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Drama: Stephen King’s Misery! #LiveAtTheLyric October 5–7, 2023 at 7:00pm and October 8, 2023 at 2:00pm

The Theatre Co. of the Ozarks and the Ozark Arts Council present Stephen King’s Misery (adapted for the stage by William Goldman, this is the same version done by Bruce Willis on Broadway and the basis for the 1990 film with James Caan and Kathy Bates), October 5–7, 2023 at 7:00pm and October 8, 2023 at 2:00pm at the Historic 1929 Lyric Theater on the Harrison, Arkansas square.

Misery follows successful romance novelist Paul Sheldon (Rick Turner Lucas), who is rescued from a car crash by his “number one fan,” Annie Wilkes (Toinette Madison), and wakes up captive in her secluded home. While Paul is convalescing, Annie reads his latest book and becomes enraged when she discovers the author has killed off her favorite character, Misery Chastain. Annie forces Paul to write a new Misery novel, and he quickly realizes Annie has no intention of letting him go anywhere, despite Officer Buster’s (Louie Keener) presence. The irate Annie has Paul writing as if his life depends on it—because it does!

OAC Ticketing Link

A Tribute to Lynyrd Skynyrd — Saturday, September 16, 2023 at 7pm — #LiveAtTheLyric!

The Hedley Lamar Band
& Friends
Tribute to Lynyrd Skynyrd
Saturday, September 16, 2023 at 7:00PM

Join us on September 16 at 7:00, as Billy, Tim, and Will—The Hedley Lamar Band—have done it again: they’ve once again assembled a fantastic group of local musicians and vocalists to pay tribute to a band that survived great tragedy to influence so many. As with the Led Zeppelin tribute the band organized in 2019—the most successful concert of purely local musicians since Screamin’ Freeman’s 24-hour Guinness World Record concert in 1999—this promises to be an experience Harrison area music lovers will talk about for years, and one well worth coming from out of town to see!

Remainder of Post Still Under Construction!

local musicians.

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Ticket prices: $10 in advance – $15 at the gate

OAC Ticketing Link

Mama JaWanna Music Festival — Saturday, June 10, 2023 at 3pm — #LiveAtTheLyric!

Mama JaWanna
Music Festival

As in…
“HeyMama…JaWannaMakesomeMUSICwithMe for some great causes‽

Live on the
Harrison Square’s hot new Entertainment District
and inside the always-cool Lyric Theater
3:00PM–11:00PM
Saturday, June 10, 2023

Join us on June 10, from 3:00–11:00, both in the Lyric (7–11) and on the Harrison Square (3–6) for the first ever Mama JaWanna Music Festival—showcasing talented female performers from our area who have banded together to raise funds for Hope Cottages and The Sanctuary, Inc. of Boone County!

7 Hours of multi-genre music on 2 stages, featuring women singer/songwriters of the area, supported by local musicians.

Singers include: Susan Swanson, Sierra Schwanz, Brooke Albright of Angels and Outlaws, Rachel Hewitt-Groves, Snowflake Henson, Susan Boone-Rowan, Denise Dore, Maggie Lee, and Shelly Watson.

Ticket prices: $20 – preferred seating; $30 – 2 drink tickets; $50 – 2 drink tickets and an invitation to the Aftershow Party at Buffalo Chateau

OAC Ticketing Link

3x UK Blues Guitarist of the Year, Matt Schofield — Friday, February 17, 2023 at 7:00 — #LiveAtTheLyric!

Matt Schofield
Maybe the Best British Blues Guitarist Since Clapton, Page, and Beck!

Friday, February 17, 2023 at 7:00PM

Join us on February 17 at 7:00PM, for the music of the man whom the Los Angeles Daily News called “the best Blues guitarist from any country in decades… head and shoulders above the herd,” while Guitar & Bass Magazine rated him in the top ten British blues guitarists of all time ranking him with icons Eric Clapton and Peter Green: Matt Schofield! Though he holds a British passport and is an inductee of the British Blues Hall of Fame, Matt Schofield has been making his mark globally as one of the top players in the new class of six string wunderkinds. Born in the industrial city of Manchester and raised amongst the rolling hills and locked in time Cotswolds, Schofield began playing guitar at the age of 12. “My dad relocated to America, but before he left he gave me a BB King video. I watched it before school every day; it was three or four tracks from a concert. Later, when I was in California with my father, he showed me BB King with Albert Collins and Stevie Ray Vaughan on video. It was like, ‘I’ve got to do this.’ There’s something about the way the three of them were jamming. B.B. really was majestic. As an 11-or 12-year-old watching him, I was mesmerized but didn’t think there was any way I could ever do that. It was too special. But when I saw Stevie Ray Vaughan playing with him, I thought maybe I could. Stevie made it seem accessible to people. I taught myself, working my way through my Dad’s great blues record collection. I did my first gig age 13, and I’ve been doing it ever since.”

