Category Archives: Theatre

Experience OCTOPI IN THE OUTFIELD with Red Octopus Theater

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(L to R) Jeremiah Herman, Josh Doering, Sam Grubb and Anderson Penix of Red Octopus Theater are suited up for Octopi in the Outfield, an all new live sketch comedy show running May 16-18, 2019.

This weekend, Red Octopus Theater presents Octopi in the Outfield an all new, original, live sketch comedy show.

Octopi in the Outfield runs May 16, 17, 18 2019 at The PUBLIC Theatre, located at 616 Center Street, in downtown Little Rock, AR.

Doors will open at 7:15PM and the show will start at 8:00PM. Tickets are $10 for adults and $8 for senior citizens, military and students.  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 $914.

Red Octopus is excited to return for the 28th year with its first show of 2019,  Octopi in the Outfield, a loosely baseball themed sketch comedy filled with nostalgia and laughs.  The troupe will take a look at parents at t-ball, online dating, new parents and the struggles of public teachers.

The cast of candidates includes Courtney Beard, Alli Clark Howland, Josh Doering, Sam Grubb, Jeremiah James Herman, Anderson Penix, and Jason Willey with special guest, Luke “Ramthor” Rowlan.

Performances are open to all ages, but recommended for mature audiences due to adult language and situations. Again, child tickets are $914.

ArtWorks returns to Arkansas Rep tonight

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Arkansas Repertory Theatre will host its 31st annual ArtWorks auction on May 11 featuring artwork by local artists under age 40. The fundraiser also includes live music, an open bar and appetizers from local eateries.

Doors open at 6 p.m. with the live auction starting at 7 p.m. Tickets are $50 and may be purchased at TheRep.org, by calling the Box Office at (501) 378-0405 or at the door. To go along with the ‘under 40’ theme, attendees under age 40 can purchase tickets for $40.

“ArtWorks is always a really fun night that brings art enthusiasts together. This year, we are so excited to partner with these tremendously talented local artists – all who are under age 40,” said Susan Nichols, ArtWorks Coordinator. “We’re grateful for their donations and support of The Rep.”

This is the first major Rep fundraising event since the theatre began its 2019 “Rebuild the Rep” Season.

Special guest emcees will help present each piece of art. They include: Billy St. James (102.5 FM), Wess Moore (Fox 16), Donna Terrell (Fox 16), James Bobo (Rep board member) and Lance Restum (Arkansas Travelers).

Local eateries providing food and drinks include: Three Fold Noodles and Dumpling Co., Capers, Copper Grill, Golden Eagle of Arkansas, Allsopp & Chapple and Atlas Bar.

The artists with work up for auction include: Joshua Asante, Matt Bates, Trevor Bennett, Rhett Brinkley, Justin Bryant, Heather Canterbury, Matthew Castellano, Krystal Cornelius, Meagan E. Davis, Margo Duvall, John Funderburg, Robert Hinojosa, Jon Hodges, Phillip Rex Huddleston, Bethany Johnson, Layet Johnson, Kesha Lagniappe, Jack Lloyd, Rayna Mackey, Haley Naylor, Claire Nichols, Brandy Thomason McNair, Emily Parker, Jennifer Perren, Emma Presley, Adrian Quintanar, Haynes Riley, Nathaniel Roe, Lily Ryall, Sulac, Chris Swasta, Louis Watts, Eleanor Wheeler, DeQuan Fidel Whitley, Brian Wolf, Emily Moll Wood, Markeith Woods and Rachel Worthen.

§  Doors open at 6 p.m.; Live auction starts at 7 p.m.

§  Tickets are $50 ($40 for those under age 40) at the door, TheRep.org or (501) 378-0405

Adult night for Arkansas Arts Center production of THE HOBBIT

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The HobbitBack by popular demand!

