Artcetera: Fallout from Super Bowl parties

Hip-hop star Cardi B's $150 to $250 appearance at Privé nightclub last week — where she danced a little but didn't perform — was far from the only high-buck Super Bowl party deemed a bust. Rapper Gucci Mane never took the stage at a $300 party Thursday at Muse Event Center. Party­goer Aaron Thom of Minneapolis said the crowd waited until 2 a.m.: "They ripped everyone off." Even the venue, which rented the space to promoter LEX Entertainment, said it got taken: "Their check bounced," said Muse representative Zach Sussman. (LEX did not return our calls.) Gucci did perform at Myth on Saturday, but co-headliner Travis Scott did not make the $150 gig because he couldn't find an airport close enough to land his private jet, the promoter said. Refunds were offered, however. The Maxim party with Marshmello ditched its grandiose 31,000-foot "superdome" last-minute for a cramped Warehouse District space where $750 ticket holders complained of having to use portajohns in subzero temps. To top it off, the postgame $175 Player's Ball with Diddy, Cardi B and French Montana at the Armory didn't get going until 2:30 a.m., by which time audience members were throwing drinks at the stage. Then the acts did just a few songs apiece. Hey, at least you got something!CHRIS RIEMENSCHNEIDER

Emmy winner Sterling K. Brown was in Minneapolis last weekend to appear on "The Tonight Show" with his castmates from "This Is Us," but he made time to stop by the Guthrie Theater to get a tour — and dazzle some aspiring actors. He spent an hour taking questions from more than 60 students in the University of Minnesota/Guthrie BFA training program. "It was incredible," said freshman Samantha Glasse. "A lot of times you meet these people and you think they're going to be removed, but he gave us his full attention." Brown spent two months at the theater's old digs in 2000 in a graduate-level training program, then returned in 2005 to star in Lynn Nottage's "Intimate Apparel." He was joined by his wife, actress Ryan Michelle Bathe, who also appeared on the Guthrie stage. Look for Brown in "Black Panther," opening next week.

NEAL JUSTIN

Add Sting to the list of legendary artists that have recorded in the Twin Cities. Accompanied by his plus-one for the week, Jamaican rapper/singer Shaggy, the Rock Hall of Famer snuck into RiverRock Studios in northeast Minneapolis on Saturday between gigs for the NFL team owners and Sunday's NFL Tailgate Party. He and Shaggy have a record coming out in April — one that apparently needed last-minute vocal and piano overdubs. "They recorded the majority of the record in New York, but needed to finish it up here," RiverRock owner Eric Bloomquist said. C.R.

It turns out Chelsea Clinton is a Philadelphia Eagles fan. She and husband Marc Mezvinsky — a Philly native who "brought the @eagles to our marriage," she explained via tweet — visited Minnesota on Sunday to catch Super Bowl LII, but not before stopping by Walker Art Center and the American Swedish Institute, where they checked out the "CraftBowl" exhibit. "They didn't make much of a fuss," said ASI marketing manager Karen Nelson. The two are "mug collectors," she said, and wound up buying one from the museum shop.

Christopher Shea

Williamstown Theatre Festival in Massachusetts has announced a starry slate for 2018, including Matthew Broderick, Mary-Louise Parker and, behind the scenes, Twin Cities playwright Carson Kreitzer. She wrote the book and lyrics for "Lempicka," a musical about Russian-exile-turned-painter Tamara de Lempicka that will premiere in July. Kreitzer describes the show, composed by Matt Gould, as " 'Sunday in the Park With George' meets 'Evita.' " It stars Carmen Cusack — a Tony nominee for "Bright Star" — and will be directed by Rachel Chavkin, best known for steering the musical "Natasha, Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812" into a Broadway hit.

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