Celebrate Arkansas Profiles Bret Shuford and "Charming"

Celebrate Arkansas recently chatted with Bret Shuford, who is bringing his one-man show Charming: A Tale of an American Prince to Walton Arts Center this month. This piece appeared in Celebrate’s January issue. Read on to hear the inspiration behind Shuford’s show, why he’s particularly excited to bring it to Northwest Arkansas and more. Charming: A Tale of an American Prince hits the Walton Arts Center stage for one night only on January 16. Get tickets here!

By Marisa Lytle

We always hear the tale from the princess’s point of view, but what about from the prince’s? In his one-man show, Charming: A Tale of an American Prince, Broadway actor Bret Shuford bucks tradition and presents a refreshing take on the fairy tales and musicals we all love.

In Charming, Shuford tells the tale of one prince’s trek from the faraway kingdom of Texas to a castle in The East Village. Shuford’s quest is highlighted by the music of Stephen Sondheim, Steven Lutvak, Prince the Artist, Stephen Schwartz, Rascal Flatts, Sara Bareilles, and more, with a little Disney magic thrown in for good measure. Friendship bracelets, giants, and perhaps even a furry woodland creature help guide this prince along the way. Will he get his “happily ever after”?

According to Shuford, Charming was born out of a cabaret conference he attended at the Eugene O’Neill Theater Center in Wisconsin several years ago. For him, the show became a unique way to tell his own autobiographical story of growing up in southeast Texas and the tension he felt with his family over politics and religion, as well as his early struggles with his sexuality. Performing a one-man show like this, he says, is definitely a vulnerable experience.

“My hope with this show is that people, especially right now, will be lifted up and have some hope and see that there’s a lot that’s in there that you can pull from to live the life you want to live,” Shuford says. “You don’t need other people’s permission. The kingdom you’re looking for is within you. So, how do you become prince or princess of your own kingdom?”

With musical direction by Tracy Stark and direction by Lennie Watts, Charming, A Tale of an American Prince features Shuford, a Texas native bitten by the theater bug at a very young age who has spent the last 20 years working in New York City. He has been seen on Broadway in The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, Cirque du Soleil’s Paramour, and Wicked. In addition to working as a Broadway actor, he found a passion for being a content creator, director, choreographer, producer and collaborator with other artists.

“Charming has some really great medleys that Tracy and I put together,” Shuford says. For example, “Something Better Than This” from Sweet Charity mashes up with a song from Into the Woods, and Shuford teases intriguingly that he performs a solo version of “Agony,” which in its original Broadway stage form is a humorous duet sung by two sparring brothers.

For the past year, while Broadway has been shut down due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Shuford hasn’t been able to do any theater work and no acting work other than sending in a few audition tapes for ads and commercials. While he and his husband, Stephen Hanna, were self-isolating, someone made an offer on their New York City apartment, so the couple sold it and moved to Texas to be near Shuford’s family. He says he was very grateful to receive the call from Walton Arts Center asking him to perform Charming at the beginning of this year.

As an acting teacher, Shuford has tried to bolster his students’ morale during the pandemic by likening current events in New York City to the trouble the city faced after the terrorist attacks of 9/11. He was living and working in NYC at the time and says that although that was a really tough time for the city, they got through it, and they’re going to get through it this time, too. Additionally, the advice he gives is this: “I would say, the main thing right now is to be gentle with yourself. Don’t expect to be really on top of creating and working right now. We are grieving and mourning. You have to be gentle with yourself. But also, don’t get lost in that. Every day, try to do two or three more things that take you a step closer to who you’d like to be.”

In looking to the future, Shuford says one of his main goals is to be a dad. Professionally, his dream role would be to create something new that makes an impact and that causes people to say, “Wow, that’s that role that Bret Shuford created.”

October Saturday Cinema: Explore Themes Through New and Old Stories

Walton Arts Center and the Walmart AMP have found new ways to engage with the community in light of the ongoing pandemic. Intermission programming—small scale events that allow for safe social distancing and other health and safety precautions—has been the result. The Saturday Cinema series is one of those intermission initiatives that kicked off in September. Each weekend brings films grouped by a theme.

On October 17, enjoy two films showcasing stories about immigrants. The matinee screening, The Sun is Also a Star, tells a contemporary love story about two strangers, Natasha and Daniel, who meet and immediately see sparks fly—but the clock is ticking as Natasha fights against her family’s impending deportation. This film explores the question of whether our lives are determined by fate or the random events of the universe.

The evening screening, Fiddler: A Miracle of Miracles, chronicles the story of Fiddler on the Roof, the timeless musical about immigrants and refugees escaping persecution in their homeland. The documentary film explores the unexpected richness of the musical’s themes and its reach across time and culture.

After a weekend of immigrant stories, WAC gets in the spirit of spooky season on October 24 with two horror films! First is High Anxiety, a comedic roast of the horror genre. Mel Brooks directs and stars in this film about a director of a psychoneurotic institute who is accused of murder by his colleagues and struggles to clear his name.

Then, patrons have the opportunity to enjoy Alfred Hitchcock’s classic film The Birds on the big screen. This natural horror-thriller is loosely based on a 1952 story of the same name and focuses on a series of sudden and unexplained violent bird attacks. These two films will help get audiences members into the Halloween spirit for safe celebrations the following weekend.

October 31 falls on Saturday this year, which means Saturday Cinema will be all about the holiday! You can kick off the day with a screening of the cult classic Hocus Pocus. This family-friendly film stars Bette Middler, Sarah Jessica Parker and Kathy Najimy as a trio of witches who run amok in Salem, Mass,, after three children unwittingly free them.

The evening will bring back Fayetteville’s favorite Halloween tradition—a screening of The Rocky Horror Picture Show! This interactive musical film boasts the longest theatrical release of all time, having been in distribution since its release in 1975. Costumes are encouraged and patrons can bring their own approved props or purchase a prop bag at concessions.

After the fun on Halloween, WAC is offering special screenings of Disney/Pixar’s Coco—presented in both English and Spanish in partnership with the Fayetteville Chamber of Commerce celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month and the traditional Mexican holiday the Day of the Dead. Tickets are free but must be reserved in advance.