Join the Arkansas Arts Center in the Lower Lobby before the 7 p.m. performance tonight (May 9) of The Hobbit™. Guests will adventure “there and back again” with specialty drinks and snacks before the show. 21+ event

The 2018–2019 Arkansas Arts Center Children’s Theatre closes this spring with The Hobbit. The show runs through May 12, 2019.

Performances of The Hobbit are Fridays at 7 p.m. and Saturdays and Sundays at 2 p.m. Tickets are $12.50 each or $10 for members of the Arkansas Arts Center.

Bilbo Baggins is swept away – a reluctant hero on the adventure of his lifetime. In the company of thirteen rough and tumble dwarves and one cryptic wizard, Bilbo braves danger at every turn on this exciting quest for dragon’s gold. Mister Bilbo Baggins cordially invites you to travel with him “There and Back Again” in this new adaptation of Tolkien’s classic tale. So come and join the quest. There’s a partner’s share of treasure waiting just for you.

The play is based on The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien and licensed by Middle-earth Enterprises. It was adapted for the stage by Keith Smith. The Arkansas Arts Center Children’s Theatre’s production of The Hobbit is directed by John Isner. Bradley D. Anderson is the Artistic Director. The set was designed by Keith Smith, costume design by Nikki Gray, properties design by Cathleen Brignac, and lighting design by Mike Stacks. Liz McMath is the stage manager. The Hobbit is a trademark of The Saul Zaentz Company d/b/a Middle-earth Enterprises under license to Arkansas Arts Center Children’s Theatre.

And the Pulitzer goes to SOUTH PACIFIC

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On May 5, 1950, the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical South Pacific captured the Pulitzer Prize in Drama. This would receive special attention in the Arkansas Gazette. The reason this carried such weight in Arkansas was that the musical had a connection to Little Rock.

The 1950 Pulitzer for Drama went to a musical for only the second time in the history of the awards. The recipient was South Pacific by Richard Rodgers, Oscar Hammerstein II and Joshua Logan. The character was the leading lady of Nellie Forbush. She was an Navy ensign and a nurse stationed on an exotic island during World War II. The musical was based on a Pulitzer Prize winning novel, James Michener’s Tales of the South Pacific.

In the Michener novel, Miss Forbush is not from Little Rock. She is actually from a small town in Alabama. But the book does mention Nellie and her mother visiting Little Rock.  The part was written for Mary Martin from Weatherford, Texas. Rodgers, Hammerstein & Logan did not discuss why they relocated Nellie’s birthplace.

Originally the musical contained a song entitled “My Girl Back Home” in which Nellie sang of being from “Little Rock, A-R-K” while another character sang of being from “Philadelphia, P-A” and “Princeton, N-J.” It is possible the change to Little Rock was made because it offered more lyrical possibilities, but that is only a supposition on the part of the Culture Vulture. That song did appear in the movie version in which Mitzi Gaynor played Nellie Forbush. It was also featured in the 2008 Broadway revival, this time with Kelli O’Hara playing Nellie.

In the musical, Nellie struggles with her own prejudices. This issue of prejudice became an instance of fact meeting fiction. In 1957, a few weeks after Eisenhower sent troops into Little Rock to ensure that Central High would be desegregated, a production of South Pacific on Long Island was temporarily halted when the audience booed and yelled after Nellie mentioned she was from Little Rock. Interestingly, the movie was released in 1958, but retained references to Little Rock. That was either a testament to the expense of re-editing it, or the fact that audience reaction had lessened.

On May 3, 1963, the first Arkansas Arts Center produced show took place in its theatre

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The Arts Center Theatre view from the stage in 1963

On May 3, 1963, at 8:30 pm, the curtain rose as the Arkansas Arts Center produced its first show in its own theatre.  Though the building would not be officially dedicated until later in May (more about that later), programming had been taking place in the facility for several months.

In December 1962, a community theatre production was the first play in the Arkansas Arts Center theatre.  Over the ensuing months, it would play host to a variety of concerts and performances.  At the time, the Arkansas Arts Center planned to use the theatre as a house for its own productions (one series geared to adults, the other series geared to kids), other shows produced by Little Rock organizations, and touring shows which might be too small for Robinson Auditorium.

