ENTERTAINMENT NOTES

Styx, Smoke, classical concerts among outing opportunities

Styx — (from left) Chuck Panozzo, Ricky Phillips, Todd Sucherman, Tommy Shaw, James ‘‘J.Y.’’ Young and Lawrence Gowan — performs Thursday at the Walmart AMP in Rogers.
Styx — (from left) Chuck Panozzo, Ricky Phillips, Todd Sucherman, Tommy Shaw, James ‘‘J.Y.’’ Young and Lawrence Gowan — performs Thursday at the Walmart AMP in Rogers.

Styx -- Tommy Shaw (vocals, guitars), James "J.Y." Young (vocals, guitars), Lawrence Gowan (vocals, keyboards), Todd Sucherman (drums) and Ricky Phillips (bass), along with the occasional surprise appearance by original bassist Chuck Panozzo -- headline "An Evening With Styx," 7:30 p.m. Thursday at the Walmart AMP, 5079 W. Northgate Road, Rogers. Doors open at 6. Tickets are $31-$55.50 plus applicable fees. Call (479) 443-5600 or visit the website, amptickets.com.

Where there's Smoke

A preacher (Greg Robinson) and a musical family in economically depressed 1938 -- father Burl (director Roger M. Eaves), mother Vera (Kelly Ponder), uncle Stanley (Brent LaBeau), daughter June (Paige Carpenter) and twins Denise and Dennis (Maddie Robinson and Devin Robertson) -- perform traditional and bluegrass gospel songs and share stories and beliefs at a North Carolina Baptist church in Smoke on the Mountain (written by Connie Ray, conceived by Alan Bailey, with musical arrangements by Mike Craver and Mark Hardwick).

The show, a perennial favorite at Murry's Dinner Playhouse, 6323 Colonel Glenn Road, Little Rock, opens there Tuesday and runs through Oct. 8.

Curtain is 7:30 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday (except 12:45 p.m. Wednesday matinees, Aug. 31, Sept. 7 and 14), 12:30 and 6:30 p.m. Sunday. Doors and the buffet open approximately 90 minutes before each show. Tickets are $31-$35, $23 for children 15 and younger; show only, $25 and $15. Call (501) 562-3131 or visit murrysdp.com.

Quintet premiere

Hendrix College faculty member Norman Boehm will join the Fidelis String Quartet -- Houston Symphony members Rodica Gonzales and Mihaela Frusina, violin; Wei Jiang, viola; and Jeffrey Butler, cello -- for the premiere of Boehm's Piano Quintet in B-flat major, "In the Classical Style," 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Staples Auditorium, Hendrix College, 1600 Washington Ave., Conway.

The program will also include the Piano Quintet in E-flat major, op.44, by Robert Schumann. The concert is part of the college's Harold Thompson Concert Series. Admission is free. Call (501) 450-1247, email [email protected] or visit hendrix.edu.

Novel experience

Novelists Hannah Pittard and Kevin Brockmeier will read from and discuss their works (including excerpts from Pittard's forthcoming Listen to Me) under the auspices of the Oxford American, 7 p.m. Tuesday in the Oxford American Annex, 1300 Main St., Little Rock. Doors open at 6:30. Admission is free. Call (501) 374-0000 or visit OxfordAmerican.org.

Wonderful auditions

Benton's Royal Players will hold auditions for It's a Wonderful Life by Doug Rand, based on the classic film, at 2 p.m. Sept. 10 and 7 p.m. Sept. 12 (with possible callbacks 7 p.m. Sept. 15) at the Royal Theatre, 111 S. Market St., Benton. Auditions will consist of readings from the script; rehearsals begin in October (please provide a list of your conflicts) and production dates are Dec. 1-4 and 8-11. A list of available roles with descriptions is available at theroyalplayers.com. Call director Lisa Goodrich at (501) 249-3169 or email at [email protected].

Nutracker auditions

Western Arkansas Ballet will hold open auditions Sept. 17 for its 31st annual production of P.I. Tchaikovsky's The Nutcracker at the company's studio, 4701 Grand Ave., Fort Smith. The schedule:

• Girls 6-8, register 10-10:30 a.m., audition 10:30 a.m.-noon; girls ages 9-10, register noon-12:30 p.m., audition 12:30-2 p.m.; girls age 11 and older, register 2-2:30 p.m., audition 2:30-3:30 p.m.

• Boys 6-8, register 10:30-11 a.m., audition 11 a.m.-noon; ages 9-10, register 12:30-1 p.m., audition 1-2 p.m.; age 11 and older, register 2:30-3 p.m., audition 3-3:30 p.m.

Candidates should be at least 6 years old with at least two years' experience in dance and/or gymnastics; parts are available for adults and boys with little or no dance experience. Wear appropriate dance clothing. There is a $30 audition fee, $20 of which is refundable to those not cast. Performances will be Dec. 10-11. Call (479) 785-0152, email [email protected] or visit waballet.org.

The company and its guild is hosting a pre-audition, fundraiser workshop, 4:30-6 p.m. Sept. 16, with separate classes for boys and girls. Tickets are $20; all proceeds benefit the Western Arkansas Ballet Guild. Call (479) 785-0152 or visit waballet.org/events/fundraisers.

SoNA season

The Symphony of Northwest Arkansas and Music Director Paul Haas will give the world premieres of compositions by Adam Schoenberg and David Leisner during its six-concert 2016-17 season, which kicks off at 7:30 p.m. Dec. 3 with "A Very SoNA Christmas," a program of sacred and secular music featuring the SoNA Singers, the University of Arkansas Schola Cantorum and guest soloists, in the newly renovated Baum Walker Hall, Walton Arts Center, 495 W. Dickson St., Fayetteville.

The orchestra will follow up with The Snowman: A Family Concert, 2 p.m. Dec. 4, with orchestra musicians playing the score alongside a screening of the animated film. Tickets are $8.

The rest of the season (except as noted, all performances 7:30 p.m. in Baum Walker Hall):

• Jan. 28: Masterworks I -- "Momentum." Natasha Paremski, piano. John Adams: Short Ride in a Fast Machine; Adam Schoenberg: Slo-mo (world premiere); Sergei Rachmaninoff: Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini; Zoltan Kodaly, Dances of Galanta; Maurice Ravel: Daphnis and Chloe, Suite No. 2

• March 4: Masterworks II -- "Beethoven 5." Alexi Kenney, violin. Jean Sibelius: Violin Concerto; Arvo Part: Fratres for strings and percussion; Ludwig van Beethoven: Symphony No. 5

• April 29: Masterworks III -- "The Romantic." David Leisner, guitar. Leisner: Pranayama (world premiere); Joaquin Rodrigo, Concierto de Aranjuez; Robert ­Schumann: Symphony No. 1, "Spring"

• June 3: Pops -- "Music and Animation," special appearance by TheatreSquared.

Season subscriptions are $125-$235; single tickets $30-$52, $10 college students with valid ID and children ages 12 and younger with the purchase of an adult ticket. Call (479) 443-6600 or visit sonamusic.org.

Style on 08/28/2016

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