FUN
Tonight is, of course, Halloween, when all the ghosties, ghoulies and long-leggedy beasties come out, knock on your door and beg for candy. Common safety precautions comply — tinier youngsters should trick-or-treat in groups and/or with adults. Wear light-reflecting costumes so motorists (and vampire hunters) can see you clearly. Cross streets at intersections and look both ways for oncoming vehicles. Don’t eat anything that isn’t securely wrapped, especially if you got it from somebody you don’t know. Keep your eyes peeled for the houses that give away full-sized candy bars. Have a good time, but be careful out there.
The Downtown Little Rock Partnership, Central Arkansas Library System, Plaza Frida and Mexican Consulate of Little Rock celebrate Mexican culture and heritage for the fourth official “Dia de Muertos” (Day of the Dead) celebration, 5:30 p.m. Friday in Count Pulaski Way, the alley next to the Ron Robinson Theatre, 100 Rock St., in Little Rock’s River Market. The event includes a seven-layer-tall offered, a set of interconnected altars, created by Mexican artist and Northwest Arkansas resident Vicente Yañez. Also part of the celebration: towering papier-mâché figures, intricate sawdust carpets, sculptures. traditional offerings, authentic Mexican food, drinks and music. Admission is free. cals.org/day-of-the-dead.
The Clinton Presidential Center and the Arkansas Cinema Society screen “20 Hours in America,” the two-part, season-four premiere of the TV series “The West Wing,” 2:30 p.m. Sunday at the Arkansas Museum of Fine Arts, 501 E. Ninth St., Little Rock. It’s part of the “Commanding the Screen” Watch Party series, in conjunction with the Clinton center’s current exhibit, “Commanding the Screen: The American Presidency in Film and Television,” on display through March 23. arkansascinemasociety.org/programs/the-west-wing-20-hours-in-america.
MUSIC
There’s no indication whatsoever that Ludwig van Beethoven ever wore blue jeans, but that doesn’t stop the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra from conflating the composer with the low couture in its annual “Beethoven & Blue Jeans” Masterworks concerts, 7:30 p.m. Saturday and 3 p.m. Sunday at Little Rock’s Robinson Center Performance Hall, 426 W. Markham St. at Broadway. Geoffrey Robson conducts Beethoven’s Symphony No. 5; cellist Andrei Ionita solos in the Cello Concerto No. 1 by Camille Saint-Saëns. Ionita will also team up with five ASO musicians to play Peter Tchaikovsky’s sextet “Souvenir de Florence” for a River Rhapsodies concert at 7 p.m. Tuesday at the orchestra’s new Stella Boyle Smith Music Center, 1101 E. Third St., in Little Rock’s East Village, (501) 666-1761, Extension 1, or visit arkansassymphony.org.
Country singer Lainey Wilson headlines at 7 p.m. Friday at North Little Rock’s Simmons Bank Arena; Jackson Dean and Zach Top are the opening acts. simmonsbankarena.com.
Also at the arena, rock band Creed, with opener 3 Doors Down, performs at 7 p.m. Sunday.
Scottish folksinger duo Jim and Susie Malcolm perform at 7:30 p.m. Saturday at Hibernia Irish Tavern, 9700 N. Rodney Parham Road, Little Rock, under the auspices of the Little Rock Folk Club. littlerockfolkclub.org
And legendary singer-songwriter Morrissey performs at 7:30 p.m. Monday at Little Rock’s Robinson Center Performance Hall, 426 W. Markham St. (501) 244- 8800; littlerock.com.
THEATER
The absurdity and seriousness of preteen competitive dance is on display as Actors Theatre of Little Rock stages “Dance Nation” by Clare Barron, a finalist for the 2019 Pulitzer Prize for Drama, 7:30 p.m. Thursday-Saturday and Nov. 6-9 and 6 p.m. Sunday Nov. 3 at Quapaw Quarter United Methodist Church, 1601 Louisiana St., Little Rock. The theater rates the show R and recommends that although it’s about the puberty years, “leave the kids at home.” actorstheatrelr.org/tickets.
A brutal murder interrupts a honeymoon cruise down the Nile and everybody on board the riverboat is a suspect in Agatha Christie’s “Murder on the Nile,” onstage through Nov. 9 Murry’s Dinner Playhouse, 6323 Colonel Glenn Road, Little Rock. Shows are at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday-Saturday (12:30 p.m. Wednesday matinee only, Oct. 30) and 12:45 and 6:45 p.m. Sunday. The buffet opens 90 minutes before curtain time. (501) 562-3131; murrysdp.com.
And next week, a touring company brings “Dr. Seuss’ How The Grinch Stole Christmas! The Musical” to Robinson, 10 a.m., 2:30 and 7:30 p.m. Saturday Nov. 9, 1 and 6:30 p.m. Sunday Nov. 10 at Little Rock’s Robinson Center Performance Hall, 426 W. Markham St. at Broadway. (501) 244-8800; CelebrityAttractions.com or Ticketmaster.com.
ART AND EXHIBITS
“Treehouse Treasures: A Collector’s Collection Part 1” remains on display through Jan. 18 at Cantrell Gallery, 8208 Cantrell Road, Little Rock, consisting primarily of works by area artists, including Gail Batson, Kennedi Benjamin, Bob Crane, Warren Criswell, James Hayes, Beverly McLarty, Kirk Montgomery, Carol Spencer Morris, LeeNora Parlor and N. Scott, from the collection of original gallery owner Helen Scott, who is downsizing her home. 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday or by appointment. (501) 224-1335 or visit cantrellgallery.com.
“The Natural State in Four Seasons,” 33 photographs that North Little Rock native Brian Cormack took over 14 years that capture the beauty of Arkansas through the changing seasons, is on display through Nov. 27 at the William F. Laman Public Library, 2801 Orange St., North Little Rock, 9 a.m.-7 p.m. Monday-Thursday, 9 a.m.-1 p.m. Friday-Saturday. (501) 758-1720; NLRlibrary.org.
“Two Minutes to Midnight and the Architecture of Armageddon,” photographic essays on the Cold War by Jeanine Michna-Bales and Adam Reynolds, on display through Jan. 5 at the MacArthur Museum of Arkansas Military History, 503 E. Ninth St., Little Rock. (501)-376-4602; littlerock.gov/macarthur.
And “Commanding the Screen: The American Presidency in Film and Television,” continues to offer a look at material from more than 30 movies and television shows portraying fictional and real-life U.S. presidents, through March 23 at the Clinton Presidential Center, 1200 President Clinton Ave., Little Rock. clintonpresidentialcenter.org/exhibits.