BENTONVILLE, Ark. — A local director is working to portray some unique Arkansas history on the silver screen. To get the plans off the ground, she will be hosting a gala this week to fundraise for a feature film based on the Wonderland Cave nightclub in Bella Vista.
The Linebarger brothers opened the nightclub inside Wonderland Cave on March 1, 1930. The one-of-a-kind jazz club was so large that it could fit around 2,000 people at a time. Although not owned continuously by the Linebarger brothers, the cave was operating off and on until 1994.
"It was the world's largest underground nightclub," Director Krista Bradley said. "One of the most exciting things about discovering all the history to this story and kind of digging up history is sharing it with the community. And what I find is a lot of people, even natives, even people who are born and raised here and they've been here their whole life, they're not aware of this treasure that we have in our own backyard."
Bradley said her grandfather, who was a historian, helped her appreciate the intriguing stories of Arkansas history.
"I've been very fortunate to just grow up really being taught all sorts of different Arkansas stories and historical stories regarding our community, our region, the resilience of our people, our innovation, and most importantly, I think my grandfather taught me to appreciate that from a very young age," Bradley said.
Before beginning work on the Arkansas-inspired film, Bradley worked in Colorado, New Mexico, and Los Angeles. The pandemic and the urge to be closer to her grandparents prompted her to move back home to the Natural State, giving her a couple of years to work on the film with her grandfather.
"He and I really worked on it together throughout the last few years of his life," Bradley said. "It's not only been a priority for me for the last six years, it's been something that he's worked on, too, and now I get to finish and hopefully honor his memory and also honor our community too."
Through the film, she hopes to honor her grandfather and the memory of the people who contributed to the Northwest Arkansas community.
"I really take that responsibility really, really, greatly," Bradley said. "I want to make sure that I tell their story well and I honor all of them."
At this time, only a proof of concept trailer has been released for "Wonderland Cave," which is set in the club's heyday in 1930. However, Bradley said the movie follows the storyline of a family that is down on their luck with the trials of war, illness, and poverty. Despite all these setbacks, the main character has dreams of becoming a jazz singer.
"It highlights the best of Arkansas and the best of our people, the resilience, the innovation, the talent, and the grit," Bradley said. "I'm very proud to have those elements in my script."
Not only will the Wonderland Cave Fundraising Gala celebrate the cave's rich history, but it will also be a platform for Bradley to give the public exciting updates about the status of the film.
"This is going to be a celebration of Arkansas history, our exciting future, and then also what's going on right now ... We're actually just starting to get the full funding that we need to really do it justice," Bradley said. "If we're going to make a movie, I want to make something that makes all of the families who have given me their stories and trusted me with their stories something to make them proud."
The gala will be hosted at the Meteor Guitar Gallery in Bentonville on Oct. 24 from 7:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. The NWA JAZZ and MORE Orchestra and the Patti Steel Swing Band will bring performances reminiscent of the ones in the film. There will also be historical presentations from the Bella Vista Historical Society.
"We're going to have a sensational night of music. So if you love jazz, you need to be here," Bradley said. "We're going to go back to 1930 and we're going to transform this place into Wonderland Cave."
Proceeds from the event will benefit the upcoming film and Women in Film, Arkansas. General admission tickets are $100. Perks will be available for donors and sponsors who make contributions of $500 or more. Tickets are available on their website.
To match the era of the film, attendees are encouraged to dress in their best 1930s attire.
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