September 17, 2010  9:30 am

Target Ages: 8th - 12th grade

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It's 1956 and Hollywood has arrived in Natchez, Mississippi with its brightest stars to film Raintree County. Meanwhile at Clemmie's, a Natchez tea room, the widowed proprietor who has a fascination with movies and a secret admirer, oversees her own cast of characters: Tootie, her take charge friend; Jo Beth, a former beauty queen; Glease, a man more comfortable with women than macho men, and Marjorie, an unethical social climber. Competition for a small role in the movie brings out the best and worst of these memorable characters. Twists, turns and revelations lead Clemmie to trade a moment of fame for love and the chance to impact the lives of people dear to her in this hilarious new comedy.

All of E. B. White's enchanting characters are here: Wilbur, the irresistible young pig who desperately wants to avoid the butcher; Fern, a girl who understands what animals say to each other; Templeton, the gluttonous rat who can occasionally be talked into a good deed; the Zuckerman family; the Arables; and, most of all, the extraordinary spider, Charlotte, who proves to be "a true friend and a good writer." Determined to save Wilbur, Charlotte begins her campaign with the "miracle" of her web in which she writes, "Some pig." It's the beginning of a victorious campaign which ultimately ends with the now-safe Wilbur doing what is most important to Charlotte.

Take an overwrought Englishman who needs a vacation from the world of worry he finds himself in. Throw in a French soldier who knows the perfect place to hide---in the back hills of the South at old Betty's cabin in the woods, smack dab in the middle of red neck America--- and you have a recipe for hilarity! Charlie pretends he can't speak English to insure his peace and tranquility, and then proceeds to be treated like a family pet!  And, oh, the secrets he learns! This is an all-time audience favorite, by playwright Larry Shue , author of The Nerd.

What do you get when you put together Mary, Joseph, plus a few million baby angels, shepherds, wisemen and the notorious Herdman Family?  The Best Christmas Pageant Ever of course!  Performed now for over ten years here at the ACO, you won’t want to miss the mayhem and the fun!  Fifty area actors of all ages make this a perfect Holiday classic for the whole family offering a refreshing look at the reason for this season of joy.

February 11, 2011 9:30 am

Target Ages: 6th - 12th grade

Study Guide Coming Soon

Imagine ten people that don't know each other, invited by a host they don't know, for weekend in the country at an unknown estate...stranded by a storm, and, one by one, within 24 hours... each of them is to be murdered! Sounds like a “whodunit...and it is... in a musical format! Miss Maple is surrounded by a myriad of crazy and zany characters in this spoofy send up of very well known Dame Christie mysteries.  The cast of characters sing and dance their way to death...as merrily as lemmings to the sea! And by the time morning comes everyone has reason to believe...Something's Afoot! This is a sure-fire, don't-miss, evening of mystery, music and mayhem!

Christopher Robin has decided to run away with his friends Pooh, Piglet, Eeyore, Tigger, and the rest. Probably they'll go to the North Pole OR to the South Pole, for there is a dark, mysterious threat that he's to be sent away to EDUCATION. Nobody knows exactly what or where that is, and if he is sent to such a distant place, how can his friends possibly do without him? So it's generally agreed that they'll run away. As the situation becomes clearer, Christopher Robin isn't quite so sure that running away is the answer.

J. Shane McClure, from the Oklahoma City Shakespeare in the Park will bring Homer's The Iliad to life in the verbal tradition that it was passed down by— as storytelling. This one-man performance is focused on Robert Fagles translation of Chapter 10 of The Iliad, Its the middle of the Trojan War and in one night, the besiegers become the besieged, thanks to the exploits of Hector, the Trojan's favorite son. Major characters of The Iliad and The Odyssey are seen in action, and microcosm of the whole story is captured. Eexciting, poetic and sometimes violent, this nearly 3,000 year old work is compelling and fascinating.

An aging actress with a house on the moors engages a seemingly settled woman as a companion housekeeper, both to take care of her and to listen to her stories about her life in the theatre. But then the sisters arrive...odd and quarrelsome...then the even stranger nephew...and then a girl friend. The actress tells the lot they must leave and not come back. That’s when disturbing desires and murderous thoughts creep across the moors. This play, set in the 1880s, is sure to be an edge-of-the-seat thriller with all the twists and turns of a crooked road upon those moors where the remote house sits...waiting.

The ACO Youth Choirs bring children from all over Northwest Arkansas together to make music. The ensemble of students ages 8-13 will sing in two choirs and in small ensembles and solos for their peers.  This spring concert will feature a variety of musical works, both fun and serious.