Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Theatre Squared extending ‘Convenience’
Elsewhere in entertainment, events and the arts:
THEATER Argenta ‘Producers’
The Judy Kohn Tenenbaum Argenta Community Theater stages
“The Producers” (music and lyrics by Mel Brooks, book by Brooks and Thomas Meehan, adapted from Brooks’ 1968 film of the same name), opening Wednesday at the theater, 405 Main St., North Little Rock. Curtain times are 7:30 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday, 2 p.m. Sunday through March 4. The production contains adult humor and references and the theater does not recommend it for younger audiences. Performances this Wednesday and Thursday are previews. Tickets are $25-$35. Visit ArgentaCommunityTheater.org.
Max Bialystock (P. Jay Clark), the one-time king of Broadway producers now reduced to squeezing pennies from little old ladies, and Leo Bloom (Michael Klucher), a milquetoast accountant, accidentally discover they can get richer by producing a flop than a hit and work to find the worst possible show, the worst possible director and the worst possible actors to create the best possible flop. Turns out they’ve done their job too well — the result, “Springtime for Hitler,” turns out to be a smashing success.
More ‘Convenience’
Fayetteville’s Theatre Squared has extended the run of “Kim’s Convenience” by Ins Choi by seven performances, 7:30 p.m. Tuesday-Friday, 2 and 7:30 p.m. Saturday, 2 p.m. Sunday through Feb. 26 in its West Theatre, 477 W. Spring St., Fayetteville. Tickets are $20-$54. Call (479) 777-7477 or visit theatre2.org.
Season One
Actors Theatre of Little Rock will stage six plays and musicals in its inaugural full season, starting with “As You Like It” by William Shakespeare, adapted and directed by the theater’s producing artistic director, Mark A. Burbank, and a co-production with Henderson State University, April 6-9 at the university in Arkadelphia.
The rest of the lineup (locations
to be announced):
■ May 4-7: The Central Arkansas premiere of “Tiny Beautiful Things,” adapted for the stage by Nia Vardalos from the book by Cheryl Strayed
■ June 8-18: The Arkansas Premiere of “Bright Star,” music, book, and story by Steve Martin, lyrics by Eddie Brickell
■ Aug. 10-13: The regional premiere of “The Glorious World of Crowns, Kinks, and Curls” by Kelli Goff, monologues and scenes exploring the complex relationship women have with their hair. In partnership with A Black Space
■ Sept. 28-Oct. 8: “Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street,” music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, book by Hugh Wheeler
■ Dec. 7-17: A reprise of “Black Nativity” by Langston Hughes, which the company staged Dec. 15-18, 2022, as part of its “Season Zero.”
Visit actorstheatrelr.org.
POETRY
Haiku competition
March 11 is the deadline for Arkansans to submit entries for the Hot Springs Sister City Program’s second annual Arkansas Cherry Blossom Festival Haiku Competition, in two categories, adult and 18 and below. A published haiku poet will choose the top entries for cash prizes; the poets will be invited to read their winning haikus at the Arkansas Cherry Blossom Festival on April 2. Limit two haiku per person; submit online via HotSpringsSisterCity.org.
MUSIC
Acappella in Arkansas
Acappella, celebrating 40 years of singing ministry, is on a 12-city tour supporting its new album, “40,” with three Arkansas stops:
■ 7 p.m. Friday at West Ark Church of Christ, 900 N. Waldron Road, Fort Smith; acappella.ticketspice.com/acappella
■ 7 p.m. March 6, Pleasant Valley Church of Christ, 10900 N. Rodney Parham Road, Little Rock; acappella.ticketspice.com/acappella-40-tour-littlerock
■ 7 p.m. March 7, Southwest Church of Christ, 1601 James St., Jonesboro; acappella.ticketspice. com/acappella- 40tour-jonesboro-ar.
Tickets for each concert are $29.99.
UALR winds
The University of Arkansas at Little Rock Wind Ensemble performs at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday in the Stella Boyle Smith Concert Hall, Fine Arts Building, UALR, 2801 S. University Ave., Little Rock. The program: “The Miller’s Dance” from Manuel De Falla’s ballet “The Three-Cornered Hat,” featuring soloists Geoffrey Sims, French horn, and Al Farmer, English horn; an arrangement of “Interludium” in E-flat major from Paul Hindemith’s “Ludus Tonalis”; three movements from Edward MacDowell’s “Sea Pieces”; and “His Honor March” by Henry Fillmore. Michael Underwood conducts. Admission is free. Call (501) 916-3291 or email gegalloway@ualr.edu.