Saturday Cinema is made possible by the Ghost Light Recovery Fund. State-approved health and safety protocols will be in place for all activities at Walton Arts Center.

Diversity Through Programming at Walton Arts Center

Guest Blog by Scott Galbraith, vice president of programming and executive producer for Walton Arts Center

Diversity has long been a hallmark of Walton Arts Center’s programming (what we put on stage), and it’s one aspect of our work that always excites me. Our mission is all about bringing great performing artists from around the world to Northwest Arkansas, and that commits us to showcasing a wide array of people, cultures and art forms.

Our 10x10 Arts Series is known throughout the industry for the diversity it represents. Just last season, 10x10 included Nobuntu, a female a capella ensemble from Zimbabwe; Tiempo Libre, a three-time Grammy®-nominated Afro-Caribbean band; Socks in the Frying Pan, a rollicking Irish folk trio; and The Nature of Forgetting, a poignant dance-theatre performance from London.  Had the season not been interrupted by the pandemic, 10x10 would also have kicked off the first U.S. tour of Punya Dance Company, a classical ensemble from Bangalore. 

Nobuntu performing on a local TV show during their visit to Northwest Arkansas.

But 10x10 isn’t the only series to represent artists and cultures from around the globe. Our Colgate Classroom Series, which annually serves tens of thousands of NWA students, regularly features artists from Australia, Europe and Asia. The Starrlight Jazz series recently presented ASPADA, an ensemble that explored the synchronicity between American Jazz and classical Indian music. Martha Redbone, an American blues and soul singer whose ancestry is Cherokee-Choctaw-European-African American, appeared as part of our West Street Live series. Our last P&G Broadway Series included Once On This Island, an epic love story that’s complicated by colorism in the Caribbean. The Broadway Series (pre-COVID) was also scheduled to feature The Band’s Visit, which shows how the ancient divide between Egyptians and Israelis was bridged by a shared love of music.  And we were also preparing to present America’s acclaimed transgender modern dance choreographer, Sean Dorsey Dance Company. 

But diversity in the arts doesn’t end with race, gender or ethnicity.  Rather, it leads us to explore different artistic disciplines, styles and genres. Our palate includes dance, theatre, music, puppetry, film, contemporary circus, etc.  And just within music, there are both classical and contemporary forms, jazz, gospel, roots, zydeco, klezmer – the list goes on.

Mosaix Festival, originally scheduled for Spring 2020, highlighted the arts and culture of India in Northwest Arkansas.

All of which is to say, our work as programmers is never dull!  We’re constantly being exposed to artists and art forms that are unfamiliar. Our work isn’t easy, either, since we’re often making decisions outside our areas of expertise. Thankfully, we have a vast network of industry colleagues who freely share their insights, expertise and experiences. And, since we live in a community where more than 50 languages are spoken, we’re forever forging new relationships to help us understand and appreciate the cultural expressions that are meaningful to our neighbors.

Our new Mosaix Festival, which was delayed by COVID-19, was curated just that way. The focus of the first Mosaix was India, and we started two years ago listening to a group of advisors from the NWA Indian community to help inform what we would present. We are continuing to learn about the regions of South Asia from which our neighbors emigrated; the art forms, foods, and customs of those regions; and even the cultural connections they want to create for their first-generation American children.

At the end of the day, diversity at Walton Arts Center is both a goal and a way of life. Every person on this earth has roughly 99% of the same DNA and yet, too often, we allow divisions to grow based on skin color, culture or beliefs. For us, diversity is about showcasing, understanding and reveling in what makes people unique. Doing that together is what it is all about.

Celebrate Arkansas Interview with Once on This Island's Jahmaul Bakare

“Celebrate Arkansas” recently chatted with Once on This Island’s Jahmaul Bakare for their January issue. In this article, Jahmaul shares more about the plot of the show, the meaning of its message and how the elements impact both the story and the audience. Once on This Island plays Walton Arts Center February 11-16. Tickets can be purchased here.

By the time Groundhog Day and Valentine’s Day roll around, most of us in Arkansas will be tired of winter’s cold and frost, but Walton Arts Center has just the remedy. Nationally touring Broadway musical Once On This Island will bring the heat and spice of Caribbean colors, rhythms, and dance to the Northwest Arkansas stage mid-February, and you won’t want to miss it.

Jahmaul Bakare as Agwe

“Audiences are in for a treat,” says Jahmaul Bakare, who plays island water god Agwe in the show. “There’s amazing dancing, great singing, consummate acting. One moment, you’ll be laughing and smiling and having a good time, and the next you’ll be thinking about something thought-provoking, and then you’ll probably be crying. You’ll be engaged and captivated from the beginning. That’s how the show is. Once it starts, there’s not a dull moment.”

Winner of the 2018 Tony Award for Best Revival of a Musical, Once On This Island is the sweeping, universal tale of Ti Moune, a fearless peasant girl in search of her place in the world, and ready to risk it all for love. Guided by the mighty island gods, Ti Moune sets out on a remarkable journey to reunite with the man who has captured her heart.

Bakare’s character, Agwe, is god of the water and is, in fact, the one who starts the chain of events that leads Ti Moune to meet her beloved Daniel Beauxhomme. In his song “Rain,” Agwe arranges for a storm Agwe arranges for a story to cause Daniel’s car to crash so that Ti Moune may find him and restore him to health. She tells him, “The gods have sent me to make you well,” and because of her faith, Daniel is healed.

Much of the tension in the story comes from the fact that Ti Moune and Daniel come from two different classes of society. Daniel descends from black Haitians who mixed with French colonists and, thus, is lighter skinned and a member of the wealthier, upper class. Ti Moune, meanwhile, has darker skin and is a poor peasant. Most characters in the play see their relationship as doomed from the start. “The Sad Tale of the Beauxhommes” tells the history of race relations on the island and is one of Bakare’s favorite songs in the show, he says, because its content forms the root of all story’s drama.

The Company of Once on This Island

A core player throughout Once On This Island is mother nature herself. The four island gods represent water, earth, love, and death. They all use forces of nature to manifest their will on the island, and the elements are real — real water rains down on the stage. Sand and fire are present, too. Bakare himself spends most of the 90-minute performance (no intermission) within an actual pool filled with water. Additionally, throughout the show, cast members create a magical, authentic island experience by making background sounds of birds, frogs, mosquitoes, drums, tom toms, djembes, rain, breezes, and more.

