'Lovers and Executioners'
Theatre Pro Rata's production, written by John Strand, is based on the work of Antoine Jacob de Montfleury. Carin Bratlie directs a cast that includes Noe Tallen, Amber Bjork, Grant Henderson and Ben Tallen. The story concerns a scorned woman who returns to haunt her husband not as a ghost but dressed as a man. Montfleury was a 17th-century poet, so the story has natural elements of Restoration comedy. (7:30 p.m. Sat. & 3 p.m. Sun. Ends Oct. 14. $14-$41 (two-for-one on Sundays with Fringe button). Gremlin Theatre, 2400 W. University Av., St. Paul. 612-234-7135 or theatreprorata.org.)GRAYDON ROYCE
'Les Liaisons Dangereuses'
How convenient. The Guthrie is in the midst of its Christopher Hampton festival and lo and behold here is Urban Samurai producing his most famous title. The 1983 play adapts the story of a capricious French noblewoman (Mykel Pennington) and her lecherous friend (Matthew Greseth) as they manipulate the lives of courtiers and minions. Jimmy Le Duc directs. (7:30 p.m. Fri.-Sat., Mon., Thu. $12-$16. Sabes JCC, 4330 W. Cedar Lake Rd., St. Louis Park. 612-524-5825 or www.urbansamurai.org.)G.R.
'Slippery Fish'
Choreographer Penelope Freeh, who's familiar to fans of the James Sewell Ballet, and composer Jocelyn Hagen share a concert exploring the contours and complexities of the relationship between dance and music. The evening includes the premiere of "Slippery Fish," featuring Freeh, Hagen, New York's Patrick Corbin (a former member of Paul Taylor Dance Company who now leads CorbinDances), soprano Carrie Henneman Shaw and Minnesota Orchestra violist Sam Bergman. Other offerings include Hagen's song cycle about the Lost Boys of Sudan, " ... and then we were left," and Freeh's "Paper Nautilus," performed by the always mesmerizing Nic Lincoln. (8 p.m. Fri., 5 & 8 p.m. Sat., 2 p.m. next Sun. $15-$25. Southern Theater, 1420 Washington Av. S., Mpls. 612-343-3390 or www.ticketworks.com.)CAROLINE PALMER
FRIDAY
Wanda Sykes
A stiff cocktail of bluntness and charisma, Sykes has been consistently funny throughout her 20-plus years in comedy. Always outspoken, the comedian/actress' role as a social commentator has ballooned since she came out as gay in 2008. Since then, Sykes -- a rabid supporter of GLBT issues -- slayed at the 2009 White House Correspondents' Association dinner and released her second HBO special, "I'ma Be Me," that same year. Fox's short-lived "The Wanda Sykes Show," a Bill Maher-ish, late-night panel discussion, got the ax in 2010. When not performing standup or going to bat for social causes, the 48-year-old makes bank as one of Hollywood's busiest big-budget voice artists, most recently lending a sassy African-American persona to a grandma sloth in "Ice Age: Continental Drift." (8 p.m. Fri. $39.75-$59.75. Orpheum Theatre, 910 Hennepin Av. S., Mpls. 612-339-7007 or www.hennepintheatretrust.org.) JAY BOLLER
