ENTERTAINMENT NOTES: ‘Rent,’ ‘26 Pebbles!’ on stages in state this week | Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

THEATER

’26 Pebbles!’

Actors Theatre of Little Rock stages the Arkansas premiere of “26 Pebbles!” by Eric Ulloa, opening at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday with shows at 7:30 p.m. Thursday-Saturday through June 1 and June 5-8 and 6 p.m. June 2 at Pinnacle View Middle School, 5701 Ranch Drive, Little Rock. The play focuses on the 26 youngsters who died in the Dec. 14, 2012, shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School, who would have been high school seniors this year. The theater group has rated the show PG-13 for mature content and discussion of mental illness, PTSD, death and child loss. Tickets are $25, $20 for students, senior citizens and military. Visit centralarkansastickets.com.

‘Rent’ in Rogers

Arkansas Public Theatre stages the musical “Rent” (music, lyrics and book by Jonathan Larson, loosely based on Giacomo Puccini’s opera “La Boheme”), 8 p.m. Friday-Saturday and June 6-8 and 2 p.m. June 2 and 9 at the Victory Theatre, 116 S. Second St., Rogers. The theater is giving the show, about a group of struggling artists in New York’s East Village facing love, loss and the realities of HIV and AIDS, an R rating. Tickets are $55-$65, $25 for students. Visit arkansaspublictheatre.org.

FUN

‘Family Day’

Farm animals, a quilt show, model trains, face painting and Butterfly Park tours are all part of Family Day, 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Saturday at the Rogers Historical Museum, 313 and 322 S. Second St., Rogers. Artisans will offer craft demonstrations in woodcarving, blacksmithing, lace making, spinning and weaving; the event also features food trucks and, at 1:30 p.m., a Family Fun Parade led by members of the Rogers Heritage High School Marching Band; it starts at the museum on Second Street, crossing over to First Street and the Railyard Park, and then loops back to end at the museum. Admission is free.

    Razorback Greenway, a community quilt from the Northwest Arkansas Modern Quilt Guild 2024, goes on display Friday and Saturday at the Rogers Historical Museum. (Special to the Democrat-Gazette)
  

Also at the museum, “Patchwork ‘n Patterns: A Quilt Show” will be on display, 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Friday and 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Saturday at the Rogers Historical Museum. The show features more than 50 modern quilts made by members of the Northwest Arkansas Modern Quilt Guild. Saturday’s show is part of the museum’s annual Family Day. Admission is free.

Call (479) 621-1154 or visit rogershistoricalmuseum.org.

AUDITIONS

‘Rocky Horror’

The Arts & Science Center for Southeast Arkansas, 701 S. Main St., Pine Bluff, holds auditions for “The Rocky Horror Show” (music, lyrics and book by Richard O’Brien), 2 p.m. June 22, in the center’s Catherine M. Bellamy Theater. Doors open at 1:30 p.m.; auditioners must be 18 or older. No acting experience is required. Auditioners should prepare song cuts of roughly 30 seconds each, one from the show, another in a similar style, and there will be a dance call. The producers and director J. Tyler Lewis say they expect auditioners “to research this show to understand what may be expected of them,” and note that “[i]f cast, performers should be prepared to wear revealing clothing.” Visit tinyurl.com/29w3ykvp for additional information and the registration form (walk-ins will be accepted). Production dates are Oct. 18-19, and Oct. 25-26. Call (870) 536-3375, email [email protected] or visitartx3.org/rocky-horror-auditions.

ETC.

Book discussion

Melissa Thoma will discuss with her husband and business partner, Martin Thoma, her new book, “The Business of Marriage: Management Techniques for Your Most Important Partnership,” 6:30 p.m. Thursday at Words-Worth Books, 5920 R St., Little Rock. A book-signing will follow. Admission is free; register via email at [email protected]. Melissa and Martin Thoma founded Thoma Thoma, a Little Rock marketing firm, in 1988.

    Nicholas Hambruch plays Shrek with Cecily Dionne Davis as Princess Fiona in “Shrek the Musical.” (Special to the Democrat-Gazette/(c) FullOutCreative)
  

UCA season

The 2024-25 University of Central Arkansas Public Appearances Broadway Series of touring shows kicks off at 7 p.m. Sept. 9 with “Shrek the Musical” (a “reimagined” version of the Broadway show, music by Jeanine Tesori, book and lyrics by David Lindsay-Abaire, based on the DreamWorks animated film) in UCA’s Reynolds Performance Hall, 201 Donaghey Ave., Conway.