Article Under Construction…but Mark Your Calendar!

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Tickets are available now for Eli Cook’s Saturday, October 22 performance at

Seats are $15 and $18 in advance or $20 at the door and may be purchased online, or by calling (870) 391-3504.

OAC Ticketing Link

Eli Cook — Richest Vocals Plus Guitar Riches Equals One Fantastic Saturday! — Saturday, October 22, 2022 — Class at 3:00, Concert at 7:00 — #LiveAtTheLyric!

Eli Cook
Maybe the Best Vocals
in Today’s Blues…and the Guitar Work
is Top Notch, Too!

At the Lyric for a Class and a Concert

Saturday, October 22, 2022
Class at 3:00PM — Concert at 7:00PM

Join us on October 22 at 7:00pm, for the guitar mastery and rich baritone voice that brought the writers of Blues Matters magazine to rank him as a “top international solo artist” above Devon Allman and Elvin Bishop…before he had reached his 30th birthday: Eli Cook’s busy hands and feet (resonator and 12-string, plus tambourine and stompbox) are coming back to the Lyric this Fall!

Even Better: Join us earlier in the day, too: from 3:00PM to 5:00PM Eli Cook’s Acoustic Blues Guitar Workshop returns! Ages 13 and up with a moderate skill level and an interest in “Blues-based music” are welcome. You must bring an acoustic guitar (no electric instruments will be allowed this time). If you know basic chords and want to play the Blues or incorporate its influences into your playing, there will be something here for you; if you know more than that, there will be something here for you, too! BUT: Get your concert tickets first, so that you save $10 on this class! (More info below!)

AllMusic noted that Eli Cook “has what it takes to be the best blues singer of his generation.” Blues Matters! stated that Cook is “among the top 3 solo blues artists world-wide.” Arnie Goodman’s words in Elmore Magazine immediately make sense when you consider Eli’s main influences—John Lee Hooker, Muddy Waters, Soundgarden, and Rage Against the Machine—

What Eli is doing is giving an authenticity to the blues, but giving it the energy a modern rock band would give it. That’s the key to it.

As Eli himself says, “Everything I do is always deeply rooted in classic blues—meaning the feeling of it and the music theory aspect of it. It’s especially rooted in what they call pre-war blues, the more acoustic, rootsy stuff.” Joe McSpadden, writing in the roots music quarterly No Depression sums it up this way:

On the seventh album of his career the phenom from Nelson County, Virginia reins in his inner guitar god and makes his most focused roots blues album yet. High-Dollar Gospel finds Cook showcasing his acoustic mojo and the result is the most satisfying record of his career.

That album—released to universally rave reviews in 2017—was a blend of Cook’s love of country pickers to blues rockers and included covers from Muddy Waters and Roosevelt Sykes that have been in his live shows for years, as well as an outstanding cover of Bob Dylan’s “I’ll Be Your Baby Tonight.”

Through the years, Cook has performed and recorded both acoustic and electric blues, and his Primitive Son album (2014), contained guest appearances by Vinny Appice and Artimus Pyle (drums); Tinsley Ellis, Eric Gales, Leslie West, Pat Travers and Harvey Mandel (guitar); Sonny Landreth (slide guitar); Rod Piazza (harmonica); and Reese Wynans (Hammond B3 organ). He has shared the stage with B. B. King and other greats from Johnny Winter, Robert Cray, and Robin Trower to Shemekia Copeland and Parliament-Funkadelic, appearing every where from the Kennedy Center to the South by Southwest festival…and now we are pleased to welcome him back to The Roots Music Palace of the Ozarks, Harrison’s historic Lyric Theater!

