BERG/EVANS: Minnesotans Steve Berg and Allan Evans talk about their latest crime novels. Berg’s is “Lost Colony” and Evans’ is “Killer Smile.” 7 p.m. Tuesday, June 12, Magers & Quinn, 3038 Hennepin Ave. S., Mpls. (Registration is required for events at this store. Go to magersandquinn.com/events.)

COLIN HAMILTON: Presents “The Discarded,” about a librarian who rescues books that will be trashed to make room for newer ones. Kirkus called the novel “an enchanting discussion…” 7 p.m. Thursday, June 14, Magers & Quinn, 3038 Hennepin Ave. S, Mpls.

(Courtesy of the publisher)

LaROCHELLE/WOHNOUTKA: Author David LaRochelle and illustrator Mike Wohnoutka host a story time featuring their latest collaboration, “Go and Get With Rex,” about a think-outside-the-box dog who participates in a game where contestants bring back items that begin with a letter of the alphabet. But Rex returns with stuff that is not alphabetically correct, always having a perfectly good reason (according to him) why his item should be accepted. 10:30 a.m. Saturday, June 15, Red Balloon Bookshop, 891 Grand Ave., St. Paul.

MIDSTREAM READING SERIES: Hosts poets reading from their original work: Danika Stegman, Paul Dickinson, Chelsea DesAutels and Ezra David Mattes. 7:30 p.m. Thursday, June 13, United Church-Unitarian, 732 Holly Ave., St. Paul.

POETRY NIGHT: Sandra Larson and former Minnesota poet laureate Joyce Sutphen read from their work. 7 p.m. Monday, June 10, Magers & Quinn, 3038 Hennepin Ave. S., Mpls.

J. Ryan Stradal (Courtesy of Franco Tettamanti)

J. RYAN STRADAL: Minnesota native celebrates the paperback edition of his widely praised novel “Saturday Night at the Lakeside Supper Cub,” about three generations of a family that runs a supper club, a kind of restaurant unique to the Midwest, and the changing landscape of a small Minnesota town as fast food takes over. Like Stradal’s two previous novels, this is a big-hearted story with a Minnesota vibe. Stradal grew up in Hastings and lives in California. In conversation with Kate Gibson, one half of the pair hosting ABC Audio podcast “The Book Case with Kate and Charlie Gibson,” currently working on a master’s degree in library and information sciences at St. Catherine University in St. Paul.  Stradal is the first “Good Morning America” writer-in-residence. 6 p.m. Monday, June 10, Next Chapter Booksellers, 38 S. Snelling Ave., St. Paul.

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Mary Haugh, an investor who focuses on revitalizing housing stock from the 1920s in St. Paul and Minneapolis through her company, The Second Stripe, explained some of her recent choices through cards she displayed throughout her latest fixer upper on Palace Avenue in the Macalester-Groveland neighborhood of St. Paul.

Front yard patio

The Adirondack chairs positioned on a circular bluestone patio were hand-made in Inver Grove Heights by Mike of Woodworks Plus.

Entryway niches

“Old houses always have surprises, and this time it was a wonderfully pleasant one,” reads a card in the entry. “These sweet little closets were hidden behind the walls for at least 50 years.”

Wallpaper

The home features wallpaper by Rifle Paper Co. of Winter Park, Florida. It started as a stationery brand, Haugh explains on a display card, but has expanded into fabrics and other home products.

The Peacock pattern is used in the blue-themed bathroom upstairs.

Living room fireplace

This wood-burning fireplace is original to the house, along with the hearth. The firebox and chimney brickwork was tuckpointed and repaired, new flues added, a hefty steel liner placed and a cap to top it off. It’s been inspected for safety and is ready to use. Note the instructions engraved in the original damper handle.

Living room chandelier

Haugh placed a chandelier in the living room to show people there was a spot for a dining table where one could serve meals, play games or work on a laptop.

