BECCA MARTIN-BROWN
bmartin@nwaonline.com
The football team is practicing, the basketball team is regrouping, and the Razorback Band is marching, but the performing arts spaces on the University of Arkansas campus in Fayetteville are also reopening their doors and announcing their seasons.
Faulkner PAC
The Jim & Joyce Faulkner Performing Arts Center, opened in 2015 at the corner of Garland and Maple streets, kicks off its 10th anniversary season at 7:30 p.m. Oct. 4 with a tribute to the philanthropists for whom it is named.
Emceed by Emmy winner and UA alumnus Lendell Black, “we will have dance, theater and musical highlights from faculty, staff, students, and alumni,” said Nicole Leachman, the center’s managing director. “Our lobbies will portray a student art exhibit coordinated by the Multicultural Center for Latin/Hispanic Heritage Month.”
Seating up to 587 patrons, the Faulkner Center, Leachman said, was created to “fulfill a deficit for campus regarding space for our large ensemble programs in the Department of Music and special events hosted on campus. It has been a wonderful gathering place for the community to see both student based and professional programming.”
Leachman said there’s even more the public doesn’t see, including “rehearsals, workshops and student activities all throughout the day,” including programs “that allow high school students to learn all other aspects of the arts from lighting, audio, box office and arts administration. … It is a wonderful educational tool on top of its state-of-the-art acoustics.”
Also on the 2024-25 season are:
Jan. 31, 2025 — PUBLIQuartet: What is American?: Rhythm Nation, an improvising string quartet whose repertoire blends genres and highlights American multiculturalism, 7:30 p.m.
Feb. 27 — Comic Mike Paramore, 7:30 p.m.
May 2-4 — “EXPOSED: A Ballet on the Trails,” a world premiere performance by the NWA Ballet Theatre, including images by local photographer Brent Umphlett and music by composer Lendell Black, 7:30 p.m. May 2-3 and 3 p.m. May 4.
Season tickets are available beginning Sept. 1 at faulkner.uark.edu.
University Theatre
Choosing a season is “arduous, painful and an exercise in compromise,” said Michael Riha, chairman of the UA Department of Theatre. “It’s a complex amalgamation of forces.”
The 2024-25 season “has a lot of educational merit,” he believes, “but when you leave the theater, there will be really great conversations. There’s lots to talk about — as long as we’re willing to listen to one another.”
Included in the season are:
Sept. 27-Oct. 6 — “The Revolutionists” by Lauren Gunderson, a play about four very real women who lived in France during the French Revolution’s Reign of Terror. Directed by guest director Kholoud Sawaf at the Global Campus Theatre on the Fayetteville square.
Oct. 18-27 — “The Trojan Women” by Euripides, the tale of the women of Troy surviving under new tyranny. “We picked this show before we knew the political landscape, so I’m intrigued by how this play will be received,” Riha said. Directed by Steven Marzolf at the University Theatre on campus.
Nov. 15-24 — “Heroes of the Fourth Turning” by Will Arbery, the story of four alumni from a conservative Catholic college reuniting in Wyoming, leading to a “chaotic clash of spiritual and generational politics.” Riha said the play promises uncomfortable moments, and “you must pay attention clear to the end.” Directed by Claire Wewers at Global Campus Theatre.
Feb. 14-24, 2025 — “Silent Sky” by Lauren Gunderson, the true story of 19th-century astronomer Henrietta Leavitt, the drama explores a woman’s place in society during a time of “immense scientific and heart-bound discoveries.” Directed by Sarah Behrend-Wilcox at University Theatre.
April 11-20 — “The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee,” which Riha calls a “really sweet, fun musical.” Directed by Morgan Hicks at Global Campus Theatre.
April 25-27 — “Continuum,” a dance concert featuring the UA student company The Movement. At University Theatre.
Season and single tickets will be available through the Faulkner Center at faulkner.uark.edu.
