Tag Archives: Arkansas Arts Center

Arts Center Children’s Theatre geared for Adults Tonight

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jamesgiantadultThe Arkansas Arts Center is hosting an event tonight featuring the Children’s Theatre production of James and the Giant Peach.  The twist is that this event is for adults 21 and over.

Billed as “Giant Peaches and Fuzzy Navels” the event starts at 7pm with a reception.  It will feature refreshments (including adult beverages which use peaches as ingredients) and a musical performance by Paul Morphis.

At 8pm, the production of James and the Giant Peach will start.

The title character is played by Jeffrey Oakley.  Mark Hansen and Aleigha Morton play his horrible aunts.  Others in the cast are Garrett Flood as Old Green Grasshopper, Anna Tess Frost as Spider, Jeremy Matthey as Centipede, Jhonika Wright as Ladybird and Cassandra Nary as Earthworm.David Wood has adapted Dahl’s story for the stage.  The production is directed and designed by Alan Keith Smith.  Erin Larkin designed the costumes, and Penelope Poppers is the lighting designer.

James and the Giant Peach opens tonight and runs through May 12.  Public performances are Fridays at 7 p.m., Saturdays at 3 p.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m.

Bradley Anderson is the artistic director of the Arkansas Arts Center Children’s Theatre. Dr. Todd Herman is the executive director of the Arkansas Arts Center.

May 2 Architeaser

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IMG_5151In keeping with this week’s focus on Arkansas Arts Center entrances, today’s Architeaser focuses on the front portico of the Pike-Fletcher-Terry House. The iconic ionic columns are constructed of brick. They date from the early days of this often-modified house.

The original construction of this edifice started in 1840 by Albert Pike.  After uses as a residence and a women’s college, former Mayor John G. Fletcher took ownership of the property in 1889.  From 1889 to 1977 it was in the Fletcher family, first Mayor Fletcher and then his three children – Pulitzer Prize winning poet John Gould Fletcher, Mary Fletcher Drennan and Adolphine Fletcher Terry.

Mrs. Terry and her husband Congressman David D. Terry raised their five children in the house.  The house was also a base for Mrs. Terry’s community interests.  Most notably, the Women’s Emergency Committee was founded in the house.  This group of Little Rock area women focused on reopening the Little Rock public schools after they had been shut in response to the desegregation of Little Rock Central High.  The list of members of this group was kept secret for 40 years.  In 1997, the list was made public and the names were etched in the glass of the conservatory on the east facade of the building.

In 1963, the two remaining heirs of Mayor Fletcher – Mrs. Terry and Mrs. Drennan – announced that they were deeding the house to the City of Little Rock for use by the new Arkansas Arts Center. This transfer would go into effect upon the death of both sisters.  Following Mrs. Terry’s death, Mrs. Drennan (who lived out of state) went ahead and transferred the property in 1977.

From 1985 to 2003, the building was known as the Arkansas Arts Center Decorative Art Museum and housed the AAC’s decorative art and contemporary craft collection.  Because of expansion of the main campus in MacArthur Park, that collection was moved to the main building.  Since 2004, the building has been home to a variety of community art exhibits in conjunction with the Arts Center.

Since 1977, the building has long been a favorite site for special events and weddings. That tradition continues today. Tomorrow night, Our House will host its annual Dinner on the Grounds at the Arkansas Arts Center’s Pike-Fletcher-Terry House.

 

Arkansas Arts Center Looks Back and Forward with TABRIZ

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tabriz-logoThis year, the Arkansas Arts Center’s biennial Tabriz marks 50 years.  What started out as a blacktie dinner and dance as the Beaux Arts Bal (sic) in 1963 transformed by 1971 into Tabriz – an auction event.  Over the years, the one evening has grown into three different events.

Thursday, May 2, 6 p.m., Alice Pratt Brown Atrium
Tabriz: Moroccan Market Silent Auction

The Thursday, May 2, event will be a casual party featuring a silent auction with over 350 unique items for every interest. Beginning at 6 p.m., attendees will enjoy entertainment, specialty drinks and light fare with a Moroccan twist. Tickets are $50 per person. Guests are invited to bid online with bidpal.net/tabriz. www.Tabriz2013.org

 

Saturday, May 4, 6 p.m.,Alice Pratt Brown Atrium
Tabriz Gala Dinner: A 50th Anniversary Ball

A Moroccan market-themed black-tie gala will be held Saturday, May 4, at 6 p.m. There will be silent and live auctions featuring items such as premiere destination vacations, elegant jewelry, marvelous parties and various other art and cultural experiences available for bidding, premium cocktails and an elegant dinner. Tickets are $750 per person and include admission to the Studio Party 50th Anniversary Celebration Ball immediately following the gala at 9 p.m.

