Comical ‘Sister Act’ comes to Wildwood
Elsewhere in entertainment, events and the arts this weekend:
THEATER
Nun of the above
Praeclara, a partnership between Second Presbyterian Church and Wildwood Park for Arts, stages the musical “Sister Act” (music by Alan Menken, lyrics by Glenn Slater, book by Cheri & Bill Steinkeller, based on the 1992 movie), 8 p.m. Friday and April 8-9 and 3 p.m. Sunday and April 10 the Lucy Lockett Cabe Festival Theatre at Wildwood, 20919 Denny Road., Little Rock. Tickets are $35. Call (501) 821-7275 or visit wildwoodpark.org.
Disco diva Deloris Van Cartier (Janette Robinson) witnesses a murder and the cops put her into protective custody in a place they’re sure she won’t be found: a convent, disguised as a nun. Her un-nunly attitude puts her at odds with the uptight Mother Superior (Kelley Ponder) but her disco moves and singing talent inspire the choir and the community — and thus, unwittingly, blow her cover.
COMEDY
wellRED Tour
Stand-up comedians and writing partners Trae Crowder (“The Liberal Redneck”), Corey Ryan Forrester (“The Buttercream Dream”) and Drew Morgan (“The Ginger Ninjer”), aka the wellRED Comedy Tour, perform at 8 p.m. Friday-Saturday at the Ron Robinson Theater, 100 River Market Ave., Little Rock. It’s part of the Central Arkansas Library System’s Arkansas Sounds series. General admission tickets are $30; a limited number of meet & greet packages (including admission and a wristband for a post-show meet-and-greet with the comedians) are $50. Visit ronrobinsontheater.org, email jmiller@cals. org or call (501) 320-5715.
The comedians will also perform at 5 and 7 p.m. Sunday at The Meteor, 128 W. Central Ave., Bentonville. Tickets are $34.50-$60. Visit wellredcomedy.com.
MUSIC
Coterie performance
Sisters Marla Quimby, soprano, and Janine Tiner, piano, perform for the Little Rock Musical Coterie’s monthly meeting, 2 p.m. Sunday
at Trinity United Methodist Church, 1101 N. Mississippi St., Little Rock. The program, titled “A European Vocal Adventure,” includes three songs by Stefano Donaudy (“Spirate pur, spirate,” “Amorosi miei giorno” and “Vaghissima sembianza”) and the “Poema en forma de canciones” by Joaquin Turina. Admission is free.
Percussive performance
So Percussion — Eric ChaBeach, Josh Quillen, Adam Sliwinski, and Jason Treuting — performs at 7 p.m. Saturday in Riceland Hall, Arkansas State University’s Fowler Center, 201 Olympic Drive, Jonesboro.
It’s part of the Fowler Center performing arts series. The program includes “Dark Full Ride (Part 1)” by Julia Wolfe, “Note to Self” by Nathalie Joachim (co-commissioned for the ensemble by Andrew W. Siegel and Carnegie Hall, where it premiered Dec. 21), “Vodalities: Paradigms of Consciousness for the Human Voice” by Shodekeh Talifero; and Treuting’s “Go Placidly with Haste.”
The group will work with faculty member Craig Collison and students in Collison’s percussion studio, including a two-day intensive workshop to produce a new collaborative piece that ASU students will perform with the ensemble at the concert. Tickets are $18-$33, Visit fowler.astate.edu.
ART Krain photography
“Encounters,” photographs by Ben Krain, go on display Monday in the Focus Gallery of the Windgate Center of Art and Design at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, 2801 S. University Ave., Little Rock.
Krain, a UALR alumnus, the university’s photographer and a former staff photographer for the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, depicts in this exhibit aspects of everyday life, according to a news release: “The simple exploration of nothing. The content is not about news, it’s about the human spirit. These are the photographs in this exhibit.”
The exhibit remains up through May 6. Admission is free. Gallery hours are 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Friday, 10 a.m.-1 p.m. Saturday, 2-5 p.m. Sunday. Email jklivaudais@ualr.edu.
‘O … is for Ozarks’
Paintings by Steven Wise, part of his new series of paintings titled “O … is for Ozarks,” inspired by his study of the Ozark Mountains, headline the April exhibit at Justus Fine Art Gallery, 827A Central Ave., Hot Springs. It opens with a 5-9 p.m. Friday Gallery Walk reception and will be up through April 30. Gallery hours are 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Wednesday-Saturday and by appointment. Admission is free. Call (501) 321-2335 or visit justusfineart.com.
El Dorado exhibits
Paintings by students of Gay Bechtelheimer (Nancy Rae Kinard, Sylvia Henley, Bobbi Shepherd, Kathy Bowles Adcock, Rhonda Hicks, Allyson Menefee, Lee Scroggins, Ann Palculict and John Ginger) go on display Friday in the Price Gallery of the South Arkansas Arts Center, 110 E. Fifth St., El Dorado.
And “Found Unbounded,” mixed-media pieces by Fayetteville artist Jennifer Baugh using alcohol markers, colored pencils, paint pens and a rotary tool for texturing along with found objects, from car parts to lamp pieces to game tokens, goes on display in the Lobby Gallery.
An artists’ reception takes place, 6-7:30 p.m. Saturday. The exhibitions remain up through April 30. Admission is free. Gallery hours are 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Friday. Call (870) 862-5474 or visit saac-arts.org.
ETC. Cherry blossoms
The Hot Springs National Park Sister City Foundation will host the Arkansas Cherry Blossom Festival, 1-5 p.m. Sunday at Horner Hall, Hot Springs Convention Center, 134 Convention Blvd., Hot Springs, featuring cultural demonstrations, musical and dance performances — including by taiko drum group Dallas Kiyari Daiko — traditional Japanese carnival games and exhibits. The Sister City Youth Art exhibition will open at the event before moving to the Garland County Library for the remainder of April. The festival will also include lectures and workshops, an anime costume contest and the awarding of prizes for the inaugural Arkansas Cherry Blossom Festival Haiku competition (winners will be invited to read their haiku). Japan-based companies from across the state have been invited to participate by exhibiting items made in Arkansas. Admission is free. Email festival@hotspringssistercity.org or visit hotsprings.org/events/arkansas-cherry-blossom-festival.
Cemetery preservation
The Arkansas Historic Preservation Program will hold the first of its spring 2022 cemetery preservation workshops, 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturday at the Rose Hill Cemetery on East Prospect Avenue in Harrison. Jonathan Appell of Atlas Preservation will provide training. Rusty Brenner of Texas Cemetery Restoration presents the second workshop, 9 a.m.-4 p.m. May 7 at Box Elder Cemetery on North County Road 275 in Leachville.
The workshops are free and include lunch; reservations are required. The events take place outdoors; tents will be provided in case of rain and chairs will be available, but if you need a stool you are encouraged to bring one. Gloves and comfortable clothing are encouraged. For more information or to reserve a space at either workshop (and if you require a vegetarian meal, please specify), call (501) 324-9148 or email Holly.Hope@arkansas.gov.