Texarkana Entertainment Blog

If local theatergoers want to see a hilarious, madcap musical full of laughter, roller skates, beguiling (not to mention scheming) Muses and an over-the-top artist, they must check out TexRep’s production of “Xanadu.” Add into the dramatic mix some big dreams, romantic intrigue and a disco ball and you have a real winner.

The play just finished the first weekend of a two-weekend run. I caught Sunday’s show and snickered and chuckled the entire time. The direction is crisp, the singing and dancing both excellent and laughter plentiful during this musical send-up of the infamous (infamously bad) Olivia Newton-John movie. “Xanadu” was a hit on Broadway and it’s easy to see why. Campy humor, fun songs and a good heart at the center of it all make for seriously excellent entertainment. Kudos to the two leads, Austin Alford and Emily Cokeley, for their great work. They give the characters some wide-eyed charisma and spirited depth that makes the musical more than the sum of its parts. They’re also supported by a great cast and crew. Go see it!

More info: TexRep.org.

- Aaron Brand

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Growing up a little white kid in suburban Chicago, my musical tastes tended to focus on alternative rock and Brit pop (New Wave, for sure) during my formative teen years, everything from U2 to New Order and Sade to early Pixies being found in my wobbly Walkman.

I wasn’t narrow-minded in my tastes, though. A few seminal hip-hop bands of the mid- to late-80s first introduced me to that genre of music in a most appealing way because of their thoughtful rapping, creative sampling and steady beats with which I could identify. It felt good to listen to it and, most importantly, it was fun at the same time it made you think. The three specific acts that hooked me good were Tribe Called Quest, De La Soul and the Beastie Boys, groups that also helped hip-hop transcend racial and cultural boundaries back in my day, as they say. I’ll always appreciate what they did for music history and what they gave little sprites like me, thirsting for new music.

It’s with sadness, therefore, that I heard the news this morning that Adam Yauch, MCA of the Beastie Boys, died today after a roughly three-year battle with cancer. Wherever his soul rests now, I hope he’s still fighting for our right to party. Thanks for your gift to music, MCA.

- Aaron Brand

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One of my absolute favorite stories to cover last year was the Texarkana Homeless Coalition’s project called “Doorways Home,” an inventive transformation of former Stevens Court doorways into works of art later auctioned to raise funds for the coalition’s work. It was a true marriage of social purpose, consciousness-raising and old-fashioned artistic fun with participants of all types and artistic abilities. To my way of thinking, it represents the best of what the arts can be when paired with a social cause.

And now it’s back! The Texarkana Homeless Coalition is once again hosting an art auction. It’s held this month from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m.on Thursday, April 26, at the Silvermoon on Broad. (Doors open at 6:30 p.m. for this “Doorways Home Event.”) This time around, interior doors and original medicine cabinets dating from the 1950s will be re-imagined and reworked to become art. They’re from the Griff King housing complex. As I understand it, there aren’t any medicine cabinets remaining, but there are doors left; contact the Housing Authority of Texarkana, Texas, for more info (903-838-8548, ext. 106).

Plans call for a “Meet the Artist Dinner” prior to the art auction itself. See below for a couple pics I took of last year’s event.

- Aaron Brand

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I had the good fortune to catch a couple neat local events recently.

First, I decided to give myself a birthday treat and see “Young Frankenstein” at the Perot Theatre. The March 9 show, part of TRAHC’s Perot Theatre series, was a nonstop laugh riot with great comedic timing, fine physical humor and songs that left the audience howling in delight. Compared to other family-friendly fare that often appears at the Perot, this show was edgier in tone, language and ribald content (though not outlandishly so). It was nice to have true adult-friendly comedy up there on the Perot stage, and the musical was one of the best I’ve seen at the historic downtown venue. Judging by the audience reaction, “Young Frankenstein” was a hit here in Texarkana.

