Starrlight Jazz Series Shines in the Upcoming Season

Six incredible performances are lined up for the Starrlight Jazz 2019/20 Season including centennial acts and music legends. With something for every jazz lover, subscriptions are available now and this series is one not to miss.

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FreddY Cole Quartet – Tribute to Nat “King” Cole Centennial

(Four time Grammy nominee, 2019 Grammy Nominee for Best Jazz Vocal Recording)

Freddy Cole is one of American popular music’s great performers. Like pop icon Tony Bennett, Freddy is a beloved musician and a living link to the Great American Songbook.

While there are certain unmistakable similarities in timbre to his brother Nat, his voice is raspier, smokier, jazzier even. In truth, his phrasing is far closer to that of Frank Sinatra or Billie Holiday than that of his brother, and his timing swings even more. His vocals – suave, elegant, formidable, sometimes spoken and articulate – make him the most respected lyrical storyteller in jazz.

Cole’s career continues to ascend as he has moved into the front ranks of America’s homegrown art form with a style and musical sophistication all his own. While evoking the suave styling of Earl “Fatha” Hines and Teddy Wilson, Cole is very much his own man, whose toe-tapping forays recall the bluesy minimalism of Count Basie, the urbane sophistication of George Shearing and the uptown swagger of Duke Ellington.

“Gorgeous autumnal baritone, expressive phrasing and pitch-perfect feel for jazz standards, pop tunes and love ballads.”

– People Magazine

Jason Marsalis Quartet

Jason Marsalis is the youngest sibling of Wynton, Branford and Delfeayo. Together, the four brothers and their patriarch Ellis, comprise New Orleans’ venerable first family of jazz. By age six, not only had Jason gotten his first real drum set, but he was also taking lessons from the legendary New Orleans drummer James Black. At age seven he was sitting in with his father’s jazz group, as well as playing with his trombonist brother, Delfeayo.

Throughout his high school years, he continued to hone his skills by playing gigs with his father and brothers, as well as studying orchestral percussion techniques. Shortly after graduation in 1995, Jason ascended to the drum throne of the group lead by virtuoso pianist Marcus Roberts. In 1998, he co-founded the Latin-jazz group Los Hombres Calientes. Jason left the Los Hombres group to attain more focus with the Marcus Roberts trio in 2000. It was around that time the Jason started to play the vibraphone on gigs in New Orleans. This evolved in yet another chapter in Jason’s career as he recorded on the vibes while starting to lead his own band. In 2009, the Marsalis Family would receive the NEA Jazz Masters award and later that year, Jason would release his first new albums in nine years and his debut album on vibes Music Update.

With each passing year Jason Marsalis continues to grow and develop as both a composer and performer. With a fire in his heart and a passion for the music, his will to swing has never been more resolute.

Catherine Russell

Catherine Russell is a native New Yorker born into musical royalty. Her father, the late Luis Russell, was a legendary pianist/bandleader/arranger/composer and Louis Armstrong’s musical director. Her mother, Carline Ray, was a pioneering bassist/guitarist/vocalist and holder of advanced degrees from Julliard and Manhattan School of Music, who performed with International Sweethearts of Rhythm and Mary Lou Williams. Not surprising considering her pedigree, Catherine is a one-of-a-kind musician and vocalist. A graduate of American Academy of Dramatic Arts, Russell has toured the world, performing and recording with David Bowie, Steely Dan, Cyndi Lauper, Michael Feinstein, Levon Helm, Paul Simon, Rosanne Cash, Wynton Marsalis, Dr. John, Vince Giordano and many others, appearing on over 200 albums.

Since the 2006 release of her debut album, Cat, Russell has released six acclaimed and chart topping albums have followed. In 2012, Russell won a Grammy Award for her appearance as a featured artist on the soundtrack album for the HBO TV series “Boardwalk Empire.”

Russell is that rarest of entities – a genuine jazz and blues singer – who can sing virtually anything. Her voice is full blown femininity incarnate; a dusky, stalwart and soulful instrument that radiates interpretive power yet remains touchingly vulnerable. Her repertoire features a selection of gems from the 1920's through the present; vital interpretations, bursting with soul and humor.

Fred Hersch Trio

A 12-time Grammy nominee, Fred Hersch has garnered jazz’s most prestigious awards, including the 2016 Doris Duke Artist, 2016 and 2018 Jazz Pianist of the Year from the Jazz Journalists Association and the 2017 Prix Honorem de Jazz from L’Acádemie Charles Cros. The trio, in which Hersch has been joined by bassist John Hébert and drummer Eric McPherson for the last decade, was voted the No. 2 Jazz Group in the 2018 DownBeat Critics Poll. Recognizing the trios unique ability to traverse a wide range of styles and approaches while maintaining profound depths of emotion and the exhilarating spark of invention is what leaves audiences craving more. In 2006, Hersch became the first artist in the 75-year history of New York’s legendary Village Vanguard to play a week long engagement as a solo pianist.

For two decades, Hersch has been a passionate spokesman and fund-raiser for AIDS services and education agencies. He has produced and performed on four benefit recordings and in numerous concerts for charities.

Art Blakey Centennial - The Messenger Legacy Band

Art Blakey was often called the father of hard bop. He was responsible for producing and developing more jazz talent than any other band leader of his era. During his more than six decade career, Art Blakey’s band The Jazz Messengers was considered the quintessential forum for musicians who wished to hone their talent and leave their own mark on the jazz scene. Trumpeter Terrance Blanchard said, “No one has brought more to jazz than Art Blakey.”

The Messenger Legacy is an elite line-up of alumni members of Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers, each now a longtime leader on his own and considered among jazz’s most accomplished players. The current configuration is Bobby Watson (alto sax), Essiet Essiet (bass), Geoff Keezer (piano), Brian Lynch (trumpet), Bill Pierce (tenor sax) and at the drums, the last drummer chosen by Art Blakey to play at his side in the Jazz Messenger 2-Drummer Big Band, Ralph Peterson.

This group of musicians wishes to preserve, protect and honor the legacy of a man who was much more than a bandleader to all of them. This group has helped launch renewed appreciation for one of the most important institutions of apprenticeship in American music history. The list of jazz musicians who came through Blakey’s Jazz Messenger band numbers well over 200 and includes icons like John Coltrane, Benny Golson, Chick Corea, Benny Green, Branford Marsalis, Bud Powell, Cedar Walton, Chuck Mangione, Horace Silver, Jon Hendricks, Keith Jarrett, Lee Morgan, Wynton Marsalis and Yusef Lateef!

Arun Luthra's Konnakol Jazz Project with Selvaganesh

Arun Luthra is one of the premier saxophonists and composers on New York’s jazz scene, and is one of the small group of American jazz musicians of Indian heritage who have continued to explore to possibilities of fusing the modern post-bop sound with elements of Indian classical music, as well drawing from a wide variety of modern and classic musical influences to create a vibrant new sound and style.  He has performed the music of his Konnakol Jazz Project worldwide and throughout the United States. As a performer he has shared the stage and recorded with many of the greatest jazz, Afro-Cuban, Brazilian and pop artists in the world including Bobby Short, Eddie Henderson, Mike Stern, Kenny Garrett, Charli Persip, The Temptations and Frankie Valli. Luthra is also a faculty member at the renowned School of Jazz in The New School’s College of Performing Arts.

Joing Luthra’s ensemble will be Selvaganesh Vinayakram. Preferring to go by his first name, Selvaganesh is the son of T.H. “Vikku” Vinayakram, the legendary Indian percussionist best-known for his ghatam work in the pioneering acoustic fusion group Shakti with guitarist John McLaughlin. From 1999 to 2013, Selvaganesh performed in Remember Shakti, a successor to the original group, together with McLaughlin, tabla master Zakir Hussain and vocalist Shankar Mahadevan.

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2019/20 Unilever Starrlight Jazz Club on sale now!

Subscriptions are available for the best seats and 15% off single ticket prices. Visit the Box Office or call 479.443.5600.

Brave, Beautiful Broadway! Sara Bareilles' Music in Waitress the Musical Has Got it All!

Seven years ago, Sara Bareilles was "just" a successful musician living in LA. With multiple chart-topping hits, such as "Love Song" and "Brave," under her belt, she felt comfortable. But something was stirring inside of her—a craving for change.

