Werner Trieschmann
Stories by Werner
THEATER REVIEW: As You Like It: Playful, not corny
posted: 06/18/2011 4:41 a.m. Discuss
Plan to perform As You Like It outdoors in June in Arkansas and you can expect to like it hot and steamy. But just when the Arkansas Shakespeare Festival was about to kick off its fifth season at The Village at Hendrix in Conway, what must have been the only black cloud in the state parked itself over the stage as well as the waiting crowd sitting on blankets and chairs in front of it.
Texas singer-songwriter swings by Whitewater
posted: 02/08/2011 3:06 a.m. Discuss
Ambition wouldn’t seem to be Hayes Carll’s strongest attribute.
MUSIC: Point of Grace rejoices in Benton
posted: 12/07/2010 3:20 a.m. Discuss
Home for the Holidays Point of Grace and Chris August 7 p.m. Thursday, First Baptist Church, 211 S. Market St., Benton Tickets: $10 advance, $12 at the door (501) 778-2271
Little Big Town reaps Sweet equity
posted: 10/10/2010 3:53 a.m. Discuss
Little Big Town had some good news recently, and the band didn’t let the moment go by without notice.
CHEAP EATS: Baskin-Robbins,TCBY freeze in fun flavors
posted: 07/22/2010 4:12 a.m. Discuss
The last time we stopped at the Baskin-Robbins store on Rodney Parham there was a little boy — a blond 4-yearold who might have looked something like us — who ordered two scoops of blue raspberry sherbet in a waffle cone.
THEATER REVIEW: Storytime Live! sure to amuse the kids
posted: 07/14/2010 5:33 a.m. Discuss
Those folks over at Nickelodeon are slick for sure.
Aging Cracker band finds fans among troops in Iraq
posted: 05/09/2010 4:14 a.m. Discuss
Cracker guitarist Johnny Hickman didn’t make the band’s trip overseas to play for military personnel stationed in Iraq.
Martin Edward Thoma
posted: 05/02/2010 6:14 a.m. Discuss
Martin Thoma doesn’t call attention to himself, but he’s certainly not invisible. You might spy him with his sleeves rolled up, grilling hot dogs at Wildwood Park for the Arts.
Who’s who in Radio Disney orbit
posted: 05/02/2010 6:13 a.m. Discuss
The stars on Radio Disney are naturally of much importance to the station’s devoted young listeners. But unless you fall in the orbit of Radio Disney or pay much attention to, say, the Teen Choice Awards, it is easy to have no idea who these people are.
’Tweeny-boppers
posted: 05/02/2010 5:48 a.m. Discuss
So the family is taking a trip on spring break. This means a car ride with mom, dad and the two boys, 7 and 4. This means constant questions of, “Are we still in Arkansas?” — which start arriving, honest, before we’ve escaped the confines of Pulaski County. This means a long car ride and we aren’t equipped with video. This is a disaster waiting to happen.
CHEAP EATS: Something Brewing perfect for hanging out
posted: 04/15/2010 4:56 a.m. Discuss
One afternoon a couple of weeks ago we were having a late lunch at Conway’s Something Brewing, the locally owned coffeehouse and sandwich shop that is mere blocks from Hendrix College. A burger and fries was the order, which we made and then proceeded to surf the Web thanks to Something Brewing’s free Wi-Fi.
MOVIES 55 Ozark Foothills films to include French medley
posted: 03/21/2010 4:13 a.m. Discuss
Ozark Foothills Film Festival Wednesday-March 28, various locations, Batesville Admission: varies with event ozarkfoothillsfilmfest.org (870) 251-1189 On Wednesday
POP NOTES Rogue Wave’s songwriter happy to be up and about
posted: 03/21/2010 4:02 a.m. Discuss
Things haven’t gone exactly swimmingly for Oakland, Calif.’s Rogue Wave since the release of its 2007 album, Asleep at Heaven’s Gate.
Marc Andres Smirnoff
posted: 03/14/2010 6:05 a.m. Discuss
Since its auspicious debut, Oxford American has been praised and prized — and had money troubles. With a home now in Arkansas, editor Marc Smirnoff is working on bold plans to improve the magazine and its image — including next month’s Best of the South Gala.
THEATER REVIEW: Glorious a sweet tale of an awful songstress
posted: 03/13/2010 4:54 a.m. Discuss
Glorious, the comedy by British playwright Peter Quilter that opened Friday at the Arkansas Repertory Theatre, is a sweet show about a legendary awful singer.
