Tag Archives: Chad Bradford

PUSS IN BOOTS launches Ark. Arts Center’s 2015/16 Children’s Theatre season

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PussInBoots_posterThe Arkansas Arts Center Children’s Theatre is excited to begin the 2015/2016 Main Stage season with Puss in Boots, September 18-October 4.

Based on Charles Perrault’s world famous feline fun-time fairytale, Puss in Boots is an electric story set in song and dance. This fun for all ages show will run Fridays at 7 p.m., Saturdays and Sundays at 2 p.m. September 19 through October 4.

Be amazed as swashbuckling Puss the Cat raises his master, Claude, from a down-and-out miller’s son to the heights of happiness. Enjoy all the madcap fun as Puss brandishes, not his sword, but his superior feline intellect to conquer kings, ogres and even a few rabbits along the way. It’s all about brain over brawn. Oh, and you’ll just love his shoes.

The cast includes:

  • Chad Bradford of Little Rock as Puss;
  • Mark Hansen of Little Rock as Claude;
  • Katie Campbell of Little Rock as Coquette;
  • Nick Spencer of Nashville, Tenn. as Major Domo;
  • Jeremy Matthey of Little Rock as the King;
  • Lauren Linton of Memphis; Aleigha Morton of Beebe; and Moriah Patterson of Sheridan as the Trio.

Bradley D. Anderson is the artistic director for the production. Costumes are designed by Erin Larkin and Nikki Webster, technical direction by Drew Posey, lighting design by Mike Stacks, setting and properties design by Miranda Young, choreographed by Erin Fowler and Sarah Gasser is the stage manager.  

The 2015/2016 season of the Arkansas Arts Center Children’s Theatre will feature six Main Stage shows: Puss in Boots; The Legend of Sleepy Hollow; The Gingerbread Man; The 13 Clocks; Schoolhouse Rock Live! and The Adventures of Peter Rabbit. And is sponsored by: Presenting Sponsor, Arkansas BlueCross Blue Shield; Fall Season Sponsor, Centennial Bank; Spring Season Sponsors, The Fine Arts Club of Arkansas and Dr. Loren Bartole, ‘Family Foot Care’; Additional Support Provided by The Morris Foundation and Media Sponsor, Little Rock Family Magazine.

$12.50 General admission, $10 for Arkansas Arts Center members, $10 per person for groups of 10 or more (Children 2 years of age and under are free, however the child must remain in an adult’s lap at all times.)

Best enjoyed by all ages.

A Pound of Flesh and Unstrained Mercy – MERCHANT OF VENICE at Ark Shakes

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AST 2015 MoVComedy and tragedy collide in this story of lovers united and families torn apart.  At the center is Shylock, the Jewish moneylender. When the Venetian merchant Antonio is forced to seek a loan from Shylock, a man he despises for his religion and profession, he is asked to enter into an impossible contract: he must give a pound of flesh if unable to pay back the borrowed sum. What follows is a complex and challenging exploration of love, mercy, integrity, and justice that reminds us that, “all that glisters is not gold.”

The Merchant of Venice continues the 2015 season of the Arkansas Shakespeare Theatre.  Performances are at 7:30 tonight, Saturday, June 20 and Tuesday, June 23.  Matinees are at 2pm on June 20, June 27 and June 28.  All performances take place in the Reynolds Theatre on the UCA campus.

The cast is led by Chad Bradford, Peter Kevoian, Paul Kiernan and Jocelyn Vammer.  Others in the cast are Jordy Neill, Taylor Galloway, Jeff Gonzalez, Hannah Moulder, Ferginho Philippe-Auguste, Hunter Ringsmith, Matthew Schmidli, Tanner Berry, Mattie Bogoslavsky, Mark Fox and Harrison Trigg.  Members of the Youth Ensemble are Anna Caroline Greg, Ethan Marotte and Olivia Marotte.

Merry Wives and Falstaff kick off 2015 Arkansas Shakespeare Theater season

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AST 2015 MWWLove and deception are the name of the game in the small town of Windsor when Shakespeare’s famous larger-than-life anti-hero Falstaff comes for a visit.  Falstaff sets out to woo the Housewives of Windsor for some quick cash, but finds himself outfoxed by the wise Windsor Wives, becoming the buffoon instead of the leading man in his own ambitious tale of romance.  The entire family will laugh their way through this energetic and charming farce.

