Tag Archives: Little Rock Central High School

Little Rock Look Back: Oscar Hammerstein II

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OHIIOn July 12, 1895, Oscar Greeley Clendenning Hammerstein, better known as Oscar Hammerstein II was born. He spent his entire professional life working in the theatre.  One of the musicals he wrote was South Pacific, which featured a character from Little Rock.

In the source novel, Tales of the South Pacific, Forbush is from rural Arkansas.  When Hammerstein, Richard Rodgers and Joshua Logan were adapting it for the stage, they moved the character to Little Rock (or “Small Rock” as the French planter Emil De Becque mistakenly refers to it).

Little Rock is referred to throughout the show.  One song, “My Girl Back Home” contained musical references to Arkansas’ capitol city.  That song was cut before South Pacific opened on Broadway.  It was, however, included in the movie version.  It was also reinstated and included in the 2008 Broadway revival.

Mary Martin won a Tony for originating the role of Nellie Forbush on Broadway. One of the actors who succeeded her was Cloris Leachman. Kelli O’Hara received a Tony nomination in 2008 for the Broadway revival.

South Pacific became the second musical to win the Pulitzer Prize for Drama. It also became the first winner of the Pulitzer for Drama to be based on another Pulitzer prize winner — James Michener won the Pulitzer for Tales of the South Pacific.

Hammerstein’s creation of a character from Little Rock caused problems when the show was being performed in late 1957 and for a few years after.  With the 1957 desegregation crisis still fresh in people’s memories, a show about a woman from Little Rock facing her own racial prejudices was sometimes a bit much for audiences. Apparently some audiences would boo when Little Rock was mentioned.  But Rodgers and Hammerstein did not change her hometown.

At the 1999 celebration marking the 50th anniversary of South Pacific opening on Broadway, a proclamation from then-Little Rock Mayor Jim Dailey was read.  It paid tribute to Nellie Forbush as an ambassador (albeit fictional) for Little Rock. The proclamation noted that her optimism, forbearance and ability to change for the better were emblems of Little Rock.  Since these were attributes which Mr. Hammerstein himself exhibited, one suspects he would be pleased.

Hammerstein died in 1960 during the run of The Sound of Music (which like South Pacific starred Mary Martin).

For those wanting to see an Oscar Hammerstein II show on his birthday or during his birth month, South Pacific has just started a run in Benton at the Royal Players.

LR native and 3 time Tony winner Will Trice headed back to Broadway as a producer of revival of YOU CAN’T TAKE IT WITH YOU.

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YCTIWY bwayThree time Tony winner (and Little Rock native) Will Trice is heading back to Broadway this fall as a producer of an all-star revival of the Pulitzer Prize winning comedy You Can’t Take It with You.

The cast will be led by two time Tony winner James Earl Jones.  Additional casting was announced yesterday.  The production will mark a reunion from the recent revival of The Best Man for Jones with actress Elizabeth Ashley and producers Jeffrey Richards and Trice.

The Little Rock Central alum has won a Tony for each of the past three seasons. This marks the first announced project for the Trice for the 2014-2015 season.

First performed on Broadway at the height of the Great Depression, it has not been revived on Broadway since 1983.  You Can’t Take It with You, by George S. Kaufman and Moss Hart, celebrates the American spirit as well as spirited family life.  Others in the cast, which is to be directed by multiple Tony nominee Scott Ellis, are Tony nominee Kristine Nielsen, Tony nominee Reg Rogers, Tony nominee Annaleigh Ashford, Theatre World winner Crystal A. Dickinson and stage veterans Byron Jennings and Julie Halston.

Trice at the 2014 Tony Awards

Trice at the 2014 Tony Awards

Mark Linn-Baker, who has cut his teeth on both stage and TV, is also in the cast. Others in the show include Marc Damon Johnson and Patrick Kerr. Three time Tony winner Jason Robert Brown is composing music for the play.

Performances will start at New York’s Longacre Theatre on August 26 with an official opening night of September 28.

Trice’s Tony Awards came for the 2014 Best Play All the Way, 2013 Best Play Revival Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? and the 2012 Best Musical Revival Porgy and Bess.  He also received a nomination for 2012 Best Play Revival for The Best Man.  This past year, of the 26 Tony Awards presented, seven went to shows produced by Jeffrey Richards and Will Trice.

Commemorate the 50th Anniversary of the 1964 Civil Rights Act tonight from 6pm to 8pm at the Mosaic Templars Cultural Center

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To commemorate the 50th Anniversary of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, the Arkansas Psychological Association and Mosaic Templars Cultural Center will hold an event to discuss the importance of psychologically healthy workplaces and honor two local civil rights advocates, political and social justice activist Mary Brown “Brownie” Williams Ledbetter, and psychologist and member of the Little Rock Nine, Dr. Terrence Roberts, from 6 to 8 p.m. Wednesday, July 2, at Mosaic Templars.

BrownieLedbetterThe free and public event is designed to raise the awareness of the effect of discrimination in the workplace on the groups named in the 1964 Civil Rights Act which was signed into law by President Lyndon B. Johnson on July 2, 1964. A reception will follow.

Ledbetter is being honored posthumously for her work through the Arkansas Public Policy Panel. She served as volunteer executive director until her retirement in 1999.

Terrence RobertsRoberts is best known as being one of the nine students to desegregate Little Rock’s Central High School, but as an adult, he became a psychologist and through his private practice he has counseled organizations on equitable practices in both industry and business including serving as a desegregation consultant to the Little Rock School District.

The UALR Institute on Race and Ethnicity, Office of Governor Mike Beebe, City of Little Rock, Central High School National Historic Site, and Social Justice Initiative at Philander Smith College are all sponsors of the event.For more information, contact Dr. Patricia L. Griffen, president of the ArPA at 501.223.8883.