I also saw piano pop singer-songwriter Jayme Dawicki perform at Hopkins Icehouse earlier this week. Hopkins has worked hard to bring an eclectic lineup of musicians to the stage, and this Midwestern performer added something different to our local live music lineup when she belted out her engaging, tuneful songs. An excellent musician on the keyboards, Dawicki is a former Miss Wisconsin to boot and crafts thoughtful, positive songs. For those who like singers like Tori Amos, she’s well worth a listen. Hopefully, she’ll come through Texarkana again someday. She was on her way to SXSW this week.

- Aaron Brand

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or what I’ve been listening to lately:

Groove Salad on SomaFM
early New Order (“Power, Corruption & Lies” and “Movement” era)
The Smiths (“Louder Than Bombs” songs)
The XX
Three specific XM satellite radio stations: ’40s on 4 and Chill and XMU.

- Aaron Brand

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I’ve caught some great live music recently, most impressively with the Texarkana Symphony Orchestra’s “The Planets: a Multimedia Experience,” an event that transformed the Perot Theatre into something of a solar system observatory. The TSO concert—a project created in partnership with Over the Edge Studios—paired Gustav Holst’s majestic, seven-movement orchestral suite “The Planets” with images of both outer space and mythological characters associated with our planets (excluding Earth and the demoted Pluto). Through still imagery and the illusion of movement, the visual experience served as a powerful complement to Holst’s masterpiece. Kudos to TSO for thinking outside the norm and bringing an engaging visual element to timeless music. I hope they revisit this concept for future shows.

I also caught the Buffalo Child show the same night over at Hopkins Icehouse, which continues to bring an eclectic mix of music to Texarkana. Buffalo Child seem to be coming into their own and maturing as a band. They are definitely an outfit to keep an eye on in the future, and they will soon open for the Dax Riggs concert on April 8 at Hopkins. Buffalo Child serves up a fantastic live show. Opening for them were Wild Abandon, another fun, local indie crew who played a ditty from one of my favorite Portland punk bands, The Thermals. On an evening of great music, hearing it truly made my night.

- Aaron Brand

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We are three days out from Oscar giveaway day, and only now do I have time to look at the list of nominees more closely to see who I predict to win the big prizes.

More and more, I think the buzz will be borne out with victories for “The Artist,” which in addition to a lot of positive chatter has brought home BAFTAs and Golden Globe victories. Its Oscar victory seems inevitable. For a few months, I thought “Hugo” would be the winner, but I think the Michel Hazanavicius silent flick carries too much feel-good nostalgia about cinema history to be denied. Hollywood will feel good giving it the nod here at the Academy Awards, and Hollywood—as a colossal, dream-making machine—likes to pat itself on the back—not necessarily such a bad thing here with a movie that has been heaped with such near-universal adulation.

I’ll take Jean Dujardin over George Clooney and Gary Oldman (who maybe, just maybe, could win it) for the Best Actor in a Leading Role, the great Christopher Plummer for Best Actor in a Supporting Role, Viola Davis from “The Help” (over steely Meryl Streep in “The Iron Lady”) for Best Actress in a Leading Role, and Octavia Spencer for Best Actress in a Supporting Role.

I love Davis and will also absolutely love seeing her on stage as an Oscar winner. I’m also rooting big for the ditty “Man or Muppet” to take home a win for “The Muppets,” which I would have liked to see land more nominations. I’m hopeful it will reel in Best Original Song.

I’ll tap Hazanavicius for Best Director, though perhaps Woody Allen could sneak in with a win? Animated Feature Film? “Puss in Boots.” Foreign Language Film? “A Separation” from Iran, which would be quite a proud achievement for the film scene there, to say the least.

What do you think?

- Aaron Brand

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Unless you are an aficionado of jazz, you may not know a Texarkana native is up for a Grammy Award this year. Roseanna Vitro, who was born in Hot Springs but grew up right here in Texarkana, released a beautiful recording of Randy Newman tunes last May (“The Music of Randy Newman”). Her jazzy renditions put out on the Motéma label have garnered her a Grammy nomination in the category for best jazz vocal album. I spoke with her earlier this week and the fruits of that chat will appear in our Sunday Accent section in two days. She said when growing up here she would sing any chance she got. Here’s hoping all that singing brings her the Grammy goods on Sunday. (Check out a clip of her singing “Mama Told Me Not to Come” down below.)

