THEATER
Seein' red
The Obie-award winning drama "When You Comin' Back, Red Ryder" wraps up this week in the Harper Theatre at the University of Alaska Anchorage Arts Building. The plot involves "a drug-dealing misfit" who creates a hostage crisis in a dilapidated small town diner. Caleb Bourgeois is featured in the cast and David Edgecombe directs. Folks were seen leaving this intense show last weekend with their mouths agape and still trying to catch their breath. Showtimes are 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 3 p.m. Sunday. Tickets are available at uaatix.com or centertix.net. Also in the Arts Building, 50 dancers are premiering 10 pieces in the UAA Dance Ensemble's annual New Dances program, reviewed at adn.com/artsnob, at 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 6 p.m. on Sunday.
PHOTOGRAPHY
'Portrait Alaska'
Clark James Mishler's exhibition of more than 200 portraits of Alaskans taken over the past two decades opens at the Anchorage Museum, 625 C St., on Saturday. At 2 p.m. he'll present a talk about the exhibit and sign copies of the companion book. Mark calendars for the evening of Friday May 3 when Mishler will offer a behind-the-scenes look at this work for teens and offer some lighting tips to anyone with an interest in photography. Bring your camera to take some practice shots.
MUSIC
What the devil?
The Anchorage Symphony Orchestra, joined by member of the Alaska Chamber Singers, Alaska Children's Choir and Anchorage Concert Chorus, wraps up its season with a blow-out production of "The Damnation of Faust." Soloists include local favorite Marlene Bateman as Marguerite. The piece is a surreal take on Goethe's poem about a lonely philosopher turned into a fool by love and lust who trades his soul for a hot date, after which things get even hotter. Hector Berlioz's hyper-romantic rendition makes its mark with musical effects that range from bizarre to bombastic to utterly gorgeous. Tickets for the season finale are available at centertix.net.
By MIKE DUNHAM