The rest of the Broadway lineup (all shows at Reynolds Performance Hall):

◼️ “Stomp,” 7 p.m. Oct. 22

◼️ “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer: The Musical” (adapted by Robert Penola from the story by Robert L. May and the song by Johnny Marks; music and lyrics by Marks), 4 p.m. Nov. 24

◼️ “Pretty Woman: The Musical” (original music and lyrics by Bryan Adams and Jim Vallance, book by Garry Marshall and J.F. Lawton, based on their 1990 film), 7 p.m. Feb. 23.

The season also includes (except as noted, all shows, 7 p.m. at Reynolds Performance Hall):

Night Out Series

◼️ Oct. 3: Malevo

◼️ Jan. 18: Heather Land LIVE!

◼️ Feb. 4: Step Afrika!

◼️ Feb. 8: “Ghostbusters in Concert” with the Conway Symphony Orchestra.

Pops Series

◼️ Oct. 13: Indigo Girls

◼️ Nov. 14: Larry Fleet

◼️ Dec. 14: Preservation Hall Jazz Band “Creole Christmas”

◼️ March 1: Hot Club of Cowtown and Tyler Hilton Celebrate the Music of Sun Studios.

Distinguished Speakers

◼️ Oct. 29: “Evelyn from the Internets”

◼️ April 3: “Our Planet Live: Frozen Worlds” with Sophie Lanfear.

25th anniversary add-on

◼️ Nov. 1: Straight No Chaser: Top Shelf.

Windgate Collection (both performances 7 p.m. at UCA’s Windgate Center for Fine and Performing Arts, Donaghey Avenue and Bruce Street, Conway)

◼️ Nov. 3: Vitamin String Quartet: The Music of Taylor Swift, Bridgerton and Beyond

◼️ April 13: An Evening with Suzy Bogguss.

Main Stage EdUCAtion (all shows 10 a.m. and noon)

◼️ Nov. 8: “Charlotte’s Web”

◼️ Nov. 21: “Goodnight Moon” and “The Runaway Bunny”

◼️ Jan. 24: “Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus”

◼️ Feb. 28: Ada Twist Scientist and Friends.

New subscriptions go on sale July 1. Season tickets for individual series are $41-$160; for Performing Arts Packages (all three series), $260-$480. Individual tickets for all shows in the Broadway, Pops and Night Out series, on sale July 29, are $27-$50; for speakers, $15 and $5 for children and students; for Main Stage shows, $10, $5 for children and students. Windgate Collection tickets are $17-$40, $10 for children and students. Call (501) 450-3265 or visit uca.edu/pa.

    Indigo Girls perform Oct. 13 at the University of Central Arkansas in Conway. (Special to the Democrat-Gazette/Jeremy Cowart)
  

NEA grants

The National Endowment for the Arts, in its second major 2024 grant announcement, is awarding six grants totaling $994,025 to Arkansas arts organizations via its “Grants for Arts Projects,”https://www.nwaonline.com/news/2024/may/25/entertainment-notes-rent-26-pebbles-on-stages-in/”Our Town” and “State and Regional Partnerships” categories.

It’s part of $110 million in recommended grants in all 50 states and U.S. jurisdictions.

The Arkansas grantees:

◼️ Hot Springs Documentary Film Institute, $25,000, “to support the Hot Springs Documentary Film Festival and associated public programs,” according to the NEA website (arts.gov/sites/default/files/Spring-2024-State-List.pdf).

◼️ The Arkansas Arts Council, $829,025, “to support arts programs, services and activities associated with carrying out the agency’s National Endowment for the Arts-approved strategic plan.”

◼️ Arkansas Cinema Society, $20,000, to support its Filmland festival.

◼️ Arkansas Museum of Fine Arts Foundation, $55,000, “to support an exhibition and catalog exploring the architectural and constructive similarities that unify the work of early and mid-20th century artists Louise Nevelson (1899-1988) and Esphyr Slobodkina (1908-2002).”

◼️ Arkansas Symphony Orchestra, $40,000, to support the orchestra’s 60th anniversary opening concert in the fall of 2025, to feature a co-commissioned work by composer and bassist Xavier Foley, featuring cellist Zuill Bailey. Orchestra officials say the grant, and the concert, will also “support the one-year anniversary of the ASO’s Stella Boyle Smith Music Center in Little Rock.”

◼️ Central Arkansas Library System, $25,000, to support the Six Bridges Book Festival.

Deadline for organizations interested in applying for Grants for Arts Projects is July 11. Visit arts.gov.