Category Archives: Theatre

UALR to Honor Sotomoras at FINALE

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UALR will honor Eileen and Dr. Ricardo Sotomora at the seventh annual Finale at 6:30 p.m., Saturday, April 28 at the Stella Boyle Smith Concert Hall in the UALR Fine Arts Building.

Reservations to the black-tie optional event are $150 with $110 being deductible.

Finale celebrates the arts in Central Arkansas and is the premier fundraising event for UALR’s fine arts programs. The dinner gala features performances and artwork by students.

Dr. Sotomora is the only pediatric cardiologist in private practice in Arkansas. He is the exclusive provider of cardiology services for children at Baptist Health Medical Center and St. Vincent Infirmary Medical Center, in Little Rock, and Baptist Health Medical Center in North Little Rock. His cardiology practice is managed by Eileen.

The Sotomoras were instrumental in founding the American Heart Association’s annual “Heart Ball,” in Arkansas, a debutante ball that not only raises proceeds for the organization but strives to teach girls about volunteerism and health. In 2006, Dr. Sotomora received the “Worthen Cornett Award,” the highest honor given to a person for work on behalf of the American Heart Association in Central Arkansas.

In 2008, they chaired the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra’s Opus XXIV. Currently, Dr. Sotomora is a trustee of the Arkansas Arts Center Board and a member of the development committee. Both of the Sotomoras are members of the Director’s Circle.  The Sotomoras are supporters of the Venezuelan “El Sistemia,” a government-funded program that currently assists nearly one million Venezuelan children in learning classical music.

“Eileen and Ricardo are amazing leaders in the Central Arkansas community,” said Deborah Baldwin, dean of the UALR College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences. “We are honored that they would assist us in raising awareness about how arts programs enrich the communities in which we live.”

Finale 2012’s performance will feature UALR music students performing scenes from the Broadway musical, “Into the Woods,” with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and book by James Lapine. Craig O’Neill of Today’s THV will serve as master of ceremonies. This is his fourth year to host the event.

In the live auction, Finale will feature a designer jewelry piece created by Sissy’s Log Cabin.

Presenting sponsors of the 2012 event are Glazer’s Distributors of Arkansas and Sissy’s Log Cabin. Premier sponsors include Pediatrix, Terri and Chuck Erwin, and Chip and Cindy Murphy. Sustaining sponsors are Simmons First National Bank, Blue Cross Blue Shield, East-Harding, Inc., Entergy, US Bank, and HBO/Time Warner.

Arts organizations from around the region lend their support to Finale each year. This year’s participating arts partners are Accademia dell’Arte, Arkansas Arts Center, Arkansas Repertory Theatre, and the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra.
Reservations to Finale are $150 each. Call Rivka Kuperman at (501) 765-9636 or at rekuperman@ualr.edu for more information.

Architeaser – April 24

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Yesterday’s Architeaser was an archway on the facade of the Arkansas Repertory Theatre building.  It was posted on Shakespeare’s birthday; the Rep often produces the Bard including Henry V which will start next year’s season.  The building was originally built as a department store and was transformed into a theatre in the 1980s.  The archway is  no longer over a working doorway but continues as an ornamental decoration on the building.

Today’s Architeaser is below.

Shakespeare on Trial at Clinton School

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The Quality of Mercy Is Not Strained – The Merchant of Venice

For centuries, controversy has raged over whether William Shakespeare is the true author of the plays attributed to him. Was it Shakespeare himself, or some nobleman such as the Earl of Oxford, merely using Shakespeare as his front man?

The Arkansas Shakespeare Theatre in conjunction with Clinton School for Public Service explores this controversy in an imaginative and entertaining format in a program at Sturgis Hall tonight at 6pm.

Tonight’s program sets out to answer these questions by giving Shakespeare himself an opportunity to bring suit in front of U.S. Judge Joe Volpe, with the help of top Arkansas attorneys serving as the prosecution and defense.

Other Elizabethan luminaries may make appearances as witnesses to add their two cents as AST celebrates Shakespeare’s (traditionally held) birthday in the courtroom. Birthday cake will be provided, whether or not Shakespeare wins his case.

Reserve your seats by emailing publicprograms@clintonschool.uasys.edu, or calling 501-683-5239.

Go INTO THE WOODS this weekend at UALR

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UALR Opera Theater will journey Into the Woods on April 20 and 22 as it presents the Stephen Sondheim-James Lapine award winning musical. (This is of special interest to the Culture Vulture who shares a common ancestor with the Brothers Grimm, on whose stories this musical is based.)

Encounter familiar characters such as Little Red Riding Hood, Jack (of the beanstalk), Cinderella and more as they strive to get their wishes. Follow the Baker and his wife as they search for magical ingredients to undo the spell the Witch has placed which prevents them from having a child. Watch as their dreams come true and reality sets it. Composer Sondheim and book writer James Lapine weave our favorite fables together in this cautionary grown-up fairy-tale about sacrifice, consequence and community.

Directed by 2009 UALR graduate Matthew K. Tatus and conducted by associate professor Bevan Keating, performances will take place at 7:30 pm on April 20 and 3pm on April 22 at the Stella Boyle Smith Concert Hall.  UALR student admission is free, children between the ages of 5-17 are $5, and general admission is $15. For tickets, call 501-569-8993 or order online at UALR Music Department Box Office.

