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MN Shortlist is your weekly curated roundup of recommended events from MPR News, highlighting standout performances, exhibits and gatherings around the region.

 — St. Olaf College is currently in its Sesquicentennial. As part of the 150th birthday celebration, St. Olaf musical groups will 

perform a pair of concerts at Orchestra Hall

 in Minneapolis. A variety of musical styles will be offered, including classical repertory and modern pieces in styles like funk, salsa and swing. On hand will be St. Olaf Choir, St. Olaf Orchestra, St. Olaf Band and St. Olaf Jazz Band. 

 — In the Heart of the Beast Puppet and Mask Theatre was founded in 1973 and has since become a Minneapolis institution. Every first and third Saturday of the month, 

they open their puppet library to the public.

 The magic of seeing puppets and masks that have represented stories throughout the theater’s past — and continue to shape the city and state's storytelling — is like a walking picture book. 

Many of the puppets and masks are also available for check-out at no cost to the public, allowing these time-capsules of art and social engagement to grace community events, activism, school plays, personal celebrations, civic events — and the list goes on. 

 — “The Nacirema Society Requests the honor of your presence at a Celebration of Their first One Hundred Years,” 

now at the Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis

, is a comedy that draws from Black debutante culture. Debutante balls are formal events where young women are introduced to society, traditionally marking their eligibility for marriage. 

Sometimes called cotillions, the term and style vary by region. These gatherings are in the tradition of English debutante balls, featured in TV programs like “Bridgerton.” “The Nacirema Society” uses this as the background for a plot involving blackmail in 1964’s Alabama. The show is written by Pearl Cleage, who also wrote “Blues for an Alabama Sky,” which Guthrie staged in 2023. “The Nacirema Society” begins previews April 19. 

 — What is harder to do in front of a live audience: Sing freely while on pitch alongside accompaniment and flashy lighting? Or be yourself? Ask Mae Simpson. She is bringing both her powerful vocals and her ceaseless presence to 

Originally from South Carolina, she has grown a Midwest following through her unflinchingly bold, sometimes blunt humor and frequently adorable stylings. With her sometimes cheeky but always comic charm, audiences may forget they’re not with a best friend. Her music seamlessly blends funk, soul, pop, rock and country. Her voice — like her personality — is bold, unapologetic and rich. 

 — The Mixed Blood theater of Minneapolis and a group of St. Paul students 

 the world premiere of an immersive and participatory play about climate resilience and justice. Audience members will follow a “river” and actors around the campus at Open World Learning Community School in St. Paul. Props and costumes are made from recycled and upcycled materials. 

‘Embracing Fallibility: A Neon Exhibition by James Akers’

 — Brooklyn, New York-based neon artist James Akers takes a medium often associated with commercial retro sensibilities and twists it. Take his piece “Soul Selling Timer.” Akers fills a clear cube with a knot of wires, a countdown ticker and the glowing green phrase “Data Driven.” It has all the menace of a bomb. The work is on view at the

Foci Minnesota Center for Glass Arts in Minneapolis for Akers’ solo exhibition 

“There are celebrations of human intuition and fallibility throughout the show,” Akers writes. “From the fallible misinformation arrow playing off of our vulnerability to be manipulated by sensationalized targeted lies, to the improvised riffing of the doodles and tangles. These fallibilities are made more apparent via the inhuman precision of computers.” See the neon glow . 

Jacob Aloi

Author

Anika Besst

Alex V. Cipolle

MN Shortlist is your weekly curated roundup of recommended events from MPR News, highlighting standout performances, exhibits and gatherings around the region.


MN Shortlist: April 17-23

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