Tag: archive

Nunsense — Saturdays, March 10 & 17 @ 7:00 & Sundays, March 11 & 18 @ 2:00 — #LiveAtTheLyric!

 

It’s Funny…but…#itshabitforming!
It’s Nunsense!

Saturdays, March 10 & 17 at 7:00PM
Sundays, March 11 & 18 at 2:00PM

A hail of fun and frolic—Nunsense, like the holy mother church, is a bona fide institution.
 – The New York Times

Nunsense begins when the Little Sisters of Hoboken discover that their cook, Sister Julia, Child of God, has accidentally poisoned 52 of the sisters, and they are in dire need of funds for the burials. The sisters decide that the best way to raise the money is to put on a variety show, so they take over the school auditorium, which is currently set up for the eighth grade production of Grease. Here we meet Reverend Mother Mary Regina (Jeanie Hunt), a former circus performer; Sister Mary Hubert (Lisa Johnson), the Mistress of Novices; a streetwise nun from Brooklyn named Sister Robert Anne (Ann Lemley); Sister Mary Leo (Serena Bolonsky), a novice who is a wannabe ballerina; and the delightfully wacky Sister Mary Amnesia (Karen McKaig), the nun who lost her memory when a crucifix fell on her head.

Want to get a little taste in advance? Check out the Nunsense YouTube Channel!

Want a little local taste in advance? Besides watching this site for upcoming cast photos, etc., be sure to watch Hometown TV’s 726 and The Weekly Daily Show with Jim and Alicia for upcoming interviews!

Featuring star turns, tap and ballet dancing, an audience quiz, and comic surprises, this show has become an international phenomenon. Join us at The Lyric to see these singing, dancing, trapeze-ing nuns! Tickets available by clicking any “Get Tickets” link on this site or by calling (870) 391-3504. Advance Tickets are $12 Adults, $10 Seniors/Students; tickets purchased at the door are $15 Adults, $14 Seniors/Students.

OAC Ticketing Link

Ordinary Elephant — Thursday, February 8, 2018 at 7pm — #LiveAtTheLyric!

Extraordinary Nomadic Roots/Folk
with Ordinary Elephant
Thursday, February 8 at 7:00PM

Photo by Richard Herron Studios, http://herronstudios.smugmug.com

“Their harmonies, singing, the whole presentation…as genuine as it gets”

–  Lloyd Maines

Ordinary Elephant will perform at the Roots Music Palace of the Ozarks, Harrison, Arkansas’s historic Lyric Theater on February 8 at 7:00PM, with special guest opener Kerri and Stefan Szabo (National Park Radio). Tickets are available in advance for $10; at the door, they will be $15. 

Brought to the Lyric Theater by the Crooked Creek Concert Association, Ordinary Elephant captivates listeners with their well-honed combination of insightful writing, effortless harmonies and intertwined clawhammer banjo and guitar. Husband and wife duo Crystal and Pete Damore have been performing together since 2011, but their 2017 sophomore release ‘Before I Go’ established them nationally and internationally. Quickly receiving the support of the folk community, the album reached No. 2 on the Folk DJ Chart for January of this year with their opening track ‘Best of You,’ not only setting the tone of the record, but capturing the No. 3 Song of the Month slot, and also secured them slots as a 2017 Kerrville Folk Festival New Folk Finalist and Falcon Ridge Emerging Artist. Crystal and Pete have lived the song’s message—being moved to create, perform, and put everything into what they do.

‘Before I Go’ is also exciting European ears. Upon his review of the album, Dani Heyvaert of Rootstime.be said “I remember when Gillian Welch and David Rawlings were here for the first time…I suspect that this couple is going to play in the same league in the foreseeable future.”

These were particularly welcome words given that it was Gillian’s playing that led to Ordinary Elephant’s particular configuration. From an early age Pete has been a guitarist, but once Welch’s “Hard Times” came across his car stereo speakers, the banjo beckoned. The realization of how well the clawhammer style he was unearthing complemented Crystal’s lyrically rooted singer-songwriter approach was a happy accident at the kitchen table one night, which led to many more nights of collaboration.

