Tag: theatre

HHS@TheLyric: Tuck Everlasting, September 30–October 2 at 6pm, as well as Oct. 2 at 1pm! #LiveAtTheLyric!

 

The Ozark Arts Council proudly presents
the first-ever entirely student-driven
production by HHS Theatre at the Lyric:

🌲 Tuck Everlasting  ❤️

Thursday–Saturday, Sept. 30–Oct. 2, 6:00PM
Saturday, October 3, 1:00PM

 

HHS•Theatre@TheLyric and The Ozark Arts Council will bring a beloved book to the Lyric stage with a most intriguing cast and crew: Mrs. Hamblin is turning her veteran youth loose on the community to treat us to all of the energy—and all of the angst—that Tuck Everlasting deserves, with Harrison High School’s first student-led (from director to actors to tech!) production. Performed #LiveAtTheLyric September 30–October 2 (with two performances on Saturday), tickets are available through The Lyric’s ticketing page with Advance Tickets priced at $8 children, $10 seniors, $12 adults. Ticket prices at the door will be $11 children, $13 seniors, $15 adults. Face coverings for disease transmission are no longer required by the state, but no one will object if you still wish to wear one.

10-year-old Winnie Foster, trapped by the rules imposed by her strait-laced family, runs away and discovers the humble Tucks who had accidentally stumbled upon a spring long ago that gave them eternal life. Winnie promises to keep their dangerous secret but then a sinister stranger in a yellow suit arrives at their door with intentions to steal the immortal water for himself. Ultimately Winnie must choose whether or not to drink the immortal water and join them in an everlasting adventure—or live on in a natural way, living a life full of the ordinary beauty of growth and change.

Directed by Khloe Shorb, the 🌲Tuck Everlasting ❤️ cast includes:

Winnie Foster: Faith Nix
Angus Tuck: Zach Jimerson
Mae Tuck: Mysteri Cotton
Jesse Tuck: Tori Hudson
Miles Tuck: Joe Claus
Stranger: Jude Bilbee
Constable: Charlie Knieff
Granny Foster: Sara Sims
Voices: Kaci Flower, Donovan Walters, Mandy Prpich, Rilee Young, Jenna Wilson, Addie Jones

Join us at The Lyric for Tuck Everlasting! Tickets are available now here at TheLyric.org by clicking any “Get Tickets” link or by calling (870) 391-3504 (please leave a detailed message if you get our voicemail).

Get your tickets now, but keep checking back here for updates from the director, cast, and crew!

The cast and crew were so excited to have the Lyric open after nine months being dark that they had their read-through already in May!

OAC Ticketing Link

And for our next act…The One Where the Lyric Recovers!

Click/Tap the poster above to donate. Thank you!

And…if you can’t be with us at the Lyric for the FREE Live Entertainment, tune in on your radio, because it’s also an Old-Fashioned Radiothon
presented by The Original KHOZ!

An Evening with Carol Burnett and Friends, June 11–12 at 7pm, 13 at 2pm! #LiveAtTheLyric!

 

The Theatre Company of the Ozarks and
the Ozark Arts Council Present a
Sketch Comedy Cavalcade in Tribute to:

The Carol Burnett Show

Friday–Saturday, June 11–12, 7:00PM
Sunday, June 13, 2:00PM

 

The Theatre Company of the Ozarks and The Ozark Arts Council will present a tribute to a wonderful lady and the glorious sketch comedy and variety she shared with us through her weekly CBS TV series—a tribute to The Carol Burnett Show, performed #LiveAtTheLyric June 11–13! Tickets are available through The Lyric’s ticketing page with Advance Tickets priced at $8 children, $10 seniors, $12 adults. Ticket prices at the door will be $11 children, $13 seniors, $15 adults. Face coverings for disease transmission are not required, but no one will object if you still wish to wear one.

Eight comedy sketches from Carol Burnett’s televised shows will be performed, including such favorites as “The Old Folks,” the deadbeat “Fusco” family, and a parody of Bonnie and Clyde. Cherished memories of Carol, Harvey, Tim, and the gang are sure to flood back for you, just as they have for the cast.

