On the Town Briefly, March 30, 2022

Music

Virtuoso violinist Grace Park will join the Minnesota Sinfonia in free concerts on April 1 and 2. The program includes Violin Concerto No. 1 in G minor by Max Bruch, Petite Suite de Concert by Samuel Coleridge Taylor, L’Arlesienne by Georges Bizet, and “Braving the Unknown” and “Contemplation” by Sinfonia director Jay Fishman. The music begins at 7 p.m. Fri­day in the Main Auditorium of Metro­politan State University, 700 E. Seventh St., and at 2 p.m. Saturday in the Basilica of Saint Mary in Minneapolis. Children are welcome. Visit mnsinfonia.org or call 612-871-1701.

Works by Minnesota composers will be featured in the BandWidth Music Festival on Sunday, April 3, at Landmark Center. The Northeast Community Band will strike up the music at 12:15 p.m., fol­lowed by the Lex-Ham Community Band from 1:30-3 p.m. Admission is free.

Samuel Torjman Thomas and his ensem­ble ASEFA will perform a mix of Hebraic and Islamic music from North Africa and the Middle East at 2 p.m. Sunday, April 3, in the Chapel of Saint Thomas Aquinas at the University of Saint Thomas. New York violinist Jeremy Brown and Twin Cities percussionist Mick LaBriola will also perform. Admission is free. Masks are required.

The Capital City Brass Quintet and Hopewell Flute Choir will share the stage in a free concert at 7 p.m. Sunday, April 3, at Olivet Congregational Church, 1850 Iglehart Ave. The program will include compositions by Mozart, Faure, Zequinha de Abreu, Nicole Chamberlain, Mark Ballora and others. Masks and social distancing will be required.

Djembe Joy, a class in hand drumming for beginners, will be offered from 3:30-4:30 p.m. Wednesday, April 6, at the Women’s Drum Center, 2242 University Ave. The cost is $10. Drums are provided. Masks are required. Visit womensdrumcenter.org.

“Le Chemin de la Croix (The Way of the Cross),” Marcel Dupré’s musical meditation on the 14 stations of the Passion of Jesus Christ, will be presented at 7 p.m. Friday, April 8, in the Cathedral of Saint Paul. Stephen Hamilton will perform on the Cathedral’s pipe organ. Michael Barone will narrate. Admission is free. Donations will be accepted.

Snelling-Hamline guitarist Brandon Henry and his roots rock band Art Van­da­lay will celebrate the release of their album “Champagne and Chandeliers” in concert from 9-11 p.m. Saturday, April 9, at the Aster Cafe, 125 Main St. SE in Minneapolis. Sharing the stage will be j. bell and the Lazy Susan Band. Cover charge is $15. Call 612-379-3138.

Singer-songwriter Peter Mayer will per­form at 8 p.m. Saturday, April 9, at Ginkgo Coffeehouse, 721 N. Snelling Ave. Tickets are $25. Call 651-645-2647 or visit ginkgocoffee.com.

Dance

“Firebird,” a preview of a ballet that ventures deep into an enchanted forest where virtuous and malicious forces await, will be presented by Ballet Co.Laboratory in a free program at noon Tuesday, April 12, at Landmark Center. Call 651-292-3063.

Class of ’85, an exploration of high school stereotypes and a celebration of acceptance and inclusion, will be pre­sented by Collide Theatrical Dance Com­pany from April 15 through May 1 at Gremlin Theatre, 550 N. Vandalia St. Dancers Jarod Boltjes, Renee Guittar, Rachel Seeholzer, Patrick Jeffrey, Javan Mngrezzo, Grace Kidder, Megan Carver and Ben Siglin perform. Show times are 7:30 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays and 2 and 5 p.m. Sundays. Tickets are $30-55. Visit collidetheatrical.org or call 651-395-7903.

Books

Highland Park author Andrew DeYoung will discuss his new novel, The Temps, at 7 p.m. Thursday, March 31, at Black Hart, 1415 University Ave. Reservations are required for this free program sponsored by SubText Books. Visit subtextbooks.com or call 651-493-2791.

A Cracked Walnut Poetry Workshop will be offered from 10 a.m.-noon on Sat­urday, April 2, in the first floor meeting room of the Highland Park Library, 1974 Ford Pkwy. Admission is free. Participants should bring eight or nine copies of an original poem to share for some con­struc­tive criti­cism. For information or reservations, email the moderator at trinityfritzlawrence@gmail.com.

The Literary Bridges series continues on Sunday, April 3, with a reading of poetry and prose by five writers. Jeanne Lutz, Sherry Quan Lee, Chris Stark, Keno Evol and Emilio DeGrazia will read from their works. The free program begins at 2 p.m. at Next Chapter Booksellers, 38 S. Snelling Ave. For information, call 651-225-8989 or visit nextchapterbooksellers.com.

Macalester-Groveland author Elliott Foster will discuss and read from his latest novel, Reckoning Waves, in a free program at 2 p.m. Sunday, April 3, at Lake Monster Brewing, 550 N. Vandalia St.

Whiteness in Plain View, a new history of racial exclusion in Minnesota, will be discussed by author Chad Montrie at 7 p.m. Wednesday, April 6, at East Side Freedom Library, 1105 Greenbrier St. A history professor at the University of Mas­sachusetts in Lowell, Montrie exa­mines the ways white people in Minnesota acted to intimidate, control, keep out and remove Blacks and how that legacy is woven into the culture today. Admission is free, but registration is required to attend in-person or virtually. Visit eastsidefreedomlibrary.org/events.

