PILGRIMS MUSA AND SHERI IN THE NEW WORLD

Saturday-Monday: Mixed Blood Theatre launches its "55454 Series" of shows that relate to its diverse West Bank Minneapolis neighborhood with Yussef El Guindi's "Pilgrims Musa and Sheri in the New World." The comedic one-act, which won the Steinberg Award from the American Theatre Critics Association, is about a Muslim immigrant and an American who have an arranged marriage but end up falling in love. The cast of this weekend-only production includes Algerian-born Mohamad Yabdri as Musa, Ethiopian-born Antu Yacob, Ansa Akyea (of Ghana by way of Switzerland) and Minnesota native Greta Grosch. Mark Valdez directs. (7:30 p.m. Sat. & Mon., 2 p.m. Sun.; Mixed Blood Theatre, 1501 S. 4th St., Mpls.; $20 guaranteed admission, free rush line, 612-338-6131 or mixedblood.com.)

A BRIGHT NEW BOISE

Opening Friday: Playwright Samuel D. Hunter, who won a MacArthur Foundation "genius" fellowship last year, was born and reared in Idaho, which informs the characters and small-town settings of his plays. "A Bright New Boise," his 2010 Obie-winning comedy, orbits Will, a Christian devotee fleeing scandal at his evangelical church. Will gets a job at Hobby Lobby, which fortuitously reunites him with the now-teenage son he gave up for adoption years earlier. In this environment, Will summons the Rapture as he and a cast of colorful misfits seek redemption through faith. The show, produced by Loudmouth Collective, is directed by Natalie Novacek and features Adam Whisner and Karen Wiese-Thompson. (8 p.m. Fri.-Mon., Thu. Ends Jan. 25; Open Eye Figure Theatre, 506 E. 24th St., Mpls.; $15, 612-643-1231 or loudmouthcollective.com.)

LA CAGE AUX FOLLES

Opens Friday: "La Cage aux Folles" was pioneering as a 1973 play by French actor Jean Poiret and as a Tony-winning 1983 musical by composer Jerry Herman and playwright Harvey Fierstein. Before marriage equality, here was a well-told story about a long-standing gay couple. Georges manages a Saint-Tropez drag club where his partner, Albin, is the star. But they have to pretend that they are not a couple when Georges' son from a one-night stand brings home a fiancée and her conservative parents. The question is how does this show land in the age of marriage equality? Joe Chvala directs while Jim Pounds stars as Georges and Rich Hamson plays Albin. (7:30 p.m. Fri.-Sat., 2 p.m. Sun. Ends Feb. 15; Bloomington Civic Theatre, 1800 W. Old Shakopee Rd., Bloomington; $34. 952-563-8575 or btacmn.org.)

Rohan Preston