arts_reviews's blog

Perseverance Theatre faced several challenges in adapting “The Blue Bear” as a play. One was trying to convey the enormity of the Alaskan landscape and megafauna on a stage. How do you show a 30-foot boat caught in a bubble net with humpback whales rushing up from below? A calving glacier?

Marmot: Photo: Bruce Chambers, Orange County Register.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA...

Marmot Day is established on February 2 of each year. The day may be observed by suitable observances and exercises by school programs, the Alaska Zoo, civic groups, and the public.
— AS 44.12.110

Let all loyal Alaskans today hail the Marmot,

By MIKE DUNHAM

A full house was on hand at Atwood Concert Hall for the Anchorage Symphony Orchestra’s performance of Gustav Holst’s “The Planets.” The attraction seems to have been the visual accompaniment to the suite prepared by Jose Francisco Salgado of the Adler Planetarium using fascinating images of the solar system.

Starting Feb. 4, admission to the Anchorage Museum will be free on the first Saturday of each month for individuals with Bank of America and Merrill Lynch bank cards. Those include Alaska Airlines Visa cards, which are issued by Bank of America, according to the museum.

By LINDA BILLINGTON
Logan Denninghoff as Gaston: in the center with other cast members of "Beauty and the Beast" now playing in Atwood Concert Hall. Photo: Joan Marcus
The transformative power of love can overcome adversity, prejudice and even a midwinter snowstorm. Example: the packed Atwood Concert Hall Thursday, opening night of Disney’s “Beauty and the Beast.”

By MIKE DUNHAM

The playbill for the 25th edition of “Alaska Overnighters,” presented this weekend at Alaska Pacific University’s Grant Hall auditorium, says “4 short plays each night.”

But on Saturday, there were five. Which is good, because the fifth, “Veritas,” by P. Shane Mitchell, was the most substantial of the lot, the one most likely to stick with the viewer for a long while.

Prominent Anchorage attorney Dennis Maloney died of cancer at his home on Goose Lake on Sunday, Dec. 18. He was 64.

In addition to his highly successful law career, Maloney was noted as a patron of the arts. He made significant donations to performing groups and, in his younger years, performed himself as an actor in local productions.

By Donna Freedman

One of parenthood’s great sacrifices is sitting through some pretty dismal entertainment: Saccharine films, moralistic “children’s theater,” anything that features a singing dinosaur.

“Pinkalicious: The Musical,” currently playing at Cyrano’s, is an antidote to those eye-glazingly bad kiddie shows. Smartly written and briskly paced, it’s good fun for all ages.

Through Dec. 11, the Anchorage Museum shop will have some serious discounts for shoppers looking for Alaska art. Museum members can take 20 percent off books and 30 percent off all other merchandise. Non-members get 10 percent off books and 20 percent off all other merchandise - but we note that the discount on a fine ivory sculpture or one of Jerry Lieb's drums would pay for your membership.

By Donna Freedman

“It’s A Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play” is a novel and entirely entertaining way to look at the classic film that’s become a holiday tradition.

Listening to a story read aloud is fun. Listening to a storyteller is better, because the performer embodies the story he’s delivering. A quintet of lively raconteurs at Cyrano’s Theatre Company perform the story as 1940s radio stars presenting a Christmas Eve broadcast.

By Ahriel Porter
Tiny and Bob: Andrew Mattson, is uplifted by Theron Blair in VPA's current production of "A Christmas Carol."
As snow lightly falls upon the valley, so does the magic of Christmas spirit. Tis the season for a classic! It seems as though "A Christmas Carol" by Charles Dickens has been portrayed in every way imaginable. However, if you read the book you’ll know that it is hard to find such a traditional version as performed by the Valley Performing Arts.

By DONNA FREEDMAN
Inspecting Carol: ACT's production featuring(l-r)Stephanie Bissland as Dorothy playing Mrs. Cratchit; Bergen Borer as Luther playing (the oversize) Tiny Tim; Sean Kelly as Bart playing Peter Cratchit; Kate Williams as MJ, the stage manager. Photo: Tony Batres

The Alaska Film Forum presents Open Projector Night 4 (OPN), a showcase of work by local filmmakers at 8 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 26, at Out North, 3800 Debarr Rd.

The format is the same as an open mic night; filmmakers will arrive with a short film or clip of their work and programming slots will be given on a first-come, first-served basis.

It's billed as a "fun, non-competitive environment in which filmmakers can meet, enjoy each other's work, and establish creative networks."

Those whose digestive abilities them move this evening can take advantage of two pre-Black Friday bargains in local theater productions.

There'll be a pay-what-you-can preview of the "live radio" version of "It's a Wonderful Life" at Cyrano's at 7 p.m. tonight.

UAA will present its updated production of "Taming of the Shrew" at 8 p.m. tonight in the UAA Arts Building's Mainstage theater. Admission for that is a food donation to the local food bank.

Inspecting Carol: ACT's production featuring (l-r) Stephanie Bissland as Dorothy playing Mrs. Cratchit; Bergen Borer as Luther playing (the oversize) Tiny Tim; Sean Kelly as Bart playing Peter Cratchit; Kate Williams as MJ, the stage manager. Photo: Tony Batres

Thelonious Monk: Late jazz master the subject of tonight's Tap Root tribute.
Rick Zelinsky and friends continue their survey of jazz masters at 8 p.m. tonight at the Tap Root, 3300 Spenard Rd. The master being honored tonight is Thelonious Monk. Tickets are $10 in advance at centertix.net. It's a bar, so the concert is for ages 21 and up. Highly recommended for lovers of music and local craft beers.

"Inside Out & Back Again" by Thanhha Lai of New York won the 2011 National Book Award for Young People's Literature. The story is based on Lai's own life. She was born in Vietnam and moved to Alabama as an exile in 1975. She teaches writing at Parsons School of Design.
Debby Dahl Edwardson: photo courtesy of the author
"My Name is Not Easy," By Debby Dahl Edwardson of Barrow was among the five finalists for the award. A press conference with Lai, Edwardson and other finalists can be viewed at nationalbook.org.

Over 400 high school musicians will begin practicing November 17-19 at East Anchorage High School for the Command Performance of the 2011 All State Music Festival.

The public "Command Performance" of winners will take place at 6 p.m. on November 19, at the West High School Auditorium. Online tickets are available on the website: www.asaa.org

Penny Arcade: Services on Sunday.
"B!D!F!W!" - performance art by Penny Arcade, in which the nationally-noted performer is joined by local erotic dancers, has been extended at Out North, on the corner of Primrose and DeBarr. Showtimes are 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 5 p.m. Sunday. Advance tickets are $25/$20 at centertix.net. $30.$25 at the door. There's a cash bar on site for the 21 and over show.

The Alaska State Council on the Arts has selected Shannon Daut from Denver, Colorado, as the new Executive Director, effective January 9, 2012. Daut, 37, currently serves as Deputy Director of the Western States Arts Federation (WESTAF) a regional membership organization comprised of the 13 western state arts agencies.