Elsewhere in entertainment, events and the arts:
TODAY
'Nights at the Museum'
A new program at the Old State House Museum, called "Nights at the Museum," aims to bring history to life, 6-9 p.m. today on the front lawn of the museum, 300 W. Markham St., Little Rock. The inaugural event will carry the theme of "Night at the Museum"; patrons 21 and older can take part in games and activities, consume libations and interact with history in a variety of activities focusing from the prehistoric era to ancient Egypt, the Civil War and more. Admission is $5; food and beverages will be sold. Call (501) 324-9685 or visit oldstatehouse.com or squareup.com/store/ArkansasStateHouseSociety.
Subsequent Nights at the Museum will take place on the first Thursday of March-October; themes include "Raiders of the Lost Arkansas" and "1.21 Gigawatts of History."
Book signing
Author Greg Iles will sign copies of his new novel, Cemetery Road, and a limited number of his previous books with Cemetery Road purchase, noon today at the Ron Robinson Theater, 100 River Market Ave., Little Rock. WordsWorth Books will be selling copies on-site. Admission is free. Iles' best-sellers include Spandau Phoenix, his Natchez Burning trilogy and The Devil's Punchbowl. Call (501) 918-3098 or email bmooy@cals.org.
Dystopian drama
Benton's Young Players, the youth-education arm of the Royal Players, will stage the world premiere of City on the Hill by John Haman, depicting a dystopian future United States where citizens must prove their loyalty annually to an authoritarian government and its many watchers, 7 p.m. today-Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday at the Royal Theatre, 111 S. Market St., Benton. Tickets are $12, $10 for senior citizens, military and college students with current ID, $6 for K-12 students. Call (501) 315-5483 (LIVE) or visit theroyalplayers.ticketleap.com.
Holtz at UCA
Football coach and ESPN analyst Lou Holtz will speak at 7:30 p.m. today at Reynolds Performance Hall, University of Central Arkansas, 201 Donaghey Ave., Conway. Tickets are $15, $5 for children and students, free for UCA students. Call (501) 450-3265 or (866) 810-0012 or visit uca.edu/Reynolds.
62-year-old mystery
Filmmaker, author and Camden native Beth Brickell will discuss the mystery surrounding the 1957 disappearance of lawyer and community leader Maud Crawford and sign copies of her books on the subject — The Disappearance of Maud Crawford and In Their Own Voice: Interviews from the Maud Crawford Investigation — around the state through March 16:
• 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Friday-Saturday, 230 Cash Road S.W., Camden, during the city's annual Daffodil Festival
• 7:30 p.m., Saturday, El Dorado Literary Festival, El Dorado Conference Center, 311 S. West Ave., El Dorado
• 12:30 p.m., Sunday, Dallas County Library, 501 E. Fourth St., Fordyce
• 4 p.m. Monday, Garland County Library, 1427 Malvern Ave., Hot Springs
• 5 p.m. Tuesday, WordsWorth Books, 5920 R St., Little Rock
• 4 p.m. Wednesday, Pine Bluff Public Library, 200 E. Eighth Ave., Pine Bluff
• 2 p.m. March 14, McAlister Hall, University of Central Arkansas, 201 Donaghey Ave., Conway
• 10 a.m. March 16, Fayetteville Public Library, 401 W. Mountain St., Fayetteville.
FRIDAY
Library art exhibitions
The Central Arkansas Library System opens two exhibitions — Part to Whole: The Making of Art, the Artist and the Artists' Group and T.C. Tributes: Art Inspired by the Late T.C. Edwards — Friday in the Galleries at Library Square (formerly Butler Center Galleries), 401 President Clinton Ave., Little Rock. The 5-8 p.m. 2nd Art Night reception features DJ Harlem James. Admission to the reception and galleries are free. Call (501) 320-5790 or visit cals.org.
Coterie concert
Pianist Eri Okawa, a student of Naoki Hakutani at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock and winner of the Little Rock Musical Coterie's Virginia Queen Award, given annually to a deserving high school senior or college piano student, will perform Modest Mussorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition for the Coterie, 11 a.m. Friday at Pulaski Heights Methodist Church, 4823 Woodlawn Ave., Little Rock.
Also on the program: Coterie Award winner Gabriel Womack, a saxophonist, Malvern native and UALR student, performing the first movement of Concerto for Alto Saxophone by David Maslanka and Tableaux de Provence by Paule Maurice. And pianist Noah Smith of Russellville, winner of the Christine Wang Award, will perform the Ballade No. 1 in g minor by Frederic Chopin.
All three winners will receive $1,000. Admission is free. A reception will follow in the church's Hospitality Room. Call (501) 350-8988.
SATURDAY
'Sgt. Pepper's' symphony
The four members of Classical Mystery Tour — Jim Owen, rhythm guitar/piano; Tony Kishman, bass guitar/piano; Tom Teeley, lead guitar; and Chris Camilleri, drums; all also providing vocals — who look and sound just like The Beatles join Arkansas Symphony Orchestra and conductor Geoffrey Robson for "Classical Mystery Tour: Sgt. Pepper's, A Tribute to the Beatles," a pair of pops concerts, 7:30 p.m. Saturday and 3 p.m. Sunday at Robinson Center Performance Hall, 426 W. Markham St. at Broadway, Little Rock. The program includes Beatles songs performed exactly as they were recorded, including a special segment celebrating the 50th anniversary of Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. It's part of the orchestra's 2018-19 Acxiom Pops Live! season. Tickets are $16-$68, $10 for students and active duty military, free to the Sunday matinee for K-12 students with a paying adult. Call (501) 666-1761, Extension 1, or visit ArkansasSymphony.org.
Brain Awareness Day
The Museum of Discovery is partnering with Hendrix College for Brain Awareness Day, 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Saturday at the museum, 500 President Clinton Ave., Little Rock. Learn about the brain through hands-on activities and demonstrations on protecting the brain, distorted reflexes; coloring the different regions of a brain on a cap; exploring the senses with optical illusions; taste and smelling tests and more; creating neurons out of pipe cleaners and connecting them to a network; hooking up to a device that translates action potentials in muscles to a claw device; and seeing how neurons send signals throughout the body. Museum admission is $10, $8 for children, free for members. Call (501) 396-7050 or visit museumofdiscovery.org.
Boomtown Opry
Jimmy Lewis, Tommy Holderman, Linda Flescher, Bailey Rae, Shinbone and the Lucy's Ladies dance team are the featured performers for the Boomtown Opry, 7 p.m. Saturday at the El Dorado Municipal Auditorium, 100 W. Eighth St., El Dorado. Tickets are $10 in advance, $15 at the door, $5 for children 12 and younger; a portion of the proceeds benefits the El Dorado Boys & Girls Club Visit itickets.com or the Facebook page, facebook.com/boomtownopry.
Beauty and the Beast
Jonesboro's Foundation of Arts stages Beauty and the Beast (music by Alan Menken, lyrics by Howard Ashman and Tim Rice, book by Linda Woolverton, adapted from the 1991 Walt Disney animated film), 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Monday-Tuesday and March 15, 2 p.m. Sunday at the Forum Theater, 115 E. Monroe Ave., Jonesboro. Tickets are $17 and $15, $15 and $13 for senior citizens, military and Arkansas State University students, faculty and staff; $8 for children 12 and younger; Monday's performance is "pay what you can." Call (870) 935-2726 or visit foajonesboro.org.
Weekend on 03/07/2019