Actor Santino Fontana's face is splashed on billboards and bus ads across New York City. He was on Stephen Colbert's show last Friday. And he just got his second Tony nomination. Best known for giving voice to Prince Hans in Disney's "Frozen," the graduate of the University of Minnesota/Guthrie Theater BFA training program is starring as "Tootsie" in a new musical based on the Oscar-winning 1982 film. Fontana steps into Dustin Hoffman's high heels as an actor who can't get work because he's difficult, so he disguises himself as a woman. Fontana told Colbert that his "Hello, Dolly!" co-star Bernadette Peters helped him select a hair style. He also noted that the show has been retooled for today's more gender-sensitive audience: "This actor makes a terrible decision ... but an incredibly entertaining one." Fontana has seen a steady stream of celeb visitors, including Carol Burnett, Billy Crystal, Anna Deavere Smith and Tina Fey. Composed by David Yazbek ("The Full Monty," "Dirty Rotten Scoundrels") with a book by Robert Horn, the show is Fontana's ninth on Broadway. He previously was a Tony nominee for "Cinderella," playing Prince Topher opposite Twin Citian Laura Osnes. "Tootsie" will compete for 11 Tony Awards on the June 9 telecast hosted by James Corden. ROHAN PRESTON
Dessa goes to the fair
Finally, hip-hop at the Minnesota State Fair Bandshell. Rapper-singer-author Dessa, a Minnesota music star for every occasion, will headline the final two nights Sept. 1-2. The rest of the Bandshell Tonight lineup emphasizes oldies but goodies, including 1990s soul men Tony! Toni! Toné!, country vets Lonestar of "Amazed" fame, 1960s heartthrob Peter Noone & Herman's Hermits, Go-Go's lead singer Belinda Carlisle (not to be confused with Brandi Carlile, who plays the Grandstand Aug. 31) and a salute to Queen starring Scottish singer Gary Mullen. The fair's seven free stages will feature an array of national and regional performers. Out-of-towners include twangy guitar duo Bill Kirchen and Redd Volkaert, zydeco favorite Chubby Carrier and country rapper Colt Ford. Locals include blues-soul powerhouse Joyann Parker, bluegrassy Pert Near Sandstone and husband-and-wife rapper/singer duo iLLism. For the complete lineup, go to mnstatefair.org.
JON BREAM
Casino rap
Old-school hip-hop is apparently becoming a winning bet at Twin Cities-area casinos. After a sold-out Snoop Dogg concert at Treasure Island last month and a hotly anticipated June 30 show by the Roots at Mystic Lake, now comes word of the Art of Rap Festival landing June 15 at Treasure Island's new amphitheater with co-headliners 50 Cent and Ice-T and an all-star cast of hip-hop pioneers, including Slick Rick, Too $hort, Biz Markie, EPMD, Das EFX, JJ Fad and Suga Free. Tickets are already on sale via Ticketmaster. This is the fifth year of the touring festival, co-created by Ice-T, the gangsta rapper turned "Law & Order: SVU" star.
CHRIS RIEMENSCHNEIDER
Blood and ink
Family ties connect a trio of plays debuting this summer in Illusion Theater's annual Fresh Ink series, and all three come from regular Illusion collaborators. Jeffrey Hatcher kicks things off June 13-16 with "Netherlands," in which Sandra Struthers will play sisters. One lives in Amsterdam while the other travels there each month from the U.S. to make sure her sister is still alive. "A Play by Carlyle and Barb" (June 20-23) comes from husband-and-wife duo Carlyle Brown and Barbara Joyce Rose-Brown. It was written as a response to a stroke that left dramaturge Barbara unable to speak, and him as a playwright without his dramaturge. "Before You Were Alive" (June 27-30), written and performed by Beth Gilleland, is about her experiences as a single person, mothering a boy who lost his birth mother. For info, go to illusiontheater.org.
CHRIS HEWITT
Taking out the thrash
Regular listeners of community radio station KFAI know to expect the unexpected depending on whatever hour they might tune in, but that won't be the case next Thursday. Most unexpectedly, the station will turn into an all-metal outlet for a 24-hour span starting just after midnight. The headbanger takeover — featuring guest hosts, interviews, live sessions and more — will be staged in honor of longtime DJ and scene booster Earl Root, who died of cancer 11 years ago Thursday. His "Root of All Evil" show still airs on the station (1-6 a.m. Sundays at 90.3 FM in Minneapolis, 106.7 in St. Paul and streaming at KFAI.org), alongside the women-centric metal program "Shadow Planet" (2-4 a.m. Saturdays) and the mostly local "Roar of the Underground" (4-6 a.m. Saturdays). C.R.
