ENTERTAINMENT NOTES

The Pines (wood, 2012) by Tom Shields is part of “The Penland Experience” exhibit opening today at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock.
The Pines (wood, 2012) by Tom Shields is part of “The Penland Experience” exhibit opening today at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock.

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Lid Jar (soda-fired stoneware, slips, glazes, 2012) by Susan Dewsnap is part of “The Penland Experience” exhibit opening today at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock.

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Carolina (blown glass and mixed media, 2012) by Einar and Jamex de la Torre is part of “The Penland Experience” exhibit opening today at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock.

Elsewhere in entertainment and the arts:

Forward and backward

A tumultuous love affair takes place in two directions -- one in chronological order, the other starting at the end and moving backward -- in the musical The Last 5 Years (book, music and lyrics by Jason Robert Brown), 7 p.m. Friday-Saturday and Jan. 23-24 and 2 p.m. Jan. 25 at The Studio Theatre, 320 W. Seventh St., Little Rock.

Erin Murphy Martinez and Jeremy Hall play the couple, who meet for a duet in the middle. Ryan Whitfield directs; Mark Binns is the musical director.

Tickets are $20, $15 for students and senior citizens. Visit eventbrite.com.

Wildwood reception

Wildwood Park for the Arts, 20919 Denny Road, Little Rock, will host a reception 6-8 p.m. today for the faculty, students and alumni from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock art department whose works are on display there through Feb. 15.

Admission to the reception and the "Art in the Park" exhibit (10 a.m.-4 p.m. Monday-Friday, noon-4 p.m. Saturday-Sunday) are free. Call (501) 821-7275.

'Penland Experience'

An exhibit called "The Penland Experience" opens today in Gallery I, Fine Arts Building, UALR, 2801 S. University Ave., Little Rock.

The exhibit, which runs through March 6, features art objects by current and former instructors, resident artists, core fellowship students and workshop participants of the Penland School of Crafts in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina. The school, founded in 1929 by Lucy Morgan as an outgrowth of a craft-based economic development project, is now an international center for craft education.

There will be a reception at 2 p.m. Feb. 1 in the Fine Arts Building. Jean McLaughlin, director of the Penland School of Crafts, and letterpress artist Steve Miller will give a gallery talk at 6 p.m. Feb. 25.

Gallery hours are 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Friday, 10 a.m.-1 p.m. Saturday, 2-5 p.m. Sunday. Admission is free. Call (501) 569-8977 or email becushman@ualr.edu.

Also on display at UALR through Feb. 26 in the Maners/Pappas Gallery: "Revere," a collection of reproductions of 18th-century silversmith and patriot Paul Revere's so-called "Liberty Bowl," including one by Jeffrey Clancy, a faculty member at the University of Wisconsin who assembled the collection. There will be an artist lecture at 3 p.m. Feb. 1 during the 2-4:30 p.m. reception.

And in Gallery III through Feb. 26, "Facade" showcases the landscape paintings of places in and around Little Rock by UALR artist-in-residence Taimur Cleary.

Peanuts exhibits

In honor of the 65th anniversary of Charles M. Schulz's Peanuts comic strip, the Clinton Presidential Center, 1200 President Clinton Ave., Little Rock, will host two exhibitions from the Charles M. Schulz Museum and Research Center in Santa Rosa, Calif. "Pigskin in Peanuts" and "Heartbreak in Peanuts" open with a 6 p.m. Friday reception; a talk by Karen Johnson, executive director at the Charles M. Schulz Museum and Research Center; and a special appearance by Snoopy. Admission is free; registration is required. Email LRevent@clintonfoundation.org.

Peanuts-theme family activities, 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Saturday in the center lobby, will include on-the-hour appearances by Snoopy. Admission is free.

The exhibitions, featuring reproductions of Schulz's original Peanuts strips, 5-foot sculptures of Charlie Brown and Snoopy and themed objects and ephemera, will remain on display through April 5, 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Saturday and 1-5 p.m. Sunday. Admission is $7, $3 ages 6-17, free for children under 6. Call (501) 374-4242 or visit clintonlibrary.gov.

Youth auditions

The Arkansas Shakespeare Theatre will hold auditions for youngsters ages 8-17 for its 2015 summer season (June 6-28), 1-4 p.m. Saturday in Bridges/Larson Theatre, Snow Fine Arts Center, University of Central Arkansas, 201 Donaghey Ave., Conway. Roles are available for the musical Fiddler on the Roof (including daughters Shprintze and Bielke) and The Merry Wives of Windsor. No preparation is necessary; auditioners will be asked to sing and move and read from a scene. Send via email -- casting@arkshakes.com -- the names and ages of students wanting to audition. Visit arkshakes.com.

Weekend on 01/15/2015

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