Sip, Sip, Hooray!

Have a long week ahead of or behind you?  Come 'wine about it' with us at this year's 16th Annual Art of Wine Festival at Walton Arts Center. This premier wine and food festival will take place June 9-11 and it is sure to entice patrons with the world's finest wines and an array of artfully crafted local cuisine in a unique atmosphere. 

Like a good wine, the Art of Wine Festival has only gotten better with age. Since 2000, attendees of the event have enjoyed Walton Arts Center's exquisite display of delicious wines and food. Whether you go to all three days, or just one, this multi-day wine and food festival will not disappoint.  

~June 9, 10, & 11~

Thursday, June 9 / $6pm / Tickets: $200

THE WINEMAKER'S DINNER

Thursday, June 9 / $6pm / Tickets: $200

Friday, June 10 / $7pm / Tickets: $80

UNCORKED! WINE TASTING

Friday, June 10 / $7pm / Tickets: $80

Saturday, June 11 / $6pm / Tickets: $150

PREMIER TASTING

Saturday, June 11 / $6pm / Tickets: $150

A Walton Arts Center favorite, the Art of Wine Festival will feature hundreds of wines, dozens of local restaurants and live entertainment. Why book an expensive trip to Napa Valley when everything you would experience there is right here in Northwest Arkansas? 

The best part of it is that 100% of the proceeds from Art of Wine go to supporting Walton Arts Center’s arts education and outreach programs. These initiatives have been the cornerstone of the Center since it opened in 1992. Each year over 45,000 students and teachers from 30 school districts experience the arts through high quality live theater performances, workshops and in-school residency activities because of funds raised from Art of Wine.

Studies consistently show that children that are exposed to the arts are more engaged and score higher in other areas of their education including reading, writing and math. 

“We have attended Art of Wine events for years and regard it as one of the premier events in Northwest Arkansas!”

— Wayne and Diane Callahan, Walton Arts Center patrons and loyal Art of Wine supporters

Winemaker's Dinner- 

Dine and mingle on the same stage where Broadway stars and entertainment legends have performed. Enjoy an exclusive evening with a five-course meal and a large selection of outstanding wines. This evening also features one of the most unique silent auctions in the region. Bid on art, wine and other special items.

Uncorked: Friday Night Tasting-

Friday night is the party of the summer. You can choose from a selection of over 400 different wines from around the world and food from the area's best restaurants-all in a festive party atmosphere at the heart of Northwest Arkansas' entertainment district. So grab your friends, enjoy the tasting experience and discover your new favorite wine. This tasting features our exciting WINE PULL, where $20 cash gets you a surprise bottle of wine!

Premier Tasting-

The Premier Tasting is a grand opportunity for discerning wine enthusiasts and connoisseurs. For the price of an elite bottle, you can sample many of the finest wines in the world, some of which are not available except at prestigious wine festivals like this one. Featured wines may include Opus One, Dom Perignon, Honig and Mondavi. Guests will enjoy delectable, heavy hors d'ouevres prepared by the Northwest Arkansas' best chefs, and a selection of silent auction items will be up for bid. In addition, the popular WINE PULL will make its Premier Tasting Debut!

In case you still aren't convinced, here are three more reasons why you need to be at this year's Art of Wine event:

1. You should come drink wine with us because it isn't good to keep things bottled up. 
2. You need to come drink wine with us because life is too short to drink bad wine. 
3. You ABSOLUTELY have to come drink wine with us because not only does wine get better with age, but we think age gets better with wine!

So mark your calendars and come wine and dine with us, we can't think of a reason not to attend!

Starr Theater is OPEN!

A much anticipated milestone in the renovation of Walton Arts Center: Starr Theater is open! This week, Starr Theater re-opened for the education performance, Digging Up Arkansas. Students from throughout Northwest Arkansas are the very first to experience a show in this newly expanded space. Education is at the forefront of what we do, and we cannot imagine a better way to debut this space than with our wonderful students and teachers that we strive to serve throughout the school year.

Children entering the new Starr Theater.

Prior to the renovation, programming opportunities were limited in Starr Theater due to inadequate backstage space. As the size of large touring shows increased, so did the need for backstage space, forcing Starr Theater to be turned into a storage closet for nearly 1/3 of the calendar year. When Walton Arts Center opened for the 2015-2016 season, the new backstage spaces had been completed. These new spaces include a large wardrobe room to hold costumes, wigs and makeup that were often housed in Starr Theater prior to the renovation. Adding these much needed spaces will allow Walton Arts Center to continue to grow and expand with the community.

Starr Theater during a large production prior to the renovation.

Moving forward, Walton Arts Center hopes to use this renovated space to program, allowing the venue to function as a two-theater facility year round. Join us for the first public show in Starr Theater, The Strange Undoing of Prudencia Hart, next week. Below you can see the new entrance to Starr as well as the theater's new windows overlooking the future Underwood Family Plaza. We are so excited for the next chapter and to fully finish our renovation by November 2016. Hope to see you soon at Walton Arts Center! 

To learn more about the expansion and how you can Play a pART, please visit our expansion webpage!  

Grab a Drink From the Bar and Immerse Yourself in National Theatre of Scotland's "The Strange Undoing of Prudencia Hart"

The National Theatre of Scotland is bringing an immersive experience to Northwest Arkansas. The Strange Undoing of Prudencia Hart, coming to WAC May 5-7, is a snowy midwinter bash of spooky tales and Scottish ballads, riotous partying and metaphysical romance, in a mock cabaret in the newly renovated Starr Theater. 

The Strange Undoing of Prudencia Hart premiered in Glasgow in 2011 and has toured the U.K. and beyond. Once you enter the Starr Theater, take a seat at the communal table, grab a drink from the bar, and soak up the lilting, stomping sounds of traditional Scottish music. 

Things get a little more interesting, and surprising, as the five actor-musicians romp around the room, jump on tables and exhort you to toss fake snow in the air, lead a singalong of "Guantanamera" and a Kylie Minogue pop tune and tell you the story of a high maintenance academic who is snowbound in Scotland. Little does she know what the night holds for her, and in fact, neither does the audience... 