So she packed up her things and moved across the country to New York, where her agent reached out with a new opportunity, this time, in theater. There was a small production in the works based off a 2007 movie called Waitress, and the director, Diane Paulus, wanted Sara to be a part of it.

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It certainly wasn't what Sara was expecting, but she figured she'd at least hear her out. It was then that Sara fell in love with the story and decided to take a leap of faith, joining the production as the lead songwriter. It was a risky move, and Sara admits she probably wouldn't have taken the project on if she had known how much work it would require.

"It's really good for you as a person to do something you don't know how to do, and to learn, and to ask questions, and to be a student again," she says.

Sara had zero theater experience, but she obviously had music chops, and was able to translate her skills to create the entire score for the production. After the show made its 2015 premiere at the American Repertory Theater in Cambridge, Massachusetts, it moved to Broadway and quickly became a hit. 

Sara’s 11 o’clock number, “She Used to Be Mine,”  seemed so insanely specific to the musical (“she is all of this mixed up and baked in a beautiful pie”) that she felt self-conscious performing it in concert. But audiences have a way of making decisions for themselves. The song, written for a pregnant, abused waitress, reflecting back on the dreams she did not achieve, has been claimed, unexpectedly, by men, by children, by singers of all sorts.

“The range of who this song speaks to is much broader than I could have anticipated,” Bareilles said. “The chasm between who we are, and who we thought we would be, is always something we’re negotiating.”

Covers of the song caught Bareilles’ attention when a video of a gut-punching version by a 14-year-old boy from western Pennsylvania went viral in the fall. Then she started to notice it popping up on set lists. Heather Headley, a Tony winner for “Aida,” put her version on a new album alongside standards like “Over the Rainbow.” Just last week, Kathryn Gallagher, an actress in the cast of the Broadway-bound “Jagged Little Pill,” performed her own take, accompanied by a cello, at a Midtown bar, encouraged to do so, she said, by fans online.

"(Waitress) has turned into the deepest love and the most incredible turning point in my artistic life and also my life just as a person on the earth," Bareilles says. She even got the chance to step into the main role of Jenna Hunterson. Although it was certainly a challenge, she doesn't regret a thing. "Stay open-minded about doing the thing that's hard because I think that's where the real reward lives," recommends Sara.

Sara Bareilles is releasing her newest album, Amidst the Chaos on April 5. Here’s a note from Sara about the album:

“Amidst the Chaos is a collection of songs that came to life over the last couple of years and now they are ready for you. 
This summer, in Los Angeles, along side some incredible collaborators and one inimitable producer named T Bone Burnett, the record came together swiftly and softly. It has been a lifelong dream to make music with T Bone, and I was so moved by his wisdom and his interest in soulful human expression, versus perfection. I want more of that in my life and it lives loud (and soft) and proud on this record and I can't wait for you to hear it. My eternal love and gratitude for your listening.”
xo, Sara 

Waitress

"The women of Waitress are changing Broadway!" - Time Magazine

April 9-14

Tickets start at $38

Family Art Night at WAC: You and Me and the Space Between

Families are invited to play, create and learn at Walton Arts Center Then stay for the imaginative tale of You and Me and the Space Between by Terrapin Puppet THEATER.

Free arts & crafts, puzzles, games and interactive learning stations will be set up throughout the lobby with a fantastic group of community partners. These partners are committed to the ideas of culture, sustainability, climate change and reducing our global footprint!

Participating Partners include:

• Ozark Natural Science Center

• Turpentine Creek Wildlife Refuge

• Canopy NWA

• NWA Land Trust

• Botanical Gardens of the Ozarks

• Fayetteville & Washington County Recycling

• Tri Cycle Farms

• University of Arkansas EntomologY

Make a night of it and stay to see You and Me and the Space Between. the play tells the story of a young girl who FInds a way to save her imperiled island home. 

From the imagination of one of Australia’s most accomplished children’s playwrights comes a tale of wonder and invention. Storytelling, choreographed projections and live drawn animation explore the plight of refugees fleeing environmental change through the eyes of a child. Step inside a picture book with an artist and storyteller, amidst a paper set that’s cut, ripped, patched and manipulated live to create a world of play.

Best for ages 7+. Tickets are just $9.

You and Me and the Space Between local Narrator

Erika Wilhite

Erika Wilhite is a voice over actor, immersive theater artist, producer, playwright, director and dramaturg. She founded Artist’s Laboratory Theatre (ALT), a community-centered, site-specific theater in Northwest Arkansas whose mission is to embolden and empower individuals as “change agents” through theater and storytelling.

“We love using a local actor to narrate the story, because we want the children to hear the story in their local dialect or accent, so it is more personal for them,” said Sam Routledge, artistic director for Terrapin Puppet Theatre Company.

Family Art Night at WAC: You and Me and the Space Between

Thursday, March 28, starting at 6 pm

Performance of You and Me and the Space Between starts at 7 pm

Take a Bite Out of Delicious Recipes from Local Pie Bakers

Three local pie bakers answered the call to bring their best recipes to Walton Arts Center for our Baked from the Heart Pie Competition, inspired by the upcoming musical Waitress.

Three local judges, Chef Steven Brooks, cookbook author and owner of Euna Mae’s Amy Hannon and KNWA’s morning show anchor Chris Frye had the difficult task of tasting them all and picking a winner.

The pies were delicious and the bakers have been so kind to share the recipes with us! Much like Jenna from Waitress, our three bakers pour their hearts in their pies and craft scrumptious treats that are a little slice of heaven.

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Nana Lucyanna's Coconut Cream Pie

Finalist

Ingredients & Instructions

CRUST
1 cup flour
0.5 t salt
1/3 cup Crisco 

Work Crisco in to sifted flour and salt mixture. Your goal is to stir as little as possible. Add drops of ICE WATER (very important)…carefully add the water; too much water makes tough dough that will stick when you roll out. If you do put a little too much, be generous with your use of flour as you roll it out. Mix. Roll out. 

FILLING
3/4 cup sugar
¼ cup flour
¼ cup corn starch
¼ t salt
2 eggs
14 oz coconut milk
1 ½ cup half and half
1 cup coconut
1 t vanilla

Mix dry ingredients in a bowl, add two eggs, beat mixture for 6-8 minutes under medium-high speed. Add one 14 oz can of coconut milk and 1 ½ cups half and half. Cook on low to medium heat until boils, stirring continuously. Cook another 4-5 minutes to make pudding creamier. Take off burner and put in a t of vanilla and 1 cup coconut. Put into pre-baked piecrust. 
*cook crust at 360 for 15 minutes before putting in filling. 

WHIPPED CREAM TOPPING
1 ½ cups heavy whipping cream
½ cup powdered sugar
1 t vanilla

Mix ingredients until thickens and then put it on pie when the pie is COOL. Toast coconut in a pie pan and bake for few minutes until golden brown. Let the toasted coconut cool and then place on top of homemade whipped topping. 

With Love,
Carissa Freeman

Ozark Mountain Grape

Winner

Ingredients & Instructions

Crust:
254 gr (approximately 2 Cups) All Purpose Flour
5 gr (approximately 1 Tsp.) Salt 
141 gr (approximately ¾ Cup) Shortening
⅓ - ½ Cup very cold water

Combine flour and salt in a large bowl. Cut in shortening with a pastry blender or fork until coarse (pea size) crumbs develop. Stir in enough water with fork just until dough will form a ball.
Divide ball in half and shape each half into a ¾” thick disk. Wrap and chill 20-30 minutes.
During this time prepare the filling.

Filling:
24 oz seeded Campbell Early Grapes (weighed after seeds are taken out)
1 ⅛ Cup Sugar
3 ½ Tablespoons Instant Clear Jel
Very slight pinch Salt
¼ Tsp. (compacted) Orange Zest
2 Tablespoons Melted Butter

Whisk 3 dry ingredients together
Fold dry mix, butter and zest into seeded grapes. 
Set aside while rolling out the dough

Roll out one disk slightly larger than pie plate on a lightly floured surface 
Place it in the pie plate
Place filling into bottom pie shell pastry
Roll out second disk for a full cover, lattice, or decoration as desired
Brush edge of bottom pastry with water
Cover with top pastry, slightly press edge of top pastry onto bottom pastry shell to seal the edge
Trim off excess dough
Slit top to allow steam to vent

Bake at 425 degrees on middle rack for 15 minutes
Lower temp to 350 degrees and bake for an additional 25-30 minutes or until lightly browned.

