Today at 10am, the Mosaic Templars Cultural Center celebrates the life of poet, author, entertainer and civil rights activist, Dr. Maya Angelou.
The former Arkansan’s inspirational story will be brought to life by Dr. Gwendolyn Twillie, former chairwoman of the Theatre and Dance Department at UALR.
Registration is required. Contact Elvon Reed at 501.683.3592.
The Mosaic Templars Cultural Center is an agency of the Department of Arkansas Heritage.
The Mosaic Templars Cultural Center’s (MTCC) quarterly lunchtime series offers a variety of topics to educate, inspire, and entertain.
“It’s in the Bag” runs today from 11:30 to 12:30 at the MTCC.
Today’s installment will feature the cast of the Arkansas Repertory Theatre’s current play, The Whipping Man. Set at the end of The Civil War in 1865, The Whipping Man is an extraordinary tale of loyalty, deceit and deliverance. The award-winning play opened off-Broadway in 2011 to critical acclaim, winning the 2011 John Gassner New Play Award from the NY Outer Critics Circle and becoming one of the most produced plays in the country.
Don’t miss your chance to meet the cast and tour MTCC’s new exhibit, “Freedom! Oh, Freedom!” Arkansas’s People of African Descent and the Civil War: 1861-1866.
Guests are invited to bring their lunch, the museum will provide the drinks.
The Mosaic Templars Cultural Center is an agency of the Department of Arkansas Heritage.
In conjunction with the current production of The Whipping Man, UALR History Professor Dr. Carl Moneyhon will be speaking at the Arkansas Repertory Theatre this evening. His remarks are entitled “The World Turned Upside Down: The South at The End.”
Dr. Moneyhon is a specialist in the history of the American Civil War and the South and is widely published in his field. He is faculty liaison with the University History Institute, an organization that develops closer ties between the department and the community. He serves on editorial boards of the Arkansas Historical Quarterly & the Encyclopedia of Arkansas History and Culture. He has won the UALR Faculty Excellence Award for Research and the UALR Faculty Excellence Award for Teaching.
The program is at 6:00 tonight in Foster’s at the Arkansas Rep. The doors open at 5:30; a cash bar will be available. Admission is free for members of the Rep and $10 for non-members. Registration is required and can be made by calling the Rep Box Office at 501-378-0405.
The Arkansas Arts Center Children’s Theatre presents Rumpelstiltskin through February 8, 2015.
“The magical tale of Rumpelstiltskin takes the audience on an action-packed journey that is familiar to so many generations,” said Todd Herman, executive director of the Arkansas Arts Center. “We invite the community to experience the enchantment of this wonderful play.”
Once upon a time, there was a dwarf who tried to take things that just weren’t his. Now, this dwarf lived in a land that was ruled by a king whose greed was as grand as his kingdom. And in that kingdom, there lived a miller whose bragging mouth was nearly as grand as the king’s greed. And it so happened that this miller had a lovely daughter who was kind and good, but one day she did a very bad thing – she made a promise she could not keep. Now, the king is angry, the miller is frightened, and the dwarf is simply out of control.
Wheels spin and straw flies as the miller’s daughter works madly to make things right again, but the only way she can is by discovering the mean old dwarf’s secret true name. In searching for that, she discovers the only power in the world that will help her. The most magical power of all: love.
This production is adapted for the stage by Keith Smith from the Brothers Grimm.
The cast for Rumpelstiltskin includes:
Bradley Anderson is the artistic director and Keith Smith is the playwright and set designer for the production. Costumes are designed by Erin Larkin; technical direction by Drew Posey; lighting design by Penelope Poppers; properties design by Miranda Young and Sarah Gasser is the stage manager.
The Arkansas Repertory Theatre production of Matthew Lopez’s The Whipping Man is a riveting production which features three men grappling with issues of faith, family, and fidelity over three days at the close of the Civil War. Set in the remains of a once-grand townhouse in Richmond (masterfully designed by Mike Nichols), it tells the story of Caleb, the scion of the edifice’s owner, and two of the now-former house slaves, Simon and John.
