OPENING
'FOB'
Although David Henry Hwang's "FOB" is an acronym for "Fresh off the boat," his play is not to be confused with the new ABC-TV series. True, both works center on Asian-American families. The play, which won an Obie in 1980, mines intra-cultural stereotypes and biases as established Chinese-American immigrants mock newer arrivals. Mu Performing Arts staged this production as a tour of Chinese restaurants last summer. Now "FOB" opens Friday at Mixed Blood Theatre, which has been transformed into a Chinese restaurant. After an actor left, director Randy Reyes stepped in to play the newer immigrant who is the love interest of one of the main characters. (7:30 p.m. Fri.-Sat., 2 p.m. Sun., 7:30 p.m. next Thu. Ends Feb. 15. $22. 651-789-1012 or www.muperformingarts.org.) Rohan Preston
'Death and the Maiden'
It's a grand collaboration of small companies. Torch Theater is teaming up with Gremlin Theatre for a four-play run that kicks off with Ariel Dorfman's "Death and the Maiden," starring Stacia Rice and Peter Christian Hansen. The suspenseful play, made into a film by Roman Polanski in 1994, is about trauma and madness. A woman who was repeatedly raped in a repressive Latin American nation hears the voice of her captor, a doctor, many years later, and seeks to get him to confess. Craig Johnson plays the doctor while David Mann directs. (7:30 p.m. Fri.-Sat., 3 p.m. Sun., 7:30 p.m. next Thu. Ends Feb. 21. Minneapolis Theatre Garage, 711 Franklin Av. W., Mpls. $8-$30. 1-888-71-TICKETS or www.torchtheater.com.) R.P.
SATURDAY
Joe Mande
St. Paul native and "Parks and Recreation" writer Mande comes home for a stand-up gig as the sitcom smash enters its final season. The Central High School alum joined the "Parks and Rec" team in Season 5 and has written for Comedy Central's "Kroll Show" and the Adult Swim series "Delocated." Last year the Los Angeles-based comic and Twitter jester released "Bitchface," his first comedy mixtape recorded during two Acme Comedy Club shows. The "Lacroix boy" parodies hip-hop mixtapes, with excessive air horns, DJ drops and mock rap skits wedged between live bits skewering foodies and lampooning slices of L.A. life. (7:45 p.m. Sat. 21 & older. $15. Turf Club, 1601 University Av. W., St. Paul. www.turfclub.net.)
Michael Rietmulder
