FUN
Go see the Piccolo Zoppé's Winter Circus, today-Nov. 19 under a big-top tent in the parking lot at Bishop Lindsey Avenue and Magnolia Street (behind the Rock Region Metro streetcar barn) in North Little Rock. The performance schedule: 6 p.m. today; 7:30 p.m. Friday and Nov. 17; 4:30 and 7:30 p.m. Saturday and Nov. 18; 2 and 5:30 p.m. Sunday and Nov. 19; and 6:30 p.m. Monday-Nov. 16. Sponsor is North Little Rock Tourism. Tickets are $15-$100; visit secure.piccolozoppe.com.
Piccolo Zoppés Winter Circus performs under a big top today-Nov. 19 at Bishop Lindsey Avenue and Magnolia Street in North Little Rock. (Special to the Democrat-Gazette)
THEATER
'Stories of Service'
Veterans who served in Afghanistan, Iraq and during the Cold War will tell their stories of honor, integrity and personal courage in "The Breach: Stories of Service," a partnership between the Riverside Actors Theatre and the Arkansas Repertory Theatre, 2 p.m. Saturday at the Rep, 601 Main St., Little Rock. "The Breach" contains adult language and limited graphic images and is recommended for mature audiences. Admission is by free ticket; reserve seats at therep.org/the-breach-event. Donations will be accepted; those who donate $50 or more can attend a special post-performance meal and conversation with retired U.S. General Wesley Clark; his wife, Gert Clark; and other special guests.
'Rail'-life crime
The University of Central Arkansas theater department stages "Murder on the Orient Express," Ken Ludwig's adaptation of the Agatha Christie novel, 7:30 p.m. Friday and Nov. 16-17 and 2 p.m. Saturday and Nov. 18 in the James M. Bridges Black Box Theatre, Windgate Center for the Fine and Performing Arts, 2150 Bruce St. at Donaghey Avenue, Conway. The show includes mature content, mild adult language, multiple gunshots, fog and haze. Tickets are $10, free for UCA students, faculty and staff; call (501) 450-3265 or (866) 810-0012 or visit web.ovationtix.com/trs/dept/2176.
'Noises Off' at ASU
Arkansas State University Theatre stages "Noises Off" by Michael Frayn, 7:30 p.m. Friday-Saturday and Nov. 17-18 in Simpson Theatre at the university's Fowler Center, 201 Olympic Drive, Jonesboro. Tickets are $10-$15. Call (870) 972-2781 or visit astate.edu/tickets.
MUSIC
Bluegrass Festival
The three-day Mountain View Fall Bluegrass Festival at the Ozark Folk Center State Park, 1302 Park Ave., Mountain View, kicks off with a traditional all-gospel show at 6 p.m. today with performances by the Finley River Boys, The Churchmen, Kurt and Andrea Stephenson, Eddie Sanders and the Lonesome River Band.
A Friday matinee opens with a dance performance by Simply Southern Cloggers, 11:45 a.m.-noon, followed by performances by Sanders, Finley River Boys, Lonesome River Band, Volume Five and Tina Adair. The cloggers kick off the Friday-evening lineup at 5:45 p.m., followed by the Finley River Boys, Sanders, Volume Five, Adair and the Lonesome River Band.
A Saturday matinee begins at noon with the Roving Gambler Band followed by Fast Track, Volume Five, Unspoken Tradition and Authentic Unlimited. Saturday evening's show starts at 5:45 with a 15-minute set by Mountain View's Music Roots Ensemble, followed by performances from the Roving Gambler Band, Unspoken Tradition, Fast Track, Volume Five and Authentic Unlimited.
Host is the nonprofit Mountain View Bluegrass Association Inc., which supports the Music Roots program, teaching traditional string-band instruments to youth in the Mountain View area. Tickets are $20-$25 today, $25-$35 Friday-Saturday. Visit mountainview-bluegrass.com.
Organ recital
Italian organist Alessandro Bianchi will give a recital at 7:30 p.m. Friday at Christ Episcopal Church, 509 Scott St., Little Rock. The program includes Organ Sonata by Frigyes Hidas; the "Allegro vivace" movement from the Symphonie V by Charles Marie Widor; "Beatitude," from "Scenes of the Life of St. Francis" by Marco Enrico Bossi; "Tu es Petra" (from "Esquisses Byzantines") by Henry Mulet; "Zephyrs" by Marcel Dupré; and "Tuba Tune" by Reginald Porter Brown. Admission is free; donations to support the costs of the concert will be accepted. Sponsors are Arts@Christ Church and the Central Arkansas Chapter of the American Guild of Organists. Call (501) 375-2342.
Bianchi will also discuss Italian organs and organ literature from the 16th through 19th centuries and perform examples thereof at a free masterclass at the church at 10 a.m. Saturday.
Flute ensemble assembles
The Alchemia Flute Ensemble will offer a program titled "The Holiness of Light" for the Little Rock Musical Coterie's monthly meeting, 3 p.m. Sunday at Trinity United Methodist Church, 1101 N. Mississippi St., Little Rock. The program includes pieces titled "Dawn Carol," "Paths of Deeper Gold," "Prayer of St. Gregory," "Celtic Flutes at Midnight," "North Star" and "Umoja." Conductors are Lisa Doss, Susan Antonetti, Tish Davenport and Brianne Little. Admission is free. Call (501) 922-6418.
