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ROCK CANDY Check out the Times’ A&E blog arktimes.com
A&E NEWS A RECONCEIVED VERSION of the Rodgers & Hart classic “Pal Joey” kicks off the Arkansas Repertory Theatre’s 2013-2014 season next fall. The play will run Sept. 6-29. Next up: “Red” (Oct. 25-Nov. 10), a bio-drama about a tense period in the life of painter Mark Rothko, produced in partnership with the Arkansas Arts Center, which has an upcoming Rothko exhibit called “Mark Rothko in the 1940’s: The Decisive Decade.” The world premiere musical, “Because of Winn Dixie” (Dec. 6-29), based on the Kate DeCamillo novel and created by a Tony-winning team, including Grammy-winning songwriter Duncan Sheik, is the third in the lineup. The show will be “the first pre-Broadway musical starring a live dog as the central character,” according to The Rep. “Clybourne Park” (Jan. 24-Feb. 9, 2014) is a “bitingly funny and fiercely provocative new play about the volatile combination of race and real estate.” “Les Miserables,” that unstoppable juggernaut of musical theater, returns (March 7-30, 2014) and with it, actor Douglas Webster in the role of Jean Valjean. You can get your yucks on with The Second City (April 21-May 4, 2014). The laughs continue with the season closer, “The Compleat Wrks of Wllm Shkspr (Abridged)” (June 6-22, 2014). The widely loved truncation is “a parody of the 37 plays written by William Shakespeare, with all of them being performed in shortened, and side-splitting, form.” CELEBRITY ATTRACTIONS also released its 2013-2014 lineup last week, and first up is a “back-by-popular-demand” run of the hit “Wicked,” Sept. 25-Oct. 6. There’s no question that “Wicked” has been one of the most popular Broadway shows in recent memory, and it looks like folks who missed out when the show was last in Little Rock will get another chance at finding out how the Wicked Witch of the West got that way. The show was here in 2010 and broke box-office and sales records, according to Celebrity Attractions. Disney’s “Beauty and the Beast” comes to town Dec. 3-5. “Hello Dolly” is Jan. 14-16 and “Hair” closes out the season Feb. 18-20. IT’S ALMOST THAT TIME AGAIN, WHEN HORDES OF MUSICIANS and music fans will swarm Hot Springs for the annual Valley of the Vapors Independent Music Festival, which is organized by the good people at Low Key Arts (full disclosure: The Arkansas Times is a sponsor of the VOV, because it is an awesome event). As in years past, the VOV (March 15-19) will offer a plethora of diverse and engaging live music for the adventurous listener. Bands from many corners of the globe will perform, including some from Iran, Sudan, The Netherlands, Canada, Ireland, Japan and South Korea. There’ll be workshops as well. Topics include: block printmaking, illustration, breakdancing, and “the logistical considerations of compiling a mixed cassette tape.” So hey, you can rock out and expand your skillset at the same time. Efficiency! More at valleyofthevapors.com.
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M L I F F O e c C n I e i G r A e exp T H E M Movies are magic. Ever since I was a little girl, it seemed to me a miracle that you could see moving pictures that told a story…you watched and fell totally into the world of the movie. But the most miraculous thing to me was one moment I was inside a story, laughing crying, being scared, being thrilled. And the next moment I looked behind me and all it was was a beam of light heading toward the screen. Think about that!”
Joan Darling
director, acting professor, Film Forum faculty
March 21-24 Petit Jean Mountain near Little Rock
Whether you are a writer, director, film or acting student, or just a dedicated lover of film, you will find something and someone to inspire you at the Film Forum. Our award winning faculty of Hollywood insiders will share their knowledge in intimate, hands-on workshops and panels.
L I V E T H E L E G AC Y. O RG
Support for the Winthrop Rockefeller Institute Film Forum is provided, in part, by the Arkansas Arts Council, an agency of the Department of Arkansas Heritage and the National Endowment for the Arts. www.arktimes.com
MARCH 7, 2013
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