Weekend Best Bets: January 13-15

What to check out this weekend

Friday, January 13

King of the theater

WHAT: The Lion King
WHERE: Orpheum Theatre, Minneapolis
WHEN: 8 p.m.
The show that put Minneapolis’s theatre scene on the map is back, 15 year later, having become one of the most successful Broadway shows in history. The puppetry still feels ahead of its time; the music, of course, is timeless. Learn more at hennepintheatretrust.org

Friday, January 13

French kissing

WHAT: Dangerous Liaisons
WHERE: Torch Theater, Minneapolis
WHEN: 7:30 p.m.
Stacia Rice, perhaps our most alluring actress in the Twin Cities, returns to the stage a year after having a baby—and back to form, playing the seductive Marquise in this devilish play of manipulation and sex. Learn more at torchtheater.com

Saturday, January 14

Theatre overnight

WHAT: 24:00:00 Xtreme Theatre Smackdown
WHERE: Anne Simley Theatre, St. Paul
WHEN: 7 p.m.
How good can a play be if it’s created in just 24 hours? You can find out when Theatre Unbound hosts this annual challenge in which local troupes have a day to conjure a full show out of several pre-determined elements (lines of dialogue, props, etc.).  Learn more at theatreunbound.com

Saturday, January 14

Is it hot in here?

WHAT: Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
WHERE: Guthrie Theater, Minneapolis
WHEN: 7:30 p.m.
Tennessee Williams’s most overheated play gets a welcome airing at the Guthrie, finding the sweet spot between sympathy and disgust for a pair of selfish lovers trying to stay together amid the repression of place and parents. Learn more at guthrietheater.org

Sunday, January 15

Nice ice

WHAT: Art Shanty Projects 2012
WHERE: Medicine Lake, Plymouth
WHEN: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
A new year of art shanties barely got off the ground, or rather the water, this mild winter. But they’re out there again, about a dozen artfully designed shanties, all of them family friendly, from the Shantay Shanty, featuring fashion shows and a photo booth, to the Naughty Shanty, featuring a fortune-teller and goofy peep-holes. Learn more at artshantyprojects.org

Sunday, January 15

Pop goes the park

WHAT: Pop-up Park
WHERE: Minneapolis Institute of Arts
WHEN: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Now that the holiday stuff has been cleared out of the MIA, you can go for another reason: the funky, tropical green space in the lobby. Complete with palm trees and swaying grasses, it’s billed as a pop-up park, part of a nationwide vogue for short-lived green spaces. Now that winter has finally arrived, there’s no better time. Learn more at artsmia.org