The Arkansas Repertory Theatre and Arkansas Symphony Orchestra have announced what is programmed for their new seasons, with changes to come for both organizations.
The Rep's 2016-2017 season will be the 17th and last in Little Rock for the company's producing artistic director, Robert Hupp. His playbill includes the Monty Python musical Spamalot and classic Arthur Miller drama The Crucible.
Hupp is leaving The Rep to become artistic director of Syracuse Stage in New York, starting in July. The Rep's founding artistic director, Cliff Baker, will take over as interim director during the search for Hupp's replacement.
Meantime, "I care deeply about the work and the audience," Hupp says, noting that he will continue to guide the current and coming seasons while at The Rep.
The Arkansas Symphony Orchestra's new season announcement previews a variety of classical and pops concerts, from Mozart and Beethoven to the music of John Lennon and the musical Hairspray. And the symphony trumpets its return in November to the newly renovated Robinson Center in Little Rock.
"We are so excited about going back home to the Robinson Center," says Christina Littlejohn, the symphony's executive director.
Little Rock's nearly 80-year-old Robinson Center Music Hall closed for renovation in 2014. Upgrades include a bigger stage. During construction, the symphony has performed at Pulaski Academy's Connor Performing Arts Center in Little Rock and at Maumelle Performing Arts Center.
Audiences will find the refurbished Robinson Center "designed for the sound of the orchestra to soar," Littlejohn says, starting with Respighi's Pines of Rome.
ARKANSAS SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA
Arkansas Symphony Orchestra Music Director and conductor Philip Mann anticipates a new season "surrounded by the beautiful trappings of a newly renovated Robinson Center and the awe-inspiring sounds of an artistically thriving symphony."
The new season's Stella Boyle Smith Masterworks Series starts with two concerts at Maumelle Performing Arts Center, continuing with another four concerts at Robinson. Performances are at 7:30 p.m. on Saturdays and 3 p.m. Sundays:
• Oct. 1-2: "Mozart & Schubert" with artist of distinction Elisso Bolkvadze on piano.
• Oct. 22-23: "Ravish and Mayhem" with the title piece by Arkansas Symphony Orchestra composer of the year Stephanie Berg.
• Nov. 19-20: "Return to Robinson Center: Pines of Rome" with violinist Philippe Quint.
• Jan. 28-29: "Rachmanioff's Piano Concerto No. 3" with pianist Norman Krieger.
• Feb. 25-26: "Mahler: Resurrection" with soprano Kristin Lewis and mezzo soprano Christin-Marie Hill.
• April 8-9, 2017: "Beethoven & Blue Jeans" with Beethoven's Consecration of the House Overture and violinist Andrew Irvin.
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The symphony's four-concert Acxiom Pops Live! Series starts with a likely appearance by "the big man in red" in December. Performances are at 7:30 p.m. Saturdays and 3 p.m. Sundays:
• Dec. 16-18: "Home for the Holidays!," a song-and-dance show written and directed by Nicole Capri of The Rep.
• Feb. 11-12: "Rock On!," Mandy Gonzalez, vocalist, and the music of Bruce Stringsteen, Michael Jackson and Queen.
• March 4-5: "Imagine -- The Music of John Lennon" with vocalist Jean Meilleur.
• May 13-14, 2017: Program to be announced, the season ender for the symphony's homecoming at Robinson Center.
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Also, the symphony's River Rhapsodies Chamber Music Series plans six concerts in the new season, each at 7 p.m. on a Tuesday at the Clinton Presidential Center in Little Rock. Highlights of the programs include:
• Oct. 4: "Artist of Distinction: Elisso Bolkvadze" and Wagner's Sonata for Piano No. 2.
• Oct. 25: "Schubert Festival," including Schubert's Fantasy for Violin & Piano and Golijov's The Dreams & Prayers of Issac the Blind.
• Jan. 31: "Strauss & Debussy" with Strauss' Violin Sonata in E-flat.
• Feb. 28: "Tchaikovsky's Piano Trio."
• March 28, 2017: "Haydn's Emperor."
• April 11, 2017: "Airs & Dances" with Ravel's Piano Trio in a minor, and Theofanidis' Airs and Dances.
ARKANSAS REPERTORY THEATRE
Hupp will finish out most of The Rep's 2015-2016 season, which continues with the Broadway musical The Bridges of Madison County, April 8-May 1; and dark comedy Windfall, June 10-26, a world premiere directed by Jason Alexander (George in the TV series Seinfeld).
Centered on storytelling and music, the new season brings back "our favorite directors," Hupp says, including Baker to direct the musical comedy Sister Act.
The Mainstage season opens earlier than usual -- Labor Day weekend -- with the Tony Award-winning Monty Python's Spamalot, Aug. 31-Oct. 2. Melissa Rain Anderson directs. Her credits include The Rep's 2015 production of The Little Mermaid.
Including Wednesday and Thursday preview nights, the new season continues:
• Oct. 26-Nov. 13: The Crucible, Arthur Miller's 1953 historical drama about the Salem witch trials, staged by first-time Rep director Paul Barnes. ("Had I been staying, the first show on my mind to direct was The Crucible," Hupp says, noting he finds the story relevant to "a lot of the political scene.")
• Nov. 30-Dec. 24: A Christmas Story, the stage version of the 1983 movie, based on the comic memoirs of Jean Shepherd. Philip Grecian directs.
• Jan 25.-Feb.26: Sister Act, musical comedy about a lounge singer (Whoopi Goldberg in the 1992 movie version), hiding out from the mob by pretending to be a nun.
• March 29-April 16, 2017: Jar the Floor, a fractured family portrait that emerges as four generations of black women gather for a birthday party. Gilbert McCauley (The Whipping Man) directs.
• May 31-June 2, 2017: Godspell, rock musical based on the Gospel According to St. Matthew, directed by Donna Drake (Mary Poppins) in partnership with 2 Ring Circus.
"Here we have a musical that just about everybody has seen," Hupp says, but he expects "a new interpretation." The aerial production team, 2 Ring Circus, devised the special effects in The Little Mermaid.
"I definitely want to come back to see that."
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More information about the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra is available at arkansassymphony.org, or by calling (501) 666-1761.
More information about Arkansas Repertory Theatre is available at therep.org, or by calling (501) 378-0405.
Style on 03/20/2016