What's Up - Your guide to what's happening in Fayetteville, AR this week!
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MARCH 3-9, 2019 WHAT'S UP! 3 APT announces 2019-20 Season "THE ROCKY HORROR SHOW" — The midnight movie your parents didn't want you to see comes to glorious life on stage in this hilarious and campy musical which inspired the movie. Performances Sept. 13-15, 19-22 & 26-29. Auditions 7 p.m. July 29. (There will also be a movie screening with the cast on Oct. 8.) "A COMEDY OF TENORS" — A sequel to Ken Ludwig's "Lend Me a Tenor," with one hotel suite, four tenors, two wives, three girlfriends, and a soccer stadium filled with screaming fans. What could possibly go wrong? Performances Nov. 1-3 & 7-10. Auditions 7 p.m. Sept. 16. "A TUNA CHRISTMAS" — It's Christmas in the third-smallest town in Texas, and radio station OKKK news personalities Thurston Wheelis and Arles Struvie report on various Yuletide activities, including the hot competition in the annual lawn-display contest. Perfor- mances Dec. 13-15 & 20-22. Auditions 7 p.m. Nov. 4. "NEWSIES" — Based on the Disney film and set in turn-of-the-century New York City, "Newsies" is the rousing tale of Jack Kelly, a charismatic newsboy and leader of a band of teenaged "newsies." Performances Feb. 7-9, 13-16 & 20-23, 2020. Auditions 7 p.m. Dec. 16. "METEOR SHOWER" — Written by Steve Martin and starring Amy Schumer and Keegan-Michael Key on Broadway, this comedy finds Corky and Norm excited to host Gerald and Laura at their home in the valley outside Los Angeles to watch a once-in-a-lifetime meteor shower. Performances March 20-22 & 26-29, 2020. Auditions 7 p.m. Feb. 10, 2020. "BUYER & CELLAR" — A struggling actor in L.A. takes a job working in the Malibu basement of a beloved mega- star, Barbra Streisand. One day, the Lady Herself comes downstairs to play. Performances May 1-3 & 7-9, 2020. Auditions 7 p.m. March 10, 2020. "THE CLEAN HOUSE" — Sarah Ruhl's play takes place in what the author describes as "metaphysical Connecti- cut," mostly in the home of a married couple who are both doctors, where the cleaning lady doesn't clean but is instead an aspiring comic and the husband finds his soul mate in a patient. Performances June 12-14 & 18-20, 2020. Auditions 7 p.m. May 4, 2020. "AVENUE Q" — Together, Princeton, a puppet, and his new-found friends struggle to find jobs, dates and their ever-elusive purpose in life on Avenue Q. Performances July 24-26, July 30-Aug. 2 & Aug. 6-9, 2020. Auditions 7 p.m. June 15, 2020. INFO — 631-8988 or arkansaspublic theatre.org COVER STORY Popular Demand Arkansas Public Theatre announces season BECCA MARTIN-BROWN NWA Democrat-Gazette E d McClure loves a secret. Actually, when this story was written, he had eight secrets — the eight shows he was planning to announce March 1 for the Arkansas Public Theatre's 34th season. By the time this appears in print, word will be out — and he'll still be just as excited. "Waiting to tell all of our friends and supporters is so … challenging," says McClure, one of the theater's founders and its artistic director, laughing. "But it's also kind of fun to know something almost no one else does — and to get to see everyone's faces when it's announced!" Now that the party on Friday let the puppet out of the bag, McClure can share in print that the season starts with "The Rocky Horror Show," most recently on the APT stage in September 2017, and ends with "Avenue Q ," with one more musical and five "straight" plays in between. "Demand has been so high to produce and present 'Rocky Horror' again we decided to bring it back," says McClure. "It will likely be a combination of new and old [actors], depending upon interest among former cast members." Auditions are set for 7 p.m. July 29, with performances Sept. 13-15, 19-22 and 26-29. The second musical unveiled isn't a new one, but it will be the first full-scale Northwest Arkansas production for "Newsies," a 1992 Disney musical by Alan Menken. "It is lively, historical, moving and has roles for all ages," promises McClure of the show set in turn-of-the- 20th-century New York. "Newsies" is the tale of a charismatic newsboy who rallies "newsies" to rebel when titans of publishing raise distribution prices at the newsboys' expense. It's Disney, says McClure, "only in the sense that good triumphs over evil, every song makes you want to rise up, and kids are the real stars of this show." Auditions are scheduled for 7 p.m. Dec. 16, with performances Feb. 7-9, 13-16 and 20-23, 2020. And rounding out the musical offerings in the summer of 2020 will be "Avenue Q ," making its debut on the APT stage. Winner of the Tony "triple crown" for Best Musical, Best Score and Best Book, "Avenue Q" is part flesh, part felt and packed with heart, McClure's description says. Opening off-Broadway in 2003, the musical, which follows life in New York's Avenue Q neighborhood for a puppet named Princeton and his friends, moved to the Great White Way the same year and ran for more than 2,500 performances. "Although the show addresses humorous adult issues, it is similar to a beloved children's show — a place where puppets are friends, Monsters are good, and life lessons are learned." See APT Page 4 Courtesy Photo The cast of the recent APT production of "Jesus Christ Superstar" helps announce the 2019-20 season. The Rocky Horror Show A Comedy Of Tenors A Tuna Christmas Newsies Buyer & Cellar Meteor Shower The Clean House Avenue Q