for the ARTS record
Book talk: Margaret Moore Booker, author of "Among the Stars" Published by the Egan Foundation's Mill Hill Press as a joint project between the Egan Foundation and the Maria Mitchell Association, "Among The Stars" is the most comprehensive biography ever written on Mitchell.

The book's author, Margaret Moore Booker, will be on island this week to share new insights on the woman who had sensible shoes, a wry humor, a good Yankee horse sense and also, Booker found, a love for writing mediocre poetry.

"She had a wonderful sense of humor," said Booker, who once worked on island as the Arts Editor for the now defunct Nantucket Beacon and also as the curator of collections for the Egan Foundation. "You look at portraits of her, and think she's a stodgy, conservative Quaker, but she had a wonderful sense of humor, a real warmth about her and some real, longlasting close friendships."

The book describes Mitchell as a young Atheneum librarian who bloomed late in life, studying the heavens from her Main Street apartment until she caught the tail of a comet and rode it off Nantucket (where the Quakers had disowned her) to national and international recognition.

Booker said she has even been able to debunk a few myths.

When: Thurs., June 7, 8 p.m. - 9:30 p.m.

Where: Coffin School, 4 Winter St.

Cost: Free

Family Night: Old folk for the young folk Winner of the Parent's Choice Award, Jeff Davis is one of the nation's foremost performers, interpreters and collectors of traditional American folk music. In "American Sampler," travel with Jeff into the history of rural America. With humor, warmth and scholarship, Davis invites you to relive our nation's heritage through songs of Revolutionary War heroes, Appalachian clogging songs, sailors' work songs, African-American banjo tunes, Irish fiddle tunes, cowboy ditties and more. Audience members join in on found instruments, such as bones and spoons. The following day, Davis will host a workshop to introduce kids to new instruments, songs, choruses and dances focusing on his 'American Sampler' performance from Friday night. Program may include tales and sea chanteys.

When: (performance) Fri., June 8, 7 p.m.;

(workshop) Sat., June 9, 11 a.m. Where: Nantucket Atheneum, 1 India St. Cost: Free tickets for the performance available at

the Weezie Library, beginning June 2. Workshop is free and for ages 6 and up. Please register

online at www.nantucketatheneum.org, or call

228-1110 ext. 103.

For more information, please call 228-1110.

Theatre Workshop Auditions Theatre Workshop of Nantucket is holding auditions for men and women, ages 18 - 80 for its last summer show and first fall show: "To Grandmother's House We Go" and "I'll be Back Before Midnight"

Jane Karakula will direct "To Grandmother's House We Go." In the play, Grandie lives in a large Connecticut Victorian house with her brother, her longtime maid/companion and her widowed daughter. Inflation has taken its toll on their wealth, but Grandie's exacting standards remain unaltered. It's Thanksgiving, and the three grandchildren have arrived, all with requests of the matriarch. The show runs August 8-11,15,17-19, 22-25, and Aug. 29 - Sept. 1.

Written by Peter Colley, "I'll Be Back Before Midnight" is a murder mystery comedy about a city couple traveling to their farmhouse in the wilderness. "The wife, fresh from a nervous breakdown, and her husband, an insensitive jogging archeologist, get a visit from a beautiful 'other woman' along with spontaneous visits from the hearty local farmer," according to TWN. Michael Fritz will direct the show, which runs on Sept.12-15,19,-22, 26-29 and Oct 3- 6.

When: Sun., June 10, 4 p.m. - 6 p.m. Where: TWN Main Stage, downstairs at the

Methodist Church, 2 Centre St.

For more information, call 228-4305

or go to www.theatreworkshop.com.

Women's Chorus performance Under the direction of Marcia Hempel, the Women's Chorus sings pop songs from the '50s, multicultural music from Africa and Latin America, jazz by Irving Berlin, folk music from the U.S. and Scotland and music by the Beatles. "Fields of Gold", recorded and written by Sting, will be on the program, as will Hempel's own arrangement of the Leonard Cohen song "Hallelujah," a dark anthem to love that was covered famously by Jeff Buckley in the late 1990s and has subsequently become popular with many college a cappella groups.

When: Sunday, June 10, 4 p.m. Where: Unitarian Church Cost: Suggested donation is $10 at the door. For more information about the concert or joining

the Women's Chorus of Nantucket, contact

Marcia Hempel at 228-3802.

Modeling on all fours You know your dog is the cutest, and now's the time to show it. The MSPCA has extended the deadline to participate in its Canine Couture Fashion Show (Aug. 8). If you're interested in letting your puppy work it on the runway, stop by the MSPCA for a registration form, due back on June 15.