Elsewhere in entertainment, events and the arts:
THEATER
Musical 'Madagascar'
Alex the Lion, Marty the Zebra, Melman the Giraffe, Gloria the hip-hop Hippo and a flock of plotting penguins hit the stage in a touring production of "Madagascar the Musical" (music and lyrics by George Noriega and Joel Someillan, book by Kevin Del Aguila, adapted from the DreamWorks animated movie and its sequels), 7 p.m. Friday and 11 a.m., 3 p.m. and 7 p.m. Saturday at Fayetteville's Walton Arts Center, 495 W. Dickson St. Tickets are $25-$53 plus fees. Call (479) 443-5600 or visit waltonartscenter.org.
Beth's intervention
When a career-driven woman (Leigh Anne Ralston) needs a lot more help on the home front than she's getting from her husband (James Mainard O'Connell), her sprightly Southern assistant Beth (Natalie Canerday) enters the picture, just in time for the boss (Paige Reynolds) to fly in for an impromptu business meeting in "'Til Beth Do Us Part" by Jessie Jones, Nicholas Hope and Jamie Wooten. It opens Wednesday and runs through June 24 at Murry's Dinner Playhouse, 6323 Colonel Glenn Road, Little Rock. The buffet opens 90 minutes before curtain time -- 7:30 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday (Wednesdays, matinees only, May 31, June 7 and 14), 12:30 and 6:30 p.m. Sunday. Tickets (including meal and show) are $39-$44, $30 for children 15 and younger, $30 show only. Call (501) 562-3131 or visit murrysdp.com.
'Waiting in the Wigs'
Arkansas Public Theatre will host "Waiting in the Wigs: A Drag Benefit Show," 8 p.m. Saturday at the Victory Theater, 116 S. Second St., Rogers, featuring performances by area drag queens Taylor Madison Monroe, Simone Westwood, Angel Divinity and Ella Rosa. Doors open at 7. The show is for patrons 18 and older only; a valid ID will be required to enter the building. Tickets are $25 in advance, $35 at the door. Visit arkansaspublictheatre.org/tickets.
ART & EXHIBITS
Quilts and coverlets
"Patchwork 'n Patterns: A Quilt and Coverlet Show" includes "historically inspired and modern quilts and coverlets featuring bold colors and exquisite designs" by Northwest Arkansas quilters and weavers, 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Friday and 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Saturday at the Rogers Historical Museum, 313 S. Second St. at Cherry Street, Rogers. It's a presentation of the Northwest Arkansas Modern Quilt Guild and Northwest Arkansas Handweavers Guild. Admission is free.
The exhibit will also be a focus of the museum's Family Day, 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Saturday, along with farm animals, face painting, blacksmith demonstrations, Butterfly Park tours, model trains, wood carving and food trucks. And in conjunction with the museum's exhibit "A Parade of Apple Blossoms," a parade around downtown Rogers starts at 1:30 p.m. Admission is free.
Call (479) 621-1154 or visit rogershistoricalmuseum.org.
FILM
'Top Secret Rosies'
The MacArthur Museum of Arkansas Military History, 503 E. Ninth St., Little Rock, screens the documentary "Top Secret Rosies: The Female Computers of World War II," focusing on the women and technology that helped win the war and usher in the modern computer age, 6:30 p.m. Tuesday. It's part of the museum's Movies at MacArthur series. Admission, popcorn and beverages are free. Call (501) 376-4602.
Cusack and candles
Actor John Cusack will host "An Evening of Film and Conversation with John Cusack," incorporating a screening of the film "Sixteen Candles":
7:30 p.m. Sept. 15 at the Little Rock's Robinson Center Performance Hall, 426 W. Markham St. at Broadway. Tickets are $39.95-$109.95 with $249.95 VIP packages that include a meet-and-greet. Visit ticketmaster.com.
7 p.m. Oct. 29 at Fayetteville's Walton Arts Center, 495 W. Dickson St. Tickets are $69.95-$119.95 plus fees. Call (479) 443-5600 or visit waltonartscenter.org.
"Sixteen Candles" came early in Cusack's four-decade career in the movie business, with subsequent credits including "The Frozen Ground," "Hot Tub Time Machine," "War Inc.," "Grace is Gone," "The Ice Harvest," "Runaway Jury," "Identity," "The Road to Wellville," "True Colors," "Broadcast News," "Stand By Me," "2012" and "Being John Malkovich."
Melman the Giraffe and a couple of plotting penguins are among the stars of "Madagascar the Musical," onstage Friday-Saturday at Fayetttevilles Walton Arts Center. (Special to the Democrat-Gazette/Mark Dawson Photography)
A historic coverlet in the Governors Garden pattern, woven in olive and rose colors by Lucy McLeod of Rogers in the mid-1800s, and a 21st century quillt, "Homage to Georgia," by Leanna Walker are part of the "Patchwork 'n Patterns: A Quilt and Coverlet Show" at the Rogers Historical Museum. (Special to the Democrat-Gazette)
A historic coverlet in the Governors Garden pattern, woven in olive and rose colors by Lucy McLeod of Rogers in the mid-1800s, and a 21st century quillt, "Homage to Georgia," by Leanna Walker are part of the "Patchwork 'n Patterns: A Quilt and Coverlet Show" at the Rogers Historical Museum. (Special to the Democrat-Gazette)
The Rogers Historical Museums Family Day Saturday will feature model trains. (Special to the Democrat-Gazette)
Betty Jennings (left) and Frances Bilas operate the main control of ENIAC in the 1940s. The use of women as computers to help win World War II is the subject of the documentary "Top Secret Rosies: The Female Computers of World War II," screening Tuesday at Little Rock's MacArthur Museum of Arkansas Military History. (U.S. Army photo, from the archives of the ARL Technical Library)
John Cusack (Special to the Democrat-Gazette/Greg Williams)