Tag Archives: Duane Jackson

STREETCAR and METAL in LR this weekend

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Two Little Rock theatre groups present offerings to heat up cold winter nights this weekend.

THE METAL CHILDRENThe Weekend Theatre, in its 20th anniversary season, presents award winner Adam Rapp’s play Metal Children.  Rapp, who is one of the most prolific playwrights today, tells the story of a small town ripped apart by a debate over a book.

When a young adult novel about teen pregnancy is banned by the local school board, it ignites a fierce and violent debate over abortion, religious beliefs, and modern feminism. A directionless New York City author arrives in town to defend the book and finds that it has inspired a group of local teens to rebel in strange and unexpected ways. The book also inspires a swarm of teenage pregnancies, a horde of pig-masked vigilantes terrorizing the populace, a suicide, and at least one murder attempt. A timely and unforgettable drama about the failure of urban and heartland America to understand each other, The Metal Children explores what happens when fiction becomes a matter of life and death.

The play is directed by Justin A. Pike (who most recently directed Annie for the Royal Players in Benton).   The cast includes Don Bright, Wendy Darr, Anna Findley, Augusta Fitzgerald, Duane Jackson, Grace Lytle, David Monteith, Samantha Porter, Donna Singleton and Evan Tanner.

The production opened last weekend and continues on Fridays and Saturdays through January 26.  The shows take place at the Weekend Theatre located at 7th and Chester.

Precipice Theatre Prepares for Opening of 'A Street Car Named Desire'One of Little Rock’s newest theatre groups, Precipice Theatre, presents Tennessee Williams’ Pulitzer Prize winner A Streetcar Named Desire.  The world of Blanche, Stanley, and STELLLLLLLAAAAA are brought to life amid the sweltering heat of New Orleans. Things are hardly what they seem in a world where a paper lantern is used to transform a plain lightbulb and light may hide more than the darkness.

The show opened last night and continues on through Sunday, January 27.  There are two performances today (2pm and 7:30pm) and a matinee tomorrow at 2pm.  Doors open 30 minutes prior to the performance.   Streetcar is being performed at the Public Theatre located at 616 Center Street.  To reserve tickets, send an email to LRprecipicetheatre@gmail.com and let us know your name, number of seats needed, and which performance you will be attending.

The production has been directed by Paul Seminara, Cory Cotham and Jennifer S. Walker.  The cast includes Heather D. Smith, Ricco Ardemagni, Rachel Bland, Paul Seminara, Brent Wood, Caitlin Selacavich, Jennifer S. Walker, Steve Sullivan, Cory Catham, Andy Stanley and Tracy Crain.

 

Rocky Horror in the Rock

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A production of The Rocky Horror Show opens tonight and runs through Halloween.  Performances are at the Unitarian Universalist Church on Reservoir Rd and begin at 7pm from October 24 – 27 and again from October 29 – 31.  There will also be a 10:30pm performance on Halloween.

The cast features Patty Miller-Marshall (Narrator), Jonathan Tatus (Dr. Frank-N-Furter), Jason Willey (Brad Majors), Brittany Sparkles (Janet Weiss), Danette Perry (Rif Raf), Kelani Campbell (Magenta), Rachel Warnick Hampton (Columbia), Anthony James Gerard (Eddie), Duane Jackson (Dr. Scott), Erin Murphey Martinez (Usherette) and Kyle Wigginton (Rocky).  Rounding out the cast are Beth Ross and Libby A. Smith as Phantoms.

The production is co-directed and designed by Liz Clarke, Justin Pike and Danette Perry.  It is choreographed by Lisa Luyet.

Absolutely NO outside items may be brought in to Rocky Horror. This includes, but is not limited to: hotdogs, waterguns, rice, toilet paper, newspaper, noise makers, feathers, lighters, etc.  Prop participation bags will be available at the door.

The show, written by Richard O’Brien, premiered in London in 1973.  A production was mounted on Broadway in 1975 and ran less than a month.  The movie version became a cult classic and kept the show in the public’s eye.  In 2000, a Broadway revival opened and ran for over 400 performances.

A…My Name Is Alice @ Weekend Theater

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The Weekend Theater’s production of A…My Name Is Alice wraps up this weekend.

The show was conceived by Joan Micklin Silver and Julianne Boyd, with contributions from multiple collaborators. It opens Friday, May 4 and runs on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays through May 20.  Showtimes are 7:30 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays and 2:30 p.m. Sundays. Tickets are $20 for general admission and $16 for students and seniors age 65 and over.

The cast features area actors Antisha Anderson-Scruggs, Jane Morgan Balgavy, Sarah Scott Blakey, Rachel Hampton, Erin Martinez, Danette Scott Perry, Samantha Porter, and Beth Ross, who will portray various characters in the 20 or so scenes.  When casting the show, director Duane Jackson was looking for women of all ages, sizes, shapes, colors, and life experiences.

While each scene is self-contained, the overarching connection is always the lives of women: the friendships they share, the trials they face, and the joys of sharing this journey of life. Most consist of songs, and there are a couple of monologues, as well as a series of short poems interspersed throughout the show.

Among the scenes are “Sisters,” which details a lifelong sibling rivalry that reaches a bittersweet conclusion. “At My Age” is a duet between a 50-something widow and a teenager, both preparing for long-awaited dates with excitement and trepidation. In “Good Thing I Learned to Dance,” a woman goes from past to present recalling how dancing gave her a sort-of-safe way to let out her inner “bad girl.”

To make reservations or get more information, visit the online ticketing system at http://www.weekendtheater.org; tickets will also be sold at the door on performance days, based on availability. Reservations are no longer accepted by phone, but you can get information about the production by calling (501) 374-3761.

Weekend Theater: LARAMIE PROJECT, TEN YEARS LATER

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In the wake of the 1998 murder of Matthew Shepard, playwright/director Moises Kaufman and several colleagues visited the site of the crime.  The outcome of their interviews was the performance piece The Laramie Project, which the Weekend Theater presented a few seasons back.

In 2008, Kaufman and colleagues revisited Laramie and revisited some of the interviewees. They also conducted interviews with new people who had been involved in the 1998 incident, including two of young men who attacked and killed Shepard. The result of these interviews was The Laramie Project: Ten Years Later.

Duane Jackson, who directed the Weekend Theater’s production of the previous play, helms this production.  The cast includes David Anderson, Johnnie Brannon, Alan Douglas, Jeremy Estill, Julie Atkins, Sally Graham, Regi Ott, and Roben Sullivant.  Each actor portrays a variety of characters in this tale of a town and an entire nation.

The production opens on Friday, January 13 and plays the next three weekends.  Showtimes are at 7:30 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays through Jan. 28. Tickets, $16 for general admission and $12 for students and seniors age 65 and over can be reserved by calling (501) 374-3761 or online at www.weekendtheater.org.

Sponsors for this production are Canvas Community Church, Quapaw Quarter United Methodist Church, Open Door Community Church, and New Beginnings Church of Central Arkansas.