But that’s not all…

The show is nonstop with entertainment between the sketches, as well, and a half time intermission. Concessions will, of course, be available in the lobby and libations up upstairs.

The Theatre Company is sponsoring this event as a fundraiser for the Lyric to help pay for repairs from water damage sustained during the winter storm.  We will also gladly accept donations (see the potty in the lobby!).

The cast and crew are so excited to have the Lyric open after nine months being dark.

Harrison, welcome back to the Lyric!

 

Join us at The Lyric for some of the greatest comedy sketches in TV history, for the first time ever #LiveAtTheLyric! Performances will be June 11–13. Tickets for our Tribute to Carol Burnett are available now here at TheLyric.org by clicking any “Get Tickets” link or by calling (870) 391-3504 (please leave a detailed message if you get our voicemail).

OAC Ticketing Link

Farce of Habit, August 14–15 & 21–22 at 7pm, 16 & 23 at 2pm! #LiveAtTheLyric!

 

The Theatre Company of the Ozarks and
the Ozark Arts Council Present a
Jones Hope Wooten Comedy:

Farce of Habit

Friday–Saturday, August 14–15 & 21–22, 7:00PM
Sunday, August 16 & 23, 2:00PM

 

The Theatre Company of the Ozarks and The Ozark Arts Council, will present Farce of Habit, a typically raucous Jones Hope Wooten comedy, #LiveAtTheLyric the middle two weekends of August, 2020 (August 14–16 & 21–23)! Tickets are available through The Lyric’s ticketing page with Advance Tickets priced at $8 children, $10 seniors, $12 adults. Ticket prices at the door will be $11 children, $13 seniors, $15 adults.

Just when you thought it was safe to fish in the Ozarks…

Kay Arthur

Comic fireworks explode in Farce of Habit (the sequel to 2016’s Farce of Nature), an absurdly funny Southern-fried romp that takes us back to the Reel ’Em Inn, the finest little fishing lodge in the Ozarks. The proprietor, D. Gene Wilburn (Preston Garrison), is looking forward to a peaceful weekend on the lake. But there are only two chances of that happening: slim and none!

Why, for example, has his wife, Wanelle (Michelle Dees), picked these three days to white-knuckle her way through caffeine withdrawal? Why is his son Ty’s (Shade Roberts) marriage to Jenna (Shelby Waters) falling apart so fast? Could it have something to do with the French can-can costume Ty is wearing? How on earth would D. Gene’s feisty sister, Maxie (Kay Arthur), allow herself to get caught up in such a bizarre undercover police assignment?

L-R: Emily Still, Carl Palmer, Michelle Dees

And that’s just his family. If this isn’t enough to thwart D. Gene’s weekend plans, he’s got a gaggle of nuns who’ve converged on the Inn, hell-bent on experiencing a nature retreat—which might be tolerable if D. Gene didn’t have a chronic fear of anything in a habit. Add to this the presence of Jock McNair (Carl Palmer), a nationally known relationship guru whose colossal ego threatens everyone’s sanity; a shy retiree, Huddle Fisk (Joseph Cotton), anxious to cut loose and embrace his “inner caveman,” and a couple of wild women, Barb Stratton (Emily Still) and Sister Myrtle Agnes (Emily Perkins), who may or may not be who they claim to be. Throw in the storm of the century that’s fast bearing down on Mayhew, Arkansas, and D. Gene has no prayer of baiting a hook any time soon. Oh, and did we mention there’s an ax murderer on the loose?

L-R: Shade Roberts, Joseph Cotton, Michelle Dees

If you enjoy gloriously preposterous hilarity, then laughing your way through the take-no-prisoners lunacy of a Jones Hope Wooten comedy is one habit you’ll never want to break! Tickets on sale right here on our website…and don’t forget to check out our new Theatre Company Season Passes!  When you become an Ozark Arts Council member, you become eligible for these exclusive passes, which will save you money on our upcoming season, including Farce of Habit, Nunsense II, Freaky Friday, and…Arsenic and Old Lace! Visit the ticketing page or call 870-391-3504 for more info!