According to director Wils Wilson (who created the show with playwright David Greig), Prudencia Hart was inspired by border ballads - long narrative poems and songs from the Scottish hinterlands that border England. These are stories that have been passed down for centuries. 

Wilson says of the border ballads, "they deal will all the really good stuff - birth, death, love betrayal and the supernatural." Another inspiration? "The Scottish ceilidh, a traditional night of folk songs, poetry and dancing with an atmosphere of conviviality out of which a story could suddenly spring." This nontraditional ceilidh focuses on Prudencia, a passionate young expert on border ballads and a fish out of water among more cynical colleagues at a conference in Kelso (Scotland, not Washington). 

When Prudencia is unable to drive home to Edinburgh, she visits a pub where a "folk night" spirals into a riotous, drunken debacle (and audience participation is certainly encouraged). Shaken, Prudencia takes shelter in a (literally) hellish bed and breakfast run by a rather sinister host. 

"The fact that the actors are right in amongst the audience means they have to be absolutely in the moment," says Wils. "When they do that the audience responds and all their imagination, emotion and humor come out too." Sitting in a bar, rather than a theater, with a beer in hand of course, "relaxes people and intrigues them." 

The 10-year-old National Theatre of Scotland has performed more than 200 productions. The locations vary: airports, schools, apartment buildings, community halls, ferries and forests. "The most important interaction," says Wils, "is that of the imagination of the audience with the story being told." 

10 Reasons You Will Fall In Love with Hubbard Street Dance Chicago

Hubbard Street Dance Chicago is among the most original forces in contemporary dance. As one of the only professional dance companies to perform year-round, Hubbard Street is continually touring nationwide and internationally. Now in its 38th year, the main company has appeared in celebrated dance venues in 44 states and 19 countries. 

Highly acclaimed for its exuberant and innovative repertoire, the company performs works by masterful American and international choreographers – including the prolific Alejandro Cerrudo, who made his Walton Arts Center debut in 2015 partnering with Wendy Whelan. With 18 artists hailing from five countries, the ensemble exudes virtuosity and versatility - and we got to chat with Artistic Director Glenn Edgerton of Hubbard Street Dance about what makes the company so heartfelt, holistic and.... well, human.

1. What inspired the creation of Hubbard Street Dance Chicago?

Our founding artistic director Lou Conte says he never intended to start a dance company. He had only just opened the Lou Conte Dance Studio in 1974 at 125 West Hubbard Street where he had four advanced students: Claire Bataille, Karen Frankel-Jones, Terry Lees and Ann Hodgkins Curley. Another one of Lou’s tap students, Barbara G. Cohen, invited Lou to create a work for these young dancers to perform, which could be presented easily in senior centers, through an engagement program Barbara worked with called Urban Gateways. The piece Lou made was a 35-minute program featuring “American dances through the decades” and in fact one of those scenes became a standalone excerpt which, for many years, was the company’s signature work.

To keep a long story short, these first four dancers were exceptionally talented and Lou was encouraged to put together at least one final performance so that the public could see the Urban Gateways program for themselves. Two shows were given at the Chicago Cultural Center where Richard Christiansen — then theater and dance critic for the Chicago Tribune — saw the program and championed the work. Two more shows followed at The Latin School and the group got its first review. By the following year, Lou had hired two more dancers, Barbara came on board as the founding executive director, and they started a dance company named after the street where Lou’s studios were. And that was that.

Claire Bataille is in fact still with us today as director of the Lou Conte Dance Studio. Lou was just with us in the audience for opening night of our Season 38 Spring Series here in Chicago in March. It’s wonderful to have such continuity, which I think is a real hallmark of dance communities no matter where you are.

2. What is a typical workday like for the company?

It varies greatly, depending on what our upcoming projects are. For major new works and acquisitions, such as our all–William Forsythe program, including N.N.N.N. which the Walton Arts Center audience will see, we typically carve out a couple of consecutive weeks, during which the company can focus exclusively on learning, rehearsing and getting comfortable with the choreography. The dancers work Mondays through Fridays, starting with ballet technique class at 10am and rehearsing as late as 6pm. It’s a full-time job for them with benefits and some well-earned vacation time.

Once we’re underway and juggling our home season — four programs a year — with our domestic and international touring, it becomes a more complicated mix of “maintenance” rehearsals for works we’ve had for a while, focusing on keeping them fresh and ready for the stage and rehearsals for dancers to learn new roles to step into or cover in case of emergencies. Our active repertoire right now is about 10 pieces total, which we perform in various combinations. It’s a lot of choreography for the dancers to retain and it’s one of the key responsibilities of our rehearsal director to stay on top of knowing what our priorities in the studio should be, day-to-day and week-to-week.

Workdays on tour are a bit more unpredictable and each situation is a little different. We may be walking distance from the theater or a short drive away. We might have just one performance or a longer run of multiple shows. Often there are masterclasses or other engagement programs with the local community. Our management team works as far in advance as possible to anticipate what we’ll need in each city so that our visits maintain a healthy balance between productive time with our stage staff and the local crew, and some time for all of us to rest, sightsee and just enjoy where we are.

3. How does your work connect to the larger world?

As an artistic director, I look for works that will connect audiences to some specific emotion or visceral response, which will then cultivate their imaginations or bring them to a place that might very well be indescribable. I’m always in search of pieces to present that speak of humanity and of how we are all collectively connected — I would say that’s my goal. I feel fortunate that dance is one art form that’s typically not tied to any language. The works we perform in the United States or on tour in other countries… They’re equally accessible, however abstractly, to whomever sees them.

4. What moves the company to create a new project?

It can often be a long process to acquire new choreography for our repertoire or to bring in a choreographer for the first time. At any given moment, I’m following the trajectories of a lot of choreographers, in a number of places. Now, creating relationships with artists is a catalyst for everything else. Sometimes, that relationship building manifests itself as choosing to work with that choreographer. Always, my hope is that an artist will come to us at just the right time — both for where they are in their career and for where the company is in its evolution. Timing is everything.