Cabinetry and built-ins

The custom white oak cabinetry in the house was made in West St. Paul and Stillwater by craftsman Nick Dooley. The cabinets were hand finished and assembled and installed “with enough leveling lasers to do a light show,” Haugh wrote in her display card.

Appliances

The kitchen features a Verona dual-fuel double oven. In addition to the two ovens, there’s also a convection oven/microwave.

Sink

The kitchen also features a Kraus “workstation” sink. An inset shelf allows for a drying rack, cutting board, colanders and all sorts of accessories to be used with it. It helps provide more counter or work space.

Upstairs hallway bathroom

To accommodate younger members of the household, everything in this bathroom was slightly adapted to be the right height and size for children. The Bocchi sinks came from Italy.

Playroom

Remember how Harry Potter slept in a cupboard underneath the stairs at Number 4, Privet Drive? In this case, the “cupboard” is a closet-like playroom within a bedroom. The removable benches were custom-made by a neighbor, handyman Mike Johnson. The benches have secret compartments on two levels to hide treasures or to store LEGO bricks. The display shelf, shaped like a round theater stage, is ready to host LEGO and Playmobil scenes. The tiny space is even wired with outlets to plug in some string lights.

Finished basement

The finished lower level now has multiple options for use. The main area is staged as a game room with a wet bar. A second “away room” can be closed off with French doors if people would like to sit and watch the game on the comfy sectional or have a quiet workspace.

Heating and cooling

A large furnace is part of a new full-house HVAC system. Haugh had ductwork installed throughout that now services three heating and cooling zones.

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Who would think that the most uplifting, life-affirming piece of musical theater to have emerged from Broadway in the last decade would be about Sept. 11, 2001? But bless the Canadian theater-creating couple of Irene Sankoff and David Hein for finding a silver lining in this very dark cloud.

The U.S. government responded to the events of Sept. 11 by immediately closing American air space. This meant that 38 inbound international flights that were already in the air were diverted to Gander, Newfoundland, near the easternmost point of North America. Overnight, a town of 9,000 almost doubled in population, hosting passengers from around the world for five days.

How they did it is the basis of “Come From Away,” the musical that Sankoff and Hein created from research that not only included interviews with locals and travelers involved, but also an education in the Celtic-flavored folk styles of the Canadian Maritime Provinces. Yes, they found that shock, anger, fear, sadness and bewilderment were present in these passengers, but they also pieced together a story of kindness, generosity and an emerging sense of faith in humanity when it was most desperately needed.

A North American touring production of “Come From Away” has landed at St. Paul’s Ordway Music Theater for 10 days, and it might be the ideal elixir for any hearts battered by a world full of suffering and cynicism. With an extraordinarily versatile high-energy cast of 12 rapidly transforming into multiple characters, it’s a fascinating story firmly rooted in very relatable realism.

And, despite tragedy being its catalyst, “Come From Away” is actually a musical comedy about culture clash, unlikely friendships and making the best of a bad situation.

Each actor fully inhabits whomever they happen to be at that moment, be they the locals turning everything into lodging, an animal rescuer, a reporter on her first week on the job, or such travelers as a gay couple and an African American man uncertain how they’ll be received.

Director Christopher Ashley earned a Tony nomination and an Olivier Award (the London equivalent) for this production, and it’s easy to see why, for “Come From Away” requires a rare combination of tightly choreographed teamwork and distinctly individual characters.

While each performer makes a strong impression, the performance I attended featured a memorable turn by an understudy, Dekontee Tucrkile, as a woman awaiting news of her New York firefighter son (her sad ballad, “I Am Here,” was delivered with exquisite tenderness). She was complemented well by Kristin Litzenberg as the joke-telling schoolteacher who befriends her and Addison Garner as the pioneering pilot, Beverley Bass, who presents a show-stopping memoir in song, “Me and the Sky.” Kudos also to Shawn W. Smith, Stanton Morales and Molly Samson as characters transformed by love lost and found.

