Monthly Archives: August 2019

South Words, a new author series, is announced by OXFORD AMERICAN

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The Oxford American is pleased to announce South Words, a new author series at Ron Robinson Theater (100 River Market Ave., Little Rock, AR 72201) featuring renowned OA contributors.

The inaugural season features Sarah M. Broom, author of The Yellow House (Tuesday, October 15, 2019); Van Jensen and Nate Powell, author and illustrator of Two Dead (Tuesday, November 19, 2019); Silas House, author of Southernmost (Tuesday, February 25, 2019); and Leesa Cross-Smith, author of So We Can Glow: Stories (Tuesday, March 31, 2020). At each event, the author will read from his or her work, then be interviewed onstage by a moderator. The events, all of which are free and open to the public, begin at 6:30 PM, with the doors opening at 6 PM. Books will be for sale onsite and authors will participate in a signing.

The presenting sponsor for South Words is the College of Fine Arts & Communication at the University of Central Arkansas. The series is presented in partnership with the CALS Six Bridges Book Festival. Additional season partners include the Clinton School of Public Service, Villa Vue at SOMA, the Arkansas Arts Council, and the Department of Parks, Heritage, and Tourism

The Yellow House by Sarah M. Broom, who published an essay called “A Yellow House in New Orleans” in the Oxford American’s Spring 2008 issue, is a memoir set in a shotgun house in New Orleans East. The book was published on August 13, 2019, to wide acclaim, including from New York Times critic Dwight Garner, who called it “a major book that I suspect will come to be considered among the essential memoirs” of the decade. In a cover feature in the New York Times Book Review on August 11, Angela Flourney wrote: “[The Yellow House] is an instantly essential text, examining the past, present and possible future . . . of America writ large.” The conversation with Broom will be moderated by KaToya Ellis Fleming, the OA’s 2019-20 Jeff Baskin Fellow.

Little Rock native Nate Powell, the artist of the #1 New York Times bestselling and National Book Award-winning illustrated trilogy March, has said, “I’m always eager to bring my home state to life through comics, and each book doubles as a love letter to Arkansas in all its contradictory beauty.” His next book, Two Dead, a Little Rock noir set in the 1940s, is a collaboration with author Van Jensen, a former crime reporter at the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. The South Words event with Powell and Jensen will occur on the book’s November 19 publication date. A 16-page excerpt from Two Dead was published in the Oxford American’s Fall 2019 issue. The conversation with Powell and Jensen will be moderated OA Senior Editor Jay Jennings, author of Carry the Rock.

Silas House is a frequent New York Times contributor and the nationally bestselling author of six novels, including Southernmost, which was published in June 2018 and long-listed for the Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Fiction and named a best book of the year by Booklist, the Advocate, Garden & Gun, Southern Living, and Paste. Excerpted on OxfordAmerican.org, Southernmost is the story of evangelical preacher Asher Sharp, who offers shelter to two gay men after a flood in a small Tennessee town. The conversation with House will be moderated by Seth Pennington, editor-in-chief of Sibling Rivalry Press.

Leesa Cross-Smith made her Oxford American debut in 2017 with “Ain’t Half Bad,” her widely read essay about Sturgill Simpson for the Kentucky music issue; in 2018, she was a regular contributor to The By and By, the OA’s online story series. She is the author of Whiskey & Ribbons (longlisted for the 2018 Center for Fiction First Novel Prize and listed among Oprah Magazine’s “Top Books of Summer”), Every Kiss a War, and So We Can Glow, a collection of forty-two short stories forthcoming from Grand Central Press on March 10, 2020. The conversation with Cross-Smith will be moderated by OA contributing editor Kevin Brockmeier, who is the author, most recently, of A Few Seconds of Radiant Filmstrip: A Memoir of Seventh Grade.

For more information about South Words, visit OxfordAmerican.org/events

Tonight on South on Main stage: ROUTE 358 & TEN PENNY GYPSY!

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Route 358 & Ten Penny GypsyJoin South on Main on Saturday, August 17 for an evening of roots music with Route 358 and Ten Penny Gypsy.

Show begins at 9 pm. Purchase advance tickets for $7 in advance or pay $10 at the door. Tickets do not guarantee you a seat. Please call (501) 244-9660 to reserve a table.

