Tag Archives: Robert Hupp

2012 Arkansas New Play Fest

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The Arkansas Repertory Theatre presents TheatreSquared’s 2012 Arkansas New Play Fest on Thursday, May 17 and Friday, May 18 at The Oxford American building at 1300 Main Street.

Arkansas New Play Fest features professional staged readings. Each script is rehearsed, staged and performed by professional artists, script in hand, for the public and playwright.

Following each reading, there will be a talk back session with the playwright and the cast.

Thursday, May 17
7 p.m. Uprooted by Clinnesha Dillon Sibley
9 p.m. The Ballad Of Rusty and Roy by Troy And Jonny Schremmer

Friday, May 18
7 p.m. The Spiritualist by Robert Ford
9 p.m. The Football Project by Samuel Brett Williams

Featured Plays

UPROOTED
by Clinnesha Dillon Sibley
A richly drawn treatment of a timeless scenario by an award-winning Arkansas playwright. What happens when long-separated siblings reunite after the death of a parent? When successful film actress Venus Kettle returns to Indianola, Mississippi, to her mother’s “home going,” she is greeted by her sisters with a wide range of emotions, from enthusiastic glee to cold-shoulder resentment. In the meantime the play follows the parallel story of Venus’s brother, who is incarcerated in a facility in Pine Bluff, Arkansas. Uprooted is moving tribute to the redemptive power of family.

THE FOOTBALL PROJECT
by Samuel Brett Williams
November, 1998: a high school football team boarded a bus to travel to play in the state championship game. The entire town came out to see the team off—but the bus never left. One third-string player who played for mere seconds in the previous game forged his grades and caused the team to be disqualified from the championship. The town’s response was unprecedented. There were death threats, thoughts of suicide, vandalism and then a surprising amount of goodwill and even a bit of unexpected heroism. A snapshot of a town in crisis, examining one of the rare places that the ordinary and the epic, the petty and the profound collide: high school football.

THE SPIRITUALIST
by Robert Ford
TheatreSquared Artistic Director Robert Ford brings The Spiritualist back to the Arkansas New Play Festival for a second year of development, adding new revisions and, for the first time, original music. Inspired by true events, this comedic drama introduces Rosemary Dunn, an English widow who cooks for the school lunch service and communes with the spirits of dead composers. When an enterprising American reporter tries to unmask the self-proclaimed psychic as a fraud, he finds there may be more at play than simple musical sleight-of-hand.

THE BALLAD OF RUSTY AND ROY
by Troy and Jonny Schremmer
This new play with live, original music, follows the story of two half-brothers, both musicians with roots in Texas who have found their way to New York City along starkly divergent paths. One has an enthusiastic following on the New York music scene, the other among toddlers at the neighborhood church playgroup where he works. Circumstances reunite the two brothers, but a deeply troubled past involving a boyhood road trip threatens to tear them apart once again. Featuring songs – and performances – by Dusty Brown, who himself has a burgeoning career as a singer-songwriter in New York, an early version of The Ballad of Rusty and Roy was featured at the New York Fringe Festival.

Tickets are $7 per show or $20 for a two-day pass to all four readings.

Arkansas Rep 2012-2013 season

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It is Spring Break throughout Arkansas. So this is a good time to take a break from the current arts season and look ahead to next year.

Rich stories and rewarding shows are the bounty that awaits Arkansas Repertory Theatre audiences during the 2012-2013 season, the Rep’s 37th year. Robert Hupp, the Rep’s producing artistic director, recently announced the lineup.

The season kicks off on September 7 with William Shakespeare’s Henry V.  This will be the first of Shakespeare’s “History” plays to be staged at the Rep in its history.  Following the overwhelming success of Hamlet last season, it is pleasing to see the Bard return to the Rep’s lineup.  It will run through September 23, 2012.

Next up is the annual Young Artists’ production.  This edition of the revue is entitled Singin’ on a Star.  It will run from October 24 through November 3, 2012. Though the show is still being written, it promises to feature Arkansas’ best and brightest students in songs and dances which will enchant audiences of all ages.

It is guaranteed that Little Rock will see a White Christmas in December 2012 because the Rep will be producing the stage version of the Irving Berlin classic White Christmas from November 30 through December 30, 2012.  In addition to the classic Berlin tunes from the film, a treasure trove of other Berlin classics is also included.

As 2013 kicks off, the Rep presents the play Gee’s Bend.  Set in the eponymously named Alabama town, it tells the story of the women who make quilts there. The play is not about the quilts themselves (though they are works of art which have been displayed in many top art museums), it is instead about the remarkable lives of the women who make them.  Elyzabeth Gregory Wilder’s play will run from January 25 through February 10, 2013.

