THEATER
'Beautiful' musical
The Argenta Contemporary Theatre, 405 Main St., North Little Rock, stages "Beautiful: The Carole King Musical" (jukebox musical with book by Douglas McGrath), 7:30 p.m. Wednesday-Saturday and April 23-27 and 2 p.m. April 21. The show covers the early life and career of Carole King, featuring the songs she wrote, many with Gerry Goffin, plus contemporary songs by Barry Mann, Cynthia Weil, Phil Spector and others: "I Feel the Earth Move," "So Far Away," "Some Kind of Wonderful," "One Fine Day," "Take Good Care of My Baby," "Will You [Still] Love Me Tomorrow," "On Broadway," "The Locomotion," "You've Lost That Lovin' Feeling," "It's Too Late," "Natural Woman" and "Beautiful." Tickets are $35 for Wednesday-Thursday preview performances, $45 for all other shows. Visit argentacontemporarytheatre.org.
'Fat Ham' in Fayetteville
TheatreSquared, 477 W. Spring St., Fayetteville, stages "Fat Ham" by James Ijames in its West Theatre, opening Wednesday with shows at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday-Friday, 2 and 7:30 p.m. Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday through May 12. The play, a send-up of Shakespeare's "Hamlet," won the 2022 Pulitzer Prize for Drama. It's a co-production with the City Theatre in Pittsburgh Tickets are $43 to $68. Call (479) 777-7477 or visit theatre2.org/fat-ham.
MUSIC
'Journey Through Time'
Four Arkansas Symphony Orchestra chamber ensembles perform a River Rhapsodies Chamber Music concert, 7 p.m. Tuesday in the Great Hall of the Clinton Presidential Center, 1200 President Clinton Ave., Little Rock.
For a program titled "Journey Through Time," the orchestra's Quapaw Quartet -- Charlotte Crosmer and Lauren Pokorzynski, violins; Timothy MacDuff, viola; and Travis Scharer, cello -- performs Libby Larsen's "Quartet: She Wrote," based on a passage from James Joyce's "Ulysses." Violinists Meredith Maddox Hicks and Katherine Williamson and pianist Jaeyeon Park play the Suite for Two Violins and Piano, op.71, by Moritz Moszkowski. Carolyn Brown, flute, and Alisa Coffey, harp, play the Sonata for Flute and Harp, op.56, by Lowell Liebermann. And Katherine Reynolds, viola, joins Julian Pranata, viola da gamba, and Daniel Gilbert, harpsichord, for the Sonata in C major for viola and continuo, op.2, No. 4, by William Flackton.
Tickets are $50 (pricing subject to change), $15 for students and/or military with a valid ID. Call (501) 666-1761, Ext. 1, or visit arkansassymphony.org.
The Arkansas Symphony's Quapaw Quartet — (from left) Timothy MacDuff, viola; Charlotte Crosmer and Lauren Pokorzynski, violins; and Travis Scharer, cello — plays Libby Larsen's "Quartet: She Wrote" Tuesday April 16 at the Clinton Presidential Center in Little Rock. (Special to the Democrat-Gazette)
Artosphere lineup
Artists and performers from around the world who are inspired by nature will be in Fayetteville from May 2-23 for the Artosphere: Arkansas' Arts + Nature Festival, with events and performances at locations across Northwest Arkansas, organized by Fayetteville's Walton Arts Center. Call (479) 443-5600 or visit artospherefestival.org.
Ticketed performances
◼️ Fayetteville Film Fest: Indie Film Artosphere, 8 p.m. May 11, Walton Arts Center, 495 W. Dickson St., Fayetteville. $15
◼️ Dover Quartet, 7 p.m. May 11, St. Paul's Episcopal Church, 224 N. East Ave., Fayetteville. $15. 7 p.m. May 15, Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, 600 Museum Way, Bentonville. $29
◼️ Artosphere Festival Orchestra, Corrado Rovaris, conductor. "American Soundscapes," 7 p.m., May 14, Walton Arts Center. $10. Verdi's Requiem, 8 p.m. May 18, Walton Arts Center. $15-$50. "Mozart in the Museum," 7 p.m. May 22, Crystal Bridges. $54
◼️ Compagnia TPO's "ERBA – A Forest in the City," 6:30 p.m. May 14-15, Walton Arts Center. $10
◼️ 360 ALLSTARS, 7 p.m. May 21, Walton Arts Center. $10.
Some free events and performances
◼️ Trout Fishing in America, 6:30 p.m. May 7, Botanic Garden of the Ozarks, 4703 N. Crossover Road, Fayetteville. By free ticket.