…their voices were made to go together and we’d all feel deprived if for some reason they chose not to sing together.
– Bill Aspinwall, Texas Music Journal

This collaboration of husband and wife, their connection, and their influences (such as Guy Clark, Darrell Scott, Anais Mitchell, Mary Gauthier, Cahalen Morrison and Eli West) all meet on stage. You see it, hear it, and then you find

Photo by Kerry Scherck Photography, http://www.kerrysherckphotography.com/

yourself truly feeling it. Pete’s understated, melodic and mellow banjo weaves through Crystal’s steady and clean rhythm guitar, and poetic lyrics are purposefully delivered in rich harmony, “like their voices were made to go together and we’d all feel deprived if for some reason they chose not to sing together.” (Bill Aspinwall, Texas Music Journal)

After growing up a state apart, Crystal in Louisiana and Pete in Texas, the two found each other at a weekly songwriter night in Bryan, Texas in late 2009. After a couple of years of co-writing and developing their sound, Ordinary Elephant brought their music to Houston with a move in late 2011. They recorded their 2013 debut album ‘Dusty Words & Cardboard Boxes’ there, which garnered a nomination for Vocal Duo of the Year at the 2014 Texas Music Awards. Today, they happily call the road home after shedding most of their possessions in 2014 to take on nomadic life. Living full-time in a van and travel trailer with their dogs, they are exploring the country, creating, and uncovering attentive audiences with which to share the conversation of their music.

I’m impressed by many things, but mostly by the songwriting style…[the lyrics are] very economical and stripped down, but seem to effortlessly evoke the kind of poignancy and emotion someone expects of artists with more salt on their shoulders.

– Chuck Hawthorne

Ordinary Elephant will perform at the Roots Music Palace of the Ozarks, Harrison, Arkansas’s historic Lyric Theater on February 8 at 7:00PM, with special guest opener Kerri and Stefan Szabo (National Park Radio). Tickets are available in advance for $10; at the door, they will be $15. 

Listening to Ordinary Elephant live was a real treat. Tight harmonies, solid songwriting, and an overall musical experience comparable to the best of T Bone Burnett
– Ray Younkin

 tickets

Ray Bonneville — Tuesday, February 13, 2018 at 7pm — #LiveAtTheLyric!

“North Americana” — Quebec to Boston to NOLA to Harrison, Arkansas…
Ray Bonneville Returns to the Lyric!
Tuesday, February 13 at 7PM 

Photo by Rodney Burseil Photography, https://rodneybursielphotography.com/

“Ray Bonneville is THE one songwriter you need if you love to get lost in words. Words that create pictures like the best movies you’ve never seen. Stark. Honest. Stripped to the bone.”   –  John Hahn

The poetry, the raw honesty of heart and voice and instrument that is Ray Bonneville, is headed back to The Roots Music Palace of the Ozarks, Harrison, Arkansas’s historic Lyric Theater, on Tuesday, February 13 at 7:00PM . Tickets are now available.

Red House recording artist Ray Bonneville is a blues poet of the demimonde whose acclaimed performance groove is the product of a unique, electric guitar style, unrivaled harmonica tone, smoky vocal and unwavering foot percussion. A native French Canadian, Ray is a celebrated songwriter and lives in Austin, Texas. He plays more than 150 shows a year in the US, Canada, and Europe. His performances are riveting and deep, yet full of humor and joy.

Ray has created and mastered a fusion of traditional American Roots and Blues music all his own and deeply influenced by his upbringing in French Canada and the years he spent writing and playing music in New Orleans. He is known as the master of the slow burn, the groove, and is one of the best harmonica players alive today.

Honing his songwriting craft for the last 35 years, “Bonneville’s raw, tell-it-like-it-is storytelling style has won him critical acclaim” (Jim Blum, “Ray Bonneville: True-to-Life Troubadour” NPR Music – Favorite Sessions, May 28, 2008). He has “shared the stage with blues heavyweights B.B. King, Muddy Waters, J.J. Cale, and Robert Cray, and has been nominated for three Juno awards (Canada’s version of the Grammys), winning the 2000 Best Blues Album for his third album Gust of Wind (1999). His fourth release Rough Luck was also nominated, as was his 2004 Red House debut Roll It Down. Since then, his star has been on the rise, with his award-winning release Goin’ By Feel, his folk-charting cover of Bob Dylan’s song “It Takes a Lot to Laugh, It Takes a Train to Cry” (featured on A Nod to Bob 2: An Artists Tribute to Bob Dylan on His 70th Birthday).