Architects of Little Rock the focus of June’s Legacies & Lunch

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Architects of LR bookCharles Witsell and Gordon Wittenberg, retired principals of Little Rock architecture firms and co-authors of the newly released Architects of Little Rock: 1833-1950, will discuss Little Rock’s architectural history at Legacies & Lunch on Wednesday, June 4, noon-1 p.m. in the CALS Main Library’s Darragh Center, 100 Rock Street.

Witsell and Wittenberg are retired principals of WER Architects/Planners (Witsell, Evans and Rasco) and WD&D (Wittenberg, Delony and Davidson). Architects of Little Rock: 1833-1950 profiles thirty-five architects, including George R. Mann, Thomas Harding, Charles L. Thompson, and more. Famous buildings such as the Arkansas State Capitol, St. Andrews Cathedral, the Pulaski County Court House, Central High School, and Robinson Auditorium are showcased as well. Copies of the book will be available for purchase; Wittenberg and Witsell will sign copies after their talk.

Legacies & Lunch, the Butler Center’s monthly lecture series, is free, open to the public, and supported in part by the Arkansas Humanities Council. Programs are held from noon-1 p.m. on the first Wednesday of each month. Attendees are invited to bring a sack lunch; drinks and dessert are provided. For more information, contact 918-3033.

Book on LR Architects celebrated tonight

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Architects of LR bookTonight, the Historic Arkansas Museum will be hosting a lecture and book signing for the recently released Architects of Little Rock: 1833–1950, penned by Little Rock architects, Charles Witsell and Gordon Wittenberg.

The evening will begin at 5:30 with a special presentation and lecture discussing the book. Speakers will include Bill Worthen, Historic Arkansas Museum; Tom Adams, WD&D; John Greer, WER Architects/Planners; Bobby Roberts, Central Arkansas Library and a special presentation will be given by Wesley Walls, President AIA Arkansas.

A reception and book signing will begin immediately following the lecture. All are invited to attend this special evening. “There are many ways of knowing the built environment. In their Architects of Little Rock, Mr. Witsell and Mr. Wittenberg explore the always complex relationship between buildings and the visionary thinkers—sometimes ordinary craftsman— who produced them. In so doing, they not only have uncovered the design rationales and circumstances of production that influenced a wide spectrum of Little Rock architecture but moreover have written a significant work of architectural scholarship that addresses the history of the architect’s profession,” Ethel Goodstein-Murphree, architectural historian and professor of architecture, University of Arkansas.

Architects of Little Rock: 1833–1950, is being released this month. The book is co-written by Little Rock architects, Charles Witsell and Gordon Wittenberg and edited by Marylyn Jackson Parins. Architects of Little Rock provides biographical and historical sketches of the architects at work in Little Rock from 1833 to 1950. It is the story of the people behind the city’s most important buildings. Thirty-five architects are profiled, including George R. Mann, Thomas Harding, Charles L. Thompson, Max F. Mayer, Edwin B. Cromwell, George H. Wittenberg, Lawson L. Delony, and others. Famous buildings, including the Historic Arkansas Museum, the Old State House, the Arkansas State Capitol, St. Andrews Cathedral, Little Rock City Hall, the Pulaski County Court House, Little Rock Central High School and Robinson Auditorium are showcased, bringing attention to and encouraging appreciation of the city’s historic buildings.

Charles Witsell and Gordon Wittenberg are retired principals of the Little Rock architecture firms WER Architects/Planners (Witsell, Evans and Rasco) and WD&D (Wittenberg, Delony and Davidson), respectively.

ROCKing the TONY AWARDS – Ben Piazza

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Rock the TonyspiazzaBEN PIAZZA

Little Rock connection: Born in Little Rock and valedictorian of Little Rock High School class of 1951.  Family members are still in Little Rock and Central Arkansas.  He later wrote a fictional account of growing up in Little Rock in the book The Exact and Very Strange Truth.

Tony Awards connection: Starred in cast of original Tony winning production of Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? longer than anyone else in original run or subsequent revivals.  Participated in workshops and readings with the author Edward Albee during the development of the play as well.  Also shared the stage with many other Tony winning and Tony nominated actors including James Whitmore, Shirley Booth, Jane Fonda, Claudia McNeil, Sandra Church, Alfred Drake, Uta Hagen, Arthur Hill, fellow Arkansan Melinda Dillon, Mercedes McCambridge, Nancy Kelly, Carrie Nye, Rosemary Murphy and William Daniels.

Today marks the 50th anniversary of Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? closing on Broadway.

ROCKing the TONY AWARDS – Billy Joel and Elton John

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Rock the Tonys

Joel and John in photo by Dimitrios Kambouris/WireImage.com

Joel and John in photo by Dimitrios Kambouris/WireImage.com

BILLY JOEL and ELTON JOHN

Little Rock Connection: Both have performed in Little Rock over the years.  In 1995, they played a joint concert at War Memorial Stadium which brought in $1.6 million. An additional Little Rock connection for Joel – who’s birthday is today – is in his song “We Didn’t Start the Fire” there are references to South Pacific (which had a fictional Little Rock heroine), Little Rock resident Winthrop Rockefeller, and the 1957 integration crisis at Little Rock Central High.

Tony Awards Connection: Billy Joel won a Tony Award for his orchestrations of Movin’ Out which featured his songs as a backdrop of dances choreographed by Twyla Tharp.  Elton John won a Tony Award for his score to Aida.  He has received additional Tony nominations for The Lion King and Billy Elliot for Best Score.  He additionally was a producer of Best Play nominee Next Fall.