-Jerry Leding

Boppy's Knee-Slappin', Mouth smackin', Eyes roll back in your head it's so good Sour Cream Raisin Pie

Finalist

Ingredients & Instructions

CRUST: This makes 2 crusts ... one for now, an extra because you'll want to make it again VERY soon!
6 Tbsp. and 3 Tbsp. unsalted softened butter, divided
1/3 cup light brown sugar, lightly packed
3 Tbsp. granulated white sugar
1 large egg 
1/2 cup AP flour
3/4 cup (plus about 2 Tbsp. more) quick cook rolled oats
1/8 tsp of baking powder
1/8 tsp of baking soda
1/4 heaping tsp coarse kosher salt

Cream butter and both sugars with an electric hand mixer in medium sized bowl for about 2 minutes, scraping down the sides as needed until light and fluffy. (you can use a stand mixer, but dang! Why make the clean up harder?)

Add egg and continue to beat until pale and fluffy.

Add oats, flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt and beat until it's all mixed together good, about 1 minute. Turn oat mixture out onto a prepared cookie sheet (which you have either lined with parchment or a non stick silicone mat or sprayed Pam like the devil to cover the sheet) and press out until you have an even layer about 1/4 to 1/3 inch thick. (Basically, one big 'ole misshapen cookie ... looks right now are NOT important.)

Bake at 350 until it is just lightly golden on top, about 15 to 18 minutes ... you know your oven best, just keep an eye on it. Let cool on rack until completely cooled.

Once your "cookie" is completely cool crumble it up with your hands into a big bowl.

Add the other 3 Tbsp. of butter and a tablespoon of light brown sugar and mix it all together until it will stick together to form a crust. (Now's the time to split the mixture in half, one for now and one for "later". It freezes beautifully!)

Press mixture into a 9 inch pie pan, be it glass, tin, or ceramic. (Tins make the best pies, but I won't judge.) Work the mixture from the bottom up the sides until you have a full solid covering of crust in the pie pan interior. Just be sure to bring the sides up to the top edge of the pan ... you'll need to have it for the meringue to hang on to later!

FILLING: 
1 cup raisins
1/2 cup sugar
3 tablespoons cornstarch
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 cup sour cream
1/2 cup whole milk
3 large egg yolks, lightly beaten

In a small saucepan, cover the raisins with just enough water and heat to a boil. Immediately remove from heat and set aside. (you are plumping them up!)

In a large saucepan, combine the sugar, cornstarch, salt, cloves and cinnamon.

Stir in sour cream and milk until mixture is nice and smooth. Cook slow over medium heat until just thickened and bubbly.

Reduce heat to low; cook and stir for 2 minutes longer. Remove from the heat. Now's when you get to temper the eggs!

Stir a small amount of your hot filling into egg yolks whisking like crazy to combine them ... you don't want the eggs to scramble! Once it your eggs have adjusted to the heat, you can now add them to the rest of the cooked mixture in the pan, stirring constantly while doing so.

Remember, you are on low heat ... bring it up in temp just a hair until it starts a low, gentle boil. (that stage between a simmer and too many bubbles) Continue to stir it and let that cook for a couple more minutes. Remove from the heat.

Drain your raisins, but reserve about 1/2 cup of the water you cooked them in and gently stir that in to your filling mixture. Then add your raisins and mix it all together. Pour this filling into your Oat Cookie Crust and get your oven back to 350 degrees.

Meringue:

NOW, you can haul out your stand mixer. But for gosh sakes, make sure your mixing bowl and whisk are clean as all get out ... just the least little bit of dust or food residue will cause your egg whites not to set up proper.

Put the three egg whites in the bowl that were left over from the filling recipe and add another for good measure ... maybe even a fifth if you want mile high pie meringue. It's up to you, but I vote for no less than 4 egg whites.

Wisk on high in your stand mixture and sprinkle in a little cream of tartar and a couple, two, or three tablespoons of granulated white sugar, adding gradually, until you reach stiff peak consistency. (Meringue sweetness is definitely a matter of personal opinion and this recipe is already pretty darned sweet, so I'd err on the side of DO MORE SUGAR! Nah, just kidding ... I think 5 tablespoons are plenty.)

Spread over hot filling, sealing the meringue edges to the crust.

Pop this beauty into your 350 degree oven for about 15 minutes ... the meringue should be gloriously golden and browned on the peaks. Let cool for at least 1 hour before serving and refrigerate what little, if any, that is left.

-Kay Weiderhaft

VoiceJam A Cappella Festival

people all over the world are rediscovering the power and magic of the human voice - A cappella is one of the oldest forms of music and yet it’s fresh, evolving and alive in popular culture. Between the successes of the hit NBC show “The Sing-Off,” musical films like Pitch Perfect and superstar a cappella groups.

We’re proud to bring outstanding a cappella professionals together with collegiate, high school and semi-professional singers to showcase some of the best contemporary a cappella talent in the country. Creating an international forum in Northwest Arkansas for a cappella music is an important goal for VoiceJam, and we’re excited to continue doing this in our fifth festival year.

THE COMPETITORS:

1. The Beartones – Missouri State University, Springfield

2. Natural State of Mind – Jacksonville High School, Ark.

3. KeyHarmony – University of Central Florida, Orlando

4. Green Tones – University of North Texas, Denton

5. Lark – University of Colorado, Denver

6. Top Shelf Vocal – Los Angeles, California

7. Euphoria – Grand Valley State University, Allendale, Mich.

8. Business Casual – San Mateo, California

VoiceJam is so much more than just a performance competition. Throughout the festival, participants enhance their music skills through a variety of workshops led by internationally and locally renowned vocal coaches; masterclasses are also offered for new and experienced singers, including sessions on vocal percussion, harmony blending, collaborative arranging and the history of a cappella.

In every community—at every moment—someone is singing. VoiceJam is a festival where people come to savor the vocal vibrancy from across the country and around the world. We’re cultivating musical friendships and hoping to inspire Northwest Arkansas to sing beyond this weekend and throughout the year. We think it’s great to live in a community where people of all ages are creating and experiencing a variety of music!

VoiceJam A Cappella Festival

Sip, Sip Hooray! New Wines at Walton Arts Center

Walton Arts Center’s patrons have shared their thoughts regarding the selection of wines available At Concessions and we’ve listened to your feedback.  We are upping our wine game- Sip, Sip, Hooray!

Sweeter whites, richer reds and wine notes that meet everyone’s taste profile - take a sip and learn more about our new wine options. And the best part of this sweet indulgence… all concessions profits help to fund our arts education programs at Walton Arts Center. So, sip and savor away - these new reds and whites are here to stay!

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Conundrum Red

“We believe in being both serious and playful, and this wine fits the bill. A rich, dark red, it offers aromas of ripe berries and plums, warmed by a hint of cocoa. Dried fruit and the taste of chocolate-covered cherries come through on the palate, while a wisp of smokiness makes this wine – created from dark red varietals including Petite Sirah, Zinfandel and Cabernet Sauvignon – the perfect complement to grilled meats and full-flavored dishes. Tannins are rounded out by the ripeness of the berries for a texturous but smooth mouth feel. The finish makes us think of lingering at the end of a long evening and still not wanting to go home, with layers of rich flavor that teasingly trail off.” - Charlie Wagner, Director of Winemaking at Conundrum

19 Crimes Cabernet Sauvignon

Bright red to crimson hues, this wine confidently takes charge with intense lifted vanilla aromatics balanced with red currants, violets and mulberry fruits. Firm and full on the palate with a subtle sweetness giving a rich mouth feel. The vanilla aromatics carry through on the palate and compliment subtle flavors of red currants, dark cherries and chocolate. The palate is filled with dark berry fruit and the soft tannins provide a lingering finish.

• Hear the historical stories direct from The Infamous. Download the Living Wine Labels App, then point your phone and watch. It's as easy as impersonating an Egyptian and getting sentenced to deportation to Australia in 1806.

  Visit the Living Wine Labels website.

Josh Cabernet Sauvignon - Craftsman Collection series

Josh’s Cabernet Sauvignon was the first wine made by the company. It is the wine that started it all, setting the exacting standards that they hold themselves to for all of their varietals. Round and juicy, our Cabernet Sauvignon has flavors of blackberry, toasted hazelnut and cinnamon, complemented by hints of vanilla and toasted oak.

