Author: rakemag

Kats Fukusawa loves to mix things up. The Japanese native first learned dance by watching West Side Story and now has eight years’ experience with Indian dance as part of the local troupe Ragamala. He joyfully interweaves his own work with healthy skeins of other world cultures—Irish, Latin, jazz, whatever strikes his fancy. In Paneer Masala (which translates to “spicy cheese”), he embraces both the flavor and the kitsch value of cheesiness. In these four short pieces, he’ll pay tribute to African-American culture; explore the many meanings of the term “exotic,” with the help of an otherworldly Yma Sumac song; and send up Japanese monster movies in the piece “Blue Gojira.” (612) 340-1725; www.southerntheater.org

It’s amazing what some people will throw away. While most of us ignore scraps of discarded paper lying on the ground, Davy Rothbart collects them, scans them into his computer, and publishes them in his magazine, Found, and on www.foundmagazine.com. Taken together, the tossed-away and lost scraps become a wonderful showcase of accidental art, offering tantalizing glimpses into the lives of unknowable strangers. Together with his brother Peter, Rothbart is motoring across all fifty states to promote his new book, also called Found. The event promises to be more comedy and performance art than art exhibition, with the brothers sharing secrets of their favorite found items, some of which they’ve reworked into songs and even a short play. Meanwhile, the local Creative Electric collective has been busy with a silkscreening project designed to increase the number of groovy T-shirts in the world; it’s worth checking out. 2201 2nd St. N.E., Minneapolis; (612) 706-7879; www.creativeelectricstudios.com

The Jerome Foundation and Intermedia Arts have been pushing boundaries for upwards of twenty years with this annual show of installation art; this year, they expand their mission outside the gallery space. In one of five commissioned pieces, the “installation” is the streets and sidewalks of Lyn/Lake, as Sean Kelly-Pegg openly borrows an idea from Canadian artist Janet Cardiff in creating his own version of one of her portable sound tours. As an audience of one, you check out a CD player and are directed on a neighborhood excursion that incorporates interviews with local characters, historical tidbits, and invented scenarios. Think of it as an engaged alternative to your iPod. Also on view: works by Barbra Nei, Barbara Claussen, tectonic industries, and Marcus Young. 2822 Lyndale Ave. S., Minneapolis; (612) 871-4444; www. intermediaarts.org

You’ve probably seen Robert Polidori’s stark yet sumptuous architectural images in the New Yorker; here’s your chance to view some in their full-scale grandeur. In a brand-new series on view at the Weinstein, the photographer creates gorgeous, masterful, and telling pictures of the new New York. Times Square looks as if the rain Travis Bickle wished for finally came; Prada’s fabulously expensive, Rem Koolhaas-designed boutique completes SoHo’s transformation from scruffy artists’ enclave to sleek retail power center. And here’s something to really juice those who suffer from a “Minneapple” inferiority complex: These New York photographs haven’t been on display anywhere else yet—not even in New York. 908 W. 46th St., Minneapolis; (612) 822-1722

Guyton and Walker are two up-and-comers whose work was most recently seen, respectively, at the Whitney Biennial and at the legendary Paula Cooper gallery in New York. For this show, the pair engaged in some pretty heady collaborative hijinks. They subjected a limited selection of imagery—including a designer couch, a knife blade, a private jet, and a photograph of another art duo, Swiss artists Peter Fischli and David Weiss—to a formidable array of techniques: scanning, spray-painting, cutting, computer printing, silk-screening, etc. You might say that they’re exploding, expanding upon, then giving a tech update to the Warhol tradition of multiples. As with the exhibit title, XXXXX BBB XXXXXXFFFFFF FFF, the works are interestingly off-putting—it’s incumbent on the viewer to dig in, do some decoding, and figure out just what’s going on. 2500 University Ave., Suite C2, St. Paul; (651) 917-1851

A humble fugitive trying to lead a life on the straight-and-narrow. A self-righteous inspector chasing the past. An orphan child in love with a man at war. The Victor Hugo classic, on a return trip to the Ordway for three weeks, has more characters than the Michael Jackson trial, but entertains with much more dignity. The original Broadway performance ended its sixteen-year run last May as the third-longest-running show in Broadway history—and now it’s hit the road as this four-million-dollar “replicate” production, which has drawn record sellout crowds in London, Chicago, and Boston. It’s the only production of Les Mis currently running in the States, so catch it while you can (or settle for more Jacko Court TV drama). (651) 224-4222; www.ordway.org

If classic whodunits really float your boat, you’re in luck. It’s reasonable to deduce that you’ll leave the Showboat with suitable closure on Agatha Christie’s crime classic The Mousetrap. It’s an archetypal Christie setup: Snowed in at an ancient manor, guests find themselves embroiled in a murder mystery when one of them turns up brutally strangled. As the killer walks among them, all wonder whodunit—and who’s next. The University of Minnesota Actors Theater adds flair to the story by interspersing choreographed olios—1890s-style show tunes—to amuse and entertain. But can they be trusted? Hey, who’s that lurking in the shadows? Harriet Island, St. Paul; (651) 227-1100; www.showboattheater.com

Now here’s a worthy import. The Guthrie Lab closes its 2003-2004 season with a play the London Guardian called “the year’s funniest and most important.” Winning the “triple crown” of British theater awards, Blue/Orange depicts a struggle between two psychiatrists over the care of a soon-to-be-released Afro-Caribbean patient. Christopher suffers from multiple personality disorder, but the feud that ensues between his doctors—idealistic Bruce and conservative Robert—is the real heart of the matter. Infusing heavy-hitting issues of race, class, and human isolation with a refreshing dose of humor, Blue/Orange is sure to make as many waves here as it did across the pond. 700 N. 1st St., Minneapolis; (612) 377-2224; www.guthrietheater.org

If Richard Pryor were thirty years younger and tapping the same inspirational vein as the South Park guys, he might be very like Dave Chappelle: smart, scatological, splenetic, and not interested in slaughtering sacred cows so much as stampeding the whole herd off a cliff, or maybe through Dick Cheney’s front yard. His sketch series, Chappelle’s Show, is one of Comedy Central’s sharpest and most consistently hilarious offerings, thanks to his take-no-prisoners attitude and recurring bits like “Charlie Murphy’s True Stories” (that’s Eddie’s real-life brother), featuring Chappelle’s blistering impersonations of guys like Rick James and Prince. For a preview, check out the show’s first season on DVD; on stage, Chappelle is sure to be even more ferociously funny—and they won’t be bleeping him, either. 910 Hennepin Ave., Minneapolis; (612) 339-7007; www.hennepintheatredistrict.com

Not many Americans remember that we were once at war with Finland, and unlike the Vietnamese, Finns have not tended to migrate here and open restaurants that might remind us of this history. Lori Luchsinger and Karen Salmey, therefore, have been left pretty much on their own when it comes to satisfying the metro’s pent-up demand for pulla. They’ve been running out of it at their new coffeeshop near Ford Parkway on Snelling. But since pulla is really just cardamom bread, we recommend piirakat, a pastry crust wrapped around sweetened creamy rice and topped with egg butter. It’s possibly the most soothing food in the world.