As Simon, the moral compass of the trio, Michael A. Sheppherd portrays a complex man wrestling with the changing times while holding on to a vision of a bright future. His approach to the role is to emphasize Simon’s pragmatism. He can easily shift from stern (when making hard decisions) to tender (when discussing his wife and daughter). Sheppherd projects an inner strength which never allows the character to slip into the “noble, long-suffering slave” stereotype. As do the other two actors, he finds the quiet, honest humor in the script while not disrupting the story.
Damian Thompson likewise avoids having John wear the “shiftless, devious” label. He joyfully struts like a peacock in his increasingly finer clothing (a deft creation of costume designer Yslan Hicks) and brags of his latest acquisitions (which progressively litter the stage courtesy of props designer Lynda J. Kwallek). But like the other two characters, he is seeking to better himself in these uncertain times. Thompson’s eyes and smile flash the brilliance of the character, who obviously has intelligence since he taught himself to read.
Ryan Barry’s Caleb spends much of the time onstage sitting in one place due to an injury. Through his sometimes pained voice, shifts in posture and gestures, he never seems static. His descriptions of the horrors of war are gripping. When paired with his soft tone of voice and romantic longing for the girl he left behind at home, he serves as a reminder that not all went into war with gusto.
Throughout the play, it becomes apparent that all is not what it seems with any of the three. What the secrets are, and who knows what about whom, is just part of the evening. While the mysteries are plot points, they are not the whole point of the story. The faith and shared experiences bind these three together far more than they would care to admit. Sheppherd, Thompson and Barry share a great chemistry which serves the production well.
Director Gilbert McCauley obviously trusts his actors and the script. He lets the action unfold at a languid, but not sluggish pace. In his hands, the silences and stillness of the actors can sometimes be more powerful than words and movement. There are moments in the script which could easily shift into melodrama, but McCauley does not allow that.
This same approach is shared with the strong and subtle lighting design of Dan Kimble. He achieves a rare balance of having the stage dim and well-lit at the same time. The mood of the play is also ably served by Allan Branson’s sound design.
The Whipping Man offers no easy answers or pat endings. While none of the characters are without flaws (who is?), they each have redeeming qualities. At the end of the play, one is left wondering what will happen to them. Realizing that the Reconstruction era in the South was hardly pleasant for anyone regardless of race, the audience knows that the future will probably not be too satisfying for any of the three.
Toward the end of the play, the trio share a Seder. In addition to the obvious connections (Abraham Lincoln and Abraham from the Bible, the end of slavery in both eras), it is also about sharing faith and sharing experiences. It is, for a brief respite, a moment of pure peace.
The Arkansas Rep production of Lopez’s play serves as a helpful reminder that in the midst of chaos, harmony can be achieved, if only for a moment.
As Producing Artistic Director Bob Hupp often says, one of the objectives of the Arkansas Repertory Theatre is to tell a variety of stories. Following the holiday frolic that was Elf, next on stage is Matthew Lopez’s award-winning play The Whipping Man.
An extraordinary tale of loyalty, deceit and deliverance, The Whipping Man opened off-Broadway in 2011 to critical acclaim, winning the 2011 John Gassner New Play Award from the NY Outer Critics Circle and becoming one of the most produced plays in the country.
On Passover, 1865, the Civil War has just ended and the annual celebration of freedom from bondage is being observed in Jewish homes across the country. One of these homes sits in ruins. As Jewish confederate officer Caleb DeLeon returns from the war, badly wounded, to find his family missing and only two former slaves remaining, Simon and John, the two men are forced to care for him.
As Caleb, Simon and John wait for the family’s return, they wrestle with their shared past as master and slave, digging up long-buried family secrets as well as new ones. With Passover upon them, the three men unite to celebrate the holiday, even as they struggle to comprehend their new relationships at a crossroads of personal and national history and to come to terms with the sordid legacies of slavery and war that threaten each of their future freedoms.
