Jazz pianist Chick Corea and banjo player Bela Fleck, holders of a combined 33 Grammy Awards (including for their 2014 album The Enchantment), will perform at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday at the Donald W. Reynolds Performance Hall, University of Central Arkansas, 201 Donaghey Ave., Conway, part of the UCA Public Appearances series.
Tickets are $30-$40, $27-$37 for senior citizens, $10 for non-UCA students and children, with discounts for UCA faculty, staff and alumni; two free for UCA students with ID. Call (501) 450-3265 or (866) 810-0012 or visit the website, uca.edu/tickets.
Cole tribute
Jazzmen Ramsey Lewis and John Pizzarelli bring their Nat “King” Cole tribute, Straighten Up and Fly Right, to Fayetteville’s Walton Arts Center, 495 W. Dickson St., at 8 p.m. Friday. The show is part of the center’s Popcorn Indiana American Masters Series. Tickets are $26-$52. Call (479) 443-5600 or visit the website, waltonartscenter.org.
Idyll players
Thirteen members of the Arkansas Symphony will play Richard Wagner’s Siegfried Idyll to close out the orchestra’s 2013-14 River Rhapsodies Chamber Series, 7 p.m. Tuesday in the Great Hall, Clinton Presidential Center, 1200 President Clinton Ave., Little Rock.
Also on the “Beethoven and Wagner” program: O Vis Aeternitatis for String Quartet and Piano by ASO Composer of the Year Christopher Theofanidis, with pianist Tatiana Roitman joining the Quapaw Quartet (Eric Hayward and Meredith Maddox Hicks, violins; Ryan Mooney, viola; and David Gerstein, cello); the Piano Trio No. 5 in D major, op.70 No. 1, “Ghost,” by Ludwig van Beethoven (Geoffrey Robson, violin, David Gerstein, cello, and Julie Cheek, piano); and Histoire du Tango by Astor Piazzolla (Kelly Johnson, Karla Fournier and Carina Washington, clarinet; Lyle Wong, bass clarinet).
Tickets are $23, $10 for students. Call (501) 666-1761 or visit ArkansasSymphony.org.
Simon’s first hit
The two sons (Quinn Gasaway and Devin Robertson) of the owner of the largest artificial fruit business in the East (director Roger M. Eaves) - one a playboy in his 30s, the other a 21-year old seeking to assert himself - continually try their father’s easily abused patience in Come Blow Your Horn, Neil Simon’s first hit, Tuesday through May 17 at Murry’s Dinner Playhouse, 6323 Colonel Glenn Road, Little Rock.
Miki Thompson, Caroline Pierce and Candyce Hinkle round out the cast.
Shows are at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday (with the exception of 12:30 p.m. Wednesday matinees April 23, 30 and May 7, no evening shows those dates), 12:30 and 6:30 p.m. Sunday. Doors and the buffet open 90 minutes before curtain. Tickets are $31-$35, $23 for children 15 and younger; show only, $25, $15 for children. Call (501)562-3131 or visit murrysdinnerplayhouse.com.
Open house
Celebrity Attractions will hold an open house, 6-7:30 p.m. Tuesday at the Maumelle Performing Arts Center, Maumelle High School, 100 Victory Lane, Maumelle, providing a first glance at the presenter’s temporary home for nationally touring shows while Robinson Center Music Hall is undergoing a two-year renovation.
The event will feature a ribbon-cutting with Maumelle Mayor Mike Watson and other city officials, officials of the Pulaski County Special District School and the Maumelle Area Chamber of Commerce.
Subscriptions for the 2014-15 season, a season schedule and information on the venue are available at CelebrityAttractions.com. Call (501) 244-8800.
‘Bonjour Paris’
Singers Christina Baldwin and Robb Askloff; Patrick Harison, accordion; and Robert Bell, guitar, will join the Fort Smith Symphony and conductor John Jeter for a pops concert titled “Bonjour Paris” at 7:30 p.m. Saturday in the Arkansas Best Corp. Performing Arts Center, Fort Smith Convention Center, 55 S. Seventh St., Fort Smith. The program will showcase French cafe, salon, cabaret and film music.
Tickets are $40 and $35, $20 and $15 for students. Call (479) 452-7575 or visit fortsmithsymphony.org.
Fantasticks redux
The Nebraska Theatre Caravan will put on its touring production of Harvey Schmidt and Tom Jones’ The Fantasticks, postponed from March 4 because of inclement weather, at 7 p.m. Tuesday at the Vada Sheid Community Development Center, Arkansas State University-Mountain Home, 1600 S. College St., Mountain Home. Tickets are $35, $17.50 for students 18 and younger, plus fees. Call (870) 508-6280 or visit thesheid.com.
UCA percussion
The University of Central Arkansas Percussion Ensemble will perform at 7:30 p.m. Monday in the Recital Hall, Snow Fine Arts Center, UCA, 201 Donaghey Ave., Conway. The program will include the premiere of an as-yet untitled piece by UCA faculty member Paul Dickinson; Michael Burritt’s Timeless with UCA senior Moose Davis on marimba; a version of Brian Nozony’s Parallel on metal pipes; and Ivan Trevino’s Six. Blake Tyson will conduct. Call (501) 450-5263 or email blake@blaketyson.com.
Memphis Dreamcoat
The national tour of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, with Diana De-Garmo as the Narrator and Ace Young as Joseph, will be onstage 7:30 p.m. Tuesday-Thursday, 8 pm. Friday, 2 and 8 p.m. Saturday and 1:30 and 7 p.m. April 27 at the Orpheum Theatre, 203 S. Main St., Memphis. The musical, focusing on the trials, tribulations and triumphs of Joseph, Jacob’s favorite son, was the first collaboration between composer Andrew Lloyd Webber and lyricist Tim Rice. Tickets are $20-$90. Call (901) 525-3000 or (901) 743-2787 (ARTS) or visit the websites, orpheum-memphis.com or ticketmaster.com.Play competition
The Performing Arts Center on the Square is accepting until May 2 original scripts for one-act, two-act or fulllength plays from authors of all ages. Submit five copies in an easy-to-read font and style to the attention of Connie Brown at the center, 219 W. Arch Ave., Searcy, Ark. 72143.
Playwrights should not put their names anywhere on the script except on the cover page. A selection committee will blind-read the submissions and judge on content, length, ease of staging and overall entertainment value.
The center will stage the winning play for its Dessert Theater, July 11-13 and 18-20. Email inquiries to director@ centeronthesquare.org.
Style, Pages 49 on 04/20/2014