In 2009, Ray won the Folk Alliance International Song of the Year award for I Am the Big Easy, featuring post-Katrina New Orleans, and in 2012, he won the International Blues Challenge solo category in Memphis. Having released Easy Gone in 2014, Ray announced this past Summer that he would be releasing a new album in the near future, so he brings to the Lyric’s stage both his previous treasury of great songwriting and what is currently inspiring him to write and perform, so we are in for a great show in Harrison!

Ray is a hard driving, blues dipped, song and groove man who writes about people who live on the fringe of society with a vibe that is loose and soulful. With a greasy guitar style, horn-like harmonica, smoky vocals and pulsing foot percussion he rivets audiences. As John Hahn has said,

Ray Bonneville is the master of rainy nights, of black and white footage of bar lights going out as a man turns up his collar and heads home alone. He captures the outsider inside all of us.


Ray’s last appearance at the Lyric was in 2010, so it’s been a long, long wait for us, but the Ozark Arts Council is pleased and proud to present the hard-driving honesty of Ray Bonneville in a special Tuesday night performance at 7:00 on February 13. Tickets are now available.

“Ray Bonneville is like gunpowder and opium.”
–  Ray Wylie Hubbard

 

tickets

An Evening with Albert Cummings — Friday, March 23, 2018 at 7pm — #LiveAtTheLyric!

Gritty Blues from and for the Working Man Albert Cummings Returns to the Lyric!
Friday, March 23 at 7PM 

The blues is best served up live, with an enthusiastic audience and a killin’ band, and that’s exactly what guitarist Albert Cummings does[…]. Cummings effortlessly shifts from chimney subdued stylings to raucous roadhouse raunch to soaring yet stinging lead lines, driving his audience to frenzy in all the right places.” – Guitar Edge Magazine

Blues-rock guitar in all its glory is headed back to the historic Lyric Theater, as Harrison, Arkansas enjoys “An Evening with Albert Cummings” on Friday, September 23 at 7:00 PM, for which tickets are now available.

Albert Cummings writes, plays and sings the blues like nobody else. He has played with blues legends B.B. King, Johnny Winter, and Buddy Guy.  Taken with Albert’s fire and passion bassist Tommy Shannon and drummer Chris Layton, of the band Double Trouble, the late Stevie Ray Vaughan’s rhythm section, volunteered to play on and produce his solo debut recording, 2003’s self-released From the Heart.

Albert Cummings
Albert Cummings, Live at the Lyric, 9/23/16 @ 7pm

From these blues greats to Merle Haggard to Led Zeppelin, Albert’s influences coalesce in lyrics that display a country/working man’s sensibility and the guitar virtuosity that rock fans love—a style that covers the best of hard-driving blues, slides comfortably over to intricate ballads, and comes charging right back again “with unbridled ferocity and deep soulfulness…his depth and expression are matched only by his terrifying technique and tone.”

The Massachusetts native learned the requisite three chords on the guitar from his father, but then switched to playing banjo at age 12 and became a fan of bluegrass music. In his late teens he encountered the early recordings of Stevie Ray Vaughan and was floored by the virtuosity. While in college in 1987 he saw Vaughan perform and he returned to the guitar with a new outlook and resolve.

The whiz-kid carpenter began his ascent to masterful blues rock guitarist at age 27, with his first public performance on guitar. Soon he was on the Northeast blues circuit with his band, Swamp Yankee. In 1998 he walked into a Northeast Blues Society open jam, which led to Cummings’ winning the right to compete in the Blues Foundation’s 1999 International Blues Challenge. The following year Albert released his debut recording, The Long Way. Bluesprint magazine said it was “a barrage of guitar pyrotechnics that calls to mind a grand mix of the styles of past masters like Albert King, Freddie King, Stevie Ray Vaughan and Jimmie Hendrix.”

