MUSIC
‘Soulful Sounds’
Husband-and-wife jazzy R&B duo Acute Inflections — singer Elasea Douglas, who goes by “eL,” and upright bassist Sadiki Pierre — will perform arrangements of jazz, soul and R&B classics and original music, and add “playful storytelling and lighthearted comedy,” for a program titled “Soulful Sounds in Little Rock,” 7 p.m. Tuesday at the Ron Robinson Theater, 100 River Market Ave., Little Rock. A news release describes it as “an intimate, candlelit evening inspired by the elegance of the Harlem Renaissance with a modern twist.”
Doors open one hour before the show. Tickets — $55-$90 — include complimentary wine and snacks. A portion of the proceeds supports the Renaissance Youth Center, a South Bronx-based organization that provides music education, tutoring and after-school programming for inner city youths. Call (212) 729-8372 or visit acuteinflections.com/product/02-24-2026.
Voicejam finalists
Fayetteville’s Walton Arts Center has announced eight finalists from across the country for its annual VoiceJam Competition, 7:30 p.m. April 11 at the center, 495 W. Dickson St.:
◼️ Trillium A Cappella — Denton, Texas
◼️ A Cub Bella — Missouri State University
◼️ Crimson and Blues — University of Kansas
◼️ Euphoria — Grand Valley State University
◼️ Lark — University of Colorado Denver
◼️ VIBE — Nashville, Tenn.
◼️ Star Struck — Houston
◼️ Decibelles — Fort Smith
The festival schedule:
◼️ VoiceJam Kickoff Concert with Voctave, 7:30 p.m. April 10. Tickets are $10.
◼️ VoiceJam Workshops, 9 a.m.-5 p.m. April 11. Free.
◼️ VoiceJam Competition, 7:30 p.m. April 11. Tickets are $31.05.
Call (479) 443-5600 or visit waltonartscenter.org.
THEATER
‘Elephants’ at WAC
After losing what matters most to him, a young man jumps aboard a moving train, unsure of where the road will take him, and finds a new home with the remarkable crew of a traveling circus, and a life — and love — beyond his wildest dreams in the musical “Water for Elephants.”
PigPen Theatre Co.’s touring production — music by PigPen Theatre Co., book by Rick Elice based on the novel by Sara Gruen — is onstage this week at Fayetteville’s Walton Arts Center, 8 p.m. Tuesday and Friday, 7 p.m. Wednesday, 1:30 and 7 p.m. Thursday, 2 and 8 p.m. Saturday and 2 p.m. March 1.
The production features “world-class acrobats, innovative puppeteers and the very best of Broadway talent,” according to a news release. Tickets are $48.30-$120.75 (subject to change). Call (479) 443-5600 or visit waltonartscenter.org.
‘Beautiful morning’
Actors Theatre of Little Rock is staging “Oklahoma!” (music by Richard Rodgers, book and lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II, based on Lynn Riggs’ play “Green Grow the Lilacs”) in “immersive” fashion, 7:30 p.m. Wednesday-Saturday through March 14, with additional 2 p.m. matinees Saturday and March 7 and 14, at Quapaw Quarter United Methodist Church, 1601 Louisiana St., Little Rock.
“Immersive and general seats will be immersed in the production, with the possibility of being touched or physically pulled into the world of ‘Oklahoma!’,” according to a news release. Those buying an immersive ticket get “a bowl of Aunt Eller’s homemade soup and a basket of her sweet treats.” Those in non-immersive seating will have no physical interaction.
Tickets are $35 (immersive) and $30 (non-immersive) in advance, via actorstheatrelr.org/tickets; $5 more at the door.
ART
Art Market artists
The Arkansas Museum of Fine Arts, 501 E. Ninth St., Little Rock, is taking applications from artists for its second annual AMFA Art Market, Sept. 11-13. The free indoor event spans the museum and will feature up to 50 local and national artists specializing in various disciplines, with art-making activities, lectures and food.
The market will feature a variety of media, including jewelry, glass, drawing, painting, sculpture and fiber work. The museum’s Windgate Art School will host a rotating marketplace of area emerging artists, “introducing new voices and rising talent to art collectors visiting the museum throughout the weekend,” according to a news release.
Apply online and get more information via zapplication.org/event-info.php?ID=14321. Early-bird deadline is March 27; final application deadline is May 8. Artists who have been selected will be notified on June 12. Visit arkmfa.org.
ON THE PODIUM
Laureate Lecture
Kathryn Hall-Trujillo, founder of “Birthing Project USA,” will speak on how the project changed the world for an Arkansas Black Hall of Fame Foundation Distinguished Laureate Lecture, 6 p.m. Thursday in the William Grant Still Ballroom, on the second floor of Little Rock’s Robinson Center, 426 W. Markham St. at Broadway. A reception will follow. Admission is free; reserve a spot via tinyurl.com/3x7aj7tw.
ETC.
Try it, you’ll like it
Historic Washington State Park, 103 Franklin St. in the Arkansas city of Washington, hosts the latest edition in its “Trial by Jury” drama series Saturday, starting at 6 p.m. with a meal at the park’s Williams’ Tavern Restaurant and proceeding to the 1836 Hempstead County Courthouse on the park grounds, 409 Franklin St,, to witness a murder trial from the 1840s. Reservations are required — call (870) 983-2684. Guests will be seated family-style with other guests for dinner. Cost is $35 per person. Visit HistoricWashingtonStatePark.com.
(Special to the Democrat-Gazette/R. Dione Foto)
Literary series
Say It Loud! Readers & Writers is hosting a monthly Tell the Story Literary Series, “celebrating African American literature through community conversations, readings, and book signings,” according to a news release. The series begins Saturday with “Toni Morrison’s Literary Legacy,” 4:30 p.m. at Pyramid Art, Books & Custom Framing, 1002 Wright Ave., Little Rock. Featured author is Dana A. Williams, graduate school dean and professor of African American literature, Howard University; author of “Toni at Random: The Iconic Writer’s Legendary Editorship”; and 2026 NAACP Image Award nominee for Outstanding Literary Work. Admission is free. RSVP at (501) 952-6169 or [email protected].
Helaine R. Williams contributed to this report.
‘ The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties ’
‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.arkansasonline.com ’