As the Rep marches into the third month of 2013, it will present the world premiere of a new musical version of Treasure Island.  This production, which emphasizes the adventure and mystery of Robert Louis Stevenson’s classic tale, features a book by Brett Smock (who will also direct) and Carla Vitale with songs by Corinne Aquilina (who served as musical director/conductor for last season’s Hairspray at the Rep).  It runs from March 8 through March 31, 2013. (This world premiere is the reason the title of this entry is written in “Pirate.”)

Arthur Miller’s prize winning Death of a Salesman is up next at the Rep.  This classic tale explores the American Dream in the middle of the 20th Century as the Loman family copes with hope and despair.  During its original Broadway run, it received the Pulitzer Prize for Drama and Best Play recognition from the Tony Awards and the New York Drama Critics Circle.  “Attention must be paid” from April 26 through May 12, 2013.

Avenue Q is one of the smartest, funniest, and bawdiest musicals over the last decade. Written by Jeff Marx and Robert Lopez, it irreverently tells the story of a group of 20 and 30somethings in New York City as they cope with the onset of adulthood. Some of the characters are played by humans while others are portrayed by puppets — but this is not for the kids; it is definitely an adult show (it includes full puppet nudity).  This 2004 Tony winner for Best Musical, Best Book and Best Score, ran for over 1000 performances on Broadway and is now enjoying a healthy Off Broadway run.  The Rep’s brand new production will run from June 7 – 30, 2013.

A Conversation with Rocco Landesman this afternoon

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Rocco Landesman, Chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts, will be making his first visit to Arkansas. Rocco Landesman, Chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts, will be making his first visit to Arkansas today.

As a part of that visit, he will be participating in a Please join us for a very enlightening panel discussion at the Arkansas Repertory Theatre. It is being co-hosted by The Rep and the Oxford American. Arkansas First Lady Ginger Bebee will introduce the conversation.

Visiting Arkansas for the first time, Chairman Landesman will participate in a panel discussion with Rep Producing Artistic Director Bob Hupp and Oxford American Publisher Warick Sabin. Arkansas Arts Council Executive Director Joy Pennington will moderate the panel on “Creative Placemaking in Little Rock.”

The panel discussion will take place in the Rep’s Cindy Murphy Theatre at 4:00 – 5:00 p.m. Following the panel, there will be a reception at 5:00 – 6:00 p.m.
The panel discussion and lobby reception are free and open to the public. Refreshments will be served.

Rocco Landesman was confirmed by the United States Senate on August 7, 2009 as the tenth chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA). Prior to joining the NEA, he was president of Jujamcyn Theatres, which owns five Broadway theatres. A Broadway theater producer and multiple Tony winner, he has brought Big River (1985 Tony Award for Best Musical), Angels in America: Millennium Approaches (1993 Tony Award for Best Play), Angels in America: Perestroika (1994 Tony Award for Best Play), Into the Woods, and The Producers (2001 Tony Award for Best Musical) to Broadway.

Rep Receiving Recognition

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Arkansas Business Publishing Group has announced the nominees for the 2012 Arkansas Business of the Year Awards.  Most years, cultural organizations and leaders appear in the non-profit categories.  2012 is no exception.

This year the Arkansas Repertory Theatre is nominated as Non-Profit Organization of the Year.  Also nominated this year is Robert Hupp, the Rep’s Producing Artistic Director in the category of Non-Profit Executive of the Year.

Many of the businesses nominated in the categories are also supporters of cultural organizations in the metropolitan Little Rock area.  At the risk of an omission, this entry won’t try to enumerate the nominees and the cultural institutions they support.  But without the support of the business community and business leaders, non-profit cultural institutions could not survive.

The awards will take place on Tuesday, February 21.  To purchase tickets, visit here.

 

Hupp to be honored by PR professionals

Earlier this month, the Arkansas Chapter of the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) announced that Hupp will received the Diamond Award on March 16 at the Little Rock Club.

The Diamond Award is Arkansas PRSA’s highest honor for contributions made during a career to enhance the image of Arkansas through work consistent with the principles of public relations.

The awards ceremony will be at 11:30 a.m., Friday, March 16, at the Little Rock Club. The event will be free to PRSA members, $40 for nonmembers and $20 for students. Reservations should be submitted by March 14.   Visit the PRSA website here.

Arkansas Rep’s TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD

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Scout, Jem, Atticus, Calpurnia and Boo Radley come to life as the Arkansas Repertory Theatre presents the stage version of Harper Lee’s classic To Kill a Mockingbird. This deceptively simple episodic tale of life in the South was adapted for the stage by Christopher Sergel. All of the drama and humor from the novel and subsequent movie are found in the stage version as well.

