Save The Rep

Having worked all over the U.S. and, in fact, pretty much all over the world in theater, I can say with some authority that the productions at the Arkansas Repertory Theatre, both those I have been in and those I have seen, are of the highest quality in every artistic aspect: acting, directing, set, costume and light design, etc.

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The audiences at The Rep have always been enthused, engaged and intelligent in their responses to the work there in which I have been involved.

Having known [Directors] Cliff Baker, Bob Hupp and John Miller-Stephany, I know that all three of those Rep leaders have been actively engaged in providing rich theatrical experiences for the folks who are already Rep supporters, but, as well, all three men have worked diligently to find ways to expand Rep audience membership and to engage the widest possible group of diverse audiences in Little Rock and throughout the state.

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The great poet Percy Shelley wrote in the preface to “The Cenci”: “The highest moral purpose aimed at in the highest species of drama is the teaching of the human heart, through its sympathies and antipathies, the knowledge of itself.” I know that The Rep’s leadership and staff, past and present, have based their theatrical goals and dreams on such high, worthy and necessary-to-us-all ideals. When that is coupled with a profound desire, carried out with enormous effort, to engage and entertain audiences, as has always been The Rep’s mission, the value of The Rep and its multilayered and extraordinary work to the community and to the state cannot be overestimated.

To lose the Arkansas Repertory Theatre would be a terrible blow to Little Rock, to Arkansas and to the theater world at large. I encourage your readers to find tangible ways, and to do so immediately, to help ensure that The Rep weathers these rough fiscal times and comes through this period both artistically and financially sound. We cannot let The Rep disappear. The loss would be irreparable.

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Joseph Graves

Beijing, China

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From the web

In response to an April 30 Arkansas Blog post on state Sen. Jeremy Hutchinson’s 2013 Senate Resolution praising a couple who have since been fired in the wake of a kickback scandal at Medicaid recipient Preferred Family Healthcare:

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What I find interesting is that when Rusty Cranford, the big dog at the top of all of these schemes, was charged with murder-for-hire in the Medicaid mess, immediately Jeremy Hutchinson decided not to run again for office. As it turns out, Hutchinson is Cranford’s divorce attorney. Having observed the [kickback] Ecclesia trial [of former Sen. Jon Woods] closely, I surmise it is small potatoes compared to the upcoming Medicaid trials. I think many of the same players will be found here as were involved with Ecclesia. I hope this time they are all charged and paraded in court for everyone to see. And, what part did the governor play in all this? At least he is guilty of ignoring the involvement of his family members. At most, he knows more than we have heard. I hope that the end result is that we have a massive house cleaning in our legislature. We can start that process by voting in the Republican primary May 22, whether we are Republicans or not. People like Bob Ballinger, who gave his GIF funds to Ecclesia, can only be defeated in that primary. Wrong is wrong, no matter what flavor it is.

JulieM69

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In response to an April 30 Arkansas Blog post about an $80,000 wire transfer in 2014 from nursing home executive David Norsworthy to former state Sen. Jake Files a week before Files proposed a constitutional amendment to limit damages in civil lawsuits. That proposal failed, but a similar amendment was approved in 2017 for the general election ballot:

Why does Governor Hutchinson want to harm the elderly in nursing homes?

I am voting NO on ballot issue 1 (SJR8) because it is harmful to people.

Why did Governor Hutchinson appoint Norsworthy to the board of the nursing home lobby (AHCA)?

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The crazy state legislators want to pass laws that could kill me and then they think they deserve a raise in their salary?

NO raise until we vote some human, ethical government officials into office.

Thank you, Arkansas Times, for unraveling this convoluted story about General Improvement Funds, Files, Morton, and Arkansas Health Care Association (Morton’s nursing home lobby and ballot Issue 1). I would never be able to organize this info.

ShineOnLibby

In response to the April 18 Arkansas Blog post “Sen. Trent Garner continues to grandstand, again calls for impeachment of Judge Wendell Griffen”:

Judicial activism is purely in the eye of the beholder. If you like what the judge is doing, it’s judicial restraint. If you don’t, it’s judicial activism. My thoughts about [Griffen’s ruling on the] comfort dog is that permitting it is judicial vouching for the witness in violation of Ark. Constitution, Article 7, Section 23. It’s also prosecution vouching, which violates legal ethics and the rules of decorum.

TuckerMax

In response to the April 28 Arkansas Blog post of the death of black theologian James H. Cone:

James Cone was a brilliant theologian. All of Arkansas should be proud of him as a native son — although I’m sure there are many who are not.

I think in terms of having an inordinate positive impact on the world, through our history we Arkansans have “swung above our weight.”

Perplexed

Dr. James Cone cut, blazed, paved and illuminated a radical and redeeming body of knowledge about the religion of Jesus based on his disciplined study and devotion to Jesus as a black theologian. Thanks to him, theologians now cannot dismiss black liberation theology. Instead, black liberation theology challenges dominationist, imperialist, capitalist, racist, sexist and white nationalist perspectives on the religion of Jesus. We who have studied and been blessed to know Dr. Cone will forever be grateful for his influence, unflinching commitment to continued study, and his unapologetic blackness! A prophet was among us. We have been put on notice.

Thinking

In response to state Attorney General Leslie Rutledge’s boast that she’d joined a 20-state coalition of Republican attorneys general seeking to kill the Affordable Care Act:

Ms. Rutledge has spent her entire career as AG filing out-of-state lawsuits. Has she actually ever done anything to help the citizens of Arkansas? Has she fought for any cause that benefits the interest of Arkansas citizens as opposed to other states? The answer would be no. Her real claim to fame is being notorious for declining titles for proposed amendments with dubious claims and vague suggestions for improvement. I can only hope we will have a qualified candidate to run against her and win.

Concernedinheber

Commenting on the Times‘ slideshow of the installation of the Ten Commandments on the grounds of the Capitol:

What I cannot understand is why these fundamentalists keep referring to the Ten Commandments?

If they were Orthodox Jews, I’d understand. However, the law of Grace (on which the foundation of Christianity is based) came about when Christ was crucified and resurrected three days later. The Ten Commandments are not even the basis of Christianity, but rather rules given the Jews when they wandered in the desert.

But I guess theology doesn’t matter as much as fake religion, in the era of fake news, by fake politicians.

JAGNARK