Josh’s Craftsman series is exclusive to restaurants and venues, meaning you cannot buy this in stores!

Merf Chardonnay

The 2016 Chardonnay is smooth, rich and balanced. With flavors of fresh apple, pear and tropical fruit with the oak giving it a nice rich mouthfeel and hints of oak in the nose and finish.

MERF’s goal was simply to make delicious, approachable wines that pair equally well with everyday foods and everyday life.

Apothic White

A blend of Chardonnay, Riesling and Pinot Grigio for a medium-bodied California white wine blend with vibrant layers of flavor featuring peach, apricot and floral notes. Riesling lends Apothic White its floral notes and firm acidity. Chardonnay adds texture and body, while Pinot Grigio contributes refreshing flavors of peach and apricot leading to a crisp, balanced finish.

Inspired by "Apotheca," a mysterious place where wine was blended and stored in 13th century Europe, the wines of Apothic are truly unique in style and taste.

Cast Your Vote By Purchasing Your Favorite in Our…

BATTLE OF THE REDS

These two big, bold Reds are battling it out for a space on our concessions menu. The concessions team is closely monitoring sales to see which of the two, Josh or Conundrum, come out ahead and secure their spot. Vote with your purchase - may the odds be ever in your flavor!

Sip, Sip Hooray!

WELCOME TO THE 2019-20 BROADWAY SEASON AT WALTON ARTS CENTER

A home for Broadway, right here in your own back yard. welcome to the biggest season yet with seven Blockbuster shows! Five shows are coming straight from New York City to Northwest Arkansas on their first national tours, and the season includes the 2018 Tony winner for Best Musical and Best Musical Revival.

Bringing the best of Broadway to the heart of Northwest Arkansas, Walton Arts Center’s 2019-20 season includes Escape to Margaritaville, The Play that Goes Wrong, A Christmas Story: The Musical, Once on This Island, Anastasia, Fiddler on the Roof and The Band’s Visit.

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Escape to Margaritaville

Set your mind to island time and get away from it all – you may find something you never expected in Jimmy Buffett’s Escape To Margaritaville, packed with Buffet’s iconic hits and a story line that ties them all together.

USA Today calls it “A little slice of paradise!” and Entertainment Weekly raves, “It will knock your flip-flops off!” So don't let the party start without you.

Parrotheads, unite! Hear the songs that define a star’s career, including “It’s Five O’Clock Somewhere,” “Son of a Son of a Sailor,” “Margaritaville” and “Cheeseburger in Paradise.”

The Play That Goes Wrong

Wrong moves have never been so right in the funniest and longest-running play on Broadway, THE PLAY THAT GOES WRONG. A mashup of Monty Python and Sherlock Holmes, this Oliver Award®-winning comedy was called “a gut-busting hit” by The New York Times.

Welcome to opening night of The Murder at Haversham Manor where things are quickly going from bad to utterly disastrous. With an unconscious leading lady, a corpse that can’t play dead, and actors who trip over everything (including their lines), it’s “A riotous explosion of comedy!” (The Daily Beast) and “Tons of fun for all ages!” (HuffPost). The New York Post has just one word for you: “GO!”

A Christmas Story: The Musical

Based on the perennial holiday movie favorite,  A Christmas Story, The Musical chronicles young and bespectacled Ralphie Parker as he schemes his way toward the holiday gift of his dreams, an official Red Ryder® Carbine-Action 200-Shot Range Model Air Rifle (“You’ll shoot your eye out kid!”).  An infamous leg lamp, outrageous pink bunny pajamas, a maniacal department store Santa and a triple-dog-dare to lick a freezing flagpole are just a few of the distractions that stand between Ralphie and his Christmas wish.

Hailed by The Associated Press as “a joyous Christmas miracle,” The New York Times writes “I was dazzled. You’d have to have a Grinch-sized heart not to feel a smile spreading across your face.” A Christmas Story, The Musical is a triple-dog-dare of a good time and it is sure to warm your heart this holiday season!

Once on This Island

“What a delight it is to enter the world of Once on This Island!” raves The New York Times. Time Out New York cheers, “After seeing this imaginative and dynamic musical, you may feel once is not enough!”

Rain falls, fire burns, wind blows and hearts soar. Set on a stunningly detailed re-creation of a sea-swept Caribbean village, this Tony Award-winning Best Musical Revival Once on This Island surrounds the audience with the vibrant story of a woman who travels far and wide to reunite with the man who has captured her heart.

Anastasia

Journey to the twilight of the Russian Empire when the stunningly beautiful Anastasia takes the stage. Inspired by the beloved film of the same name, the story follows a brave young woman as she sets out to discover the mystery of her past. This is an epic quest to find love, family and home.  

With its opulent settings, dazzling costumes and a soaring score including the song favorites from the hit animated film, “Journey to the Past” and “Once Upon a December,” Anastasia is the spectacular new musical about discovering who you are and defining who you’re meant to be.

Fiddler on the Roof

Rich with musical hits you know and love, including “Tradition,” “Sunrise, Sunset,” “If I Were A Rich Man,” “Matchmaker, Matchmaker” and “To Life (L’Chaim!),” Fiddler on the Roof is the heartwarming story of fathers and daughters, husbands and wives, and life, love and laughter.

Tony®-winning director Bartlett Sher and the team behind South Pacific, The King and I and 2017 Tony-winning Best Play Oslo, bring a fresh and authentic vision to this beloved theatrical masterpiece from Tony winner Joseph Stein and Pulitzer Prize winners Jerry Bock and Sheldon Harnick. Featuring a talented cast, lavish orchestra and stunning movement and dance from Israeli choreographer Hofesh Shechter, based on the original staging by Jerome Robbins, Fiddler on the Roof will introduce a new generation to the uplifting celebration that raises its cup to joy! To love! To life!

The Band’s Visit

The Band’s Visit is the winner of 10 Tony Awards, making it one of the most Tony-winning musicals in history. It is also a 2019 Grammy Awards® winner for Best Musical Theater Album. In this delightfully offbeat story, set in a town that’s way off the beaten path, a band of musicians arrive lost, out of the blue. Under the spell of the desert sky, and with beautiful music perfuming the air, the band brings the town to life in unexpected and tantalizing ways. Even the briefest visit can stay with you forever.

With a score that seduces your soul and sweeps you off your feet, and featuring Tony-winning performances and thrillingly talented onstage musicians, The Band’s Visit rejoices in the way music makes us laugh, makes us cry and ultimately, brings us together.

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Add Ons to Your Broadway Season

Blue Man Group

NOW, LET’S GET STARTED. Blue Man Group will rock your world. Blow your mind. And unleash your spirit. As three bald and blue men explore our world, together we’ll discover music, laughter and surprises at every turn.

35 million people of all ages, languages and cultures have experienced
the unexpected with Blue Man Group. Now it’s your turn to see what all the hype is about!

The Book of Mormon

The Book of Mormon follows two young missionaries who are sent to Uganda. One missionary, Elder Price, is an enthusiastic go-getter with a strong dedication to his faith, while his partner, Elder Cunningham, is a socially awkward but well meaning nerd whose tendency to embroider the truth soon lands him in trouble. Upon their arrival in Africa, Elders Price and Cunningham learn that in a society plagued by AIDS, poverty and violence, a successful mission may not be as easy as they expected.

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Take Your Seat

You don’t have to take a trip to New York City to see the best of Broadway. Season subscriptions are available now!

Call 479.571.2785 to talk with a Subscriber Concierge or visit waltonartscenter.org for more information.

*Single tickets will go on-sale later in the summer.

Unparalleled A Cappella Pushed to the Edge - The Edge Effect

Comprised of Winners of MTV's Top Pop Group and Boyz II Men's Next Great A Cappella Group, America's Got Talent finalists and international recording artists, The Edge Effect is a group of a cappella all-stars taking music to a whole new level - and in ways you might not expect.

The Edge Effect's signature sound blurs the genre line and weaves a colorful tapestry of infectious beats, intricate harmonies and spectacular vocal acrobatics. Their vast repertoire knows no boundaries to style or genre, and the band's stunning reinterpretations of musical favorites, as well as inventive, contemporary original songs make for an unparalleled entertainment experience.

A five-man vocal band, The Edge Effect combines pop, R & B, jazz, rock and funk in a show that must be seen and heard to believe.

