Best of the Week: 'Glensheen,' Pretenders, Courtney Barnett, 'Ideation,' more

Audiences are laughing along with the musical comedy "Glensheen" for the fourth straight summer. The Jeffrey Hatcher/Chan Poling show expertly tiptoes between good taste and good fun as it explores the 1977 double-murder at Duluth's infamous Glensheen mansion and the subsequent trial. The result is a riot, with snappy songs and a showstopping performance by Twin Cities stage vet Wendy Lehr in numerous roles, including one of the victims, Elisabeth Congdon, and attorney Ron Beshmesher. CHRIS HEWITT

Ends July 29. History Theatre, St. Paul, $30-$75, historytheatre.com

Soon Minnesota Orchestra members will embark on a five-city tour of South Africa. But first comes Saturday's International Day of Music, a grand overture to the group's journey, featuring many free performances, emphasizing African music and musicians. Festivities include a ticketed orchestra concert, pairing Beethoven's Ninth Symphony with South African composer Bongani Ndodana-Breen's tribute to the late leader Nelson Mandela.

TERRY BLAIN

Noon-midnight Sat. Orchestra Hall, Mpls., $29-$96 for 8 p.m. orchestra concert, minnesotaorchestra.org

Chrissie Hynde titled 2016's album "Alone," the Pretenders' first in 10 years, because she's the only member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame band on the record. Produced by Dan Auerbach with studio musicians, it's a loose but soulful affair, filled with typical Hynde attitude and sharp lyrics. Original drummer Martin Chambers and ex-Twin Cities guitarist Eric Heywood are among the players on board for the tour.

JON BREAM

Concerts are a big part of the X Games for the second consecutive summer, but this time the shows are indoors at the newly reopened and surprisingly rocking Armory. Two of the biggest pop stars in electronic music will headline — glitzy Kaskade on Friday and Top 40 ace Zedd (above), known for hits with Alessia Cara, Liam Payne and Selena Gomez, on Sunday. In between, rap icon Ice Cube will share a bill with local hip-hop hero Brother Ali on Saturday.

CHRIS RIEMENSCHNEIDER

10:30 p.m. Fri.-Sat., 5:30 p.m. next Sun. Armory, Mpls., $20/day, $50/three-day, xgames.espn.com

For the 33rd year in a row, Highpoint Center for Printmaking showcases the work of its artists' cooperative. This year, 39 printmakers working in a variety of methods, including lithography, relief and intaglio present their goods. Anda Tanaka draws on her childhood memories growing up in Iowa, while Soren Carlson-Donohoe juxtaposes familiar imagery from American advertising with things like the clouds from Super Mario.

ALICIA ELER

After her inspired outing with Kurt Vile last year, Australian indie-rock favorite Courtney Barnett has kept her momentum going with her second solo album, "Tell Me How You Really Feel." The songs are more emotional and serious than her flagship song, 2013's "Avant Gardener," but she still has fun with wordplay and plays a mean guitar. Her live shows have grown more powerful, too. Buzzed-about songwriters Lucy Dacus and Julien Baker open.

CHRIS RIEMENSCHNEIDER

5:30 p.m. Sat. Surly Festival Field, Mpls., $37-$40, First-Avenue.com

The Cantus male vocal octet experimented with a new chamber series last summer, with more solo spots for its gifted singers. That approach is revisited with "Songs My Mother Taught Me," a show exploring the influence of folk songs on classical composers, with Aaron Copland's "Old American Songs" as the centerpiece. Also featured is the Dvořák song referenced by the concert's title.

TERRY BLAIN

Grab the shades and sunscreen for a day at Cedar Lake Farm Regional Park's Midsummer Festival. Outdoor activities include kayaking, archery and rock climbing. The Credit River Antique Tractor Show features a variety of antique farm equipment as well as blacksmith and rope-making demonstrations. Let's Go Fishing will give free lake tours. Plus inflatable bouncers and food concessions.

MELISSA WALKER

10 a.m.-5 p.m. Sat. Cedar Lake Farm Regional Park, New Prague, free, threeriversparkdistrict.org

Gremlin Theatre gives a sharply drawn production of playwright Aaron Loeb's darkly comic "Ideation." The play depicts a straightforward strategy session by a group of management consultants to come up with early concepts for containment of a global virus. It demonstrates all too clearly how quickly paranoia can be conjured out of rapidly shifting perspectives — and how easily a whiteboard and an algebraic formula can paper over a moral abyss.

LISA BROCK