Albert Cummings
Albert Cummings, Live at the Lyric, September 23, 2016, 7pm

That in turn opened up an opportunity for him to work with Double Trouble, the late Stevie Ray Vaughan’s rhythm section. So taken with Albert’s fire and passion were bassist Tommy Shannon and drummer Chris Layton that they volunteered to play on and produce his solo debut recording, 2003’s self-released From the Heart. Recorded in Austin, Texas, it featured Cummings fronting Double Trouble (including Reese Winans) in their first recording project since Stevie Ray’s passing. No less a giant of the blues than B.B. King dubbed Cummings “a great guitarist.”

Cummings’ soulful and explosive approach to blues and rock caught the attention of Blind Pig Records, which signed him to a multi-album deal. On his label debut, True to Yourself, released in 2004, Cummings was again joined by bassist Tommy Shannon. Recorded by producer extraordinaire Jim Gaines (Santana, Stevie Ray, Buddy Guy), the album rocks hard from start to finish. The all-original release showcased Albert’s rapidly developing songwriting chops and deeply emotional vocals as well as stunning guitar pyrotechnics, leading Guitar One to exclaim, “He attacks his axe with unbridled ferocity and deep soulfulness… his depth and expression are matched only by his terrifying technique and tone.”

 “a barrage of guitar pyrotechnics that calls to mind a grand mix of the styles of past masters like Albert King, Freddie King, Stevie Ray Vaughan and Jimmie Hendrix. – Bluesprint Magazine

Soon tours and shows with blues legends B.B. King, Johnny Winter, Buddy Guy and others brought Albert’s music to a much larger audience.

His second release, Working Man (2006), also produced by Jim Gaines, betrays a growing focus and maturity both in Albert’s stinging, incisive guitar work as well as in his fluently idiomatic songwriting. From the punchy, stomping cover of Merle Haggard’s blue collar standard “Working Man Blues” to the deeply emotive ballad “Last Dance” that closes the disc, Albert’s songs are always concise and direct, driven by his uniquely muscular yet polished guitar wizardry. Billboard said, “This recording is the calling card of a blues star who has arrived. Cummings’ guitar work is sizzling. This is one of the top blues albums of 2006.”

In 2008 Albert recorded his first live album, Feel So Good, in Pittsfield, Massachusetts at the historic Colonial Theatre, a 95-year-old “little jewel box” – that’s what James Taylor calls it – that’s hosted everyone from Will Rogers to Al Jolson. The audience was so enthralled and supportive they became part of the performance in a way that’s rarely heard. As AllMusic put it, “It sounds like it was one hell of a party that night.”

Albert Cummings
Albert Cummings, Live at the Lyric, 9/23/16 @ 7pm

Albert and his band responded with a blistering set of great originals and killer covers of Zeppelin, Little Feat and Muddy Waters tunes. With producer Jim Gaines again at the controls and Albert’s incredible display of guitar virtuosity and deep emotion, this is one live performance that is bound to become a blues rock classic.

Guitar Edge magazine said, “The blues is best served up live, with an enthusiastic audience and a killin’ band, and that’s exactly what guitarist Albert Cummings does on his new Feel So Good. Cummings effortlessly shifts from chimney subdued stylings to raucous roadhouse raunch to soaring yet stinging lead lines, driving his audience to frenzy in all the right places.”

Music Connection called it “one of the best live albums recorded in a long time” and Blurt added, “Cummings’ first live album provides the perfect showcase for the fiery guitarist’s axe-handling skills and enormous onstage charisma.”

In 2011 Albert released an instructional DVD for the Hal Leonard Corporation entitled Working Man Blues Guitar. Cummings’ next CD, No Regrets, was self-released in 2012. It was a return to his true musical roots for the six-string virtuoso, poignantly capturing the core of his influences, displaying the impact that R&B, Rock, Soul, Country and the Blues have had on both his playing and writing. It debuted at #1 on iTunes music charts in the USA, Canada and France.

“An Evening with Albert Cummings” is scheduled at the historic Lyric Theater on the Harrison, Arkansas square for Friday, March 23 at 7:00PM . Tickets are now available.

 

tickets

Northark Drama Presents: All in the Timing — Thur–Sat Nov. 16–18 @ 7:00 & Sunday, Nov. 19 @ 2:00 — #LiveAtTheLyric!