The Merry Wives of Windsor kicks off the 2015 season of the Arkansas Shakespeare Theatre.  Performances are at 7:30 tonight, Friday, Saturday, June 11 and June 13 at the Hendrix Village.  It will be performed at the Argenta Farmer’s Market space on June 25, 26 & 28.

The cast is led by Paul Kiernan, Chad Bradford, Stacy Pendergraft, Paige Reynolds, Courtney Bennett, Matthew Duncan, Jordy Neill, Jeff Gonzalez, Jenna Hokanson, Austin Larkin, Ferginho Pilippe-Auguste, Ricky Pope and Matthew Schmidli.  The youth ensemble consists of Aaron Eley, Jack Ghormley, Sarah Guinee, Ethan Hemphill, Anna Beth Jeane, Camille Lambert, Madeline Leicht, Simon Marotte, Maddie Meek, Kate Parrack, Anna Reynolds, Henry Whisenhunt and Zeke Whisenhunt.

All performances are “pay what you can,” with a suggested donation of $15.

SantaLand Diaries in Central Arkansas this weekend

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santalandThe stores have been in the midst of Christmas since before Labor Day.  So it is not too early for theatrical ventures to turn their attentions to Christmastime.  This weekend, the Vagabond Theatre Company presents David Sedaris’ essay-turned-One-Man Show this November!

The SantaLand Diaries is a hilarious account of Sedaris’ stint working as a Christmas elf in “SantaLand” at Macy’s department store is what shot Sedaris to national recognition. Starring Jordy Neill and directed by Chad Bradford, you can catch SantaLand Diaries on Saturday, November 9, at 8 p.m. at the Quapaw Quarter United Methodist Church on 16th and Louisiana Street, in Little Rock or on Sunday, November 10, at 8 p.m. at The Lantern Theatre on 1021 Van Ronkle, in Conway.

Tickets may be purchased at the door. House opens at 7:30 p.m

Shakespeare in the Park at River Market tonight

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AST_logoThe River Market and The Little Rock Convention and Visitors Bureau are pleased to announce their second seasonal showing of “Shakespeare in the Park”, a production of a special version of the Bard’s play A Midsummer Night’s Dream, on Sunday, June 23rd in the East Pavilion of Ottenheimer Market Hall, home to the Farmers’ Market.  The production runs from 6pm to 7pm.  Ticket prices are $7 for adults and $5 for kids 12 and under.

The production is created by the Arkansas Shakespeare Theatre.  It was adapted and directed by Josh Rice.  The other members of the creative team include Debra P. Holmes (scenery and puppets), Nikki Webster (costumes), Evan Harney (sound) and Chad Bradford (musical score).  The cast includes Joe Boersma, Adam Frank, Ira Grace, Jordy Neill and Julie Schroll.

 

About A Midsummer Night’s Dream:
Shakespeare’s band of hempen homespuns have run amok and taken over this midsummer night. In a new adaptation of Shakespeare’s comedy of magic and mayhem, Bottom and the Rude Mechanicals take center stage as they do their best to put on a show full of tragical mirth while mischievous woodland fairies do their best to get in the way. Audiences of all ages will enjoy the merriment that ensues.

Ark Shakes’ TWELFTH NIGHT at Wildwood

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The Arkansas Shakespeare Theatre production of Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night journeys not to Illyria but the Little Rock this weekend.

After being performed at Hendrix College the first two weeks of its run, the production is being performed at Wildwood Park for the Arts this weekend.  Performances continue tonight at 7:30pm and tomorrow at 7:30pm.

Twelfth Night is directed by Rebekah Scallet, the producing artistic director of Arkansas Shakespeare Theatre.   The cast includes Nisi Sturgis, Chad Bradford, Kevin Browne, Ron Thomas, Jordan Coughtry, Heather Dupree, Tim Sailer and Curtis Jackson. Miss Sturgis and Messrs. Browne and Coughtry appear courtesy of Actors Equity Association.

Arkansas Shakespeare Theatre summarizes Twelfth Night thusly:

After a tragic shipwreck, Viola washes up on shore on the unknown island of Illyria.  Believing her brother to be lost, she disguises herself as a boy in order to seek shelter as a servant to the Duke Orsino.  Her plans quickly go awry, however, when she falls in love with the Duke, who is already in love with the Countess Olivia, who falls in love with Viola, whom she thinks is a boy.   Mistaken identities, missed signals, and mischievous mayhem abound in one of the Bard’s most romantic and delightful comedies.