Friday, November 9
Say Hello to Cindy
WHAT: Cindy Sherman
WHERE: Walker Art Center, Minneapolis
WHEN: 9 p.m. to midnight
Alter Ego, the Walker After Hours kick-off party for the center’s massive Cindy Sherman retrospective, plays off the photographer’s penchant for dress-up and disguise, with makeup artists and costumes at your behest. The exhibition itself compiles some 160 photographs, going back to the 1970s, in which Sherman explores such titillating themes as social class, horror films, carnivals, and fairy tales, with herself as the ever-morphing model. Learn more at walkerart.org
Friday, November 9
Little Brat on the Prairie
WHAT: Confessions of a Prairie Bitch
WHERE: Camp Bar and Cabaret, St. Paul
WHEN: 7 p.m.
Alison Arngrim, who played the devious Nellie Oleson on TV’s Little House on the Prairie, is just as sassy as her old character in this autobiographical show full of anecdotes, like the time she and co-star Melissa Gilbert got drunk on rum cakes and peed in their wet suits during filming. And how playing Nellie gave her an outlet for the pent-up personal struggles of growing up in a wacky Hollywood family. Learn more at actorsmn.org
Saturday, November 10
The Beauty of Erosion
WHAT: Counting Time: Recent Work by Art Gillespie
WHERE: Flanders Gallery, Minneapolis
WHEN: 6 to 9 p.m.
Doug Flanders showcases new work from the emerging artist Art Gillespie, who explores the ever-ripe topic of our awareness and fear of time passing. In hypnotic works on paper, Gillespie finds beauty in time’s erosive effects even as we are unable to escape the consequences. Learn more at flandersart.com
Saturday, November 10
Tearing Down the Walls
WHAT: Untitled 9
WHERE: SooVAC gallery, Minneapolis
WHEN: 6 to 9 p.m.
The gallery’s ninth annual exhibition of work by local artists was juried by sculptor Chris Larson and features everything from installation art to photography to film by Rachel Breen, Jesse Draxler, Monica Howell, and others. The 13 artists converge on themes of architecture, bodies, and landscapes, probing, dissecting, and deconstructing. Learn more at soovac.org
Sunday, November 11
Laughing at the End of the World
WHAT: 2012: The Musical!
WHERE: In the Heart of the Beast Puppet and Mask Theatre, Minneapolis
WHEN: 3 p.m.
Rhiana Yazzie’s musical comedy about the hoopla over the Mayans’ dire prediction is performed by the New Native Theatre, a company comprised of Native American actors and musicians. The show actually debuted last year in Bedlam Theatre’s 10×10 Play Festival, and it’s hard to get enough of dancing neon buffaloes and rock-star ancestors. Learn more at newnativetheatre.org
Sunday, November 11
Closing time
WHAT: Why We Do This
WHERE: Soap Factory, Minneapolis
WHEN: 12 to 5 p.m.
This weekend is your last chance to catch Andy DuCett’s gallery-wide installation reflecting on collective experiences. On Saturday, from 7 to 11 p.m., you’ll actually be able to purchase some of the thousands of objects DuCett collected to comprise the show’s many vignettes, from National Geographic magazines to LPs to thrift-store finds. Learn more at soapfactory.org
