ENTERTAINMENT NOTES

Top of the Rock Chorus performs as part of “Dear Santa, I Can Explain,” Saturday at University of Arkansas-Pulaski Technical College in North Little Rock.
Top of the Rock Chorus performs as part of “Dear Santa, I Can Explain,” Saturday at University of Arkansas-Pulaski Technical College in North Little Rock.

Elsewhere in entertainment and the arts:

TODAY

Wind Symphony

Little Rock Wind Symphony, conductor Israel Getzov and guest performers will usher in "The Most Wonderful Time of the Year" 7:30 p.m. today at Second Presbyterian Church, 600 Pleasant Valley Drive, Little Rock. The Little Rock Parkview Arts/Science Magnet High School Madrigals and Lab Singers will team up with the band for A Christmas Portrait. Soprano Mary Wynston Smith will sing the annual performance of "O Holy Night." And 11-year-old Calvin Clardy of Arkadelphia, winner of the Wind Symphony's Christmas baton auction, will conduct Leroy Anderson's Sleigh Ride. A "Stocking-Stuffer Silent Auction" will precede the concert at 6:30. Tickets are $15, $12 for senior citizens 65 and older, free for students. Call (501) 666-0777 or visit tickets.lrws.net.

Harding Boys

The Harding University theater department will stage The Boys Next Door by Tom Griffin, 7 p.m. today-Saturday in the Ulrey Performing Arts Center at Harding, 915 E. Market Ave., Searcy. Jacob McAlister, Cordell Hutcheson, Duncan Michael and Jonah Turner play four young men striving to maintain their dignity and humanity while living in a New England group home for the developmentally disabled. Grant Malone plays the increasingly burned-out social worker who teaches and looks after them. Tickets are $10. Call (501) 279-4255 or visit hardingtickets.com.

UCA Messiah

The University of Central Arkansas Concert Choir will perform the first part of George Frideric Handel's oratorio Messiah with orchestra, 7:30 p.m. today in the Snow Fine Arts Center at UCA, 201 Donaghey Ave., Conway. Soloists are tenor Evan Willis, bass Juan Garcia, altos Alexandria Clark and Angelica Monje and sopranos Annemarie Eaton, Katlyn Weaver and Anna Kay Everett. John Erwin conducts. Admission is free. Call (501) 450-5757 or email johne@uca.edu.

FRIDAY

Wonderful on the 'air'

Every time a bell rings an angel gets its wings during Community Theater of Jacksonville's production of It's a Wonderful Life -- A Live Radio Play, 7 p.m. Friday-Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday at the Jacksonville Community Center, 5 Municipal Drive, Jacksonville. Tickets are $15, $12 for senior citizens 65-plus and active-duty military, $10 for children under 12. Call (501) 286-3638.

Miracle musical

Red Curtain Theatre will stage Miracle on 34th Street the Musical (music, lyrics and book by Meredith Willson, based on the 1947 film), 7 p.m. Friday-Saturday and Dec. 15-16 and 2 p.m. Sunday and Dec. 17, Staples Auditorium, Hendrix College, 1600 Washington Ave., Conway. Tickets are $20, $10 for children 10 and younger in advance, $22 and $12 at the door. Call (501) 499-9776, email info@redcurtaintheatre.com or visit redcurtaintheatre.com.

Patsy Cline program

Patsy Cline tribute performer Sarah Haman, a teacher at Hot Springs' Lakeside High School, will put on a concert of Cline songs with a backing trio (Doug Lackey on keyboards, Joe Lackey on drums and Randy Bright on bass guitar), 7 p.m. Friday in the school auditorium, 2871 Malvern Ave., Hot Springs, as a benefit toward covering entry fees and hotel costs for 20 Lakeside drama students to attend the February 2018 Arkansas Thespian Festival in Paragould. Tickets are $15. Call (501) 262-1880.

Illusionist's opener

Illusionist Maxwell Blade opens his 22nd season Friday at the Malco Theatre, 817 Central Ave., Hot Springs, with shows at 8 p.m. Friday-Saturday. Tickets are $19.50, $17.50 for senior citizens 55 and older), $15.50 for children 12 and younger. Call (501) 623-6200 or visit maxwellblade.com/tickets.

