Tag Archives: Robinson Center Performance Hall

Bohemian Rhapsody as Arkansas Symphony celebrates Brahms, Dvorak

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aso_2-colorThe Arkansas Symphony Orchestra kicks of 2014 with concerts this weekend at Robinson Center Music Hall.  Bohemian Rhapsody celebrating the works of Brahams and Dvorak, will take place at 8pm this evening and 3pm tomorrow afternoon.  The musicians will be led by ASO music director Philip Mann.

Many refer to Dvorak as the greatest Bohemian composer, and he headlines our festive occasion with a selection of his most entertaining and enchanting works. His Slavonic Dances showcase a wonderful juxtaposition of propulsive dance rhythms and sweeping lyricism. The result is a volatile concoction of explosive energy and affecting emotion.

Dvorak’s Scherzo Capriccioso adds another rousing and stylish work known to increase the heart-rate for musician and listener alike.

Pianist sensation and Brahms champion Norman Krieger makes his ASO return following his triumphant Brahms Concerto No. 1, with the exquisite 2nd. A towering and daunting work in the virtuosic demands it places on the pianist, it is beloved by audiences for is beauty, amiable disposition, and charming effervescence.

Fans of romantic symphonic or pianistic works won’t want to miss this perfect combination, and one of Brahms’ greatest works.

    Brahms Concerto for Piano No. 2 in B-flat Major, Op. 83
    Dvořák Slavonic Dances, Op. 46/72
    Dvořák Scherzo capriccioso, Op. 66

 

A native of Los Angeles, Norman Krieger is one of the most acclaimed pianists of his generation, highly regarded as an artist of depth, sensitivity and virtuosic flair.

Norman Krieger regularly appears with the major orchestras of North America, among them the New York, Los Angeles, Buffalo, Dayton and Hamilton Philharmonics, the Minnesota Orchestra, the Boston Pops Orchestra and the Baltimore, California, Chicago, Cincinnati, Florida, Hartford, Honolulu, Kansas City, Milwaukee, National, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oregon, Pittsburgh, Richmond, Saint Louis, San Antonio, San Diego and Syracuse Symphony Orchestras.

Little Rock Look Back: City Takes Possession of Robinson Auditorium

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10.+citylittlerock-2On January 25, 1940, the City of Little Rock officially took complete possession of the Joseph Taylor Robinson Memorial Auditorium. By assuming custody of the structure from the contractor and the PWA, the City accepted responsibility for any of the remaining work to be completed.

E. E. Beaumont, the Auditorium Commission chairman stated that an opening date could not be set until more work was completed. A major unfinished task was the laying of the front sidewalk which had been delayed due to cold weather.

The night before Little Rock took possession, Robinson Auditorium had been a topic of discussion at the Little Rock Chamber of Commerce annual meeting. The new Chamber president Reeves E. Ritchie (who as an Arkansas Power & Light executive had been engaged in the lengthy discussions about the installation of the steam line and transformers of the building) pledged that the Chamber would work to bring more and larger conventions to Little Rock at the Joseph Taylor Robinson Memorial Auditorium.

DOLLY turns 50 in Little Rock this week

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It was fifty years ago this week, on January 16, 1964, that HELLO, DOLLY! opened on Broadway.  The 50th anniversary national tour is playing in Little Rock tonight through Thursday (the actual 50th anniversary date).

Winner of ten Tony Awards including Best Musical, Hello, Dolly! is one of the most enduring Broadway classics. Emmy- award winning Sally Struthers (All In the Family, Gilmore Girls) stars as the strong-willed matchmaker Dolly, as she travels to Yonkers, NY to find a match for the ornery  “well-known unmarried half-a-millionaire” Horace Vandergelder. Featuring an irresistible story and an unforgettable score including the title song, “Put on Your Sunday Clothes,” “It Only Takes A Moment,” and the show-stopping “Before the Parade Passes By,” Hello, Dolly! has been charming audiences around the world for 50 years.

