The brand new Glenn Massay Theater at Mat-Su College is kicking off its first full season with a production of the musical "Chicago."
The beautiful, 520-seat concert/dance/theater auditorium formally opened in February and has seen a regular succession of events ever since. The Palmer-Wasilla area had previously depended on cafes, schools and the Machetanz Theatre, a repurposed pole barn, for shows and concerts, but the Massay is the first such state-of-the-art, dedicated venue in the Valley.
The cast features Katy Schmidt as Roxy Hart, Ted Carney as Billy Flynn, Rob Tracy as Amos Hart and Chanel Grover -- you'll remember her from "Moose: The Movie" -- as Velma Kelly. Veteran director Grant Olson is in charge of the show, Andrea Lang directs the band, and Pam Burlingame has worked up the choreography with the Wasilla-based dance troupe Enliven. We're told the production will also show off the full spectrum (no pun intended) of the house's lighting options.
"Chicago" will be presented at 7 p.m. Thursday-Saturday through Oct. 30 with 2 p.m. matinees on Oct. 24 and 31. (Note: no Sunday shows.) General admission is $19, $11 for students, available at glennmassaytheater.com or by calling 907-746-9300. The theater is located on the Mat-Su College campus, 8295 E. College Drive, Palmer.
Traditional knowledge conference in Juneau
Described as a clan conference, "Sharing Our Knowledge" will take place in Juneau from Oct. 28 to Nov. 1. Consisting of several workshops, seminars, readings and other events focused on retaining Tlingit traditions, it will take place at Centennial Hall. This year's lineup includes tours of Sealaska Heritage Institute's new Walter Soboleff Cultural Center and readings at the Governor's Mansion.
The first such clan conference took place in Haines/Klukwan in 1993, said Peter Metcalfe, the communications director for the conference and author of the history "A Dangerous Idea: The Alaska Native Brotherhood and the Struggle for Indigenous Rights."
"It was the brainchild of the late Andy Hope III," Metcalfe said. "It's been going on for 22 years now."
During the day, talks and workshops will take place in three different rooms simultaneously and range from language -- like creating an immersion school and a Tlingit spelling bee -- to art and culture: everything from analysis of traditional interior screens, modern Native art and a panel discussion on the potlatch to the ever-popular Chilkat Charlie, a Tlingit-speaking ventriloquist's dummy. (Charlie,by the way, whose Tlingit name is Shanak'w Uwaa, admonishes us for calling performers such as himself "dummies" and point out that one can count from one to 10 in Tlingit without moving one's lips). Cultural events take place at night.
Though much of the focus is on Tlingit traditions, several subjects are dealt with in ways that encompass broader Alaska Native issues and the general history of Southeast Alaska.
In addition to elders, tradition bearers, fluent speakers and educators, Metcalfe said he's expecting scores of outside linguists, ethnographers and anthropologists from around the world.
"They want to present their material on a level that everyone can understand," he said. "The workshops are very accessible. It's an atmosphere of mutual access and mutual respect.
"What I believe makes it unique is that it brings together tradition bearers and academics who study the language and culture. They present their material on a level where, if you walked into a workshop on linguistics, say, you could understand it. Whereas, if you go to a convention of linguistic experts, they're speaking a different language."
Sharing Our Knowledge is largely self-supported, Metcalfe said, with costs usually covered by entry fees and grants from organizations like the Alaska Humanities Forum. "This year we're more generously funded, thanks to the National Science Foundation," he said. "They gave us a grant to pay for the travel for elders."
Some past sessions have been videotaped and become resources for students and historians, he noted.
"The latest development is that we have firmed up the offer by the first lady, Donna Walker, to host a reading of Alaska Native literature at the Governor's Mansion on the evening of Thursday, Oct. 29," Metcalfe said. "Nora Dauenhauer will read a speech made by Jessie Dalton from 'Tlingit Oratory,' the book she and her late husband, Richard, published."
Other readers include Ishmael Hope and Lance Twitchell.
The conference banquet on Friday, Oct. 30, will be a tribute to Richard Dauenhauer, who served as Alaska writer laureate, as did his wife, and who died in 2014. More information is available at sharingourknowledge.org.
Jazz Week benefit on Wednesday
UAA faculty and friends will give a preview of their upcoming gig in Homer at the UAA Arts Building Recital Hall at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 28. John Damberg, Karen Strid-Chadwick, Clint Dallas and guest bassist Bob Andrews will perform Afro-Cuban music that they plan to present for the Pratt Museum's "Puttin' on the Ritz" event scheduled for Nov. 7 at Wasabi's Sushi Restaurant in Homer.
The Wednesday program in Anchorage is also a fundraiser, a benefit for UAA's Jazz Week, which will take place March 9-12 next year. General admission is $10 when purchased in advance at the UAA box office. Call 907-786-4849.
ATY plays this weekend
Alaska Theatre of Youth will present two plays for young folks this weekend."The Seussification of Romeo and Juliet" will be performed at 7 p.m. Friday, Oct. 23, and 3 p.m. Saturday. "The Phantom Tollbooth Jr." will be presented at 7 p.m. on Saturday. The shows take place at Out North, 3800 DeBarr Road. Tickets are available at centertix.net.
Cook exhibit opens in Tacoma
"Arctic Ambitions," the Anchorage Museum's big summer exhibit dedicated to the explorations of Captain James Cook in the Pacific Northwest and the Arctic, reopened at the Washington State History Museum in Tacoma on Oct. 17. A Tacoma News Tribune story noted the historic artifacts from Cook's ships and the rarely seen items collected from local tribes on the voyage and on loan from collections around the world. The Tacoma venue will probably be the last time all are seen together in one place.