The cast invites audience members to take in these natural elements on a very spiritual level. “We don’t always pay attention to the things all around us that make life easier for us,” Bakare explains. “Since being a part of Once On This Island, I’ve tried to pay attention to all the things around me from a spiritual standpoint so that things will be a bit easier, so that I can go on stage and make a great experience for the audience every night.”

The overall message of Once On This Island is to “love in spite of,” Bakare says. At the end, Ti Moune makes a difficult choice between self-preservation and self-sacrifice. It is in choosing the latter that she proves loving someone in spite of their wrongdoing is a way to clear the air and bring life that overcomes death.

Meet Jahmaul Bakare

Roots: Born in Chicago, Illinois, to Nigerian and American parents

Performance Bacgkround: Began singing and acting at age 9; performed with Congo Theater Company

Education: Bachelor of Arts from Morehouse College and Master of Fine Arts and Music from the University of Nevada in Las Vegas

Career Genres: classical theater, film and TV, musical theater, opera

Favorite credits: Flick in the LA premiere of Violet; Scar in The Lion King in Hong Kong

Dream Roles: A part in Hamilton; Coalhouse in Ragtime

Goals for the Future: To be in another Stephen Flaherty musical and to remain in entertainment for the rest of his life

Come for the Divinity from the Discarded Fashion Exhibition, Stay for the Show!

Once on This Island arrives in a few short days, but we’ve kicked off celebrating this show with the Divinity from the Discarded fashion exhibition, on display now in Walker Atrium at Walton Arts Center! The exhibition was curated exclusively for WAC by Christopher Vergara, assistant costume designer for Once on This Island.

The exhibition is free and open during normal lobby hours: 10 am until 2 pm Monday through Friday, 10 am until 4 pm on Saturday and 90 minutes prior to show times.

Featuring the work of six Northwest Arkansas designers, the exhibition celebrates sustainable fashion and the unique costumes of the gods in Once on This Island. Designed by Clint Ramos and assisted by associate costume designer Christopher Vergara, the gods’ costumes incorporate found or upcycled objects to create a gradual evolution of the characters from hurricane-ravaged islanders into the gods in the unfolding tale.

Each piece in the exhibition is made from found or upcycled materials. Vergara curated the exhibition from submissions that came in via a state-wide call. The Divinity from the Discarded Fashion Exhibition includes works by Brandy Lee, Trisha Guting, Sarah White, Rosie Rose, Alyssa Bird and Elizabeth Koemer.

Brandy Lee

Trash Diamond Dream

Materials: Salvaged laminate padding

Curator’s Notes: This dress exemplifies one of the tenets of upcycling, which is to make use of the natural qualities of the found material. Here the designer takes advantage of the material’s sturdiness to not only create a diamond cut-out pattern but also to draft a flattering dress shape.

Trisha Guting

Sagut ni Silaw (Bringing Light)

Materials: Double hammered bottle caps, aluminum pull tabs from cans, CDs, plastic bags, packing foam and Mylar balloons

Curator’s Notes: Being able to bring to mind another time or place with discarded items of the here and now is part of the fun of upcycling. While ingeniously using many modern materials, this piece evokes an ancient indigenous divinity.

Sarah White

Summer Dress

Materials: Plastic bags

Curator’s Notes: At its core, upcycling is about contrasts as we make useful that which has been considered useless. This summer dress is a beautiful example of celebrating the contrast. Here a light knit-like summer look is in contrast to the plastic bags from which it was made.

Rosie Rose

Swan Dress

Materials: Fabric scraps from linen clothing production and plastic soda pop rings

Curator’s Notes: Upcycling can be truly transformative practice. In this piece the materials have been transformed into an ombré tutu dress that has a sense of motion not found in but created by the discarded materials.

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Alyssa Bird

The SPACE to Transform

Materials: Test print and misprinted t-shirts from a local screen printing company

Curator’s Notes: One of the tangential benefits of upcycling is the opportunity to highlight local stories. This piece is not only inventive fashion but great storytelling.

Elizabeth Koerner

Waste Not, Want Not.

Materials: Packing fabric, ribbon and trim

Curator’s Notes: We talk about going from day to evening but here we have gone from discarded to high fashion. This piece of wearable arts shows how upcycling can be a legitimate technique in fashion design and creation.  

You still have a chance to see these beautiful creations and a showing of Once on This Island. Theater seating for the show starts at $40 plus applicable fees and can be purchased in-person at the Walton Arts Center Box Office, by calling 479.443.5600 or by visiting waltonartscenter.org. Patrons also can get reserved parking for $7 when they purchase show tickets.

Show Times:  

Tuesday, Feb. 11 and Wednesday, Feb. 12 at 7 pm

Thursday, Feb. 13 at 1:30 and 7 pm

Friday, Feb. 14 at 8 pm

Saturday, Feb. 15 at 2 and 8 pm

Sunday, Feb. 16 at 2 pm

Once on This Island - From Moving Book to Stunning Musical

Welcoming you in like an island breeze, the Tony award-winning musical Once on This Island will delight audiences in February.

Although the show may not have name recognition that sparks interest, when one dives a bit deeper the tale will sweep you away in familiarity and heart!

Based on a book with ties to Hans Christian Andersen's fairy tale The Little Mermaid, Once on This Island is an immersive experience using real fire, water, sand and soul.

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Based on the book by Rosa Guy

Once on This Island is based on the 1985 book My Love, My Love by Rosa Guy, which is set in the Caribbean and is the retelling of Hans Christian Andersen’s The Little Mermaid. Both are stories of a young girl who falls in love with a boy outside of her station in life. In My Love, My Love the boundary is socio-economical and in The Little Mermaid the boundary is land and sea. There have been connections made to Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet as well, which again tells the story of a young couple whose families oppose their love and try to keep them apart.