“Everybody knows the story of the crossroads, where blues guitarists go at midnight to trade their souls to the devil for musical prowess. It’s just a myth, of course, but if it were true, firebrand Eli Cook could have bragging rights, as his scarifying solo-country blues chill like a hellhound on your trail.” –  Guitar Player (2007)

Eli Cook is a mystifying soul. He’s a keen observer and a provoking thinker…but with swagger!

Under the messy blonde hair is a passionate heart with fingers of silver and gold that recalls John Lee Hooker, Chris Smither, and Chet Atkins, mixed in with a dirty, grungy sound. It’s clean playing mind you; it’s just his fingers are covered in the dirt left over from the crossroads.

Coming from Albemarle County in Virginia at the Foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains, Eli Cook grew up listening to the blues, country, classic rock, and alternative rock. He grew up with no TV, but radio shows like Prairie Home Companion were his Saturday night entertainment. Life moves slowly in this rural area of the world giving him time to hone his skills with his voice and guitar chops. At 18 he was opening up for B.B. King—a few years later he’s playing in Canada the one week and then the next week he’s blending in with his hometown locals.

“It’s what was around me, and I just tried to pick up on everything and everybody, including Doc Watson and Chet Atkins. In fact, hearing Chet fingerpick made me realize I didn’t need a band.” –  Guitar Player (2007)

Tickets are available now for Eli Cook’s Saturday, October 22 performance at Harrison’s historic Lyric Theater, now celebrating its 90th year. This is a venue perfectly constructed for a performer like Eli, with the maximized ‘live’ acoustics that were necessary for the first generation of talking motion pictures—and the dedicated Lyric fans that consistently fill our seats for blues concerts will make for the sort of electric environment this acoustic blues concert deserves, so choose your seats early for what promises to be an outstanding evening!

Seats are $15 and $18 in advance or $20 at the door and may be purchased online, or by calling (870) 391-3504.

Acoustic Blues Guitar Workshop tuition is $45—but only $35 if you have a concert ticket and use the code on it when you register! In this class, we will discuss the key elements of Blues based guitar playing. This entails crucial rhythmic and melodic concepts and touches on both acoustic and electric styles as well as various finger- and thumb-picking techniques and provides an overview of what makes good Blues guitar.

Classic turnarounds, walking patterns, tricks for transitioning between chords, and signature riffs and licks will all be included and discussed from both a player’s technical standpoint and from a historical perspective, using examples from players such as Robert Johnson, Son House, Albert King, and Stevie Ray Vaughn. This class will have something for anyone who wants to play Blues guitar or just enjoys the music and wants to learn more about it.

OAC Ticketing Link

Cult Classic Alert: “The Rocky Horror Picture Show” on the Big Screen…and Your Prop Bags ARE FREE! — Saturday, October 28, 2023 at 7pm!

 

The Rocky Horror Picture Show
Friday, October 28 at 7:00PM 

Let’s do the Time Warp again!

Some people like “prop comics” and some people don’t…but everybody loves a whole theater full of happy people adding to a movie’s hilarity because they all have the right props!

On October 28th at 7:00 pm, join your fellow Time Warp enthusiasts for The Rocky Horror Picture Show! In this cult classic, sweethearts Brad and Janet, stuck with a flat tire during a storm, discover the eerie mansion of Dr. Frank-N-Furter, a scientist. Brad and Janet meet a houseful of wild characters, including a rocking biker and a creepy butler. Through elaborate dances and rock songs, Frank-N-Furter unveils his latest creation: a muscular man named “Rocky.”

If you have yet to see this cult classic, now is the time! Costumes are encouraged! Don’t have a clue? You’re just a click away from the official guide for first time attendees! And this time, you don’t even have to worry about gathering up your own props: Prop Bags are included in the price of your advance ticket! Since no water or fire (or hotdogs or prunes!) are permitted in our historic building anyway, it just makes sense for us to have everything else ready for you! Advance tickets, which include a prop bag per ticket, are $15 online and tickets at the door are $20.

OAC Ticketing Link

Harrison Art League Fall Show “Artistic Expressions” Opens October 3

Harrison Art League Fall Show
“Artistic Expressions”
Opens October 3rd

HAL’s Fall Show at the Boone County Public Library

This annual HAL-sponsored art show will take entries on Monday, October 3rd at the Boone County Library from 1–4PM. The art will then be up in the library for about a month. The show will be judged, with various categories and prize money awarded.