In trying times, what could be better than a healthy dose of Jones Hope Wooten comedy? Three of the most popular and widely-produced playwrights in the country, with Broadway, film, and TV credits (e.g., The Golden Girls and Disney’s Teacher’s Pet), Jessie Jones, Nicholas Hope and Jamie Wooten specialize in laugh-out-loud comedies, and this will be a great one!

Please Note for Your Safety and Comfort: We have our patrons’ health and well-being first and foremost in our minds as the Covid-19 numbers rise but we’re all learning to work around it, so please make sure you read the guidelines below that we have put into place (per the Arkansas Department of Health’s directives) to keep you protected. Please read carefully, as we are required to abide strictly by these guidelines—and please note that, as we’ve seen these past several months, these guidelines may change at any moment. If they do, we will be sure to update you. We are doing everything we can in our cleaning procedures and following of the ADH guidelines to keep you safe, and we appreciate your doing the same for our volunteers and performers.

The ADH Requirements

  • Patrons must be required to wear a mask if over 10 years of age.
  • Every patron’s temperature must be checked upon entrance and will be asked several questions pertaining to travel and health. Patrons will not be able to enter if:
    • They have fever, cough, shortness of breath, sore throat, or loss of taste or smell.
    • They have had known exposure to someone with Covid-19 in the past 14 days.
  • A 6-foot gap must be maintained between patrons who do not “shelter together,” so only groups with family members should get tickets with adjoining seats. If you plan on going with anyone who does not live in the same household with you, please call 870-391-3504 for our help on getting you seats as close together as possible, while still allowing for the “social distancing” regulations.
  • We are allowed to serve refreshments, so our concession stand and the upstairs Immortal BarD will be open. However, we will have signs posted reminding patrons to keep a 6 foot distance, and we will not be able to accommodate clustering of groups at the counters.
  • Though it is a tradition at the Lyric to allow audience members to come up and greet the cast at the end of plays, we will forego this for now to keep the required 12 feet of distance between those on stage and those in the audience. If you wish to tell the cast “good job!” you can leave comments right here on this page!

If you have any questions about how we are protecting our volunteers, or about any of the guidelines, please don’t hesitate to call 870-391-3504 or send an email here.

Join us at The Lyric for great southern comedy August 14–16 & 21–23. Tickets for Farce of Habit are available now here at TheLyric.org by clicking any “Get Tickets” link or by calling (870) 391-3504 (please leave a detailed message if you get our voicemail).

OAC Ticketing Link

Always a Bridesmaid, June 25-27 at 7pm, 28 at 2pm! #LiveAtTheLyric!

The Theatre Company of the Ozarks and
the Ozark Arts Council Present a
Jones Hope Wooten Comedy:

Always a Bridesmaid

Thursday-Saturday, June 25–27, 7:00PM
Sunday, June 28, 2:00PM

The Theatre Company of the Ozarks and The Ozark Arts Council, will present Always a Bridesmaid  #LiveAtTheLyric the last weekend of June, 2020 (June 25–28)! 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.

In trying times, what could be better than a healthy does of Jones Hope Wooten comedy? Three of the most popular and widely-produced playwrights in the country, with Broadway, film, and TV credits (e.g., The Golden Girls and Disney’s Teacher’s Pet), Jessie Jones, Nicholas Hope and Jamie Wooten specialize in laugh-out-loud comedies, and this will be a great one!

Please Note for Your Safety and Comfort: We have our patrons’ health and well-being first and foremost in our minds as the Covid-19 numbers rise but we’re all learning to work around it, so please make sure you read the guidelines below that we have put into place (per the Arkansas Department of Health’s directives) to keep you protected. Please read carefully, as we are required to abide strictly by these guidelines—and please note that, because the play is still a month away, these guidelines may change. If they do, we will be sure to update you. We are doing everything we can in our cleaning procedures and following of the ADH guidelines to keep you safe, and we appreciate your doing the same for our volunteers and performers.