The Musical

The first Broadway revival of Once on This Island, produced by Ken Davenport, directed by Michael Arden and choreographed by Camille A. Brown, began previews on November 9, 2017 and officially opened on December 3 at the Circle in the Square Theatre. This production featured a stage covered in sand, with live animals onstage, and set and costume design intended to suggest a wrecked beach community recovering from a hurricane. The revival closed on January 6, 2019, after 458 regular performances.

The musical is touring North America and opened on October 15, 2019, at the Tennessee Performing Arts Center, Nashville, Tennessee. The tour is directed by Michael Arden with choreography by Camille A. Brown. The tour will feature onstage seating, "creating a unique experience within the footprint of every theater we play... Audiences will be invited to put their feet in the sand and surround our company, becoming part of the show."

Characters

• Ti Moune - A peasant girl.

• Little Ti Moune - Ti Moune as a child.

• Daniel Beauxhomme - A grand homme (French for "upper class"); Ti Moune's love interest; Beauxhomme is French for "beautiful man"

• Papa Ge - The sly Demon of Death who is the main antagonist of the show. He tricks the main character into giving her life for another. He is seen as a skeleton and is very sneaky. The people on the island fear him because of what he represents: the unknown that is death.

• Erzulie - Beautiful Goddess of Love; the foil to Papa Ge

• Agwe - God of Water

• Asaka - Mother of the Earth

• Mama Euralie - Ti Moune's adoptive mother

• Tonton Julian - Ti Moune's adoptive father

• Andrea Deveraux - Daniel's promised wife; also "Madame Armand"

• Armand Beauxhomme - Daniel's stern father.

• "Armand" - The ancestor of Armand Beauxhomme.

• Gatekeeper - The Hotel Beauxhomme's fierce guard

• The Little Girl - A young girl who is told the story of Ti Moune.

• Daniel's Son - Daniel's young son

• Storytellers/Gossips - Various Grands Hommes and peasants

Once on this Island

DATES: Feb. 11-16

Winner of the 2018 Tony Award for Best Revival of a Musical, Once on This Island is the sweeping, universal tale of Ti Moune, a fearless peasant girl in search of her place in the world, and ready to risk it all for love.

Jesse Cook Takes Nuevo Flamenco Beyond Borders

Widely considered one of the most influential figures in "nuevo flamenco" music today, Jesse Cook incorporates elements of flamenco, rumba, jazz and many forms of world music into his work.

Jesse Cook is a Juno Award winner, Acoustic Guitar Player's Choice Award silver winner in the Flamenco Category and a three-time winner of the Canadian Smooth Jazz award for Guitarist of the Year.

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Born to photographer and filmmaker John Cook and television director and producer Heather Cook and nephew to artist Arnaud Maggs, Jesse Cook spent the first few years of his life moving between Paris, Southern France and Barcelona.

After his parents separated, Cook and his sister accompanied his mother to her birth country, Canada, where he took lessons at Toronto's Eli Kassner Guitar Academy and eventually studied under Kassner. While Cook was still a teenager, his father retired to the French city of Arles in the Camargue where his neighbor was Nicolas Reyes, lead singer of the flamenco group the Gipsy Kings. During frequent visits to Arles, Jesse Cook became increasingly fascinated by the "Camargue sound,” the rhythmic, flamenco-rumba approach that could be heard on many corners and cafés.

Back at home, he continued his studies in classical and jazz guitar at Canada's Royal Conservatory of Music, York University and Berklee College of Music in the United States. He has often quipped that he later attempted to unlearn it all while immersing himself in the oral traditions of Romani music.

After the independent 1995 release in Canada of his debut albu, Tempest, he played at the 1995 Catalina Jazz Festival; shortly afterwards, Tempest entered the American Billboard charts at No. 14.

Cook has recorded ten studio albums, five live DVDs and has traveled the world exploring musical traditions that he has blended into his style of rumba flamenco.

In 1998, Cook was nominated for a Juno Award as Instrumental Artist of the Year. In 2001, he received a Juno Nomination for Best Male Artist. In 2001, Cook won a Juno Award in the Best Instrumental Album category for Free Fall. In 2009, he was Acoustic Guitar's Player's Choice Award silver winner in the Flamenco category (gold went to Paco de Lucia). He is a three-time winner of the Canadian Smooth Jazz award for Guitarist of the Year and numerous other awards.

In 2011, Cook began filming, directing and editing his own music videos with the release of Virtue. He has since directed, filmed and edited eight music videos, 16 episodes of Friday Night Music and produced, edited and mixed the PBS Concert Special Jesse Cook, Beyond Borders.

Cook has said of his music: "If you go to Spain and you play [my] music, they’ll say, what is this? They don’t recognize it as Flamenco because it’s not, it’s a hybrid. I love Flamenco, but I also love world music, jazz, pop, Brazilian Samba and Persian music."

Jesse Cook

DATE: Friday, Jan. 10, 8 pm

Cook has traveled the globe looking for sounds that resonate with him. Known for his intoxicating fusion of world music, the Juno Award winner’s songs transport you – to Cairo, Brazil, Spain and beyond.

It's Piff-Tacular! Piff the Magic Dragon At Walton Arts Center

With over 100 million online views, sold out shows across the U.S. and Canada and a residency at the Flamingo Hotel and Casino on the Las Vegas, Piff the Magic Dragon has proved he’s here to stay.

Joined by Mr Piffles, The World’s Only Magic Performing Chihuahua™, the dynamic duo have performed all over the world in iconic venues such as Radio City Music Hall, Shakespeare’s Globe, the O2, London and Sydney Opera house. He was the opening act for Mumford & Sons on their 17-date U.K. tour and graces the cover of their Grammy award winning album Babel.

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Magician and comedian from the United Kingdom, Piff the Magic Dragon is the winner of multiple awards from British magic societies and appeared on “Penn & Teller: Fool Us” and “America's Got Talent.” In 2019, Piff the Magic Dragon was named one of Variety's 10 Comics to Watch for 2019.

Regarding his comedic influences, Piff the Magic Dragon said "It was the people who are a little more irreverent. It was people like The Amazing Johnathan, Penn and Teller, Harry Anderson … and also if you look at some of the Copperfield stuff, like with the singing tie, he’s got amazingly funny routines as well. But obviously, the other stuff that Copperfield does is very straight and serious. And that was what I was reacting against."

