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THEATER
Bard @ the Bar
Actors Theatre of Little Rock offers another one-shot “Bard @ the Bar,” a reduced (60–75 minutes) and purportedly comedic version of William Shakespeare’s “Macbeth,” 7 p.m. Thursday at Fassler Hall, 311 E. Capitol Ave., Little Rock. Admission is free. Visit facebook.com/actorstheatrelr.
MUSIC
‘Night at the Opera’
The Arkansas Symphony Community Orchestra, area amateur musicians at various experience levels operating under the aegis of the Arkansas Symphony’s Education & Community Outreach arm, presents “A Night at the Opera,” 7 p.m. Sunday at Calvary Baptist Church, 5700 Cantrell Road, Little Rock.
Soprano Shannon Webb will sing the arias “Caro Nome” from “Rigoletto” by Giuseppe Verdi and “O Mio Babbino Caro” from “Gianni Schicchi” by Giacomo Puccini, and, with mezzo-soprano Sarah Dailey, the duet “Belle Nuit, ô Nuit d’Amour” from “The Tales of Hoffmann” by Jacques Offenbach.
The orchestra will play the Prelude to Engelbert Humperdinck’s opera “Hansel and Gretel”; the “Minuet” and “Dance of the Blessed Spirits” from “Orfeo e Euridice” by Christoph Willibald Gluck; and the torrid “Bacchanale” from “Samson and Delilah” by Camille Saint-Saëns.
Alisa Bekebrede, the orchestra’s principal harpist, will be featured on the “Bacchanale” and the arias “O Mio Babbino Caro” and “Caro Nome.” ASO Associate Conductor Valery Saul will be on the podium. Admission is free. Call (501) 666-1761 or visit arkansassymphony.org.
Pre-concert lecture
Arkansas Symphony Orchestra Music Director Geoffrey Robson will include behind-the-scenes insights and musical snippets and take questions in a pre-concert lecture regarding the orchestra’s Jan. 24-25 Masterworks program, noon Friday at the orchestra’s Stella Boyle Smith Music Center, 1101 E. Third St. in Little Rock’s East Village. Admission is free.
The orchestra will perform Dmitri Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 5 and, with guest concertmaster Alexander Kerr, the Violin Concerto No. 2 by Sergei Prokofiev, 7:30 p.m. Jan. 24 and 3 p.m. Jan. 25 at Little Rock’s Robinson Center Performance Hall.
Call (501) 666-1761 or visit arkansassymphony.org.
Stream-able concert
Schools across Arkansas can stream the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra’s most recent children’s concert, “Fairytales and Fantasy,” for free through Feb. 13 via the orchestra’s website, arkansassymphony.org.
The concert, recorded Nov. 14 at the Robinson Center Performance Hall, featured clarinetist Arissa Cholthitchanta, the winner of the orchestra’s 2025 Stella Boyle Smith Competition, in the first movement of the Clarinet Concerto No. 1 by Carl Maria von Weber with the orchestra. The program also included a “Harry Potter Symphonic Suite” by John Williams, “The Sorcerer’s Apprentice” by Paul Dukas and the Overture to “Hansel and Gretel” by Engelbert Humperdinck. Valery Saul conducted.
ETC.
Rock and gem sale
The Holiday Inn Express & Suites Maumelle, 200 Holiday Drive, Maumelle, hosts a Gem Amethyst Rock Fossil Sale, 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. Thousands of crystals, minerals, fossils and gems will be available starting at $5, as well as meteorites, cabochons and amethyst cathedrals. Admission and parking are free. Visit facebook.com/events.
Wedding show
More than 80 exhibitors will be on hand to help engaged couples plan their weddings at the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette Wedding Show, 12:30-4 p.m. Sunday at the Statehouse Convention Center, Markham and Main streets, Little Rock.
In its 30th year, “we are going big,” says Democrat-Gazette events director Amanda Copley. “We are bringing Little Rock and Champion Coaches’ trolley onto the stage to create a magical, storybook-inspired experience for our couples.”
Attendees can step inside the interactive trolley-themed scene “filled with floral inspiration and expertise from Arkansas wedding pros,” according to a news release. Wedding professionals will share insider tips and inspirations in a new expert session titled Ever After Experts.
The show will include fashion shows throughout the day. One couple will win an Ultimate Giveaway, valued at more than $10,000. Prizes will also be awarded throughout the show. Attendees will receive a 2026 Arkansas Democrat-Gazette Wedding Planner and a copy of the 2025 Real Weddings magazine, which includes photography, editorial content, checklists for couples and a listing of local wedding-industry businesses.
Sponsors include Dillard’s. Tickets are $10, $50 for limited VIP (which includes early entry, a T-shirt, a tote bag of swag from sponsors reserved seating for the fashion shows and access to VIP-only prizes). Call (501) 378-3807 or visit arkansasbridalcommunity.com.
AUDITIONS
‘Come From Away’
Wildwood Park for the Arts is holding auditions for “Come From Away” (music, lyrics and book by Irene Sankoff and David Hein), 1-9 p.m. Jan. 25 in the choir room at Second Presbyterian Church, 600 Pleasant Valley Drive, Little Rock. Callbacks will be at 6:30 p.m. Jan. 26 at Wildwood, 20919 Denny Road. Prepare 32 measures of a song in the style of the show and one contemporary monologue, no longer than 90 seconds, also in the style of the show, and provide a headshot and resume. A complete character breakdown is available at wildwoodpark.org. Bevan Keating directs; Christina Munoz is the choreographer. Rehearsals start Aug. 11; production dates are Sept. 9-20. Auditions are scheduled by appointment on a first-come, first-served basis. Supporting and main roles are paid positions. To schedule, email casting@wildwoodpark.org.
