Monthly Archives: May 2019

The Arkansas Symphony Orchestra welcomes Tony and Grammy winner Heather Headley in one night only concert in October

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The Arkansas Symphony Orchestra presents An Evening with Heather Headley, a special concert featuring vocalist Heather Headley 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, October 5, 2019. The concert will feature Ms. Headley performing selections from Tony-winning musicals The Lion King and EAida, and other songs from Broadway’s most popular musicals, under the baton of conductor Ron Colvard.

Heather Headley was born and spent most of her childhood in Trinidad. In the 90’s, her family moved to the United States where her love for the arts flourished and grew into an incredible and multi-faceted career.

Headley is known for her GRAMMY Award for Best Contemporary R&B Gospel Album, winning the prestigious Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical for her title role in Elton John and Tim Rice’s Aida, and originating the role of Nala in Time Rice’s hit Tony-winning musical, The Lion King. Her stage and music career also includes GRAMMY Award nominations for Best New Artist and Best Female R&B Vocal Performance, starring as Shug Avery in the Tony Award-winning The Color Purple, and for winning the coveted Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actress in a Musical. M

This special concert is only available to Arkansas Symphony Orchestra subscribers until single ticket sales are opened to the general public in August. Subscriptions are available by calling the ASO Box Office at 501-666-1761, ext. 1 or by visiting www.ArkansasSymphony.org/subscribe.

Winner of 2019 Sculpture at the River Market public monument competition is Theresa Dyer for LITTLE ROCK

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­­­­­ Theresa Dyer was named as the recipient of a $60,000 commission on Sunday at the conclusion of the 2019 Sculpture at the River Market. The name of her sculpture is LITTLE ROCK.

It will be installed in spring 2020 adjacent to Little Rock City Hall, at the northwest corner of Markham Street and Broadway Street.

Dyer’s piece will stand ten feet high, be twelve feet wide, four feet deep, and sit on a concrete base which is eight feet in diameter. It will be made of silicon bronze, stainless steel, and cold-rolled steel.

In submitting the proposal, Dyer said,

“I see this sculpture as a testament to the future of Little Rock. Two children looking up in openness, wonder and hope. They are positioned back to back looking up at the same star. This will provide interest at all viewing angles. One of them points upwards with his arm at an angle of 23.5 degrees, this exact angle being the tilt of the earth. The earth is represented by an arch of stainless steel and an arch of cold rolled steel. They are supported by the 8’ dia. base of poured concrete.

“Along the edge of the base will be inscribed the coordinates of the City of Little Rock. At the top of the circumference is a stainless steel pin fixture that will become illuminated at night adding interest from dusk until dawn. The shaft of light points in two directions, one toward the sky and the other, down on the boys faces. The children are positioned in the center of the implied circle and the boys arm continues the line of the earths tilt. The piece is orientated toward the bridge and provide views from both Broadway and Markham Street. The two figures acknowledge the existing sculpture of the two figures across Broadway in front of Robinson Auditorium, creating a gateway toward Broadway Bridge.

Sculptors who were juried in to participate in the 2019 Show and Sale were invited to submit proposals for the new commission. A committee reviewed the 37 submissions and narrowed them down to seven semi-finalists. The semi-finalist proposals were on display Friday, May 3, during Sculptacular, the preview party. Guests at the party had the opportunity to review the proposals and then to vote. Following that, the three finalists were announced. A panel of judges selected the winner from the three finalists. The other two finalists were Nnamdi Okonkwo and Charles Strain.

Dyer will join eight other sculptors who have been recognized previously with the commissions through the Sculpture at the River Market’s Public Art Monument Sculpture Competition.

  • The 2011 winner was Chapel, whose work The Center was installed near the Junction Bridge.
  • In 2012 the recipient was Bryan Massey, Sr.’s Nautilus. This was installed to the north of the Marriott Hotel near the younger children’s spray fountain.
  • The 2013 winner was Ted Schaal for his piece Open Window which was placed near the La Petite Roche plaza and First Security Amphitheatre.
  • Lorri Acott’s Peace was the 2014 commission winner; it is sited at the southeast corner of Main and 2nd Streets.
  • Michael Warrick’s Mockingbird Tree, the 2015 winner, is installed at the corner of Chenal Parkway and Chenal Valley Drive.
  • Clay Enoch’s United, which won in 2016, was installed at Central High School.
  • Stephen Shachtman’s Arkansas ‘A’, the 2017 winner, sits at the entrance to the Southwest Community Center
  • Carol Gold’s Infinite Dance, was recently installed in Riverfront Park where the Broadway Bridge pedestrian ramp meets the Arkansas River Trail.

And the Pulitzer goes to SOUTH PACIFIC

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On May 5, 1950, the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical South Pacific captured the Pulitzer Prize in Drama. This would receive special attention in the Arkansas Gazette. The reason this carried such weight in Arkansas was that the musical had a connection to Little Rock.

The 1950 Pulitzer for Drama went to a musical for only the second time in the history of the awards. The recipient was South Pacific by Richard Rodgers, Oscar Hammerstein II and Joshua Logan. The character was the leading lady of Nellie Forbush. She was an Navy ensign and a nurse stationed on an exotic island during World War II. The musical was based on a Pulitzer Prize winning novel, James Michener’s Tales of the South Pacific.

In the Michener novel, Miss Forbush is not from Little Rock. She is actually from a small town in Alabama. But the book does mention Nellie and her mother visiting Little Rock.  The part was written for Mary Martin from Weatherford, Texas. Rodgers, Hammerstein & Logan did not discuss why they relocated Nellie’s birthplace.

Originally the musical contained a song entitled “My Girl Back Home” in which Nellie sang of being from “Little Rock, A-R-K” while another character sang of being from “Philadelphia, P-A” and “Princeton, N-J.” It is possible the change to Little Rock was made because it offered more lyrical possibilities, but that is only a supposition on the part of the Culture Vulture. That song did appear in the movie version in which Mitzi Gaynor played Nellie Forbush. It was also featured in the 2008 Broadway revival, this time with Kelli O’Hara playing Nellie.

In the musical, Nellie struggles with her own prejudices. This issue of prejudice became an instance of fact meeting fiction. In 1957, a few weeks after Eisenhower sent troops into Little Rock to ensure that Central High would be desegregated, a production of South Pacific on Long Island was temporarily halted when the audience booed and yelled after Nellie mentioned she was from Little Rock. Interestingly, the movie was released in 1958, but retained references to Little Rock. That was either a testament to the expense of re-editing it, or the fact that audience reaction had lessened.