READINGS
True Lies
As a former editor here, Jennifer Vogel penned some excellent Rake stories: on the emptying of North Dakota, on the necessity of libraries, on walking around a city that’s not exactly pedestrian-friendly. But none was as, uh, memorable as her own memoir, Flim-Flam Man, a book about life with a father who was also a con artist and counterfeiter on the lam from the FBI. While the book was well-received on its own, it was also seized upon by an impressive team of Hollywood players: director/screenwriter Jez Butterworth (The Birthday Girl) and producer Bill Horberg (Cold Mountain, The Talented Mr. Ripley). Tonight they’ll be joined by Vogel and some local actors at the Guthrie for a Screenwriter’s Workshop reading of Butterworth’s script. No word yet on whether the shooting of the movie will go local, too … –Julie Caniglia
7:30 p.m., Guthrie Theater, 818 S. Second St., Minneapolis; 612-377-2224; $10.
MUSIC
Dee Dee Bridgewater
Bridgewater won a Tony for her role in The Wiz, won a Grammy for an Ella Fitzgerald tribute, had early-career dabbles in fusion jazz and R & B; more recently, she recorded a disk dedicated to Kurt Weill, and another of Parisian café music sung completely in French. But her latest, Red Earth, ranks with Dear Ella as her best yet, featuring a seamlessly buoyant mélange of American jazz and African pop from Mali. She’s bringing over seven African musicians for a mere two weeks to supplement her marvelous trio (which includes ace Nuyorican pianist Edsel Gomez) and the Dakota has bagged two of those precious nights. –Britt Robson
7 & 9:30 p.m., Dakota Jazz Club & Restaurant, 1010 Nicollet Ave., Minneapolis; 612-332-1010; $60 & $45.
Humanboy Dons a Girlish Charm
If you’re looking for an agreeable local show this evening, with a slightly more manageable cover charge, I recommend the Humanboy show at the Varsity. Brie Harthun lends her sweet Bjork-influenced vocals to the edgy folk guitar of Ben Berg and Geoff Fischbein. Toss in a touch of synth, and you’ve got Humanboy: “At times traditional, radical, and both; always fresh and, yes – unexpected.” They’ll be headlining tonight, which unfortunately means they don’t go on until 11 p.m., but if you like traditional acoustic folk (with a light jazzy edge or a poppy air) you’ll enjoy the music of Molly Dean and Ari Herstand before the main act. This should be an excellent show, with Humanboy playing new songs, as well as ones from their CD.
9 p.m., Varsity Theater, 1308 4th St. S.E., Minneapolis; 612-604-0222; $8.
SOCIAL POLITICS
The Politics of Possibility
You could actually make it a whole evening at the Varsity tonight. Before the musical extravaganza begins, Policy and a Pint will be hosting “The Death of Environmentalism” with Ted Nordhaus and Michael Shellenberger, authors (or should I say creators) of Break Through. Tired of the same old griping, the cynicism and unbudgingly negative perspective with no solutions? This might be for you. Nordhaus and Shellenberger offer “a new politics for a new century.” And they might have something here worth pondering.
5:30 p.m., Varsity Theater, 1308 4th St. S.E., Minneapolis; 612-604-0222; $10 (students $5).
BOOKS & AUTHORS
Patchett Sings Another Bel Canto
When a writer as accomplished as Ann Patchett has another book published, we must all stop and listen. Perhaps read. And maybe, if we’re lucky, we won’t be disappointed. This doesn’t happen too often, but if an Orange Prize-winning, Pen/Faulkner Award-winning author can’t do it, then by dogs who can? Patchett’s latest and fifth novel, Run — which she will be discussing this evening — has already been compared to her best-selling Bel Canto. Following a father’s efforts to protect his children over a one-day period, Patchett manages to weave together a story about shared humanity. Take in her presentation and enjoy the musical offerings of the Kelly Rossum Quartet. (I have to admit I still love this sound coming from a man with a mohawk.)
7 p.m., Fitzgerald Theater, 10 E. Exchange St., St. Paul; 651-290-1200; $15.
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