Category Archives: Holidays

Pagans on Bobsleds XXVII: Manger Zone presented by Red Octopus

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Image may contain: 2 people, people standing and outdoorRed Octopus Theater’s Pagans on Bobsleds XXVII: Manger Zone! will run December 13, 14, 19, 20, 21 at The PUBLIC Theatre, located at 616 Center Street in downtown Little Rock. 

Doors will open at 7:15 PM and the show will start at 8:00 PM. Tickets are $10 for adults and $8 for senior citizens, military and students.  There are no reservations, tickets may only be purchased at the door before each show. The show is recommended for mature audiences, children under 18 will be charged $327. Cash, Credit and NFC payments accepted.

Red Octopus celebrates twenty-eight years of holiday fun and foolishness on stage this year with its newest sketch comedy show, Pagans on Bobsleds XXVIII: Manger Zone!  Santa’s elite school of reindeer pilots must duke it out to see who is “TOP BUCK”. Meanwhile, some old-time favorite sketches will be on display as well as some brand new holiday sketches that are sure to become audience favorites.  

The cast will showcase Courtney Beard, Alli Clark Howland, Josh Doering, Scott Dombroski, Sarena Dombroski, Drew Ellis, Anderson Penix, and Jason Willey with special guest, Luke “Ramthor” Rowlan.  

The show is recommended for adults and includes bawdy talk, adult deer situations and brief reindeer nudity.

Red Octopus Theater has been performing original, live sketch comedy for almost 30 years in Central Arkansas and beyond.  For more information please contact Red Octopus Theater at (501) 291-3896 or RedOctopusTheater@gmail.com. Red Octopus is also online at www.redoctopustheater.com.

Yippee-ki-yay – DIE HARD is being shown at the CALS Ron Robinson Theater tonight

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Die Hard PosterThe Nakatomi Plaza Christmas Party of 1988 was one to remember!

Relive it all as the CALS Ron Robinson Theater shows Die Hard tonight at 7pm for only $5.

Facing Christmas 3,000 miles from his estranged wife and two children, New York policeman John McClane flies to Los Angeles bearing presents and hoping to patch up his marriage. He then becomes the only hope for a small group of hostages, one of whom is his estranged wife, trapped in a Los Angeles high-rise building when it is seized by terrorists on Christmas Eve.

The film stars Bruce Willis, Bonnie Bedelia, Reginald VelJohnson, Paul Gleason, William Atherteon, Hart Bochner, James Shigeta, Alexander Godunov, De’voreaux White, and multiple Tony nominee Alan Rickman.  Directed by John McTiernan, it was was written by Jeb Stuart and  Steven E. de Souza based on a novel by Roderick Thorp (which was originally intended to be for Frank Sinatra.)  It was nominated for four Oscars: Sound, Film Editing, Sound Effects and Visual Effects.

Doors open at 6:00 p.m. Film starts at 7:00 p.m. Beer, wine, and concessions will be available!

40 years since the first Ballet Arkansas production of THE NUTCRACKER

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Burton and Tuzas from 1979 production

One of the sure signs of the Christmas season is the return of The Nutcracker to ballet companies across America.  Though the Little Rock Civic Ballet had first presented this ballet in 1968, by the mid-1970s, it was no longer performing the complete ballet.

In 1978, the Little Rock Civic Ballet was reorganized and re-christened Ballet Arkansas.  That first year, it did not perform The Nutcracker.  But on December 11, 1979, the tradition returned as Ballet Arkansas presented its first production of The Nutcracker.  It was once again at Robinson Center Music Hall.

The production was directed and choreographed by Lorraine Cranford, Ballet Arkansas’ Artistic Director.  The music was provided by musicians from the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra under the baton of guest conductor David Schimmell.  This was the first time in several years that the ballet had been accompanied by the ASO.

The guest artists were Anne Burton and Tanju Tuzer, both from Dallas.  The local dancers including David Twillie, Mirana, Peggy Howard, Carol Campbell, Jeffrey Stuart, Haven Cooper, Buddy Harris, Chris Clarke and Jeff Johns.

Tickets were $3.00 for the matinee. Evening performances ranged from $5 to $10 a person.

Discover your inner ELF tonight at the CALS Ron Robinson Theater

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Elf Poster

Will Ferrell stars as the ultimate fish out of water, Buddy, who as a baby crawls into Santa’s toy bag and is whisked off to the North Pole, where he is raised as an elf.

