Alaska News

Art Beat: McCandless the musical will be showcased in Juneau

Perseverance Theatre's "Summerfest Unplugged" lineup will include a musical about Christopher McCandless, the wanderer who managed to starve to death in the summer in an abandoned bus near Mount McKinley. This theatrical adaptation of "Into the Wild" features music by Niko Tsakalakos and text and lyrics by Janet Allard. It will be presented at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, July 11 and 4 p.m. Sunday, July 12. It rotates with "House of Dreams," which imagines actor John Barrymore visiting friends near Glacier Bay. Tickets for the whole thing, which takes place in Juneau, are $25 and include receptions and discussions as well as the play-readings.

In Anchorage, Perseverance will audition child actors for their reprise of "A Christmas Carol." Auditions will take place on Monday, July 13 at the Alaska Experience Theatre, 333 W. Fourth Ave. To sign up for a slot, email morgan@perseverancetheatre.org or call 907-364-2421, ext. 221.

Anchorage Community Theatre is also having auditions for their upcoming season on July 11 and 13. Call 907-344-4713 for more information.

New Cirque is out

The latest edition of the home-grown literary magazine Cirque is now on the stands, as well as online at cirquejournal.com. The summer solstice volume includes an update from former Alaska Poet Laureate Joanne Townsend, an interview with Fairbanks poet John Morgan, a review of Jeremy Pataky's "Overwinter" and a feature on the "Poems in Place" program.

Hollowell takes over 49 Writers

Erin Coughlin Hollowell has been named the new executive director of 49 Writers. In addition to being a writer herself, Hollowell also has administrative experience with the Kachemak Bay Writing Conference and the Alaska Arts and Culture Conference.

Young heroes sought

The Boys & Girls Clubs of Alaska and Alaska Communications will be taking nominations for their Summer of Heroes awards through Wednesday, July 15. The program give $1,500 scholarships to young people, age 6-18, who are making a difference in their community. Previous winners have included youths who created programs for returning veterans, adopted orphaned sea mammals and cleaned up the mess left by combat fisherfolk on the Kenai River. Information and nomination forms can be found at alaskacommunications.com/summerofheroes. The recipients will be announced Aug. 30 in a ceremony at the Alaska State Fair in Palmer.

Mike Dunham

Mike Dunham has been a reporter and editor at the ADN since 1994, mainly writing about culture, arts and Alaska history. He worked in radio for 20 years before switching to print.

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