And when asked which is harder, doing the magic or getting the comedy right, Piff said: "It is, without question, getting the magic tricks to work. That is the hardest bit. Because for the comedy, you can rewrite a joke pretty quickly, but to make a magic trick work it’s usually at least a month or two in R&D prototyping. And if it doesn’t work, then you have to really go back to the drawing board. Because now you spent all this time on something that nobody even cares about. So, you have to start again."

In 2008, John van der Put created his stage persona of Piff the Magic Dragon, dressing in a green, red and yellow dragon costume, with self-deprecating humor and deadpan delivery. He is assisted by "Mr. Piffles," a chihuahua in a dragon costume. The Magic Dragon persona was created by happenstance, when he went to a costume party in a dragon outfit, and nobody else turned up in costume. "It was just me. And one of my friends who knew that I was a magician said to me, 'You should do this in your act. You could be Puff the Magic Dragon.' And I said, 'Wait, I could be Piff the Magic Dragon. You might have heard of my older brother, Steve.' And that's where that came from."

When asked in an interview why he is a dragon, and not some other mythological being, Piff the Magic Dragon responded:

The first question is, “Am I even a dragon?” Because, well I don’t have wings … I can’t even fly. So, I don’t know. What happened was: I was a regular human magician for many years. And it never really worked out for me … I had a sort of very grumpy face, and I was getting fired everywhere. And then I had to go to a costume party, and I didn’t have a costume to wear and I said to my sister, ‘Do you have anything to wear?’ And she said, ‘Yes, I have a dragon outfit under my bed.’

So, the fact that it’s even a dragon outfit is solely down to my sister and her interpretation of the facts. And, I did ask her recently, ten years later, ‘Was it definitely a dragon outfit?,’ and she could not authenticate that. So, it was definitely some sort of lizardy, reptile-ish creature that I prefer to look at as a dragon.”

Piff the Magic Dragon has appeared regularly in shows at the Edinburgh Fringe, debuting at the 2009 Free Fringe Festival with a solo show that broke the record for highest takings in one night and being nominated for the inaugural 2012 Time Out and Soho Theatre Cabaret Award. His show at the 2009 Buxton Fringe won the award for Best Comedy Show the same year that Love and Other Magic Tricks won. He has had national tours of the UK and Australia and now Piff is on tour across the U.S. and headed to the Walton Arts Center for The Fun Size Tour.

Piff the Magic Dragon

The Fun Size Tour
featuring Mr Piffles, The World’s Only Magic Performing Chihuahua™

DATE: Sunday, Jan. 12, 7pm

“Piff is the best! A true original!” -David Copperfield

“A stunningly good magician!” -Penn & Teller

Christmas Bells are Swingin' with Boston Brass

Boston Brass has set out to establish a one-of-a-kind musical experience. From exciting classical arrangements, to burning jazz standards and the best of the original brass quintet repertoire, Boston Brass treats audiences to a unique brand of entertainment, which captivates all ages.

The ensemble’s lively repartee, touched with humor and personality, helps bridge the ocean of classical formality to put audiences at ease for an evening of great music and boisterous fun.

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For 31 years, Boston Brass has worked to create one-of-a-kind musical experience, treating audiences to a unique brand of entertainment and captivating all ages. The philosophy of Boston Brass is to provide audiences with a wide selection of musical styles in unique arrangements in a friendly and fun atmosphere.

Through over 100 performances each year, the members of Boston Brass play to audiences at concerts, educational venues and jazz festivals. In addition to solo performances, Boston Brass regularly performs with orchestras, wind ensemble, brass bands, marching bands and a variety of other ensembles. They have performed in 49 states and 30 countries and have conducted master classes around the world including sessions and residencies at the Eastman School of Music, The Julliard School, Shepherd School of Music at Rice University, Peabody Conservatory of Music, University of North Texas, Royal Academy of Music in London, Yong Siew Toh Conservatory at the National University of Singapore, Hong Kong Academy of Performing Arts and Mahidol University in Bangkok. 

Boston Brass is a Yamaha Performing Group and has been featured educators and performers at the Mid West Band and Orchestra Clinic, World Association for Symphonic Bands and Ensembles, Japan Band Clinic, Music Educators National Conferences, American Bandmaster Association Conference, The American Band College, Western International Band Clinic and Texas Bandmasters Association Convention.

Boston Brass has been featured on “The CBS Early Show,” National Public Radio’s Performance Today, The Great American Brass Band Festival and has recorded many diverse albums. Their latest recording “Concerto Grosso” is a collaboration with Eric Rombach-Kendall and University of New Mexico Wind Ensemble, “Reminiscing” is a tribute to Rolf Smedvig of the Empire Brass, “Rewired” features new arrangements by the members of Boston Brass, Latin Nights, features a collection of some of the greatest classical and jazz works by Latin composers and performers and features the legendary drummer Steve Gadd, the beautiful voice of Talita Real, percussion and guitar. Other albums include Ya Gotta Try, featuring music from Horace Silver, Chick Corea and Dizzy Gillespie, produced by legendary jazz recording genius Rudy van Gelder andWithin Earshot, featuring classical works by Shostakovich, Ginastera, Dvorak, Liszt and others. 

Boston Brass has two holiday recordings, Christmas Bells are Swingin’, and The Stan Kenton Christmas Carols, featuring the Boston Brass All-Stars Big Band playing the truly phenomenal charts made popular by the Stan Kenton Orchestra. Boston Brass tours a vibrant holiday show each year featuring many of the charts from these two albums, combined with a variety of solo and combo selections and some fun surprises, which has quickly established the show as a perennial audience favorite. 

Boston Brass

Christmas Bells are Swingin’

DATE: Sunday, Dec. 8, 2pm

This all-brass ensemble – made up of trumpets, French horns, trombones and tubas, with a jazz rhythm section – is well-known for their great music and boisterous fun.

The Rocky Horror Picture Show & Halloween Party

Rocky Horror is a legend of cult cinema - one of the few movies that has earned that title again and again.