 

Award-winning One Acts:
All in the Timing
Thursday–Saturday, Nov. 16–18 at 7:00PM
Sunday, Nov. 19 at 2:00PM

All in the Timing, a Northark Drama production, will be performed at Harrison’s historic Lyric Theater Thursday through Saturday, November 16–18, at 7:00pm and Sunday, November 19, at 2:00pm. Advance tickets: $4 general public, $2 Northark students (with Northark ID); at-the-door tickets: $5 general public, $3 Northark students. Advance tickets available at TheLyric.org or by calling (870) 391-3504.

This fall, live at the historic Lyric Theater on the downtown Harrison, Arkansas square, Northark Drama brings to life a series of curious events that defy dimensions and transcend time. The award-winning All in the Timing, written by David Ives, is a collection of five one-act plays that detail happenings in apparently dissimilar worlds that are, upon deeper inspection, more alike than not.

Beginning this journey is the story of Bill (Jesse Janus), who sets his sights on an attractive young woman named Betty (Shelby Stracner). Bill tries flirting with Betty, but she only has eyes for…William Faulkner. When Bill begins to fail horribly in his attempted wooing, he is granted merciful aid by Mysterious Fate (Brianna Marcil) and her Magic Bell, which rings every time Bill sticks his foot in his mouth.

The setting fades (and the times change!) to a laboratory where an eccentric scientist has captured three chimps, intending the trio to “write into infinity,” if need be, until they create of their own accord the famous and much beloved Shakespearean tragedy Hamlet. This apparently eternal sentence brings the chimps to question their existence…and why they’re named Kafka (Callie Johnson), Milton (Raelyn Selvidge), and Swift (Stacy Fisher). Kafka is more than thrilled to attempt this feat, while Swift rocks the boat, and Milton tries to protect the scientist.

We are then swept into a darkened room where a young woman named Dawn (Jacklyn Walker) appears, quiet, nervous, and stuttering. She’s greeted by a mysterious man named Don (Carrie Armstrong), who speaks a language all his own. As Don begins to teach Dawn his tongue in hopes of ridding her of her stuttering impediment, Dawn begins to realize that there is much more to communication than words.

The scene changes to a dimly lit diner where, under the greyness of a world with no concept of time, a sleazy man named Al (Landon Helsel) tries to order more than food from a waitress (Ariel Uildriks) who has more than once seen players like him. He is interrupted by his friend Mark (Jacob Kolb) who begins to explain the odd occurrences that have been happening to him all day.

In the final display of a universe gone wild, the tale of a famous historical figure is on display. Trotsky (Matthew Joyner) is busy, feverishly writing at his table when his wife, Mrs. Trotsky (Kaleigh Billings), tells of him a very unfortunate event: that he died the previous day. 

Says Director and Northark Drama Instructor, Michael Mahoney:

“I’m certainly enjoying working with this young cast. Out of all of them, only one has been in a small play, and all the rest are making their stage debut. These students are doing excellent work with David Ives’s material. These are very challenging scripts because of the way they are written, and the language is extremely hard, but their concentration, hard work, and dedication is sure to make this a fun evening at the theater!”

Come and spend your time with this wonderful cast as they spend their time(s) with us!

Please Note: This production contains adult themes and content;
parental guidance recommended.

OAC Ticketing Link

Cult Classic Alert: “The Rocky Horror Picture Show” on the Big Screen…and Prop Bags Available! — Friday, October 27, 2017 at 9pm!

The Rocky Horror Picture Show
Friday, October 27 at 9:00PM 

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 27th at 9:00 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 and props are encouraged! Don’t have a clue? You’re just a click away from the official guide for first time attendees! And if you don’t know what to bring (or don’t have the time to gather the materials), don’t worry: Prop Bags will be available for $5 to the first 100 people through the door OR by reservation online. NO water or fire (or hotdogs or prunes!) permitted in our historic building. Advance tickets are $10 online or by calling (870) 391-3504, and tickets at the door are $15.

OAC Ticketing Link

Americana Legend David Olney (with Daniel Seymour) — Friday, December 1, 2017 at 7pm — #LiveAtTheLyric!

