What's Up - Your guide to what's happening in Fayetteville, AR this week!
Issue link: http://www.epageflip.net/i/1439772
LARA JO HIGHTOWER NWA Democrat-Gazette A s we approach the end of 2021 with more pandemic uncertainty than ever, it can be hard to muster even a little bit of optimism for the coming new year. So we put on our rose-colored glasses and scoured the schedules of some of our best local arts and culture institutions for performing and visual art events we're looking forward to. Chin up: no matter what covid-19 might unleash on us, there are definitely some wonderful things to get excited about in 2022. JANUARY The Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art exhibit "In American Waters: The Sea in American Painting" opened in November, but you still have all of January to take it in. "For over 250 years, artists have been inspired to capture the beauty, violence, poetry, and transformative power of the sea in American life," reads the description of the exhibit on Crystal Bridges' website. "Oceans play a key role in American society no matter where we live, and still today, the sea continues to inspire painters to capture its mystery and power. 'In American Waters' is a new exhibition in which marine painting is revealed to be so much more than ship portraits. Be transported across time and water on the wave of a diverse range of modern and historical artists including Georgia O'Keeffe, Amy Sherald, Kay WalkingStick, Norman Rockwell, Hale Woodruff, Paul Cadmus, Thomas Hart Benton, Jacob Lawrence, Valerie Hegarty, Stuart Davis and many more. Discover the sea as an expansive way to reflect on American culture and environment, learn how coastal and maritime symbols moved inland across the United States, and consider what it means to be 'in American waters.'" $12 for adults, free for those age 18 and younger 600 Museum Way, Bentonville 657-2335 or crystalbridges.org. FEBRUARY In February, the Arkansas Public Theatre will present the rollicking musical "Something Rotten," a show the Chicago Tribune called "especially rewarding and amusing for people who know Broadway musicals better than their own children" and "the kind of romp that allows you to switch off your brain, drink a glass of wine and let it Brexit you off for a couple of escapist hours." "Welcome to the Renaissance and the outrageous, crowd-pleasing musical farce set in the 1590s," reads the APT website. "Brothers Nick and Nigel Bottom are desperate to write a hit play but are stuck in the shadow of that Renaissance rock star known as 'The Bard.' When a local soothsayer foretells that the future of theater involves singing, dancing and acting at the same time, Nick and Nigel set out to write the world's very first musical. But amidst the scandalous excitement of opening night, the Bottom brothers realize that reaching the top means being true to thine own self, and all that jazz. Throughout its Broadway run, JANUARY 2-8, 2022 WHAT'S UP! 3 FEATURE See 2022 Page 4 Anticipation The coming year offers plenty of promise for arts lovers "The Immigrants," a 1923 oil on canvas by Theresa Bernstein, is on exhibit at Crystal Bridges Museum as part of "In American Waters: The Sea in American Painting," something wonderful to see in January. (Collection of Thomas and Karen Buckley) (Courtesy Image/Woodmere Art Museum)