The film follows what appears to be a wholesome couple, Brad and Janet (Barry Bostwick and Susan Sarandon), as they stay the night at a spooky old mansion owned by Dr. Frank N. Furter (Tim Curry, in the performance that rocketed him to stardom). What ensues is a celebration of kitsch, camp, horror and science fiction cinema, a musical that makes very little logical sense but is a ton of fun.

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Join Us For A Halloween Party You’ll Never Forget!

Ultra Suede will take the stage at 7 pm to kick off the party, costume contests, drink specials, Time Warp dance and movie to follow. Bring your own props or buy a bag at concessions to fully participate in all aspects of the fun!

*Approved BYOP (Bring Your Own Props)

• You'll want to remember to pack your sequined evening bag with these approved props: Newspaper, Flashlight, Rubber Gloves, Noisemakers (Kazoos), Toilet Paper, Toast (unbuttered!), Party Hats, Cowbell and Cards!

• Prop bags will also be available for purchase from concessions ($10).

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About 20 minutes into the film The Rocky Horror Picture Show, an elevator door opens and the actor Tim Curry steps out. His face is heavily mascaraed, the portrait of a commedia dell’arte drag queen. Everything below that striking visage is covered in a magnificent cape. He struts out, to the beat of a Stonesian guitar riff, and a few moments later he turns and rips off the cape: We can see he sports a glistening string of giant pearls and, not least, a silver-spangled ensemble of women’s lingerie.

It was originally a campy U.K. production called The Rocky Horror Show. The movie version, which was brought to America by producer and manager Lou Adler, became an unaccountable cult hit for years and then decades, and now takes its place on the list of the most profitable films of all time. While this anniversary has been duly noted, the film’s real sociological significance has not been.

The film, if you haven’t seen it, is a potent but gentle rock musical with a slate of irresistibly catchy songs. The story is a pastiche: a magnanimous spoof of old-time horror and sci-fi movies. Many of those old movies were black and white, but it’s one of the film’s charms that it’s filled with jarring colors and a goofy cast of characters. It opens with a pair of luscious red lips singing the opening song, which name-checks some of the film’s beloved predecessors:

 Michael Rennie was ill
The Day the Earth Stood Still
But he told us where we stand
And Flash Gordon was there
In silver underwear
Claude Rains was the Invisible Man … 

The story follows a hopelessly square couple, Brad and Janet, who get a flat in a rainstorm and end up at a mysterious mansion. This turns out to be the domain of Curry’s character, who is a mad scientist, Dr. Frank-N-Furter, who oversees, in sometimes sadistic fashion, a cast of supporting freaks. One of these is his Igor-like assistant, Riff Raff, played by Richard O’Brien, the show’s creator. They are aliens, we are given to understand, from the planet Transsexual in the galaxy of Transylvania. The film’s masterful, lancing conceit is to make Frank-N-Furter a hugely likable, genially sex-crazy transvestite who preaches a mantra of “absolute pleasure.” His fateful project is to create a Frankenstein’s monster — a hunka-hunka burning bodybuilder named Rocky. Frank-N-Furter’s issues are sometimes just kinky — there’s a set of video feeds that capture the mansion’s various shenanigans on video, for example, and he’s not above making his guests perform in a naughty floor show. But they can also be more severe: He can be homicidal and even — gulp — a cannibal, but we forget that as he cheerfully debauches both members of the young couple. The good doctor looks spectacular in a bustier, but things don’t end well. He’s deemed “too extreme” by his overlords and is spectacularly dispatched by Riff Raff.

The Rocky Horror Picture Show

Halloween Party

DATE: Thursday, Oct. 31 - 7 pm (music starts) & 9 pm (movie starts)

Hear Ye, Hear Ye & See With Thine Own Eyes- The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (abridged) [revised]

All 37 plays in 97 minutes! Three madcap men in tights weave their wicked way through all of Shakespeare's comedies, histories, and tragedies in one wild ride that will leave you breathless and helpless with laughter.

An irreverent, fast-paced romp through the Bard's plays, THE COMPLETE WORKS OF WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE (ABRIDGED) was London's longest-running comedy.

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“PITHIER THAN PYTHON. IRRESISTIBLE.” - The NEW YORK TIMES

An irreverent, fast-paced romp through the Bard’s plays, The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (abridged) was London’s longest-running comedy having clocked a very palpable nine years in London’s West End at the Criterion Theatre! Join these madcap men in tights as they weave their wicked way through all of Shakespeare’s Comedies, Histories and Tragedies in one wild ride that will leave you breathless and helpless with laughter.

“STUPENDOUS, ANCHORLESS JOY!” - THE TIMES OF LONDON

The Reduced Shakespeare Company is a three-man comedy troupe that takes long, serious subjects and reduces them to short, sharp comedies. Since 1981, ‘The Bad Boys of Abridgement’ have created nine stage shows, two television specials, several failed TV pilots and numerous radio pieces – all of which have been performed, seen, heard and translated into Klingon the world over.

“ROLLICKING, FAST-MOVING AND HILARIOUS!” - THE GUARDIAN

The company’s first three shows, The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (abridged), The Complete History of America (abridged) and The Bible: The Complete Word of God (abridged) enjoyed a nine-year run at the Criterion Theatre in Piccadilly Circus. Not only were they London’s longest-running comedies, but at one point the Reduced Shakespeare Company had more shows running in the West End than Andrew Lloyd Webber. Some of them were funnier too…

“IF YOU LIKE SHAKESPEARE, YOU’LL LOVE THIS SHOW. IF YOU HATE SHAKESPEARE YOU’LL LOVE THIS SHOW!” - THE TODAY SHOW

Warning! This show is a high-speed roller-coaster type condensation of all of Shakespeare’s plays and is not recommended for people with heart ailments, bladder problems, inner-ear disorders, outer-ear disorders, Shakespearean scholars, degrees in Elizabethan history and/or people inclined to motion sickness.