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The Edge Effect Q&A

1.    How did The Edge Effect come to be?

The Edge Effect was born out of a love for vocal music and years of relationships.  We all wanted to create something we could be proud of and that we could grow into something special.  Sean, John and Troy were founders of the Las Vegas-based group Mosaic.  When they decided to leave the desert, they reached out to Danny who was singing with 42Five (now Voiceplay).  Danny knew Karl from the Voices of Liberty at EPCOT center and the group was born.

2.     The five of you have spent a lot of time together over your years of performing. If you were to give each member a title, what would it be?    

Troy - mad scientist

Danny -mr practical

Karl - payday karl

Sean - the idea machine

John - mr chill

3.      Do you have a favorite a capella mash up of songs? If so, what are they?

We love our new arrangement of Billy Joel and Elton John hits! We also really enjoy performing our Michael Jackson medley.

4.      Pick 5 words—that start with the letter ‘E’—that best describe your work.

Energetic, enthusiastic, entertaining, eclectic, engaging

5.      What is the best advice that you have been given; and what advice would you give to aspiring vocalists in the audience?

be prepared for opportunity.  There is no such thing as luck.  It’s cliche, but luck is when opportunity meets preparedness. Our advice to aspiring vocalists is to put in the time.  Practice, practice, practice.  Learn your craft.  Study your idols and put the time in.  The time on stage or in the recording booth should be the culmination of all the time you’ve put in behind the scenes.  There is no substitution for time and experience.

6.      Whom do you define as visionary; and why?

We all have different influences, but we can all agree on Stevie Wonder as being probably the biggest musical influence on all of us (followed closely by Prince). His fusion of R&B, funk, soul, pop, gospel and genre bending style allowed him to create a sound all his own that has influenced generations of musicians. He was so ahead of his time with his use of synthesizers, jazz progressions. Harmonic voicing, and overall song structure.  Listen to his albums from 1973 - 1978 and they still sound fresh today.

7.      What is the most rewarding thing about being a part of The Edge Effect?

Getting to do what we love for a living with friends who have become family.

8.      What are some unique or memorable experiences you’ve had while traveling around the world to share your music?  

We have been blessed to see the world through music.  We often hashtag our photos #musicbroughtmehere or something similar.  In the past few years we have been to Barcelona, Sicily, Lisbon, Malta, Chile, Alaska, Colombia, Canada, the Caribbean, Mexico, Honduras, Belize and more.  That never would have happened without a cappella! We have sung in cathedrals, theaters, caverns, on beaches, in mountains, near glaciers.  Its been an amazing journey and we can’t wait to see where else music will take us.

9.      What message do you hope to send the world via your music?  That we are really all the same. 

We travel everywhere and the one thing that brings us all together is music.  Music is a great unifier, and everyone LOVES harmony!

10.  What songs, artists or genres of music are you currently listening to?

We are old school lol!  Our current playlist would include:

Prince, Michael Jackson, Earth Wind and Fire, Stevie Wonder, Hall & Oates, Erik B and Rakim, Beastie Boys, etc. Newer music we did includes Marc Broussard, Allen Stone, Leon Bridges, Imagine Dragons, Punch Brothers, Lake Street Dive, VulfPeck

VoiceJam A Cappella Festival Headliner Concert

The Edge Effect

Friday, April 5 at 7:30 pm

Join Our Volunteer Team & Make Theater Magic!

• Support the arts in your community!

• Make new friends in a fun and creative environment!

• Help make world-class arts experiences accessible to all people in Northwest Arkansas!

• Inspire the leaders of tomorrow with the arts, today!

Walton Arts Center volunteers are a dedicated group of individuals who commit their time, talents and resources to maintaining the arts in our community. At Walton Arts Center we strive to provide the highest quality live theater available through diverse programming, accessible costs and many educational performances that reach thousands of students in our region - and our volunteer program is essential to making theater magic happen everyday!

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Opportunities

Front of House 
Assist our operations team during Walton Arts Center, SoNA, and Trike performances, as well as education shows and special events doing everything from taking tickets and ushering to selling concessions and checking coats.

Studio & Education Outreach
Work with Walton Arts Center and Crystal Bridges' Arts With Education Institute, as well as with classes and camps on the WAC campus.

Special Events
Assist in special tasks during annual events including Artosphere Arts + Nature Festival, Art of Wine Festival and Masquerade Ball.

Administrative
Assist with a variety of office and clerical duties.

Resident Companies
Work during special events for TheatreSquared, Trike and SoNA and help Community Creative Center with classes and camps throughout the year.

Hear from Our Volunteers

WHAT ARE THE GREATEST REWARDS OF VOLUNTEERING?

• The memories of seeing excited and vibrant youth after experiencing educational shows in Starr Theater. -Catherine

• I enjoy working with the public, love working concessions and meeting new people. I love hearing someone say this is their first time here. And as a volunteer I have enjoyed our potluck gatherings - getting to know each other a little better and having some fun at the same time. -Kathy

• Just seeing the awe and fascination on the faces of all those kids while they are at the WAC is all the "theater magic" I need. -Morgan

WHY DO YOU VOLUNTEER AT WAC?

• I really enjoy being around the performing arts. Since I'm not in a position to donate a lot of money, I can help the Walton Arts Center by volunteering my time.  Also, the volunteer group and the staff members are so much fun to be around! -Morgan

• The "stock" answer is to give back to my community, but it goes much deeper than that for me. It is the energy I get from the kids when we do an education show. (We can bring 1200 kids and 25-30 buses to a 9:30 show, move them out and do it all over for an 11:30 show.)  It is the smiles and thank you from our patrons. It is a chance to work with a group of volunteers that is like family. -Michael
  

Shakespeare's Romantic Comedy Takes the Stage with Aquila Theatre Company

Four Lovers. Two Fairies. One Donkey and a lot of mayhem ensue. A Midsummer Night’s Dream is William Shakespeare’s outlandish romantic comedy, brought to the stage by Aquila Theatre Company.

In A Midsummer Night's Dream, residents of Athens mix with fairies from a local forest, with comic results. In the city Theseus, Duke of Athens, is to marry Hippolyta, queen of the Amazons. Bottom the weaver and his friends rehearse in the woods a play they hope to stage for the wedding celebrations.

Four young Athenians are in a romantic tangle. Lysander and Demetrius love Hermia; she loves Lysander and her friend Helena loves Demetrius. Hermia’s father, Egeus, commands his daughter to marry Demetrius, and Theseus supports the father’s right to do so.

All four young Athenians end up in the woods, where Robin Goodfellow, who serves the fairy king Oberon, puts flower juice on the eyes of Lysander and Demetrius, unintentionally causing both to love Helena. Oberon, who is quarreling with his wife, Titania, uses the flower juice on her eyes. She falls in love with Bottom, who now, thanks to Robin Goodfellow, wears a donkey's head.

As the lovers sleep, Robin Goodfellow restores Lysander's love for Hermia, so that now each young woman is matched with the man she loves. Oberon disenchants Titania and removes Bottom’s donkey’s head. The two young couples join the royal couple in getting married, and Bottom rejoins his friends to perform the play.

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Q&A WITH Actors JACK KLAFF & ROBERT MADELEY

1.    What inspired this reinterpretation of Shakespeare’s classical work?

This production was inspired by the theme of female empowerment and how that has played out throughout the ages. All of the women within this power struggle are fighting against instruments of male power that are being forced upon them. These themes have never been more relevant in the current age with the MeToo and TimesUp movements attempting to highlight power imbalances in the modern world. -Robert

2.    Who and/or what ignited your passion for classical drama?

My family initially. My mother was taught Shakespeare and verse drama by a brilliant teacher who understood the traditions of classical plays going back via the 19th century and on through ancient times. One very special day my older brother was given a speech to learn for school. I was just a little boy listening to him as he practiced the rhetorical flourishes in that speech. My mother explained the text to him and helped him rehearse the speech. And I just found it tremendously exciting. Not exciting in an academic way. Exciting like rock music is exciting. -Jack

3.    Was it difficult to stay true to Shakespeare’s original piece while looking at the story through a modern lens?

No. One of the reasons why Shakespeare will always remain relevant is that he is the most human of all the great writers. Human beings are still, and will always be, motivated by the same things that Shakespeare wrote about. The date may have changed but human beings really haven't. Shakespeare writes so vividly about power, greed, love, corruption, jealousy and mortality. All of the things that really matter to people and that always will matter to people. -Robert

4.    Who were some of your favorite characters to bring to life from the original play and why?

Theseus. How Theseus exists in the history books and mythology is very mysterious. In the play he a fearsome warrior who conquered the Amazonians, but he is also given the language of a lover and a poet. Creating a character that is true to these things, while still being interesting to an audience, was a great challenge. -Robert

5.    Pick 5 words—that start with the letter ‘M’—that best describe tonight’s performance. 

Magical, Musical, Mesmerizing, Masterly and Madcap

6. How do you bring the mystical story to life on stage with the many overlapping scenes that take place in the play? 

Each member of the acting company along with the lighting designer and designer of the soundscape will work through the play moment to moment, line by line, interchange by interchange, passage by passage and scene by scene. Ours is a collaborative process. There really are no rules, nor is there clear process to begin with. We draw on experiences of past productions of other plays as well as productions of this play and in the long and laborious process we arrive at what it means to us. As a great Spanish poet once said, “There is no path, we make the path by walking.” -Jack

7. What is the overarching message in A Midsummer Night’s Dream; and how does that connect to our modern world? 

A famous Nobel prize- winning physicist was once asked to explain his work. He said, ‘If I could explain my work briefly and simply, I’d never have won the Nobel Prize.”