Joining Struthers in the cast are John O’Creagh as Horace Vandergelder, Matt Wolfe as Cornelius Hackl, Lauren Blackman as Irene Molloy, Garett Hawe as Barnaby Tucker, Halle Morse as Minnie Fay, Brad Frenette as Ambrose Kemper and Hilary Fingerman as Ermengarde.  Others in the cast are Michael Baxter, Zachary Berger, Erin Chupinsky, Joseph Cullinane, Brooke Robyn Dairman, Lucas Fedele, Michael Gorman, Jamey Hood, Liesl Jaye, Louis Jones, Lauren Krautmann, Joseph Nicastro, Michael J. Rios, Lisa Rohinsky, Taylor Schramm, Tony Triano and Paige Wheat.  Also in the cast is A.J. Hughes who played one of the leading roles in the 2012 Arkansas Rep production of White Christmas.

The production is directed by Jeffrey B. Moss and choreographed by Bob Richard.  Others on the creative team include Charlie Morrison (lighting design) and Peter Fitzgerald (sound design).  The production is produced by Big League Productions/Daniel Sher and is brought to Little Rock by Celebrity Attractions.

Hello, Dolly! features a score by Jerry Herman and book by Michael Stewart.  It is based on Thornton Wilder’s 1955 play The Matchmaker, which was a reworking of his earlier effort The Merchant of Yonkers (which played roughly a month in 1938).  Wilder based his play on Johann Nestroy’s Einen Jux Will Sich Machen (which is loosely translated as “He Wants to Have a Lark”).  Nestroy’s play is based on the English play A Day Well Spent by John Oxenford.  Wilder took the minor character of the matchmaker and named her Dolly Gallagher Levi for The Merchant of Yonkers.  He expanded the part (though he himself termed it “minor revisions”) for the reworking of the play in the 1950s.  The new play starred Ruth Gordon as the meddling matchmaker.  And the rest, as they say, is history.

It is appropriate that Hello, Dolly! be one of the final touring shows to play Robinson Center Music Hall before it is closed for renovation.  Original star Carol Channing brought the production to Little Rock on her national tour, one of the first times an original Broadway star brought a show to Robinson.

Little Rock Look Back: Basketball Comes to Robinson Auditorium

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Entrance to Robinson off Garland Street. Used to attend basketball games.

Entrance to Robinson off Garland Street. Used to attend basketball games.

While Joseph Taylor Robinson Memorial Auditorium is known today as a performance and meeting venue, in its early days it was also the home to sports. Seventy-four years ago tonight the first basketball game was played at Robinson.

One of the first regular activities which took place in the lower level exhibition hall was a series of boxing and wrestling matches.  Building on the success of this, basketball came to the convention hall in January 1940.

A series of games featuring Little Rock High School and North Little Rock High School were announced by Coach Earl Quigley to take place from January 11 through February 16, the official opening day for the facility.

At that time, neither high school had a gymnasium; therefore both schools played their basketball games on their school auditorium stages with fans seated in the audience. The convention hall offered a regulation size floor (made of pecan block parquet) with seating for over 1,300 people along the sidelines and in the balcony.  The first men’s basketball game in Robinson Auditorium took place between the Little Rock High School Tigers and the North Little Rock High School Wildcats on January 11, 1940.

The Tigers lost the game before a crowd estimated to be 1,300.  Earlier in the evening there had been an exhibition between two women’s basketball teams.  The cost for admission to the games was 35 cents for the reserved seating and 25 cents for general admission.

2 times 13 photos of 2013

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Here are 26 of the Culture Vulture’s favorite photos from 2013.

Mount Holly Cemetery in January 2013.

Mount Holly Cemetery in January 2013.

A former movie theatre at 13th and Pine.

A former movie theatre at 13th and Pine.

Faded advertisement at 12th and Cedar.

