Friday, April 19
So Funny You Could Cry
WHAT: Wits
WHERE: Fitzgerald Theater, St. Paul
WHEN: 8 p.m.
Comedian Tig Notaro, a regular on Sarah Silverman’s show, has channeled her recent struggles (breast cancer, pneumonia) into remarkably passionate sets. Here, she’ll share the stage with musician Kathleen Edwards and, of course, host John Moe. Learn more at witsradio.org
Friday, April 19
Hand-made Home
WHAT: American Craft Council Show
WHERE: RiverCentre, St. Paul
WHEN: 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. (also on April 20 and 21)
This annual marketplace for all things artfully hand-made has gotten a boost in recent years from the heritage movement, a growing appreciation for craft. You could outfit your entire life here, with everything from furniture to pottery to clothing to the most exquisite kaleidoscopes you’re likely to find anywhere, and this year the council has made it easy. A host of designers have created rooms integrating craft throughout. Learn more at craftcouncil.org
Saturday, April 20
Us vs. Us
WHAT: The Great Divide
WHERE: The Playwrights’ Center, Minneapolis
WHEN: 8 p.m.
The thoughtful and probing writer Alan Berks has created an irresistible setup to explore our current political divide: a conservative politician cynically agreeing to an interview with a liberal blogger in order to rally donors. But the journalist has a few surprises of her own. How the divide between our personal and political beliefs has landed us in this venomous pit of inaction. Learn more at workhauscollective.org
Saturday, April 20
Conspicuous Art
WHAT: DZINE: Victory
WHERE: Public Functionary gallery, Minneapolis
WHEN: 8 p.m.
The newest contemporary art space in Minneapolis, created with a remarkably generous $31,000 Kickstarter campaign, opens with a high-profile show by Chicago artist Carlos Rolon, better known as Dzine. Between the walls decked out in bright-pink carpeting and the art itself—bling-like sculptures exploring the conspicuous luxury and conspicuous poverty of urban culture—it’s a striking start to a gallery promising uninhibited glam. Learn more at publicfunctionary.org
Sunday, April 21
Queen of Soul
WHAT: Etta…Tell Mama
WHERE: Capri Theater, Minneapolis
WHEN: 3 p.m. (Also at 7 p.m. on April 20)
Etta James carried the blues in her soul, and when it erupted it shook her—and her audience—to the core. (It also moved the Obamas as they danced, in their first inaugural to James’s signature song “At Last.”) Thomasina Petrus has a similar fire, which she’ll ignite at the Capri, singing James’s classics on the stage where she first took music lessons as a teenager from Cornbread Harris (father of Jimmy Jam). Learn more at thecapritheater.org
Sunday, April 21
Great Lines
WHAT: Garrison Keillor’s poetry celebration
WHERE: Weyerhaeuser Chapel, Macalester College, St. Paul
WHEN: 1 p.m.
Keillor, among the country’s best ambassadors of verse (you could learn more about us in 50 years from reading our poetry than the New York Times, he has said), hosts an afternoon of poetry new and old, funny and sad. He’ll also announce the winner of the Common Good Amateur Love Poem Contest. Learn more at commongoodbooks.com
