Monthly Archives: December 2019

Welcome to the Fourth Floor with John Willis tonight at South on Main

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John Willis presents Welcome to the 4th Floor: 40th Birthday Show!Welcome to the 4th Floor: 40th Birthday Show!

December 7 is the birthday of singer-songwriter-troubadour-raconteur John Willis. In celebration of another trip around the sun, he is giving the gift of music to audiences on Friday, December 6.

The concert will be at South on Main.

As a performer and as a songwriter, John Willis is known for an eclectic sense of style, drawing elements of classical, jazz, r&b and soul into the sphere of his piano-pop oriented sets.

Expect an exemplary set of music at this show, on the evening before his 40th birthday, in which he will attempt to incorporate all of the elements that have inspired and influenced him as a musician in these first 40 years.

Help him make it to the “4th Floor” of the forties with a night of oldies, 90s, indie, folk, soul, Broadway, standards, and more.

Show kicks off at 8pm. $15. Call (501) 244-9660 for reservations.

IT’S A WONDERFUL LIFE – A Live Radio Play opens tonight as Arkansas Rep’s final show of 2019

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George Bailey, Clarence, and Mr. Potter all make an appearance as the Arkansas Repertory Theatre presents It’s a Wonderful Life – A Live Radio Play.

After two days of previews, the production opens tonight (December 6) and runs through December 29.

Back by popular demand, this holiday classic returns to The Rep’s stage to close the 2019 season. (It was last on the Rep’s stage in 2008.)

Ring in the holidays with an entertaining spin on a familiar holiday favorite. Set in a 1940s radio station on Christmas Eve, enjoy a live radio version of Frank Capra’s classic 1946 film as the actors on stage transform into dozens of characters from Bedford Falls. Faced with the threat of scandal and financial ruin, George Bailey experiences a crisis of faith and wishes he had never been born. Divine intervention arrives in the form of Clarence (Angel Second Class), who is on a mission to restore George’s will to live… and earn his own wings in the process. Every life impacts countless others, whether we know it or not.

The production is directed by Giovanna Sardelli (whose most recent Arkansas Rep production was The School for Lies). The design team includes Jo Winiarski (set), Sarah Nietfeld (costumes), Jamie Roderick (lighting), and Jane Shaw (sound). The cast includes the return of Larry Daggett and Patrick Halley along with Alan Dronek, Larissa Klinger and Mary Murphy making their Arkansas Rep debuts.

 

Sandwich in History at the Arsenal Tower Building in MacArthur Park today

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Image may contain: sky, cloud, house and outdoorYou are invited to join the Arkansas Historic Preservation Program’s next “Sandwiching in History” tour, which will visit one of Little Rock’s oldest standing structures, the Arsenal Tower Building, now home to the MacArthur Museum of Arkansas Military History on 9th Street in MacArthur Park in Little Rock beginning at noon on Friday, December 6, 2019.

This structure was built as part of a federal military installation. The U.S. Arsenal is the only building that remains of the more than 30 that made up the original installation. After 1892, the arsenal grounds became City Park and later MacArthur Park in 1942.

The two-story brick building displays a slight Gothic influence in a centered octagonal entry tower. Symmetrical east and west wings display two-story full porches. For several decades, the building was endangered, but the City of Little Rock undertook a renovation project in the 1930s. The U.S. Arsenal currently houses the MacArthur Museum of Arkansas Military History.

Sandwiching in History tours are worth one hour of AIA continuing education credit. If you would like to receive email notifications of upcoming tours instead of postcards or need additional information, please contact Callie Williams, Education and Outreach Coordinator for AHPP, at 501-324-9880 or Callie.Williams@arkansas.gov.

Catherine Russell is next in OXFORD AMERICAN’s Archetypes & Troubadours series on South on Main stage

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Catherine Russell [ARCHETYPES & TROUBADOURS SERIES]

The Oxford American magazine is excited to welcome Catherine Russell to the South on Main stage, tonight (December 5).

This is the second show of their Archetypes & Troubadours Sub-Series. Doors open at 6:00 PM, with dinner and drinks available for purchase at that time. The series is made possible in part by presenting sponsors Chris & Jo Harkins and J. Mark & Christy Davis, as well as their season sponsor University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences.