5. What are the defining characteristics of tonight’s performance; what story does it tell?

The main story our Fayetteville program will tell is the story of where Hubbard Street finds itself today. My two points of focus – for a number of years now – have been to bring the best of international contemporary dance to our dancers and our audiences, as well as to help those dancers develop their own individual, creative voices. As such, our Walton Arts Center program is ideal for getting a snapshot of what this mission really looks like. We have on the program opener, Out of Keeping, choreographed by Penny Saunders, who’s also still very much a working dancer. We have Second to Last by our resident choreographer Alejandro Cerrudo, who later this year will premiere his fifteenth original work for us. And then we have N.N.N.N. by William Forsythe, a major acquisition we are the first American dance company to perform, and I am Mister B by Gustavo Ramírez Sansano who is now an internationally recognized artist, though once was with Hubbard Street at the very beginning of his career. So, you’ll see examples of artists at all points of contact with Hubbard Street, at all stages of their careers.

6. Pick 5 words — that start with the letter H — that best describe your work.

Hm. Human, for sure. Heartfelt. Holistic. Healthy. Hard work.

7. What has been one of your most exciting performances to date?

Every program we produce is an exciting, unpredictable and very fulfilling process. That being said, I was absolutely thrilled with One Thousand Pieces, our Season 38 Fall Series celebrating William Forsythe, and The Art of Falling, a collaboration with The Second City.

One Thousand Pieces, made by Alejandro Cerrudo and inspired by Marc Chagall’s America Windows, marked our 35th anniversary season in 2012–13, was our first-ever evening-length work and involved all the dancers from both our main company and Hubbard Street 2. The all-Forsythe program was for me a bit of a personal victory and everyone rose to that occasion. The Art of Falling was such an adventure — none of us at Hubbard Street or at The Second City knew what we would have until opening night, then we realized how deeply it touched and delighted people. The response, both in Chicago and in Los Angeles, has been overwhelming and so, so positive — it’s the kind of impact you hope to be able to make with every project. I think it really validated us, in a way, with how human and how true it came across to our audiences, who might not think of contemporary dance as something so…universal.

8. Whom do you define as a visionary?  

A couple of artists who are visionaries to me are Jiří Kylián, William Forsythe and Crystal Pite. Jiří because of what I learned working with him for 15 years and dancing his choreography. Bill and Crystal more in terms of their work itself – how thoughtfully and creatively it’s constructed, and what it represents in terms of an approach to making a whole world, a real universe of ideas, for the stage.

9. What is the best advice that you have been given?

It was Jiří Kylián, actually, who in a moment of feeling devoid of resources — almost without hope that a situation could be made right — who said to me, “Glenn, there is always a solution.” And I’ve tried to embrace that, in all aspects of my life. As an artistic director, it’s part of my job to creatively — and often quickly — find a solution when it appears there isn’t one. There aren’t really any limits to creativity itself. I will encourage dancers, especially younger ones, to try, to keep trying until you find a solution. Curiosity, the spirit of exploration and trusting the process as the way forward: that, to me, is what’s paramount.

10. What do you hope audiences take away from a Hubbard Street performance?

As I mentioned earlier, what I look for are works that prompt people to make some kind of connection to themselves, which elicits a distinct response, in their souls or imaginations. More broadly, I might say that each performance we give is really the product of a whole team of truly expert people — not just our dancers but everyone on our production team, the crew, our staff and management — giving the proverbial one hundred and ten percent. This is demanding work and at Hubbard Street, we keep our standards incredibly high. I’d like to think that it’s important to see what’s possible when everything fits together, simply because everyone involved has brought the full weight of their knowledge and experience to the theater. I hope that showing people what that actually looks like carries with it some kind of deeper understanding, about the magnificent value of collaboration and cooperation.  

Construction is on schedule!

Construction at Walton Arts Center is moving fast! Another phase will be completed at the end of April with the re-opening of the expanded Starr Theater and new West Avenue lobby, just in time for the Arkansas history production of Digging Up Arkansas and many wonderful performances during our 7th annual Artosphere: Arkansas’ Arts and Nature Festival in May. Change is rapidly occurring, and the structure is quickly coming together.

 From West Avenue looking at the new West Avenue Lobby windows (left) and Starr Theater window (right)

Walton Arts Center’s exterior that faces West Avenue is nearly complete. Starr Theater, which has been expanded by one third during the renovation, now also features a large window (see to the right in the image above) that will overlook the new Underwood Family Plaza. Completed by the end of spring, the plaza will be anchored by a hammered copper water feature and contain bricks engraved with the names of supporters and advocates of the arts in Northwest Arkansas. The new window in Starr Theater will allow for programming to connect to the park-like plaza in order to bring nature into the facility, but the theater will also maintain the flexibility to function as a traditional black box theater. The new West Avenue lobby (see to the left in the image above) will be open this May as well. This lobby will also connect Starr Theater to the fully expanded Atrium, which will be completed in November.

Over the summer, Walton Arts Center will close in order to finish construction and re-open in November for our recently announced 25th Anniversary Season, which includes a full and exciting Broadway series! The new Atrium will be expanded to reach to the corner of Dickson and West in order to enhance the patron experience. This space is currently framed and nearing the phase in which the current temporary lobby wall will be demolished to fully tie the expansion together. When completed, the two-story, glass enclosed atrium will fully integrate the theater into the entertainment district, allowing passersby to see what is occurring inside the lobby, and vice versa. This expansion will revitalize and reinvigorate the arts scene on Dickson Street.

Rendering of expanded Atrium

Many lovers of the arts have stepped up to Play a pART in the expansion of Walton Arts Center, but there is still time for you toby inscribing your name on a brick or commemorating your favorite artist who has performed at Walton Arts Center over the years in the new Underwood Family Plaza. There are also opportunities to leave your mark and remind all theater-goers of your love of the arts by engraving your name on a chair in Starr Theater or Baum Walker Hall. For more information, visit our website to see our virtual tour, learn about the impact of the expansion on Northwest Arkansas, or email playapart@waltonartscenter.org! Together, we’re building a better place to live. 

London-Based A Cappella Group & Their Love of Music

For more than half a century The Swingles have pushed the boundaries of vocal music. The seven young singers that make up today’s London-based group are driven by the same innovative spirit that has defined the five-time Grammy® winners since they first made waves in the 1960s. With their forthcoming album Deep End, The Swingles celebrate that legacy by starting a whole new chapter.