Faded advertisement at 12th and Cedar.

A father and daughter enjoying time together at the Arkansas Arts Center.

A father and daughter enjoying time together at the Arkansas Arts Center.

Looking up through the grand staircase at Little Rock City Hall.

Looking up through the grand staircase at Little Rock City Hall.

Peering through a piece of public art in the River Market.

Peering through a piece of public art in the River Market.

Doorways

Doorways

Inside one of the houses on the Quapaw Quarter Spring Tour.

Inside one of the houses on the Quapaw Quarter Spring Tour.

A Superhero and his mother leaving the library after checking out books and games.

A Superhero and his mother leaving the library after checking out books and games.

A duck enjoying the Carrie Remmel Dickinson Fountain at the Arkansas Arts Center.

A duck enjoying the Carrie Remmel Dickinson Fountain at the Arkansas Arts Center.

The stairwell in the Villa Marre.

The stairwell in the Villa Marre.

A downtown streetsign.

A downtown streetsign.

The Broadway Bridge balustrade reflected in a rain puddle.

The Broadway Bridge balustrade reflected in a rain puddle.

The stairwell in the auditorium on the Philander Smith campus.

The stairwell in the auditorium on the Philander Smith campus.

The Tower Building.

The Tower Building.

Geese at dusk over MacArthur Park.

Geese at dusk over MacArthur Park.

Raindrops rest on the new Patty Cake sculpture in Riverfront Park.

Raindrops rest on the new Patty Cake sculpture in Riverfront Park.

The Capital Hotel.

The Capital Hotel.

A pigeon at City Hall.

A pigeon at City Hall.

Birds alighting on transformer wires.

Birds alighting on transformer wires.

A downtown sidewalk.

A downtown sidewalk.

The Clinton Presidential Bridge during the JCA Walk for CommUNITY.

The Clinton Presidential Bridge during the JCA Walk for CommUNITY.

Gingko leaves in Hillcrest.

Gingko leaves in Hillcrest.

Robinson Auditorium

Robinson Auditorium

Steps along the Broadway Bridge after the December snow.

Steps along the Broadway Bridge after the December snow.

A December sunset in midtown Little Rock.

A December sunset in midtown Little Rock.

13 Cultural Highlights of 2013

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In no particular order, here are 13 cultural highlights of 2013 in Little Rock.

10.+citylittlerock-21. The 73 year old Joseph Taylor Robinson Municipal Auditorium received a new lease on life when Little Rock voters approved an extensive, two-year plan for renovation, remodeling and expanding the new facility.

2. Speaking of Robinson, the new Ron Robinson Theatre was constructed in the Arcade Building.  It will be the flagship home of the Little Rock Film Festival as well as a site for events hosted by the Clinton School of Public Service and the Central Arkansas Library System.

3. The Little Rock Film Festival came downtown with all of its films being shown in downtown Little Rock and Argenta.  Among the highlights of the festival were Short Term 12, Bridegroom and Don John which have received plaudits at other festivals and are appearing on Best of 2013 lists as well as receiving award nominations.

4. As Main Street continues to redevelop, plans were announced in 2013 for the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra and Ballet Arkansas to each move their offices and rehearsal spaces downtown.  Joining them will be an expansion of educational space for the Arkansas Repertory Theatre.

5. A few blocks south on Main Street, the new South on Main restaurant and performance space opened.  Weekly performances of live music accent the food and drink under the leadership of Chef Matt Bell.

6. Further down Main Street, Little Rock’s newest museum opened.  The Esse Purse Museum honors women and their struggles, accomplishments, hopes and dreams through highlighting the purse.

7. Fashion also took center stage at the William J. Clinton Presidential Center as well with an exhibit on Oscar de La Renta.  In addition to showcasing his contributions to design, the exhibit attracted many boldfaced names from the worlds of fashion and politics to an event in Little Rock.