Alone Together, vocalist Catherine Russell’s seventh studio album as a leader, is a search for truth. Drawing on composers and lyricists of The Great American Songbook—Irving Berlin, Eddie de Lange, and Jimmy Van Heusen—along with songwriters from the Swing and Rhythm & Blues eras—Nat Cole, Louis Jordan, and Al Dubin, and Harry Warren—Russell invigorates their creations. At the center is Russell’s voice, and while comparisons to Ella, Billie, Sarah, and Dinah abound—while flattering—she has a sound all her own. “Blues infused jazz tunes are the ones I gravitate towards, because they enable me to freely express myself in the moment,” says Russell.

Catherine Russell is a native New Yorker, born into musical royalty. Her father, the late Luis Russell, was a legendary pianist/composer/bandleader and Louis Armstrong’s long-time musical director. Her mother, Carline Ray, was a pioneering vocalist/guitarist/bassist who performed with International Sweethearts of Rhythm, Mary Lou Williams, Sy Oliver, and countless others.

Catherine Russell combines a pedigree, where classic jazz & rhythm and blues run through her veins, with the sensibility of a lifetime in popular music. On Alone Together, an intoxicating brew emerges. The connections are real and natural, never forced, and always true.

Additional season partners include Stella Boyle Smith Trust, Cypress Properties, Inc., UCA College of Fine Arts & Communication, Margaret Ferguson Pope—Thank You Aunt Margaret!, EVO Business Environments, Jay Barth & Chuck Cliett, Stacy Hamilton of Desselle Real Estate, Downtown Little Rock Partnership, Arkansas Arts Council, Department of Arkansas Heritage, Rosen Music Company, and Steinway Piano Gallery Little Rock.

Prohibition Repealed on December 5, 1933

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On December 5, 1933, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Utah provided the necessary support to officially repeal “the great experiment.”

Because this was such a foregone conclusion, the Arkansas Gazette and Arkansas Democrat carried only small, single column stories on their front pages.  Perhaps because this was Arkansas, it did not appear that any Little Rock businesses immediately set about to capitalize on this.  At least there were not any large scale advertisements in the days following that would indicate any specials or activities planned for the December 15 official end.

In fact, the only mention in the newspapers on December 15 was that President Roosevelt was trying to decide what the alcohol taxing structure should be.

One amusing story that ran in the Arkansas Democrat on December 6 was that Mrs. Roosevelt was keeping the wine glasses in storage at the White House for the time being.  She was awaiting action by Congress once it convened in January 1934 as to how it would deal with properly ending Prohibition in the District of Columbia.  Over 3,000 wine glasses had been in storage since Prohibition had been enacted.

Science after Dark: Jingle Booze. Tonight at the Museum of Discovery

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Fa La La La La La La La Cocktails! Join the Museum of Discovery for the final Science after Dark of 2019.

This evening it is a holiday-themed Science After Dark! Be sure to wear your ugly sweaters!

Sponsors Fassler Hall Little Rock will sell food, Stone’s Throw Brewing will sell beer and Rock Town Distillery will sell cocktails.

You must be at least 21 to enter. Tickets are $5 or free for members and can be purchased online or at the door.

LR Winds Holiday Concert tonight

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LR Winds at UA-PTC CHARTSThe Little Rock Winds annual holiday concert takes place tonight (December 5). It features yuletide favorites performed with a cheerful chorus, delightful dancers, stunning soloists, and a right jolly old elf, all at UA-Pulaski Tech CHARTS Theater!

Under the direction of conductor Israel Getzov, guest artists include Michael Oriatti, tenor; Pat Walker, narrator; Arkansas Festival Ballet Performing Company with artistic director Rebecca Miller Stalcup; Sylvan Hills Choirs with director Elaine Bohannon Harris; Baton auction winner Michele King Hellstern, guest conductor.

There will be a silent auction before the concert, offering lots of items to fill those Christmas stockings. The auction opens at 6:30 p.m. and bidding will conclude at the end of the concert intermission.

AND there will be a photo booth for Selfies with Santa!