COMEDY
Comedian J.J. Williamson headlines shows, 6-9 p.m. and 9 p.m.-midnight, Friday and Saturday at the Loony Bin, in the Breckenridge Village Shopping Center, 10301 N. Rodney Parham Road at Interstate 430, Little Rock. Shows are open to patrons 18 and older. Tickets are $30. Visit loonybincomedy.com.
For the past 15 years, Williamson, a native of Jackson, Miss., has served as the opening act for Cedric The Entertainer. He played Cousin Bodie in the movie “Johnson Family Vacation” with Cedric, Vanessa Williams, Bow-Wow and Steve Harvey. He co-hosts the nationally syndicated “DeDe in the Morning Show,” which airs 5-11 a.m. weekdays on Little Rock radio station KHTE-FM, 96.5, “The Box.”
Comedian J.J. Williamson headlines Friday and Saturday shows at the Loony Bin in Little Rock’s Breckenridge Village Shopping Center. (Special to the Democrat-Gazette)
THEATER
‘Guys & Dolls’ in Conway
Red Curtain Theatre, 913 W. Oak St., Conway, stages “Guys and Dolls” (music and lyrics by Frank Loesser, book by Jo Swerling and Abe Burrows, based on characters created by Damon Runyon), 7:30 p.m. Friday-Saturday, Aug. 8-10 and 15-17 and 2:30 p.m. Sunday and Aug. 11 and 18. Tickets are $22, $39 for VIP (includes front-row table seating, a stage pass and digital photos with cast members in costume following the performance, a show poster autographed by the cast and a 25% discount on concessions). Visit redcurtaintheatre.com.
Pay what you can
The Arkansas Repertory Theatre, 601 Main St., Little Rock, is selling up to 100 “pay-what-you-can” tickets for its Tuesday preview performance of “Jitney” by August Wilson, on a first-come, first-served basis, at 10 a.m. Saturday. The show runs through Aug. 18. The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette sponsors the “pay-what-you-can” previews during the Rep’s summer season. Call (501) 378-0405 or visit TheRep.org.
Directors wanted
The South Arkansas Arts Center is seeking directors for three forthcoming productions:
◼️ “A Christmas Carol,” based on the novel by Charles Dickens. Auditions will take place in October; production dates are Dec. 3-4 and 6-8.
◼️ “The Play That Goes Wrong” by Henry Lewis, Jonathan Sayer and Henry Shields. Production dates are April 4-6 and 10-12.
◼️ The musical “Hairspray.” Production dates are July 10-13 and 17-20.
Submit a letter of intent, a resumé and a short production proposal. Qualified applicants should have a working knowledge of community theater and experience working with all ranges of talent, including beginners.
Deadline to apply for “Christmas Carol” is Sept. 3. Send submissions to: SAAC, 110 E. Fifth St., El Dorado, AR 71730, ATTN: Executive Director, or email them to Laura Allen at [email protected].
For more information, call (870) 862-5474.
Textile art by C.C. Mercer Watson goes on display today at Thea Foundation in North Little Rock’s Argenta District. (Special to the Democrat-Gazette)
ART
‘Leo Season’
“Leo Season,” textile art by C.C. Mercer Watson, goes on display with a 5-7:30 p.m. reception Thursday in the gallery at Thea Foundation, 401 Main St. in North Little Rock’s Argenta District. It’s part of the foundation’s quarterly Art Department exhibition series. A foundation news release describes Watson’s work as “a celestial offering from the compass to the cosmos … an ancestral homage to those that live, transform and transcend into the stars. It is mythical, spiritual and factual in nature, charting a fresh interpretation of the Zodiacs.”
Watson, a native Arkansan, is also an actor, activist, poet, playwright, author and executive director of A Black Space, which has “a concentrated mission of serving and liberating Black folks through culture bearing, oral tradition and ancestral craft,” according to its website.
Presenter is Delta Dental of Arkansas. The exhibition is up through Aug. 30. Admission is free. Visit theafoundation.org.