Friday, May 3, 1963, was a momentous evening, as the Arkansas Arts Center presented Rumpelstiltskin.  (Since the theatre space has been focused on children’s theatre since the late 1970s, it seems prescient that the first AAC produced play was a children’s production some fifteen years earlier.)

The production was overseen Joseph N. Carner, who was the theatre director.  It was his hope that the Arts Center plays geared toward children would also encourage other groups throughout the state to produce plays specifically for younger audiences.  Margaret Davies Carner, who taught speech at Little Rock University, directed the play.  She also taught drama classes at the Arts Center.

The cast included Garry White as the title character with Dell Blaine, Michael Hosman, Lesie Smith, Tom Abraham, Dickie Atchison, Butch Lashee, Henry Fletcher, Charles McRaven, Ann Thomson, Dannette Joe Baker, Sallie Penn, Paul Motes, Leslie Newell, and Robin Hosman.

In addition to a Friday night performance, there were 2:30 matinees on Saturday and Sunday that were geared toward children’s audiences.

The Fifth Month offers the final five days to explore NATIVE GARDENS at Arkansas Rep

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Tonight (Wednesday, May 1) through Sunday, May 5, are the final five days to experience Karen Zacarias’ hilarious comedy NATIVE GARDENS on the Arkansas Rep stage.

This hilarious new comedy features cultures and gardens clashing, which turns well-intentioned neighbors into feuding enemies.

In Native Gardens, Pablo, a rising attorney, and doctoral candidate Tania, his pregnant wife, have purchased a home next to Frank and Virginia, a D.C. couple with a prize-worthy English garden. But an impending cookout for Pablo’s colleagues and a dispute over a long-standing fence line soon spiral into a border dispute, exposing both couples’ notions of race, taste, class, and privilege.

The Arkansas Rep cast includes Rachel Harker (Virginia Butley), Kurt Zischke (Frank Butley), Aurora Leonard (Tania Del Valle) and Gabriel Pena (Pablo Del Valle).

Little Rock native Steve Broadnax III is the play’s director. The design and creative team includes Holly Payne, costume designer; Lynda J. Kwallek, properties designer; Mike Nichols, resident set designer/technical director; and Yael Lubetzky, lighting designer. The production manager is Joshua Marchesi and the stage manager is Colin JB.

Zacarías is one of the most produced playwrights in the nation. She is one of the inaugural Resident Playwrights at Arena Stage in Washington D.C, and is a core founder of the LATINX THEATRE COMMONS. She is founder of Young Playwrights’ Theater, an award-winning company that teaches playwriting in public schools in Washington D.C.

Tickets start at $20. Discounts are available for full-time students, season subscribers, seniors and military personnel. For complete information, visit TheRep.org.

Plans for 2019-2020 season of Arkansas Arts Center Children’s Theatre announced

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While the Children’s Theatre at the Arkansas Arts Center undergoes a much-needed renovation, Children’s Theatre Restaged will bring the magic of live theatre to stages across Arkansas.  

In this reimagined format, the Children’s Theatre will expand its touring capacity while the Arts Center’s MacArthur Park facility undergoes its major renovation and expansion project. The Hobbit, on stage April 26 – May 12, will be the last Main Stage production in the current MacArthur Park building. Main Stage shows will resume in the Arkansas Arts Center’s renovated theater in fall 2022.

Children’s Theatre on Tour, part of the Arts Center’s Statewide ArtsReach program, currently serves more than 35,000 students and families in communities across Arkansas with three traveling productions every year. In this expanded format, Children’s Theatre Restaged will allow the Arts Center to reach even more students and families across the state with professional, educational live theatre experiences.