We got to chat with The Swingles about their love of music, what inspires the group musically and what they think of the Natural State.

1.     Where did the name “Swingles” come from?

Believe it or not, it comes from the real name of Ward Swingle, the founder of the group. Ward led the group from 1962 to 1984 and was a valued musical advisor and mentor to us right up until he sadly passed away last year. Ward came from Mobile, Alabama originally but the name supposedly derives from the Swiss name Zwingli – any resemblance to the word “swing” is purely coincidental!

2.     What music have you been listening to lately; is there anything you recommend?

Absolutely, we are always hunting out new music to inspire us. We are currently working on new material inspired by folk song traditions around the world, so as well as checking out obscure stuff from Corsica and Afghanistan I’ve been listening to modern singers who find creative new ways to interpret and arrange folk songs: the Unthanks and Sam Lee from the U.K., Anais Mitchell and Sam Amidon from the U.S. I’d recommend any of those guys.

3.     What did you know – if anything – about Arkansas before arriving?

We’ve visited the state a few times before, and I remember in particular a show in Searcy where we had been up in Kansas and had a somewhat dramatic drive trying to outrun a prairie storm that was forecast to blow in. As a Brit, it was one of my first U.S. road trips and I loved the long drive, watching the landscape gradually go from flat to hilly and passing signs to all these evocative place names. When we arrived, we had insanely good barbecue and fried green tomatoes in a diner with a live bluegrass band. Beyond that though I don’t know much about the state and am looking forward to spending some proper time there!

4.     How is the a cappella scene in Europe similar and/or different to the U.S.?

There are enormous riches in the European scene and we have a particular soft spot for Scandinavian groups, who do an amazing job of incorporating their own folk singing traditions into contemporary a cappella. But nowhere compares to the U.S. in terms of the sheer number of high school and college students in a cappella groups and vocal jazz programs, which brings a legitimacy to the idea of singing non-classical repertoire. For us in the U.K., the Anglican choral tradition is still the default setting for young people who want to sing, and it’s a tradition to be proud of, but we still come up against the idea that anything outside of that is just a “bit of fun.” We’re trying to change that perception through things like the London A Cappella Festival, which we co-host and that welcomes great groups from all over the world.

5.     Pick 5 words—that start with the letter ‘s’—to describe your music.

Shimmering

Soaring

Soulful

Surprising

Storytelling

6.     Are there any pieces that you’d like the group to perform that you haven’t already?

So many! We have an ever-evolving repertoire wish list. Personally, I have this daydream that we could cover a piece by Snarky Puppy, who if you don’t already know them are an insanely funky fusion collective from Texas. Watch this space.

7.     What has been one of your most exciting performances to date?

There are lots to choose from. A couple of years ago we played a New Year’s concert in Ankara, Turkey with an orchestra, to a stadium of 11,000 people – that was pretty exciting. And last year, we had the pleasure of collaborating with – and opening for – one of our vocal heroes Kurt Elling, and none of us will ever forget that.

8.     What do you hope the audience takes away from your performance?

We want them to be moved and transported, and feel an emotional connection with us on stage. There are so many different sides to music, and technique and virtuosity are important, but they mean nothing without that connection.

9.     What is the best advice that you have been given?

I remember when I first joined the group being given some great advice by the other singers, and it’s stuck with me: don’t rely on the audience for your energy. Invariably some audiences are more demonstrative and excited than others, but just because a crowd is more reserved doesn’t mean they’re not enjoying it. They might even be listening harder. So by all means perform, give the audience your best, but it has to come primarily from inside you and from the other people on stage. You can’t expect to ride on the audience’s energy as a touring performer, because it won’t be the same every show.

10.  What’s next? Do you have your sights set on any new goals?

Fayetteville will be the second stop on our month-long tour around the U.S., so you can check out our website (www.theswingles.co.uk) or Facebook page for all the other dates. After that, we’re going to China for the first time in many years, which I’m really looking forward to. And then, we’re hoping to use the summer to start recording that international folk album I mentioned already. There are lots of new projects and goals on the horizon and we’re all excited to see what the rest of the year brings!

SONA presents "Masterworks II: Strings in the Spotlight"

On Saturday, March 19, the Symphony of Northwest Arkansas (SoNA) will present "Masterworks II: Strings in the Spotlight." This classical feast will include Haydn’s popular London symphony and a rare feature of symphonic strings in Elgar's gorgeous Serenade. Adding some spice to the evening, SoNA’s principal flutist Virginia Broffitt Kunzer will be the soloist in Ibert’s breathtaking Concerto for Flute. Also featuring members of the Ozark Philharmonic Youth Orchestra. 

Starrlight Jazz Club Series Presents Pat Martino Trio

"The guitar is of no great importance to me," Martino muses. "The people it brings to me are what matter. They are what I'm extremely grateful for, because they are alive. The guitar is just an apparatus."

In 1980, Pat Martino suffered a severe brain aneurysm and underwent surgery after being told that his condition could be terminal. At the time, he was one of the most celebrated guitarists in jazz. After his operations, he could remember almost nothing; he barely recognized his parents and had no memory of his guitar or his career. He remembers feeling as if he had been "dropped cold, empty, neutral, cleansed... naked."

In the following months, Martino made a remarkable recovery. Through intensive study of his own historic recordings and with the help of computer technology, Martino managed to reverse his memory loss and return to form on his instrument. His past recordings eventually became "an old friend, a spiritual experience which remained beautiful and honest." Since playing his first notes while still in his pre-teenage years, Martino has been recognized as one of the most exciting and virtuosic guitarists in jazz.

With a distinctive, fat sound and gut-wrenching performances, he represents the best – not just in jazz, but in music. He embodies thoughtful energy and soul.

Born in Philadelphia in 1944, Martino was first exposed to jazz through his father, Carmen "Mickey" Azzara, who sang in local clubs and briefly studied guitar with Eddie Lang. He took Martino to all the city's hot-spots to hear and meet Wes Montgomery and other musical giants. Martino moved to Harlem to immerse himself in the "soul jazz" played by Willis “Gatortail” Jackson and others. He previously had heard all of the so called “white” jazz. “I’d never heard that part of our culture," he remembers, until the Montgomery Brothers.