Wedding Season is just around the corner…

…and we can’t wait to see our darling Southern Belles marry their soulmates this month (June 25-27 at 7:00pm and June 28 at 2:00pm) at our own beautiful and historic “wedding venue,” The Lyric Theater! More about the story will follow the ADH guidelines for attending plays this Summer.

The ADH Requirements

  • Patrons must be required to wear a mask if over 10 years of age.
  • Every patron’s temperature must be checked upon entrance and will be asked several questions pertaining to travel and health. Patrons will not be able to enter if:
    • They have fever, cough, shortness of breath, sore throat, or loss of taste or smell.
    • They have had known exposure to someone with Covid-19 in the past 14 days.
  • A 6-foot gap must be maintained between patrons who do not “shelter together,” so only groups with family members should get tickets with adjoining seats. If you plan on going with anyone who does not live in the same household with you, please call 870-391-3504 for our help on getting you seats as close together as possible, while still allowing for the “social distancing” regulations.
  • We are allowed to serve refreshments, so our concession stand and the upstairs Immortal BarD will be open. However, we will have signs posted reminding patrons to keep a 6 foot distance, and we will not be able to accommodate clustering of groups at the counters.
  • Though it is a tradition at the Lyric to allow audience members to come up and greet the cast at the end of plays, we will forego this for now to keep the required 12 feet of distance between those on stage and those in the audience. If you wish to tell the cast “good job!” we will have a digital guestbook set up where you can leave your well wishes!

If you have any questions about how we are protecting our volunteers, or about any of the guidelines, please don’t hesitate to call 870-391-3504 or send an email here.

The Story

Always a Bridesmaid is a Jones Hope Wooten Southern Comedy.

If you’ve ever elbowed a stranger out of the way to catch a brideís bouquet, seriously questioned the mental stability of the duo saying “I do” or been forced to wear the world’s ugliest bridesmaid dress, this deliriously funny Jones Hope Wooten comedy is definitely for you—and your dearly beloved!

In this hilarious comedic romp, four friends have sworn to keep the promise they made on the night of their Senior Prom: to be in each other’s weddings—no matter what. More than thirty years later, these Southern friends-for-life are still making “the long walk” for each other, determined to honor that vow. Libby Ruth (Julianna Hamblin), the hopeful romantic with the perfect marriage, believes—in spite of all evidence to the contrary—that her friends can find the very same happiness. Headstrong Deedra’s (Spree Hilliard) “rock-solid” union hangs by a thread when she discovers her husband of many years not only has a wandering eye, but the hands to match. Monette (Kirstyn Walker), flashy, high-spirited and self-involved, continues to test her friends’ love and patience with all-too-frequent trips down the aisle. And salt-of-the-earth, tree-hugging Charlie (Emily Akins) discovers—the hard way—that marital bliss is not the end of her rainbow and panics in outrageous style when the opportunity presents itself.

Narrated hilariously by blushing bride Kari (Callie Johnson) and with energetic life-force Sedalia (Linda Henson) running the show, this is sure to make you believe in what friendship can do. Libby Ruth, Deedra, Monette and Charlie are committed to the notion that careers, waistlines and even marriages may disappear, but real friendships last a lifetime. Forsaking all others, in sickness and in health, they repeatedly struggle to stage the perfect wedding in spite of fistfights at the altar, runaway brides and the mistaken, and unfortunate, release of a flock of white doves on the first day of hunting season.

Hop on this marriage-go-round for a laugh-out-loud journey with these beleaguered bridesmaids as they navigate the choppy waters of love and matrimony. Always a Bridesmaid is the rollicking tale of four loyal and determined women who definitively answer the question, “Just how far are you willing to go to keep a promise to a friend?”

