ENTERTAINMENT NOTES: DiFranco first to play CHARTS in art series at UA-Pulaski Tech

The 2022-23 CHARTS Live performing arts series at the University of Arkansas-Pulaski Technical College in North Little Rock features “Potted Potter” (all seven "Harry Potter"  books performed live on stage in 70 minutes), Nov. 29. (Special to the Democrat-Gazette)
The 2022-23 CHARTS Live performing arts series at the University of Arkansas-Pulaski Technical College in North Little Rock features “Potted Potter” (all seven "Harry Potter" books performed live on stage in 70 minutes), Nov. 29. (Special to the Democrat-Gazette)

Elsewhere in entertainment, events and the arts:

MUSIC ETC.: CHARTS season

Folk-rock singer Ani DiFranco returns to the University of Arkansas-Pulaski Technical College, 7:30 p.m. Sept. 29 in the Center for Humanities and Arts Theater, on Pulaski Tech's main campus, 3000 W. Scenic Drive, North Little Rock, to kick off the college's 2022-23 CHARTS Live performing arts series. Tickets will be $45-$65.

The rest of the lineup (except as noted, all shows at 7:30 p.m. in the CHARTS Theater):

◼️ Nov. 29: "Potted Potter," all seven "Harry Potter" books performed live on stage in 70 minutes. $45-$55.

◼️ March 1: "A Bronx Tale with Chazz Palminteri," an autobiographical one-man show about a young New Yorker torn between the temptations of organized crime and the values of his hardworking father. $55-$65.

◼️ April 13: Naturally7, a cappella group. $45-$55.

◼️ April 27: Patti LuPone, actress-singer, winner of Tony, Olivier, Grammy, Drama Desk, Outer Critics Circle and Drama League awards. $75-$110.

Season ticket packages can save patrons 10%-20% off individual ticket prices. Call (501) 812-2831 or visit uaptc.edu/charts. Single tickets go on sale Aug. 15.

THEATER: 'Memphis The Musical'

A white radio DJ (Craig Wilson as Huey Calhoun) who wants to change the world and a Black club singer (Satia Spencer as Felicia Farrell) who is ready for her big break are at the center of a show set in the underground dance clubs of Memphis in the 1950s in "Memphis the Musical" (music and lyrics by David Bryan, book by Joe DiPietro, based on a concept by George W. George). The Judy Kohn Tenenbaum Argenta Community Theater, 405 Main St., North Little Rock, stages it, 7:30 p.m. Wednesday-Saturday and 26-30 and 2 p.m. Sunday. Tickets for this Wednesday-Thursday preview performances are $25; for all other shows, $35. Visit argentacommunitytheater.org.

Celebrity season

Season tickets — $168-$482 — are now on sale for Celebrity Attractions' 2022-2023 Broadway Season:

◼️ Sept. 9-11: Blue Man Group.

◼️ Jan. 13-15: "Tootsie," music and lyrics by David Yazbek, book by Robert Horn, based on the 1982 film.

◼️ Feb. 1-5: "Disney's Aladdin," with music, some of it new for Broadway, by Alan Menken, lyrics by Howard Ashman and Tim Rice and a book by Chad Beguelin, based on the Disney animated film.

◼️ April 21-23: "Legally Blonde — The Musical," music and lyrics by Laurence O'Keefe and Nell Benjamin, book by Heather Hach, based on the 2001 film.

◼️ May 19-21: The Lincoln Center Theater production of Lerner & Loewe's "My Fair Lady."

Call (501) 244-8800, visit CelebrityAttractions.com or pick up tickets in person at the Robinson Center Box Office, 426 W. Markham St. at Broadway, Little Rock.

Rep classes

The Arkansas Repertory Theatre is offering three fall-semester nine-week classes for middle- and high school students, Mondays, Sept. 12-Nov. 14, at the theater 601 Main St., Little Rock:

◼️ "Teen Ensemble," grades 9-12, 7:30-9 p.m., culminating in a showcase, 8 p.m. Nov. 14. The small company of pre-professional actors meets weekly for advanced training and rehearsals. Tuition: $285.

◼️ "High School Acting: The Actor's Toolbox," grades 9-12, 6-7:15 p.m. Tuition: $225.

◼️ "Musical Theatre," grades 6-8, 4:30-5:45 p.m. Mondays, culminating in a showcase performance, 5:30 p.m. Nov. 14. Tuition: $250.

Full and partial need-based scholarships and payment plans are available.

All classes will require an audition, by appointment only, Aug. 6. Email education@therep.org for a time slot. Students will need to prepare 32 bars of a song (musical theater repertoire, provide sheet music for the accompanist) and a one-minute monologue and provide a head shot and resume. Space is limited. Information, including course descriptions, dates and times, how to register, audition information and how to apply for scholarships, is available at TheRep.org/classes-and-camps.


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