Jessica Reisinger

Two years in the making, Rodgers and Hammerstein's The King and I makes its way to Anchorage! Set in the 1860's, The King and I follows the story of Anna Leonowens, a British school teacher who travels to Bangkok to teach the children of the King of Siam. This wonderfully vibrant production featured a suite of local Alaskan artists and dancers including choreographer and dancer Suparat Prasannet. I had the chance to speak to Suparat about her involvement with the production. Suparat has been Traditionally Thai dancing with Wat Dhamma Bhavana Buddhist Center since she was 3 years old. She states that every Sunday, her parents would take her to the Thai Temple in order for her to learn more about her culture through movement and reconnect with her roots through language.

How has the COVID-19 Pandemic impacted the arts in Alaska?

It's not the holidays without The Nutcracker! The Anchorage Concert Association's production of the Nutcracker with Ballet West ran from November 29th through December 1st At the Alaska Center for Performing Arts. Ballet West, the first premiere dance company to perform the Nutcracker at the Alaska Center for Performing Arts, returns to the ACPA stage for the 30th anniversary of the Nutcracker in Anchorage. Starring Ballet West and local talent from Alaska Dance Theatre, the Anchorage Concert Association tells this beautiful holiday classic through extraordinary sets and astonishing costuming. The most stunning part? An entire story was told without a single spoken word.

Disney's The Little Mermaid comes to Anchorage, playing at the Atwood Concert Hall from October 22nd through October 27th!

The house lights dim, and a spotlight falls on Sophie Sheridan, played by high school sophomore Charly Rentz, sitting alone on a beach in the Greek Islands. Mamma Mia! tells the story of the young Sophie, who lives on a Greek Island with her mother Donna. As Sophie plans to marry her fiancé, Sky, she dreams of her father giving her away at her wedding. And thus, invites three men from her mother's past in hopes of finding her father.