◼️ Trail Mix, 5-7 p.m. May 10, The Lower Ramble, 255 S West Ave., and Fayetteville Public Library, 401 W Mountain St.
◼️ Jazz on the Mountain featuring Backbeat Jazz, 6 p.m. May 23, Mount Sequoyah, 150 N. Skyline Drive, Fayetteville. By free ticket.
Some partner/Artosphere-sponsored events and performances
◼️ Railyard Live presents The Cate Brothers & The Nace Brothers, 7 p.m. May 3, Butterfield Stage, 101 E. Cherry St., Rogers. Tickets: free-$30; railyardlive.com
◼️ Railyard Live -- Gente Privada presents La Fiesta Con Grupo del 4 & Emmanuel Cortes with Little Yei and DJ Alfaro, 7 p.m. May 4, Butterfield Stage, Rogers. Tickets: free-$30; railyardlive.com
◼️ Bruce Cockburn, 7:30 p.m. May 6, Victory Theater, 116 S. Second St., Rogers. Tickets: $29.50-$59.50; thevictorytheater.com
◼️ Mountain Street Stage: Aaron Smith with Still on the Hill and Friends, 2 p.m. May 12, Fayetteville Public Library. Free
◼️ Strawberry Festival, noon-6 p.m. May 19, Downtown Fayetteville Square. Free.
ART
Student Art & Poetry
National Park College, 101 College Drive, Hot Springs, hosts its annual Student Art and Poetry Exhibition, more than 100 pieces including drawings, paintings, digital work, photography, ceramics, film and poetry, Monday-Thursday in the college's Student Commons Conference Center. A poetry reception honoring poetry contest winners will take place at noon Wednesday. The NPC singers will perform and hors d'oeuvres will be served. Gallery hours are 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Admission to the exhibition and poetry reception events are free.
The NPC Foundation will host "A Night of Art," 5:30 p.m. Thursday in the Student Commons. NPC Hospitality students will serve creative hor d'oeuvres; a variety of handcrafted mocktails will be available from Spa City restaurants. Jacob Flores will provide entertainment. Tickets are $50; visit np.edu/ArtNight.
'Expressions' show
Benton-based nonprofit Birch Tree Communities, a behavioral health program providing therapeutic community services for adults living with serious and persistent mental illness, holds its 18th annual Expressions Art Show, artworks created by its members, 5:30-8 p.m. Thursday at The Hall, 721 W. Ninth St., Little Rock. Admission is $20. Call (501) 315-3344 or visit Birchtree.org or littlerockhall.com.
FILM
Escapees' tale
The MacArthur Museum of Arkansas Military History, 503 E. Ninth St., Little Rock, screens the documentary "4-4-43," the story of the April 4, 1943, breakout by 10 American prisoners of war and two Filipino convicts from a supposedly escape-proof Japanese prison plantation in the Philippines with a secret that would shock the world, 6:30 p.m. Tuesday. Producer/writer John D. Lukacs tells the story through the eyes of Lt. Col. William Edwin Dyess, who spent nearly a year at the Davao Penal Colony prior to his escape. Admission, popcorn and soft drinks are free. Call (501) 376-4602.
Lt. Col. William Edwin Dyess, one of 10 American prisoners of war who escaped from a Japanese prison plantation in the Philippines, is the focus of a documentary, "4-4-43," screening Tuesday at the MacArthur Museum of Arkansas Military History in Little Rock. (Special to the Democrat-Gazette/U.S. Air Force)
ETC.
Brooks-Baxter session
The Old State House Museum, the Arkansas State Archives and the Historic Arkansas Museum present "Anarchy in Arkansas: The Brooks-Baxter War at 150," a look at the spring 1874 dispute between rival factions of Arkansas' Republican party over the fraud-plagued results of the 1872 gubernatorial election that erupted in spasms of armed violence, 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Saturday at the Old State House, 300 W. Markham St., Little Rock.
The session includes presentations by Arkansas historians, interspersed with readings taken from contemporary newspaper reports and correspondence. (Holding this program at the Old State House is particularly appropriate, since much of the conflict took place within this building or nearby, according to a news release.)
Cost is $10 per person and includes a boxed lunch. Registration is required; visit arkansasstatehousesociety-971033.square.site. For more information, call (501) 324-8641 or email Georganne.Sisco@arkansas.gov.
TICKETS
'Nutcracker' tour
The "Nutcracker! Magical Christmas Ballet" touring production returns to Little Rock's Robinson Center Performance Hall, 426 W. Markham St. at Broadway, for a performance at 5 p.m. Dec. 31. Tickets -- $31-$180 -- are now on sale. Call (800) 320-1733 or visit nutcracker.com.