Weekend Entertainment Roundup for December 19, 2024

FUN

Illusionist Jonathan Erlandson, whose primary performance venue is Hot Springs’ Maxwell Blade Theatre of Magic, is onstage at 8 p.m. Friday Dec. 20 at the Ron Robinson Theater, 100 River Market Ave., Little Rock. simpletix.com.

Decorate cookies, create crafts, drink hot chocolate, watch a movie “and take a photo with a special guest or guests” at “Frosting With Frosty,” 1-3 p.m. Saturday Dec. 21 at the North Heights Community Center, 4801 Allen St., North Little Rock. (501) 580-1407.

Go “Home for the Holidays” with the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra, solo singers and a 100-voice choir made up of students at Little Rock Central High, Little Rock Parkview High and Bryant High, 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday Dec. 20-21 and 3 p.m. Sunday Dec. 22 at Little Rock’s Robinson Center Performance Hall, 426 W. Markham St. at Broadway. The soloists — Marcus Murphy and Kim Qualls — are the winners of the ASO’s inaugural “Arkansas Talent” competition. Murphy sings “I’ll Be Home for Christmas,” “This Christmas” and “The Christmas Song” (aka “Chestnuts roasting on an open fire”); , Qualls will sing “The First Noel,” her original song “Come and Behold” and “It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas.” And they’ll team up for “The Prayer.” The orchestra part of the program includes a concert suite from the film “The Polar Express”; and a Hanukkah medley; and everybody will take part iun the “Hallelujah” chorus from “The Gospel Messiah.” (501) 666-1761, Ext. 1; ArkansasSymphony.org

THEATER

The Arkansas Repertory Theatre, 601 Main St., Little Rock, follows up its successful 2023 “Motown Christmas” with “A Merrier Motown Christmas,” 7 p.m. today-Friday and Sunday; 2 and 7 p.m. Saturday and Monday. Director Ken-Matt Martin reassembles his 2023 quartet — music director Nygel D. Robinson, and local singers Bijoux, Tawanna Campbell and Antonio Woodard. (501) 378-0405; therep.org.

The Arkansas Museum of Fine Arts Children’s Theatre wraps up its run of “Madeline’s Christmas,” 10:30 and 2 p.m. Saturday, 2 p.m. Sunday through Dec. 22 at the museum, 501 E. Ninth St., Little Rock. events.arkmfa.org.

The Weekend Theater, 1001 W. Seventh St. at Chester Street, Little Rock, closes out its run of Christopher Durang’s “Mrs. Bob Cratchit’s Wild Christmas Binge!” — 7:30 p.m. Thursday-Saturday. CentralArkansasTickets.com.

The Argenta Contemporary Theater, 405 Main St., North Little Rock, ends its sold-out run of “A Christmas Story the Musical,” 7 p.m. today-Saturday. Visit argentacontemporarytheatre.org to get on a waiting list for any last-minute vacancies.

Actors Theatre of Little Rock closes out its run of “Dreamgirls,” 7:30 p.m. today-Saturday at Quapaw Quarter United Methodist Church, 1601 Louisiana St., Little Rock. actorstheatrelr.org.

And Murry’s Dinner Playhouse, 6323 Colonel Glenn Road, Little Rock, is staging Irving Berlin’s musical “White Christmas” 7:30 p.m. Wednesday-Saturday, 12:45 and 6:45 p.m. Sunday through Dec. 31. The buffet opens 90 minutes before curtain time. (501) 562-3131; murrysdp.com.

ART AND EXHIBITS

“Strange Awakening,” drawings, paintings, prints and sculpture by North Little Rock artist and graphic designer Brian Wolfc delving into what a news release describes as “the emotional resonance of symbols and storytelling,” opens with a 5-8 p.m. Argenta Art District Third Friday Art Walk reception Friday Dec. 20 at the Argenta Library Gallery, 420 Main St., North Little Rock. The exhibition remains up through Jan. 10. Hours are 9 a.m.-6 p.m. Monday-Friday, Admission is free. Call (501) 687-1061; NLRlibrary.org.

“Treehouse Treasures: A Collector’s Collection Part 1” remains on display through Jan. 18 at Cantrell Gallery, 8208 Cantrell Road, Little Rock, works from the collection of original gallery owner Helen Scott, who is downsizing her home, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday or by appointment. (501) 224-1335; cantrellgallery.com.

“Two Minutes to Midnight and the Architecture of Armageddon,” photographic essays on the Cold War by Jeanine Michna-Bales and Adam Reynolds, on display through Jan. 5 at the MacArthur Museum of Arkansas Military History, 503 E. Ninth St., Little Rock. (501)-376-4602; littlerock.gov/macarthur.

And “Commanding the Screen: The American Presidency in Film and Television,” continues to offer a look at material from more than 30 movies and television shows portraying fictional and real-life U.S. presidents, through March 23 at the Clinton Presidential Center, 1200 President Clinton Ave., Little Rock. clintonpresidentialcenter.org/exhibits.