paired windows under the left gable.

The interior has a wealth of high-quality woodwork, made using some of the choicest and most unusual cuts available at the time.

In addition to the house, the property includes a carriage house built using the same methods as the house. The yard is enclosed by an iron fence on the south and east sides, and a rock wall on the north and west sides.

It was listed in the National Register of Historic Places on March 28, 1975.  On October 12, 1994, it was designated a National Historic Landmark.

Thursday at the Little Rock Film Festival – Films, Films and More Films

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lrff_logo-backgroundThe fourth day of the Little Rock Film Festival gets going at 12:30 with “Made in Arkansas” Shorts Block 4 in the Bill and Margaret Clark Room at the River Market.  This includes: “The Tricycle” (David Bogard), “What Was Lost” (Romello Williams), “Overgrown” (Bruce Hutchinson, “Pyro” (Cole Borgstadt), and “The Space Station” (Michael Sutterfield).  At 1pm, Breaking a Monster screens at the CALS Ron Robinson Theater and The Chinese Mayor will be shown at the Butler Center.

At 3pm, “Made in Arkansas” Shorts Block 1 will be shown at the Joint.  It includes “Loser” (Andrew Lisle), “Forsaken” (Krisha Mason), “Monotony Broken” (J. C. Cocker), “Stranger Than Paradise” (Johnnie Brannon), “Rites” (Cody Harris), and “The Dealer’s Tale” (Justin Nickels).  Also at 3, “Comes and Goes” World Shorts will be shown in the Bill and Margaret Clark Room. This includes “Tough” (Alfonso Johnson), “Marathon” (Lauren Smitelli), “The Art of Richard Thompson” (Bob Burnett), “Papa Machete” (Jonathan David Kane), “How to Stand Up for Yourself” (Sarah Hanssen), “La Reina” (Manual Abramovich) and “Mr. Gold” (Brian Carlson).

The films Krisha (at the Ron Robinson Theater) and Uncertain (at the Butler Center) will start at 3:15.  At 4pm, the Filmmaker Welcome Reception will take place at the THEA Foundation.

At 5:30, all screens will be filled:

  • Funny Bunny – Ron Robinson Theater
  • Barge – Butler Center
  • Short Films celebrating Civil Rights past and present – The Joint
  • “Made in Arkansas” Shorts Block 5 – Albert Pike Memorial Temple
    • “Not Interested” (Matt Foss), “The Making of ‘Sensitivity Training’” (Tanner Smith), “’Twas the Night of the Krampus” (Donovan Thompson), “Vampire-Killing Prostitute” (Jordan Mears), “Southern Pride” (Nick Lane), “The Paper Boy” (Thien Ngo) and “I Hate Alphaman” (Hunter West)
  • “Some Lives” World Shorts Block – Bill and Margaret Clark Room
    • “The Resort (Shadae Lamar Smith), “Tom in America” (Flavio Alves), “Elgin Park” (Danny Yourd), “Write with Me…” (Hannah Leshaw), “Chute Fighter” (Laurel Parmet), “Lay in Wait” (Jonathan Ade), “The Murder Ballad of James Jones” (Jesse Kreitzer)
  • How to Change the World – Clinton School

 

At 8pm, the lineup features:

  • H. – Butler Center
  • “Made in Arkansas Shorts” Block 2 – The Joint
    • “MatchMaker” by Robin Sparks, “Hush” by Kenn Woodard, “Dim the Lights” by Dwight Chalmers, “The Pop N’ Lock” by Jadon Barnes, “Rapture Us” by Levi Agee, “The Ask” by Edmund Lowry and “Contact” by Alexander Jeffery
  • “Made in Arkansas” Shorts Block 6 – Albert Pike Memorial Temple
    • “Go to the Ball with Me, Jenny” (Cole Borgstadt), “Simple” (Scott McEntire), “Stay a While” (Michael Kelley), “Sassy & the Private Eye” (Tanner Smith), “The Whisperers” (Jason Miller) and “Perfect Machine” (Jarrod Paul Beck)
  • “This Life” World Shorts Block – Bill and Margaret Clark Room
    • “The Suburbs Go On Forever” (Mark Day), “The Way Things Are” (Guy Nemesh), “Stella Walsh” (Rob Lucas), “The Youth” (Dehanza Rogers) and “Unmappable” (Diane Hodson, Jasmine Luoma)
  • Crocodile Gennadiy – Clinton School

 

The final film of the day is 7 Chinese Brothers at the Ron Robinson Theater at 9pm.  At 10pm the KABF Radio Dance Party gets going at Good Food by Ferneau.