Artcetera: Who says it don't come easy?

Most of us were content coming back from the long July 4th weekend with simple stories of hanging out with friends and family. Minneapolis music vet Ben Kyle of Romantica notoriety, however, came back with this whopper of a tale, which he recounted via e-mail: "I had played two interpretations of his songs to the crowd gathered on Vine Street outside Capitol Records, and I was standing there on stage next to Jim Keltner who was doing a drum roll and listening to David Lynch introduce the man himself when all of a sudden I felt an arm around my shoulder. I turned around, and it was Ringo hugging me and saying, 'Thank you, brother!' " Yep, that Ringo — the guy from Liverpool, just across the Irish Sea from Kyle's native Belfast. The Romantica frontman was invited to play a public bash Sunday for the Beatles drummer's 79th birthday outside the famed Capitol Tower in Los Angeles. A video of Kyle singing Ringo's 1973 solo hit "It Don't Come Easy" started making its way around Facebook on Monday. "Gotta pay your dues if you want to sing the blues," Kyle cheekily quoted from that song in a separate post that showed him mugging for the cameras with Mr. Starr and Sara Watkins (of Nickel Creek and I'm With Her fame), who accompanied Kyle on violin. The two also performed "Act Naturally." Romantica just finished touring Spain and Ireland and will be back in action locally soon.

CHRIS RIEMENSCHNEIDER

Twin Cities puppeteer, theater director, stilter, visual artist, teacher and social worker Soozin Hirschmugl died last week at 51, surrounded by a circle of friends, after a battle with a virulent and quick-moving cancer. Whether she was sing-narrating her melodic form of storytelling, mentoring younger artists or driving to Wisconsin to pick up sparklers for a last-minute show detail, Hirschmugl was a generous collaborator and inventive problem solver. She touched many through organizations like In the Heart of the Beast, Barebones and Chicks on Sticks, creating radiant performances and interactive happenings. "She was really feisty and I think lovingly opinionated — and I mean that in a good way," said artist Mike Hoyt, who met her through the annual MayDay Parade. "She always had a strong voice for justice." A memorial was held at HOBT last Saturday.

SHEILA REGAN

If anyone ever does a proper biopic about Katharine Hepburn, they may want to consider casting Jane Fonda. While gamely tackling a wide range of topics during her appearance Saturday at the Ordway, Fonda seemed particularly eager to share tales about Hepburn, whom she recruited to star opposite her father, Henry Fonda, in "On Golden Pond." Nailing the late actor's distinctive, quavering voice throughout 10 minutes of anecdotes, Fonda revealed how the late actor intimidated her upon their first meeting ("I don't like you!"). But Hepburn also consoled her after Dad made her feel small during a key scene. The film wound up scoring Oscar nominations for both actresses. If Fonda had won, the two would have been tied with three apiece. As it turned out, Hepburn upped her total to four. When Fonda phoned to congratulate her, Hepburn had one message for the younger actor: "You'll never catch me now!"

NEAL JUSTIN

Grateful Dead tribute shows are never in short supply — or short, period. But the Deadhead marathon next Wednesday at the Hook & Ladder Theatre (8 p.m., $12-$15) has several meaningful twists. An all-star local cast — including drummers JT Bates and Martin Dosh, bassist Chad Whittaker and keyboardist Kevin Gastonguay — will celebrate the 30th anniversary of the Dead's legendary three-night stand in 1989 at Alpine Valley in Wisconsin (where Phish happens to be playing this weekend). Those shows became a concert film whose title, "Downhill From Here," subtly refers to Jerry Garcia's struggles with addiction. "Many of the Deadheads I knew back in the day were stoked a concert movie was made from those shows," said the Big Wu's Chris Castino, who's handling guitar and singing duties alongside Javier Trejo. "These days, however, I'm intrigued by the fact that these shows existed within a window where Garcia was sober, as are Javier and myself these days. There is a joy and a clarity to his performance that is bittersweet."

Former Minnesota writer Lesley Nneka Arimah has won the 2019 Caine Prize for African Writing for her short story "Skinned." The prize carries an award of £10,000, which is about $12,000. The story had previously won the National Magazine Award for Fiction. According to McSweeney's, which published it, "Skinned" imagines "a society in which young girls are ceremonially 'uncovered' and must marry in order to regain the right to be clothed. ... With an expert touch of the strange, this inspired story thrusts the reader into a disorientingly recognizable world and in turn thaws our understanding of human sensitivities and the nuanced hierarchies of power." Arimah was born in the United Kingdom, grew up in Nigeria and earned an MFA at Minnesota State University, Mankato.

LAURIE HERTZEL

The five-year wait for Lynn Nottage is almost over, and you can snag an advance peek in a couple of weeks. In early 2014, the Guthrie Theater announced it had commissioned a new work from the two-time Pulitzer Prize winner. The result of that commission, a comedy titled "Floyd's," opens Aug. 2. Nottage has been in the Twin Cities since July 1, working on the play about former prisoners re-entering the workplace, and she'll appear on the Guthrie's thrust stage at 7:30 p.m. July 22 to discuss it and her other work. The "Ruined" and "Sweat" playwright will speak with Guthrie artistic director Joseph Haj about a career that has been especially busy — and tuneful — of late, with libretto work on the recent musical "The Secret Life of Bees," next year's Met Opera version of her play "Intimate Apparel" and the Michael Jackson show "Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough." Tickets are $15-$25.

CHRIS HEWITT

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