Virtual van Gogh
“Van Gogh Exhibit: The Immersive Experience,” a “multi- sensory” exhibit that purports to be a journey “through van Gogh’s mind and dreams, highlighting some of his most prized works in original ways,” according to a news release, opens Friday and will be up at least through the end of October at the Exhibition Hub Little Rock Art Center, in the Shackleford Crossings center, 2618 S. Shackleford Road, Little Rock.
The exhibit uses 360-degree projections to “transport you into the sunflower-y universe of the impressionist painters, bringing every brushstroke and detail to life,” according to the release. The traveling exhibition comes from Fever Up, which also is bringing Candlelight concerts to Little Rock’s Robinson Center Performance Hall.
Hours are 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Monday, Wednesday and Thursday, 10 a.m.-7 p.m. Friday, 9 a.m.-7 p.m. Saturday and holidays, 9 a.m.-6 p.m. Sunday. Entry bookings are in half-hour segments; the organizers estimate the visit should take around 60 to 75 minutes.
Tickets are $25-$35, $18 for children, $26 for senior citizens 65-plus, students and military, VIP options and family bundles available. Visit vangoghexpo.com/little-rock.
Capitol artifacts exhibit
“A Collector’s Story: Selections from the Saunders Museum,” exploring the life of Col. C. Burton Saunders of Berryville (1863-1952) and his collection of artifacts, is on display through Sept. 20 in the first-floor galleries at the state Capitol, 500 Woodlane St., Little Rock.
Saunders became famous as a showman, marksman, world traveler and prolific acquirer of unique and historic items of interest. The items on display, on loan from the museum in Berryville, include rare and antique firearms, Native American artifacts and various objects Saunders picked up during his world travels.
The rarer relics include a cased pair of flintlock dueling pistols made by Pirmet in Paris from the late 1700s-early 1800s; a Colt Walker 1847 revolver (less than 200 out of 1,100 made are known to still exist); and guns that are said to have been owned by Jesse James, Cole Younger, Pretty Boy Floyd and Wild Bill Hickock.
For more information on the Saunders Museum, visit berryvillear.gov/about-berryville/saunders-museum.
“The Egg Floats as It’s Released into the Empty Abdomen” by Brandi Parker goes on display today at the Arts & Science Center for Southeast Arkansas in Pine Bluff. (Special to the Democrat-Gazette)
Pine Bluff ‘Hysteria’
“Hysteria,” multimedia works in a surrealist style on themes of motherhood by Brandi Parker, opens with a 5-7 p.m. reception Thursday at the Arts & Science Center for Southeast Arkansas, 701 S. Main St., Pine Bluff. The exhibition remains up through Dec. 6. Admission is free. Gallery hours are 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Tuesday-Friday, 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturday. Call (870) 536-3375 or email [email protected].
ETC.
Wedding show
The Arkansas Democrat- Gazette Wedding Show, 12:30-4 p.m. Sunday at the Statehouse Convention Center, Markham and Main streets, Little Rock, features more than 50 exhibitors; a wedding-planner panel (covering wedding planning advice, including budgeting, venue selection and timelines); fashion shows; and a venue panel. The name of the event, formerly the Bridal Show, has changed “to move to a more inclusive and welcoming event,” in which all couples will be welcome, according to a news release.
All attendees receive a 2024 Democrat-Gazette Wedding Planner (with photography, editorials, checklists for couples and a listing of area wedding industry businesses) and a copy of the 2024 Real Weddings magazine. Prizes will be given out throughout the show; one couple will win the Ultimate Giveaway, valued at more than $9,000.
Co-sponsors are Central Arkansas Entertainment and Dillard’s. Tickets are $10, $35 for Limited VIP (includes early entry into the show, a T-shirt, a swag bag full of swag from sponsors and reserved seating for the fashion shows). Call (501) 378- 3807 or visit arkansasbridalcommunity. com.
