Weekend Entertainment Roundup for September 5, 2024

FUN

Fans of pop culture, some dressed as cartoon characters and superheroes, devotees of Japanese animation and graphics and cosplayers galore are flocking to Little Rock’s Statehouse Convention Center, Markham and Main streets, for the Arkansas Comic Con, 3-8 p.m. Friday; 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Saturday; 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Sunday. Stars scheduled to attend include Ray Park, who played Darth Maul in the “Star Wars” films; Brent Spiner, Gates McFadden and John DeLancie from “Star Trek: The Next Generation”; Skeet Ulrich and Jamie Kennedy from “Scream”; Michael Rooker from “Guardians of the Galaxy” film franchise and TV’s “The Walking Dead”; and Butch Patrick, who played child werewolf Eddie Munster on the ‘60s series “The Munsters.” arkansascomiccon.com

THEATER

In live theater this week, two small-town paramedics, an ambitious reporter and her earnest cameraman find themselves in the thick of a dilemma as they figure out how to respond on scene of an early morning suspected suicide while a school bus loaded with kids is about to barrel down the highway in “Responders” by Little Rock playwright Joseph Scott Ford, opening this week at Little Rock’s Arkansas Repertory Theatre, 601 Main St. It’s the second half of a world-premiere production and partnership with Fayetteville’s TheatreSquared. p.m. Wednesday-Thursday, 8 p.m. Friday, 2 and 8 p.m. Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday through Sept. 15. (501) 378-0405; TheRep.org.

“Psycho Beach Party” by Charles Busch continues through Sept. 15 at the Weekend Theater, 1001 W. Seventh St. at Chester Street, Little Rock, 7:30 p.m. Friday-Saturday, 2:30 p.m. Sunday. CentralArkansasTickets.com.

Robert Harling’s “Steel Magnolias” is onstage through Sept. 17 at Murry’s Dinner Playhouse, 6323 Colonel Glenn Road, Little Rock, 7:30 p.m. Wednesday-Saturday and 12:45 and 6:45 p.m. Sunday. The buffet opens 90 minutes before curtain time. Call (501) 562-3131 or visit murrysdp.com.

A touring production of “Shrek the Musical” moves in, 7 p.m. Monday, to UCA’s Reynolds Performance Hall, 201 Donaghey Ave., Conway. (501) 450-3265 or (866) 810-0012 or visit uca.edu/publicappearances.

Starting next week, Argenta Contemporary Theatre is partnering with the Acansa Arts Festival of the South on “The Sunshine Boys” by Neil Simon, opening Wednesday and running 7:30 p.m. Wednesday-Saturday and Sept. 17-21 and 2 p.m. Sept. 15 in the ACT II Sharon Heflin Performing Arts Center, 315 Main St., North Little Rock. argentacontemporarytheatre.org.

And a 15-year-old earns her college tuition by winning Constitutional debate competitions across the country in “What the Constitution Means to Me” by Heidi Schreck, making its Little Rock debut in an Actors Theatre of Little Rock production, opening Wednesday and running 7:30 p.m. Wednesday-Saturday and 6 p.m. Sunday through Sept. 21 at Quapaw Quarter United Methodist Church, 1601 Louisiana St., Little Rock. actorstheatrelr.org/tickets.

EXHIBITS

In area exhibits, An exact replica of a Williams Racing car, a driver race suit and helmet make up “Beyond the F1 Circuit: Artistry and Speed with Williams Racing,” exploring “the interplay of form and function through the lens of high-performance auto design” at Formula 1 team Williams Racing, today through Sept. 22 at the Arkansas Museum of Fine Arts, 501 E. Ninth St, Little Rock. Museum hours are 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Tuesday and Saturday, 10 a.m.-8 p.m. Wednesday-Friday, noon-5 p.m. Sunday. arkmfa.org.

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