Perhaps naming a message is necessary for some kinds of education. That’s not a question for me though - I prefer talking about inspiration.
A friend of mine, a writer, insists that no poem or play of his should ever be used for examination purposes at any institution. -Jack

8. What do you hope the audience takes away from the performance? 

I would beg our audiences to make of it what they will - to take what they wish, what it is their will to take from this production.

The play is a comedy.  It gets laughs. As far as Shakespeare concerned in a comedy, lovers are reconciled and couples get married. In his tragedies a lot of people die. The play is a celebration. A celebration of many things. It is a celebration of Summer and Midsummer. It is funny. It is a celebration of fun and of laughter. -Jack

9. What advice would you give to any aspiring performers in the audience? 

It is not enough just to WANT to become a professional. -Jack

10. What songs, artists or styles of music are you currently listening to? 

On this tour we have been on the road a great deal and will listen to quite a lot of songs from musicals.

We often sing or play music that relate to a place we are visiting. For instance, we played that song by Paul Simon in which he mentions Saginaw as he goes in Search of America. Lately, I’ve been enjoying a violin concerto by Sibelius and the chamber music of Schubert and Beethoven. -Jack

A Midsummer Night’s Dream

Saturday, March 16

Just Ask Dixie... America's Favorite Tupperware Lady Answers Some of Our Favorite Questions

Dixie Longate is making her way around the country, selling Tupperware and sharing laughs with audiences from Vegas, to Texas to Jersey.

During her travels, she sat down and answered a few of our favorite questions with a flair that is uniquely Dixie. Don’t miss her stop at Walton Arts Center - 7 shows, 6 days and endless plastic dishware Make for the Best Night oUt!

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What are five things you can't live without?

1) Jack Daniels would definitely top the list.  I tend to enjoy a nightcap.  Sometimes right when I wake up. It sets the tone for the day and makes things easier.

2) My best friend, Georgia Jean.  As much as she makes me want to tie her up and push her off a bridge sometimes, there is no one who makes me laugh more.

3) Weekly visits to my favorite honky tonk to ride the mechanical bull.  Nothing makes me happier than taking a few turns bucking up and down on that furry thing.

4) My Bedazzler. I bought one off the TV late at night a few years ago and I don't think there is anything in my trailer that don't have sparkles on it now.  

5) My porch swing.  Seems like there ain't nothing better in the whole world than finishing up the day sitting on the porch swing, staring out at the fireflies and listening to the crickets chirp.  If I squint just right, I can see all the way to Heaven.

What's your motto or advice to live by?

You are better than you give yourself credit for.  I think we all forget sometimes that within us, we all have something fantastic to offer the world.  We just let other people extinguish our flames sometimes.  There ain't no harm in patting yourself on the back every once in a while knowing that even in the smallest of ways, what each of us brings to the world is truly irreplaceable.

What would you do if you couldn't host Tupperware Parties?

Probably drink a lot more and practice this thing with my leg that I learned from Summers Eve down at the Pole Cat Lounge. She can lift her leg without even using her hands.  She gets paid a lot of money on Thursday nights to do that. And she's a genuinely nice lady. Oh, I also like to knit.

What's going to surprise people about Dixie's Tupperware Party?

First of all, it ain't just for ladies.  I get plenty of men coming to the show and laughing their butts off, which is always a fun thing.  They don't know what they have been missing by not going to Tupperware parties all these years.  Mostly though, I think people will be surprised by what an uplifting evening it ends up being.  When you leave the show, you have a little extra spring in your step and you feel like you can take on the world a bit more.

What's the last thing you do before you step out on stage and the party starts?

I check my hair to make sure that I look pretty and stick a piece of gum in my mouth.  I'm a gum chewer.  Always have been.  My momma told me that she thinks I have an oral fixation.  I'm not sure what that is, but if it tastes like Big Red gum, then I am happy to have it.

Dixie’s Tupperware Party

Feb. 19-24 | 7 shows!

Tickets & Show Info

The Story Behind A Bronx Tale

CHAZZ PALMINTERI TELLS THE TALE BEHIND THE TALE set IN 1960 IN THE BELMONT AVENUE SECTION OF THE BRONX: I was sitting on my front stoop on 187th Street. A car started backing into a parking space and another car tried to sneak in behind him. One man jumped out of a car with a baseball bat, and a fight broke out. Another man came over to protect his friend, pulled out a gun and shot the man with the bat.

I was maybe ten feet from them. The man stared at me and we were bonded for life. In the days following I got to know the man who pulled the trigger, and I became his friend. How was I to know that this incident would shape my life forever? This was the beginning of A Bronx Tale.

“THE AUDIENCE WHO COMES TO THIS SHOW JUST LOVES THE STORY AND THAT ERA, AND WANTS TO BE TAKEN ON A JOURNEY. OUR JOB IN A WAY IS TO BE INVISIBLE AND SUPPORT THE VISION.”

I grew up in a tough area of the Bronx and it gave me, young Calogero (my given name), the life lessons that would later prove very useful to my career. I originally wrote the script for the stage and performed it as a one-man show in Los Angeles and New York. One night Robert De Niro walked into the theater to see the show and as they say, the rest is history.

Eventually De Niro turned the production into the 1993 film adaptation, which was directed by — and starred — De Niro, with Palminteri playing Sonny. It was a role that arguably launched Palminteri’s career, and later landed him his Broadway debut in the 2007 production, directed by four-time Tony-winner Jerry Zaks. Alan Menken and Glenn Slater made the decision to draw the musical score from the musical colors of the early ‘60s Bronx streets, setting in motion everything that followed: the sets, costumes, lights, sound and, of course, our brilliant cast.

The story of A Bronx Tale still resonates all over the world. I think it is because it is a story about family. A Bronx Tale was never meant to be a gangster story. It is a family story about my father Lorenzo, the bus driver and my mother Rosina, and how they kept me on path to make the right choices in life.

- CHAZZ PALMINTERI

“THIS SHOW - EVERY SINGLE PERSON THAT LEAVES THIS AUDIENCE IS CHANGED IN SOME WAY, WHETHER THEY REALIZE IT IN THE MOMENT OR NOT.”

Serving Up The Laughs at Dixie's Tupperware Party

Dixie Longate, America’s favorite Tupperware lady Keeps The laughs Fresh in her quick-witted, hyperactive Tupperware party. Get spunk with a good dollop of sweetness while learning the history of Tupperware, sampling some of the products, playing games, winning prizes and belly laughing the night away.

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Tupperware didn’t come out of nowhere, it took a gal with the gussy gumption of Brownie Wise to make it a household name by making it a party. And that’s just what Kris Andersson, who plays Dixie Longate, so admires about Wise - a mid-century single mom who took a product off the store shelf and brought it into the living rooms of America by organizing Tupperware parties. When inventor/CEO Earl Tupper learned of her success, he appointed her V.P. of Tupperware Home Parties and made her a household name while she made him millions. When he thought she was getting too big for her britches, he gave her a year’s salary and kicked her to the curb. She died in 1992 in obscurity. But that wasn’t the end of the party.

