It’s been a week of high anxiety over what’s happening (or isn’t) in the Minnesota Orchestra dispute, capped Thursday afternoon by public appeals from Gov. Mark Dayton and Mayor R.T. Rybak for management and the musicians to resolve their differences. As Rybak put it, “The future of the Minnesota Orchestra is at stake.” A day earlier the locked-out musicians penned an essay about the importance of retaining their conductor, Osmo Vänskä, who has said he will have to resign if upcoming Carnegie Hall concerts are canceled — and that the musicians need to be rehearsing the week of Sept. 30. Meanwhile, management is going ahead with the annual Symphony Ball fundraiser at Orchestra Hall tonight — while SOSMN, the orchestra’s musicians and their supporters rally outside.
Our picks through next Friday
Tonight: “Uncle Vanya” opens at the Guthrie. Vanya and his niece, Sonya, work their small country estate, living frugally and keeping their emotions in check. The return of Vanya’s brother-in-law with his beautiful second wife, Elena, throws the family into a turmoil fueled by tea, wine and vodka. Joe Dowling directs Chekhov’s 1899 classic in a version by Irish playwright Brian Friel (“Dancing at Lughnasa”), who’s been called the “Irish Chekhov.” FMI and tickets. 7:30 p.m., 818 South Second St., Minneapolis. Through Oct. 27.
Saturday, Sept. 21, at the State Theatre: Hubbard Street Dance Chicago. Northrop launches its 2013-14 dance season with the famed contemporary dance company. This will be Northrop’s final year in downtown Minneapolis before returning home to the U of M campus and the radically changed Northrop Auditorium. 8 p.m., 805 Hennepin Ave. FMI and tickets. Performance preview at 6:45.
Saturday, Sept. 21, at the New Century Theater: Jeremy Messersmith, The New Century Sessions. In this promising new Minnesota music series, artists both perform and talk about their work. Messersmith is a much-loved, highly-lauded singer/songwriter with multiple recordings including what he calls his “life-cycle trilogy” of “The Alcatraz Kid,” “The Silver City,” and “The Reluctant Graveyard.” Here’s “A Girl, a Boy, and a Graveyard” from the latter. 7 p.m., 615 Hennepin Ave., #145, Minneapolis. FMI and tickets.
Saturday and Sunday, Sept. 21-22, at the Trylon Microcinema: the First Ever Trylon Poster Sale. The mini theater promises “hundreds of gorgeous posters that we’ve taken great care of, if we do say so ourselves … one weekend only and definitely not a yearly occurrence.” Series posters from Hitchcock to Truffaut, in poster size and 11″ x 17″ versions, plus originals and commissioned posters, all priced from $5-$35. 11 a.m. – 3 p.m. both days, 3258 Minnehaha Ave., Minneapolis.
Sunday, Sept. 22: “Claes Oldenburg: The Sixties” opens at the Walker. The largest exhibition to date of work from the pop master’s formative years. If you’ve been to the Walker, you’ve seen Oldenberg’s “Three-Way Plug” (1975), which hangs in a stairwell, and much of the world knows the Sculpture Garden’s iconic “Spoonbridge and Cherry,” which Oldenburg created with Coosje van Bruggen in the 1980s. This big, sprawling show includes a graffiti-inspired installation, sculptures of food, film footage from various Happenings, and a rare presentation of the walk-in structures “Mouse Museum” and “Ray Gun Wing.” Through Jan. 12, 2014. FMI.
Sunday, Sept. 22, at the Amsterdam: Zola Jesus and Stephan Prutsman with SPCO String Quartet; Ian Ding and Ashley Bathgate. Curated by Kate Nordstrum, the SPCO’s Liquid Music series begins with a pop star (Nika Danilova, a.k.a. Zola Jesus), a former SPCO artistic partner (Prutsman), a percussion and cello duo, a world premiere by composer Ted Hearne, and a high level of unpredictability. With SPCO members Stephen Copes, Ruggero Allifranchini, Maiya Papach, and Sarah Lewis. 7 p.m., 6th & Wabasha and downtown St. Paul. FMI and tickets.
Tuesday, Sept. 24, at the Fitzgerald: Kate DiCamillo: The Illuminated Adventures with Cathy Wurzer. A book launch event worthy of renowned children’s author Kate DiCamillo and her next bestseller, “Flora and Ulysses: The Illuminated Adventure,” the story of a girl and a squirrel for readers ages 8-12. MPR’s “Morning Edition” host Wurzer will interview DiCamillo, who will also read from the book. 7 p.m., 10 E. Exchange St., St. Paul. FMI and tickets ($15/$8).
Wednesday and Thursday, Sept. 25 and 26: The Shows. Fall’s Minneapolis-St. Paul Fashion Week features two nights of runway shows by area designers at Aria. Wednesday, Sept. 25: Christopher Straub (“Project Runway” season 6), Cocoon, Lisa Hackwirth, Tim and Thom Navarro, and Samantha Rei. Thursday, Sept. 26: Idle Child, Emily Trevor (formerly known as Union), Caroline Hayden, and Lindsay Hopkins. 105 North 1st St., Minneapolis. Tickets here.
Thursday, Sept. 26, at Once Upon a Crime: open house for Minnesota author Brian Freeman, whose “Spilled Blood” just won the International Thriller Writers Best Novel Award for 2013. First editions will be available for sale. 7 p.m., 604 West 26th St., Minneapolis. Free and open to the public.
Friday, Sept. 27 – Oct. 6, along Lake Superior’s North Shore: Crossing Borders. This annual tour takes you to artists’ studios during prime fall colors time. Travel from Duluth to Grand Portage, stopping along the way to see (and buy) prints, sculptures, jewelry, pots, glass, wood, and textiles. Founding member and potter Dave Yungner died suddenly on July 10; members of his family will be at his studio Sept. 27-30. A few words from Yungner’s artist’s statement: “I live simply, work in solitude, and aim for serenity.” We’ll miss you, Dave. 10 a.m. – 6 p.m. daily.