Through this expanded program, literary-based theatre productions will continue to travel to schools, community centers and libraries across Arkansas. The 2019–2020 Children’s Theatre on Tour season will include Wynken, Blynken and Nod: A Play for the Very Young (September 24 – November 1), A Christmas Carol (November 12 – December 20), The Arkansas Story Porch (January 14 – February 28), and The Wind in the Willows (April 7 – May 15).

Children’s Theatre Restaged will also include additional public productions and performances at the Arkansas Arts Center’s temporary location in Riverdale and at other community locations. Details about additional programming will continue to be announced throughout 2019.

Children’s Theatre Restaged is yet another piece of the Arts Center’s commitment to remaining accessible to the community while its MacArthur Park building is under construction. The Arts Center is committed to working with cultural partners across the region to expand access to performing and visual art programming while increasing programming reach.

“Children’s Theatre Restaged will continue and grow our mission by inviting more families and more communities to discover creativity on stage,” said Laine Harber, Interim Executive Director and Chief Financial Officer. “The Arkansas Arts Center was imagined as a hub for the arts in Arkansas. As we build our new home in MacArthur Park, we’re excited to take this interlude to build our reach across the state.”

Theatre classes will also continue while the Arts Center undergoes renovation. The 2019 Junior Arts Academy and Summer Theatre Academy will be held at the MacArthur Park facility this summer. While the Arts Center’s MacArthur Park building is under construction, those programs will continue at other community locations.

Children’s Theatre staff will work out of the Arkansas Arts Center’s temporary Riverdale space during the renovation and expansion project along with the rest of the Arts Center staff. In the Children’s Theatre’s 14,200 square-foot workshop, theatre staff will create sets, sew costumes, and build props for the Arts Center’s touring productions and programs.

“Children’s Theatre Restaged is the next chapter in the Children’s Theatre’s long history of bringing magic and joy to the stage,” said Bradley Anderson, Children’s Theatre Artistic Director. “We are excited to have this opportunity to expand our traveling programs and we can’t wait for families across the state to delight in the productions we’re creating.”

2019–2020 Children’s Theatre on Tour Season:

Wynken, Blynken, and Nod: A Play for the Very Young
September 24 – November 1, 2019
Toddlers and preschoolers will delight in the enchanting and whimsical journey of Wynken, Blynken, and Nod as they sail away one magical night and meet the mystical Moon! Inspired by Eugene Field’s poem, this interactive musical for early-childhood audiences explores the fantasy world of dreams. The Moon asks, “where are you going, and what do you wish?” And the night sky becomes the sea and stars become fish as audience members see, touch, and participate throughout the play. Join Wynken, Blynken, Nod, and the Moon on this 45-minute multi-sensory adventure for the very young.

A Christmas Carol
November 12 – December 20, 2019
Clever, comedic, and kid-friendly, this holiday play breathes new life into Dickens’ heart-warming classic. Schooled by a team of magical Christmas Eve visitors, Ebenezer Scrooge, the most miserable of all misers, rediscovers the true spirit of the season—one of love, generosity, and family. With these touchstones of happiness revived in him, he wakes Christmas morning to find himself “light as a feather, happy as an angel, and merry as a schoolboy!”

The Arkansas Story Porch
January 14 – February 28, 2020
Old Winnie and Monroe Jones are the fun-lovin’est pair of Ozark hill folk you’ll ever hope to meet. Nothing tickles them more than sitting on their plank-board porch with friends and neighbors spinning yarns and singing songs of Arkansas lore and Arkansas history. And guess what? You’re invited! So pull up a seat and get ready to laugh and sing. It’s Arkansas story time, y’all!

The Wind in the Willows
April 7 – May 15, 2020
For Mole, Rat, and Badger, springtime is a time for new life, new friendships, and enjoying the simple pleasures—that is, until Mr. Toad of Toad Hall careens onto the scene. After a madcap spree of weasel clashes and motorcar crashes, it is up to the three friends to take the prodigal toad in hand and rescue him from his most dangerous enemy—himself.