An icon even before his eighteenth birthday, Martino was signed as a leader for Prestige Records when he was 20. His seminal albums from this period include classics like Strings!, Desperado, El Hombreand Baiyina (The Clear Evidence), one of jazz's first successful ventures into psychedelia. In 1976, while performing internationally with his fusion group “Joyous Lake,” Martino began experiencing seizures, which were eventually diagnosed as AVM (Arteriovenous Malformation), a condition he was born with. After surgery and recovery, he resumed his career when he appeared in 1987 in New York, a gig that was released on a CD with an appropriate name, The Return.

Today, Martino lives in Philadelphia and continues to grow as a musician. As the New York Times noted, "Mr. Martino is back and he is plotting new musical directions, adding more layers to his myth." His experiments with guitar synthesizers, which begun during his rehabilitation, are taking him in the direction of orchestral arrangements and they promise groundbreaking possibilities.

Goodnight Moon and The Runaway Bunny come to WAC!

Walton Arts Center will soon welcome the Mermaid Theatre of Nova Scotia, as they present “Goodnight Moon” and ”The Runaway Bunny." Based on the classic children’s books written by Margaret Wise Brown, both tales feature endearing rabbit characters and inspire our youngest readers with gentle stories of bedtime, independence and growing up. 

Mermaid Theatre's signature, imaginative storytelling through puppetry will bring to life both stories on the Baum Walker stage.

With productions hoping to inspire families to share the experience of attending live theatre at an early age, Mermaid Theatre adapts well-known children’s books and works tirelessly to bring them to life on stage. By adapting such productions, they also hope to encourage reading among a younger audience. Each year Mermaid Theatre presents over 400 performances to 200,000 spectators worldwide.

Our Learning and Engagement Team here at the Walton Arts Center recently created a fun photo project with our very own Runaway Bunny, featured at some Fayetteville landmarks. Next month, our L&E team will host over 2,000 students in Nadine Baum Studios with an opportunity to be the first to preview “Goodnight Moon" and "The Runaway Bunny" prior to a public performance on Sunday, February 21 at 2pm.

Tickets for both the school and public performance are still available, click here for more information! 

Play A pART!

Construction on Walton Arts Center’s new Tyson Entrance

Construction is underway at Walton Arts Center! In April, another phase will be complete and we will re-open Starr Theater with the educational production, Digging Up Arkansas, followed by several other performances in May during the Artosphere: Arkansas Arts & Nature Festival. Following the Art of Wine Festival in June, Walton Arts Center will close its doors for the summer to complete construction in time for a Grand Re-Opening Celebration in November and to kick off our 25th Anniversary Season. Things are getting busy, but we are so excited for what is to come!

Walton Arts Center construction on Starr Theater

This spring, the new Bill & LeAnn Underwood Family Plaza will open and showcase public art in a park-like setting of natural beauty. A hammered copper sculpture water feature will be central to the space, surrounded by engraved, personalized bricks as well as commemorative bricks celebrating artists who have performed on our stage since we opened our doors in 1992. Bricks and pavers from the original building will be reinstalled in the Rose Garden to continue the legacy of our original donors. Newly engraved bricks located in the Underwood Family Plaza will re-affirm our community’s commitment to the arts, paving the way for the next 25 years of great arts and entertainment in Northwest Arkansas.

Personalized Brick and Artist Commemorative Bricks will be installed in the new Bill and LeAnn Underwood Family Plaza

We cannot complete the expansion without the help of our dedicated patrons, like you, and now is the time to act! In order to reserve your inscribed brick to be installed in time for the opening of the new Underwood Family Plaza this spring, we need all commitments by March 15th. Your charitable contribution to the expansion and renovation of Walton Arts Center will memorialize your loved ones for generations to come. What better way to show your support of the arts than by engraving your name at Walton Arts Center? Help us celebrate the new building and 25 years of world class entertainment in Northwest Arkansas by going to our expansion webpage to see the virtual tour and make your fully tax deductible commitment today!

Together, we’re building a better place to live.

To learn more about giving opportunities for the expansion at Walton Arts Center, contact the Development Office at 479.571.2759 or www.waltonartscenter.org/expansion.

Bring Your Shoes to WAC during Kinky Boots!

Together with KINKY BOOTS, we're encouraging local families to bring their new or gently used boots, tennis shoes and sturdy shoes for men, women and children when they come to see KINKY BOOTS on January 19-24. These donations go directly to the local non-profit organization Peace at Home Family Shelter. Peace at Home Family Shelter empowers victims of domestic violence to survive and thrive by nurturing their self-determination and courage; and promotes healthy relationships and communities through education, outreach and advocacy.

Inspired by true events, Kinky Boots takes you from a gentlemen's shoe factory in Northampton to the glamorous catwalks of Milan. Charlie Price is struggling to live up to his father's expectations and continue the family business of Price & Son. With the factory's future hanging in the balance, help arrives in the unlikely but spectacular form of Lola, a fabulous performer in need of some sturdy new stilettos.

The Peace at Home Family Shelter was founded in 1977 and was the first shelter in Arkansas to provide shelter and supportive services for survivors of domestic violence. The program started in a small house in Fayetteville and is now providing services in a new Donald W. Reynolds building.

Shoe donations are being accepted in advance of the show at our Box Office located in Nadine Baum Studios and prior to every performance.

KINKY BOOTS starts Tuesday, Jan. 19 and runs through Sunday, Jan. 24! Tickets range from $36 to $78 and are available by calling 479.443.5600 or visiting our website here. For groups of 10 or more, contact the group sales department at 479.571.2719.

Pianist Simone Dinnerstein On Sharing Her Love of Bach

Simone Dinnerstein began studying the piano later in life than most concert pianists. She dropped out of Julliard for a while. And she struggled for recognition. Then she scraped together the funds to record Bach’s Goldberg Variations – and her career took off. The album ranked number one on the U.S. Billboard Classical Music chart its first week out. Three subsequent solo albums also topped the charts. 

Simone Dinnerstein sat down to talk with us about her career and why she’s passionate about sharing her love of Bach...

Bach figures prominently into your repertoire. Why do you find yourself drawn to his work? 

