Elsewhere in entertainment, events and the arts:
MUSIC: Musical 'forces'
The 50-member United States Air Force Band of Mid-America Concert Band performs two public Arkansas shows this week:
◼️ 8 p.m. Friday at the Fort Smith Convention Center, 55 S. Seventh St., Fort Smith, the finale of the Arkansas Bandmasters Association's annual convention. The concert also pays tribute to Eldon Janzen, the longtime director of bands at the University of Arkansas and the first president of the Arkansas Bandmasters. Admission is by free ticket — visit usafband29july.eventbrite.com.
◼️ 7 p.m. July 31 at the First Security Amphitheater, 400 President Clinton Ave., Little Rock. The program will range from classical and jazz to country and includes a tribute to veterans. The concert is in partnership with Little Rock Air Force Base. Admission is free. Visit tinyurl.com/4mppcwd6.
THEATER: Onstage 'Disaster!'
Arkansas Public Theatre stages "Disaster!" by Seth Rudetsky and Jack Plotnick (concept created by Rudetsky and Drew Geraci with additional material by Geraci), 8 p.m. Friday-Saturday, Aug. 4-6 and 11-13 and 2 p.m. July 31, Aug. 7 and 14 at the Victory Theater, 116 S. Second St., Rogers. The musical, featuring songs from the '70s, is set in 1979, as New York's hottest A-listers are lining up for the opening of a floating casino and discotheque that is subsequently subject to multiple disasters, including an earthquake, a tidal wave, an inferno and a rush of killer rats. Tickets are $25-$55. Call (479) 631-8988 or visit arkansaspublictheatre.org/tickets.
Meanwhile, the theater will hold auditions for Meredith Willson's "The Music Man," 7 p.m. Aug. 1 at the Victory Theater. Auditions will be based upon readings from the script, singing and a dance combination; an audition packet, including times, scenes, character descriptions and a rehearsal schedule, is available for download at arkansaspublictheatre.org. Download the packet and take it to the auditions. Doors will open at 6:30 p.m. Callbacks, if needed, will take place at 7 p.m. Aug. 2. Production dates are Sept. 16-18, 22-25, 29-30 and Oct. 1-2.
FILM: Saving a 'Treasure'
Buffalo National River Partners will screen the Ozark Society's historical documentary "First River: How Arkansas Saved a National Treasure," 6-7 p.m. Tuesday in the South Campus Room M143, North Arkansas College, 1515 Pioneer Drive, Harrison. Admission is free. Visit bnrpartners.org.
ART: Hot Springs finalist
Hot Springs artist Chris McHenry's Lake Hamilton watercolor painting "Little Goat Island Morning" is among more than 100 finalists for the Splash 23 watercolor competition, published in this year's edition of "The Best of Watercolor — Special Issue — Winners of the Splash 23 Art Competition." It is available online for $14.99 at tinyurl.com/yw33ehkk.
Artwork for exhibition
Aug. 15 is the deadline for Northwest Arkansas artists 18 and older to submit works to Fayetteville's Walton Arts Center for "Our Art, Our Region, Our Time." The group exhibition will include paintings, sculpture, digital, prints, fiber, photography, mixed media, crafts, fashion and illustration. Artists can submit up to two works, completed after July 1, 2021, for consideration; however, only one can be chosen for the exhibition. Apply online at waltonartscenter.org.
Curator Kathy Thompson will announce what she has selected for the exhibition Sept. 6. The exhibition will be up Oct. 6 to Nov. 13 in the center's Joy Pratt Markham Gallery. Email questions related to submission to [email protected].
LECTURE: 'Origins of Discontents'
Pulitzer Prize-winning author Isabel Wilkerson, author of "Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents," will deliver a lecture at 6 p.m. Wednesday at the Clinton Presidential Center, 1200 President Clinton Ave., Little Rock, part of the Frank & Kula Kumpuris Distinguished Lecture Series. Victoria DeFrancesco Soto, dean of the Clinton School of Public Service at the University of Arkansas, will moderate. The lecture will also be streamed virtually. In-person attendees will be required to provide the results of a negative covid-19 test (antigen or PCR) within 24 hours of the event, and masks must be worn inside the building at all times. Admission is free. Register at tinyurl.com/2kardj7t.
Autographed copies of Wilkerson's book will be for sale from the Clinton Museum Store. Pre-order at clintonmuseumstore.org/cproduct/13754/pre-order:-caste.