Elsewhere in entertainment, events and the arts:
THEATER
'Cinderella' onstage
The Judy Kohn Tenenbaum Argenta Community Theater, 405 Main St., North Little Rock, stages Rodgers and Hammerstein's "Cinderella," 7:30 p.m. Wednesday-Saturday and April 25-29 along with 2 p.m. shows Saturday and April 23. Tickets are $25 for previews this Wednesday-Thursday, $35 for all other performances, $50 (plus taxes and fees) VIP (includes early access, a reserved assigned seat in the balcony, private bar, private restrooms, a commemorative show tumbler, a bag of popcorn and "a special fairy-tale surprise." The theater is donating 10% of ticket sales to tornado relief efforts in North Little Rock and providing free tickets to families with young children who lost homes. Visit ArgentaCommunityTheater.org.
Rodgers and Hammerstein wrote the musical version of the classic fairy tale for a March 31, 1957, CBS broadcast with Julie Andrews in the title role. This production, with Kristen Phantazia Smith as Cinderella and Caleb Allen as the Prince, is mostly based on that original broadcast with additions from a 1965 version that starred Leslie Ann Warren. The cast also includes Katie Eisenhower as the Stepmother, Kyra Hatley as Portia, Amelia Migliore as Joy, Emily Swenskie as the Godmother, D.C. Miles as King Maximillian, Leslie Heister as the Queen and Steven Jones as the Herald.
'Chicken & Biscuits'
Rival sisters (Kathy Tyree and Tameka Bob) are trying to bury their father without killing each other first, but when a family secret is revealed at the church altar, decorum flies out the stained glass window in "Chicken & Biscuits" by Douglas Lyons. TheatreSquared, 477 W. Spring St., Fayetteville, opens its production on Wednesday, with performances at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday-Friday, 2 and 7:30 p.m. Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday through May 14. Tickets are $20-$54. Call (479) 777-7477 or visit theatre2.org.
EXHIBITS
'Doolittle Raiders'
The MacArthur Museum of Arkansas Military History, 503 E. Ninth St., Little Rock, opens an exhibition, "From Shangri-La to Tokyo: The Story of the Doolittle Raiders," with a 5:30 p.m. reception Tuesday.
The exhibit has two Arkansas connections:
Jeff Thatcher, a museum commissioner, is the son of Staff Sgt. David Thatcher, a member of the Doolittle Raiders, who launched a daring April 1942 bombing raid on Tokyo and other Japanese cities from the decks of early naval carriers. He was part of Crew No. 7 and helped keep several of his comrades alive until they were rescued when they crash-landed after the raid. He will be giving a few remarks about his father and the Doolittle Raid.
A photo of Staff Sgt. David Thatcher, a member of the Doolittle Raiders, and the medals he earned during World War II are part of the "From Shangri-La to Tokyo: The Story of the Doolittle Raiders" exhibition, going on display Tuesday at Little Rock's MacArthur Museum of Arkansas Military History. (Special to the Democrat-Gazette)
Reveille Isgrig, a museum program coordinator who helped put together the exhibit, is the granddaughter of Thomas McMillan Calder Jr., a sailor stationed aboard the aircraft carrier USS Hornet, from which the Doolittle Raiders launched. (He was also aboard when the Hornet was sunk and rescued after eight hours in the water.)
The exhibit will remain up for at least a year. Hours are 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday, 1-5 p.m. Monday. Admission is free. Call (501) 376-4602.
The museum will also screen the documentary "Unsettled History: America, China and the Doolittle Raid" at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, part of its "Movies at MacArthur" series. Admission, popcorn and soft drinks are free.
DANCE
'Asleep' in Van Buren
Guest dancers Samuel Lawson from Southeast Missouri State; Julian Cottrell from the University of Oklahoma; and Western Arkansas Ballet's Brianna Mesa and Jared Mesa lead a cast of more than 60 area dancers, including members of Western Arkansas Ballet's pre-professional company, in Peter Ilich Tchaikovsky's "Sleeping Beauty," 7 p.m. Friday and 2 p.m. Saturday and April 23 at the King Opera House, 427 Main St., Van Buren. Presenting sponsor is James & Company, CPAs. Tickets are $15-$25 plus fees. Call (479) 785-0152 or visit waballet.org.
Joffrey workshop
Western Arkansas Ballet is also hosting a Joffrey Summer Dance Workshop in ballet and variations for dancers 9 and older, June 6-7 at their studios, 4701 Grand Ave., Fort Smith. Instructors are Mauro Villanueva and Kenny Borchard. Cost is $179. For more details and to register, joffreyworkshop.com.
MUSIC
Operatic alumni
Opera in the Ozarks alumni Katrina Thurman, soprano, and Powell Brumm, baritone, will perform arias, art songs and popular tunes with pianist Hyun Kim, 2:30 p.m. April 23 at Thaden School, 800 S.E. C St., Bentonville. The recital kicks off the Eureka Springs-based opera training program and summer music festival's Spring 2023 Alumni Recital Concert Series, pairing veteran opera alums with more recent program graduates.
Thurman sang with Opera in the Ozarks in 1997 and has since built a solid reputation performing traditional operatic repertoire while also specializing in contemporary opera and musical theater. Her more than 45 roles in six languages have taken her to the Metropolitan Opera and more than a dozen other major opera houses throughout the world. Brumm, who joined Opera in the Ozarks in the summer of 2018, has sung with the Lyric Opera of Kansas City.
Tickets are $20 ($10 for students under 18). Call (479) 253-8595 or visit opera.org. The recital will also be available through streamed coverage via a web link sent immediately following the performance and which will remain active for 14 days after the concert date.
The rest of the Recital Concert Series lineup, both concerts 2:30 p.m. at First United Methodist Church, 195 Huntsville Road, Eureka Springs:
■ June 11: Soprano Holly Gash and baritone Evan Julius Nelson
■ June 25: Soprano Lori Ernest and mezzo-soprano Catherine Cook.
Tickets for both recitals are $20, $10 for students under 18. Visit opera.org.
LECTURES AND CLASSES
Architecture lecture
Tom Fennell, founding partner of Fennell Purifoy Architects, discusses "Forgotten Little Rock: An Exploration of Little Rock's Historic Neighborhoods," 6 p.m. Tuesday at the Windgate Center of Art + Design, University of Arkansas at Little Rock, 2801 S University Ave., Little Rock. A 5:30 p.m. reception precedes the talk, part of the Architecture and Design Network's 2022-23 June Freeman lecture series. Admission is free. Email [email protected].
Architect Tom Fennell discusses "Forgotten Little Rock: An Exploration of Little Rocks Historic Neighborhoods," Tuesday at the Windgate Center of Art + Design at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. (Special to the Democrat-Gazette)
Tom and his wife, Ellen Fennell, are the creators and maintainers of the private "Forgotten Little Rock" Facebook page that now has almost 14,000 followers.
Butterfly gardening
Botanical Garden of the Ozarks, 4703 N. Crossover Road, Fayetteville, hosts a "Butterfly Gardening" class, 6-7:30 p.m. Tuesday. The garden's Butterfly House Mentor, Kitty Sanders, will discuss the basics of developing your own butterfly garden. Guests will learn what host and nectar plants they need, tips on design, and which native butterfly species may be drawn to their gardens. The goal, according to a news release, is to "help to improve our natural environment in a variety of ways." Tickets are $15 for the public free for members. Visit bgozarks.org/events.