Artcetera: This ticket will be hotter than Hades

They went to hell and back. Now, they're taking their show on the road. "Hadestown," Anaïs Mitchell's mythological Broadway musical about Orpheus' and Eurydice's trip to the underworld, will be coming to the Twin Cities, the producers have announced. The stop at the Orpheum Theatre is one of about 30 engagements starting in the 2020-21 season. No dates have been made public. The folk opera-style show features a rare all-female creative team, including Tony-winning director Rachel Chavkin, who staged "The Royal Family" at the Guthrie in 2017. At the Tony ceremonies in June, "Hadestown" won eight awards, including the Tony for best musical and a trophy for theater legend André De Shields, who plays Hermes. There has been no word on casting for the national tour. The backers of "Hadestown" include a group of Twin Cities producers led by theater lover Jennifer Melin Miller and working under the aegis of Stone Arch Theatricals.

ROHAN PRESTON

On his Never-Ending Book Tour, Duluth native Louie Kemp made four stops in the Twin Cities this week, promoting "Dylan & Me: 50 Years of Adventures." Kemp met Hibbing's Bobby Zimmerman (now Dylan) at Herzl Camp in Webster, Wis., in 1963. Some of their other Herzl alums from the Twin Cities — Dick Cohn, David Unowsky and Jerry Waldman — showed up at Tuesday's event at Next Chapter Booksellers in St. Paul. The author explained he'd sent two copies to Dylan's manager, with one intended for his friend whom he hasn't seen for 12 years. "Did you sign them?" someone asked. "No. That's extra," Kemp joked. Everybody laughed.

JON BREAM

Twin Cities theater audiences are known for being open to new work and they've had lots of chances to prove it this summer. This weekend alone, theatergoers can pick from four world premiere productions. Well, technically, three: Josh Tobiessen's boisterous comedy "Stinkers," which ends its Jungle Theater run Sunday, has been sold out for weeks. Tickets are available for "Floyd's," a Guthrie Theater commission from Lynn Nottage, the only woman to have won two Pulitzer Prizes for drama (for "Ruined" and "Sweat," which the G will produce next summer). It's opening weekend for "Hot Asian Doctor Husband," commissioned by Theater Mu from playwright Leah Nanako Winkler. And there's "Cabal," Walking Shadow Theatre Company's "play with puzzles." Part escape room, part interactive theater, it has been extended through September.

CHRIS HEWITT

Legendary Twin Cities jazz saxophonist Irv (Mr. Smooth) Williams didn't make it to his 100th birthday party Wednesday at the Dakota. Proprietor Lowell Pickett called Williams an hour before showtime, and the saxophonist was too tired. Still, a who's who of local jazz — including Billy Peterson, Kenny Horst, Gary Raynor, Adi Yeshaya and Patty Peterson — performed in tribute to the centenarian. Pickett announced a new Irv Williams Fellowship at MacPhail School of Music. The first recipient was alto saxophonist Sophia Kickhofel, 16, of Apple Valley High School. Having just returned from a tour of Asia with the Carnegie Hall-based National Youth Orchestra, she played the first few numbers Wednesday with the veteran jazzmen. And she held her own — extra impressive considering she just met the other players 10 minutes before showtime. The birthday boy would have been proud.

They're going to need a lot of coffee. Four creative teams, comprising more than 40 artists, are gearing up for the Twin Cities' first-ever "24 Hour Musicals." Writers and composers will team up with directors and actors — including such A-listers as Sally Wingert, Michelle Barber, Sasha Andreev, Cat Brindisi and Warren C. Bowles — to create and present a musical within the space of a calendar day, starting at 7:30 p.m. Sunday. You can see the results at 7:30 p.m. Monday at Chanhassen Dinner Theatres, which is hosting the event as a benefit for the University of Minnesota Duluth theater program. UMD is the alma mater of Brindisi and composer David Darrow, who will be part of one of the teams. Other composers include Kasano Mwanza, a regular on the Chanhassen stage, and singer-songwriter Becky Shaheen while the directors include Park Square leader Flordelino Lagundino and UMD professor William Payne. Tickets are $35, with upgraded dinner packages available. Call 952-934-1525 or go to ChanhassenDT.com for more information.R.P.

Find more coverage of the arts at startribune.com/artcetera and follow us on Twitter @entertain_mn.