Sunday, July 4, 2010

The Alaska Dryrotta, by Leinad Moolb, circa 1981, still in print in 2010

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Dear Mr. Bloom,

I am making a play comprised mainly of letters to the Fairbanks Daily
News Miner Editor written 1958-2008. The Alaskan Dryrotta holds a unique place in
my manuscript being the work of a professional writer. Would you
agree to let me use this lovely piece, that is, I must say, perfectly
suited to the play? I would be happy to send you a script and can
manage some royalty. Performances are scheduled for Oct. 2009 at
Fairbanks Drama Association Riverfront Theatre. Please advise.


Thank you, Melinda Mattson

Anonymous said...

One of the letters he brings to life in the new version was a hit in
the first edition of the play, with DeWild acting the part of the
Swami who recites the “Alaska Dryrotta”.

“Go placidly amid the rain forest and the fog and remember what peace
there may be in wood stoves,” it begins.

Anonymous said...

Letters to the Editor’ offers dramatic self-portrait of Fairbanks

By Dermot Cole

October 22, 2009


The Fairbanks Drama Association production that opens this weekend has more than one author — about 120 of them in fact.

“Letters to the Editor” is an updated tribute to the people of Fairbanks and vicinity who have made the letters to the editor one of the best parts of this newspaper for decades.

Back in the early 1980s, Melinda Mattson recognized the dramatic potential of the letters when she produced the first version of this play. The play was one of the most popular ever produced in Fairbanks, and it won a series of state and regional awards.

She drew upon the words of wisdom from many of the great authors in our town’s history, from Joe Vogler and Joan Koponen to Kevin Harun, Eva Heffle, Ron Crowe, Cleo Hensley and the great Fred Stickman Sr.

The play featured a dozen actors playing some of the many characters who made life in Fairbanks exciting. The text featured political diatribes, personal essays and soulful observations about the beauty of Alaska, along with preaching and bellowing about wolves, Texans, guns, the pipeline, statehood, the capital move, the Alaskan Independence Party, the phone system, environmentalists and the weather.

I’m happy to report that on Friday, a revised version of “Letters to the Editor” opens at the Riverfront Theatre. The first act of the play is made up of letters used in the old version, while the second act features matters of more recent vintage from the Exxon Valdez to Sarah Palin’s campaign for vice president.

Among those whose letters will live on through this show are Glenn Hackney, Mellie Terwilliger, Julie Rafferty, Vivian Ames and Karen Parr.

Mattson, a regular follower of the letters column, has carefully selected gems from the last quarter-century to round out this snapshot of the past 50 years.

The cast of 12 includes Gene DeWild, a retired Fairbanks teacher who came back just for this show.

DeWild, the man whose name is on the theater at West Valley High School, lived in Austria until 1994 when he retired in New Jersey.

One of the letters he brings to life in the new version was a hit in the first edition of the play, with DeWild acting the part of the Swami who recites the “Alaska Dryrotta” by Danny Bloom, aka Leinad Moolb.

“Go placidly amid the rain forest and the fog and remember what peace there may be in wood stoves,” it begins.

“Letters to the Editor” is the closest we’ve come to a dramatic self-portrait of Fairbanks, thanks to the many and varied authors who shared their thoughts on the pages of the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner.

The play runs for three weekends, with shows Fridays and Saturdays at 8:15 p.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m.

FIRST LETTER: In editing this play, Mattson has had to trim the text with a vengeance as there is a great deal of good material to work with.

The first letter in the old version of the play is one of the gems she had to cut.

It was written by Ed Jern and published 17 days after the attack on Pearl Harbor. Jern said many old timers of his caliber were good hunters and “Life without liberty means death to a sourdough.”

•••

DANIELBLOOM said...

Letters to the Editor’ offers dramatic self-portrait of Fairbanks

By Dermot Cole

October 22, 2009


The Fairbanks Drama Association production that opens this weekend has more than one author — about 120 of them in fact.

“Letters to the Editor” is an updated tribute to the people of Fairbanks and vicinity who have made the letters to the editor one of the best parts of this newspaper for decades.

Back in the early 1980s, Melinda Mattson recognized the dramatic potential of the letters when she produced the first version of this play. The play was one of the most popular ever produced in Fairbanks, and it won a series of state and regional awards.

She drew upon the words of wisdom from many of the great authors in our town’s history, from Joe Vogler and Joan Koponen to Kevin Harun, Eva Heffle, Ron Crowe, Cleo Hensley and the great Fred Stickman Sr.