In other Grammy notes, I’m not going to go out on a limb with any predictions, except to say I’ll also be rooting for Bon Iver. I expect Adele to bring home some well-deserved honors, as well.

- Aaron Brand

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I used some scarce free time Sunday to catch TexRep’s latest production, “Doubt: A Parable,” which just completed the first weekend of a two-weekend run at Texarkana College’s Stilwell Theatre.

I’m a big fan of the 2008 movie “Doubt” starring Meryl Streep and Philip Seymour Hoffman, and for that reason I both anticipated the show and felt apprehensive. It would be diffcult to top the movie, I thought. Nevertheless, I hoped I’d see a great character study because that’s what made the movie adaptation of John Patrick Shanley’s play so engaging to me. The material is a multi-dimensional exploration of the theme “doubt,” and what makes the play so moving is the fine, honest writing that declines to offer easy answers about these characters. When I saw the movie, I realized I had clear sympathies … but I wasn’t sure about guilt and innocence.

That complexity is what I got, too, with TexRep’s excellent version of the play about a school headmistress at a Catholic school in the Bronx who accuses a young, up-and-coming, free-thinking priest of improprieties with a student. All of the performances were outstanding, particularly the two lead performers, Janice Russell as Sister Aloysius Beauvier and Michael Skotnik as Father Brendan Flynn. Both inhabit their characters so fully that they come alive on stage as real characters, not cartoon cutouts. “Doubt” is one of the best plays I’ve seen TexRep perform. Hats off to cast and crew for a marvelous production, and if you haven’t seen the play it’s well worth seeing next weekend, Friday through Saturday (7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday, 2 p.m. Sunday).

- Aaron Brand

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It’s cold outside but there’s plenty of live music to warm up to this weekend and in the coming weeks. Here’s a taste of what’s ahead on the local live tune scene in Texarkana and nearby.

Fat Jack’s Oyster and Sports Bar hosts Southern Pride tonight, Tommy Rock’s band Saturday night and then Southeast Oklahoma’s very own Chalkline 259 next Thursday.

Hopkins Icehouse hosts Jonathan’s karaoke tonight, while Alex Addy and the Tambourine Machine’s fun Texas rock and reggae comes to town from Paris (Texas) for Saturday night’s show, followed by The Background Music (in town from Dallas) on Sunday night. John Calvin Brewer brings his blues back to town next Thursday.

Tonight you can catch acoustic musician Jaredd Reed at The Road Map. Sioux City Pete was scheduled to perform as the headliner but word is, according to a promotional page for the show, that his ride broke down. Reed is a an excellent singer-songwriter, however, and well worth seeing.

Lee’s Catfish has Jay Kirgis performing tonight. Kirgis plays some great blues.

Shooters Sports Bar bring Tragikly White back to the stage for tonight’s show, while The White Trash Wannabees return next Wednesday. (Looking down the road, Pat Green on Jan. 26 and Sunny Ledfurd on Jan. 20 are two big shows for the venue.)

Hippy’s Nightlife presents a New Year’s Revolution show Saturday night with metal act Cult of the Flag in from Memphis, Kulture Kill up from the Shreveport area with their rock and metal mix, and locals Setacide.

Jeremy Phifer will perform at the American Legion in New Boston this Saturday night, while down at Music City Texas Theater there’s some serious blues going on that night with Jonathon “Boogie” Long and Matthew Davidson.

You can catch live open mics at The Big Easy downtown on Sundays, while there’s a live house band on Saturday nights playing R&B “mature jams.” (Thursdays it’s reggae, jazz and poetry.)

Here are a couple more shows to consider in the upcoming weeks: psychedelic blues rock with Radio Moscow, as well as Dallas-based Mothership, locals Buffalo Child, and Southwest Arkansas’ Age of Man, all performing on Jan. 23 at Dave’s Skatepark (it’s an all-ages show); Glenn “SmittyG” Smith performs his Narada Weeps solo bass show at The Blues Iguana on Jan. 28, presenting his CD “A Clockwork Frozen in Time.”

Got some live music to recommend? Let us know!

- Aaron Brand

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