THEATER REVIEW: Stomp, noisy as ever, feels more intimate
posted: 02/17/2010 3:58 a.m. Discuss
There are a lot of things that Stomp doesn’t have.
Courtney Cheney McLarty
posted: 02/07/2010 4:30 a.m. Discuss
“In medias res” is a Latin term that means “into the middle of things.” The term is a literary device for a story — a play or epic poem — that begins in the middle, when many significant events have already happened. Classic Greek plays and the first Star Wars movie employ this device.
CHEAP EATS: Sports grill eschews beer for a family crowd
posted: 02/04/2010 3:12 a.m. Discuss
Should you want to wade into the restaurant competition on Arkansas 10, you better have your game face on.
Lightning by the line
posted: 01/24/2010 4:56 a.m. Discuss
In a ceremony last fall in the well-adorned Great Hall of the Governor’s Mansion in Little Rock, poet Miller Williams was honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Porter Fund Prize program.
John Martin Carman
posted: 01/24/2010 3:04 a.m. Discuss
As the Boy Scouts of America celebrates its centennial, John Carman keeps Arkansas Scouting in high gear. He sees a bright future for the Quapaw Area Council he heads.
MUSIC REVIEW: Audience on its feet for Adkins, McBride
posted: 01/24/2010 2:11 a.m. Discuss
Trace Adkins and Martina McBride shared the bill at Verizon Arena on Friday night, and it was a pairing where two performers fall under the big genre of country but appear to have very little else in common.
Adkins, McBride odd mix at Verizon Arena
posted: 01/23/2010 1:16 a.m. Discuss
Trace Adkins and Martina McBride shared the bill at Verizon Arena on Friday night and it was a pairing where two performers fall under the big genre of country but appear to have very little else in common. Both singers brought Verizon's crowd – a total of 5,630 contained to the lower section and the floor -- to its feet a number of times but it was clear that a few of Adkins fans weren't that keen on hanging around for McBride's entire set.
Ronald Fenton Maxwell
posted: 12/13/2009 4:32 a.m. Discuss
A veteran of Armed Forces radio and TV halfway around the world, Ron Maxwell returned to Arkansas to work in politics. He’s now administrator of the Governor’s Mansion. Christmas decorations are going up. There is a buzz about this warm, bright house as people mill about, grab coffee and set about their work.
Michael Ray Mayton
posted: 12/06/2009 3:11 a.m. Discuss
Michael Mayton talks as if Stella Boyle Smith were still alive.
THEATER Young thespians show off fruits of summer labor
posted: 11/01/2009 5:14 a.m. Discuss
Nicole Capri Bauer compares Follie Holidays, the Arkansas Repertory Theatre’s latest annual production by young performers, to the 1942 movie Holiday Inn that starred Bing Crosby and Fred Astaire.
Documentaries will span spectrum in Hot Springs
posted: 10/11/2009 5:24 a.m. Discuss
The poster for the Hot Springs Documentary Film Festival, which will kick off its 18th year Friday, screening scads of nonfiction movies, promises that the event running through Oct. 25 will offer “windows into the world.”
One brick at a time
posted: 08/08/2009 4:21 a.m. Discuss
As far as antiques go, the simple, rectangular brick wouldn't seem to be more valuable whether it was old or new. A brick is a brick is a brick, yes?
MUSIC REVIEW: Wiggles show a bit scaled back than in past
posted: 08/06/2009 3:13 a.m. Discuss
The Wiggles show at Robinson Center Music Hall on Wednesday afternoon had all the elements that any fan - be they of the toddler or adult handler variety - of the primary-colored Australian fab foursome would expect.
Wiggles go from birthday parties to world tours
posted: 08/02/2009 4:29 a.m. Discuss
Special event The Wiggles Go Bananas Live! 3 and 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, Robinson Center Music Hall, 426 W. Markham St., Little Rock Tickets: $18- $35, available at Ticketmaster locations (800) 745-3000 or www.ticketmaster.com
FILM T Tauri festival celebrates work of young filmmakers
posted: 07/26/2009 4:41 a.m. Discuss
T Tauri Film Festival Thursday-Saturday, screenings at Independence Hall, University of Arkansas Community College, 2005 White Drive, Batesville. Preliminary programs at 7 p.m. Thursday-Friday, 2 and 4 p.m. Saturday.
How does the garden grow?
posted: 07/15/2009 4:42 a.m. Discuss
Right before we left the air-conditioned sanctuary of the welcome center and stepped out into the smothering midmorning heat, a man told my 3-year-old to watch out for bears.
