‘Hairspray,’ ‘NORTH,’ ‘Earnest’ on stage this week
THEATER ‘Earnest’ at Murry’s
“The Importance of Being Earnest” by Oscar Wilde opens Wednesday and runs through May 25 at Murry’s Dinner Playhouse, 6323 Colonel Glenn Road, Little Rock.
Shows are at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday-Saturday (12:30 p.m. Wednesday matinees only, May 1, 8, 15) and 12:45 and 6:45 p.m. Sunday. The buffet opens 90 minutes before curtain time. Tickets (including meal and show): $42-$44, $30 for children 15 and younger; $30 show only. Call (501) 5623131 or visit murrysdp.com.
John “Jack” Worthing (Tim Cooper) has invented a fictitious brother, “Ernest,” whose wicked ways afford him an excuse to leave his country home from time to time and journey to London, where he stays with his close friend and confidant, Algernon (Quinn Gasaway). Jack is deeply in love with Algernon’s cousin, Gwendolen Fairfax (Katherine Yacko), who is obsessed with marrying someone with the confidence-inspiring name of Ernest.
Algernon, in the meanwhile, has fallen in love with Jack’s ward, Cecily Cardew (Bridget Davis), who has a “thing” for the mythical brother, Ernest. Jack must convince Gwendolen’s guardian, Lady Bracknell (Laurie Pascale) that he’s worthy, while it turns out Cecily’s governess, Miss Prism (Paige Reynolds), holds the key to a dark secret in Jack’s past. Don Bolinger, director Roger M. Eaves and Briana East round out the cast.
‘Hairspray’ at WAC
A 16-year-old in 1960s Baltimore with big dreams (and even bigger hair) hopes to change the world as she sets out to dance her way onto TV’s most popular show in “Hairspray” (music by Marc Shaiman, lyrics by Shaiman and Scott Wittman and a book by Mark O’Donnell and Thomas Meehan, based on the New Line Cinema film written and directed by John Waters). A touring production is onstage, 8 p.m. Friday, 2 and 8 p.m. Saturday and 2 p.m. May 5 at Fayetteville’s Walton Arts Center, 495 W. Dickson St. Tickets are $50$90.
Also at Walton Arts Center: A touring company brings “NORTH,” a musical by author, composer and vocalist Ashli St. Armant involving a teenage boy and his mother who escape slavery in the South through the Underground Railroad, 4 p.m. today. Tickets are $10.
Call (479) 443-5600 or visit waltonartscenter.org.
MUSIC
Jazzy get-together
Arkansas Jazz Heritage Foundation holds its annual membership party, marking International Jazz Day, 6-9 p.m. Tuesday in Thomson Hall, Unitarian Universalist Church of Little Rock, 1818 Reservoir Road, Little Rock. David Higginbotham, bass and vocals; CD Askew, drums; and Tom Cox, piano, will perform as a trio; others will join during a jam session. The foundation will announce the 2024 inductees to the Arkansas Jazz Hall of Fame on June 17 at the Old State House Museum in Little Rock. Admission is by payment of annual dues of $20 (check to AJHF or cash) and/or donations and includes food and beverages. Call (501) 661-1604 or email arjazzman@sbcglobal.net.
ART
El Dorado competition
May 14 is the deadline for artists to submit their work for the South Arkansas Arts Center’s 2024 SAAC Juried Art Competition, June 17-July 24 at the center, 110 E. Fifth St., El Dorado. The competition
is open to all artists and makers, 18 and older, who work in two-dimensional and three-dimensional fine arts media, including but not limited to paintings, sculptures, photography, computer generated art, video, fiber art and multimedia. Artists can submit any number of entries via digital image via saac-arts.org. Entry fee for each submission is $10. More specifics are available at saac-arts.org/juried-art-competition. The juror is David Houston of the Ohr-O’Keefe Museum of Art in Biloxi, Miss. Call (870) 862-5474.
ETC.
First Ladies remembered
Authors Diana B. Carlin, Anita B. McBride and Nancy Kegan Smith will discuss their book, “Remember the First Ladies,” 6 p.m. Friday at the Clinton Presidential Center, 1200 President Clinton Ave., Little Rock. The book explores the evolutionary role of the first lady and its historic importance on the American presidency.
Carlin is professor emerita of communication at St. Louis University and a retired professor of communication studies at the University of Kansas. McBride is executive-in-residence and director of the First Ladies Initiative at the Center for Congressional and Presidential Studies in the School of Public Affairs at American University. Smith previously served as director of the Presidential Materials Division of the National Archives
and Records Administration and is president of the First Ladies Association for Research and Education.
A book signing will follow. Copies are for sale in the Clinton Museum Store. Admission is free, but registration is required. Visit tinyurl. com/5b4tf7rx.
AUDITIONS Argenta ‘Fair Lady’
Argenta Contemporary Theatre, 405 Main St., North Little Rock, holds auditions 10 a.m.-3 p.m. June 1 for “My Fair Lady” (music by Frederick Loewe, book and lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner, based on the 1938 film adaptation of George Bernard Shaw’s 1913 play “Pygmalion”). Prepare 16 bars of a song that showcases your vocal range — musical selections from the show are acceptable but in any case, “selections should have the same feel as music from the production.” Take sheet music for the audition pianist. “Sides” from the script for cold readings will be available at auditions. Dance call and callbacks will be at 2 p.m. June 2. Auditions are open to actors of all genders, races and ethnicities and performers of all ethnicities are encouraged to audition. All roles require singing and movement. Production dates are Oct. 9-29. Email casting@argentacontemporarytheatre.org for an audition appointment; walk-ins will be accommodated. More information, including a character breakdown, is available at argentacontemporarytheatre.org/auditions.
TICKETS Glowing an audience
The Hot Wheels Monster Trucks Live Glow Party — Hot Wheels monster trucks that glow in the dark — takes over North Little Rock’s Simmons Bank Arena, 12:30 and 7:30 p.m. Oct. 26 and 2:30 p.m. Oct. 27. Tickets are $24-$59 with discounts for kids 2-12, plus tax and service charges. Visit hotwheelsmonstertruckslive.com or ticketmaster.com.
The Hot Wheels Power Smashers Pre-Show, 2½ hours before every performance, provides access to the competition floor, the chance to land autographs from drivers and performers, a glow stick, souvenir pass and an exclusive lanyard. VIP passes are available at hotwheelsmonstertruckslive.com.