Join us at The Lyric for great southern comedy June 25–28. Tickets for Always a Bridesmaid are available now here at TheLyric.org by clicking any “Get Tickets” link, by stopping by the OAC office at 115 W. Rush Ave. between 9 & 1 Tuesday through Friday, or by calling (870) 391-3504 (please leave a detailed message if you get our voicemail).

OAC Ticketing Link

Auditions Monday, May 18 and Tuesday May 19 at 7:00pm

Auditions! But carefully…

As we slowly reopen Arkansas, our patrons’ health and well-being is first and foremost on the OAC’s mind. After much discussion, we have come to, what we hope, will be the safest measures for our volunteers and audience, while still bringing you the quality entertainment you deserve. So, to do that, we will be postponing Nunsense II to September (dates to be announced soon!), and moving into some more plays that have fewer cast and crew so that we can continue practicing social distancing. We will have auditions for the first of these shows, Always a Bridesmaid, on Monday, May 18 and Tuesday May 19 at 7:00pm. Please closely read the guidelines below that we have set in place for these auditions and the rehearsals to follow. For more questions, please click to email us or call 870-391-3504.

The Requirements

Doors will open at 6:45pm. Only those auditioning may be present.

The following Social Distancing and sanitation guidelines will be followed at auditions and rehearsals. If you feel sick or have had a fever within the last 24 hours, please do not attend.

  1. Temperature will be taken of everyone coming to auditions and rehearsals, keeping a log of names and temps, and if anyone has a fever, they must immediately go home; as well as asking the screening questions (have you been out of the state, have you been sick, have you been in contact with anyone who has COVID-19, etc).
  2. Everyone must wear masks at all times. Please wear your own clean mask.
  3. Scripts for cold reads will not be shared. Each person auditioning will get a copy of audition material to use and it will be disposed of at the end of evening auditions.
  4. Everything will be disinfected before and after each night of auditions.
  5. Everyone must maintain 6 ft distance at all times.
  6. Only cast and crew may be present during rehearsals. No other family members or children.
  7. Children under 18 will not be cast and will not be allowed at auditions or rehearsals, in order to adhere to ADH guidelines. Children under 18 will be able to attend the performances.

The Story

Always a Bridesmaid is a Jones Hope Wooten Southern Comedy. Cast is 6 women.

Kari—20s—Kind-hearted Southern charmer
Libby Ruth—-late 40s, hopeless romantic, sweet country woman, plain spoken
Sedalia—60s—- gregarious, energetic hostess of wedding venue
Monette—late 40s—kinda flashy, kinda trashy, voluptuous southern flirt,
Charlie—late 40s—-tree hugging, Birkenstock wearing, Southern free spirit
Deedra—late 40s—headstrong dry wit, no-nonsense Northern transplant attorney

Characters ages are relative—no one under 18 will be cast.

Show dates: June 25-28
Rehearsals begin: May 25–4 days per week

Thank you for supporting the Arts and please be safe and healthy.

RESCHEDULED: Nunsense II: The Second Coming, September 10-12 at 7pm, 13 at 2pm! #LiveAtTheLyric!

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

Nunsense II:
The Second Coming!

Thursday-Saturday, September 10–12, 7:00PM
Sunday, September 13, 2:00PM

The Theatre Company of the Ozarks and The Ozark Arts Council, will present the raucous comedy, Nunsense II: The Second Coming  #LiveAtTheLyric the second weekend of September (September 10–13)! 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.

Nunsense II: The Second Coming takes place six weeks after the convent has staged its first benefit. The sisters are back presenting a “thank-you” show for all the people who supported them in the past. They’re a bit slicker, now, though, having been “bitten by the theater bug”…

Things get to off to a rousing start as the sisters sing Nunsense, the Magic Word, but before long. chaos erupts. Two Franciscans come to claim Sister Mary Amnesia (who has won the Publishers’ Clearing House Sweepstakes) as one of their own. At the same time, the nuns hear that a talent scout is in the audience to see them strut their stuff. From the riotous bingo game run by Sister Amnesia to the hilarious duet, “What Would Elvis Do?”, to the rousing finale (“There’s Only One Way to End Your Prayers and That’s to Say Amen!”, this show will have you rolling in the aisles!

