ENTERTAINMENT NOTES: ‘My Fair Lady’ tour graces Walton Arts Center

Shereen Ahmed plays Eliza Doolittle in “My Fair Lady.” (Special to the Democrat-Gazette/© Joan Marcus)
Shereen Ahmed plays Eliza Doolittle in “My Fair Lady.” (Special to the Democrat-Gazette/© Joan Marcus)

Elsewhere in entertainment, events and the arts:

THEATER: 'My Fair Lady'

The Lincoln Center Theater's touring production of its 2018 revival of "My Fair Lady" (music by Frederick Loewe, book and lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner, based on George Bernard Shaw's play "Pygmalion" and Gabriel Pascal's film version thereof), is onstage 7 p.m. Tuesday-Wednesday, 1:30 and 7 p.m. Thursday, 8 p.m. Friday, 2 and 8 p.m. Saturday and 2 p.m. Aug. 14 at Fayetteville's Walton Arts Center, 495 W. Dickson St. It's the opening show in the center's 2022-23 Procter & Gamble Broadway Series. Tickets are $41-$92. Call (479) 443-5600 or visit waltonartscenter.org.

Royal season

Benton's Royal Players kick off their 2022-23 season Dec. 1-11 with "A Christmas Carol: The Musical" (music by Alan Menken, lyrics by Lynn Ahrens, book by Ahrens and Mike Ockrent based on Charles Dickens' classic holiday tale), at the Royal Theatre, 111 S. Market St., Benton.

The rest of the lineup (all shows at the Royal Theater):

◼️ Feb. 9-19: "Titanic: The Musical" (music and lyrics by Maury Yeston, book by Peter Stone).

◼️ April 20-30: "Hello, Dolly!" (music and lyrics by Jerry Herman, book by Michael Stewart, adapted from Thornton Wilder's "The Matchmaker").

◼️ June 8-18: "Disney's The Little Mermaid" (music by Alan Menken, lyrics by Howard Ashman and Glenn Slater, book by Doug Wright, based on the Disney animated film, which in turn is based on the story by Hans Christian Andersen).

◼️ Aug. 3-13, 2023: "Little Women" (music by Jason Howland, lyrics by Mindi Dickstein, book by Allan Knee, based on the Louisa May Alcott novel).

Ticket information is available at theroyaltheatre.org. For more information call (501) 315-5483 or email [email protected].

MUSIC: SoNA season

The Symphony of Northwest Arkansas opens its 2022-23 season with a concert titled "Imagine Big," 7:30 p.m. Oct. 29 in Baum Walker Hall at Fayetteville's Walton Arts Center, 495 W. Dickson St. The program includes Jessica Meyer's "Go Big or Go Home"; Dmitri Shostakovich's "Cello Concerto No. 1" with cellist Julian Schwarz; and Modest Mussorgsky's "Pictures at an Exhibition." Paul Haas conducts.

The rest of the lineup (except as noted, all concerts at 7:30 p.m. at Walton Arts Center; Haas conducts):

◼️ Dec. 10: Two performances, 2 and 7:30 p.m., of "A Very SoNA Christmas," featuring the SoNA Singers.

◼️ Dec. 11: "The Snowman: A Family Concert," a screening of the animated film "The Snowman" with live orchestral soundtrack.

◼️ Jan. 7: "Mother and Child." William Grant Still's "Mother and Child," Leonard Bernstein's "Chichester Psalms" and Henryk Gorecki's "Symphony No. 3," titled "Symphony of Sorrows," with soprano Miriam Khalil.

◼️ March 11: "New Canons," including new works on the orchestra's forthcoming album that blends virtual and "in real life" performances by orchestra musicians and guest soloists and ensembles from around the world. The program features "In saecula saeculorum" by Paul Haas and "Cohere I" for viola and electronics by Trevor New, who will solo, plus the "Symphony No. 3" in F major. op.90, by Johannes Brahms.

◼️ April 8: "Battle of the Bands." The orchestra and the Fayetteville Jazz Collective alternate pieces, then play jointly.

◼️ April 29: "Evoking Folklore." "Chokfi (Rabbit)" by Chickasaw Nation composer Jerod Impichchaachaaha Tate; "Nights in the Gardens of Spain" by Manuel de Falla with piano soloist Angela Cheng; and the "Symphony No. 3" by Aaron Copland.

Subscriptions are $195-$320, with discounts for students. Single tickets are $36-$60, with discounts for students, free for children under 18 with the purchase of an adult ticket. All tickets to "The Snowman" are $10. Call (479) 443-5600 or visit sonamusic.org.

TICKETS: Fort Smith shows

  photo  Alton Brown brings his “Alton Brown Live: Beyond The Eats — The Holiday Variant” tour Dec. 9 to Fort Smith's ArcBest Performing Arts Center. (Special to the Democrat-Gazette/Alton Brown Live!)
 
 
Tickets are now on sale, via ticketmaster.com, for two late-fall shows at the ArcBest Performing Arts Center, 55 S. Seventh St., Fort Smith:

◼️ Mannheim Steamroller's 2022 Christmas Tour, 8 p.m. Nov. 23. Tickets are $52-$97.

◼️ Author and uber-foodie Alton Brown, co-host of Netflix's "Iron Chef: Quest for an Iron Legend," on his "Alton Brown Live: Beyond The Eats -- The Holiday Variant" tour, 7:30 p.m. Dec. 9. Tickets are $47-$87.

For more information, call (479) 788-8932 or visit fortsmithconventioncenter.org.

ETC.: 'Bronze Drum'

  photo  Phong Nguyen will discuss his novel, “Bronze Drum,” virtually via Zoom, Thursday Aug. 11 as part of the Central Arkansas Library System’s “Six Bridges Presents” series. (Special to the Democrat-Gazette)
 
 
Phong Nguyen will discuss his novel, "Bronze Drum," set in ancient Vietnam and based on the true story of two warrior sisters who raised an army of women to overthrow the Han Chinese and rule over a united people, virtually via Zoom, 6:30 p.m. Thursday. Steven Duong is the moderator. It's part of the Central Arkansas Library System's "Six Bridges Presents" series. For more information and to register, visit SixBridgesBookFestival.org.

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