The rise and fall of Brownie Wise is only the thematic backbone of Kris Andersson’s hilarious and always endearing one-woman show. With the help of audience members, Dixie launches into her 100-minute infomercial on the wonders of the ware.

Dixie knows that the most important part of a Tupperware party isn’t the Tupperware, it’s the party. In the end, it’s not "the fantastic plastic crap" that matters, it’s the people.

Comedy aside, all the products Dixie mentions in the show, plus all the items in the catalog, are actually for sale. Just fill out the form, drop it off to Dixie in the lobby after the show and in a few weeks, ding-dong…Tupperware delivery to your front door. Shopping AND theater….it just might be the heaven some of us have been looking for.

Theater is Full of Wonder in Air Play

Step into the enchanted world of Air Play, a show that’s perfect for the whole family even some of our youngest patrons (best for ages 5+). Balloons, umbrellas, fabrics and glitter fly above the stage sparking pure delight!

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Seth Bloom and Christina Gelsone are a husband and wife team that merge circus and street theater performance with sculptural artistry. They met at a circus in Afghanistan, were engaged while street performing in Scotland and married in China. In 2005, they co-founded Acrobuffos, an award-winning theater company specializing in non-verbal comedy performed in outdoor festivals, circuses, arenas and theaters. Since then, Seth and Christina have created five shows, competed at international circus festivals, performed together in 23 countries on six continents, juggled on Late Night with David Letterman, headlined at the Big Apple Circus and were featured in The New York Times. When not on tour, Christina and Seth live in Harlem, NYC. 

In Air Play, the two embark in a circus-style adventure as two siblings who journey through a land of air, transforming the ordinary into objects of uncommon beauty. Visual images are sewn from the sky and enchant the young and the young at hear with a poetic ode to childhood. Gasp, wonder and laugh until it hurts.

Here’s what the critics have to say about the wonder of Air Play:

“Air Play holds the whole audience in the palm of its outstretched hand. A winning combination of visually stunning sculptures and cheeky but heartfelt storytelling that keeps both adults and children enthralled.”
–British Theatre Guide, London, UK. 

“The curtains open and we see a man holding on to a huge piece of light fabric, dancing in the air, moved by a circle of fans. The wonder begins and I suddenly feel like a child again, receptive to every single magical moment in Air Play.” 
- A Younger Theatre  

“… you feel as if you've stepped into an enchanted world somewhere between childhood and what comes afterwards, where normal rules (gravity included) have been temporarily held at bay.”

-The Age

Air Play

Thursday, March 8 at 7 pm

Curate Your Perfect Valentine's (or Galentine's) Date

You’re sooo in love, but sometimes jobs, bills, kids and the stresses of life just get in the way especially during the season of togetherness. We get it. And we want to make things simple this Valentine’s Day. Whether it’s you and your S.O. or group of best gals, Walton Arts Center has the perfect selection of shows so you can curate your perfect night out in February!

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Falsettos

Love tells a million stories in Falsettos. Set in the ‘80s through the early days of the AIDS crisis, the musical tells the story of a Marvin, his lover Whizzer, Marvin’s wife Trina and their extended family. Laughs are mixed in with gripping drama for an evening that pulls at the heart strings.

Dorrance Dance

Rap-a-tap-tap the night away to the electric moves of Dorrance Dance. Making music with their feet, this performance is cutting-edge, energizing and impeccable. Be amazed by Michelle Dorrance and her troupe of artists.

Cirque Éloize Saloon

Take your date night to new heights with this Canadian troupe of acrobats and musicians. Set to the timeless tunes of Johnny Cash and Patsy Cline, swing open the Saloon doors and enter the wild, wild west. In an acrobatic comedy, the cast takes audiences through thrills and circus-style feats.

Dixie’s Tupperware Party

“We’re having a party - A Tupperware Party” with a member of the “#1 Tupperware Seller in the World” club - Dixie Longate. Educating her guests on the many alternatives used for the plastic products, Dixie will have the audience rolling with laughter, an uplifting message and a few giveaways throughout the night. Putting the PARTY in Tupperware Party, this will be a night out you do not want to miss.

Michael Andrew: Sinatra and the American Songbook

Michael Andrew’s performance really is “all-that-jazz” backed by a big band as he takes us through an evening of tunes from the American Songbook. Come hear the classics like Johnny Mercer, Sammy Cahn, the Gershwins and Sinatra. Known for his long-running engagement at The Rainbow Room in NYC, Michael Andrews can be the perfect soundtrack to your romantic night out.

A Bronx Tale

The kind of musical your S.O. will enjoy, A Bronx Tale is a street-wise musical with heart. Enjoyed by first-time theater goers and Broadway-fanatics, this story is a timeless tale of loyalty, family and adversity. Grab a slice of pepperoni & come to the show!

Curate Your Perfect Date at Walton Arts Center

All-Star Cast & Creative Team Step to the March of Falsettos

Opening its National Tour at Walton Arts Center, Falsettos is a beautiful reminder that love can tell a million stories.

Revolving around the life of a charming, intelligent, neurotic gay man named Marvin, his wife, lover, about-to-be-Bar-Mitzvahed son, their psychiatrist and the lesbians next door, Falsettos is a hilarious and achingly poignant look at the infinite possibilities that make up a modern family.

Bringing the story to the stage is an all-star and multi-award winning cast and creative team!

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Cast for the National Tour

Nick Adams - WHIZZER

Nick most notably originated and starred as Adam/Felicia in the Tony®-winning Broadway musical Priscilla Queen of the Desert that earned him two Broadway.com Audience Choice Awards, honors from the American Theater Hall of Fame and a nomination for the 2011 Astaire Award.

Eden Espinosa - TRINA

Eden is most recognized for her critically acclaimed portrayal of Elphaba in Wicked on Broadway, in Los Angeles and San Francisco. Her TV appearances include “Law and Order,” “Ugly Betty” and “Elementary.” Voiceover credits include Cassandra in “Tangled the Series,” “Robot Chicken,” “MAD TV,” “Elana of Avalor” and “Titan Maximum.”

Max von Essen - MARVIN

Max is currently starring in the Broadway production of Anastasia as Gleb Vaganov. He is perhaps best known to audiences as Henri Baurel in the award-winning production of An American in Paris, a role which earned him nominations for the Tony, Drama Desk, Outer Critics Circle and Grammy® awards.

Creative Team for the National Tour

James Lapine - AUTHOR/DIRECTOR

James Lapine wrote and directed the Tony Award-nominated play Act One based on the autobiography by Moss Hart and directed his play Twelve Dreams. In addition to directing the recent HBO documentary “Six by Sondheim”, Lapine collaborated with Stephen Sondheim as author and director on the musicals Sunday in the Park with George (Pulitzer Prize), Into the Woods, Passion (Tony Award), and the multi-media revue Sondheim on Sondheim. On Broadway, he directed the 2013 revival of the musical Annie, Golden Child, The Diary of Anne Frank and Amour. His other plays include Luck, Pluck and Virtue, The Moment When, Fran’s Bed and Mrs. Miller Does Her Thing.

William Finn - BOOK/MUSIC/LYRICS

Finn’s Elegies: A Song Cycle premiered at Lincoln Center Theater in 2003. He wrote and composed In Trousers (L.A. Drama Critics Award), America Kicks Up Its Heels (Playwrights Horizons), and Make Me A Song (New York Stages) as well as Romance in Hard Times, Love’s Fire: Fresh Numbers by Seven American Playwrights, and scores for Shakespeare’s The Winter’s Tale and As You Like It, all for The Public Theater. He graduated from Williams College, where he was awarded the Hutchinson Fellowship in Musical Composition.

Spencer Liff - CHOREOGRAHER

In addition on Falsettos, Liff is known for his work on Spring Awakening (Drama Desk, Outer Critics Circle nominations) and Hedwig and the Angry Inch. Liff earned two Emmy nominations for his work as a choreographer for eight seasons on FOX’s “So You Think You Can Dance.” Other TV credits include “Dancing With the Stars,” “Best Time Ever with Neil Patrick Harris,” “Parks and Recreation,” “2 Broke Girls,” “Mike & Molly,” “How I Met Your Mother,” “One Day at a Time” (Netflix), “The Emmy Awards” and “The Latin Grammy Awards.”

