Anchorage Daily News

Get out some coconuts and start banging them together: Tuesday the Anchorage Concert Association announced its 2008-09 season, which includes the Alaska premiere of Monty Python's "Spamalot." Humorist Garrison Keillor will make a return visit, as will the evergreen "Nutcracker." Read on to learn more about the ACA's upcoming 20 events.

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Garrison Keillor

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-- By Sarah Henning

OCT. 1

Angelique Kidjo

Bono thinks she rocks. She just won a Grammy. And she sings in four languages. Kidjo is the "it" girl on the world music scene right now, and everyone's recording with her, from Alicia Keys to Ziggy Marley.

She's from Benin in West Africa, so her sound is a soul-stirring blend of Afro-pop and Congolese rumba, as well as Western styles like jazz and gospel.

Hey, if "The Simpsons" is spoofing her, you know she's arrived.

SEPT. 10

Garrison Keillor

If you want to watch NPR listeners lose their manners, make them fight over Garrison Keillor tickets.

The humorist has wormed his way into America's hearts with his old-timey tales from Lake Wobegon and its fictional inhabitants: Pastor Inqvist, Father Wilmar of Our Lady of Perpetual Responsibility and an assortment of Norwegian bachelor farmers.

This trip he isn't bringing up the whole "Prairie Home Companion" gang. Instead, the program is being billed as "A Night With Garrison Keillor," where he'll spin yarns in his warm-as-fresh-brownies monotone.

NOV. 28-30

"The Nutcracker"

The annual Oregon Ballet Theatre production sells out every year, because it's a beloved holiday tradition and because about 100 local kids get roles in it, and they all have parents, and grandparents, and cousins, and ...

FEB. 6-7

Martha Graham Dance Company

The company is "one of the seven wonders of the artistic universe," according to Washington Post critic Alan M. Kriegsman.

Martha Graham revolutionized dance with emotive movements of her own invention, and the company she founded is the oldest and most celebrated contemporary dance company in the country, if not the world.

Since Graham remains one of the few choreographers to have acheived name recognition outside of the dance community, this show is bound to draw more than just the hard-core dance community.

APRIL 14-24

Monty Python's "Spamalot"

Make way for the Knights Who Say "Ni!"

Cheered on by the Lady of the Lake and her Laker Girls, King Arthur and his bumbling knights embark on a quest for the Holy Grail.

Subsequently, a pile of corpses reanimates for a rousing chorus of "I Am Not Dead Yet," barnyard animals are brandished as weapons, and everyone from Jews to amputees to bed-wetters are lovingly (and not so lovingly) mocked.

This is the first chance Alaskans have to see the 2005 Tony winner for Best Musical. Combine the show's relevancy for the theater crowd with the brand's cult following, and the result will surely be heavy foot traffic.

Additional events

The concert association's upcoming season also includes:

Jake Shimabukuro, "the Jimi Hendrix of the ukulele." Sept. 19

Aga Boom, circus comedy and physical arts, Oct. 4-5

Claremont Trio, young classical piano trio, Oct. 10

Asleep at the Wheel, Grammy-winning country western/swing band, Nov. 1

Chris Botti, jazz trumpeter, Nov. 15

Lynn Harrell and Jon Kimura Parker, classical piano and cello. Dec. 6

"Jesus Christ Superstar," touring Broadway rock opera. Dec. 9-14

Interpreti Veneziani, Venetian Baroque chamber orchestra. Jan. 9

Ririe Woodbury Dance Company, contemporary dance troupe from Utah. Jan. 16

The Capitol Steps, musical political satire. Jan. 23

Simone Dinnerstein, chart-topping classical pianist. Jan. 25

Cherish the Ladies traditional Irish band. Feb. 21

"War of the Worlds" and "The Lost World," live radio theater by L.A. Theatre Works. March 1

"Annie," touring Broadway musical about a precocious orphan. March 18-23

Ramsey Lewis, Grammy-winning jazz pianist. April 4

Tickets

The Anchorage Concert Association is all about options. Season subscription formulas include:

Pick-a-Pack: Select three or four shows of your choice for a 10 percent discount; choose five or more events for a 15 percent discount.

Broadway Series: "Annie," "Jesus Christ Superstar" and "Spamalot." $148-225.

Classical Series: Claremont Trio, Harrell/Parker, Interpreti Veneziani and Simone Dinnerstein. $60-$136.

Superstar Series: The entire 20-show shebang. $819.

Season subscriptions: On sale now through the Anchorage Concert Association at 277-1471 or www. anchorageconcerts.org.

Single ticket sales: Begin in mid-August via CenterTix, 263-2787 or www.centertix.net.

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