This 2003 holiday movie is being shown at the CALS Ron Robinson Theater tonight (December 10).

A misfit who grows to be three times the size of his elf family, Buddy ultimately heads to his birthplace of New York City to seek out his roots. Unfortunately, they turn out to be a “Scrooge”-like father (James Caan) and a cynical eight-year-old stepbrother who doesn’t believe in Santa.

Worst of all, everyone seems to have forgotten the true meaning of Christmas. But using his simple elf ways, Buddy sets out to single-handedly win over his family and save Christmas in New York, hoping to at last find his true place in the world.

The movie also includes Arkansan Mary Steenburgen along with Bob Newhart, Edward Asner, Zooey Deschanel, Daniel Tay, Peter Dinklage, Michael Lerner, Amy Sedaris, and Andy Richter.

Doors open at 6:00 p.m. Film starts at 7:00 p.m. Beer, wine, and concessions (and COCOA!) will be available!

Festival of the Senses presents Music for the Holidays on December 10 at St. Luke’s

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sheet music with holiday ornaments, ribbons and evergreen branchesOn Tuesday, December 10, at 7:00 p.m., Festival of the Senses will present a holiday concert of music by Sant-Saens, Brahms, Yon, and traditional carols played by May Tsao-Lim at the piano, Andrew Irvin on violin, and David Renfro on French horn.

The concert, which is free and open to the public, is the third in the 2019-20 season of the performing arts series sponsored by St. Luke’s Episcopal Church, 4106 JFK Boulevard. A reception with holiday treats will be held in the church’s parish hall following the performance.

The program will be as follows:

  • Caprice in the Form of a Waltz, Opus 52, No. 6, for Violin & Piano by Camille Sant-Saens;
  • Trio for Horn, Violin & Piano, Opus 40, by Johannes Brahms;
  • Gesu Bambino, by Pietro Yon;
  • A selection of traditional carols to be sung by the audience.

Festival of the Senses is a performing arts series created in 2011 by St. Luke’s Episcopal Church as a gift of the arts to the community to entertain, enlighten, and inspire.

May Tsao-Lim, who played in the Eric Hayward memorial concert for Festival of the Senses in September, teaches applied piano and piano pedagogy at Henderson State University, where she is Assistant Chair of the music department and Director of International Music Festivals. She has also taught at Iowa State University and Malaysia’s University College Sedaya International

ASO concertmaster Andrew Irvin is well known to Festival audiences as a member of the duo ARmusica. He also plays in the Camino Trio and recently was heard as substitute concertmaster with the Omaha Symphony. He has concertized across America and throughout Europe on his 1765 Gagliano violin, and his recordings are available on the Potenza and Naxos labels.

Since 2005, David Renfro has been the ASO’s principal horn player and also serves as the orchestra’s chief development officer. He is a member of Etesian Winds, a woodwind quintet, and the ASO Brass Quintet, and has taught at Ouachita Baptist University and Henderson State University. He was previously the principal horn in the Texarkana and Missouri Symphony Orchestras.

Arkansas Governor’s Mansion Christmas Open House today

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Image result for "arkansas governor's mansion" christmas"The annual Arkansas Governor’s Mansion Christmas Open House takes place today (December 8) from 1pm to 4pm.

The event provides the opportunity to view the decorations, meet Santa, enjoy cookies and experience holiday music.

The Mansion will be an official Toys for Tots dropoff location.  Please bring new, unwrapped, toys to donate.  Please Note: Strollers will not be allowed inside the Mansion.

Park in the neighborhood and enter through the front gates at 18th and Center Streets.  Or you can take a free trolley from Historic Arkansas Museum, Old State Museum and Mosaic Templars Cultural Center.

Holiday Open House this afternoon at Old State House Museum

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It’s the most wonderful time of the year … to visit the Old State House Museum! Celebr ate the holidays with the museum during Holiday Open House on Sunday, Dec. 8, from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m.

The museum will look its best with plenty of holiday décor, and local music groups, like the Sweet Adelines and Little Rock Central High Madrigals, will create a festive atmosphere. Visitors can participate in hands-on holiday activities and enjoy yuletide treats.

Admission is free, and a trolley will be available to take visitors between Old State House Museum, Historic Arkansas Museum and Mosaic Templars Cultural Center, as well as the Arkansas Governor’s Mansion, at no charge.