Right-click to download the application form and info sheet

Visit the HAL Website!

Freaky Friday, July 1–2 & 8–9 at 7pm, July 3 & 10 at 2pm! #LiveAtTheLyric!

The Theatre Company of the Ozarks and
the Ozark Arts Council Present:

Thursday–Saturday, July 1–2 & 8–9, 7:00PM
Sunday, July 3 & 10, 2:00PM

The Theatre Company of the Ozarks and The Ozark Arts Council present Disney’s Freaky Friday, A New Musical, performed at the Historic 1929 Lyric Theater July 1–2 and July 8–9 at 7:00PM, July 3 and 10 at 2:00PM. Tickets are $12 for adults, $10 for seniors and students, and $8 for children, when bought in advance; prices rise $3 if purchased at the door—$11 for children, $13 for seniors and students, and $15 for adults.

Based on the beloved 1972 novel by Mary Rodgers and the hit Disney films, Freaky Friday, A New Musical hits all the right notes!

Teenager Ellie (Bri Coleman) is…annoyed. Her mother, Katherine (Shawna Cash), is in a frenzy planning her own wedding, her brother Fletcher (Landon Clements) is being his usual irritating, little-brother-self, and her soon-to-be-stepfather, Mike (Michael Amburn), is just too overbearing. When Ellie wants to go on a scavenger hunt with her friends (Lexi Poor, Emma Bock) instead of attending Katherine’s rehearsal dinner, she and Katherine argue and end up breaking a magical hourglass…which makes them swap bodies. When they realize they need another hourglass to switch back, they rush to find it, as they have just one day to put things right again!

Freaky Friday, a new musical based on the celebrated novel by Mary Rodgers and the hit Disney films, is a heartfelt, comedic, and unexpectedly emotional update on a classic. With a stellar cast of both new and familiar Lyric faces—including Ann Lemley, Bannon Jones, Liani Cash, Jerome Sweatman, McKenna Franks, Candace Lamberts, Delaney Bowie, Courtney Lantis, Becky Poor, Kinder Hinrichs, Marsha Franks, Jacob Howton, Patrick Franks, Julie Davis, and Joe Cotton—you’ll laugh riotously and be sincerely touched as you see two seemingly opposite people come to appreciate one another’s struggles, learn self-acceptance, and realize the immeasurable love and mutual respect that bond a mother and daughter.

As with any adaptation of a book to a live performance, we suggest a (re-)reading of the book both before and after the performance. We suggest this because it both prolongs the entertainment and makes the experience more enriching. By reading the book before and after, you are able to engage your own imagination of the characters and scenery, etc., or even of the nuances of the plot, then gain insight into the playwright’s imagination of the same, and then deepen and broaden your own imagination through the post-performance reading. You may agree or disagree with any playwright’s choices in an adaptation…and, maybe, if you disagree enough, another playwright will have been created!

To read the novel by Mary Rodgers, visit the Boone County Public Library or a library near you…or buy it online. If you follow our links to buy the book, you’ll notice that where ‘www’ normally is, it says ‘smile’, which means you can designate the OAC/Lyric to receive a portion of what you pay for the book (it won’t increase your price or take money away from creators or producers of a product, but comes out of Amazon’s profit).

Join us at The Lyric for Disney’s Freaky Friday, A New Musical, July 1–2 and July 8–9 at 7:00PM, July 3 and 10 at 2:00PM #LiveAtTheLyric. Tickets are available now here at TheLyric.org by clicking any “Get Tickets” link, or calling the OAC office at (870) 391-3504 (please leave a detailed message if you get our voicemail).

OAC Ticketing Link

Once Upon a Mattress, April 20–23 at 7pm, Live At The PAC!

ITS Troupe 2715 and
Harrison High School Theatre present:

Once Upon a Mattress

Wednesday–Saturday, April 20–23, 7:00PM

Harrison High School Theatre Dept. and International Thespian Society Troupe 2715 present Once Upon a Mattress, performed at the Harrison High School Performing Arts Center April 20-23 at 7:00pm. Tickets at HHSPAC.org – $12 adult, $10 senior/student, $8 children (prices raise $3 if purchased at the door).

