Author Archives: Scott

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About Scott

A cultural thinker with a life long interest in the arts and humanities: theatre, music, architecture, photography, history, urban planning, etc.

The Cat in the Hat drops in at Arts Center Children’s Theatre

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The Arkansas Arts Center Children’s Theatre presents The Cat in the Hat through March 29 with special spring break matinees March 24-27.

“One of the most familiar and beloved picture books of the last half century will erupt with fun on the Children’s Theatre stage,” said Todd Herman, executive director of the Arkansas Arts Center.

“Young audiences and those young at heart will be transported into the world they’ve always imagined while seeing the classic book come to life.”

It’s a rainy day with nothing to do. Sally and her brother are miserable. Bored. Simply dying for fun. Then bump! Something quite unexpected. You guessed it. It’s a cat. In a hat. In fact, it’s the Cat in the Hat, and he’s just in time to show the kids a thing or two about fun. It’s just a matter of know-how, you know. So don’t listen to that fish! Jump in! The water’s fine! Just don’t tell mom!

The cast for The Cat in the Hat includes:

  • Ben Gibson of Little Rock as Boy
  • Sharon Combs of New York, N.Y., as Sally
  • Courtney Bennett of Little Rock as Cat
  • Mark Hansen of Little Rock as Fish
  • Aleigha Morton of Beebe as Kitten 1/Thing 1
  • Lauren Linton of Memphis as Kitten 2/Thing 2

Bradley Anderson is the artistic director and Katie Campbell is the show director. Costumes are designed by Erin Larkin; technical direction by Drew Posey; lighting design by Penelope Poppers; properties and set design by Miranda Young and Rivka Kuperman is the stage manager.

The Arkansas Arts Center Children’s Theatre presenting sponsor is Arkansas Blue Cross and Blue Shield and the season sponsor is Dr. Loren Bartole, ‘Family Footcare’.

Dr. Seuss’ The Cat in the Hat is presented through special arrangement with Music Theatre International (MTI).

That Arkansas Weather tonight at South on Main

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The Oxford American magazine is proud to welcome That Arkansas Weather to South on Main!

The concert starts at 10pm; doors open at 9pm. This is a ticketed event, with a $10 cover payable in cash only at the door on the night of the show.

That Arkansas Weather is a dynamic young band consisting of some of central Arkansas’ finest professional musicians. Deriving its name from the mercurial climate of our state, That Arkansas Weather plays a delightfully unpredictable combination of Jazz, Soul, R&B, Funk, and Hip-Hop.

All capable composers and improvisors, they perform both original material and new interpretations of classic songs while striking the perfect balance between accessible and experimental; familiar and new.

Gig-tested and audience approved, That Arkansas Weather is clearly one of the best new bands on the block.

Celtic Cultural Celebration with Lyon College Pipe Band

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In honor of St. Patrick’s Day, celebrate Celtic culture with an Arkansas Sounds concert, featuring the Lyon College Pipe Band, an award-winning bagpipe band from Batesville. 

The concert will include traditional Scottish bagpipe music, Scottish and Irish dancers, and a ceilidh (Celtic) band with guitars, accordions, uilleann (Irish) pipes, and singers.

Tonight at the Ron Robinson Theater at 7pm.  

Gershwin Music Featured at Arkansas Symphony this weekend

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The Arkansas Symphony Orchestra (ASO), Philip Mann, Music Director and Conductor, presents the fourth concert in the 2014-2015 Acxiom Pops Live! Series: Here to Stay, a Gershwin Experience, on Saturday, March 14, 2015 at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday, March 15, 2015 at 3:00 p.m., at the Pulaski Academy Connor Performing Arts Center, 12701 Hinson Road,

Legendary singer Sylvia McNair and acclaimed pianist Jeffrey Biegel join the ASO in a celebration of the music of George and Ira Gershwin. The program features favorites like “Rhapsody in Blue,” “Someone to Watch Over Me,” I Got Rhythm,” and more. This spectacular musical experience is enhanced by rare video clips, family photos, and state-of-the-art visuals to provide a distinctive and unforgettable offering of the Gershwin brothers’ best.

The Pops Live! Series is sponsored by Acxiom. Media Sponsor for the Acxiom Pops Live! series is The Point 94.1. The concert sponsor is Arkansas Blue Cross and Blue Shield.

Tickets are $19, $35, $49, and $58; active duty military and student tickets are $10 are can be purchased online at http://www.ArkansasSymphony.org; at the Connor Performing Arts Center box office beginning 90 minutes prior to a concert; or by phone at 501-666-1761, ext. 100.

All Arkansas students grades K-12 are admitted to Sunday’s matinee free of charge with the purchase of an adult ticket using the Entergy Kids’ Ticket, downloadable at the ASO website.

ARTISTS:

  • Sylvia McNair, soprano
  • Jeffrey Biegel, piano
  • David Snyder, piano and vocal
  • Danny Gardner, vocals and tap dancer

PROGRAM:

  • Strike Up the Band
  • Embraceable You
  • Rialto Ripples
  • Fascinating Rhythm
  • The Half of it, Dearie, Blues
  • The Man I Love
  • ‘S Wonderful
  • But Not for Me
  • Rhapsody in Blue

INTERMISSION

  • Of Thee I Sing: Overture
  • Slap That Bass
  • Let’s Call the Whole Thing Off
  • They All Laughed
  • Love is Here to Stay
  • Summertime
  • I Got Rhythm
  • Concerto for Piano in F: III. Allegro Agitato

The Brown Sisters Speak:featuring Phyllis Brown and Minnijean Brown Trickey

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 Little Rock Central High School NHS invites you to upcoming community programs in commemoration and celebration of Women’s History Month.  

