Nightflying: The Entertainment Guide

---Kody Ford

From the pregnant bridesmaid to the bride’s exit music - “Everybody Dance Now” by C & C Music Factory - it was a redneck wedding to be remembered. This was Pearl’s big day. Well, her sixth one but who’s counting.

“Pearl’s Sixth Wedding,” presented by Ceramic Cow Productions LLC, took place on Valentine’s Day at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Fayetteville. Featuring the characters from the popular Dupont, Mississippi series, the play served as a fundraiser for Arts Live Theatre.

Set at the First United Congregational Shepard of the Flock Baptistical Church, Reverend Pastor Cletus Lock presided as Pearl tied the knot with Spike “Skillethead” Pinkley, a prisoner she had met online who unfortunately couldn’t make the service so a framed photo stood in his place. The play soon evolved into an all out backwoods bash filled with intrigue, sexual tension, and old flames.

Audience members had the opportunity to renew their vows. In regards to the renewal, Rev. Pastor Lock asked the brides to repeat his words: “The primary reason being I am not knocked up.” The grooms’ vows were a hodgepodge of cheesy love songs and laments culminating in the reason for their vow renewal as “the primary reason being this time I’m not drunk.”
Following the services, the crowd dined on Pearl’s White Trash Wedding buffet of sandwiches, chips, and cake. (Unfortunately, no Bush Light.) Pearl invited everyone to have their picture taken with her. Later, the crowd danced to the Bunny Hop and the Hokey Pokey before the bouquet and garters were thrown.

Directed by Julie Gabel and written by Mark Landon Smith, “Pearl’s Sixth Wedding” mixes subtlety, innuendo, and over the top humor to maximize the hilarity. The cast is perfect—equal parts campiness and sincerity. They approach their characters with a sense of empathy while still having fun. The cast of “Pearl’s Wedding” included Warren Rosenaur, Vickie Hilliard, Mike Thomas, Dianna Blaylock, Angela Hicks, Bill Rogers, Patricia Kulish, Jonelle Lipscomb and Jules Taylor. Cast members enjoyed returning to their roles.

“I feel like this show is a very nice spin-off of the original Dupont, Mississippi. The crowds enjoy this because there’s lots of interaction. It’s a good way to introduce you to the Dupont series,” said Angela Hicks, who plays Ruby Jewel Newsom, an exotic dancer who’s pregnant more often than not.

The Dupont, Mississippi series was first produced in Fayetteville in 2001 and has since been published by Samuel French/Baker’s Plays and is produced throughout the world. The characters were also featured in the film short, “Dupont, Mississippi: F5” which was featured at the New York International Independent Film Festival in Los Angeles.
“Dupont, MS” has its premiere performance in 2000 with Not-A-Penny Productions. The original production was directed by Julie Gabel and many of the present day cast members created their roles in the premiere. Smith first conceived the idea for the Dupont series from a newspaper announcement.

“I got the idea for the play from a wedding announcement I saw on The Morning News,” said Smith. “It was a picture taken of a bride and groom at their wedding. The article named the wedding party, and the last line read...‘Following a wedding trip to the Monster Truck Rally in Springdale, the couple will reside in Rogers.’ I thought that worth exploring.”
The series has devoted quite a fan base.

“We have developed a strong following throughout the region for the Dupont productions, especially the Christmas shows,” said Smith. “Our audiences enjoy our down home sense of humor and know when they attend they will laugh non stop for two hours.”

Partial proceeds were donated to Arts Live Theatre, Northwest Arkansas’ only dedicated children’s and youth theatre company.

According to Smith, who is the executive director, Arts Live is celebrating its 25th anniversary. It began as a company which toured to schools throughout the state and evolved into a dedicated children's and youth theatre company with theatre for children and youth by children and youth. They have several programs on site for all ages six to 18. The downturn in the economy has hit the organization badly. Arts Live has had to cut corners to adapt.

“We have cut staff, cut office hours, instituted a complete recycling program for sets and costumes and search out titles which may be produced at minimum cost. We are gearing up for a fundraising campaign and have are outlining special programming to generate funding. We are also exploring collaboration opportunities and continue to search out sponsors for our productions. We are also searching for more economical venues in which to produce and a permanent home,” Smith said.