Jazz trio at Lyon
Atlanta-based jazz trio Jerry Fields and the Journey of Jazz, with “special guests” Eric South and Tim Crouch, performs at 7:30 p.m. Monday in Sloan Auditorium, Brown Fine Arts Building, Lyon College, 2300 Highland Road., Batesville. Admission is free. Call (870) 307-7259 or email Michael.Oriatti@Lyon.edu.
CLASSES & CAMPS
Ballet classes
Ballet Arkansas is offering Spring Break and summer camps, workshops, and intensives for recreational and semi-professional dancers, age 4-21. Register at balletarkansas. org/spring-summer-camps.
Spring Break camps:
■ Carnival of the Animals, Little Rock Zoo, 1 Zoo Drive, Little Rock, for children 6-12, 8 a.m.-4 p.m. March 20-24. Campers participate in theme activities and games, meet ambassador animals, receive an introduction to dance fundamentals from the ballet company’s professional dancers and learn animal-theme movements inspired by Camille Saint-Saens’ “Carnival of the Animals.” Prior dance training is not required. Campers will need to take their own brownbag lunch. Tuition is $300, plus a $100 nonrefundable registration deposit, due by March 10.
■ Spring Break dance workshops, sponsored by Acansa, for beginner/ intermediate dancers age 9-18, 9 a.m.-noon March 21 and 23; for intermediate/ dancers, 10 a.m.-2 p.m. March 20, 22 and
24. Classes in ballet, pointe/ variations, pas de deux, contemporary/jazz, pilates/yoga and choreography, Ballet Arkansas studio, 501 Main St., Little Rock. Workshops are free; registration is required by March 10.
Summer camps:
■ Story Time Dance Camp, for children 4-6, 9-11 a.m. June 12-16 and 1-3 p.m. June 19-23. The first week focuses on “Heroes & Villains” of classical ballet (including sequences from “The Nutcracker” and “Sleeping Beauty”); the second features the “Birds of Ballet!” (sequences from “Swan Lake” and “The Firebird”), with an in-studio showcase for families and friends. Attend one week or both. Prior dance training is recommended but not required. Tuition ( per week) is $125, plus a $50 nonrefundable registration deposit, due by May 31.
■ Junior Intensive, for dancers ages 7-9, noon-3 p.m. June 1216 and 9 a.m.-noon June 19-23 at the Ballet Arkansas studio. Dancers can attend one or both weeks; a minimum of two to three years of dance training is recommended. Tuition (per week) is $150, plus a $100 nonrefundable registration deposit.
■ Summer Intensive Boot Camp, for intermediate/advanced-level dancers ages 1021, 9 a.m.-3 p.m. July 10-14 at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock Center for Performing Arts, 2801 S. University Ave., Little Rock. Classes in ballet, pointe/men’s technique, variations, pilates/yoga, conditioning and contemporary/jazz. A minimum of three to five years of dance training is recommended. Tuition is $275, plus a $100 nonrefundable registration deposit, due by May 31.
■ Two-week Summer Intensive, for intermediate-advanced level dancers 10-21 with a minimum of three to five years of dance training, 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Monday-Friday, July 17-28, at the UALR Center for Performing Arts. Classes and workshops in ballet, pointe/ men’s technique, variations, conditioning, contemporary, pilates/yoga, choreography & improvisation, repertory, nutrition, stage makeup, acting and production, culminating in a July 28 showcase. Tuition is $650, plus a $150 nonrefundable registration deposit, due by May 31.
Email education@balletarkansas.org for more information.
Summer art camp
The University of Arkansas at Little Rock art and design department will host “artWAYS 2023,” a residential summer intensive art camp for rising high school juniors and seniors, June 17-24. Admission, all art materials, meals, housing costs and evening activities are free thanks to a grant from the Windgate Foundation. Students will live in an on-campus residence hall with professional residential counselors. Deadline to apply is March; applicants must submit a recommendation letter from a visual arts teacher and a digital portfolio with at least five original images of their artwork. There’s a limit of 45 students. Register and get more details at tinyurl.com/6aur6rzh. Call (501) 916-5107 or email amtompkins@ualr.edu.
ETC.
MacArthur movie
As part of its “Movies at MacArthur” series, the MacArthur Museum of Arkansas Military History, 503 E. Ninth St., Little Rock, screens “The Big Burn,” a documentary focusing on how a group of Black American soldiers helped change attitudes about race as a result of their peacetime service fighting a 1910 wildfire, 6:30 p.m. Tuesday. It’s adapted from a PBS’ “American Experience” episode. Admission, drinks and popcorn are free. Call (501) 376-4602.