Join us at The Lyric for music and laughter September 10–13. Tickets for Nunsense II are available now here at TheLyric.org by clicking any “Get Tickets” link, by stopping by the OAC office at 115 W. Rush Ave. between 9 & 1 Tuesday through Friday, or by calling (870) 391-3504 (please leave a detailed message if you get our voicemail).

OAC Ticketing Link

12 Angry Jurors, Thursday & Saturday, November 14 & 16 at 6pm, Friday, Nov. 15 at 5pm, and Sunday Nov. 17 at 2pm! #HHSTheatre!

The Ozark Arts Council
is pleased to announce the
Harrison High School Theatre Department’s
production of
12 Angry Jurors

Thursday & Saturday, November 14 & 16, 6:00PM; Friday, November 15, 5:00PM; and
Sunday, November 17, 2:00PM

Harrison High School Theatre Dept. proudly presents 12 Angry Jurors, sponsored by Sprott, Golden & Bardwell. This play will be held in the black box theatre in the Theatre Room at HHS. Tickets are limited as it will be theatre-in-the-round, and are available at TheLyric.org. Note the difference in Friday’s showtime to allow you to see the play and cheer on the Goblins as the state football tournament begins.

Please Note: This play will take place at Harrison High School; many thanks to the Ozark Arts Council for the use of their ticketing software!

12 Angry Jurors is based on the Emmy-Award winning TV movie 12 Angry Men, and students ranging from freshman to senior will present this intense play November 14–17. Our cast includes: Ashlee Piske, Lena Rocole, Natalie Sims, Zach Jimerson, Addie Jones, Mysteri Cotton, Faith Nix, Candace Lambert, Kinder Hinrichs, Jenna Wilson, Serena Bolonsky, Tyler Madison, Liam Dupre, Caleb Lord, Dakota Furr, Chasity Price.

A 19-year-old man has just stood trial for the fatal stabbing of his father. “He doesn’t stand a chance,” mutters the guard as the 12 jurors are taken into the bleak jury room. It looks like an open-and-shut case…until one of the jurors begins opening the others’ eyes to the facts.

12 Angry Jurors featured on GobTV News

“This is a remarkable thing about democracy,” says the foreign-born juror, “that we are noticed by mail to come down to this place and decide the guilt or innocence of a man; of a man we have not known before. We have nothing to gain or lose by our verdict. We should not make it a personal thing.” But personal it does become, with each juror revealing his or her own character as the various testimonies are re-examined, the murder is re-enacted, and a new murder threat is born before their eyes. Tempers get short. Arguments get heated. And the jurors become 12 angry men and women. The jurors’ final verdict and how they reach it will electrify you and keep you on the edge of your seat.

12 Angry Jurorspresented by the HHS Theatre Dept. and sponsored by Sprott, Golden & Bardwell will be performed November 14 and 16 at

Many thanks to our sponsors for their constant support of the Arts in our area!

6:00pm, November 15 at 5:00pm (to allow you to see the play and cheer on the Goblin Football team as the state tournament begins in F. S. Garrison Stadium at 7:00!), and November 17 at 2:00pm.

 

All performances will be at HHS in the black box theatre in the Theatre classroom. Tickets are available at TheLyric.org.

OAC Ticketing Link

The Outsiders, December 2–7 at 7pm, December 8 at 2pm, plus school matinees! #LiveAtTheLyric!

Northark Drama and the
Ozark Arts Council
present:
The Outsiders

Tuesday–Saturday, December 3–7, 7:00PM
and Sunday, December 8, 2:00PM
with School Matinees Monday & Tuesday, December 2 & 3 at 10:00AM

The Ozark Arts Council and NorthArk Drama present The Outsiders #LiveAtTheLyric Theater in Harrison, Arkansas, December 2–8. Tuesday through Saturday will feature evening performances, which start at 7:00pm, and Sunday’s performance will begin at 2:00pm. Monday and Tuesday will feature matinee performances for area schools (and homeschools). Tickets for the evenings and Sunday 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.