Americana Legend David Olney
Friday, December 1 at 7:00PM 

Master craftsman, acclaimed singer/songwriter and globe-trotting performer David Olney has released more 30 solo albums over four decades, including six live recordings. His music has been prominently featured in ABC-TV’s Nashville

Photograph by John Partipilo

and his stellar songs have  been recorded by Johnny Cash, Emmylou Harris, Linda Ronstadt, Del McCoury, Tim O’Brien, Townes Van Zandt, Steve Young, and Steve Earle, among many others. While you can (and should!) catch up with David on his weekly live, You Never Know streamcast—starring “Nashville’s Answer to the Bard” performing a song and sharing the story behind it—every Tuesday on DavidOlney.com and YouTube., you can catch him #LiveAtTheLyric, as he will be heading to “The Roots Palace of the Ozarks,” Harrison, Arkansas’s historic Lyric Theater on Friday, December 1, 2017, at 7:00, accompanied by while longtime bass player, Daniel Seymour.

“Olney is a talented musical enigma, and he is unquestionably a founding father of Americana music.”

Though a folksinger at heart, Olney incorporates wide-ranging inspirations from honky tonk to rock into his standard repertoire. Born in Rhode Island, David moved to Nashville during the early ’70s and became a major player in the city’s underground folk/country scene, recording a half-dozen albums before the end of the decade. His output during the ’80s slowed considerably, but in the ’90s he recorded with an impressive cast of roots-rock all-stars—Rick Danko, Garth Hudson, Sneaky Pete Kleinow, Rodney Crowell, John Prine, and Brian Ahern, among others. Beside his own albums, his discography on AllMusic.com features 288 credits…so far!

“Though he’s best known as a masterful wordsmith, Olney has a knack for creating the ideal atmosphere for his gothic noir tune.”

– Acoustic Guitar Magazine

Olney remained prolific throughout the coming decade, delivering several studio albums and, with his increasing popularity as a touring artist in Europe, three different live albums, all recorded at various locations in Holland. As previously mentioned, he began hosting a weekly interactive streamcast video series (originally called Hear & Now, but now titled, You Never Know) on which he performs a handful of songs and shares the stories behind them, as well as offering his observations on other things and recitations of classic poetry. Between his weekly videos and busy touring schedule, Olney found the time to release a studio album, When the Deal Goes Down, in 2014 and released another this year, Don’t Try to Fight It, so you can expect to hear music from a wide repertoire, including whatever fresh project he might be working on during this tour!

The late Townes Van Zandt was the best songwriter in the whole wide world, Steve Earle said in an oft-cited quote, “and I’ll stand on Bob Dylan’s coffee table in my cowboy boots and say that.” Seventeen years after Van Zandt’s death, the Americana artists who followed in his wake still speak of him the way rockers invoke John Lennon or Jimi Hendrix — as a standard bearer who represents a pinnacle of credibility and craft.

Had he been the coffee-table orating type, however, whose name would Van Zandt have declared?

“Anytime anyone asks me who my favorite music writers are, I say Mozart, Lightnin’ Hopkins, Bob Dylan, and Dave Olney,” Van Zandt wrote. “Dave Olney is one of the best songwriters I’ve ever heard — and that’s true. I mean that from my heart.”

– Skip Anderson, writing for The Nashville Scene in his article
David Olney is still a contender. Can you say the same?

We’ll excerpt some of the rest of Mr. Anderson’s article here because, as producer and music writer Tommy Goldsmith is quoted in it, “He’s not a household name, but, my God, look at what he’s done over the years. It’s a really impressive body of work.” Thus, Anderson writes, “Olney is a talented musical enigma, and he is unquestionably a founding father of Americana music. And yet, perhaps reflective of his career as an invisible giant, Wikipedia doesn’t even list him among the 135 artists it associates with the genre.”

If David Olney were less of a leader and more of a follower, he might have had an easier path commercially. But as with Van Zandt, the varied and hard-to-summarize gifts that make Olney a marketer’s challenge make him a hero to other songwriters and musicians.

