Performance artist Taylor Mac packs a century's worth of song into one night at Guthrie

For sheer ambition, few artists can match Taylor Mac, the chameleon-like playwright, actor, singer, songwriter, performance artist and director who is the toast of New York's cutting-edge performance scene. Part of a multiyear effort to chart 240 years of American music, "20th Century Abridged" is his festive telescoping of music from Tin Pan Alley to rock 'n' roll, backed by a five-piece band as he jams through the century. (7:30 p.m. Fri.-Sat., Guthrie Theater, 818 S. 2nd St., Mpls. $25-$45. 612-377-2224 or guthrietheater.org)