 

Saturday, May 4, 9 p.m.,Alice Pratt Brown Atrium
Tabriz Studio Party

Following the Gala Dinner, guests will enjoy exciting entertainment with The Jump Street Band, hors d’oeuvres and cocktails. Tickets to attend the Studio Party 50th Anniversary only are $100 per person.www.Tabriz2013.org

April 30 Architeaser

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Yesterday focused on the entrance to the old Museum of Fine Arts.  When the new Arkansas Arts Center opened in May 1963, the architectural firm of Ginocchio, Cromwell, Carter, Dees & Neyland (now the Cromwell firm) had designed a new entrance.  This one created a more modern look and reoriented the building toward the south and MacArthur Park.  Just off the entrance and lobby are studios, galleries and a theatre.

Since the 2000 renovation and expansion, this has functioned as an entrance for the Museum School and the Children’s Theatre and is now most commonly referred to as the lower lobby.

As this is the last day of April, it will be the last daily Architeaser.  Starting in May, it will shift to a twice a week (generally Tuesdays and Thursdays) feature.

April 29 Architeaser

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IMG_5067Later this week the Arkansas Arts Center will host its Tabriz fundraiser event.  In keeping with that, today’s Architeaser features the entrance to the old Museum of Fine Arts in MacArthur Park.  When the Museum was reorganized into the Arkansas Arts Center and the building was expanded, the former entrance was incorporated into the new building.

The original building was designed by architect H. Ray Burks.  It was built by the Works Progress Administration and incorporates the art deco and neo-classical elements which were usually found in WPA buildings.  The entrance typifies this.  The arches contain the ridges, clean lines and fluting often found in art deco as well as classical figures in a frieze.

James and the Giant Peach at AAC

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aac_childrens_theatre_james_peach_lgA magical peach! An incredible journey! Young orphan James escapes the clutches of his horrible Aunt Sponge and Aunt Spiker when he finds an enormous peach growing in his yard containing talking insects. James, the wise Old-Green-Grasshopper and the pessimistic Earthworm begin a wild adventure to an unknown destination.

This magical tale comes to life at the Arkansas Arts Center Children’s Theatre.

Broadway audiences are paying a small fortune to see a stage adaptation of Roald Dahl’s Matilda.  But Little Rock audiences can see Dahl’s James and the Giant Peach for $12.

The title character is played by Jeffrey Oakley.  Mark Hansen and Aleigha Morton play his horrible aunts.  Others in the cast are Garrett Flood as Old Green Grasshopper, Anna Tess Frost as Spider, Jeremy Matthey as Centipede, Jhonika Wright as Ladybird and Cassandra Nary as Earthworm.

David Wood has adapted Dahl’s story for the stage.  The production is directed and designed by Alan Keith Smith.  Erin Larkin designed the costumes, and Penelope Poppers is the lighting designer.

James and the Giant Peach opens tonight and runs through May 12.  Public performances are Fridays at 7 p.m., Saturdays at 3 p.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m.

Bradley Anderson is the artistic director of the Arkansas Arts Center Children’s Theatre. Dr. Todd Herman is the executive director of the Arkansas Arts Center.

Purple Moon Dance Project performs in gallery of Arkansas Arts Center

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purple-moonThe Arkansas Arts Center presents a one-of-a-kind experience today at 2pm in the Townsend Wolfe Gallery which is currently displaying the exhibit Wendy Maruyama: Executive Order 9066.

In a special collaboration, emerging within the gallery installation, Purple Moon Dance Project and Artistic Director Jill Togawa will present When Dreams Are Interrupted, a riveting site-specific performance that uncovers the profound imprint left on a neighborhood by the forced removal and mass evacuation of Japanese American communities in 1942.

Dancers Jill Togawa, Ruth Ichinaga and Sharon Sato will explore and infuse with the “Tag Project” to draw out the stories and memories amassed by artist Wendy Maruyama and to highlight local history and stories.

This production captures the painful experiences of hundreds of thousands of Americans of Japanese ancestry forced into concentration camps during World War II through a poignant and stunning combination of original choreography, music, visual art and poetry. It is through artistic and historically authentic expressions such as these that we remember, pay tribute to and honor those who suffered this unspeakable injustice, in hopes that we may prevent such a dark episode in America’s history from ever happening again.