THEATER
‘Prom’ premiere
Four eccentric Broadway stars are in desperate need of a new stage and when they hear that trouble is brewing around a small-town prom, it’s time to put a spotlight on the issue — and themselves — in “The Prom” (music by Matthew Skylar, lyrics by Chad Beguelin, book by Bob Marin & Chad Beguelin). Actors Theatre of Little Rock stages the Central Arkansas premiere of the musical at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday-Friday and 2 and 7:30 p.m. Saturday through June 21 at Quapaw Quarter United Methodist Church, 1601 Louisiana St., Little Rock. Tickets are $25, $20 for students, senior citizens and military in advance, $5 more at the door. Visit actorstheatrelr.org/tickets.
‘Love and Murder’
A low-born man discovers he’s eighth in line for an earldom, which kicks off a wicked scheme — complete with murder, mayhem and romance — to knock off the relatives in his way in “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). The Tony Award-winner for Best Musical opens Wednesday in TheatreSquared’s West Theatre, 477 W. Spring St., Fayetteville, with shows at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday-Friday, 2 and 7:30 p.m. Saturday and 2 p.m. June 8-29. Tickets are $20-$66. Call (479) 777-7477 or visit theatre2.org/gentlemans-guide.
MUSIC
Opera in the Ozarks
Opera in the Ozarks marks its 75th anniversary year at Inspiration Point Center for the Arts, 16311 U.S. 62 West, five miles west of Eureka Springs, with the grand opening of a new 300-seat theater and a summer season that includes three fully staged and costumed operatic productions.
The season kicks off with a 7:30 p.m. June 27 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 rest of the lineup:
◼️ Stephen Sondheim’s “Into the Woods,” 7:30 p.m. June 28, July 3, 7, 9, 18 and 23; 3 p.m. July 13
◼️ Franz Lehár’s “The Merry Widow,” 7:30 p.m. July 1, 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 June 29 will feature guided tours of the new theater between 2-4:15 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, which had its official opening Saturday, comes 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.
ART ETC.
Busy museum
It’s a busy weekend coming up at the Rogers Historical Museum, 313 and 322 S. Second St. at Cherry Street, Rogers.
The museum holds its annual Family Day, 10 a.m.-2 p.m Saturday, featuring farm animals, kids crafts, a quilt show, model trains, face painting, Vera’s Victorian Garden and Butterfly Park tours, and a fire engine touch-a-truck. Area artisans will demonstrate woodcarving, blacksmithing, spinning and weaving. Family-friendly food options available on-site. Admission is free.
In conjunction with the festivities, the museum hosts a Patchwork ‘n Patterns Quilt Show, 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Thursday-Friday and 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Saturday at its Key Wing Education Center. The show features more than 50 modern quilts made by talented members of the Northwest Arkansas Modern Quilt Guild, which is sponsoring it. Admission is free.
Subsequently, the museum marks its 50th anniversary with some “Summertime Fun at the Museum,” 45-minute craft-making sessions and history lessons, at 9, 10 and 11 a.m. June 17 and 19 and July 15 and 17.
The June 17 sessions focus on tie-dying; following the lesson attendees will be able to tie-dye their own shirts, which will be provided, one per registrant.
June 19, youngsters will learn about macramé, a geometrical, knot-tying technique using cord or string to create textiles or other fabric art, and will create their own macramé piece.
July 15’s session will look at bead jewelry, historic and from the 1970s, before participants can make their own beaded bracelet.
And on July 17, participants can learn about the craft of shrinking plastic made popular in the 1970s by the Shrinky Dinks brand, using special sheets of plastic that shrink when heated.
The sessions are recommended for youngsters 6-12. Admission is free. Registration is required via rogershistoricalmuseum.org/summertime-fun; parents or guardians must accompany their children at all times during the sessions.
Call (479) 621-1154 or visit rogershistoricalmuseum.org.
Ceramics workshop
Pine Bluff’s ARTx3 Campus is hosting a two-part, hand-built ceramics workshop, noon to 3 p.m. June 14 and 28, at The ARTSpace on Main, 623 S. Main St., Pine Bluff. Instructor Debbie Phillips will teach essential techniques, including coiling, slab-building and sculpting, to create unique, functional and decorative pottery. The workshop is suited for beginning and experienced artists 16 and older. Cost is $90, $75 for ARTx3 members, and includes all supplies. Register by June 10 at artx3.org/all-events/ceramic-creations. Call (870) 536-3375 or email [email protected].