MN Shortlist Oct. 9-15: ‘Kunene’ at Guthrie, Theatre in the Round at 75 and a Winona love letter
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MN Shortlist is the MPR News weekly roundup of arts and culture recommendations. This week’s picks include “Sweet Revenge” by the Native-led group Mni Giizhik Theatre Ensemble, a square Brainerd art show and more.
‘Andy DuCett: Home(town)’ at the Minnesota Marine Art Museum in Winona — Through Jan. 24, 2027
The exhibition name says it all: Minneapolis-based artist Andy DuCett has created an homage to his hometown of Winona through a series of art installations that appear like interlocking theater sets at the Minnesota Marine Art Museum. The presentation is the middle ground for small-town mythologies, society and nostalgia.
“It talks about Winona as a small town on a river, as kind of an ‘Every Space, U.S.A,’ but also some of the particularities of Winona and its architecture and its histories and all those sorts of things rolled up into one,” DuCett said.
DuCett and a team of artists he’s tapped (Mark Dion, Allen Brewer, Carolyn Swiszcz, Deb Sokolow, Eric Carroll and Trever Hagen), have crafted a Zamboni, the old Hot Fish Shop, the main street “Toppers Tower” castle and a booth straight out of Rocco’s Pub and Pizza. The unseen inhabitants of this Winona leave traces of their daily life behind, DuCett says, be that new issues of the local paper or other ephemera.
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“This exhibition is temporal, and it will start doing things as the calendar gets deeper into the fall,” DuCett said. (Alex V. Cipolle)
‘Sweet Revenge’ at Red Eye Theatre in Minneapolis — Oct. 9-17
Native-led theater group Mni Giizhik Theatre Ensemble and Exposed Brick Theatre present the world premiere of “Sweet Revenge,” written by Marcie Rendon. A preview show will be held on Friday, Oct. 9, at 7 p.m. at Red Eye Theater.
The play, described as a true crime comedy, follows a middle-aged Native woman named Maggie as she works to make ends meet with her two grandchildren and grandmother while in a south Minneapolis apartment. Meanwhile in their neighborhood, a serial killer targets ice cream truck drivers, which brings homicide detective John into Maggie’s life. It follows themes of family, struggle and community.
Sequoia Hauck is co-founder of Mni Giizhik Theatre Ensemble and the play’s director. Hauck says the play was first written 20 years ago.
“It feels like it's of the time,” Hauck said. “It's set in right now, but it has those notions of, ‘Oh yeah, these things are circular, these things happen again.’”
“Sweet Revenge” showings are held at Red Eye Theater through Sat., Oct. 17. All performances will have open captions and sensory kits. A show with ASL and audio description will be held Friday, Oct. 16, at 7 p.m.
Tickets are pay-what-you-can and are available on Exposed Brick Theatre’s website. (Chandra Colvin)
‘Kunene and the King’ at the Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis — Oct. 10-Nov. 9
The Guthrie opens previews for its second production of the 2026-27 season, “Kunene and the King,” a day before its first, the popular “Waiting for Godot” closes.
The shows are similar in that they center a relationship between two men. But whereas “Godot” could take place most anywhere, “Kunene” is set in post-apartheid South Africa where Lunga Kunene, a “no-nonsense” Black caregiver, tussles it out with his client, Jack Morris, a privileged white actor preparing for the lead role in “King Lear” while also managing a serious health diagnosis.
The Tony-winning South African playwright John Kani not only wrote the play loosely inspired by “King Lear,” he will star as Kunene (Marvel fans may recognize Kani from his role as T’Chaka in “Black Panther” and “Captain America: Civil War”). Previews start Oct. 10, with opening night Oct. 15. (Alex V. Cipolle)
75th anniversary celebration at Theatre in the Round in Minneapolis — Oct. 10
Since the closing of the Old Log Theater in Excelsior in 2024, Theatre in the Round has been the longest-running theater in the metro area. The Minneapolis theater celebrates its 75th anniversary 7-11 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 10.
Executive director Larisa Netterlund says the party will have a “time tunnel” displaying artifacts from the theater’s history as well as live music and dancing, “an homage to our building's previous life as Bimbo's dance hall and pizza emporium.”
Theatre in the Round moved into the West Bank building, its second home, in 1969, after Bimbo’s had a fire.
“There was four months from acquiring the building to putting on the first show,” Netterlund told MPR News. “There was literally a hole where the stage is because there was a fire, and it was thousands of volunteer hours to turn it into a theater, which I think is just the perfect picture of what Theatre in the Round is.”
Because of its long history, Netterlund says people forget that Theatre in the Round is a community theater.
“People of any level of experience can come in at some place in the theater and learn how it works. So they can come to our workshops. They can come learn how to build sets or costumes,” Netterlund said. “Anyone can come audition.”
The 75th season features shows that are by or about Minnesotans, starting with “The Great Gatsby" in September. The season continues Oct. 23-Nov. 1 with “The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane,” based on the novel by Minnesota author Kate DiCamillo. (Alex V. Cipolle)
8x8 Community Art Exhibition at The Crossing Arts in Brainerd — Oct. 13-Nov. 7
What can you do with a blank square canvas? Whatever you like! This summer, the Crossing Arts Alliance distributed nearly 200 blank 8-by-8-inch canvases —the size of a small brownie pan —and invited people to make art.
The resulting 8x8 Community Art Exhibit is a joyful display of diversity: nearly 200 works by artists of all ages, from dabblers to professionals.
The art show is also Crossing Arts’ biggest annual fundraiser: The works are all up for auction, with online bidding running Oct. 18-25. While the exhibit remains open through Nov. 7, people can start to pick up their purchased pieces on Oct. 27, so visit early to see the full display. (Emily Bright)