But the glue that holds the show together is the excellent eight-piece band led by Sarah Pool Wilhelm, which weaves in and out of the action and concludes this inspiring musical with a post-curtain-call jam session.

‘Come From Away’

When: 1:30 and 7 p.m. Sunday; 7:30 p.m. Tuesday and Wednesday; 2 and 7:30 p.m. Thursday; 7:30 p.m. Friday; 2 and 7:30 p.m. Saturday; 1:30 p.m. next Sunday

Where: Ordway Music Theater, 345 Washington St., St. Paul

Tickets: $180-$35, available at 651-224-4222 or ordway.org

Capsule: If your faith in humanity could use a boost and your heart some softening, get to the Ordway.

Rob Hubbard can be reached at wordhub@yahoo.com.

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The official first day of summer isn’t until June 20, but already, there’s a sure stellar sign of summer on the rise. When the night sky finally darkens around 10:30, the “Summer Triangle” emerges in the eastern sky. Unlike the 65 to 70 official constellations we can see around here, the Summer Triangle is an “asterism,” a distinct pattern or picture in the stars that isn’t an official constellation. Most asterisms are composed of bright stars from various constellations, and the Summer Triangle is no exception. It’s a sight that can be enjoyed even from a brightly lit urban area, making it accessible to all. Simply look for the three brightest stars in the low to mid-eastern sky, and you’ve found it. Each of these stars is the brightest in their respective constellations and has unique characteristics.

The most brilliant and highest star in the Summer Triangle is Vega. No, it’s not named after the car Vega, one of the 1970s rollouts from Chevrolet that had a very brief run. Vega is an Arabic name that roughly translates in English as “falling or swooping.” That definition certainly doesn’t apply to Vega, at least not at this time of the year, as it rises in the evening. Vega is the brightest star in a small constellation called Lyra the Lyre, an old-fashioned harp. Vega is over 25 light-years away, with just one light-year equaling nearly 6 trillion miles. The light we see from Vega this week left that star when Beanie Babies were wildly popular in the late ’90s. Vega is about 2 million miles in diameter and 17,000 degrees Fahrenheit. at its surface, more than twice the diameter and 7,000 degrees hotter than our sun. You can tell that Vega is one of the hotter stars in the sky by the faint blue tinge it shines with.

The second-brightest star in the Summer Triangle is Altair, located in the lower right corner of the eastern sky. Altair, the brightest star in the Aquila constellation, is the closest star in the triangle, just over 16 light-years away. Despite its proximity, even the best backyard telescopes won’t reveal anything special about Altair. However, astronomers have discovered that Altair has a fast spin through spectroscopic analysis. It completes a full rotation on its axis every 10 hours, compared to our sun’s monthlong rotation. This rapid spin causes Altair to be much fatter at its equator than at its poles, giving it an oval shape. It’s a star with a beer belly!

My favorite star in the Summer Triangle is the faintest member in the left-hand corner. It’s Deneb, the brightest star in the constellation Cygnus the Swan, also known as the Northern Cross. Deneb is one incredibly large and luminous star. According to the latest data, this star at the tail of the heavenly swan is at least 1,500 light years away but very possibly much farther! As bright as Deneb is, considering its vast distance, it’s easy to conclude that it’s enormous. In fact, it may be over 200 million miles in diameter and emitting at least 55,000 times more light than our sun, but probably much more. If you could magically pull Deneb in from its 1,500 light-year distance to the proximity of Vega, about 25 light-years away, the only thing that would be brighter in the sky would be the full moon! Deneb is one of the biggest single things you can see with the naked eye in our early summer skies!

Mike Lynch is an amateur astronomer and retired broadcast meteorologist for WCCO Radio in Minneapolis/St. Paul. He is the author of “Stars: a Month by Month Tour of the Constellations,” published by Adventure Publications and available at bookstores and adventurepublications.net. Mike is available for private star parties. You can contact him at mikewlynch@comcast.net.

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