Matinee tickets must be purchased through the OAC office; please call (870) 391-3504 and leave a message and send an email to our Executive Director.

In the midst of urban warfare, somehow Ponyboy (Karson Deatherage) can’t forget a short poem that speaks of the teens’ fragile young lives:

Nature’s first green is gold,
Her hardest hue to hold.
Her early leaf’s a flower;
But only so an hour.
Then leaf subsides to leaf.
So Eden sank to grief,
so dawn goes down to day.
Nothing gold can stay.

“Robert Frost wrote it,” Ponyboy tells Johnny (Wyatt Mahoney/US Ella Domino). “I always remembered it because I never quite got what he meant by it.”

Cherry (Chyler Caraway/US Lena Rocole), a beautiful Soc, comes to share a special sensitivity with Ponyboy as she discovers that he remembers poems and needs to watch sunsets. At the same time, Cherry is attracted to the older, tougher Dallas (Gavin Wilson/US Isaac Stevens), and in a sense she’s caught in the violent space between the Greasers (Darry: Andrew Coble/US Daniel Seay; Two-Bit: Laine Hilliard; Sodapop: Nathan Edwards/US Nicholas Allen) and the Socs (Marcia: GiGi Crenshaw/US Jennafer Wilson; Sandy: Eden Wilson/US Faith Nix). While the Socs appear to have everything, the only thing a Greaser has is his friends.

As these young people try to find themselves and each other, as the sadness of sophistication begins to reach them and their battles and relationships reach a resolution, Ponyboy’s friend, Johnny, sends him a message: “I’ve been thinking about the poem that guy wrote. He meant you’re gold when you’re a kid, like green. When you’re a kid everything’s new, dawn. It’s just when you get used to everything that it’s day. Like the way you dig sunsets, Pony. That’s gold. Keep it that way. It’s a good way to be.”

This is a play about young people who are not yet hopeless, about latent decency in the midst of struggle.

Both veteran and novice actors round out this stellar cast, including: Devin O’Brien and US Caleb Lord as Bob/Paul; Kinder Hinrichs and US Daniel Hart as Randy; Joshua Mann as Jerry; Kaleigh Billings as Mrs. O’Bryant; Abi Coble as the Doctor; Lexi Knight as the Nurse; Lexi Sprenger as Mrs. Syme; Laken Steiner, Kaci Flower, Laken Rudelis, Bannon Jones, Zoe Arthur, Brinkley Brewer, Donovan Walters, Sophia Wilson, Callie Caraway, Wynn Mahoney, Lenora Domino, Zachary Linn, Emma Pruitt, Ivan Hanschu, Xavier Hanschu, Kalysta Douglas as Ensemble.

This a story that you won’t soon forget.

Says Co-Director and Head of NorthArk Drama, Michael Mahoney:

“I have truly enjoyed working with the cast, crew, and especially my co-director Bekah Wilson on [this play]. Finding a vision and through line for these characters has been a challenging, yet rewarding task. S.E. Hinton’s novel is timeless in the powerful and enlightening story about the hard battles fought during adolescence, the search for true belonging to a family, brotherhood, and, most of all, love. The Outsiders is an extremely dramatic piece. I believe it conveys a powerful message about real social issues that arise in so many American homes and social groups today. I hope our production enlightens and educates people about human compassion and love.” 

The Outsiders will be performed December 3–7 at 7:00PM and December 8 at 2:00PM, with 2 special school-only performances December 2 and 3 at 10:00AM.

(If your school has not been contacted about these special school performances, contact Executive Director, Julianna Hamblin by clicking this link to email her and leaving a message at (870) 391-3504 [in case your email ends up in a spam folder].)

Tickets are on sale now.

