New Guthrie star on 'The Edge'

Ali Rose Dachis, a 24-year-old St. Louis Park-bred actor with a penetrating gaze, has the ineffable mix of feral hunger and craft that casting directors zero in on when trying to find a star. Now she's appearing in "The Edge of Our Bodies," which just opened at the Guthrie's studio space.

"Ali definitely has got the 'it' factor -- great skills, incredible stamina and this big love of investigating the play and its characters," said the play's director, Ben McGovern.

In "Bodies," Dachis plays Bernadette, a precocious 16-year-old actor and aspiring writer who runs away from her boarding school. "She talks about everything -- first love, first sexual experiences, dealing with death for the first time," said Dachis. "Each one of those experiences is quite profound and I can easily relate to them. But for the sake of my own health and the telling of this story, I try not to go too far into my own personal life with those memories."

Bernadette is neither standoffish nor a bystander in "Edge of Our Bodies." "She drives everything, so we see everything from her perspective and she gets into your head, into your hearts and minds in a different way," Dachis said.

When Dachis found out she was cast in Adam Rapp's moody play, she decided to immerse herself in Bernadette's world. She read all the books referenced in the play, including Jonathan Safran Foer's "Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close," Edith Wharton's "The House of Mirth" and Sylvia Plath's "The Bell Jar." She also listened to the music her character talks about, including Otis Redding, Radiohead and the Magnetic Fields.

"I had a really good summer," she said.

• Rohan Preston

'Bizarre' foodie goes domestic

Andrew Zimmern is coming home -- in more ways than one. Travel Channel announced Monday that the locally based TV personality will star in "Bizarre Foods America," a new series that's an offshoot of "Bizarre Foods With Andrew Zimmern." As the title suggests, Zimmern will tuck away his passport and concentrate on meals here in the USA, starting with the Twin Cities. Among the adventures in the premiere: judging a cookoff at a local VFW, going bow fishing for carp, snagging a snapping turtle for a deep-fried dish and trying dishes made with meat glue. Naturally, the Jucy Lucy will be making a cameo. Zimmern will also travel to Austin (Texas), Boston, Las Vegas and New Orleans. The Travel Channel series launches Jan. 24.

• Neal Justin

Dueling dueling piano bars?

Can downtown Minneapolis handle two dueling piano bars? We'll find out Dec. 9 when Howl at the Moon opens on 1st Avenue N. The national chain will open its first Minnesota outpost in the former Rosen's, just three blocks from the Shout House in Block E. That dueling piano bar just celebrated its seven-year anniversary. Howl at the Moon has locations across the Eastern Seaboard and the Gulf Coast (15 total). The club describes itself as a rock 'n' roll piano bar catering to big groups, especially birthday and bachelorette parties. Like the Shout House, there's plenty of interaction with the musicians and, apparently, plenty of drinking. Beyond the cocktails with names like "3-Way" and "X-Boyfriend," the bar offers 86-ounce neon-colored bucket drinks.

• Tom Horgen

Night of color at the Walker

Last Friday night, the Walker Art Center rang in "Graphic Design: Now in Production" with an appropriately kaleidoscopic After Hours preview party. Clearly inspired by the invitation's request to wear a Pantone color (which didn't really narrow it down), a vividly dressed crowd -- including Walker director Olga Viso -- mingled to the sounds of graphic designer/DJ duo Hi-Fi/Lo-Fi, and got their pictures taken in the photo booth that was set up in a utility elevator. If color was the theme of the night, interaction was the name of the game. Partygoers used their cellphones to exchange information with a digital poster wall, and tried their hands at creating their own personal fonts. Paying attention paid off for the winners of the post-exhibition quiz, who made off with a pair of Delta Air Lines tickets and a staycation at the W Minneapolis. But the biggest win of the night had to be our discovery of the line-free outdoor bar, which thankfully came surrounded by heat lamps.

• Jahna Peloquin

Minnesota native on 'Project Accessory'

One of the contestants on the new "Project Runway" spinoff, "Project Accessory," counts Minneapolis as her hometown. The name Nicolina Royale may not be familiar, but that's because she's been living in Los Angeles for the past 12 years, building a rock-inspired accessories empire and creating pieces for the likes of Miley Cyrus and Steven Tyler. After studying broadcast journalism at the University of Minnesota, Royale moved to L.A. for an internship with "Entertainment Tonight," "and that's when I fell in love with rock 'n' roll," Royale says. When her guitar-pick cufflinks were spotted on the street by an executive from Bloomingdale's, the department store immediately placed an order and Nicolina Royale (real name: Nikki Cosentino) was born. So why the name? "Since I was little I was in pageants," the Joan Jett lookalike said. Royale/Cosentino also tells of an influential childhood trip to see the British monarchy, "so I've always loved crowns." "Project Accessory" premieres Thursday, immediately following the "Project Runway" season finale on Lifetime.

• Jahna Peloquin

'Juno' team's followup premieres in Edina

On Oct. 19, Landmark Edina Cinema was the site of the first U.S.-audience screening of "Young Adult," the new film starring Charlize Theron from the "Juno" team of director Jason Reitman and writer Diablo Cody. The much-anticipated new collaboration shares some stylistic notes with their earlier effort -- a pop-saturated soundtrack, a woman-child stuck between adolescence and adulthood, a droll appreciation of daily life in suburbia. It's also a step in a new direction, both for the creative team and for movies, a mature and humane comedy centered on a misanthropic female antihero. Think of it as "Juno's" wicked stepsister.

Charlize Theron plays Mavis Gary, a divorced writer (or as she prefers it, "author") of teen novels. Though she's in her 30s, she's still obsessed with her former high school sweetheart, Buddy Slade (Patrick Wilson), who is married and is a new dad. Mavis returns to her hometown to reclaim her man, oblivious to the fact that he is happy with his life. A comedy of real awkwardness ensues. To find out how well all this works, you'll have to wait for our full review when the movie opens Dec. 9.

• Colin Covert

P.O.S.' stripped-down set

Why the heck was P.O.S. performing at a strip club recently? The Twin Cities rap star surprised an invite-only crowd at the Seville gentlemen's club with a fiery 25-minute set Oct. 16 (yes, he kept his clothes on). It turns out P.O.S. was once a restroom attendant at Rick's Cabaret, which Seville owner Dino Perlman managed in the early 2000s. For P.O.S., it was his last 9-to-5 job. Perlman wanted to deliver an extra-special surprise for his annual party for service-industry folks, so he called his former employee. "When he came out, everyone went nuts," the club owner said. "There wasn't a member of my staff doing their job. Everybody was just jumping up and down." In the past, P.O.S. has praised his former boss, who apparently gave him plenty of days off to go on tour. "When I met him at Rick's," Perlman said, "I knew without a doubt there was something special about this guy."

• Tom Horgen