ABOUT ROUTE 358 – https://artistdata.sonicbids.com/band/route-358/au…
Route 358 began as a jam session at the kitchen table that sounded anything but musical. Then a trip to the studio to record a live performance video of the song “Alone Tonight” started the four-piece Americana/Roots artists on their current trajectory.

358’s sound can be described as having one foot in bluegrass and the other in a swampy mixture of pop, country, folk and rock.Their songs tell tales of love, love-lost, ghosts, prohibition speakeasies and the roads they travel together.

“Only The River Knows,” the bands first album, was praised for its “distinctively vintage sound, combined with beautifully honest songwriting and emotional performances” (Rebecca Cullen, Stereo Stickman).

Songs from the album earned the band a nomination for “Americana/Roots Artist of the Year” by the Arkansas Country Music Awards as well as a selection as a showcase artist for Folk Alliance Mid-West and The John Hartford Memorial Festivals.

For the past two years the band has toured playing venues and festivals in Arkansas, Colorado, Nebraska, Indiana, Missouri and Texas. In October of 2018 tthey released their latest album “Lantern’s Light”.

ABOUT TEN PENNY GYPSY – https://www.tenpennygypsy.com/music
Arkansas singer/songwriters Justin Patterson and Laura Lynn Danley have been successfully following the beat of their own drum for years, separately as solo artists. That musical direction took an exciting and robust turn recently when they recruited the talents of renowned multi-instrumentalist/producer Anthony Crawford (Neil Young, Steve Winwood, Dwight Yoakam) to help their songs blossom, and the Americana duo Ten Penny Gypsy was born.

Recorded in 2017 at Crawford’s Admiral Bean Studio in Loxley, Alabama, Ten Penny Gypsy’s self-titled debut album contains eleven finely crafted songs, sweetly harmonic, yet delivered with a unique dose of Americana swagger. Whether it’s the waltzing hopefulness of “Old Woman By the Sea”, the plaintive longing of “Back On Level Ground”, or the rollicking rhythm of “Perfectly Imperfect”, each song wears its emotion on its sleeve. Combining Patterson’s strong voice and exquisite guitar work with Danley’s infectious delivery and melodic hooks, Ten Penny Gypsy has grown into a commanding duo that will draw you in like no other.

“I do believe that ‘Ten Penny Gypsy’ is a snapshot of Justin Patterson and Laura Lynn Danley in full bloom”, says Crawford.

Many others agree, as Ten Penny Gypsy was named a finalist in three categories for the 2018 Arkansas Country Music Awards : “Album of the Year”, “Americana/Roots Artist of the Year”, and “Vocal Group of the Year”.

“Ten Penny Gypsy” was released on August 25th, 2017, and is available on Amazon, itunes, Spotify, and in retail outlets throughout the country.

FREE admission at Clinton Center today in honor of President Clinton’s Birthday

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President Clinton’s birthday is next week.  But the Clinton Presidential Center is offering visitors the present.  Today from 9am to 5pm, the Clinton Presidential Center admission fees will be waived.

This is a chance to tour the permanent exhibits, including replicas of the Oval Office and the White House Cabinet Room, as well as the current temporary exhibit, Washed Ashore, at no charge!

Washed Ashore is a family-friendly exhibit that will eature more than 20 giant sea life sculptures – made entirely of trash and debris collected from beaches. This exhibit poignantly illustrates the toll trash takes on our oceans and waterways.

The incredible marine life sculptures will be accompanied by educational signage allowing visitors to learn about the fascinating species, environmental stewardship, responsible consumer habits, and how “every action counts” to help save our waterways.

Washed Ashore is a visual reminder of the disposable products that end up in our waters, and that each of us can take action to prevent further pollution.

Elvis Lives – or at least he will be on stage of Arkansas Rep in September with MILLION DOLLAR QUARTET

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August 16 marks the 42nd anniversary of the death of Elvis Presley.  (Or did he die?  Is he actually living in seclusion with JFK and others?)

In September, Elvis will come back to life as the Arkansas Repertory Theatre presents MILLION DOLLAR QUARTET.

Four musical legends. A one-in-a-million recording session.
On December 4, 1956, in the studios of Sun Records in Memphis, Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Carl Perkins, and Jerry Lee Lewis gathered to meet with legendary producer Sam Philips. What happened next was pure rock and roll magic.

A casual introduction of Lewis to Perkins unexpectedly evolved into an epic jam session of country, gospel and rock classics, captured on tape but not released until 1981.