  

 

Saturday, March 14th – 1:30 to 3:00 P.M. 
Ron Robinson Theater
100 River Market Avenue
Little Rock, AR 72201 
501-320-5715

Phyllis Brown and Minnijean Brown Trickey will sit down for a candid conversation about their personal experiences with segregation and being catalysts for change.  Phyllis, social activist and former member of SNCC, and sister Minnijean, member of the Little Rock Nine and social justice advocate, will share their views on the reality of social control and their knowledge of spiritual violations during times of resistance.

 
Presented in partnership with our friends at Central Arkansas Library System and the Ron Robinson Theater.  


         photos courtesy of Wayne Newton,   Isaiah Trickey

PI Day at the Museum of Discovery 

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Today is not just PI Day, it is a very special PI Day. 

PI Day is an annual celebration commemorating the mathematical constant PI.  This year is extra special–once in a lifetime–because at exactly 9:26:53a.m. It will be 3.14.15; 9:26:53. Those are the first 10 ungrounded dugouts of PI in perfect order. It is a feat that will be unrepeated until 2115.

The Museum of Discovery has rounded up (pun intended) some activities to mark the occasion.

  • There will be special hands-on activities in the Great Hall. 
  • An interactive reading of Sir Cumference and the Dragon of PI led by Visitor Experience Director Kevin Delaney in the theatre at 1pm and 3pm. 
  • At 10am there will be Wiggle Worm activities
  • Awesome Science demonstrations at 11am and 2pm

And while in the River Market District you can enjoy pizza pies at Gusanos, Jay’s, Iriana’s, or Damgoode.

10 Years of 2nd Friday Art Night

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In March 2005, the first 2nd Friday Art Night took place. Tonight celebrates 10 years.

In celebration of the 10th Anniversary of 2nd Friday Art Night, the Arkansas Times and venues are partnering to host the Art Can drive benefitting the Arkansas Food Bank.

Guests are encouraged to donate canned goods, canned/packaged meals, soup, peanut butter, cereal, 100% juice, pasta & pasta sauce, powdered milk, diapers and bath tissue at 2nd Friday Art Night venues on March 13 from 5 to 8 pm.

Among the highlights are:

Historic Arkansas Museum – The free opening reception of Recent Acquisitions from 5pm to 8pm will feature live music by The John Burnette Band.

Tulips have been donated for the anniversary celebration by the Downtown Little Rock Partnership and P. Allen Smith.

The Recent Acquisitions exhibition will feature objects acquired for the museum’s permanent collection from 2012 to late 2014. The exhibition includes both 2-D and 3-D historical artifacts as well as contemporary pieces relevant to Arkansas history and heritage.
The Year of Arkansas Beer, sponsored by Historic Arkansas Museum Foundation and presented by Arkansas Brewers Guild, continues with Ozark Beer Co.’s American Pale Ale.

 
Old State House Museum –  Tonight at 7, as well as Saturday at 7 and Sunday at 3, the Arkansas Chamber Singers’ third concert of the season, “Music of the Civil War Era.” Choral music composed during, performed during, or inspired by the American Civil War featuring music by Verdi, Brahms, Stephen Foster and many Civil War tunes arranged for choir.Admission is free, reserve your seat today by visiting the Arkansas Chamber Singers Web site.

 

Butler Center for Arkansas Studies A Different State of Mind: An Exhibition by the Arkansas Society of Printmakers (On view through June 27, 2015)

This exhibition presents a collection of prints in a variety of media by the members of the Arkansas Society of Printmakers (ASP). Print techniques featured include relief, screen printing, intaglio, photogravure, monoprint, and lithography. Artists whose work is presented include Daniel Adams, Dustyn Bork, Win Bruhl, Ernest Cialone, Warren Criswell, Paige Dirksen, Debi Fendley, Melissa Gill, Diane Harper, Neal Harrington, Tammy Harrington, Kristin Karr, Jennifer Perren, Jessi Perren, Regan Renfro, Dominique Simmons, Thomas Sullivan, David Warren, and Jane Watson.

Warren Criswell, whose work is featured in A Different State of Mind, will give a talk about linocut, his style of printmaking, at 6 p.m. on Friday, March 13, in Butler Center Galleries.

Featured artist: Angela Davis Johnson is best known for her vibrant narrative paintings that examine universal connections, identity, and historical occurrences through personal symbols.

Entertainment in the galleries will be provided by the Itinerant Locals, an accordion and tuba duo from Hot Springs.

2nd Friday Art Night began in March of 2005 to bring attention to downtown Little Rock as a growing arts and cultural destination with several galleries and museums within strolling distance of each other. In addition to highlighting existing art venues 2nd Friday Art Night has, over the past decade, contributed to the development of a vibrant nightlife rich with art, history, live music and shopping.

By encouraging galleries, museums and cultural institutions to keep their doors open late one evening each month, the event has contributed to the thriving business environment of downtown Little Rock, improved the quality of life of those who work, live and play downtown and welcomed travelers to experience Little Rock in a fun way.