Texarkana Entertainment Blog

Texarkana Repertory Company has put the wraps on its version of “And Then There Were None,” but the show must surely go on. TexRep has “Tuesdays With Morrie” up next on Feb. 5-7 and 12-14 next year. Auditions for the play, which is an adaptation of the bestselling Mitch Albom book, will be held at 7 p.m. on Monday, Nov. 30, at the Stilwell Theatre on the Texarkana College campus. What does TexRep need? Two men – the two best men for the job. The autobiographical play is about the life lessons learned when the writer is reunited with his college professor, who is dying. This is the final show for TexRep’s season. More info: Texrep.org.

- Aaron Brand

Today I’ve been researching Chinese acrobatics and the Cirque Shanghai: Bai Xi show, which is the next big event for the Texarkana Regional Arts and Humanities Council at the Perot Theatre. This crew of daring but graceful performers come to Texarkana for an athletic, artistic extravaganza at 7:30 p.m. on Monday, Nov. 23. Judging by videos I’ve seen of this show, if you enjoyed the “Cirque Dreams” performance last season at the Perot you may love these acrobats as well. (You can find a whole lot of videos of them online at YouTube; just type in “Cirque Shanghai” or “Cirque Shanghai: Bai Xi” and hit search.) Interestingly, there are some serious agricultural roots to many of these feats performed on stage. And the history of it stretches back more than 2,000 years. “Bai Xi” translated means “100 amazing acts,” according to press release info from the company staging the show. More info: Trahc.org.

- Aaron Brand

Submitted photo:

A classic Agatha Christie whodunit is up for Texarkana Repertory Co. Starting Friday, TexRep’s merry players perform the famed British author’s classic comedic mystery “And Then There Were None.” In the play, 10 folks from all sorts of backgrounds come to an island mansion, only to gather together and then die one by one. The purpose of their visit, and the person who has gathered them there, remain a mystery. There’s no way to contact anyone once there and they can’t leave. “As the show goes on they keep dying one-by-one, and there’s a poem over the mantel on the fireplace that begins with 10 little soldier statues,” director Michael Cooper told me recently. “As a person dies the statue disappears.” Eventually, they realize one of them must be the murderer. This TexRep play, the third in their season, is a collaboration with the Texarkana College Department of Drama.

Tickets are $10 for adults, $8 for students and seniors. Shows are at 8 p.m. on Nov. 6, 7, 13, and 14, and at 2 p.m. on Nov. 8 and 15. More info and reservations: 903-831-7827. You can also check out TexRep’s Website: www.texrep.org.

- Aaron Brand

Staff photo by Eric J. Shelton:

Claire Reynaud rehearses for the play "And Then There Were None" at the Stilwell Humanities building at Texarkana College, Wednesday, Oct. 28, 2009.

Jackie Robinson is a true American hero, having broken the Major League Baseball color barrier in 1947 by playing for the Brooklyn Dodgers. It was a time when baseball was king, a central part of American sports life. Robinson endured behavior surrounding him that would shock us today, including threats and racial epithets lobbed his way. With dignity and grace, he persevered, preserving a place for African-Americans in the great game on the professional baseball diamond in modern times.

Now, the Dallas Children’s Theater is bringing this story to Texarkana’s Perot Theatre on Monday as part of the TRAHC’s Theatre for Young Audiences program. The play “Most Valuable Player” dramatizes Robinson’s story from his days as a youth to the times when he paved the way for future African-American ball players. There are still plenty of tickets left for the 9:30 a.m. show. It’s a play meant for teens (ages 12 and up), but director Andy Long told me yesterday that adults enjoy it as well. If you’d like to see it, tickets are $7 and available at the Perot Box Office at the show or in advance. More info: 903-792-4992. Check the Friday Accent page in the Gazette at the end of the week for more information, including an interview with the director.

- Aaron Brand

Submitted photo:

I’m doing a bit of research today and tomorrow on Ballet Hispanico, the New York City-based dance group that will come to Texarkana for a 7:30 p.m. performance on Thursday, Oct. 29, at the Perot Theatre. This the second show for the new Texarkana Regional Arts and Humanities Council season. Ballet Hispanico’s stated mission is to “celebrate and further interpret the moving and beautiful aesthetic of this dynamic culture and to share it with all people,” according to the dance company’s Website. Elements of Latin dance are combined with classical and modern approaches to create dance that’s been called gorgeous and thrilling. Here’s a look below at some of their fiery, fun, and sensual dance work.