“When I met him, he was a rocker, but he was also this sensitive songwriter,” says Billy Block, longtime host of the radio show, webcast and TV series The Billy Block Show and a session drummer. “He’s got more soul than everybody I can imagine. He embodies what Americana is.”

– Skip Anderson

Unquestionably a founding father of Americana music, David Olney will perform with bassist Daniel Seymour at downtown Harrison’s historic Lyric Theater, “The Roots Music Palace of the Ozarks,” on Friday, December 1, at 7:00. Tickets available now at our ticketing page or by calling (870) 319-3504.

 

OAC Ticketing Link

Opera with a Touch of Broadway…and a Lot of Love! — Of Maids and Men: Friday and Saturday, September 29 & 30 at 7:00, Sunday, October 1 at 2:00 — #LiveAtTheLyric!

Of Maids and Men:
Opera with a Touch of Broadway
and a Lot of Love!
Friday/Saturday, September 29/30 at 7:00PM Sunday, October 1 at 2:00PM 

Of Maids and Men, a double feature of operatic comedy, will be presented at 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday, Sept. 29 and 30 and on Sunday, Oct. 1 at 2 p.m. at our historic Lyric Theater.

Soprano Genevieve Fulks, and baritone Marvin Murphree will sing some of your favorites from musical theatre to cover the range of a relationship from beginning to full maturity in the first act, then present the opera The Maid Mistress by Pergolesi as the second. Rich in meaning, yet bringing that meaning through humor and some of the most wonderful music the world has ever known, Of Maids and Men will leave the audience both touched and laughing.

Ms. Fulks recently portrayed Susanna in Le nozze di Figaro with Opera in the Ozarks in its 67th season, reprising the role she debuted with Springfield Regional Opera in its 2016 production of Figaro. Fulks is southern raised and trained, originally from the delta of Jonesboro. She made her professional debut with Opera Experience Southeast as Nella and Lauretta cover in Gianni Schicchi. She is at home in both opera and musical theatre and has since performed with Springfield Regional Opera, Opera in the Ozarks, Opera in the Rock, Arkansas Symphony Orchestra, Arkansas Symphony Youth Orchestra, The Messiah Project, Forum Sinfonia of Krakow, Poland, Ozark Family Opera Company, Conway Dinner Theatre, Springfield Little Theatre, and Arkansas Arts Center Children’s Theatre.

Mr. Murphree has performed opera, oratorio and song recital throughout the United States, having sung with Lyric Artists of the West in Denver, Heartland Opera, Springfield Regional Opera, MSU Opera Workshop, Classic Arts Chamber Works, Branson Arts Council, as a University of Central Missouri guest artist, Jubilee Concerts in St. Louis, Kansas City Bach Festival, and many others in Missouri, Central OK Concert Series in Oklahoma City, as guest artist at the University of Oklahoma, Norman, and Trinity Concerts in Hutchinson, Kansas.

For tickets to Of Maids and Men, click any of our ticketing links or call (870) 391-3504.

#KeepTheLyricCool with The Hedley Lamar Band! — Saturday, September 23, 2017 at 7:30 — #LiveAtTheLyric!

Classic Rock and Blues with
The Hedley Lamar Band!
Saturday, September 23 at 7:30PM 

Join us on September 23 at 7:30pm, for a party to kick off the OAC’s “90 for 90” campaign, featuring the Rock and Blues trio that is always in demand at festivals and clubs across the area, and that was chosen to open for guitar superhero Albert Cummings when he played the Lyric in 2016, The Hedley Lamar Band!

From the Allman Brothers to Zeppelin and ZZ Top, with possible stops at Clapton, Hendrix, Robin Trower, Skynyrd, and Stevie Ray Vaughn along the way, The Hedley Lamar Band hits that fusion of UK and Southern rock and blues that has been “the best of both worlds” from the ’60s to today. Billy Youngblood (primarily bass and vocals) and Tim Taylor (primarily guitar) often switch roles during their concerts, expanding their repertoire to keep the party going all the time. Joined by Jason Ruff or Will Youngblood on percussion, they remind us that it only takes a trio to fill the Lyric with music that keeps the heart pumping.