WAC Gives Back During the Holiday Season

Walton Arts Center staff are deeply connected to the community, that’s why when the nonprofit performing arts organization has its annual holiday party, they try to find a way to give back to the community and other nonprofits in the region. This year, Walton Arts Center staff participated in our annual holiday raffle with proceeds benefiting 7Hills Homeless Shelter - and the generosity was inspiring!

Walton Arts Center & Walmart AMP Staff Donations were used to Purchase:

• 10 Backpacks

• 40 pairs of women’s socks

• 70 pairs of women’s underwear

• 72 pairs of men’s underwear

• 40 pairs of men’s socks

• 4 giant bags of cough drops

• 3 big boxes of cold medicine

• 12 pairs of reading glasses

• 40 flashlights w/ batteries

• 20 packs of hand warmers

• 4 sleeping bags

• 4 Two Person tents

• 21 pairs of NEW work boots for men and women

Members of the party-planning committee answered a few questions for us and chimed in on what the donation means to each of them:

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Why was 7Hills chosen as the recipient of donations? 

“Over the last couple of years, we have seen an increased presence of homeless individuals in Fayetteville and specifically in the Dickson Street area. 7Hills Homeless Center does so much to help their clients not only with basic needs but also by offering workplace education and giving opportunities for support and independence. With such a visible need in the community, we thought that that 7Hills would be the right fit for our fundraising this year.”   -Kelli

How are donations collected? 

“We sell raffle tickets to employees every year.  The committee works hard to collect raffle prizes and packages that will make people excited about the opportunity to win and encourage them donate by purchasing raffle tickets.  We typically start collecting donations the week prior to the party and also at the door when people arrive. This year, we added the option to donate via Venmo…for those that don’t carry cash.” -Kelli   

What does it mean to you to give back during the holiday season? 

“When Leslie and I dropped off the items, the smiles on their faces was so heartwarming. We got the list from the 7Hills website and decided to focus on things that were probably the least donated. Our main objective was work boots for men and women. 

I hope our donation of work boots will help some people have the means to be hired for jobs that require work boots. We were also able to donate cold medicine and reading glasses, which is not something I would have thought about donating. Honestly, the whole experience was fun because money was not an issue when we were thinking about helping these people since the wonderful people of WAC donated so much, we were able to help out a lot. I loved every minute of it.” -Justin

Tap to the Beat with Michelle Dorrance

Dorrance Dance is an award-winning tap dance company based out of New York City. The company’s work aims to honor tap dance’s uniquely beautiful history in a new, dynamic and compelling context; not by stripping the form of its tradition, but by pushing it - rhythmically, technically and conceptually. 

Recently mentioned in The New York Times’ Survey of Cultural Landscape, Michelle Dorrance encourages her dancers to create an intimate and captivating space that becomes an auditory playground with tap as the instruments.

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Michelle Dorrance, founder and artistic director of Dorrance Dance, is one of the most sought after tap dancers of her generation and “one of the most imaginative tap choreographers working today” (The New Yorker). A 2015 MacArthur Fellow, 2014 Alpert Award Winner and 2013 Jacob’s Pillow Dance Award Winner, Michelle performs, teaches and choreographs throughout the world.

Mentored by Gene Medler, Michelle grew up performing with the North Carolina Youth Tap Ensemble and has since performed with STOMP, Savion Glover’s ti dii, Manhattan Tap, Barbara Duffy & Co, JazzTap Ensemble, Rumba Tap, Ayodele Casel’s Diary of a Tap Dancer, Mable Lee’s Dancing Ladies, Harold Cromer’s original Opus One, Derick Grant’s Imagine Tap and Jason Samuels Smith’s Charlie’s Angels/Chasing the Bird. Michelle’s choreography has been featured on stages throughout the world as well as in a high-fashion short film for Tabitha Simmons.

Michelle embodies a true passion for teaching and strives to share this passion wherever she goes. She earned a Bachelor of Arts from NYU and played bass for Darwin Deez. She teaches on faculty at Broadway Dance Center, is a Capezio Athlete and has been featured on the covers of Dance Magazine and Dance Teacher Magazine. Michelle wishes to credit the master hoofers from whom she studied with in her youth for constant inspiration and influence.

Dorrance Dance

Tuesday, Feb. 12

Whose Live Anyway? Improv Games Guaranteed To Have You Laughing

Love the Emmy-nominated TV show, “Whose Line is it Anyway?” Relive the Top 10 “Whose Line” games and grab your ticket to the live, interactive comedy performance based on the show, Whose Live Anyway?

Cast members include Greg Proops, Jeff B. Davis, Dave Foley and Joel Murray. You’ll be left gasping as these funny-guys invent scenes right before your eyes. Audience participation is key, and you never know if you’ll be brought up on stage to join the fun!

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TOP 10 GAMES from “Whose Line is it Anyway?”

10. Hollywood Director
This game starts our innocently enough, with three of the performers tasked with acting out a simple scene; then a fourth performer acts as director and yells “cut!” gives the actors notes on how to improve the scene. With each new suggestion, the scene becomes sillier and sillier, providing a great showcase for the supreme goofiness that is at the heart of this show.

9. Living Scenery
A great exercise in physical comedy, Living Scenery calls for two performers to act out a scene as they use two other performers as the various props needed in the scene. Mostly, this game serves as an excuse to make the people-as-props as uncomfortable as possible. From jet-skis to be ridden, bathrobes to be adorned, or trees to pick coconuts from, this game has all of the performers getting up close and personal.

8. Newsflash
This game involves the magic of green screen technology. Two performers act as newscasters in the studio, who then throw it over a third person who is reporting on a breaking news story that’s being shown on the green screen. It’s up to the third person, who can’t see what’s on the green screen behind him, to guess what’s being shown solely through clues from the other two performers. Often times, the green screen images are either extremely ridiculous or extremely disgusting, which makes it extra fun as the reporters lob hints through grimaces or expressions of shock.

7. Sound Effects
The best of the games that use audience participation, Sound Effects has two performers act out a scene with sound effects provided by two poor, unsuspecting members of the audience. Proving that the most important rule in improv is “yes, and…” the performers roll with any and every terrible sound effect they provide. The fun that comes from watching this game involves the actors reacting to every poor attempt at a gunshot, bird call or alarm system made by the audience members, while seeing them crack up from the absurdity of it all.

6. Party Quirks
Similar to honorable mentions Let’s Make a Date and Weird Newscasters, Party Quirks has multiple performers act out a scenario with a strange quirk or identity. In this game that scenario is a party, where one actor has to guess what characters the other three are playing. This game makes the list over the other two mentioned above due to the sheer ridiculousness of watching all of these wacky characters interact in the same space. Part of the fun of watching this game is seeing what new, crazy idea for a character the show can come up with, and seeing the transformation and commitment that the performers have to these role on a moment’s notice.

5. Props
A game so simple that it can be played at home, Props is just about trying to come up with as many funny things as possible with strange looking props. While not a super involved game, it’s one that really embodies the spirit of the show: give an improver just an inkling of an idea, and they’ll turn it into something hilarious.

4. Hoedown
Yee-haw! Always a crowd pleaser, Hoedown has all four performers sing a jaunty southern tune one verse at a time. Whereas a lot of the other games are so rapid-fire with the jokes, this one has much more of a slow-build, as each performer works up towards a hard-hitting punch line at the end of their verse.

3. Irish Drinking Song
Like Hoedown, Irish Drinking Song has all four performers sing a tune, this time as a rowdy bar song one line at a time. This game requires some of the most rapid-fire improv chops out of any one on the show, which is what makes this game so entertaining to watch.

2. Greatest Hits
This game is simple enough: two performers play TV pitchmen trying to sell the newest compilation album, while one or two other performers sing the songs that are on the album. Greatest Hits earns the number two spot on the list simply because all of the moving parts come together in a coherent and awesome way.

1.Scenes from a Hat
Scenes from a Hat is a true embodiment of the “anything can happen” spirit of the show, and why it earns the top spot. The premise is super simple: scenes are randomly pulled out of a hat, all audience suggestions and all of the performers have to act them out. What makes this game so incredibly fun is how unpredictable it is, anything from “If statues could speak” to “world’s worst person to be stuck with at a party” to “Outtakes from the Hillbilly National Theater’s Shakespeare Festival” could be pulled from the hat and all of it is completely hilarious. More than any other game, this is the one where one gag or throwaway line can have the both the audiences and the other performers completely howling. Wacky ideas performed on the spot is what Whose Line is all about, and nowhere is that any more evident than in this game here.