HISTORIES

Henry IV, Part I
Henry IV, Part II
Henry V
Henry VI, Part I
Henry VI, Part II
Henry VI, Part III
Henry VIII
King John
Pericles
Richard II
Richard III

COMEDIES

All's Well That Ends Well
As You Like It
Comedy of Errors
Love's Labour's Lost
Measure for Measure
Merchant of Venice
Merry Wives of Windsor
Midsummer Night's Dream
Much Ado about Nothing
Taming of the Shrew
Tempest
Twelfth Night
Two Gentlemen of Verona
Winter's Tale

TRAGEDIES

Antony and Cleopatra
Coriolanus
Cymbeline
Hamlet
Julius Caesar
King Lear
Macbeth
Othello
Romeo and Juliet
Timon of Athens
Titus Andronicus
Troilus and Cressida

Reduced Shakespeare Company

The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (abridged)[revised]

DATE: Thursday, Oct. 17, 7pm

These theater classics undergo some changes, of course – Titus Andronicus becomes a cooking show, Othello is summarized in rap and Hamlet is pared down to under a minute. But you’re sure to be mightily entertained by the madcap goings-on, which include satire, sight gags, improvisation, audience participation and more!

The Legendary Music of Lyle Lovett

Lovett's music career began as a songwriter. while typically associated with the country genre, Lovett's compositions often incorporate folk, swing, blues, jazz and gospel music.

He has won four Grammy Awards, including Best Country Album (The Road to Ensenada, 1996), Best Country Duo/Group with Vocal ("Blues For Dixie" with the Texas swing group Asleep at the Wheel, 1994), Best Pop Vocal Collaboration ("Funny How Time Slips Away" with Al Green, 1994) and Best Country Male Vocal (Lyle Lovett and His Large Band, 1989).

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A demo tape of Lovett's music made its way to MCA Records in 1984 and the label immediately began drafting a recording contract. Lovett signed with MCA/Curb in 1986 and released his self-titled debut album that year to positive reviews.

The singles "Farther Down the Line," "Cowboy Man," "God Will," "Why I Don't Know" and "Give Back My Heart" all reached the country Top 40. It was clear that Lovett was a country music success, but it was also very obvious that his style didn't rely on the genre entirely even though his sound was rooted in country.

Lyle Lovett was a success, peaking at No. 14 on the Billboard Top Country Albums chart, but his sophomore effort, 1987's Pontiac, is what really affirmed his talent. It was decidedly less country than his debut, but it still received rave reviews from country and mainstream critics, making Lovett a crossover success.

Pontiac introduced Lovett to a pop audience. While his success in that market grew, his country audience shrank. "She's No Lady" and "I Loved You Yesterday" was the last of his singles to crack the country Top 30.

Lovett's country audience may have been dwindling, but that certainly wasn't an indication of his future. Pontiac brought him an entirely new mainstream pop fan base and a loyal following. Lovett stayed true to his eclecticism, assembling a modified big band, His Large Band, which incorporated a range of instruments including guitars, cello, piano, a horn section and a backup singer, gospel trained Francine Reed.

Lyle Lovett and His Large Band was released in early 1989. Critics and fans lauded the album, which eventually went gold. The album was heavily influenced by jazz, R&B and swing, but it still managed to produce the minor country hit "I Married Her Just Because She Looks Like You." His rendition of Tammy Wynette's "Stand by Your Man" also received a good deal of attention.

Lovett relocated to Los Angeles and spent the next years cutting his fourth effort. He produced Walter Hyatt's King Tears, sang in Leo Kottke's Great Big Boy and covered "Friend of the Devil" for the Grateful Dead tribute album Deadicated. Then he starred in the Robert Altman film "The Player" in 1992 and met co-star Julia Roberts. The two wed after just three weeks of dating and embarked on a very high-profile yet short-lived marriage.

Lovett's fourth album, Joshua Judges Ruth, was released shortly after "The Player" premiered. The gospel and R&B-heavy album became his most successful release to date. Pop audiences revered the record, making Lovett a mainstream staple.

Lyle Lovett was given the Americana Music Association’s inaugural Trailblazer Award, and was named Texas State Musician.

Lyle Lovett and his Acoustic Group

DATE: Friday, Oct. 4, 8pm

Coupled with his gift for storytelling, the Texas based musician fuses elements of country, swing, jazz, folk, gospel and blues in a convention-defying manner that breaks down barriers.

Add Cheesy Movies to Your Night Out - Mystery Science Theater 3000 Live

In the not-too-distant future, next Sunday A.D., there was a guy named Joel, not too different than you or me...

Originally airing for 11 seasons from 1988 to 1999, Mystery Science Theater 3000 immediately won over fans and became one of the most beloved cult TV shows of all time, making a human mind experiment more entertaining than anyone could have predicted.

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When Joel Robinson (played by show creator Joel Hodgson) is shot into space and forced to watch bad movies while mad scientist Dr. Clayton Forrester (Trace Beaulieau) and his crony, TV's Frank (Frank Conniff), monitor his mind, Joel builds a cast of lovable robot sidekicks to help keep his sanity: Crow, Tom Servo, Gypsy and Cambot. It's only through their wisecracks, quips and friendships that they make it through a barrage of increasingly terrible cinema--and the audience in turn gets a veritable treasure trove of gut-busting hilarity.

Mystery Science Theater 3000 has earned its place in history as one of the Top 100 TV Shows of all time and is currently a hit show on Netflix. Now you can sit in the same theater with your favorite characters and experience this comedy phenomenon in a universally acclaimed LIVE event.

This is the last chance to see Joel as he celebrates his final live tour performing the unique comedic art form he created. The exhilarating, nonstop, rapid-fire hilarity is brimming with hundreds of jokes riffed on a “So-Bad-It’s-Good” feature film, plus spirited sketches and songs that turn the stage into a circus-themed party.

Mystery Science Theater 3000 Live

The Great Cheesy Movie Circus Tour

DATE: Tuesday, Oct. 29, 7pm

The hilarious Peabody Award-winning hit TV comedy is coming to Northwest Arkansas with an all-new Mystery Science Theater 3000 Live: The Great Cheesy Movie Circus Tour!

Prepare to LOL with One of the Greatest Humorists Today - David Sedaris

With sardonic wit and incisive social critiques, David Sedaris has become one of America’s pre-eminent humor writers.

The great skill with which he slices through cultural euphemisms and political correctness proves that Sedaris is a master of satire and one of the most observant writers addressing the human condition today.