Bach's music combines all of the elements that I feel drawn to in art - intellect, craft and architecture combined with poetry and humanity.

Does your playing of pieces like the Goldberg Variations change from show to show?

Definitely. The overall approach is pretty consistent but the change of instrument and acoustics as well as my own state of being on the night and the feeling from the audience all contribute to the experience being new each time.

Here's a short clip of Simone practicing the Goldberg Variations 16-17:

Does this passion run in your family?

My parents are real role models to me. My father is an amazing artist and I grew up surrounded by his work and visiting museums with him. In fact, one of his most significant paintings, The Fulbright Triptych, is currently on exhibit here at the University! My mother is an early childhood education specialist, completely committed to children and creating the ultimate child-centered learning environments. Both of my parents are idealists and not very practical people!

Who are some of your favorite non-classical artists?

Leonard Cohen, Bob Dylan, Nick Drake

Who are some of your favorite contemporary composers?

Philip Lasser, George Crumb, Philip Glass

Pick 5 words—that start with the letter ‘d’—to describe your music.

Delicate, Daring, Deep, Decisive, Dreamy

What has been your most exciting performance to date?

It's hard to pick just one, but possibly performing Mozart K467 with the Vienna Symphony at the Weiner Konzerthaus. Playing Mozart there felt unreal.

Whom do you define as a visionary?

I recently read “The Book of Strange New Things,” a novel by Michel Faber.  It was a very powerful book about being human and I would describe his writing as visionary.

What is the best advice that you have been given?

Many years ago, Mitsuko Uchida told me to get out of the practice room and start making money with my music. I think that – other than the real, practical implications of that – she meant to own my interpretations and go out into the world with them.

What do you hope audiences take away from your performances?

I hope that the music opens up something inside, that it makes sense of things in life that only music can approach.

Don't miss Simone Dinnerstein on Friday, Jan. 8 at 8pm. Tickets are only $10! For a chance to meet the artist, join us for the Creative Converstaion with Simone before the show at 7pm as well as the After Party at Cork & Keg immediately following the show with light hors d’oeuvres as well as a speciality cocktail, "Bach to the Future,” and live entertainment provided by Rachel Billingsly.

One lucky ticket holder will WIN a $25 bar tab!

Tis the Season!

If you haven’t visited Walton Arts Center for our Hard Hat Season, we hope that you can join us for one of our many holiday and family-friendly shows. From Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer and Polar Express to Home Free, Jim Brickman and the Sonos Handbell Ensemble - there’s something everyone can enjoy this holiday season!

We hope you can stop by our Holiday Gift Market in the Joy Pratt Markham Gallery. Sponsored by Walton Arts Center’s resident company Community Creative Center, the market is the perfect place to buy local art, crafts and gifts items created by some of Northwest Arkansas’ most talented artists this holiday season. Proceeds not only benefit local artists, but also support Walton Arts Center and the Community Creative Center! While in the gallery, please take the time to watch the virtual tour and relax before a show. 

You can also play a pART in Walton Arts Center’s expansion and renovation this holiday season by putting your loved one’s name on a brick or chair, giving them a gift that can be remembered for years to come. Your commemorative gift will let your loved ones know that your support in their honor is helping us build a better place to live. To learn more, visit waltonartscenter.org/expansion. 

Starrlight Jazz Club Series presents Pat Martino Trio

  "The guitar is of no great importance to me," Martino muses. "The people it brings to me are what matter. They are what I'm extremely grateful for, because they are alive. The guitar is just an apparatus."

In 1980, Pat Martino suffered a severe brain aneurysm and underwent surgery after being told that his condition could be terminal. At the time, he was one of the most celebrated guitarists in jazz. After his operations, he could remember almost nothing; he barely recognized his parents and had no memory of his guitar or his career. He remembers feeling as if he had been "dropped cold, empty, neutral, cleansed... naked."

In the following months, Martino made a remarkable recovery. Through intensive study of his own historic recordings and with the help of computer technology, Martino managed to reverse his memory loss and return to form on his instrument. His past recordings eventually became "an old friend, a spiritual experience which remained beautiful and honest." Since playing his first notes while still in his pre-teenage years, Martino has been recognized as one of the most exciting and virtuosic guitarists in jazz.

With a distinctive, fat sound and gut-wrenching performances, he represents the best – not just in jazz, but in music. He embodies thoughtful energy and soul.

Born in Philadelphia in 1944, Martino was first exposed to jazz through his father, Carmen "Mickey" Azzara, who sang in local clubs and briefly studied guitar with Eddie Lang. He took Martino to all the city's hot-spots to hear and meet Wes Montgomery and other musical giants. Martino moved to Harlem to immerse himself in the "soul jazz" played by Willis “Gatortail” Jackson and others. He previously had heard all of the so called “white” jazz. “I’d never heard that part of our culture," he remembers, until the Montgomery Brothers.

An icon even before his eighteenth birthday, Martino was signed as a leader for Prestige Records when he was 20. His seminal albums from this period include classics like Strings!, Desperado, El Hombre and Baiyina (The Clear Evidence), one of jazz's first successful ventures into psychedelia. In 1976, while performing internationally with his fusion group “Joyous Lake,” Martino began experiencing seizures, which were eventually diagnosed as AVM (Arteriovenous Malformation), a condition he was born with. After surgery and recovery, he resumed his career when he appeared in 1987 in New York, a gig that was released on a CD with an appropriate name, The Return.

One of Martino's finest original compositions, first heard on Pat Martino Live!:

Today, Martino lives in Philadelphia and continues to grow as a musician. As the New York Times noted, "Mr. Martino is back and he is plotting new musical directions, adding more layers to his myth." His experiments with guitar synthesizers, which begun during his rehabilitation, are taking him in the direction of orchestral arrangements and they promise groundbreaking possibilities.

Our very own, Robert Ginsburg, sat down with Pat Martino to chat about his career, relearning the guitar and his current musical endeavors. Listen HERE!

Pat Martino Trio performs at WAC Friday, Dec. 4 at 7pm & 9pm.

Tickets are $15-30 and can be purchased here.

Have a New York night at WAC!

Just be who you want to be…

celebrate your lifetriumphantly!