Ryan Barry, who was featured in last season’s Clybourne Park returns to the Rep joined by Michael A. Shepperd and Damian Thompson. The production is directed by Rep vet Gilbert McCauley (Gee’s Bend, Looking Over the President’s Shoulder, The Piano Lesson, A Soldier’s Play, Fences, Frost/Nixon). Other members of the creative team are set designer Mike Nichols, costume designer Yslan Hicks, lighting designer Dan Kimble, sound designer Allan Branson and props designer Lynda J. Kwallek.
The production opens Friday, January 23 and runs through Sunday, February 8.
With The Last Five Years, the fledgling Studio Theatre has staked its claim as a force in Little Rock’s community theatre scene. This production of Jason Robert Brown’s time-bending, two character musical highlights not only the talents Little Rock offers, but also the virtues of the space in which it was performed.
The musical tells of the rise and fall of the relationship of budding novelist Jamie and struggling actress Cathy. The audience sees his perspective moving forward and her’s moving backwards with the two intersecting only momentarily at their wedding. Because of this conceit, there is very little chance for interaction between actors Jeremy Hall and Erin Martinez. But what the show does offer is ample opportunities for each to shine as they thoroughly inhabit the characters.
As Cathy, Martinez uses her expressive features and wide vocal range (notes and styles) to move from pathos to frustration to love and excitement. From his first entrance to his final exit, Hall is full of energy. It moves from nerves to joy to confidence to guilt and finally resignation. His pace may vary, but there is ever-present force in his trajectory.
This is a small show full of quiet moments. Hall and Martinez are both able to maximize these moments with a change in posture, a small gesture, a tilt of the head or a raised eyebrow. They also each have moments of joyous ebullience where they let go – while staying in character. For Martinez it was “A Summer in Ohio” which joyfully recounts a hellish summer. Hall had several lively songs but his highlight was probably “The Schmuel Song” where he channels a bit of Tevye in a dopey romantic way.
Director Ryan Whitfield kept the action fluid as it shifted between the two perspectives and time frames. He ensured honest portrayals and created an atmosphere where the audience was more eavesdropping than “watching a performance.” He also kept the continuity so that the two halves of the same scene (played at different times in the show) gelled properly.
Musical Director Mark Binns not only maximized the vocal talents of the two performers, he led the live band through the score’s varied musical styles. (It was a pleasure to walk in to the theatre and hear an orchestra warming up – a joy one misses with pre-recorded music or only a synthesizer or keyboard.) Musicians Bob Bidewell, Charlie Friedman, Brian Wolverton, Sam Clark and Binns displayed their own musical talents while also supporting the singers.
With a proscenium stage, tiered seating in comfortable chairs, and a balcony for orchestra and technicians, the Studio Theatre provides a “traditional” theatre setting. It, however, has enough flexibility to incorporate a blackbox-like setting as needed. While theatre can be performed any where, too often community theatre tries to do “proscenium” shows in a blackbox setting for economic and not artistic reasons. The Studio Theatre space allows for both types of settings which means that decisions can be made based on artistic reasons.
While this production could have been done on a completely blank space, the set (by Whitfield and Matthew Mentgen) features levels and a variety of distinct playing areas that enhanced the production. The giant clock on the back wall served not only as a visually interesting element, but the changing hands were an added touch as the story moved back and forth.
The Last Five Years tells a tale that is both humorous and heartbreaking, woeful and wistful. These are not heroes and heroines – they are two humans caught up in this thing known as living and loving. By the end of the performance, Martinez and Hall have taken the audience on a journey full of faults, flaws, fascination, fondness, first-dates, first novels and a snake named Wayne. What more could you want?
The Last Five Years continues Friday and Saturday at 7pm and Sunday at 2pm at The Studio Theatre.
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