Tag Archives: Grammy Awards

Tonight at Ron Robinson Theatre: Suzy Bogguss presented by Arkansas Sounds

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Tonight at 7pm on the stage of the CALS Ron Robinson Theatre, Arkansas Sounds features Suzy Bogguss.

A frequent guest on A Prairie Home Companion, she is a singer and songwriter who has received awards from the Academy of Country Music and the Country Music Association. She has recorded platinum gold albums and has been nominated for a Grammy Award. Bogguss has collaborated with such artists as Chet Atkins, Alison Krauss, Kathy Mattea, and Crosby, Stills, and Nash. In her latest album, Lucky, Bogguss shares her interpretations of songs by Merle Haggard.

Tickets are $25, general admission, and are available online, using the button above, and from Butler Center Galleries, 401 President Clinton Avenue. The theater’s entrance may be accessed from the Main Library’s parking lot, 100 Rock Street. Tickets purchased online will not be mailed. They will be available for pick up in the lobby of the Ron Robinson Theater one hour prior to showtime.

A Tax Day Bonus – More Riverfest Lineup revealed

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logoRiverfest_bigToday is Tax Day. You can either use your tax bonus on tickets to Riverfest, or if you ended up owing money you can celebrate that Riverfest allows you to see musical acts a lot cheaper than you’d otherwise be able to be.

Either way, today Riverfest announced three more additions to the lineup.

On the Stickys Rock N’ Roll Chicken Shack Stage, the Friday headliner will be DJ Grandtheft. The Saturday headliner will be Cody Canada & The Departed. On Sunday, the headliner will be Surfer Blood.

In March, Riverfest announced Lee Brice, Buckcherry, Chicago, Easton Corbin, The Fray, CeeLo Green, Jamey Johnson, Salt-n-Pepa,  Robert Randolph & the Family Band, Three Days Grace and The Wallflowers with Jakob Dylan.

Riverfest will be May 23-25 in Riverfront Park and Clinton Park along the Arkansas River. Half-price passes ($20) go on sale April 1 at Walgreens nationwide; $35 passes and VIP packages also available now at http://www.riverfestarkansas.com/buy/tickets

Final March announcement of Riverfest acts

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logoRiverfest_bigThroughout March, Riverfest has announced three acts for 2014 on each Tuesday.  Though many more musical acts will be announced closer to the actual festival, today is the final announcement for Riverfest Tuesdays in March.

CeeLo Green, hip-hop solo star, five-time Grammy Award winner and half of the Gnarls Barkley duo well known for “Crazy”; country crooner Jamey Johnson, who won the CMA Song of the Year for “In Color”; and bluesy pedal steel guitar virtuoso Robert Randolph & the Family Band, who first wowed local crowds when they opened for Eric Clapton at Verizon Arena.

Earlier this month, Riverfest announced Lee Brice, Buckcherry, Chicago, Easton Corbin, The Fray, Salt-n-Pepa, Three Days Grace and The Wallflowers with Jakob Dylan.

Riverfest will be May 23-25 in Riverfront Park and Clinton Park along the Arkansas River. Half-price passes ($20) go on sale April 1 at Walgreens nationwide; $35 passes and VIP packages also available now at http://www.riverfestarkansas.com/buy/tickets

 

WINN DIXIE extended at Ark Rep through January 5 — Good seats still available

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Due to overwhelming demand for tickets, the Arkansas Rep has extended Because of Winn Dixie another week.  This last week has good seats available, so don’t delay.  From the lyricist of Legally Blonde and the composer of Spring Awakening comes a new musical based on the award-winning novel by Kate DiCamillo.

A World Premiere musical brings a Tony Award-winning creative team to Little Rock this holiday season. Because of Winn Dixie is a new musical based on the heartwarming and award-winning novel by Kate DiCamillo about a young girl and a dog she finds at a Winn Dixie supermarket.

This unique production will include music by Duncan Sheik (Tony and Grammy Award Winner for Spring Awakening), lyrics and book by Nell Benjamin (Tony Nominee for Legally Blonde), direction by John Tartaglia (Tony nominee for Avenue Q) and animal direction by Bill Berloni (a 2011 Tony Honor recipient).

This original production will also be the first pre-Broadway musical starring a live dog in a leading role. Taran (and understudy Cally), both Irish Wolfhounds, have been cast in the title role of “Winn-Dixie,” trained by Broadway’s foremost animal trainer, Bill Berloni.

“It has always amazed me the reaction animals have on an audience,” says Berloni, “When a dog or cat comes onstage, our collective reality is ‘Wait a minute, you can’t get an animal to act, what is it going to do?’ And it brings the audience closer into the piece.”

“This story will melt your heart,” says Bob Hupp. “We are honored that the creative team of Winn Dixie approached us for this world premiere, and I think this project has tremendous potential to introduce a significant new work into the American musical theatre canon, and it all begins right here on our stage, for Arkansas audiences.”

The cast is led by Jonathan Rayson, Julia Nightingale Landfair, Gabe Bowling, Riley Costello, Aisha de Haas, Imari Hardon, Crystal Kellogg, Tari Kelly, Shannon Lamb, Nic Rowe, Douglas Storm and Sydni Whitfield.  Others in the cast include Danny Phillips, Cayla Christina Christian, Reagan Hodson, Dalton Johnson, Molly Russ, and Sam Shaughnessy.

