Fayetteville’s TheatreSquared has extended the run of “A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder” through July 6. (Special to the Democrat-Gazette/Wesley Hitt)
MUSIC
Jazz pianist Julia Buckingham heads up the Julia Buckingham Group, performing at 7 p.m. Friday at the Ron Robinson Theater, 100 River Market Ave., Little Rock. Buckingham, who teaches at the University of Central Arkansas, gave the first performance of Florence Price’s recently discovered suite “A Day in the Life of a Washerwoman.” Doors open at 6 p.m. Tickets are $20; free parking is available with validation at the box office. Visit ronrobinsontheater.org.
Opera in the Ozarks
Opera in the Ozarks opens its 75th anniversary year at Inspiration Point Center for the Arts, 16311 U.S. 62 West, five miles west of Eureka Springs, with a 7:30 p.m. Friday performance of Georges Bizet’s “Carmen,” with additional performances in repertory, 7:30 p.m. July 2, 11, 14, 19 and 25 and 3 p.m. July 6.
The summer season includes three fully staged and costumed operatic productions in a new 300-seat theater.
The rest of the lineup:
◼️ Stephen Sondheim’s “Into the Woods,” 7:30 p.m. Saturday, July 3, 7, 9, 18 and 23; 3 p.m. July 13
◼️ Franz Lehár’s “The Merry Widow,” 7:30 p.m. Tuesday and July 5, 8, 12, 15 and 24; 3 p.m. July 20.
The schedule includes performances and other musical events, including:
◼️ More than a dozen free performances of “The Bremen Town Musicians” by John Davies, featuring Opera in the Ozarks’ Studio Artists, at venues across Northwest Arkansas, including libraries and community centers
◼️ A July 21 chamber music concert at Inspiration Point
◼️ Two Broadway Cabarets, 7 p.m. July 17 at The Medium, 214 S. Main St., Springdale, with heavy hors d’oeuvres; and 6 p.m. July 22 at Inspiration Point that will include a buffet dinner (both cabaret venues will have cash bars).
A free Family Day Sunday will feature guided tours of the new theater between 2 and 4:15 p.m. p.m. and a 3 p.m. talk by Arkansas Democrat-Gazette columnist Rex Nelson about the state of the arts in Arkansas.
The productions feature approximately 40 singers and professional instrumentalists from across the country for the annual training and production schedule.
Funding for the new theater came from a $34 million grant from the Walton Family Foundation; new facilities include an expanded rehearsal hall, production shops, practice rooms and faculty housing.
Tickets to main stage opera performances are $30 to $50, $10 for children and students under 18. Tickets for the Springdale cabaret performance are $60. Tickets for the Eureka Springs cabaret performance are $80. Tickets for the Chamber Music Concert are $25. Call (479) 253-8595 or visit opera.org.
THEATER
Russellville hills are alive
CenterStage Productions, in association with Dance Foundation, stages Rodgers and Hammerstein’s “The Sound of Music,” 7 p.m. Thursday-Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday at the Center for the Arts, Russellville High School, 2209 S. Knoxville Ave., Russellville. The production marks the musical film’s 60th anniversary and features a live orchestra. Tickets are $20, $15 for youngsters 17 and under. All proceeds from ticket sales benefit The Dance Foundation of Russellville. Visit tcfta.booktix.com.
‘Gentleman’ run extended
Fayetteville’s Theatre- Squared is extending its run of “A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder,” (music and lyrics by Steven Lutvak, book and lyrics by Robert L. Freedman, based on a novel by Roy Horniman) through July 6, with shows at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday-Thursday (no show July 4), 2 and 7:30 p.m. Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday on TheatreSquared’s West Theatre stage, 477 W. Spring St., Fayetteville. Tickets are $20-$72. Call (479) 777-7477 or visit theatre2.org/gentlemans-guide.
Arkansas Festival Ballet company members Olya Tryndyak and Avaleigh Stalcup are attending the Accademia dell’ Arte summer intentsive/training course program in Tuscany, Italy. (Special to the Democrat-Gazette)
DANCE
Tuscany bound
Arkansas Festival Ballet company members Olya Tryndyak and Avaleigh Stalcup are attending the Accademia dell’ Arte summer intensive/training course program, Monday-July 26 in Tuscany, Italy. Both received full scholarships with travel expenses paid, funded by Accademia dell’ Arte and Jon and Sandra Marbaise. The four-week program mentors and instructs participants “as they delve further into their own artistic vision and aesthetic and expand their performance skill set,” according to a news release. Both dancers are recent graduates of Little Rock Central High. Stalcup will attend Pepperdine University in the fall as a theater arts major. Tryndyak will study cell and molecular biology and dance at Tulane University.
TICKETS
Summer Academy shows
The Triple Threat Summer Academy at Wildwood Park for the Arts, 20919 Denny Road, Little Rock, is putting on two shows as part of its three-week session:
◼️ “Disney’s Descendants: The Musical,” (based on the Disney Channel movies), 6 p.m. July 23, 3 p.m. July 24 and 1 p.m. July 25. The teen children of Disney villains Maleficent, Snow White’s Evil Queen, Jafar and Cruella De Vil, sent to attend prep school alongside the children of Disney heroes, must choose to follow in their parents’ wicked footsteps or learn to be good. Tickets are $10-$15. Visit ovationtix.com/34337/production/1243372.
◼️ Dreamland Performance Showcase, 3 p.m. July 23, 6 p.m. July 24, 10 a.m. Academy youngsters perform songs from musical theater. Tickets are $5 and $10. Visit ovationtix.com/34337/production/1243375.
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