Sweater Soiree

Ugly sweaters and seasonal tunes will be part of Friday's Ugly Sweater Soiree at South on Main, 1304 Main St., Little Rock. The Rodney Block Collective, Bijoux, DJ G-Force and others will provide the holiday music beginning at 9:30 p.m. and a prize will be given to the most festive/ugliest sweater of the evening. Admission is $15. Call (501) 244-9660 for information or to reserve a table.

SATURDAY

A capella choruses

Three central Arkansas a cappella choruses -- Top of the Rock, Acapella Rising and the Crystal Chimes Chorus -- join forces for "Dear Santa, I Can Explain," in which movie and storybook villains try to convince Santa that they don't deserve a spot on his naughty list, 3 p.m. Saturday at the Center for Humanities and Arts, University of Arkansas-Pulaski Technical College, 3000 W. Scenic Drive, North Little Rock, and 3 p.m. Sunday at Woodlands Auditorium, 1101 DeSoto Blvd., Hot Springs Village. There will also be "wintry treats" and a raffle; audience members can take photos with Santa and Mrs. Claus. Tickets are $20, $10 for children 15 and younger. A portion of the proceeds benefit the Open Arms Shelter, a 24-bed facility in Lonoke that houses children who are victims of abuse and neglect. Visit arkansasacapella.com.

Historic walk

The Arkansas Historic Preservation Program will visit downtown El Dorado, 11 a.m. Saturday, starting at the Union County Courthouse, 101 N. Washington Ave., for its December "Walks Through History" tour. Co-sponsors are Main Street El Dorado and the Arkansas Humanities Council. Admission is free. Call (501) 324-9880, email info@arkansaspreservation.org or visit arkansaspreservation.org.

SUNDAY

Capitol gingerbread

Treatment Homes Inc., a nonprofit organization that provides therapeutic foster care for children with emotional problems, shows off the entries in its 30th annual Gingerbread Extravaganza, 1-4 p.m. Sunday at the Arkansas State Capitol, 500 Woodlane Road, Little Rock. The display includes decorated gingerbread houses by students in grades K-12, teams, professional chefs and celebrities (winners will be announced at 3:30); the entries in the Holiday Coloring Contest and (2-3 p.m.) photos with Santa. Gingerbread house kits will be for sale. Call (501) 372-5039 or visit treatmenthomes.org.

'Voices of Angels'

A professional female quartet, led by soprano and Muses general director Deleen Davidson, a mixed-voice ensemble, instruments and ballet dancers (performing selections from Tchaikovsky's The Nutcracker) are on tap for the Muses Creative Artistry Project's 12th annual "Voices of Angels":

• 6 p.m. Saturday at the Muses Creative Artistry Project, 428 Orange St., Hot Springs. $35.

• 7 p.m. Friday at Woodlands Auditorium, 1101 DeSoto Blvd., Hot Springs Village. $25.

• 3 p.m. Sunday at Garvan Woodland Gardens, 550 Arkridge Road, Hot Springs. $35.

Call (501) 609-9811 or visit themusesproject.org.

Moose with a dream

Mainstage of St. Louis will stage its touring production of Mooseltoe, the Moose with a Dream, 3 p.m. Sunday in the Fine Arts Center, East Arkansas Community College, 1700 Newcastle Road, Forrest City. The show features a recorded score by George Kramer and book and lyrics by George Semmelman; Al Roker provides the narration, with recorded voices of Broadway, TV and movie actors. Youngsters are encouraged to wear their pajamas to the show; a "PJ Party" with cookies and milk for kids will precede the show at 2:15 p.m. in the Fine Arts Center's Banquet Hall. Tickets are $14.50. Call (870) 633-4480, Extension 352, or visit eacc.edu.

TICKETS

Paisley at Verizon

Tickets -- $59.99, $99.99 and $129.99 plus service charges -- go on sale at noon Friday for Brad Paisley's "Weekend Warrior World Tour" concert, with special guests Dustin Lynch, Chase Bryant and Lindsay Ell, 7 p.m. April 12 at North Little Rock's Verizon Arena. There is an eight-ticket limit per household. Call (800) 745-3000 or visit ticketmaster.com.

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Sarah Haman sings Patsy Cline songs Friday in Hot Springs to help Lakeside High School students cover their travel costs to a February thespian festival in Paragould.

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Piper Wallace plays Susan Walker with Jeff Ward as Kris Kringle in Red Curtain Theatre’s Miracle on 34th Street the Musical .

Weekend on 12/07/2017

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