This is the message Kinky Boots, Broadway’s huge-hearted and high-heeled hit delivers to its audience. The show will go on from Jan. 19-Jan. 24 as part of the 2015-16 Broadway Series!

Inspired by true events, Kinky Boots takes you from a gentlemen’s shoe factory in Northampton to the glamorous catwalks of Milan. Charlie Price is struggling to live up to his father’s expectations and continue the family business of Price & Son. With the factory’s future hanging in the balance, help arrives in the unlikely but spectacular form of Lola –a fabulous performer in need of some sturdy new stilettos. Lola turns out to be the one person who can help Charlie become the man he’s meant to be. As they work to turn the factory around, this unlikely pair finds that they have more in common than they ever dreamed possible… and discovers that when you change your mind about someone, you can change the whole world.

Kinky Boots, the smash-hit musical brings together four-time Tony Award®-winner Harvey Fierstein and Grammy Award® -winning Cyndi Lauper. Directed and choreographed by Tony Award-winner Jerry Mitchell, Kinky Boots opened on Broadway in April 2013 and continues to play to standing-room-only crowds nightly. Kinky Boots took home six 2013 TonyAwards –more than any other show that season –including Best Musical, Best Score (Cyndi Lauper), Best Choreography (Jerry Mitchell), Best Orchestrations (Stephen Oremus) and Best Sound Design (John Shivers).

"THE HOTTEST BROADWAY SHOW OF THE YEAR!"

–ABC News

“HUGELY ENJOYABLE! A witty, truthful and emotionally centered musical with REAL FRESHNESS!”

 –Chicago Tribune

“DELIGHTFUL, HIGH-ENERGY FUN!”

 – The New York Post

Charlie Price’s journey is based on the true story of Steve Pateman, an Englishman who struggled to save his family-run shoe factory from closure. Under pressure from changes in the fashion industry and competition abroad, he started to look for new markets. An unexpected call from a woman who ran a shop specializing in transgender glamour wear convinced him to try a line of women’s shoes in men’s sizes. He developed his line of “kinky boots” under the brand name “Divine Footwear.”

Get a glimpse of what's in store with this fabulous production!

Jazz Lovers rejoice!

"Anat does what all authentic musicians do: She tells stories from her own experiences that are so deeply felt that they are very likely to connect listeners to their own dreams, desires and longings."

— The Wall Street Journal

Clarinetist-saxophonist Anat Cohen has won hearts and minds the world over with her expressive virtuosity and delightful stage presence. The Jazz Journalists Association has voted Anat asClarinetist of the Year eight years in a row, and she has topped both the Critics and Readers Polls in the clarinet category in DownBeat magazine every year since 2011. That’s not to mention years of being named Rising Star in the soprano and tenor saxophone categories in DownBeat, as well as for Jazz Artist of the Year.

Fun Facts

• Anat was born in Tel Aviv, Israel 
• Began clarinet studies at age 12
• Graduated from both the Tel Aviv School for the Arts & Berklee College of Music 
• Was the 1st Israeli to headline at the Village Vanguard
• World's greatest jazz festivals invite Anat to perform (JVC, Chicago, New Orleans Jazz & Heritage, etc.)

Anat Cohen and her songs tell authentic stories that are deeply intertwined with the human experience. Her effervesence is deeply resonating and her versatility allows her to embrace a diverse palate of styles, from jazz standards and Brazlian Choros to compelling original compositions.

Here's a clip of Cohen performing "Putty Boy Strut" (originally by Flying Lotus) from her album LUMINOSA:

The Anat Cohen Quartet return to WAC 

Saturday, Nov. 21 at 7pm & 9pm

Tickets are $15-30 and can be purchased online here, by calling 479.443.5600 or in-person at the Walton Arts Center Box Office located in Nadine Baum Studios.

Pardon Our Dust: WAC is Open!

Children crossing West Street to attend "Me and My Shadow" 

Walton Arts Center officially opened the 2015-2016 Hard Hat Season last week with the children’s show Me and My Shadow presented by Patch Theatre from Australia. In addition to a public performance on Friday, Patch Theatre also performed for more than 1,000 Northwest Arkansas students throughout the week during their educational shows! Every year, Walton Arts Center serves more than 45,000 students and teachers through numerous education initiatives. Even with construction in full force, we will continue to present award winning education programs to the children in our community throughout the season.

Me and My Shadow was followed by a packed house for the Symphony of Northwest Arkansas’ Masterworks I on Saturday. This week, the first 2015-16 Procter & Gamble Broadway Series show, Pippin, will present eight performances Tuesday thru Sunday!

Our Pippin artists are reaping the full benefits of our new backstage spaces. In the past, Starr Theater was turned into a large storage closet for nearly one-third of our season to accommodate large touring productions. This kept Walton Arts Center from hosting performances in the space for much of the year.

WAC’s Starr Theater & Backstage Hallway during "The Wizard of Oz" in April 2014

 

With the recent completion of the first phase of our expansion), Pippin artists have the luxury of utilizing the new wig and wardrobe spaces that had previously been housed in Starr Theater! These new spaces will allow for Walton Arts Center to be a fully functioning two-theater facility when the Starr Theater renovation and expansion is complete in April 2016.

 WAC’s new Wardrobe Room during "Pippin"

Even with construction in full force during our Hard Hat Season, we still hope to see you at Walton Arts Center! With the help of everyone in our community, we are building a better place to live. When you attend a performance, please stop by our gallery to learn more about the expansion and learn how you can Play a Part!As a special gift, anyone who makes a gift of $50 or more to Investing in Our Future: The Expansion of Walton Arts Center campaign will receive a commemorative lapel pin.

Play a Part Lapel Pin

We have many giving levels available, including the opportunity to purchase bricks in our new Bill and LeAnn Underwood Family plaza and the option to put your name on a chair in Baum Walker Hall or Starr Theater! Please email playapart@waltonartscenter.org for more information. We look forward to seeing you during our 24^th season of programming at WAC!

2nd Annual SEEK Event on Nov. 11!

What is S.E.E.K. Fayetteville? 