The Hedley Lamar is helping us raise money to repair extensive water damage in the Lyric. We already have a grant that will cover a lot of the water damage, but part of the water wasn’t the rain that tore up our walls before the wonderful folks at Harness Roofing donated a new roof a few years ago…it’s from malfunctioning air conditioning units in the Bailey Annex. (It would cost nearly as much to do a non-guaranteed temporary fix as to replace them.) By the time it was discovered, a large section of our ten-year-old building’s floor was already ruined. Before we fix the floor with the money we’ve been given for that purpose, we have to repair the AC…and that’s $8,500 that we need to raise as quickly as we can. (Actually, it would be a lot more than that, but Ken Allen of Conward’s remains a great supporter of the Arts and has worked out a great deal for us.)

This party also kicks off a new campaign for the OAC: 90 for 90. We want to increase our OAC membership by 90 members and raise $90,000 by the end of The Lyric’s 90th birthday in 2019. This money will go, first, toward restoration of parts of the theater that have been out of use for decades, beginning with the (original) balcony restrooms. From there, along with upkeep and programming needs, we want to increase both the beauty and the functionality of our already-wonderful venue.

All of the usual Lyric Theater concessions will be available, including beer and wine in our ‘speakeasy’, The Balcony, as well as guacamole and corn chips.

Get $1 off of your first Balcony drink by purchasing your ticket in advance by clicking this link or calling (870) 391-3504!

James and the Giant Peach, Jr. — Saturdays Aug. 5 & 12 @ 2:00 AND 7:00 and Sundays, Aug. 6 & 13 @ 2:00 — #LiveAtTheLyric!

Theatre of the Kids, by the Kids, for the Kids (and, well, for everyone else, too):
James and the Giant Peach, Jr.!

Saturdays, August 5 & 12 at 2:00PM AND 7:00PM 
Sundays, August 6 & 13 at 2:00PM

It’s going to be a “peach” of an August! Join us at The Lyric Theater for an outstanding play OF the kids, BY the kids, and FOR the kids: Roald Dahl’s James and the Giant Peach, Jr.! Based on one of Roald Dahl’s most poignantly quirky stories, James and the Giant Peach, the play is a brand new take on this “masterpeach” of a tale. Featuring a wickedly tuneful score and a witty and charming script, this adventurous musical about courage and self-discovery is destined to be a classic.

When James (Jerome Sweatman) is sent by his

book Cover
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conniving and dastardly aunts, Spiker and Sponge (Brinkley Brewer and Anastazja Stewart) to chop down their old fruit tree, he discovers a magic potion that grows a tremendous peach, rolls into the ocean, and launches a journey of enormous peach-portions. James befriends a collection of singing creatures—Ladybug (Annejanette Cole), Grasshopper (Chyler Caraway), Spider (Gabriella Balmer), Earthworm (Logan Cole)—that ride the giant piece of fruit across the ocean, facing hunger, sharks and plenty of disagreements along the way.

Narrated by Ladahlord (Jaxon Whitney), a mysterious creature, this musical contains an ensemble of wild, wacky, wonderful characters, from 5 years old to 18 years old! From Willy Wonka and his Oompa-Loompas, to Bitsy Botana and her Ladies Garden Guild, there is sure to be a colorful character that you will love! The ensemble includes children from previous productions, and quite a few new ones too, all lending their time and talent to make this production abso-fruit-ly fantastic: Serena Bolonsky, Zoey Bolonsky, Callie Caraway, Jocelyn Green, Lorelai Green, Declan Jenkins, Kyran Jenkins, Candace Lambert, Zachary Linn, Cammie Linscott, Shyanne Lusk, Chloe Monk, Faith Nix, Emma Pruitt, Sadie Sharp, Elizabeth Smith, Kayla Smith, Lexi Sprenger.

James and the Giant Peach, Jr. will run 2 shows on August 5 & 12 at 2:00 pm AND 7:00 pm, and matinees on August 6 & 13 at 2:00 pm. Tickets may be purchased at TheLyric.org or by calling (870) 391-3504.

Early bird ticket prices (online or over the phone): $12 Adult, $10 Senior/Student, $8 Children.

At the door ticket prices: $15 Adult, $13 Senior/Student, $11 Children.

“Give Peach a chance,” and don’t miss this fantastic production!

OAC Ticketing Link