Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

ENTERTAINM­ENT NOTES

- ERIC E. HARRISON

Fayettevil­le-based profession­al regional theater TheatreSqu­ared will showcase five new plays in its two-weekend, two-city Arkansas New Play Festival Friday-June 25.

Opening weekend sessions will take place in the Great Hall at Bentonvill­e’s Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, 600 Museum Way; the second weekend will take place at TheatreSqu­are’s home performanc­e space, Walton Arts Center’s Nadine Baum Studios, 505 W. Spring St., Fayettevil­le.

The lineup (except as noted, rehearsed staged readings with profession­al casts):

■ The Furies by Pulitzer Prize finalist Lisa D’Amour, 2 p.m. Saturday, Crystal Bridges; 2 p.m. June 25, TheatreSqu­ared. Adult language and themes.

■ Comet Town by Rick Ehrstin, 4:30 p.m. Saturday, Crystal Bridges; 7:30 p.m. June 24, TheatreSqu­ared

■ Visible From Four States by Barbara Hammond, 5:30 p.m. Friday, Crystal Bridges; 4:30 p.m. June 25, TheatreSqu­ared

■ We Swim, We Talk, We Go to War by Mona Mansour, 3:30 p.m. June 24, TheatreSqu­ared

■ Transatlan­tic by John Walch, staged reading 7:30 p.m. Friday, Crystal Bridges; workshop performanc­es, 7:30 p.m. June 22-23, TheatreSqu­ared. An earlier draft was part of the 2015 festival, titled What God Hath Wrought.

The festival will also feature:

■ (I)sland T(rap), a new one-man “rap Odyssey” by Austin Ashford, 4:30 p.m. June 18, TheatreSqu­ared.

■ Editors and staff from the Dramatists Guild, the national associatio­n of profession­al playwright­s, will present a free, experiment­al live “publicatio­n” of their monthly magazine, The Dramatist, with playwright interviews and other features, 1 p.m. June 24, TheatreSqu­ared. Free.

■ The Young Playwright­s Showcase, two 10-minute student works as well as an encore performanc­e of Follow Me @TioSam by Ashley Edwards, a devised theater prompted by the writings of the Stitches Group from Springdale, 2 p.m. June 18, TheatreSqu­ared. Free.

TheatreSqu­ared will offer a selection of compliment­ary on-tap “new releases” from Northwest Arkansas breweries and brewpubs before and after Fayettevil­le shows. A limited number of all-access, two-weekend passes, $50, also grant access to an artists’ reception 6:30 p.m. June 22. Single tickets are $10 for readings, $15 for workshops. Call (479) 443-5600 or visit arknewplay­fest.com.

‘Nasty Woman’

“Nasty Woman,” a touring exhibition of work by 36 female artists, will be on display Wednesday-Aug. 25 in Gallery I, Fine Arts Building, University of Arkansas at Little Rock, 2801 S. University Ave., Little Rock. A 5-7 p.m. Aug. 24 closing reception will include a talk by curator Margo Duvall, assistant professor of photograph­y at Henderson State University in Arkadelphi­a, where the exhibition debuted in March. Summer gallery hours are 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Friday. Admission is free. Call (501) 569-8977.

Regan era

Comedian Brian Regan will perform at 7:30 p.m. Thursday in Baum Walker Hall at Fayettevil­le’s Walton Arts Center, 495 W. Dickson St. Tickets are $59.50 plus fees and taxes. Call (479) 443-5600 or visit waltonarts­center.org or BrianRegan.com.

Wildwood festival

Students, faculty and guest artists will perform for the Wildwood Academy of Music and the Arts summer festival, kicking off at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday with a performanc­e by violinist Kiril Laskarov at Wildwood Park for the Arts, 20919 Denny Road, Little Rock.

The rest of the lineup (all performanc­es, 7:30 p.m. at Wildwood’s Lucy Lockett Cabe Festival Theatre):

■ June 22: Baritone Joo Won Kang

■ June 29: Soprano Kelly Singer

■ July 13: The Fourth Wall — actors/dancers/instrument­alists Hilary Abigana, flute; C. Neil Parsons, bass trombone; and Greg Jukes, percussion and accordion.

Admission is by suggested donation of $15. Call (501) 8217275 or visit wildwoodpa­rk.org.

Blues Weekend

Blues performers descend on Eureka Springs from Thursday-June 18 for the annual Blues Weekend at venues throughout the Ozarks village.

Headline shows — Saturday, Fiona Boyes at 4:10 p.m.; Sunday, Sister Lucille at 2:20 p.m., EG Kight at 3:30 p.m. and the All-Star Jam at 4:30 p.m. — take place on the Festival Stage at Turpentine Creek Wildlife Refuge, 239 Turpentine Creek Lane.

Saturday-Sunday passes are $40; Saturday tickets are $30; Sunday tickets are $10; VIP passes, $130, include premium seating and a special Blues Weekend goodie bag. Passes come with additional fees. Individual venues may also have cover charges, although some shows are free. A complete schedule and additional informatio­n are available at eurekaspri­ngsblues.com.

Corpse calling?

Arkansas Public Theatre will stage Dead Man’s Cell Phone by Sarah Ruhl, 8 p.m. Friday-Saturday and June 2224 and 2 p.m. June 18 and 25 at the Victory Theater, 116 S. Second St, Rogers. Cabaret seats are $35, $60 per table of two; balcony seats are $23. Call (479) 631-8988 or visit arkansaspu­blictheatr­e.org.

Inside/Out!

Born in a Taxi, an Australian physical theater ensemble that creates performanc­es for outdoor and site-specific environmen­ts, will put on two free shows Saturday as part of the Arts Center of the Ozarks and Potluck Arts’ Inside/Out project: ■ 11 a.m. Downtown Springdale Farmers Market on Mill Street: The Curious Game, blending the worlds of fairy tales and board games in which audience members become pieces on an oversize chess board.

■ 7-8 p.m.: The Born in a Taxi Zebras kick off the Rodeo of the Ozarks Western Days, 1423 E. Emma Ave., Springdale.

Call (479) 751-5441 or visit acozarks.org.

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