ARKANSAS SHAKESPEARE THEATRE
7:30 p.m., The Village at Hendrix. Pay what you can.
As it has in years past, the Arkansas Shakespeare Theatre takes a two-for-us, two-for-the-masses approach with its 2011 season. From The Bard: “Othello” and “As You Like It.” From Aesop and Andrew Lloyd Webber, respectively: “The Tortoise and the Hare” and “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.” New this year and much appreciated, the festival splits time between Conway and North Little Rock. Furthermore, in Conway it splits time between Reynolds Performance Hall at UCA and the green at The Village at Hendrix. Shakespeare’s comic romp “As You Like It” kicks off the season (and inaugurates the green at The Village at Hendrix) on Thursday night and continues at 7:30 p.m. for the following three nights. Meanwhile, Aesop’s “The Tortoise and the Hare” debuts at 10 a.m. Friday at Reynolds. “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat” opens Thursday, June 23, at Reynolds. The North Little Rock portion of the program, which includes four performances of “As You Like It,” starts on Friday, July 1, at the Argenta Community Theater. For more information and a full calendar, visit arkshakes.com.