The play featured a dozen actors playing some of the many characters who made life in Fairbanks exciting. The text featured political diatribes, personal essays and soulful observations about the beauty of Alaska, along with preaching and bellowing about wolves, Texans, guns, the pipeline, statehood, the capital move, the Alaskan Independence Party, the phone system, environmentalists and the weather.

I’m happy to report that on Friday, a revised version of “Letters to the Editor” opens at the Riverfront Theatre. The first act of the play is made up of letters used in the old version, while the second act features matters of more recent vintage from the Exxon Valdez to Sarah Palin’s campaign for vice president.

Among those whose letters will live on through this show are Glenn Hackney, Mellie Terwilliger, Julie Rafferty, Vivian Ames and Karen Parr.

Mattson, a regular follower of the letters column, has carefully selected gems from the last quarter-century to round out this snapshot of the past 50 years.

The cast of 12 includes Gene DeWild, a retired Fairbanks teacher who came back just for this show.

DeWild, the man whose name is on the theater at West Valley High School, lived in Austria until 1994 when he retired in New Jersey.

One of the letters he brings to life in the new version was a hit in the first edition of the play, with DeWild acting the part of the Swami who recites the “Alaska Dryrotta” by Danny Bloom, aka Leinad Moolb.

“Go placidly amid the rain forest and the fog and remember what peace there may be in wood stoves,” it begins.

“Letters to the Editor” is the closest we’ve come to a dramatic self-portrait of Fairbanks, thanks to the many and varied authors who shared their thoughts on the pages of the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner.

The play runs for three weekends, with shows Fridays and Saturdays at 8:15 p.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m.

FIRST LETTER: In editing this play, Mattson has had to trim the text with a vengeance as there is a great deal of good material to work with.

The first letter in the old version of the play is one of the gems she had to cut.

It was written by Ed Jern and published 17 days after the attack on Pearl Harbor. Jern said many old timers of his caliber were good hunters and “Life without liberty means death to a sourdough.”

•••

Anonymous said...

Letters to the Editor’ offers dramatic self-portrait of Fairbanks

By Dermot Cole

October 22, 2009


The Fairbanks Drama Association production that opens this weekend has more than one author — about 120 of them in fact.

“Letters to the Editor” is an updated tribute to the people of Fairbanks and vicinity who have made the letters to the editor one of the best parts of this newspaper for decades.

Back in the early 1980s, Melinda Mattson recognized the dramatic potential of the letters when she produced the first version of this play. The play was one of the most popular ever produced in Fairbanks, and it won a series of state and regional awards.

She drew upon the words of wisdom from many of the great authors in our town’s history, from Joe Vogler and Joan Koponen to Kevin Harun, Eva Heffle, Ron Crowe, Cleo Hensley and the great Fred Stickman Sr.

The play featured a dozen actors playing some of the many characters who made life in Fairbanks exciting. The text featured political diatribes, personal essays and soulful observations about the beauty of Alaska, along with preaching and bellowing about wolves, Texans, guns, the pipeline, statehood, the capital move, the Alaskan Independence Party, the phone system, environmentalists and the weather.

I’m happy to report that on Friday, a revised version of “Letters to the Editor” opens at the Riverfront Theatre. The first act of the play is made up of letters used in the old version, while the second act features matters of more recent vintage from the Exxon Valdez to Sarah Palin’s campaign for vice president.

Among those whose letters will live on through this show are Glenn Hackney, Mellie Terwilliger, Julie Rafferty, Vivian Ames and Karen Parr.

Mattson, a regular follower of the letters column, has carefully selected gems from the last quarter-century to round out this snapshot of the past 50 years.

The cast of 12 includes Gene DeWild, a retired Fairbanks teacher who came back just for this show.

DeWild, the man whose name is on the theater at West Valley High School, lived in Austria until 1994 when he retired in New Jersey.

One of the letters he brings to life in the new version was a hit in the first edition of the play, with DeWild acting the part of the Swami who recites the “Alaska Dryrotta” by Danny Bloom, aka Leinad Moolb.

“Go placidly amid the rain forest and the fog and remember what peace there may be in wood stoves,” it begins.

“Letters to the Editor” is the closest we’ve come to a dramatic self-portrait of Fairbanks, thanks to the many and varied authors who shared their thoughts on the pages of the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner.

The play runs for three weekends, with shows Fridays and Saturdays at 8:15 p.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m.

FIRST LETTER: In editing this play, Mattson has had to trim the text with a vengeance as there is a great deal of good material to work with.

The first letter in the old version of the play is one of the gems she had to cut.

It was written by Ed Jern and published 17 days after the attack on Pearl Harbor. Jern said many old timers of his caliber were good hunters and “Life without liberty means death to a sourdough.”

•••