 S.E.E.K. represents the unique aspects of Fayetteville that inspired us to create this event: Savor, Enrich, Explore and Know... SAVOR some of Fayetteville’s artfully crafted local cuisine and beverages at Puritan Brew Co. ENRICH your mind by experiencing the artistic nature of our community at Walton Arts Center. EXPLORE the beauty of the Ozark Mountains by connecting with nature and getting lost in the harmonic state of mind that Fayettechill embodies. Get to KNOW your local community!

Explore: At 5:30pm, the pre-party starts at Fayettechill! Grab your shades, enjoy the sunshine, and prepare yourself for a live circus performance alongside complimentary Fayettechill Ale and tacos from Kona Coast! Don’t miss the chance to have your picture taken in the Fayettechill photo booth – complete with props. Plus, we’ll be raffling off some sweet door prizes! 

Enrich: Every season, WAC chooses a Broadway show to collaborate the SEEK event with - this year it's PIPPIN! Around 6:30pm, we’ll walk to Walton Arts Center for the premiere of Pippin, the story of a young man who’s on a journey to be extraordinary! This Tony® Award winning musical will lift you up and leave you with a giant smile, showcasing acrobatics and magical feats that are unlike anything you’ve ever seen. 

Savor: All jazzed up and nowhere to go? Head up the street to Puritan Brew Co. for the after-party! We'll have an open bar, sweet door prizes including tickets to see Twenty One Pilots at the AMP, and more photo booth fun! We’ve even invited the cast and crew of Pippin to come chill with us after the show - be there to meet Broadway royalty!

Get to KNOW: Got Flow?, a group of flow artists, will be at the pre AND post party to entertain us with their fire dancing and incredible talent! They were recently spotted performing at Hillberry Music Festival just last month... 

*Get your ticket using the promo code "seek" for special access to $25 tickets, exclusive to students and young professionals. Give us a call at 479.443.5600 or bring cash to the pre-party at Fayettechill and purchase your ticket there.

Don't forget to join the Facebook event HERE for more info!

The Hard Hat Season is Finally Here

Entrance to Walton Arts Center’s New Administrative Offices

Phase one of Walton Arts Center’s expansion and renovation is almost complete! In July 2014, construction began on the City of Fayetteville’s new downtown parking deck which included plans for a liner building that would add over 16,500 square feet to house Walton Arts Center’s administrative offices and additional backstage spaces. Just barely a year later, the new parking deck and three story building are set to open in late October, just in time for the 24^th season of programming!

Looking West from the top floor of Walton Arts Center’s new Administrative Offices

The top floors of the new office building will house Walton Arts Center’s staff while the ground level will connect to WAC’s backstage spaces which include a new wardrobe and wig room, production offices, a laundry room for touring companies, a crew lounge and musical instrument storage. For several years, Walton Arts Center transformed Starr Theater into storage to accommodate larger Broadway productions. The new backstage spaces will provide additional, much needed space for large touring productions and allow Starr Theater to be a fully functional, black-box theater throughout every season beginning in 2016.

Starr Theater Expansion Steel Framing

Walton Arts Center is excited to see the completion of phase one, and we hope you will join us for a show during our Hard Hat Season while we are still under construction on phase two. Please visit our expansion webpage for more information, updates, ways you can contribute and to see the virtual tour. We look forward to seeing you during our this season!     

Q&A with Paragon Ragtime Orchestra Director

First up on our 10x10 Arts Series is Paragon Ragtime Orchestra (PRO), the world’s only year-round, professional ensemble recreating “America’s Original Music” – the syncopated sounds of early musical theater, silent cinema and vintage dance. PRO is also known as one of the premiere performance groups for American music written around the turn of the 20th century. Since the 1980s, PRO has been rediscovering and performing the music of that era in hundreds of concert venues and in a large number of recordings which continues to grow. 

Watch as the PRO, conducted by Rick Benjamin, accompanies Charlie Chaplin's 1916 silent film comedy The Pawn Shop using original music cues and orchestrations! This excerpt is the famous "Alarm Clock Scene" from the full screening of the film at Buena Vista University in Storm Lake, Iowa.

Rick Benjamin is the heart and soul of PRO! He has built a career on the discovery and performance of lost American music from the late 19th and early 20th Centuries and is the founder and director of PRO. And, we recently had a chance to sit down with Mr. Benjamin and pick his brain... 

Q&A with Rick Benjamin

1. What inspired you to recreate the movie music system from the early 20^th century?

 PRO and I are recreating an incredibly unique, incredibly fun art form from the early 1900s that combines great stories (projected on a screen - movies!) with amazing live music. It's the combination that made tens of millions of people fall in love with the movies a hundred years ago.  

2. How do you build a score for a silent film?

We use historic materials - lost musical scores and "cue sheets" that I've discovered in over thirty years of "picking." We have original music for hundreds of early films.  

3. Does this passion run in your family?

Yes, my mother was an organist and choir director, and my grandfather (her father) was a violinist in movie house orchestras in the 1920s. 

4. List some of your favorite pioneers of movie music.

We just did a whole album of them - The Pioneers of Movie Music - which includes my fifty-page essay on the top composers. You can read and listen to it on our website! 

5. Who are some of your favorite contemporary composers? 

Eric Ewazan (my teacher at Juilliard), Ian Clarke, Frank Ticheli, Christian Humcke

6. Pick 5 words—that start with the letter ‘p’—to describe your music. 

Peppy, powerful, piquant, pleasant, priceless 

7. What has been your most exciting performance to date?

A three-night engagement at the Kimmel Center in Philadelphia, with all three nights sold-out. 

8. Do you have a preference for writing your own scores or reworking classics?

I created PRO to perform already existing, historic scores. We have one of the world's greatest collections - 20,000 by more than 1,000 different composers. We'll NEVER run out of tunes! 

9. What is the best advice that you have been given? 

Always be learning, from both mistakes and successes, and always look for the positive. A close second: surround yourself with people who support and inspire you. 

10. Whom do you define as a visionary?

Someone who can synthesize existing ideas into a new concept, with concrete plans for how to move it forward. 

PRO will present The Clown Princes of Silent Comedy on Tuesday, Nov. 17 at 7pm. Be sure to join us before the show at 6pm for a Creative Conversation with the creative minds fr1om PRO, and then again for the post-show party!

Tickets are available online or by calling our Box Office at 479.443.5600.