Category: Article

Two factors keeping classical music fresh are movie soundtracks, which give mass audiences an emotional entry point into the genre, and the work of smart young composers like Kevin Puts. Puts has been dazzling audiences with inventive new compositions and interpretations of the standard repertoire. This Minnesota Orchestra performance pairs the world premiere of his Sinfonia concertante for Five Solo Instruments and Orchestra–which spotlights flute, oboe, violin, bassoon, and cello–with Also sprach Zarathustra, the Strauss work made famous by Stanley Kubrick’s sci-fi classic. 612-371-5656; www.minnesotaorchestra.org

Vasen rocks with such maniacal glee that the recently painted walls of the Cedar might peel back a layer when these enthusiastic Swedes take the stage. This is a folk band, mind you, but the Vasen gang sees no need to give up modern conveniences like running water and electricity. You can bet that if the ancient inventors of the nyckelharpa had had access to an amp, they’d surely have used it. Vasen takes such a progressive approach to bawdy and beautiful traditional numbers that the folk community could have directed them over to Ozzfest headquarters–but the genuine love these guys exhibit for the songs can win over even the classicist folk-rock old-timers. 416 Cedar Ave. S., Minneapolis; 612-338-2674; www.thecedar.org

Rhett Miller used to compose perfect road songs and winsome alt-pop melodies for his band the Old 97s. On his own, however, he seems a little lost, mining some faraway alt-rock fantasy in which matters of hair and fashion seem to play a central role. What gives, Rhett? What was it, back then, that helped you write such gems’a muse-like girlfriend, a really great dog, the ramble of life on the road? We know you’ve still got it in ya; we’re just waiting for that Fight Songs-era spark of inspiration to return. Maybe your creative mind worked better when it wasn’t covered up by all that gorgeous anchorwoman hair. We know a good barber; let’s talk before the show. 612-332-1775; www.first-avenue.com

The presence of Margaux is almost reason enough to buy one of the sparkly new lofts in downtown St. Paul. Imagine strolling just a few steps from home to tuck into a steamy bowl of mussels, followed by a crusty grilled ham and Gruyre sandwich. Why, it could be more convenient than your own dining room! You might also sit at the bar and lose yourself in the giant Van Gogh-inspired mural while taking comfort in perfectly seared scallops with a confit of leek and vanilla sauce. The crispy, buttery frogs’ legs Provenal could redefine the bar snack. Margaux excels at hosting intimate gatherings, so save the big parties for your big loft, and share Margaux with someone you want to get close with. 486 Robert St. N., St. Paul; 651-407-6438

If the Happy Gnome is any indication, the gastro-pub craze has finally hit town. At this friendly Selby-Dale joint, the quality of the food matches the high caliber of the twenty-five select beers on tap–plus the more than ninety bottled options. Some might even consider the Gnome’s menu slightly upscale for a pub. For instance, the open-faced chicken sandwich comes with bright, fragrant pesto slathered on a crusty baguette, and the hefty bison patty offers a surprise of bacon tucked inside. Crowd-pleasers like the salty rosemary fries seem heaven-sent when paired with a frosty Belgian ale. 498 Selby Ave., St. Paul; 651-287-2018

Frank Theatre continues its love affair with Suzan-Lori Parks, the contemporary African-American playwright, novelist, and screenwriter with a talent for sharp social commentary. Parks’ Obie Award-winning play Venus is based on the life story of Saartje Baartman, a legendary performer of South African descent who, in the early 1800s, traveled to London in hopes of striking it rich as a stage dancer. But instead, thanks to her profusely padded posterior, she wound up on the freak-show circuit, bearing the stage name “Venus Hottentot.” Baartman’s story is a tragic one; all her life, she was mocked and treated inhumanely. Her dubious performing career–possibly under circumstances of enslavement–sparked a court battle. She was subjected to scientific experiments. After her death at age twenty-six, her remains were displayed as an oddity at Paris’ Musee de l’Homme, where they remained until 1976, when finally her body was returned to South Africa for proper burial. Traffic Zone Center for Visual Art; 250 3rd Ave. N., Minneapolis; 612-724-3760; www.franktheatre.org

Ten Thousand Things is a company that specializes in bringing theatrical works to halfway houses, battered women’s shelters, and prisons–in other words, to folks who could use a little more art in their lives. The company usually performs in lunchrooms and common spaces, often under fluorescent lights and with minimal props. Still, their work has been consistently heralded by critics whoÕve ventured into, say, the state-penitentiary system to take in shows alongside the inmates. In a Garden pairs two comic operettas by Gertrude Stein with one by living legend Kevin Kling. After bringing fall-down laughter to various lockdown facilities, Ten Thousand Things is giving a less captive audience the chance to see In a Garden in a limited public run in downtown Minneapolis. 1011 Washington Ave. S., Minneapolis; 612-215-2650; www.tenthousandthings.org

Timing can be a blessing or a curse. Floyd Collins, a bluegrass musical that premiered in 1994, is based on the buzz that arose, almost seventy years earlier, in 1925, when a Kentucky cave-diver became trapped underground. The incident is said to have sparked the first-ever American media circus. Although the parallel to recent tragic events is uncanny, Latte Da artistic director Peter Rothstein said he programmed Floyd Collins long before the mining disasters in West Virginia and Pennsylvania. Rothstein had entertained thoughts of postponing the show’s run to avoid accusations of poor taste. But the sweet sounds of country music pulled him through. Loring Playhouse; 1633 Hennepin Ave., Minneapolis; 612-486-5757; www.latteda.org

If you don’t like how the government is spending your tax dollars, you could stop paying them. But that approach will only bite you in the end, as Henry David Thoreau discovered in 1846, when he withheld his taxes in protest of the United States-Mexican War. He was tossed in the clinker. This play, written by Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee (of Inherit the Wind fame) during the Vietnam War, makes a timely reappearance, but it likely won’t rile up the public the way it did in the seventies, when its controversial anti-war message led to it being shut down on various stages. As for Thoreau’s act of civil disobedience, he may have paid the taxman in the end, but he never did cough up the five bucks Harvard College wanted before it would issue his diploma. So there. 245 Cedar Ave. S., Minneapolis; 612-333-3010; www.theatreintheround.org

A few years ago, we had more interest in Canada’s hockey players than its ballet dancers. Les Grands Ballets Canadiens had a reputation for stodgy, brittle, ultra-traditional interpretations of classics, and, short of an underfed ballerina passing out mid-plie, nothing too exciting was going to happen on its stage. But in 2000, artistic director Gradimir Pankov took over and snapped those tiny Canucks into one of the world’s most startling and inspiring modern companies. With cutting-edge, European-style performances and creative interpretations of traditional works, its shows are one of Montreal’s finest attractions these days. Currently the company is touring with a program featuring “Six Dances,” “Forgotten Land,” and “Bella Figura”–which, by the way, contains partial nudity. Oh, Canada, indeed. 84 Church St. S.E., Minneapolis; 612-624-2345; www.northrop.umn.edu