Legends of the fall

The political theater event of the season. Twelve half-hour plays are presented in three pieces -- two hours at a time. There is also the option to see them in one sitting with a dinner break. The plays trace Afghan history from 1842 to the present, providing context for the present conflict. A critic for the Guardian called the London staging a "mind-blowing achievement." --Graydon Royce

Your favorite comic's favorite comic is back on the road with a new tour simply called "Word." It's an appropriate title for a Louis CK show, seeing that the comedian is a master of dissecting the English language. While his new FX sitcom hasn't been the hit that fans hoped for, his lacerating stand-up is sure to entertain. --Tom Horgen

The producers of the Soap Factory's annual Haunted Basement would be remiss in their duties if they didn't promise that this year's spectacle would be "the most twisted year yet." The Basement's creepiest artist-designed installations have had the power to cause nightmares years later -- the upside-down corn maze, the hanging body-bag room, the pitch-black tour of the basement with only a slimy rope as a guide, etc. This year's theme, "Distortion," draws a post-apocalyptic narrative of humankind moving underground with horrifying consequences. --Jahna Peloquin

RdL returns to the Mainroom to tout fall's most anticipated local album, "Then the Morning Came." The rootsy but innovative and atmospheric Americana/indie-folk band has evolved from a quaint husband/wife acoustic act into a six-piece band built around wee-sized frontwoman Channy Moon-Casselle's towering voice. --Chris Riemenschneider

Zoe Pappas tackles this iconic role in a Theater Latté Da production. "Evita" is a classic Andrew Lloyd Webber musical, full of big, lush melodies and anthems. Peter Rothstein will direct the piece about a country girl who became a powerful and potent symbol in Latin America. Jared Oxborough plays Che Guevara. --Graydon Royce

Never mind their headlining appearances at the Coachella and Austin City Limits festivals. The biggest sign yet that 2010 is the year this Queen-styled British rock band finally broke into America after a half-decade of European mega-stardom might be the gossip buzz over singer Matthew Bellamy's dating Kate Hudson. The trio's ambitious stage and lighting show is reportedly even more eye-catching than she is. --Chris Riemenschneider

There's nothing quite like this festival of movies about music, now in its 11th year. For this year's main event, 12 films will be screened at the Southern Theater, Trylon Microcinema and Red Stag Supperclub. Highlights include a performance by Gary Louris accompanying the documentary "Who Is Harry Nilsson," David Byrne collaborator Steve Reker presenting Byrne's concert film "Ride, Rise, Roar," and a soul music dance party following "The Agony and the Ecstasy of Phil Spector." (www.soundunseen.com) --Jay Gabler

Organized by the nationally recognized Rain Taxi Review of Books, the Twin Cities Book Festival is the hands-down highlight of the year for Minnesota bookworms. The free daylong event features panel discussions, classes, an ocean of booksellers and publishers displaying their wares and appearances by prominent authors. This year's guests of honor include journalist Jeffrey Zaslow, cultural critic James Howard Kunstler and poet Jean Valentine. Bring a satchel for all the bookcentric swag you'll collect. --Jay Gabler

A celebration of the written word and graphic arts, FallCon offers fans the chance to meet popular comics writers and artists. Autograph signings, portfolio reviews, a huge marketplace of comic books, graphic novels, original art, action figures and more. Also, squadrons of costumed characters, surprise guests and hundreds of door prizes. (10 a.m.-4 p.m. $7. Progress Center, State Fairgrounds, www.midwestcomicbook.com) --Brian Leehan

Photographer Smuda's "Blueprint Series" has become a bit of an art-scene mainstay over the past three years. The prints -- each a coolly meditative sci-fi diagram, electrified in bug-zapper blue -- have made cameos seemingly everywhere. Now Smuda is amassing the entire series for a towering exhibition. At 30 feet wide and three stories tall, the prints could either threaten like a tsunami or creep like a glacier. Either way, it'll be epic. (Opening reception 6-9 p.m. 801 Lofts, 801 Washington Av. N., Mpls., www.801washingtonlofts.org.) --Gregory J. Scott

The weird little "virtual band" created by Blur frontman Damon Albarn with cartoonist Jamie Hewlett in 1998 has evolved even more weirdly into a full-blown touring production, one that blends animation with a live ensemble featuring the Clash's Mick Jones and Paul Simonon. Oddest of all: the high ticket prices, but it might be a one-time-only thing (and certainly one of a kind). --Chris Riemenschneider

