'MAGGIE'S BRAIN'

Friday-Sunday: Off-Leash Area reprises its emotionally raw 2007 dance-theater work "Maggie's Brain" this weekend. Based on the shattering experience of a young woman dealing with the onset of schizophrenia, this piece created by choreographer Jennifer Ilse and performer/scenic designer Paul Herwig turns its focus on the tumult within. Mental illness remains a challenging subject for individuals, families and society as a whole but efforts like "Maggie's Brain" play an important role in raising understanding and revealing humanity, even in its darkest and abandoned moments. (8 p.m. Fri.-Sat., 7 p.m. Sun., $25, the Cowles Center, 528 Hennepin Av. S., Mpls., 612-206-3600, or www.thecowlescenter.org.)

CAROLINE PALMER