Sir John Leighton, director-general of the National Galleries of Scotland, will talk about his new book, 100 Masterpieces of the National Galleries of Scotland, at 6 p.m. Tuesday in the lower-level lecture hall at the Arkansas Arts Center in MacArthur Park, East Ninth and Commerce streets, Little Rock. A 5:30 reception precedes the talk; a book signing will follow. Admission is $10, free for Arts Center members; seating is limited and reservations are required. Call (501) 372-4000.
Doublewide comedy
When the inhabitants of the smallest trailer park in Texas realize a nearby town is about to annex them, they attempt to secede from the state in Doublewide, Texas by Jessie Jones, Nicholas Hope and Jamie Wooten. It will be performed Tuesday-May 14 at Murry's Dinner Playhouse, 6323 Colonel Glenn Road, Little Rock.
The cast: Candyce Hinkle, Heather Dupree, Devin Robertson, director Roger M. Eaves, Kayla Esmond, Fran Austin, Don Bolinger and Paige Reynolds. Curtain time is 7:45 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday (except 12:45 p.m. matinees Wednesday, April 27 and May 4), 12:45 and 6:45 p.m. Sunday. Doors and the buffet open approximately 90 minutes before each show. Tickets are $31-$35, $23 for children 15 and younger; show only, $25 and $15. Call (501) 562-3131 or visit murrysdp.com.
Murry's is also holding open-call auditions for performers of all races -- young adults/teenagers and up -- for their remaining 2016 shows, at 6:30 p.m. May 2, centering on the summer musical Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (music by Gene de Paul, Al Kasha and Joel Hirschhorn; lyrics by Johnny Mercer, Kasha and Hirschhorn; book by Lawrence Kasha and David Landay, based on the 1954 film). Auditioners should prepare a short monologue and, if trying out for a musical, 16 bars of music. Wear appropriate shoes and clothing for a short Seven Brides for Seven Brothers dance call. Production dates for the shows are available online at murrysdp.com. Call (501) 562-3131.
Another County
A touring company (not the Arkansas Repertory Theatre, which is also currently producing the show) brings the musical The Bridges of Madison County (music and lyrics by Jason Robert Brown, book by Marsha Norman, based on the novel by Robert James Waller) to Northwest Arkansas this week, 7 p.m. Tuesday-Thursday, 8 p.m. Friday, 2 and 8 p.m. Saturday and 2 and 7:30 p.m. April 24 at Fayetteville's Walton Arts Center, 495 W. Dickson St. Tickets are $30-$70 plus applicable fees. Call (479) 443-5600 or visit the website, waltonartscenter.org.
Hippie Hippolyta?
Pulaski Technical College's Studio 153 Players will give a 1960s twist to William Shakespeare's A Midsummer's Night Dream at 2 and 7 p.m. Wednesday-Saturday in the new Center for Humanities and Arts Theater on the college's Main Campus, 3000 W. Scenic Drive, North Little Rock. Tickets are $10, $5 for students. Call (501) 812-2324. A free performance at 10 a.m. Wednesday is specifically for school groups; any interested school or youth group should call Cindy Nesmith at (501) 812-2338 to make arrangements.
UCA chorus
The University of Central Arkansas University Chorus will perform at 6:30 p.m. Monday in the recital hall, Snow Fine Arts Center, UCA, 201 Donaghey Ave., Conway. Faculty member Sheri Cook-Cunningham and various undergraduate and graduate students will present a South African folk song, a couple of spirituals and popular and art songs. Admission is free. Call (501) 450-5774 or email scookcunningham@uca.edu.
History symposium
April 25 is the deadline to register for the annual history symposium put on by the Arkansas History Commission and State Archives, the Arkansas Genealogical Society and the Southwest Arkansas Regional Archives Foundation Inc., at 10 a.m.-3 p.m. April 30 at the 1914 Schoolhouse, Historic Washington State Park, 103 Franklin St., Washington.
Featured speakers for the symposium, with the theme "Discovering Your Story," will include James G. Jones, Daniel F. Littlefield and Arkansas History Commission staff members Melissa Nesbitt and Jane Hooker. Topics will include DNA Testing and Genetic Genealogy, American Indian Family Stories: Fact or Fiction, Southwest Arkansas Regional Archives: Guide to Historical and Genealogical Records, and New Services and a New Face: The Arkansas History Commission Today.
The seminar is free and includes lunch, but registration is required. Call (501) 682-6900 or email history.commission@arkansas.gov.
More auditions
• Arkansas Public Theatre will hold auditions for Tuesdays With Morrie by Jeffrey Hatcher and Mitch Albom, based on Albom's book of the same name, at 7 p.m. April 25 at the Victory Theater, 116 S. Second St., Rogers. Doors open at 6:30; only those auditioning will be allowed in. Auditions will be based upon readings from the script. Callbacks, if needed, will be at 7 p.m. April 26. Find the audition packet, including audition scenes, character descriptions and rehearsal schedule, online at arkansaspublictheatre.org. Production dates are June 10-12 and 16-19. Call (479) 631-8988 or email productions@arkansaspublictheatre.org.
• Benton's Young Players will hold auditions, by appointment only, to cast youngsters 5-14 for the musical Thoroughly Modern Millie Jr. (new music by Jeanine Tesori, new lyrics by Dick Scanlan, book by Richard Morris and Scanlan, based on the 1967 film), at 6 p.m. April 29 and 3 p.m. April 30 at the Royal Theatre, 111 S. Market St., Benton. Auditioners need to prepare a one-minute monologue and 34 bars of music. Callbacks will be 7 p.m. April 30. Production dates are July 7-10. To schedule an audition time, email youngplayers.yp2s@gmail.com or daphne_d_shoppach@yahoo.com.
Style on 04/17/2016