Carolyn Holbrook, editor of the anthology We Are Meant to Rise: Voices for Justice from Minneapolis to the World, will join contributors Sun Yung Shin, Erin Sharkey and Kevin Yang in a virtual discussion at 7 p.m. Wednesday, April 6. Visit facebook.com/events/496354411857743/?ref=newsfeed.

Exhibits

“Mestizaje: Intermix-Remix,” the art of eight Latino artists, is on view through June 12 in the sidewalk and skyway galleries of the Minnesota Museum of American Art, 350 N. Robert St. Marcela Rodríguez Aguilar, María José Castillo, Luis Fitch, Bobby Marines, Dougie Padilla, Maria Cristina Tavera, Xavier Tavera and Vlocke Negro explore what it means to identify as mixed-race. An opening pro­gram featuring Padilla and Xavier and Maria Cristina Tavera will be held via Zoom from 6-7 p.m. Thurs­day, March 31. Visit mmaa.org or call 651-797-2571.

“Documenting a Reckoning: The Murder of George Floyd” is being displayed till June 5 at the Mill City Museum, 704 Second St. S. in Minneapolis. Through 54 images taken by professional and amateur photographers, the exhibit illustrates 11 long months in Twin Cities history, from the murder of Floyd in May 2020 through the trial of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin in April 2021. An opening reception will be held from 6-8 p.m. Friday, April 1. It will include a panel discussion with New York Times photo editor Brent Lewis, photographers Octavio Jones and Gene Garvin and others whose work is featured. Admission is free. Hors d’oeuvres and a cash bar will be available.

The Catherine G. Murphy Gallery at Saint Catherine University will display two new exhibits from April 9 through May 22. “Rooted Forward” features the art of St. Kate’s students Liz Con­nors, Mathis “Blue” J. Edwards, Cora Dean-Wyatt, Ellie Leonard, Carolina Lopez, Megan Riley and Theo von Weiss. “Not Here” presents the drawings, prints, collages, illustrated notebooks and cabinets of curiosities of Minneapolis artist Jody Williams. An opening reception will be held from 5-7 p.m. Saturday, April 9. The students will discuss their art from 11:45 a.m.-1:15 p.m. Thursday, May 5. Admission is free. Visit gallery.stkate.edu or call 651-690-6644.

“What Moves Between,” the work of seven artists about to complete their MFA degrees at the University of Minnesota, will be displayed from April 5-23 in the Katherine E. Nash Gallery, 405 21st Ave. S. in Minneapolis. Included are paintings, ceramics, photography, sculpture, video, installation and other works by Prerna, Cody Hilleboe, Taylor Johnson, Stephanie A. Lindquist, Julia Maiuri, Lela Pierce and Hayden Teachout. An opening reception will be held Friday, April 9. Call 612-624-7530 or visit nash.umn.edu.

Theater

Parks, the story of acclaimed black pho­tog­rapher Gordon Parks who at 14 moved to Saint Paul following the death of his mother in 1926, is being staged through April 10 at History Theatre, 30 E. 10th St. Inspired by Parks’ book A Choice of Weapons, playwright Harrison David Rivers has crafted a drama about a young man who used a camera to fight back against hatred and discrimination. Kevin Brown stars as Gordon Parks and James A. Williams plays Pigeon Man. Tickets are $30-$53. Call 651-292-4323 or visit historytheatre.com.

Thurgood, a one-man show about the first Black justice of the U.S. Supreme Court, is being staged through April 10 at Penumbra Theatre, 270 N. Kent St. Lester Purry stars as Thurgood Marshall, renowned jurist, storyteller and architect of the case that desegregated American public schools. Lou Bellamy directs. Show times are 7:30 p.m. Wednesdays through Saturdays and 4 p.m. Sundays. Tickets are $15-$40 reserved. Visit penumbratheatre.org or call 651-224-3180.

Jelly’s Last Jam will be performed by Theatre Latté Da from March 30 through May 8 at the Ritz Theater, 345 13th Ave. NE in Minneapolis. The Tony Award-winning musical tells the story of Jelly Roll Morton, the clas­si­cally trained pianist who spread the sounds of ragtime, blues and jazz from the back alleys of New Orleans to the dance halls and clubs of Chicago and New York. Reese Britts stars as Morton and Andre Shoals plays the Chimney Man. Kelli Foster Warder directs. Tickets start at $35. For reservations, call 612-339-3003 or visit latteda.org.

Benjamin Britten’s opera, The Rape of Lucretia, will be performed by An Opera Theatre on April 1-3 at the Southern Theater, 1420 Washington Ave. S., Min­ne­apolis. A woman’s body becomes a tool for political ambition and power in this production, which is based on an Ancient Roman tragedy set amidst a war between the Greeks and Romans circa 510 B.C. Show times are 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 4 p.m. Sunday. For tickets or information, visit anoperatheatre.org.

The Little Prince, an adaptation of the beloved French novella, will open on April 8 at Theatre in the Round, 245 Cedar Ave. S. in Minneapolis. Engaging for young and old, the classic story of love, loss, hope and what it means to have an open heart tells of a world-weary aviator and the mysterious child he meets while stranded in the desert. Show times are 7:30 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays and 2 p.m. Sundays through May 1. Tickets are $25, $20 for students. Call 612-333-3010 or visit theatreintheround.org.