Weekend Entertainment Roundup for July 18th, 2024

Here’s the latest Weekend Entertainment Roundup from Eric E. Harrison, culture reporter at the Arkansas Democrat Gazette.

THEATER

Two shows are opening this weekend here in Little Rock:

‘Legally Blonde the Musical,” music and lyrics by Laurence O’Keefe and Nell Benjamin, book by Heather Hach based on the novel Legally Blonde by Amanda Brown and the 2001 film of the same name) is onstage at The Studio Theatre, 320 W. Seventh St., Little Rock, 7:30 p.m. Thursday-Saturday July 18-20, July 25-27, Aug. 1-3; 2:30 p.m. Sunday July 21, 28, Aug. 4. Tickets are $30, $25 for senior citizens and military, $20 for students, $10 additional for “early entrance.” (501) 374-2615; onthestage.tickets

And a gender-bending production of William Shakespeare’s “Julius Caesar” is onstage 7:30 p.m. Friday-Saturday July 19-20, July 26-27, Aug. 2-3; 2:30 p.m. Sunday July 21, 28, Aug. 4 at the Weekend Theater, 1001 W. Seventh St. at Chester Street, Little Rock. Tickets are $20, $18 for senior citizens and military. centralarkansastickets.com

And in Pine Bluff, the Arts & Science Center for Southeast Arkansas, 701 S. Main St., opens “Roald Dahl’s Matilda the Musical,” with performances 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday and July 26-27 and 2 p.m. Sunday and July 28 in the center’s Catherine M. Bellamy Theater. (870) 536-3375; artx3.org/theater.

Meanwhile, a cast of more than two dozen is kicking off its Sunday shows in the musical “Footloose” at the Arkansas Repertory Theatre, 601 Main St., Little Rock, 7 p.m. Tuesday-Thursday, 8 p.m. Friday, 2 and 8 p.m. Saturday, 2 p.m. Sunday through July 28. (501) 378-0405; TheRep.org

Actors Theatre of Little Rock is staging the musical “Chicago,” “immersive” and in the round, 7:30 p.m. Wednesday-Saturday, 6 p.m. Sunday through July 27 at Quapaw Quarter United Methodist Church, 1600 Louisiana St., Little Rock. actorstheatrelr.org/tickets

“Jersey Boys,” the origin story of the Four Seasons, is onstage through Aug. 17 at Murry’s Dinner Playhouse, 6323 Colonel Glenn Road, Little Rock. (501) 562-3131; murrysdp.com

And Benton’s Young Players are staging “Sister Act Jr.,” 7 p.m. today-Saturday July 18-20 and 2 p.m. Sunday July 21 at the Royal Theatre, 111 S. Market St., Benton. TheRoyalPlayers.Ticketleap.com

MUSIC

Lit only by hundreds of candles, the Listeso String Quartet performs “Neo-Soul Favorites,” featuring songs by Prince, Childish Gambino and others, 6:30 p.m. Saturday in the William Grant Still Ballroom at Little Rock’s Robinson Center, 426 W. Markham St. at Broadway, followed at 8:45 p.m. by “A Tribute to Taylor Swift.” feverup.com

And if you’re prepared to travel, The Beach Boys perform at 7:30 p.m. Friday at the First Financial Music Hall, 101 E. Locust St. in El Dorado. (870) 444-3007; eldomad.com

ART & EXHIBITS

“Dovetail Purses,” handmade purses by New Orleans-based artist and writer Jennifer Dove Cooper, are on display through Sept. 15 at ESSE Museum & Store, 1510 Main St., Little Rock. Cooper has sculpted purses from recycled materials including egg cartons, old checkbook covers, water bottles, clothing scraps, baby food containers and other found items. (501) 916-9022; essepursemuseum.com

New mixed media on paper works by Brad Cushman, ceramic goats and wreaths by Yelena Petroukhina and hyper-realistic oil paintings by Keith Runkle go on display with a reception, 6-9 p.m. Saturday at Boswell Mourot Fine Art, 1501 Main St., Little Rock. The show remains up through Aug. 10. (501) 454-6969.

“Getaway Car,” an installation of paintings, drawings, photographs and artifacts collected by Michael Shaeffer, inspired by the road trips he took with his late mother during his childhood, opens Friday with a 5-8 p.m. Argenta Art District Third Friday Art Walk reception at the Argenta Library, 420 Main St., North Little Rock. The exhibition remains up through Aug. 9. (501) 687-1061; NLRlibrary.org

And the “Delta Triennial,” painting, drawing, sculpture, textiles, an installation and even an audio piece by 39 artists from Arkansas and six surrounding states, remains on display through Aug. 25 at the Arkansas Museum of Fine Arts, 501 E. 9th St., Little Rock. (501) 372-4000; arkmfa.org

Tune in every Thursday at 4:44pm to hear Eric’s roundup for arts and culture events in Central Arkansas during All Things Considered on Little Rock Public Radio.