With a collection of hit songs that includes “Blue Suede Shoes,” “Folsom Prison Blues,” “Great Balls of Fire,” and “Hound Dog,” this Tony Award-winning musical is guaranteed to blow the roof off!

The show, which won a Tony Award and was nominated for Best Musical, was written by Colin Escott and Floyd Mutrux.  The Rep’s production is directed by Hunter Foster who played Sam Phillips in the original Broadway cast.
The production opens on September 6 and plays through October 6.

3 shows highlight Arkansas Rep’s Spring 2020 season!

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The Arkansas Repertory Theatre, the state’s largest nonprofit professional theatre, has announced its Spring 2020 Season. The new season, which begins in January 2020, marks the first productions selected under the leadership of Little Rock native Will Trice, the Rep’s new executive artistic director.
 
“The season is a trio of productions I think audiences are going to love,” Trice said, adding that in Fall 2020 The Rep will resume a full-season schedule on a school-year calendar. “We’ve got a Tony Award-winning icon in a tour-de-force performance; a visionary adaptation of a contemporary, best-selling novel; and undoubtedly the most fun of the classic musicals.”
 
Trice added: “These are three very different stories, each told in a very different way. But they are all uplifting, entertaining, and can only be experienced live at The Rep. I can’t wait to share this season with my hometown.”
 
The Spring 2020 Season starts with Ann. Written by Holland Taylor, the Rep’s production will star Tony winner Elizabeth Ashley as Texas Governor Ann Richards. Known for her no-holds barred approach, Ann Richards was opinionated and possessed a wicked sense of humor. Taylor’s script captures the essence of Richards. (When Taylor was still developing the play, she appeared at the Clinton School as part of the speaker series.)
 
Ashley, who won a Tony for Take Her, She’s Mine and has been nominated for Barefoot in the Park and Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, was most recently on Broadway in The Best Man. It will be directed by her frequent collaborator Michael Wilson. A Drama Desk Award winner, Wilson has directed two Tony nominees for Best Play and two more for Best Play Revival (three of which have starred Miss Ashley.)
 
Ann will run from January 29 to February 16 of 2020.
 
Next on Arkansas Rep’s stage will be The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time. Based on Mark Haddon’s best-selling novel of the same name, this play by Simon Stephens has won five Tony Awards, six Drama Desk Awards, and seven Olivier Awards, including Best Play from all three. 
 
It tells the story of Christopher, a 15-year-old boy who describes himself as “a mathematician with some behavioral difficulties” who has never ventured alone past his street. Now he is on a mission – an investigative adventure that will upturn the world of his family and community forever.
 
Through innovative design and storytelling, it puts the audience inside Christopher’s mind as together they go on this incredible journey. The production will run from April 1 to April 19.
 
The classic musical Bye Bye Birdie will take the Rep stage in the summer. Written by Michael Stewart, Lee Adams, and Charles Strouse, it takes a comic, tuneful, nostalgic look at rock ‘n roll, the early days of television, teenage love, and family dynamics.
Experience this beloved classic through a fresh, new production directed by Jeff Award-winner and Olivier Award-nominee David H. Bell (Hot Mikado, the Closing Ceremonies of the Atlanta Olympics). When It first appeared, Bye Bye Birdie won four Tony Awards, including Best Musical.
 
It will be on the Rep stage from July 8 through 26 of 2020.
 
Season Subscriptions are on sale at TheRep.org or by calling the Box Office at (501) 378-0405. Subscriptions start at just $96 and are the most economical way to see all of the productions included in the Spring 2020 Season. Single ticket will go on sale four weeks before a show opens.
 
Two productions remain in the Rep’s 2019 season. Million Dollar Quartet opens next month and It’s a Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play is the December holiday offering.

Celebrate Country Music tonight at CALS Ron Robinson Theater

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Join the Central Arkansas Library System as they celebrate country music with a screening of the 45-minute advance trailer of Ken Burns’ Country Music documentary.

The showing will be followed by a special performance of classic country songs by The Salty Dogs and special guests Buck Trent, Tim Crouch and Chuck Dodson.

The sixteen-hour Country Music film premieres September 15th on AETN/PBS.

This event is FREE and open to the public with general admission seating on a first come, first served basis. Doors open at 7:00pm and the event starts at 8:00pm.

Presented by CALS Arkansas Sounds and AETN/PBS.