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David Sedaris is the author of Barrel Fever and Holidays on Ice, as well as collections of personal essays, Naked, Me Talk Pretty One Day, Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim, When You Are Engulfed in Flames, and his most recent book, Let’s Explore Diabetes with Owls, each of which became an immediate bestseller. The audio version of Let's Explore Diabetes with Owls is a 56th Annual Grammy-Award Nominee for Best Spoken Word Album. He is the author of the NYT-bestselling collection of fables entitled Squirrel Seeks Chipmunk: A Modest Bestiary (with illustrations by Ian Falconer). He was also the editor of Children Playing Before a Statue of Hercules: An Anthology of Outstanding Stories. Sedaris’ pieces appear regularly in The New Yorker and have twice been included in “The Best American Essays.” There are over ten million copies of his books in print and they have been translated into 25 languages.

He and his sister, Amy Sedaris, have collaborated under the name “The Talent Family” and have written half-a-dozen plays which have been produced at La Mama, Lincoln Center and The Drama Department in New York City. These plays include Stump the Host, Stitches, One Woman Shoe, which received an Obie Award, Incident at Cobbler’s Knob and The Book of Liz, which was published in book form by Dramatists Play Service.

David Sedaris’ original radio pieces can often be heard on the public radio show This American Life. David Sedaris has been nominated for three Grammy Awards for Best Spoken Word and Best Comedy Album. His latest audio recording of new stories (recorded live) is “David Sedaris: Live for Your Listening Pleasure” (2009). A feature film adaptation of his story C.O.G. was released after a premiere at the Sundance Film Festival (2013). Since 2011, he can be heard annually on a series of live recordings on BBC Radio 4 entitled “Meet David Sedaris.” David Sedaris’ new book is a collection of his diaries, entitled Theft By Finding, Diaries (1977-2002) (2017). An art book, about David Sedaris’ diary covers was also just published and edited by Jeffrey Jenkins, entitled: David Sedaris Diaries: A Visual Compendium (2017, Little, Brown and Company). The nationally bestselling essay collection Calypso was published in 2018, and a second volume of his diaries is expected for summer 2021.

David Sedaris

DATE: Sunday, Nov. 3, 7pm

David Sedaris has charmed audiences with his neurotic and mundane, yet profound storytelling for more than 25 years. Beloved for his personal essays, short stories and National Public Radio segments, Sedaris’ material isn’t always what you would expect.

The Pure Voices of Nobuntu Transcend All Boundaries

Nobuntu, the female a cappella quintet from Zimbabwe, has drawn international acclaim for its inventive performances that range from traditional Zimbabwean songs to Afro Jazz to Gospel.

The ensemble’s concerts are performed with pure voices, augmented by minimalistic percussion, traditional instruments such as the Mbira (thumb piano) and organic, authentic dance movements.

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Nobuntu was nominated for Best Musician of the Year at the Zimbabwe International Women Awards in 2015 and are currently a two-time winner for the Best Imbube Group at the Bulawayo Arts Awards 2017 and 2019.  In the last few seasons, the quintet has performed at festivals and concert halls in Italy, Austria, Germany, Belgium, the Czech Republic and throughout the African continent. The ensemble was a huge critical success at “Trans-Vocal” in Frankfurt and “Voice Mania” in Vienna. Their first tour to Canada, in 2016, included performances in Toronto, Winnipeg, Vancouver, and Victoria.

The word Nobuntu is an African concept that values humbleness, love, unity and family from a woman’s perspective. The ensemble represents a new generation of young African women singers who celebrate and preserve their culture, beauty, and heritage through art. The ensemble’s mission is the belief that music can be an important vehicle for change, one that transcends racial, tribal, religious, gender, and economic boundaries.

Back at home, Nobuntu holds a number of community initiatives, one of which is The Nobuntu Pad Bank where they gather sanitary pads for young women in the arts in underprivileged communities.

Nobuntu has released three recordings- Thina in 2013, Ekhaya in 2016 and Obabes beMbube in 2018. The group has made dozens of television and radio appearances throughout Africa and Europe promoting these recordings and the culture of their homeland.

Nobuntu

DATE: Friday, Oct. 11, 8pm

Join us for this stunning performance full of sparkling energy and a rich musical heritage with Nobuntu.

Move to the Latin Rhythms & Cuban Beats of Tiempo Libre

Three-time Grammy-nominated Afro-Caribbean music group, Tiempo Libre, is one of the hottest Latin bands today.

Equally at home in concert halls, jazz clubs, festival stages and dance venues, Tiempo Libre is celebrated for its sophisticated tropical music featuring an irresistible, exhilarating mix of jazz harmonies, contemporary sonorities and seductive Latin rhythms.

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“World Class Act…” – London Evening Standard

Throughout the past 14 years, the band has appeared around the globe and has been featured on television shows including The Tonight Show, Live from Lincoln Center, and Dancing with the Stars as well as many entertainment programs on Univision and Telemundo. Since the group’s formation in Miami 2001, its members have been on a mission to share their Afro-Caribbean heritage with as wide an audience as possible, reinterpreting and reinvigorating music born from the meeting of their musical origins with their new American experience.

“Dance Music of Sophistication and Abandon” – The New York Times

Newly signed in 2015 to Universal Music Latin Entertainment in partnership with Universal Music Classics, the group will release its new album Panamericano on June 30. Tiempo Libre premieres two singles from Panamericano on May 19: “Dime Que No” featuring guest artist Jean Rodriguez and “Somebody to Love Me” with Yunel Cruz. Additional guest artists include Descemer Bueno, Frankie J, and Luis Fernando Borjas.

“So hot and danceable that even when you talk about the group, you find yourself moving your hips” – Richmond Times Dispatch

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Tiempo Libre is a kick-off event for the Hispanic Heritage Festival on Sunday, Oct. 6 in Downtown Fayetteville. Hosted by the Fayetteville Chamber of Commerce, festival attendees are welcome to Tiempo Libre’s performance as a fun way to start a weekend celebrating the rich history and rhythms of the Hispanic community.

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Tiempo Libre

DATE: Thursday, Oct. 3, 7pm

Classically trained at Cuba’s premier conservatories, the seven member Afro-Caribbean group are true modern heirs to the rich musical tradition of their native Cuba.