Thomasina Petrus does Billie Holiday
There's a special poignancy attached to Petrus making her Chanhassen Dinner Theatres debut with her show "The Best of Billie & Me." The company was co-founded by one of her mentors, Lewis Whitlock III, the influential dancer, choreographer and actor who was in the first Broadway tour of "The Wiz." Whitlock, who died last year, later produced a student version of "The Wiz" at North High School in the 1980s that ignited the dreams of Petrus and other youngsters. An actor, singer and onetime dancer, Petrus has become known for her uncanny ability to summon the voice and spirit of Billie Holiday. (8 p.m. Fri.-Sat., 501 W. 78th St., Chanhassen, $44, 952-934-1525 or chanhassendt.com/shows/billie)
ROHAN PRESTON
Kacey Musgraves
Last seen in town headlining the Basilica Block Party on a truly golden night in 2019, Musgraves is kicking off her "Star-Crossed" tour in St. Paul in mid-January, a brave move for a Texan. The country-to-pop crossover singer also bravely sings about her divorce on her new album, far more somber than 2018's breakthrough record "Golden Hour," but she promises the show will still be fun. Electro-pop acts King Princess and MUNA open. Read our interview with Musgraves in Monday's Variety section. (8 p.m. Wed., Xcel Energy Center, 175 W. Kellogg Blvd., St. Paul, $16-$100, ticketmaster.com)
CHRIS RIEMENSCHNEIDER
'Paris Is Burning'
Jenny Livingston's 1990 documentary gets a rare screening at Paisley Park, and it's not difficult to imagine Prince himself admiring the film's approach to gender and performance. Livingston focuses on the drag ball scene in New York City in the 1980s, showcasing the styles and language that continue to influence pop culture (there would be no "RuPaul's Drag Race" without these artists). Tickets are pricey but the film is a masterpiece. (7 p.m. Sat., Paisley Park soundstage, 7801 Audubon Road, Chanhassen, $25 plus $20 on-site parking, paisleypark.com)
CHRIS HEWITT
Xavier Foley/SPCO
In addition to being the rare bass virtuoso who solos with major orchestras, Xavier Foley is a composer who has written "For Justice and Peace," a work marking the 400th anniversary of the first slave ship arriving in North America. It's one of two double concertos for violin, bass and orchestra he'll perform with the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra and SPCO violinist Eunice Kim, the other being by Giovanni Bottesini. And SPCO artistic director Kyu-Young Kim solos on Beethoven's "Kreutzer" Violin Sonata. (8 p.m. Fri.-Sat., 2 p.m. Sun; Ordway Concert Hall, 345 Washington St., St. Paul; $12-$50, students and children admitted free; 651-291-1144 or thespco.org)
ROB HUBBARD
Ice Castles
Elsa's fictional city of Arendelle has nothing on the architecture of this winter attraction. Continuing into February, or as long as frigid temperatures hold, the ice-carved interactive experience drips with thousands of icicles "that bring fairy tales to life." Make sure you're bundled up before stepping inside the frosty palace to encounter ice slides, a maze and crawl tunnels. (3-10:30 p.m. Fri., 11 a.m.-10:30 p.m. Sat.-Sun., $16-$22, Long Lake Regional Park, 1500 Old Hwy. 8, New Brighton, icecastles.com)
MELISSA WALKER
Black Dog Cafe
It was a coffee shop, a restaurant, an art galley and a music venue where Twin Cities jazz musicians, whether aspiring or established, could find an audience willing to listen. After 23 years in St. Paul's Lowertown neighborhood, Black Dog Cafe is closing with one last hurrah. Actually, the sibling-run cafe closed several days ago but it will have a big sendoff with trumpeter Steve Kenny, a longtime fixture at the venue, leading a group of jazz friends including JT Bates and Chris Bates. Fuzzy Math opens. (7 p.m. Sat., Black Dog Cafe, 308 E. Prince St., St. Paul, blackdogstpaul.com)
JON BREAM
'Title of Show'
Two pals face a looming deadline: They need to create a new musical in just a couple of weeks. So they rope two other musical theater-obsessed friends into helping them in "Title of Show," a musical in which we see funny, neurotic people creating the show we're watching them perform. Clever and filled with in-jokes, it's for everyone who's ever thought, "Wait. Why would anyone use an elephant's eye to measure corn growth?" (7:30 p.m. Thu.-Sat., 2 p.m. Sun. Ends Feb. 6, Lyric Arts, 420 E. Main St., Anoka, $32-$42, lyricarts.org)
C.H.
'Dancing Our Way Out'
In September 2020, Black Label Movement filmed a dance piece that was created after consulting with a University of Minnesota physician about best practices for staying safe during the pandemic. Presented at TEDxMinneapolis that fall and subsequently a hit on the film festival circuit, "A Dream of Touch When Touch Is Gone" is now being screened virtually by Northrop as part of "Dancing Our Way Out," a collection of video dance works by the university's faculty, students and guests, and curated by Black Label Movement's Carl Flink along with Joanie Smith of Shapiro & Smith Dance. The works respond to the pandemic as well as social uprisings following the murder of George Floyd. (Premieres 7:30 p.m. Fri., then on-demand through Jan. 21, $50, northrop.umn.edu)
SHEILA REGAN
'Outside of Time'
The year is now 2022, but the work of artists Hend Al-Mansour and Eleanor McGough exists in another time. Al-Mansour has illustrated a children's book, "Zaynab's Night of Destiny," about a journey by a young immigrant girl, commissioned by Kentucky's Commonwealth Theatre Center. McGough's paper art focuses on insects and recycled packaging materials. She notes the decline of the insect population, part of ongoing concerns around climate change. (Noon-4 p.m. Sat.-Sun. through Jan. 30, Rosalux Gallery, 315 W. 48th St., Mpls., rosaluxgallery.com)
ALICIA ELER
Geoff Tate
One of metal's most respected singers, the former Queensrÿche frontman is performing two of his old band's best-loved albums in their entirety on tour, 1986's "Rage for Order" and 1990's "Empire." The latter featured their Pink Floyd-esque megahit "Silent Lucidity." (8 p.m. Wed., Fine Line, 318 1st Av. N., Mpls., $25-$50, axs.com)
C.R.
'Reboot'
You are a computer in this interactive, online hybrid of theater and escape room, and you'll have to think fast. You've come to the attention of the government, whose secret agent coerces you into participating in a plot that may or may not be legit. You and a small, virtual audience will have to race the clock to solve this puzzle. (7 p.m. Fri.-Sat. & Mon., ends Feb. 27, Zoom link provided, $30, walkingshadow.org)
C.H.
Jearlyn and Jevetta Steele
Here is a wonderful way to celebrate Martin Luther King. Always full of energy and spirit, the Steele sisters will team up for songs of love, peace and unity and offer personal stories of how King's dream is still alive. (7 p.m. Mon., Dakota, 1010 Nicollet Mall, Mpls., $25-$35, dakotacooks.com)
J.B.
