DANCE
Contemporary Dance Triptych
The SCUBA Touring Network is a co-operative enterprise bringing together dance artists from Minneapolis, Seattle, New York, and Philadelphia in an effort to take regional talent to a national scale. This weekend, the fifth annual SCUBA Touring Network brings three new contemporary concert dance artists to Minneapolis. At the top of the list is Tania Isaac Dance, from Philadelphia. This St. Lucia-born embodiment of sensuality and strength will present Stuporwoman, a physically explosive, modern, Caribbean dance piece. Justin Jones and New York dancer Chris Yon will present Pear Cowboy Planet, a vaudeville-style tragicomedy about a lonely boy. And Zoe Scofield and Juniper Shuey, from Seattle, will present Find Your Own Way Out, a ballet drama. There’s a meet-and-greet the artists post-show event this evening, and a post-show discussion on Saturday.
Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m., The Southern Theater, 1420 Washington Avenue South, Minneapolis, 612-340-1725, $16.
THEATER AND PERFORMANCE
Would You Like Some MacMole with Your MacTaco?
Teatro del Pueblo has based their latest performance on Eric Schlosser’s Fast Food Nation. (If you didn’t see it, go find it!) MacTaco Land tells a tale of two Latino brothers living in small-town Minnesota as they try to save the family diner after their father’s death. I haven’t seen it yet, but Teatro del Pueblo puts on some great shows, with a great sense of humor. I’d say it’s definitely worth a shot. Besides, it’s based on Fast Food Nation; how can they go wrong?
Saturday at 8 p.m., Sunday at 7 p.m., The Loading Dock Theater, 509 Sibley St., St. Paul, 651-224-8806; $18 ($14 student/senior/fringe). Sunday’s performance is a pay-what-you-can performance. There’s a suggested donation, but those without means can see it for free.
The Picaresque for the Little Rascals
Do you have the kids this weekend? The niece? The nephew? The grandkids? A boyfriend? Come hear Paulino tell tales of knights and windmills in The Adventures of Don Quixote on Saturday afternoon. This unique, interactive performance about Cervantes’ Quixote is bilingual, and clearly intended for youth, but that’s not to say adults can’t enjoy it. It’s Quixote, for crying out loud! You can never get too much of him, and you’re certainly never too old.
Saturday at 2 p.m., Dreamland Arts, 677 Hamline Ave. N., St. Paul, 651-645-5506; $5-$7.
Hanging on the Edge of Your Seat
If straight out Hollywood-style action and suspense is what you’re looking for, then go watch two mountain climbers get trapped on the edge of a 27,000-foot glacial wall. The Jungle Theater is whipping up some serious storms and avalanches for its performance of K2, directed and designed by Bain Boehlke.
Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m., Sunday at 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m., The Jungle Theater, 2951 Lyndale Ave S. Minneapolis, 612-822-7063; $24-$36 (senior, student, and group discounts). Half-price rush tickets are available this evening.
FILM
transcending the i
Well, I can’t say that experimental video is a flawless genre by any means, but if you’re a little adventurous, and a wee bit artsy, it’s always worth a try. Tonight, 12 local artists present their experimental videos in The Glass Eye: Put Fist Into Mouth, by Anthony Rocco Sclavi; Snow, by Lora Stoyanova; fundamental knowledge regarding prototypes in quintessential accomplices?, by Erin Hael; Nicotine Induced Dream, by Benjamin Faga; Duplex, by Peter McLarnan; And they loved, by Katinka Galanos; Doorways, by Nicholas Conbere and Joshua Clausen; Untitled, by Mason Eubanks; to tomorrow, by John Fleischer; where two between, by Cheryl Wilgren Clyne; and Tandem, by Adam Ginsberg. (You just know the ones with no capitals in the titles have to be great!) Stay for free refreshments following the screening.
Friday at 7 p.m., INFLUX Dept. of Art, Regis Center for Art, University of Minnesota, 405 21st Ave. S., 612-624-6518; free.
Up for a more mainstream flick? A few doozies start tonight. Personally, I’m going to a late-night showing of Grindhouse, because, really, you just shouldn’t see a Tarantino film before 10 p.m., and well, it is Tarantino, so it must be seen. But if you’re not into zombies, strippers, and gnarly stuntmen killers — maybe you prefer a more traditional scam movie — you might be up for The Hoax, based on the true story of Clifford Irving. Neither turning you on? Go see First Snow, but in all honesty, who really needs to see another flick about a guy who turns his life upside down after getting his fortune told?
Check local schedules for Grindhouse.
Check local schedules for The Hoax.
Check local schedules for First Snow.
MUSIC AND COMEDY
TV’s Grooviest Variety Show Serves up Timeless Comedy
How long has it been now? 40 years? The Smothers Brothers have been entertaining us with their music and antics for a mighty long time. And chances are, they won’t be around for another 40 years, so maybe it’s time to go see them, eh? It’s a one-night deal, so make it on down to Orchestra Hall tonight to hear the Tom and Dick sing, play guitar and bass, and re-create their signature comedic routines. (What every happened to Harry?)
Friday at 8 p.m., Orchestra Hall, 1111 Nicollet Mall, Minneapolis, 612-371-5656; $20.25-$49.25.
Watch a vintage Smothers Brothers video.
MUSIC
Her Father’s Daughter, and More
I first heard Greg Brown on a sunny Iowa City afternoon, lounging on a porch swing with an ice-cold beer in my hand and just the right amount of sweat forming on my nose. It was “Dream Cafe,” and it was beautific. When I met his daughter, years later, it was only as a rival, and I never learned she had her dad’s ambitions. Now, about a decade later, I am made wiser by her visit. Pieta Brown definitely shares her father’s soul. While she’ll never resonate and rasp her way into your guts the way her father does, she’ll work her way in just as sweetly. When it comes down to it, it’s so perfectly clear that this young woman grew up embraced by her father’s circle of artists, including Lucinda Williams and Bo Ramsey. I can’t wait to see her.
Friday at 8 p.m., Cedar Cultural Center, 416 Cedar Ave. S., Minneapolis, 612-338-2674; $10.
Listen to Pieta Brown.
Listen to Greg Brown, just because he’s glorious.
Watch and listen to Lucinda Williams, just because she’s incredible and will be here on the 11th.
Watch and listen to Bo Ramsey with Pieta Brown.
The Pod People
While local musicians The New Standards pride themselves in eloquently making cover songs their own, 1964 The Tribute aims to perfectly imitate the Beatles. They look like them. They sound like them. And since half of the Beatles are already dead, they might as well be them. So, if you’re a huge Beatle-head, or you simply want to relive those hair-pulling, lung-screaming days of the fabulous four, then I guess these guys are just for you.
Saturday at 8 p.m., Orchestra Hall, 1111 Nicollet Mall, Minneapolis, 612-371-5656 ;$19.25-$35.25.
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