Note: US denotes Understudy

OAC Ticketing Link

Romeo and Juliet, ONE Day Only! November 1 at 7pm #LiveAtTheLyric!

Arkansas Shakespeare Theatre and the Ozark Arts Council Present:
Romeo and Juliet!
Friday, November 1, 7:00PM

The Ozark Arts Council is thrilled to welcome Arkansas Shakespeare Theatre for a special November 1 7:00pm performance of their Family Theatre production of Romeo and Juliet #LiveAtTheLyric! Tickets are only $10 and are available through TheLyric.org .

Tickets at the door—in the unlikely event that any are available—will be $15.

Arkansas Shakespeare Theatre is Arkansas’s Only professional Shakespeare Company. Each year it produces a selection of the Bard’s plays (along with other productions) in its summer festival in Conway.

Arkansas Shakespeare Theatre, which has been featured in The New York Times, is also a major educational force in Arkansas. This professional company brings respected and experienced Shakespearean actors to Arkansas for each season, producing vibrant, engaging, lively and provocative performances for all Arkansans.

With a mission to entertain, engage, and enrich the community by creating professional and accessible productions of Shakespeare and other works that promote educational opportunities, community 

involvement, and the highest artistic standards, Arkansas Shakespeare Theatre works with the Arkansas Arts Council as a part of its “Artists on Tour” program to help small venues keep these performances affordable.

In Romeo and Juliet, the fighting families of Montague and Capulet put their feud before their children’s happiness in Shakespeare’s classic tale of “star-crossed” young love, reimagined for audiences of all ages in this one-hour adaptation.

Note from AST: This adaptation is intended for audiences of all ages, and has been shortened to approximately one hour. There are songs and comedy, but also intense emotional situations and some violence. The original story is intact, including Romeo and Juliet’s tragic ending. 

“Our play begins in Italy in the city of fair Verona with a vendetta as old as time. The Capulets and the Montagues have been enemies for as long as either side can remember. Romeo Montague and his friends crash an ancient ball held by Lord and Lady Capulet, risking their lives and the continuation of the feud. Romeo first sees the enchanting Juliet here and immediately falls in love with her. At the end of the ball, Romeo meets Juliet at her balcony, where they express their undying love for each other. The two, with the help of Friar Lawrence and Juliet’s Nurse, marry secretly, despite their feuding families. Blissfully newlywed for just a short while, Juliet is soon shocked to discover that her father plans to force her to marry Count Paris only three days later.

“Romeo walks the streets of fair Verona and stumbles upon his friends Mercutio and Benvolio fighting Tybalt, Juliet’s cousin, who he learns has challenged him to a fight. In Romeo’s attempt to halt that fight, Tybalt meets his end at the hand of Romeo, resulting in Romeo’s banishment from Verona. When Juliet learns of this, her desperation to remain with Romeo leads her to Friar Lawrence and he arranges a plot for Juliet to fake her own death. However, the message carrying the information of the plot never reaches Romeo in Mantua and he truly believes that his beloved has died. Because of this, Romeo arranges his own plan to end his life and travels back to Verona to be with Juliet. Upon his return, Romeo enters the Capulet tomb, and sees his Juliet who appears to be dead.”

The above is taken from AST’s excellent and accessible (barely 20 pages) introduction to the play, to Shakespeare, and to live theatre in general, which you may read online (or download and print, by right-clicking/Command-clicking on this link and saving).

This is the first time we have had the honor of hosting AST at the Lyric, and we hope it is just the beginning of a long relationship with them for the enrichment of our community—and the first of many partnerships with those from our larger region to bring us the richness of professional theatre and theatre education, such as we have been so pleased to have from our member organization, Northark Drama.

Tickets to AST Family Theatre’s November 1 production of Romeo and Juliet are available now here at TheLyric.org by clicking any “Get Tickets” link, by stopping by the OAC office at 115 W. Rush Ave. between 9 & 1 Tuesday through Friday, or by calling (870) 391-3504 (please leave a detailed message if you get our voicemail).

OAC Ticketing Link