The cast includes Christine Woods of Little Rock as Milky White/Snow White • David Lucian Angelo of Little Rock as Jack • Derrick Herman of Monticello as the baker • Ekaterina Kotcherguina of Little Rock as Cinderella • Erica Finnie of Searcy as Cinderella’s stepmother

J.J. Albrecht of Monticello as the steward • Jacqueline Forrester of Little Rock as the witch • Jessica Williams of Lantana, Texas, as Rapunzel • Katherine Ray of Jasper as Granny • Kevin Ezell of White Hall as Rapunzel’s prince • La’Leata May Westbrook of Little Rock as Lucinda.

Larry Burton of Little Rock will narrate and play the part of The Mysterious Man • LaSheena V. Gordon  of Little Rock as Florinda • Melissa Wilcox of Little Rock as Milky White’s Imposter/Sleeping Beauty • Memory Rose Apata of Little Rock as Jack’s mother • Michael Lowe of Little Rock as Cinderella’s prince • Rachel Manasco of Little Rock as Little Red Riding Hood • Regina Gallucci of Benton as Cinderella’s mother/the giant • Satia Spencer of DeWitt as the baker’s wife • Steven Armstrong of North Little Rock as Cinderella’s father

NEXT FALL this spring at Weekend Theater

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The next offering of the Weekend Theater opens this Friday evening.  Geoffrey Nauffts’ Next Fall is a charming, heart-warming, gut-wrenching look at relationships, religion, and the choices we all have to make in our lives. It and runs Fridays and Saturdays through April 21. Showtimes are at 7:30 p.m.

Tickets are $16 for general admission and $12 for seniors age 65 and older as well as students. Tickets can be purchased at www.weekendtheater.org or, based on availability, at the door. Reservations are no longer taken by phone; for more information only call (501) 374-3761.

“These are real people, but they’re also bigger than life,” says director Ralph Hyman about the play, which he describes as a “comical tragedy.” He saw it during its initial Broadway run and was captivated by the conflicts raised in the script – fundamentalism versus atheism, parents versus children, the family we make versus the one we’re born into.

The cast includes Harold Dean, Jackson Stewart, Hannah Blackburn-Parish, Ryan Whitfield, Allison Pace and Byron Taylor.

Deadline Approaching for Arkansas Arts Summit Registration

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The Arkansas Arts Council is pleased to be a sponsor of the 2012 Arkansas Arts Summit April 17-18 at the William J. Clinton Presidential Center in Little Rock. This intensive, two-day event will provide practical training for board members and arts administrators to help build and maintain art organizations and programs.

The conference will also offer performances, social events and networking opportunities. Registration is $95 and deadline to register is April 1. Click here to download a registration form, which includes a conference agenda and hotel information.

The Summit is presented by the John F. Kennedy Center for Performing Arts and the DeVos Institute of Arts Management at the Kennedy Center.

Led by Kennedy Center President Michael M. Kaiser, the conference will equip participants to:

    • Recruit and manage board members
    • Achieve fundraising success
    • Create institutional image with impact
    • Improve strategic financial planning
    • Develop and support effective marketing campaigns

Sponsors include the Arkansas Arts Council, the William J. Clinton Foundation, Donna and Mack McLarty, Kaki Hockersmith, Mid-America Arts Alliance, the Winthrop Rockefeller Institute, the Windgate Foundation, Stella Boyle Smith Trust, the City of Little Rock and the City of North Little Rock.

Olio Folio – Updates from the Rep, CALS and ASO

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Today we take a look at updates on a variety of previous posts.

First – the Arkansas Repertory Theatre has extended The Wiz through April 8.  It was originally supposed to end on April 1, but an additional week has been added due to overwhelming ticket demand.  Up next at the Rep after The Wiz – the annual ArtWorks auction followed by Next to Normal and A Loss of Roses.

Next up  – March 13 proved to be lucky for the Central Arkansas Library System as voters overwhelmingly approved the ballot initiative for future library expansion.  The vote was 4,548 FOR to 699 Against.  Because interest rates are at historic lows, bonds will be refinanced which will generate an estimated $19 million. Planned projects include:

– adding thousands of books, CDs, DVDs, children’s material, Arkansas history/genealogy materials, online audiobooks, databases, and eBooks to the collection
– adding space to accommodate the growing collections and services provided by the Butler Center for Arkansas Studies
– adding approximately 250 new parking spaces on the Main Library campus
– expanding Internet capacity and adding more computers and other electronic devices
– expanding children and adult spaces at the McMath Library on John Barrow Road
– constructing a 350-seat auditorium on the Main Library campus for expanded programs for children and adults
– making miscellaneous improvements and repairs to various Little Rock branch libraries
– purchasing land in far west Little Rock for a future branch

 

Finally, the audience spoke at the recent Arkansas Symphony Orchestra “People’s Choice” Pops Concert.  The audience chose the following pieces to be performed:

Best Classical Composer
*Beethoven – Symphony No. 5 First Movement

Best Classic Film Score
*Lawrence of Arabia

Best Contemporary Film Score
*Titanic

Best Sci/Fi Soundtrack
*Star Wars

Best Animated TV Show
* “Looney Tunes”

Best TV Show
*“Mission Impossible”

Best Kids’ Pick
*Anastasia

Best Video Game
*The Legend of Zelda

Best Broadway Score
*The Phantom of the Opera