- Aaron Brand

Actors between 7 years old and adult are needed to portray goblins and villagers in a production of the play “Hershel and the Hanukkah Goblins.” Auditions will be held between 2 p.m. and 5 p.m. on Saturday at the Regional Arts Center, 321 W. Fourth St., Texarkana, Texas.

Come prepared to sing and dance but no rehearsed audition pieces are necessary. The show will be performed in December. The play is a musical based on Eric Kimmel’s Caldecott-winning book.

This family theater show is a collaboration between Texas A&M University Texarkana and the Texarkana Regional Arts and Humanities Council. More info: Brian C. Billings at 903-223-3022 or Jennifer Unger at 903-792-8681

- Aaron Brand

I’ve been pretty fortunate to see and experience some great art in my days—from the Louvre in Paris where I saw Da Vinci’s “Mona Lisa” to great symphony concerts, and from fine Renaissance art in Florence, Italy, to excellent bands. And I have to say that nothing was as incredible and fun as the San Jose Taiko performance last night with eight drummers rhythmically creating wave after wave of amazing beats. It was encouraging to see an enthusiastic audience but a bit disappointing the crowd was not larger. Nevertheless if you didn’t see them and ever get the chance to do so please grab at the chance. You’ll never regret it. It was an amazing show and hats off to TRAHC for bringing this group. Anyone out there see them and if so what did you think?

- Aaron

I’ve been doing some research and writing on a couple of theater wiz kids from Texarkana who’ve really made good. Matt and Kim Lyle are originally from this area and now reside in Chicago as Matt studies writing at Second City. Their Bootstraps Comedy Theater was selected by the New York International Fringe Festival to present “The Boxer,” a “silent film on stage,” as they put it, written by Matt and first performed in Dallas a couple years ago. From what I’ve seen and heard so far, it seems like a good-hearted comedy in some ways. Both Lyles graduated from Texarkana College’s theater department and are veterans of TexRep shows; Texarkana’s theater scene is where they first met, too, before they went off to Stephen F. Austin University and Dallas to get their dramatic careers going. I had the good fortune to interview them last week, and I’m working on a story for Sunday Accent. Down below is a video clip of “The Boxer,” which they’ll get a chance to perform for some serious theater lovers in August. 

- Aaron Brand

Submitted photo:

Kim Lyle, left, performs in "The Boxer," billed as a silent film for the stage and written by her husband, Matt Lyle.

TexRep has had to switch things around a bit after someone decided that “Boeing Boeing,” TexRep’s next scheduled production, would be taken on a national tour. Because of that unexpected development, TexRep’s rights to stage the play here in Texarkana were pulled, leaving TexRep in a pickle. But that wasn’t for too long. The play was written by Marc Camoletti and he penned a sequel to “Boeing Boeing” called “Don’t Dress for Dinner.” So, that’s the play TexRep will perform Sept. 11-13 and 18-20. Both plays are farcical shows centered on Bernard and his friend Robert, who are both up to some romantic shenanigans. Meanwhile, TexRep will hold auditions for the play at 7 p.m. on Monday, July 27, at the Stilwell Humanities Building at Texarkana College. The play calls for three men and three women. 

- Aaron Brand

…in summer camp? TexRep’s annual summer drama camp is being held June 15-27 in the Stilwell Humanities Buildings at Texarkana College for you. Classes are limited to the first 100 students, so apply soon if you want in.

Here are the three levels of student groups: Level I, open to new students entering the 1st through 4th grades (9 a.m. to 10:30 a.m., Monday through Friday – $100); Level II, open to students with camp experience entering the 2nd through 4th grades  and new students entering the 5th through 6th grades (10:30 a.m. to noon, Monday through Friday – $100); Level III, open to all students entering grade 7 through college freshmen (1 p.m. to 3:15 p.m., Monday through Friday – $150). Classes teach acting, music, and movement. 

Ultimately, students show the performance knowledge they’ve gained at the showcase shows on June 26 and June 27. 

More information and enrollment forms: www.texrep.org. You can also call 903-832-5565, ext. 3360, to get more info.

- Aaron Brand