After two hours of full-throated, gut-wrenching braying that made me want a lozenge on her behalf, Mary Bridget Davies, the star of "A Night With Janis Joplin" at the Ordway, stood onstage and offered to sell the kimono she was wearing for the show's curtail-call number. This wasn't just any old thrift-shop robe. It was designed by Joplin's niece, Malyn Joplin. An auctioneer disclosed that the touring company actually paid $250 for the garment. "There's a little bit of me on it," Davies told the opening-night Ordway throng. "Sorry about that. Or you're welcome." Some lucky bidder landed the kimono for $700, which will be donated to Broadway Cares, a health fund for theater workers. If you'd like your own kimono minus Davies' DNA, they are available for $375 at madeforpearl.com.
Jon Bream
Easter hunt
Three top singer-songwriters spent Easter in St. Paul, but you probably didn't know that. "I don't know if any of us left the hotel," said Anais Mitchell, grinning at her stage mates Patty Griffin and Sara Watkins during their Monday gig at St. Catherine University. Not that the trio was totally secluded during their day off. Watkins, who should know St. Paul due to her many appearances on "A Prairie Home Companion," did make it out to Whole Foods Market, but all other escape plans were in vain. "It's hard to imagine another city more closed," Watkins said.
Neal Justin
Back at Mac
If you thought battling zombies was tough, try tackling actress/playwright Danai Gurira's schedule. In addition to playing the tough-as-nails warrior Michonne on "The Walking Dead," she has two plays generating buzz in New York: "Familiar" and "Eclipsed," starring Oscar winner Lupita Nyong'o. But Gurira hasn't forgotten where she came from. She'll be a commencement speaker May 14 at St. Paul's Macalester College, from which she graduated in 2001. N.J.
Well scripted
Andy Froemke of Lindstrom, Minn., just won a $10,000 residency from the Knight Foundation for "The Lowrie Gang," his script that was up against nearly 100 others in a blind competition. The grant stipulates that a panel of industry insiders read every script without knowing anything about who wrote it, ensuring a decision based solely on merit. Panelists included "Juno" producer and Academy Award nominee Mason Novick. Froemke's story is based on a real-life Robin Hood type, Henry Berry Lowrie, an American Indian who led a band of outlaws to stand up to the Ku Klux Klan in North Carolina after members of the white supremacist group killed his father and brothers. Froemke actually wrote two of the eight finalist scripts.
Kristin Tillotson
Official city artist
St. Paul is adding a new "city artist."Aaron Dysart, a sculptor and teacher, partnered recently on the "Plume Project," which projected LED lights onto steam billowing from the power plant on St. Paul's riverfront. He will work closely with Amanda Lovelee, the other member of a two-person department in St. Paul City Hall. The 11-year-old program integrates artists into the bureaucracy, where they cook up ways to inject art into otherwise mundane projects — like the whimsical "Everyday Poems for City Sidewalks," which stamps verses into wet concrete.
Mary Abbe
The fest goes on
Even though Patrick's Cabaret has lost its lease in south Minneapolis, its sixth annual Longfellow Roots, Rock & Deep-Blues Festival fundraiser still will be held there July 16. The lineup includes Black Eyed Snakes, Charlie Parr, Erik Koskinen, Kent Burnside, Spider John Koerner, Crankshaft & the Gear Grinders and many more. See rootsrockdeep blues.com for details.J.B.
Find more coverage of the arts all week at our pop culture blog startribune.com/artcetera and follow us on Twitter @entertain_mn.
