Friday, June 24
A Cut Above
WHAT: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
WHERE: Minnesota Centennial Showboat, St. Paul
WHEN: 8 p.m.
The University of Minnesota theater students are back on the water with another 19th-century delight, the hair-raising melodrama of Sweeney Todd, the vengeful barber. As always, the real treats are in the retro sarsaparilla sodas for sale and the intermission filled with vaudeville musical turns. Learn more at showboat.umn.edu
Friday, June 24
Jazz al Fresco
WHAT: The Twin Cities Jazz Festival
WHERE: Mears Park, St. Paul
WHEN: 4:30 p.m. to dark
Gary Burton and his new quartet headline this growing three-day festival of outdoor jazz, held mostly in and around the refreshing foliage of Mears Park—jazz with a burbling stream in the background. Learn more at twincitiesjazzfestival.com
Saturday, June 25
Take Pride
WHAT: Debbie Gibson at the Pride Festival
WHERE: Loring Park, Minneapolis
WHEN: 5:30 to 10 p.m.
Debbie Gibson brings her new blend of pop and Broadway to the Twin Cities Pride festival, day two of the weekend festivities that open with a block party outside the Bryant-Lake Bowl on Friday night and include a parade on Sunday morning, etc. Learn more at tcpride.org
Saturday, June 25
Surreal Feast
WHAT: Dali’s Cookbook: A Gastronomical Inquisition
WHERE: Ritz Theater, Minneapolis
WHEN: 8 p.m.
Zorongo Flamenco Dance Theatre and Ballet of the Dolls team up for this mash-up of local art and food, a nice blend of shellfish, vegetables, and dessert straight out of Salvador Dali’s own cookbook, now out of print. The event is held Thursday through Sunday, with Saturday night being a gala benefit for the two dance companies. Learn more at ritzdolls.com
Sunday, June 26
Feeling lucky?
WHAT: Guys and Dolls
WHERE: Ordway Center, St. Paul
WHEN: 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.
This is your last chance to catch the quintessential Broadway musical, filled with wisecracking characters and crack show tunes like “Luck Be a Lady.” Local theater genius Peter Rothstein helms this revival, sharpening the broad comedy without losing the classic bombast. Learn more at ordway.org
Sunday, June 26
Musical Voyage
WHAT: H.M.S. Pinafore
WHERE: Guthrie Theater, Minneapolis
WHEN: 1 p.m.
It’s hard to think of a more light-hearted, witty, summer cocktail of an opera than H.M.S. Pinafore (once loving spoofed on The Simpsons with Kelsey Grammer), Gilbert and Sullivan’s comic tale of romance on the high seas. Stars several of the most pleasing and clever local opera singers, including Christina Baldwin as Buttercup. Learn more at guthrietheater.org
