FUN
The Old State House Museum, 300 W. Markham St., Little Rock, celebrates its 75th anniversary during 2nd Friday Art Night, 5-8 p.m. Friday, with live music, food and drinks from the early 1950s. The celebration also includes the opening of a new exhibit, “Enduring Image: Arkansas’ Old State House,” featuring historic images of the building and information about the anniversary. From 11 a.m.-2 p.m. Saturday the museum will have a DJ playing music from the late 1940s/early ’50s and serve punch and dessert. (501) 324-9685.
MUSIC
The Arkansas Symphony Orchestra and a bevy of guests celebrate the “Legacy of Quincy Jones” in a pair of pops concerts, 7:30 p.m. Saturday, 3 p.m. Sunday at Little Rock’s Robinson Center Performance Hall, 426 W Markham St. at Broadway. Singers Genine LaTrice Perez, Mac Royals, Crissy P., Deshawn Harris and and Satia Spencer will join the orchestra to perform “Thriller,” “Misty,” “Fly Me to the Moon,” “Think,” “We Are the World” and more timeless songs from the composer, arranger and producer’s wide-ranging career. (501) 666-1761, Ext. 1; ArkansasSymphony.org
The Listeso String Quartet performs arrangements of romantic songs and film themes for a Candlelight: Valentine’s Day Special, 6:30 p.m. Saturday at the Albert Pike Memorial Center, 712 Scott St., Little Rock. The program includes “Unchained Melody,” “La Vie En Rose,” “Can’t Help Falling in Love” and “My Heart Will Go On,” all reimagined in an intimate candlelit setting. Patrons must be 8 or older; anyone under the age of 16 must be accompanied by an adult. feverup.com.
For the Love of ART, honoring the life, legacy, and what would have been the 92nd birthday of the late musician Art Porter Sr., features a Porter Players Jam Session, 7 p.m. Friday at the Little Rock Four Points by Sheraton, 925 University Ave., Little Rock, and the Art Porter Singers performing at 4 p.m. Sunday at St. John Missionary Baptist Church, 2501 S. Main St., Little Rock. artporter.org.
THEATER
It’s opening week at Murry’s Dinner Playhouse, 6323 Colonel Glenn Road, Little Rock, for “Butterflies Are Free” by Leonard Gershe, with shows 7:30 p.m. Wednesday-Saturday (except matinees only Feb. 18 and 25), 12:45 and 6:45 Sunday, through March 7. Buffet opens 30 minutes before curtain time . (501) 562-3131; murrysdp.com.
The Royal Theatre, 111 S. Market St., Benton, is staging Ken Ludwig’s adaptation of Agatha Christie’s “Murder on the Orient Express,” 7 p.m. today-Saturday and Feb. 19-21 and 2 p.m. Sunday and Feb. 19. onthestage.tickets.
ART AND EXHIBITS
New this week;
“FORM/Formation,” abstract landscapes and linen works by Laura Welshans “that explore how land is shaped by time and erosion,” opens with a 5-8 p.m. reception Thursday at Art Group Gallery, in the Pleasant Ridge Town Center, 11525 Cantrell Road, Little Rock. The exhibition will be up through March 8. artgrouparkansas.com.
Continuing:
“My Creeks,” recent paintings by Fayetteville artist and illustrator Daniel Coston that reflect his fondness for creeks, on display through April 18 at Cantrell Gallery, 8202 Cantrell Road, Little Rock. Gallery hours are 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday. (501) 224-1335; cantrellgallery.com.
“Disfarmer: Portraits of Rural Arkansas,” early 20th-century black-and-white portraits of Arkansans by Mike Disfarmer, is up through June, 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday, 1-5 p.m. Sunday, at the Old State House Museum in Little Rock. (501) 324-9685.
“Thomas Hart Benton,” a traveling exhibition of original artwork created by the artist during World War II, is up through July 31 at the MacArthur Museum of Arkansas Military History, 503 E. Ninth St., Little Rock. 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday, 1-5 p.m. Sunday. (501) 376-4602; littlerock.gov/macarthur.
The ESSE Purse Museum & Store, 1510 Main St., Little Rock, has extended through March 1 its “Henry and Nolan” exhibition, photographs by Rita Henry and Nancy Nolan along with their collections of cameras, photography tools and materials. (501) 916-9022.
“Under A Restless Sky,” a site-specific installation by Boston-based artist Nathalie Miebach, on display through April 4 in the Jackson T. Stephens Gallery of the Arkansas Museum of Fine Arts, 501 E. Ninth St., Little Rock. (501) 372-4000; arkmfa.org.
And “Kuimeaux’s World,” drawings and paintings by late Little Rock native Dwight “Kuimeaux” Drennan, is on display through spring 2027 at Little Rock’s Historic Arkansas Museum, 200 E. Third St. 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday, 1-5 p.m. Sunday. (501) 324-9351.