What's Up - Your guide to what's happening in Fayetteville, AR this week!
Issue link: http://www.epageflip.net/i/1459044
keeps you coming back. And I think that's the parallel to the theme of the story is, we're so taken in by the glitz and the glitter and the music and the dance that we forget we're forgetting. We're forgetting that it's about these people who kill their husbands. So we are going through the process that they're satirizing." 'Tootsie' Jan. 17-22, 2023 Another movie that was adapted for stage is "Tootsie," which has been dubbed a "laugh-out loud love letter to theater," showing a man learn to walk a mile in a woman's shoes. Galbraith adds that "it is one of the funniest shows in years." Despite rave reviews from the likes of Rolling Stone and The Hollywood Reporter, the New York production was criticized for jokes which some say make light of the transgender community. "When creating the show, the creators did not seek to merely replicate the story of Tootsie … They were actually looking at the essential questions of the story and trying to answer those from a contemporary viewpoint: How far would you go, when you are being told that one thing that you love in life, that you want to do more than anything else, you're being told no," Galbraith muses. "The book writer calls it out, that this character makes some really bad decisions. And that's what's on stage. Not everybody who's on stage is a perfect human being, not everybody in the audience is a perfect human being. We do make mistakes." He goes on to say, "I did not see that there was any sort of making fun or making light of transgender or gender fluid people in our community. I don't believe that's what they're trying to do." Ross adds: "I believe also it helps all of us understand that walking in somebody else's shoes helps us better understand that person. … Because the character makes this bad decision, does, you know, dress up as a woman in order to get a part, to get a job. But in the end, realizes that this is No. 1, this is hard. And No. 2, this was a really bad decision. So I believe as Scott said the character redeems himself because of the realization that he has at the end of the show." 'Moulin Rouge: The Musical' Feb. 9-19, 2023 On film, "Moulin Rouge" is so filled with beautiful and popular music that it's being adapted into a musical seems natural. When it comes to the stage, "it's visually spectacular. You know, musically, it's an extravaganza because it has so many different popular artists' music that is woven into the show seamlessly. It is all the best parts of the film, and yet it's right there live in front of you. It is an experience," Galbraith says. Both Galbraith and Ross were evasive about exactly how the stage would look when "Moulin Rouge" comes to the Walton Arts Center, but the theme of "truth, beauty, freedom and — above all — love" will have a run of 14 days. 'Hadestown' May 23-28, 2023 "The story of 'Hadestown' is really the intertwining of two different myths. It's the dreamers Orpheus and Eurydice who fall in love. And it's the story of Hades and Persephone," Ross explains. "I can tell you, I have never sobbed like I did at 'Hadestown,' just because the story is so strong." "In addition to all that, the other part that we love about this is how it really fit into the celebration of women that is the season. I think it's the fourth time in Broadway history — it hasn't happened in a decade — that a musical has been written solely by a woman. So book, music, lyrics — all by one person — Anais Mitchell … the director is also female (Rachel Chavkin). So you're really getting a woman's perspective of these myths, which again, is helping to illuminate stories that have been around in this case for centuries. But to make sure that we are seeing them in a new and fresh way and, oh my gosh, it is moving, it is uplifting, it is stunning visually." 'To Kill A Mockingbird' 2023-24 season Finally, Broadway subscribers will be guaranteed first access for the 2023-24 Northwest Arkansas debut of Academy Award-winner Aaron Sorkin's adaptation of Harper Lee's " To Kill A Mockingbird." "The 21st century lens on it is undeniable. And I think people will see not only these characters, but the subject matter in a very, very contemporary way. And I think it just speaks to the timelessness of Harper Lee's writing. It's exciting," Galbraith says. "The fact that it starts and ends with the same words — and the dramatic difference, they hit you one way when you first hear them, and they hit you a completely different way at the end of the show … you have changed in between those words, and it's amazing." MARCH 13-19, 2022 WHAT'S UP! 9 FYI Broadway Tickets Six-show Broadway subscription pack- ages range from $312 to $463 for Tuesday and Wednesday evenings and Thursday matinees, and $367 to $542 for Thursday, Friday and Saturday evenings and Saturday and Sunday matinees. Package prices vary depending on performance selected and include all fees. Subscriptions are available now for a limited time and can be renewed or purchased online at waltonartscenter.org, by calling the subscriber concierge at 571-2785 or in person at the Walton Arts Center Box Office weekdays 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. Single tickets to all Broadway and other shows in the 2022-23 season will be available later this summer. Kimberly Mararble as Persephone celebrates spring in "Hadestown," coming to the Walton Arts Center stage May 23-28, 2023. (Courtesy Photo/T. Charles Erickson) "Moulin Rouge! The Musical" will run for 14 days starting Feb. 9, 2023, at the Walton Arts Center in Fayetteville. Pictured is the original Broadway production of the show based on the Baz Luhrmann film. (Courtesy Photo/Matthew Murphy)