with “Hamlet” at The Rep and “Wicked” at Robinson. Admittedly, these are two plays that will probably never be brought to life on the Murry’s Dinner Playhouse stage, but isn’t that one of the reasons why the low-lit, tucked-away building that houses Murry’s is such an endearing Little Rock institution? This week, Murry’s debuts its latest play, “Boeing Boeing,” the classic farce about a successful architect juggling three fiancees, all international flight attendants. It’s been adapted into a number of films (including a Jerry Lewis/ Tony Curtis classic), was recently revived on Broadway and, for decades, has been considered France’s largest contribution to comedic theater. The play runs through New Year’s Eve.
WE DNE SDAY 1 1 /1 7
‘ONE MAN STAR WARS’ 8 p.m., Staples Auditorium, Hendrix College. Free.
THE MOST INTERESTING MAN IN THE WORLD: Travel-writing iconoclast Bill Bryson spins yarns long and rich at the Walton Arts Center in Fayetteville this Monday night. thread of seven albums (released in five years!), the four-piece has become one of the most-vaulted creators of whiskey and pain pills country, earning legions of fans in America and embraced by the Brits and their insatiable appetite for everything rustic and rural. The upstate New Yorkers are joined by Adam Haworth Stephens, the folk/blues melody maker best known for his time as one half of Saddle Creek Records duo Two Gallants.
trip through time.
TUESDAY 1 1 /1 6
“BOEING BOEING”
6 p.m., Murry’s Dinner Playhouse. $22-$30.
n As Werner Trieschmann pointed out in this week’s issue (page 25), Little Rock is currently jam-packed with amazing theater
n It’s not something I’m proud of: I never got Star Wars. Sure, I saw the re-releases and I bought the VHS box set as a kid. I watched them with the understanding of “I should like this, so I’ll keep trying,” but it just never clicked. So I can’t differentiate between “One Man Star Wars” being “the most annoying thing ever” as opposed to “something that annoys the hell out of me, especially.” Here’s what I see: a grown man aping Robin Williams’ exhausted ADHD schtick, over-acting every character between Tattooine and the Death Star, whistling the score and ignoring the timetested number one rule of comic acting: Never, ever act like you’re funny. Then again, I’m missing out on some pretty vital pre-reqs to appreciate this whole one-man carnival. I do know this though: “Star Wars” fans, don’t miss this. And if “One Man Inglourious Basterds” ever happens, please call me.
M O N D AY 1 1 / 1 5
BILL BRYSON
7 p.m., Baum Walker Hall, Walton Arts Center . $34-$48
n “The Thunderbolt Kid” certainly did well for himself, didn’t he? Little Billy Bryson, the over-imaginative kid from Des Moines who relied on his own creative willpower to force through rugged terrains and exotic places, grew up to be the inquisitive, ever-curious Bill Bryson, the world’s most beloved, accessible travel writer, linguist and lovably ultra-amateur scientist. He’s the face of the liberal arts and, as The Guardian so succinctly described, “the Frank Capra of American letters.” All cherubic and humble in spite of his superpowered brain, Bryson has a way turning questions about, say, “why men have a row of useless buttons on their suit jacket sleeves” into a loose-fitting, belly-laughing
■ inbrief
THURSDAY 11/11
n Austin transplant Andrew Anderson has fast established himself as one of (if not the) alt-country upstarts to keep an eye on thanks to his keen ear for melodies and his mind-boggling guitar prowess; he plays a free show at Maxine’s, 8 p.m. Director of guitar studies at the University of Arkansas Michael Carenbauer runs everything from Bach to The Beatles though his classical guitar techniques at Laman Library, 7 p.m., free. If rough-edged Red Dirt Country is more your speed, the Mike McClure Band brings a dose of mud pit swagger to Revolution, 9 p.m., $5 general admission, $10 for those under 21. For the lounge set, the Dr. Rex Bell Jazz Trio offers a night of piano-driven jazz at The Afterthought, 8 p.m., $5. The Rep’s acclaimed production of “Hamlet” enters its final weekend with a Thursday night performance at 8 p.m., $20-$40. Ditto for the Broadway tour of “Wicked,” housed at the Robinson Center Music Hall, 7:30 p.m., $39-$140.
FRIDAY 11/12
n No stranger to the smoky Midtown Billiards corner stage, Josephus and the George Jonestown Massacre returns to Little Rock’s infamous latenight bar, 12:30 a.m., $8 non-members. White Water Tavern hosts a riff-heavy night of local bar rock from Little Rock supergroups Wicked Good and Sweet Eagle, 10 p.m. Acoustic singer/songwriters abound this Friday night with Chris Henry holding down Grumpy’s, 9 p.m., free; Dayton Waters at Markham Street Grill & Pub, 9 p.m.; Grayson Shelton at Cregeen’s, 8:30 p.m., free; and Shannon McClung performing at Flying Saucer, 9 p.m. “Dog Sees God” returns to satirize the “Peanuts” gang for a second weekend at The Weekend Theater, 7:30 p.m., $14.
SATURDAY 11/13
R2-D2 AND YOU: Actor/comedian Charlie Ross, who saw “Star Wars: A New Hope” 400 times before his 10th birthday, turns his obsession into a one-man show, reenacting the entire film Wednesday night at Hendrix College.
n Known nationwide for his mastery of the clarinet, Robert Spring gives a recital at the University of Central Arkansas’s Snow Fine Arts Center, 7:30 p.m. White Water Tavern goes hard and heavy with a night of metal from local heroes Rwake, New York hardcore outfit Story of the Eye and sludge metal psychedelia from Pallbearer, 10 p.m. Acoustic blues and soul duo Brown Soul Shoes play the hits at Markham Street Grill and Pub, 9 p.m. And, as always, Discovery brings out the clubbers with music from radio favorite Kramer in the lobby, Lydia Prim in the techno room and DJ g-force spinning in the club’s new hip-hop level, 10 p.m., $10. www.arktimes.com • november 11, 2010 21