The music director is Jason Hart. Duncan Sheik is the orchestrator and vocal arranger.  The creative team included Mike Nichols (scenery), Marianne Custer (costumes), Michael J. Eddy (lighting), Allan Branson (sound), and Lynda J. Kwallek (props).

Ark Rep presents World Premiere of BECAUSE OF WINN DIXIE

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From the lyricist of Legally Blonde and the composer of Spring Awakening comes a new musical based on the award-winning novel by Kate DiCamillo.

A World Premiere musical brings a Tony Award-winning creative team to Little Rock this holiday season. Because of Winn Dixie is a new musical based on the heartwarming and award-winning novel by Kate DiCamillo about a young girl and a dog she finds at a Winn Dixie supermarket.

Berloni and Tartaglia with two of the dogs

This unique production will include music by Duncan Sheik (Tony and Grammy Award Winner for Spring Awakening), lyrics and book by Nell Benjamin (Tony Nominee for Legally Blonde), direction by John Tartaglia (Tony nominee for Avenue Q) and animal direction by Bill Berloni (a 2011 Tony Honor recipient).

This original production will also be the first pre-Broadway musical starring a live dog in a leading role. Taran (and understudy Cally), both Irish Wolfhounds, have been cast in the title role of “Winn-Dixie,” trained by Broadway’s foremost animal trainer, Bill Berloni.

“It has always amazed me the reaction animals have on an audience,” says Berloni, “When a dog or cat comes onstage, our collective reality is ‘Wait a minute, you can’t get an animal to act, what is it going to do?’ And it brings the audience closer into the piece.”

“This story will melt your heart,” says Bob Hupp. “We are honored that the creative team of Winn Dixie approached us for this world premiere, and I think this project has tremendous potential to introduce a significant new work into the American musical theatre canon, and it all begins right here on our stage, for Arkansas audiences.”

The cast is led by Jonathan Rayson, Julia Nightingale Landfair, Gabe Bowling, Riley Costello, Aisha de Haas, Imari Hardon, Crystal Kellogg, Tari Kelly, Shannon Lamb, Nic Rowe, Douglas Storm and Sydni Whitfield.  Others in the cast include Danny Phillips, Cayla Christina Christian, Reagan Hodson, Dalton Johnson, Molly Russ, and Sam Shaughessy.

The music director is Jason Hart. Duncan Sheik is the orchestrator and vocal arranger.  The creative team included Mike Nichols (scenery), Marianne Custer (costumes), Michael J. Eddy (lighting), Allan Branson (sound), and Lynda J. Kwallek (props).

Ark Rep’s “Because of Winn Dixie” at Clinton School

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The Arkansas Repertory Theatre works in partnership with the Clinton School of Public Service to participate in the UACS’s Distinguished Speaker Series, hosting educational panel discussions on various Rep productions. The latest in these takes place today, Thursday, December 5 at 12 noon at Sturgis Hall in Clinton Presidential Park.

The panel will feature the cast of the Arkansas Repertory Theatre’s production of Because of Winn Dixie. A World Premiere musical brings a Tony Award-winning creative team to Little Rock this holiday season. Because of Winn Dixie is a new musical based on the heartwarming and award-winning novel by Kate DiCamillo about a young girl and a dog she finds at a Winn Dixie supermarket.

This unique production will include music by Duncan Sheik (Tony and Grammy Award Winner for Spring Awakening), lyrics and book by Nell Benjamin (Tony nominee for Legally Blonde), direction by John Tartaglia (Tony nominee for Avenue Q) and animal direction by Bill Berloni (a 2011 Tony Honor recipient).

Because of Winn Dixie opens tomorrow night (with previews last night and tonight). It runs through Sunday, December 29. Wednesday, Thursday and Sunday evening performances are at 7 p.m., Friday, Saturday evening performances are at 8 p.m. Sunday Matinees performances are at 2 p.m.

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Grammy winner Mavis Staples in concert tonight

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MS15sGrammy-winning gospel and soul singer Mavis Staples will perform with her band at Christ Episcopal Church, in the main sanctuary, on Friday, October 11, at 7:30 p.m.

From the 1950s through the 1970s, as a member of her family’s band, the Staple Singers, led by her father Pops Staples, Mavis recorded songs that became chart-topping hits and anthems for the civil rights movement, including “People Get Ready,” “Respect Yourself,” and Pops’ composition “Why Am I Treated So Bad,” inspired by the Little Rock Nine’s integration struggle at Central High.

Mavis has also enjoyed a long, highly praised career as a solo artist, eventually earning a Grammy for her 2010 album You Are Not Alone, produced by Wilco’s Jeff Tweedy. Her most recent album, also produced by Tweedy, is One True Vine, released in 2013. Rolling Stone wrote about it, “One True Vine shows there isn’t much the ex-Staple Singer can’t make gorgeous and lived-in” and has also called her “the most underrated diva of the century. She has an almost superhuman ability to implant the pure power of passion and emotion.”

Prices are $35 for general admission pew seats and $20 for standing room to the side of the stage in the transepts.