On Friday, for the first time this summer, Pine Bluff's Arts and Science Center's "Live@5" music event moved from the outdoor patio of The Art Space on Main to the newly-opened indoor Adam B. Robinson Jr. Black Box Theater.
Occupying stage risers in the middle of the playhouse, surrounded by fans on three sides, popular, local six-piece group, Platinum Hits Party Band filled the flat-black, featureless, high-ceilinged chamber with their followers, providing the largest crowd this season for the monthly event.
Between a combination of cool, air-conditioned comfort on a hot afternoon and the enduring sounds of Motown, Stax and Chess Records, the room soon reached full-capacity as music lovers drifted in groups of two and three. Judging from the enthusiastic response, everyone enjoyed the high-energy covers of beloved, old school hits from four decades of soul, blues, R&B funk and rock.
"I launched the band 10 years ago. We specialize in party entertainment. Our motto is, 'We're the band who keeps you on your feet,'" said Curtis Bradford, band leader, organizer, producer and keyboard player.
The Adam B. Robinson Jr. Black Box Theater occupies the newly opened, neighboring Art Works on Main building next door to the already well-utilized Art Space on Main. The theater is named for and dedicated to a well-known fixture in Pine Bluff's arts and science community.
In a dedication plaque outside the theater, Robinson is remembered with these words: "Adam B. Robinson, Jr. was a generous, thoughtful and charismatic man who could command a room and bring joy to any community. He also never met a stranger and cared deeply for people with his gentle, tender nature and spirit, finding his greatest joy in being present for others.
"A tireless and enthusiastic supporter of the Arts in Pine Bluff, Adam was the co-chairman of the Arts and Science Center for Southeast Arkansas Endowment Building Campaign in 1993 and oversaw the fundraising and construction of the Center's permanent home. He was a past president in 1987 of the Arts and Science Center Board of Trustees. Adam also appeared in numerous roles in the Arts and Science Center's theatrical and musical productions. For his dedication and service to the Arts and Science Center and the arts within the community, Adam received the Arts and Science Center's Volunteer of the Year Award in 2002 and, in 2013, the Catherine M. Bellamy Award for Outstanding Service in the Performing Arts."
This being the inaugural event held in the Black Box Theater, the occasion proved especially significant in that it was near the two-year anniversary of Robinson's death.
Other events taking place in The Art Space on Main and next door at Art Works on Main include a current exhibition of paintings by Torri Richardson, a senior attending the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff. The collection of vividly-hued, striking portraits is titled, "Reflections of My Perspective."
August's Live at Five is also expected to take place in the Black Box Theater.
September will see the theater hosting their first theatrical production with "The Miracle Worker." Holding with Halloween tradition, October brings "that Scottish play," Shakespeare's "Macbeth."