Washington Bible8. George Washington was the focus of two separate exhibits in Little Rock during 2013.  Historic Arkansas Museum showcased his inaugural Bible as well as his family Bible.  At the Clinton Presidential Center “A Tribute to George Washington” was on display.  It featured George Washington’s personal copy of the U.S. Constitution and Bill of Rights from Mount Vernon, and a portrait of George Washington painted in 1797 by artist Gilbert Stuart on loan from the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art.

9. The amphitheatre in Riverfront Park received a new name (First Security Amphitheatre) and a new roof just in time to kick off its 26th year and to play host to musical acts during Riverfest.

10. Rembrandt and Rothko were just two of the artists featured in exhibits at the Arkansas Arts Center through 2013.  The Arts Center featured the exhibit Treasures of Kenwood House which highlighted the works of Rembrandt, Van Dyck and many other world class artists.  Earlier in the year, exhibits highlighted Bauhaus architecture and relics of the Japanese internment camp at Rohwer.  The Arts Center was also the site of the world’s second largest yarn bomb installation.

Babe Sophie11. The Little Rock Zoo welcomed two new elephants: Sophie and Babe.  The Zoo also was the site of the birth of Bugsy the penguin and four new tiger cubs.  The tigers were born as the result of the Zoo’s new tiger exhibit which facilitated not only easier mating but also allows for the separation of the mother and cubs from the father.

12. The Central Arkansas Library System opened its new Children’s Library.  A few months after the building opened, a name was bestowed and it is now known as the Hillary Rodham Clinton Children’s Library and Learning Center.

13. As 2013 drew to a close, the holiday decorations at the Capital Hotel received international recognition as Forbes named them one of the ten best hotel Christmas trees in the world.  The nearly 30 foot tree was decorated by Tipton Hurst.

Little Rock Look Back: Groundbreaking for Robinson Auditorium

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ARKANSAS DEMOCRAT photo of Mayor Overman, Mrs. Robinson and Mr. Allaire at the groundbreaking. The Broadway Bridge balustrades are visible in the background.

ARKANSAS DEMOCRAT photo of Mayor Overman, Mrs. Robinson and Mr. Allaire at the groundbreaking. The Broadway Bridge balustrades are visible in the background.

On December 24, 1937, at 11:30 a.m., Little Rock Mayor R. E. Overman, Ewilda Gertrude Miller Robinson (the widow of Senator Joseph Taylor Robinson) and  Alexander Allaire of the PWA turned dirt to participate in the brief groundbreaking ceremony for Little Rock’s municipal auditorium.  That morning, the Arkansas Gazette ran a brief story on the upcoming groundbreaking.  The story mentioned that the building would be named in memory of the late beloved Arkansas politician.  This appears to be the first public pronouncement of the Robinson name for this civic structure.

Among others in attendance at the groundbreaking were Mrs. Charles Miller (sister-in-law of Mrs. Robinson), Mr. and Mrs. Grady Miller (brother and sister-in-law of Mrs. Robinson), the mayor’s wife, the three architects (George Wittenberg, Lawson Delony and Eugene John Stern), and D. H. Daugherty and Will Terry of the City’s Board of Public Affairs. 

Construction had to start by January 1, 1938, in order to receive PWA funds.  By breaking ground on December 24, there was over a week to spare.  The site had been selected in late October 1937, and the purchase had not been finalized.  But the PWA did give permission for the City to let a contract for excavation, demolition and filling on the site.

The groundbreaking took place at the corner of Garland and Spring Streets which was on the northeast corner of the block set aside for the auditorium.  Today, Spring Street does not extend north of Markham; the street was closed to make way for the parking structure and what is now the Doubletree Hotel.  Garland Street is basically an alley that runs parallel to Markham north of City Hall, Robinson Auditorium and the Doubletree Hotel.

Approximation of site of Robinson Auditorium groundbreaking

Approximation of site of Robinson Auditorium groundbreaking