ENTERTAINMENT NOTES

Author to discuss life as a Jew growing up in the South

Eli N. Evans will give the Central Arkansas Library System’s Sanders Distinguished Lecture Thursday in Little Rock.
Eli N. Evans will give the Central Arkansas Library System’s Sanders Distinguished Lecture Thursday in Little Rock.

Eli N. Evans, author of The Provincials: A Personal History of Jews in the South and Judah P. Benjamin: The Jewish Confederate, will discuss his life as a Jew growing up in the South in the Central Arkansas Library System's 2016 Sanders Distinguished Lecture, 6:30 p.m. Thursday in Ron Robinson Theater, 100 River Market Ave., Little Rock.

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Bluegrass band Monroe Crossing — (from left) David Robinson, Matt Thompson, Derek Johnson, Lisa Fuglie and Mark Anderson — performs Monday night in Paragould.

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Matt Petit leads the L.A. Theatre Works cast of Bram Stoker’s Dracula.

A reception and book signing will follow. The lecture is in conjunction with Temple B'nai Israel's sesquicentennial anniversary. Admission is free. Reservations are requested, but not required. Call (501) 918-3024 or email [email protected].

Evans, president of the Charles H. Revson Foundation, served as a White House aide and speechwriter during the Lyndon Johnson administration, and was a senior program officer with the Carnegie Corp., traveling in the South on behalf of civil rights and equal opportunity for minorities.

The library established the Sanders Distinguished Lecture in 2000 to commemorate the late Rabbi Ira Sanders' 40 years of service on the boards of trustees of the Little Rock Public Library and the Central Arkansas Library System.

Bluegrass Monday

Bluegrass band Monroe Crossing (Lisa Fuglie, fiddle and vocals; Matt Thompson, mandolin and fiddle; Mark Anderson, bass; Derek Johnson, guitar and vocals; and David Robinson, banjo) will perform at 7 p.m. Monday at Collins Theatre, 120 W. Emerson St., Paragould, part of radio station KASU-FM, 91.9's monthly Bluegrass Monday concert series. The station will literally "pass the hat" to pay the group; suggested donation is $5 per person. Doors open at 6. Call (870) 972-2367, email [email protected] or visit the Bluegrass Monday Facebook page.

Traveling Dracula

L.A. Theatre Works will perform its touring show, Bram Stoker's Dracula, adapted by Charles Morey from Stoker's gothic classic, at 7 p.m. Thursday at Fayetteville's Walton Arts Center, 495 W. Dickson St., part of the center's 2015-16 Coca-Cola Night Out Series. Tickets are $19-$39 plus applicable fees. Call (479) 443-5600 or visit the website, waltonartscenter.org.

Also at Walton Arts Center this week, tribute group Classic Albums Live performs The Beatles' Abbey Road album in its entirety, note for note, cut for cut, at 8 p.m. Saturday. Tickets are $25 plus applicable fees. Call (479) 443-5600 or visit waltonartscenter.org.

Spa City ball

The Spa City Stompers will play Dixieland jazz and the Delta Brass Express will play dance music for the Hot Springs Jazz Society's annual 2016 Mardi Gras Costume Ball fundraiser, 6-11:30 p.m. Saturday in Horner Hall, Hot Springs Convention Center, 134 Convention Blvd., Hot Springs. New Orleans specialty drinks and food will be available for purchase. Winners of the costume contest will share a $1,000 cash prize. The event will include a silent auction and a raffle for a $2,500 diamond ring from Stephen's Jewelers. Each ticket holder will receive a King Cake; recipients of cakes with a "baby" inside will win prizes. Proceeds go toward the Jazz Society's educational and concert programming. Tickets are $60, $600 for a table of 10. Call (501) 627-2425, email [email protected] or visit HSJazzSociety.org.

Musical gift

The University of Central Arkansas in Conway has received a $250,000 gift from Joe Whisenhunt Sr., Joe Whisenhunt Jr., Kari Whisenhunt and the Whisenhunt family in memory of Margaret Whisenhunt, who helped establish the Friends of Music, which works to enhance the student experience in the university's music department.

The gift moves the university closer to becoming an All-Steinway campus by allowing the upgrade and equipment purchase for a five-space practice room suite that will bear Margaret Whisenhunt's name. Four of the rooms have K52 Steinway upright pianos; the fifth holds a refurbished Steinway Model M, a medium grand piano. All of the spaces have bookshelves, updated locks and security cameras. The donation also made possible the purchase of the East Indian Rosewood grand piano that will reside in the president's house, the purchase of a soprano saxophone, a suspended cymbal, brass mutes and two horns. The department was also able to refurbish a cello and provide Apple TV access for two classrooms.

Trek concert

Memphis' Orpheum Theatre, 203 S. Main St., Memphis, will host Star Trek: The Ultimate Voyage, a North American concert tour, 7:30 p.m. Friday. Justin Freer conducts a full symphony orchestra and international special solo instruments playing music from several Star Trek movies and TV series as CineConcerts, CBS Consumer Products and Paramount Pictures simultaneously beam high-definition film and TV footage onto a 40-foot-wide screen. Tickets are $40-$70. Call (901) 525-3000 or (901) 743-2787 or visit the website, orpheum-memphis.com.

Rogers season

The Rogers-based Arkansas Public Theatre will open its 31st season Sept. 9-11, 15-18, 22-25 with the musical Rock of Ages by Chris D'Arienzo.

The rest of the lineup (all shows at the Victory Theatre, 116 S. Second St., Rogers):

• Nov. 4-6, 10-13: Annapurna by Sharr White

• Dec. 2-4, 8-11: The Santaland Diaries and Season's Greetings by David Sedaris

• Feb. 10-12, 16-19, 23-26, 2017: Young Frankenstein, music and lyrics by Mel Brooks, book by Brooks and Thomas Meehan

• March 31-April 2, 6-9, 2017: Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck

• May 12-14, 18-21, 2017: Velocity of Autumn by Eric Coble

• June 16-18, 22-25, 2017: Dead Man's Cell Phone by Sarah Ruhl

• July 28-30, Aug. 3-6, 10-13, 2017: The Wedding Singer, music by Matthew Sklar, lyrics by Chad Beguelin, book by Beguelin and Tim Herlihy, based on the Adam Sandler movie.

Season tickets are $92-$340; individual cabaret-seat tickets are $30, $50 per table of two; balcony seats are $17. Call (479) 631-8988 or visit the website, arkansaspublictheatre.org.

Benefit game night

Garvan Woodland Gardens, 550 Arkridge Road, Hot Springs, will hold a "Laissez Les Bons Temps Rouler!" game night to benefit the Sugg Model Train Garden, 7-9 p.m. Feb. 4 in the park's Magnolia Room. Festivities will include New Orleans-themed treats and various team games in which prizes will be awarded. Cost is $35, $25 for members; reservations must be made in advance and seating is limited. Call (800) 366-4664 or visit garvangardens.org.

Style on 01/24/2016

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