Appreciating veterans
The Bug Shuffle String Band headlines a Veterans Appreciation Concert, 6 p.m. Friday at the Veteran Memorial Building, 112 N. Main St., DeWitt. Admission, popcorn, cookies and drinks are free; seating is limited. Stone Bank is the sponsor; co-sponsors are American Legion Post 158 and American Legion Auxiliary Unit 158. The band includes Dave Smith on vocals/banjo and fiddle (Smith also hosts the Mountain View-based syndicated radio/podcast program "Ozark Highlands Radio") with Scott, Shay and Rebecca Pool (husband, wife, and daughter) on, respectively, guitar, banjo and fiddle.
The Bug Shuffle String Band — (including, from left) Scott Pool, Shay Pool and Dave Smith — headlines a Veterans Appreciation Concert Friday in DeWitt. (Special to the Democrat-Gazette)
Big Band concert
Hot Springs Village Big Band performs "a wide mix of standards, pop, Latin and rock in that classic Big Band style," with singers Maureen Morgan and Jamie Stewart, for "Sunday Stylings in Jazz," 4-6 p.m. Sunday at the Central Theatre, 1008 Central Ave., Hot Springs. Tickets are $15. Visit tinyurl.com/psrxwba5.
ART
'Atmospheric' art
"Atmosphere," recent paintings and drawings by Kae Barron with what the artist describes as "a moody or 'atmospheric' quality," go on display with a 6-8 p.m. reception Friday at Cantrell Gallery, 8208 Cantrell Road, Little Rock. The exhibit remains up through Jan. 20. Gallery hours are 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Saturday or by appointment; the gallery will take a winter break, Dec. 24-Jan. 1. Call (501) 224-1335 or visit cantrellgallery.com.
"Blooming," "East Little Rock Night," "Flows," "Fox in Cosmos" and "Ghost Bird" by Kae Barron go on display Friday at Little Rock's Cantrell Gallery. (Special to the Democrat-Gazette)
White House photos
"Pete Souza: Two Presidents, One Photographer," 56 of Souza's photographs of presidents Ronald Reagan and Barack Obama, goes on display with a 12:30-2:30 p.m. reception today in the lobby of the Center for Humanities and Arts, at the University of Arkansas-Pulaski Technical College, 3000 W. Scenic Drive, North Little Rock. The touring exhibition, organized by art2art Circulating Exhibitions, will be up in the center's Windgate Gallery, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Friday through Dec. 22. Admission is free. Call (501) 812-2831 or email kleftwich@uaptc.edu.
Souza, chief official White House photographer for both presidents, is currently a freelance photographer in the Washington area and professor emeritus of visual communication at Ohio University. His most recent book is "Obama: An Intimate Portrait."
DANCE
Jonesboro 'Nutcracker'
Jonesboro's Foundation of Arts stages Peter Tchaikovsky's ballet "The Nutcracker," at 6 p.m. Nov. 16, Nov. 18 and Nov. 20; 7:30 p.m. Nov. 17; and 2 p.m. Nov. 19 at the Forum Theater, 115 E. Monroe Ave., Jonesboro. Tickets are $19-$21; $17-$19 for children 3-12, senior citizens 65 or older and military and Arkansas State University students, staff and faculty. Saturday's performance is "pay what you can." Call (870) 935-2726 or visit foajonesboro.org.
COMEDY
'Are We There Yet?'
Comedian Jeff Allen shares his journey of overcoming alcoholism and despair to finding joy in his life and relationship with God as his "Are We There Yet?" comedy tour brings him to Arkansas, 7:30 p.m. Saturday at Woodlands Auditorium, 1101 DeSoto Blvd., Hot Springs Village. Tickets are $39.95; visit hotspringsvillage.thundertix.com/events/213999.
ETC.
Benefit talent show
The Lupus Foundation of Arkansas Inc. hosts its annual Statewide Talent Show, 3 p.m. Saturday at the Little Rock Southwest High School Auditorium, 9715 Mabelvale Pike, Mabelvale. First place earns $1,000, with a second-place prize of $500 and third-place prize of $200. Food will be available for sale. Ashlei King, anchor for "Good Day Arkansas" on KLRT-TV, Channel 16, hosts; Little Rock Mayor Frank Scott Jr. will make a special appearance. Guest performers include 2022 winner Courtney Briggs-Smith and talent show founder David Ashley. Tickets are $25 in advance, $30 at the door. Visit lupusarktalentshow.com.
Visiting poet
Poet Kyle "Guante" Tran Myhre will read and discuss his work at 7:30 p.m. today in Reves Recital Hall at Hendrix College, 1600 Washington Ave., Conway. A reception and book signing will follow in the nearby Trieschmann Gallery. Little Rock's WordsWorth Books is selling copies of Tran Myhre's work. Admission is free. Sponsor is the Hendrix-Murphy Foundation Programs in Literature and Language. Email McGill@hendrix.edu.
CORRECTION: A previous version of this article incorrectly listed the dates of the Jonesboro's Foundation of Arts performances of Peter Tchaikovsky's ballet "The Nutcracker."