Artscape is on break and will return Wednesday, Sept. 23, with our usual mix of news and picks. Between now and then, we’ll keep you current on events worth going out for.
The picks
Thursday (Sept. 17) at the Dakota: Patricia Barber. The Chicago-based singer, pianist, songwriter and bandleader isn’t like anyone else, and no one else is like her. You can group her very loosely with artists like Madeleine Peyroux, Gretchen Parlato or Tierney Sutton, but she won’t stay put. Her songs are pensive and poetic, her lyrics are complex, and she mixes coolness and warmth without diluting either. Her low-vibrato alto is both purr and whisper. 7 p.m. FMI and tickets ($35).
Friday at the Solar Arts Building: Opening reception, 16th Annual Fall Fine Arts Show. A vast collection of paintings, photographs, sculptures, mixed-media art and more by 150+ Northeast Minneapolis Arts Association (NEMAA) member artists. The opening reception includes a silent auction, live music, food by Chowgirls, craft beer and open artist studios. 6-10 p.m. Free. The show is open to the public Thursday-Sunday through Sept. 27.
Opens Friday at Artistry: “All My Sons.” Arthur Miller’s make-it-or-break-it play – his first closed after four performances, and he vowed to find another line of work if this one failed – won the 1947 New York Drama Critics’ Circle Award for Best New Play and established him as a leading voice in the American theater. David Coral is Joe Keller, who commits a crime during World War II that causes many deaths, then frames his business partner. Years later, his sin comes back to haunt him. Sean Byrd directs. In the Black Box Theater at Artistry, formerly Bloomington Theatre and Arts Center. FMI and tickets ($27/$23/$19). Through Oct. 4.
Friday and Saturday at the O’Shaughnessy: Ananya Dance Theatre: “Roktim: Nurture Incarnadine.” Beginning and ending outdoors, using forms of Indian dance, yoga and martial arts, this world premiere dance concert focuses on women’s roles in the global food system. Collaboratively created by choreographer Ananya Chatterjea, visual artist Seitu Jones and behavioral artist Marcus Young, with poems by Heid Erdrich and Diane Wilson and a new sound-and-music score by Greg Schutte, it’s contemporary dance with a conscience. To prepare for “Roktim,” Ananya worked alongside farmers, and the farmers participated in movement improvisations and shared stories about their relationship to the land. The beginning and ending sections involve audience participation. This Woman of Substance event launches O’Shaughnessy’s 2015-16 season. 7 p.m. FMI and tickets ($17-$27).
Saturday at the Fitzgerald Theater and Exchange Street: “A Prairie Home Companion” Season Opener and Street Dance. Tickets to the live broadcast are long gone, but no problem; all the music, sound effects and stories will be piped outdoors to Exchange Street. After that, stick around for three hours of live dancing music, sing-alongs led by host Garrison Keillor, contests for cash prizes, and food and liquid refreshments available for purchase. If this is Keillor’s likely last season, will this be the last street dance? 5-10 p.m. Free.