Big hair. Glam makeup. Lots of noise. The '80s are back in this lighthearted jukebox musical that draws on the likes of Journey, Bon Jovi and Styx. "American Idol" finalist Constantine Maroulis, who headlined the show on Broadway, stars as busboy Drew, who falls in love to a rock soundtrack. --Rohan Preston

A French showman whose career flamed up and out in a mere eight years (1954-62), Klein is best remembered for a color: International Klein Blue, an ultramarine hue of fabulous intensity that he slathered onto sculptures, canvases and naked bodies. In Klein's first U.S. retrospective in decades, the Walker heralds him as a precursor to such post-World War II avant garde movements as minimal, conceptual, land and performance art. A sure-to-be-colorful show. --Mary Abbe

Two of the best live dance-music acts around join forces for a huge doubleheader. It comes on the heels of LCD frontman James Murphy's announcement that the stellar 2010 release, "This Is Happening," will be his final under the moniker. Roy Wilkins Auditorium is oft-ridiculed as "sonically challenged," though fellow electronic-tinged acts like Moby and the Killers have made it work. Hot Chip is touring behind this year's "One Life Stand." --Jahna Peloquin

During the past 20 years Eugene and Clare Thaw amassed one of the country's most extensive and impressive collections of American Indian art. Drawn from tribal cultures throughout the Americas, the collection ranges from a Yup'ik Alaskan seal-gut parka and a Tlingit wooden war helmet to a colorful Apache saddlebag from Arizona and exquisitely beaded Huron moccasins from Quebec. One hundred pieces from the collection are traveling in this show. --Mary Abbe

It isn't Pink Floyd, but it is the band's unmistakable voice performing its 1979 concept album "The Wall" on tour for the first time. If this presentation is half as satisfying as Waters' "Dark Side of the Moon" live tour a few years ago, this will be the trippy highlight of the fall. --Jon Bream

Everyone knows the music for Alfred Hitchcock's "Psycho" ... well, at least the part that goes WEE-WEE-WEE-WEE while Janet Leigh gets stabbed and bleeds chocolate sauce. There's a lot more to the score, by Bernard Herrmann, and the best way to appreciate that is to hear the music played live by the Minnesota Orchestra while the film is projected on a giant screen. The 1960 horror classic will tingle your spine -- and, luckily, make you forget all about the Vince Vaughn remake. --Jay Gabler

In its third year, this local fashion design showcase has always put the spotlight on up-and-coming designers and recent grads -- and now, many returning designers (Jenny Carle, Carmichael Claith) have become established in their own right. This year's lineup gets even more eclectic with designers Raul Osorio and Kevin Kramp both showing new menswear collections. With new lines by local accessories designers like Ferociter and Carrier Pigeon, it's almost like a mini-Voltage (9 p.m. Loft 2, 401 1st Av. N., second floor, Mpls.) --Jahna Peloquin

Joel McHale of "The Soup" finally has some competition when it comes to snarky TV commentary. While Tosh's sights are set a bit lower -- he makes fun of Web videos -- the guy's Comedy Central show, "Tosh.0," already has surpassed Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert in ratings. Tickets for his stand-up tour should be just as hot. --Tom Horgen

Once upon a time there was a Swedish '90s pop princess named Robyn. Passed off as a Britney/Christina re-hash, everyone forgot about her. But in 2007, she reappeared with a hip, subversive electro-pop sound, and the Pitchforks of the world deemed her cool. Robyn 2.0 ranks as one of the better contemporary electro-dance acts, proving that credibility can come late. --Jay Boller

In partnership with the Circle (MIA's young art patrons membership group) and MNfashion, this event challenges some innovative local fashion designers to reimagine art as fashion. Laura Fulk, Samantha Rei, Raul Osorio and Emma Berg will each create mini-collections inspired by the MIA's permanent collection -- which will then be donned by models using the museum's great halls as a decadent runway. (6-8:30 p.m. Free. Minneapolis Institute of Arts) --Jahna Peloquin

Whether you're a ballet buff, a flamenco fanatic or merely a dance dilettante, this annual event is your one-stop shop for the best in local light-tripping. With no fewer than 13 different dance troupes taking the stage, the only thing you can be sure to expect is that your expectations of contemporary dance will be stretched like a chest expander. Among the talent is ballet master James Sewell, Christian hip-hoppers Christ Up Dance Crew, and SuperGroup -- four singing dancers who like brightly colored costumes and don't like to make sense. (7 & 9:30 p.m. McGuire Theater at Walker Art Center) --Jay Gabler