Arkansas Rep’s Producing Artistic Director Bob Hupp directs this production.  After previews, opening night is Friday, January 27; the production runs through February 12.

John Feltch portrays the noble Atticus Finch with Abby Shourd and Damon McKinnis as his children. Others in the cast include Spencer Davis, Laura E. Johnston, John-Patrick Driscoll, Lawrence Hamilton, Michael Jones, Sam Kitchin, Kathy McCafferty, Jason Collins, Briana Pozner, Alanna Hamill Newton, Verda Davenport, Jackie Stewart, and Tricia H. Spione.  Will Frueauff and Julia Landfair understudy the children’s roles.

The creative team for this production includes Mike Nichols (scenery), Marianne Custer (costumes), Michael J. Eddy (lighting), Matt Duvall (properties) and M. Jason Pruzin (sound).

Clinton School next week features filmmaker, Rep play

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The University of Arkansas Clinton School of Public Service speaker series brings a wide variety of engaging speakers to Little Rock throughout the year.  For example, next week features an Ambassador and a World Food Prize Laureate.

Two of the programs next week have a cultural bent.

On Monday, January 23 at 6:00pm, Louie Psihoyos will discuss “The Ultimate Weapon of Mass Construction.  He is director of the 2009 Oscar winning film for best documentary, “The Cove,” which uncovers how a small seaside village in Japan serves as a microcosm of massive ecological crimes happening worldwide.

At the Clinton School, Psihoyos will discuss the importance of using art to inspire activism and show clips from his next eco-thriller about the sixth mass extinction on Earth. The new film will feature Scientist Roger Payne, who declares that in the near future all the famines and world wars experienced by humanity will be a footnote compared to the destruction humanity is creating on the planet.
Fittingly, the Clinton School will host the Academy Award winner the night before this year’s Oscar nominations are announced.  The day after the Oscar nominations come out, the Clinton School will feature a program about a stage adaptation of an Oscar winning film.
The Arkansas Repertory Theatre is producing the stage version of Harper Lee’s novel To Kill a Mockingbird (which won Oscars when it was made into a film).  On Wednesday, January 25 at 12 noon, Arkansas Repertory Theatre producing artistic director Bob Hupp will host the cast of The Rep’s upcoming production of the play for a panel discussion.
Hupp and the cast will discuss the history of the famous novel, its compelling themes of compassion, justice, integrity and courage and their work to bring the story to The Rep stage. As it is told through the eyes of Scout, the tomboyish young daughter of small-town lawyer Atticus Finch, it becomes clear that To Kill a Mockingbird is a love story: a father’s love for his children, their love for him and a love for the South.
Both programs will take place at Sturgis Hall.   Reservations can be made by emailing publicprograms@clintonschool.uasys.edu, or calling 501-683-5239.

Holiday Music with the ASO

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For many Arkansans, the Christmas season is marked by attendance at the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra December pops concert.  This year, it is entitled simply “Happy Holidays” and the music is programmed to ensure that audience members leave happy and full of the holiday spirit.

Music Director Philip Mann will take the podium and lead the musicians of the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra in a performance of Christmas and Hanukkah music both old and new.

Among the selections are: Tyzik: “The Skater’s Overture,” Styne: “Let It Snow,” Anderson: “Sleigh Ride,” Vivaldi: “The Four Seasons: Winter” (featuring violin solo work by co-concertmaster Kiril Laskarov), Gabrieli: “Canzon Noni Toni,” Richman: “Holiday Cheer!” Biegel: Hanukkah Fantasy,” Tchaikovsky: Selections from The Nutcracker,” Bob Hupp narrating “The Night Before Christmas,” Rimsky-Korsakov: “Snow Maiden Suite: Dance of the Clowns” Tyzik: Ave Maria,” “The Wonderful World of Christmas/Silver Bells” and Finnegin: “Christmas Singalong.”

In addition to Hupp, special guests include performances by the O’Donovan School of Irish Dance, Ballet Arkansas, Episcopal Collegiate School Steel Drum Band, baritone Darren Drone, Winter Pops Chorus, and Cathedral School Choristers.  And of course, St. Nicolas himself, that jolly old elf Santa Claus will be on hand.

The concert is sponsored by Arkansas Blue Cross Blue Shield and the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.  Performances began last night and continue tonight at 8pm and tomorrow at 3pm.  At 2pm on Sunday, a children’s fair with arts and crafts will take place.  Also on Sunday, because of the sponsorship of Entergy Arkansas, children from Kindergarten through 12th grade are admitted for free with a paying adult.