They produce three to four main stage productions. Most recently, they presented “Christmas Carol High School,” “Seussical the Musical,” and “Grease.”

TheatreSquared

TheatreSquared kicked off its spring season with David Lindsay-Abaire’s Pulitzer-prize winning play “Rabbit Hole,” the story of a couple dealing with the tragic loss of their young son. The play wasn’t a safe bet for the company but Robert Ford, artistic director, believes they pulled it off.

“This was a risky show for us, because you're always thinking about how you can sell a show and ‘Rabbit Hole’ does not have a lot of curb appeal,” he said. “It's about a family that's coping with the recent, terrible loss of their four-year-old son. But it's also a Pulitzer Prize winner and an exquisitely written piece of theatre that does what only theatre can do: gets us in a room together to face the abyss as a community, with humor and humanity. We were thrilled with the result and by most accounts so was our audience.

Cast members included Pete Brooks, Avery Clark, Mavourneen Dwyer, Betsy Jilka, and Amy Prosser. The actors nailed their performances, exposing the raw emotion of the situation while managing to convey humor with ease when appropriate. Sean Irish’s lighting design and Michael Riha’s set design gave the play a realistic suburban look.

The play almost didn’t get to open on its scheduled weekend. The ice storm that struck northwest Arkansas in late January forced cast members to rehearse by candlelight. They got power on the day before the premiere and were able to get a dress rehearsal just in time. However, the opening had to be delayed one day.

Though the cast members were professional actors, many had their roots at the University of Arkansas. Jilka, who gave a great performance as Izzy, received her MFA from the U of A but now works in New York City. The play served as a homecoming of sorts.

“It felt great to return to Fayetteville,” she said. “I can't tell you how exciting it is to be able to come to NW Arkansas to do professional theatre. It's a rewarding experience to have a place where I can perform in front of people I know and love. And the community is so generous and welcoming.”

One of the highlights of the spring season is the Arkansas New Play Festival. Ford said, “Arkansas is an embarrassment of riches when it comes to story. Beyond the fact that we have a rich storytelling tradition, our history is over-the-top, from politics to clashing cultures, to the history of race, to raft of eccentric personalities that settled this place. the first annual Arkansas New Play Festival will feature five plays that are exclusively about Arkansas, some by Arkansas playwrights, some not.”

The plays are:

Ivanhoe, Arkansas by Sherry Kramer: Set in Ivanhoe (a.k.a. Eureka Springs), this play focuses on the development of the famous play by the colorful Albert Smith. Ivanhoe, Arkansas will be performed on Friday, March 27, at 6:30 p.m.

Vinegar Pie and Chicken Bread by A. E. Edwards: Adapted from the book of the same name by Margaret Bolsterli (author of Born in the Delta), Edwards’ play is built from the frontier diaries of 1890 and 1891 written by Nannie Stillwell Jackson. Vinegar Pie and Chicken Bread will be performed on Friday, March 27, at 9 p.m.

Look Away, Look Away by Robert Ford: Based on Professor Jeannie Whayne’s interviews with William "Snake" Toney about the Wilson Company in Mississippi County, Ford’s play centers on the true story of two young black men who, fleeing a lynch mob, throw themselves on the mercy of the Wilson family. Look Away, Look Away will be performed on Saturday, March 28, at 2:30 p.m.

Disfarmer by Werner Trieschmann: This work is based on the life of the eccentric portrait photographer, Mike Disfarmer, of Heber Springs and captures the frenzy that ensued among New York gallery owners to acquire his work. Disfarmer will be performed on Saturday, March 28, at 5:30 p.m.

Sundown Town by Kevin Cohea: Set in Siloam Springs, Cohea’s work examines the sundown laws of the early 1900s, focusing in particular on a very musical white church congregation and the young African-American man who wanders into its midst. Sundown Town will be performed on Saturday, March 28, at 8:30 p.m.

For more information, visit: www.ceramiccowllc.tripod.com, www.artslivetheatre.com or www.theatresquared.org.

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