Once Upon A Mattress, based on the famous fairy tale, The Princess and the Pea, is a hilarious retelling with quite the twist! Many moons ago in a far-off place, Queen Aggravain (Jenna Wilson), aided by her loyal Wizard (Mandy Prpich), has decreed that no couples shall marry until her son, Prince Dauntless (Zach Jimerson), finds a bride. Her husband, King Sextimus (Donovan Walters), might have something to say about that…if he could do any speaking, that is. Princesses (Iria Delgado) come from far and wide to win the hand of the prince, but none can pass the impossible tests given to them by the Queen and Wizard.

The Knights and Ladies of the Court (Jude Bilbee, Lily Brockelman, Joseph Claus, Ellie denHollander, Mya Dodson, Ella Domino, Camron Edwards, Lashayla Engel, Michelle Gregory, Victoria Hudson, Cassi Johnson, Lilly Mangrum, Landon McKellep, Katey Sims, Natalie Sims, Maegen Sterling, Jerome Sweatman, William Tanner, Lydia Thomas, Serenity Yang) are distressed by the situation, but the most concerned are Lady Larken (double cast Faith Nix and Valeria Carbajal) and her handsome knight, Sir Harry (Hayden Allen). Sir Harry, determined to find a true princess for Dauntless, sets off for unexplored parts and comes back with a shy swamp princess, Winnifred the Woebegone (double cast V. Grae Smith and Rilee Young).

Meanwhile, the Minstrel (Addie Jones) and Jester (Brinkley Brewer) have their hands full trying to solve everyone’s problems and stay out of trouble themselves, but things become more complicated when it turns out that the Queen’s underhanded schemes are no match for a delicate thing like a Swamp Princess. When a pea is placed under 20 mattresses and a Nightingale (double cast Maci Bright and Faith Nix) is provided to sing Princess Fred to sleep, some side-splitting shenanigans are most definitely in store!

Harrison High School Theatre Dept. and International Thespian Society Troupe 2715 present Once Upon a Mattress, performed at the Harrison High School Performing Arts Center April 20-23 at 7:00pm. Tickets are at HHSPAC.org – $12 adult, $10 senior/student, $8 children (prices raise $3 if purchased at the door).

OAC Ticketing Link

Neil Simon’s The Prisoner of 2nd Avenue, May 5–7 at 7pm, May 8 at 2pm #LiveAtTheLyric!

Northark Drama and
the Ozark Arts Council present Neil Simon’s:

The Prisoner of 2nd Avenue

Thursday-Saturday, May 5–7, 7:00PM
Sunday, May 8, 2:00PM

Northark Drama and The Ozark Arts Council will present Neil Simon’s The Prisoner of 2nd Avenue #LiveAtTheLyric Wednesday–Saturday, May 5–7, 2022 at 7:00pm and Sunday, May 8 at 2:00pm. Tickets are available through TheLyric.org with Advance Tickets priced at $8 children, $10 seniors, $12 adults. Ticket prices at the door will be $11 children, $13 seniors, $15 adults

Edna and Mel are a struggling, middle-aged couple living in New York City. Mel has just lost his job, the walls of their apartment are much too thin, and the city is in the middle of a heatwave. Their troubles escalate when Mel suffers a nervous breakdown. Mel becomes slightly paranoid, the apartment is robbed, and their neighbors, well, they don’t help matters much. Throughout it all, Edna does her best to support her husband, even getting a job of her own after Mel is fired. Her efforts aren’t enough, however, and Mel’s siblings are called in as backup. Quickly, in a crowded apartment in the most crowded city in the world, all hell breaks loose, and it becomes apparent that the only thing Mel and Edna can rely on are the people closest to them.

Neil Simon’s The Prisoner of 2nd Avenue willl be performed #LiveAtTheLyric Wednesday–Saturday, May 5–7, 2022 at 7:00pm and Sunday, May 8 at 2:00pm. Tickets are available by clicking any “Get Tickets” link, or calling the OAC office at (870) 391-3504 (please leave a detailed message if you get our voicemail). Advance Tickets are priced at $8 children, $10 seniors, $12 adults. Ticket prices at the door will be $11 children, $13 seniors, $15 adults.

OAC Ticketing Link