Allan Edwards Meadors
posted: 07/05/2009 5:27 a.m. Discuss
His cuff links are a matching coat of arms. On his desk stands a tiny Mel Gibson as William Wallace, the fighting Scotsman from Braveheart. The desk is also conspicuous in that there is no computer on it.
Only the fingers smoke on this guitar
posted: 06/28/2009 3:11 a.m. Discuss
In a small and unassuming house in North Little Rock, a quiet and unassuming computer repairman looks at a stack of used wooden cigar boxes, rectangular and colorful. What he sees is opportunity.
Carla Killough McClafferty
posted: 06/07/2009 3:01 a.m. Discuss
Varian Fry's life story is notable for its heroism. Fry, an American magazine editor, made his mark in history when he went in the summer of 1940 to Marseille, France, on the clandestine mission to help more than 2,000 anti-Nazi and Jewish refugees, including artists Marc Chagall and Max Ernst, flee from the clutches of the new Nazi regime.
Phillip Hal McMath
posted: 05/31/2009 2:47 a.m. Discuss
As law offices go, it is filled with the expected - thick books including a handy copy of Black's Law Dictionary and, beside a large wooden desk overflowing with papers, a podium to practice courtroom speeches.
MUSIC REVIEW: Area country crowd crazy for Chesney
posted: 05/18/2009 5:03 a.m. Discuss
To give an exact measure of Kenny Chesney's popularity, you could certainly point to his stack of country music awards including all of his Entertainer of the Year trophies. You'd also have to mention his long string of popular albums and numerous country hits.
Upending history
posted: 05/03/2009 2:24 a.m.
Douglas A. Blackmon was raised in Leland, Mississippi, and, for the last 21 years, has lived in Atlanta with his wife and two children.
Amy Louise Finkbeiner
posted: 02/08/2009 5:14 a.m.
New York is where the contemporary art world manufactures its superstars, outrages and, on occasion, lasting images. There's some kind of irony that this expensive city is the incubator for a veritable army of fresh-off-the-bus, fresh-out-of-money painters, sculptors and wild-eyed conceptual artists.
THEATER REVIEW: Three Blind Mice provides heart, imagination and kicks
posted: 01/31/2009 2:01 a.m.
All the kids' shows now are hip - too hip, really. Pop-culture references, groaning puns and jokes aimed right at the adults are the rule. The recipe is all snark and no heart.
A music industry timeline
posted: 01/25/2009 3:30 a.m.
1979 Record sales drop by 11 percent due to post-disco slump. 1981 MTV debuts. 1982 Michael Jackson's Thriller is released and eventually will reach sales of 50 million copies.
Shattered
posted: 01/25/2009 2:25 a.m.
In the 1990s America's major record labels were tripping over each other to be the first to hand out high-dollar advances to big stars.
MUSIC REVIEW: Paisley, partying pals electrify Alltel Arena
posted: 01/18/2009 3:12 a.m.
Wit, showmanship, emotion, crazy great guitar pyrotechnics - if there was something Brad Paisley's show lacked at Alltel Arena on Friday night it was hard to figure out. And the nearly sold-out crowd - more than 11,000 strong - certainly agreed.
Guitar hero
posted: 01/16/2009 3:08 a.m.
How can you tell when a country star has built up a reservoir of good will with not only his fan base but the industry suits who hold the purse strings?
OFF THE WALL: Hursley photos, Bennett exhibit lighten dreary days
posted: 01/09/2009 2:15 a.m.
In three weeks, product from Andy Warhol's art factory will be packed up and shipped out of the Arkansas Arts Center. .
ART NOTES: Small works headed for big tour
posted: 12/28/2008 2:49 a.m.
The big tour for the small art is about to begin.
POP NOTES: Swift Fearless, taking the spotlight away from Rose
posted: 12/28/2008 2:49 a.m.
This is so old-school pop star.
SPECIAL EVENT REVIEW: Radio City show lends NYC spectacle to area
posted: 12/18/2008 5:05 a.m.
In his examination of tragedy, Greek philosopher Aristotle named six elements in order of importance that comprised the form. For Aristotle, spectacle - the visual aspect of a performance - was the least important element.
POP NOTES State lucky to be Shelter for Boondogs' 'swoon pop'
posted: 12/07/2008 3:23 a.m.
It is the natural course of things that, over time, beloved institutions will be taken for granted.
Java-joint offices
posted: 12/02/2008 3 a.m.
You're making a quick stop for a hot cup of something to pry open your eyes before you go to work. Increasingly, it seems everybody else in the coffeehouse is already at work.
