Best of the week: 'Power and Beauty in China's Last Dynasty,' Mary Lambert, 'The Wiz' and more

The Minneapolis Institute of Art has been posting some big numbers on its Instagram feed: 5,000 square feet of shiny, silver Mylar. Forty-six rolls of gold leaf wallpaper. Twelve hundred linear feet of thatch. Add these massive ingredients together, and you get a new, immersive exhibition: "Power and Beauty in China's Last Dynasty." Theater artist Robert Wilson — who has worked with artists from Philip Glass to Lady Gaga — dreamed up the show, which makes use of the institute's renowned collection of Chinese art.JENNA ROSS

Opens Sat., through May 27, Minneapolis Institute of Art, Mpls., $20, artsmia.org

Director Lou Bellamy gives "The Wiz" a pizazzy production. This African-American interpretation of "The Wizard of Oz" is headlined by "American Idol" finalist Paris Bennett, who brings genuine star power to the role of Dorothy. But the production is studded with stars, including Greta Oglesby, Dennis Spears, T. Mychael Rambo, Aimee K. Bryant and Jamecia Bennett, Paris' showstopping mother. And they don't hold back.

Rohan Preston

7 p.m. Tue-Fri., 2 & 5 p.m. Sat.-Sun, closes March 18, Children's Theatre Company, $15-$64, childrenstheatre.org

After coming to light as the singer in Macklemore's 2014 gay-rights anthem "Same Love," buoyant Seattle singer Mary Lambert has also stepped out for abuse victims and spoken up on body-image issues. All of which somewhat belies just how fun her music is. She piles on the infectious pop hooks and soulful vocals on her strong, new, self-released EP "Bold," featuring a couple of co-writes with Beyoncé collaborator Toby Gad and some other songs worthy of anthem status.

Chris Riemenschneider

A promising singer-songwriter when she emerged in 2004, Rachael Yamagata has become a well-connected careerist. She's been heard on CDs by Ryan Adams, Bright Eyes and the Muppets, among others. She has contributed songs to movies and TV shows including "30 Rock" and "Grey's Anatomy." Her fourth and latest album, 2016's "Tightrope Walker," features storytelling from the dramatic to cinematic. Her new video for "Let Me Be Your Girl" features Allison Janey. Well connected, indeed.

JON BREAM

8 p.m. Wed. Icehouse, Mpls, $25-$30, icehousempls.com

Is Stephen Sondheim the nation's greatest living composer? Some think so. Others look down their noses because he works in the musical-theater genre. MacPhail Center for Music invites audiences to judge for themselves with this tantalizing concert featuring selections from Sondheim classics such as "Company," "Into the Woods" and "A Little Night Music." It features MacPhail faculty vocalists, including soprano Andrea Leap and tenor Dennis Petersen.

TERRY BLAIN

Four fine actors — Ansa Akyea, Kiara Jackson, Michael Jemison and Adelin Phelps — power Hansol Jung's fascinating and unruly new play "Cardboard Piano," with two acts set 14 years apart. It begins with two young women having a tryst in war-torn Uganda. But Jung, who has a surprisingly light touch with tragic material, broadens the world of the play, repeatedly dashing our expectations and then giving us new ones.

Chris Hewitt

7:30 p.m. Thu.-Sat., 2 p.m. Sat.-Sun., closes Feb. 18, Park Square Theatre, St. Paul, $25-$60, parksquaretheatre.org

New Zealand's Kimbra rose to fame in 2012 as the featured singer on Gotye's worldwide, Grammy-winning smash "Somebody That I Used to Know." Now the versatile vocalist is about to drop her third solo album, "Primal Heart," produced by Skrillex and John Congleton (St. Vincent, Lana Del Rey). Actually, the disc was due in January but has been delayed until April. Her second CD was overstuffed with collaborators like Muse's Matt Bellamy and Silverchair's Daniel Johns.

JON BREAM

A staple of the St. Paul Winter Carnival, the Vulcan Victory Torchlight Parade finds the shifty Vulcanus Rex lighting up the streets of downtown St. Paul. Local organizations and Carnival Royalty join him to parade through the streets. After the parade, just follow Vulcanus and his Krewe to the steps of the St. Paul Library for the climactic "Overthrow of Boreas" production. The evening culminates with a fireworks show.

Melissa Walker

5:30 p.m. Sat., downtown St. Paul, free, winter-carnival.com

Specializing in historically informed performances, French-Canadian conductor Bernard Labadie leads the Minnesota Orchestra and Minnesota Chorale this week in a performance of Fauré's ethereal Requiem. Also on the program are Mozart's "Paris" Symphony and the Fourth Symphony of Henri-Joseph Rigel, a contemporary of Mozart's who spent most of his adult life in the French capital.

Terry Blain