Elsewhere in entertainment, events and the arts:
TODAY
'What's your damage?'
The Young Players Second Stage, a branch of the Young Players program at Benton's Royal Theatre, stages Heathers the Musical, 7 p.m. today-Saturday and Jan. 16-18 and 2 p.m. Sunday and Jan. 19 at the Royal Theatre, 110 S. Market St., Benton. The Candy Store Cast, mostly college students, is on stage this weekend; the Brain Freeze Cast, mostly high school students, takes over Jan. 16-19. Tickets are $15, $12 for college students, senior citizens (60-plus) and military, $6 for K-12 students. Visit theroyalplayers.ticketleap.com; for more information, call (501) 315-5483 (LIVE) or visit theroyaltheatre.org.
FRIDAY
'Vice and Virtue'
"Vice and Virtue," paintings by Melissa Wilkinson that "meditate on issues of gender, identity construction and beauty," according to a news release, go on display with a 2nd Friday Art Night reception, 5-8 p.m. Friday, Historic Arkansas Museum, 200 E. Third St., Little Rock. The Cons of Formant will perform; beverages and appetizers, including Arkansas-brewed beer, will be available. The exhibit remains up in the museum's Second Floor Gallery through April 5; hours are 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Saturday, 1-5 p.m. Sunday. Admission to the reception and the exhibit are free. Call (501) 324-9351 or visit historicarkansas.org.
Organ-ized birthday
Organist Nathan Laube, on the faculty at the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, N.Y., and the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire in the United Kingdom, performs a program centering on works by J.S. Bach in the annual concert celebrating Dr. Richard Hixson's birthday, 7:30 p.m. Friday at Christ Episcopal Church, 509 Scott St., Little Rock. The concert is under the auspices of the Central Arkansas Chapter, American Guild of Organists. Admission is free. Call (501)-375-2342.
SUNDAY
Percussion program
Pianist and percussionist Rolf Groesbeck, faculty member and director of the Indian Percussion Ensemble at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, will give a lecture-performance, 2 p.m. Sunday at Pulaski Heights United Methodist Church, 4823 Woodlawn Ave., Little Rock, for the monthly meeting of the Little Rock Musical Coterie. His program will include Four Dirges by Bela Bartok, traditional North Indian tabla compositions and excerpts from the traditional Thayambaka performance from the south Indian state of Kerala. Admission is free. Call (501) 350-8988.
AUDITIONS
Crowns auditions
The Weekend Theater, 1001 W. Seventh St., Little Rock, holds auditions at 10 a.m. Saturday and 6 p.m. Sunday for the musical Crowns by Regina Taylor. Co-directors Felicia Richardson and Jamie Scott Blakey will cast one man and six women; one of the women should be in her 20s, and two of the actors should be musicians. The play features gospel music and dance, rap, hip-hop, rhythm and blues, jazz and spoken word. Auditioners should prepare a song and supply sheet music for the accompanist; there will also be cold readings from the script. Rehearsals start Feb. 15; production dates are March 20-April 5. Email jsbtwt@yahoo.com.
Billy Elliot auditions
Argenta Community Theater, 405 Main St., North Little Rock, will hold auditions for the musical Billy Elliot, 5-9 p.m. Jan. 25 and 2-6 p.m. Jan. 26. Prepare 16 bars of a song that showcases your vocal range — either from the actual show or with the same feel as music from the show — and provide sheet music for the accompanist who will be provided for the audition. The audition will also call for readings from the script and a dance call. All roles require some singing; performers of all genders, races and ethnicities are welcome to audition. Visit argentacommunitytheater.org/auditions for a character breakdown; email Casting@ArgentaCommunityTheater.org for an audition appointment. Production dates, April 22-May 2, include two daytime school shows. Rehearsals start March 22 but dance/vocal rehearsals for some performers may start earlier.
Weekend on 01/09/2020